First Aired: November 20th, 1987
Summary
On a trip to relax on Haven, a paradisiacal Class M planet, Deanna Troi receives a message--the time has come for her to marry the son of her human father's close friend Steven Miller. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, along with their son Wyatt, beam aboard, followed by Deanna's eccentric and blunt-to-a-fault mother Lxwana Troi. Deanna is conflicted between her affection for Wyatt and her long-standing affection for Commander Riker, who is unhappy with the suddenly upcoming wedding. However, when a ship belonging to a race thought long wiped out by its own biological weapons appear, things move towards a resolution. A woman Wyatt has seen in his mind since he was young is aboard the ship, waiting for him--she has seen him since her own childhood and knew he would be coming to Haven. Wyatt decides to join his fated lover and cure her and her people or die trying, and Deanna is free to remain Counselor aboard the Enterprise.
I See What You Did There
I've mentioned in previous posts that Deanna Troi is clearly meant to be a next generation foil to Spock, and this episode only furthers that comparison. Just as Spock was almost forced to marry his childhood intended in an episode of The Original Series, so Deanna is almost forced to marry her childhood intended in an episode of The Next Generation. The major difference is that, while Spock is compelled by biology to accept the marriage, Counselor Troi feels genuine affection for Wyatt and feels compelled by this and Betazoid tradition to go through with the marriage. This is fair, considering their differing heritages. I do, however, still have some major issues with this episode.
No Love for Love Triangles
The love triangle is a trope that has played out in many a TV show, novel, and movie. It was old when this episode was released and seems even worse when watching something like this in 2016. There is honestly nothing creative about a love triangle. Troi and Riker having feelings for one another was established in the first episode, so sticking in a previously unmentioned childhood engagement for Troi is a really easy way to create a conflict. The mystery of Wyatt's dream woman was interesting, but the main plot itself is not. I also have a big issue with that subplot.
I'll See You In My Dreams
I genuinely do not understand why or how Wyatt and Ariana saw each other in their minds.Their psychic connection is never explained and nobody questions it for longer than a few seconds, if that. To keep with the subject of this blog, though, let's talk about Ariana. All we know about her is that Wyatt finds her beautiful, she's dreamed of him practically her whole life, and he's heard her whispering his name. She has no personality whatsoever except for admiring Wyatt. This is yet another female character who fails the Sexy Lamp Test, which I've mentioned in other posts. Wyatt's dream girl could be replaced with literally anyone or anything and nothing about the plot would change. This plot is just as lazy, if not lazier, than the love triangle plot.
Petty Bickering
As if all that weren't enough, the only other women introduced in this episode were the not-quite-mothers-in-law, who hated each other's guts. While admittedly entertaining, their constant fighting was strange for two old friends. The explanation that Betazoids mature more and faster than humans because of their honesty makes very little sense to me. It felt like the two were fighting simply to fight. While Data's reactions were adorable, my own reaction is that this feud served no real purpose in the plot and easily could have been left out altogether. Didn't poor Troi have enough to deal with in this episode as-is?
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