Star Trek The Next Generation
S2E22
· Shades of Gray Flashback

Guinan's Warning: Dreams Can Be Dangerous

A dreamlike flashback in Ten-Forward (from S02E10 "The Dauphin") finds Riker playacting a romantic confession to Guinan while Wesley awkwardly watches. Guinan teases and probes Riker’s bravado—inviting him without promising safety—and delivers the line, “Dreams can be dangerous.” The exchange softens Riker, revealing longing beneath his swagger, and Guinan’s teasing becomes a quiet oracle. Dramatically this scene both humanizes Riker in the midst of crisis and functions as explicit foreshadowing: the neural stimulation that provokes pleasurable dreams will also provoke peril, threatening Riker’s survival and complicating the crew’s rescue strategy.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Guinan tests whether this is more than he hoped and warns dreams can be dangerous; Riker leans in, insisting these dreams feel safe as eye contact tightens.

caution to charged connection

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3
Guinan
Ten-Forward bartender
 primary

Playful and quietly authoritative; she maintains control of the moment while allowing Riker’s vulnerability to surface, and carries an undercurrent of caution.

Guinan moves from behind the bar to a table at Riker’s request, listens and teases, probes Riker’s sincerity, and issues a cautionary oracle—'Dreams can be dangerous'—while ultimately encouraging the conversation.

Goals in this moment
  • • Test the sincerity of Riker’s performance
  • • Provide Wesley with a realistic target for social behavior
  • • Protect emotional safety by warning about seductive risks
Active beliefs
  • • Words can be both invitation and illusion
  • • Not all dreams are harmless; some have consequences
  • • Teasing can reveal truth while preserving dignity
Character traits
enigmatic teasing mentoring measuredly admonishing
Follow Guinan's journey
Wesley Crusher
Acting Ensign
 primary

Awkward and uncertain at the surface, eager to perform correctly but internally anxious about authenticity and social risk.

Wesley is nervously attentive, asking what to say and how to act; he stands awkwardly to the side, taps Guinan for reassurance, then admits the coached approach doesn't fit his personality.

Goals in this moment
  • • Learn how to approach someone he likes
  • • Avoid embarrassment while practicing
  • • Gain approval from Riker and guidance from Guinan
Active beliefs
  • • There is a correct social script he can adopt
  • • Experienced officers (like Riker) know how to teach social skills
  • • Guinan’s responses will validate or correct his approach
Character traits
anxious earnest self-conscious willing to learn
Follow Wesley Crusher's journey
William Riker
Commander
 primary

Playing confident and amused on the surface; privately wistful and exposed when his lines become real, revealing genuine longing beneath mentorship.

Riker orchestrates a coaching exercise: he motions Guinan to sit, instructs Wesley on opening lines, then performs a full, poetic confession himself, shifting from playful teacher to vulnerable suitor.

Goals in this moment
  • • Teach Wesley how to approach someone socially
  • • Test Guinan’s receptivity without risking direct rejection
  • • Express suppressed longing in a controlled, palatable way
Active beliefs
  • • A well-delivered line can open doors and create opportunity
  • • Vulnerability can be managed through performance
  • • Hope is recognition of possibility and worth pursuing
Character traits
coachlike flirtatious performative sincerity vulnerable beneath bravado
Follow William Riker's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Ten-Forward Bar

The long, dark-polished Ten-Forward bar functions as the initial staging ground; Riker leans on it, Guinan stands behind it before moving around to a table, and it frames the social choreography—serving as barrier, anchor, and performance platform for the coaching exchange.

Before: Clean, staffed; Guinan behind the counter, patrons implied …
After: Unchanged physically; the bar has served its narrative …
Before: Clean, staffed; Guinan behind the counter, patrons implied but not central; bar is active as a social focal point.
After: Unchanged physically; the bar has served its narrative role and remains a backdrop, with Guinan returned to or near her functional station after the staged interaction.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Galaxy Beyond Ten-Forward Viewport

Ten-Forward operates as the intimate, social setting for the flashback: a lounge where instruction becomes theatre and private longing can be voiced publicly. Its informal layout allows movement around the bar and a quick transition from bartender to conversational partner, making emotional exposure feel plausible and contained.

Atmosphere Warm, conversational, lightly playful with an undertow of intimacy; the tone is social rehearsal that …
Function Meeting place and stage for coaching and flirtation; a safe-ish public space enabling social experiment …
Symbolism Represents communal space where private desires are performed; here it becomes the site where dreams …
Access Open to crew and patrons; no special restrictions implied within the scene.
Bar counter where Guinan initially stands and Riker leans Nearby empty table used as the staged seating for the mock confession Close, quiet conversation implied (no loud external distractions) Physical movement: Guinan walking around the bar to sit, Riker and Wesley following

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 1
Foreshadowing

"Guinan’s ‘dreams can be dangerous’ warns that pleasurable dreams will worsen the infection."

Pleasure Feeds the Vine — Therapy Backfires
S2E22 · Shades of Gray

Key Dialogue

"GUINAN: "Dreams can be dangerous.""
"RIKER: "I had only dreams.""
"RIKER: "I dream of a galaxy where your eyes are stars... And all the universe worships night.""