Object

Guinan's Ten-Forward Glasses (pair; includes Picard's glass)

A matched pair of simple, stemless tumblers prepared by Guinan in Ten-Forward: two modest glasses holding indistinct beverages, one carried to Jean‑Luc Picard and one retained by Guinan. The vessels are ordinary but narratively charged—used as tactile anchors during a confession and subsequent shared toast; one of them is later observed empty when Picard turns it in his hands.

3 appearances

Purpose

To contain beverages for drinking and to facilitate a tactile social exchange (an offered drink/toast) between characters.

Significance

The paired glasses function as a ceremonial prop that fractures Picard's isolation: Guinan's offering converts private humiliation into shared resolve, anchoring an emotional turning point and enabling Picard's moral and tactical recommitment on behalf of Data.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments

S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Guinan Forces Picard to Name the Cost

Picard's empty glass is a tactile focus of his fatigue—he turns it repeatedly while brooding. The glass anchors the scene's silence, visualizes his hollowed state, and is later lifted in a quick, restorative toast with Guinan that marks his shift to resolution.

Before: Sits empty before Picard as he obsessively turns it, condensation faint, indicating recent use and his restless circling.

After: Touched in a brief toast with Guinan; no change in condition but repurposed from prop of isolation to instrument of shared resolve.

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Picard's Gambit in Ten-Forward

Picard's empty glass anchors the scene: he nervously turns it while brooding, then accepts a drink from Guinan and uses it to punctuate the toast that seals his commitment. The glass functions as a tactile focus for his grief and a ceremonial instrument for resolve.

Before: Sits empty before Picard, being turned repeatedly as a nervous, isolating ritual.

After: Held and raised in a toast with Guinan; no longer merely a symbol of emptiness but a small, shared ritual of solidarity.

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S2E9 · The Measure of a Man

Guinan Names the Future: 'Slavery'

An empty tumbler sits before Picard as a tactile anchor for his grief; he turns it repeatedly while speaking. Guinan brings two drinks, and the ritual of lifting and toasting the glasses punctuates the moment when tactical frustration converts into moral resolve.

Before: Empty glass standing on the Ten-Forward table in front of Picard; condensation absent, he is idly turning it.

After: They lift and drink from the glasses during a brief toast; the glass remains on the table, having been used to seal the shared commitment and symbolically mark Picard's shift in intent.

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