In the tenth episode of the second season of The Next Generation, Wesley develops feelings for a passenger, who is dealing with her own struggles. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.
Trigger Warning: For brief discussion of abuse.
I think there are small moments that don’t really vibe with me here, but the overall story – of destiny and the vulnerability of love – resonated with me. The whole, in this case, is a lot better than some of the parts. LET’S DISCUSS.
Love at First Sight
I know this is not the first time I’ve written about this trope, but if you’re new here, you should understand that I mentally check out of pretty much any plot line involving the concept of love at first sight. If we were talking about infatuation at first sight? I’m on board. Utterly. BECAUSE I GET IT. But when you invoke love between characters who have known each other for 24 hours… I’m not into that. In particular, Star Trek has used this exact premise about a million times with Captain Kirk. (That’s a totally valid figure that is backed up by science.) It’s hard for me to believe that actual love can develop in like… 24 hours.
So one level, Wesley’s story is a little strange to me. It takes a lot for me to fall in love, and that’s been the case with most people that I’ve met. I get developing crushes and shit because surprise, I DO THIS ALL THE TIME. (I actually went through a horrible phase in my early 20s where I developed a succession of crushes on straight men, which is an unending tragedy.)Â If I use that lens to view this episode, “The Dauphin” becomes a whole lot more rewarding to me. It’s about Wesley’s growing affinity for someone he doesn’t know all that well and how messed up and vulnerable that makes him.
I’ve been in love twice now. I honestly don’t count my first long-term relationship as “love” because it was so horribly one-sided. I was infatuated with an abuser, and that was not love. But the other times? It was a painful and raw and scary. I mentioned at the beginning of this that Wesley experienced vulnerability because of his “love” for Salia, and that’s an incredibly common and valid thing to feel about this. When you offer yourself up to someone so wholly and truly in love, it’s an intimidating and frightening thing. I know from experience that when it happens for the first time, it’s like… I don’t know, being run over by a truck a thousand times? I jest, but I think there’s a lot of truth to the adage that love is painful, and I know my own experience confirms that.
Thus, I could find something to relate to in Wesley’s story. I know what it’s like to meet someone and be instantly attracted to them physically. I know what it’s like to get to know them in those initial moments and develop an attraction to the kind of person they are. The way they talk. The smile that can light up a face and a room. The joy in their speech. The passion in their behavior. And I know what it feels like to suddenly question your ability to have a normal fucking conversation with someone, despite that you’ve done it thousands of times. Why is it suddenly so hard? Why does it feel so different? I mean, that whole sequence where Wes asks for advice from various crew members is hilarious, but it’s also real as FUCK, y’all. I’m thirty-one years old and I am still learning this shit! (Gods all bless the flirting sequence between Riker and Guinan, GOOD GODS.)
And do I ever know the pain of separation. Disappointment. Lost potential. That’s the risk you take having feelings, y’all. Feelings are the worst, burn them all. I’m single now and I think I’m at a point where I can start to reference that part of my life publicly and let me tell you a thing: feelings should go away forever. Well, okay, I’m being facetious, but I thought I was at a point in my life where I wasn’t gonna have to deal with this nonsense ever again. But here we are, and I’m still laid low by thinking a boy is cute and desirable. I’M AN ADULT.
Now, admittedly, I know that it’s only through the lens of crushes and infatuation that I’m able to truly understand this episode. And this certainly feels more like Wesley falling in love, especially his final conversation with Guinan. Not that I don’t value that scene because GODDAMN, it’s spectacular. There’s also that really tonally bizarre moment where Wesley gets super angry with Salia because Salia deceived him, and it feels a whole lot creepier to me than the writers probably intended. Like… she doesn’t owe you that, dude? And certainly not when y’all have barely known each other and aren’t super close. It feels incredibly entitled, you know?
Still, there’s value here for me in this story, and I wanted to talk about why that was. LET’S TALK ABOUT ANYA.
Protection
I mean, I get that my experience changes the way I look at things, and that’s just the nature of humanity. We all view shit differently because we don’t have the same paths in life. So, while I was watching Anya act out her paranoia on the Enterprise, it was difficult to not see it as an abusive thing. Anya controlled Salia’s every waking moment, so much so that she interpreted all of her interactions as possible threats to her safety. Now, I think the writers did a decent job of explaining why Anya felt such a strong need to protect her charge, so it’s not like this was a characterization without a basis in any sort of reality. But that also didn’t make this any easier to watch. Right from the moment Salia stepped off the transporter, I could tell something was deeply wrong with their relationship dynamic.
I suppose I’m sensitive to that because I grew up with an overly strict mother, you know? It’s soul-crushing to have your life planned out for you and to have your behavior and your mannerisms observed with such an eye for detail. I actually kept waiting for there to be some sort of reveal that would explain why Salia was so certain that she couldn’t ever travel. Was her destiny to be some sort of sacrifice? Was she not going to survive the peace negotiations? But the reality was so much more mundane than that, and I don’t think that’s a disappointing thing. Salia’s life was planned out for her because of her birth, and she truly didn’t have much of a choice (at least, a logistically possible one, that is) in the matter. She was destined to return to Klavdia III to resolve a conflict she didn’t start and which did not necessarily affect her life, aside from her exile. Can you even imagine that kind of pressure? That kind of predestination? That kind of duty? It’s terrifying, y’all, and on top of that, Salia had to deal with her growing affections for Wesley.
I think there’s a glimpse of hope in her ending here, though the show deliberately does not give us closure. She fulfills her duty, she thanks Anya for her service, and then she’s gone. It felt strangely realistic, though. This was not a conflict that could have been solved in a matter of a day, you know? Salia will have to make her own destiny from here on out, and I hope that she gets a chance to travel the galaxy.
The video for “The Dauphin” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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