The Worf & Troi romance... what are your thoughts on it?

[Lance]

A bit of a late change to the status quo, this one. I got thinking about this today after seeing a 'demotivational poster' referencing it on the net.

I can distinctly recall not knowing what to make of it way back in 1993/94. And even now, twenty years later (has it really BEEN that long?! ) I still don't know whether I like it or not. I guess I'd always been a big fan of Riker/Troi, and felt it had been underutilised as a plot device, as episodes like Second Chances proved that Frakes and Sirtis could swing with the concept if given half the chance. But then, the parts of Parallels where Worf has to deal with suddenly being in a relationship with Troi in alternate timelines... there was a sweetness to it, a light and tender touch which did appeal to me. So I think it was well handled at times, but at other times it felt a bit contrived to me. The undercurrent of it in Eye Of The Beholder did nothing to improve that episode IMO.

What say you, though? What were/are your thoughts on the Troi/Worf/Riker triangle developed in TNG's waning seasons?

[Steven321]

I was always more of a fan of Riker/Troi and Worf/Troi. I always thought that Worf and K'Ehleyr (even though it was intended) was the better and correct romantic ark for him, which didn't really last to long. But with Worf and Troi, it never really looked like a relationship in my opinion, it was more of that "you're my best friend, I'm not sure if we should go further" and he was always concerned that it was wrong and he didn't want to cause conflict between himself,Riker and Troi.

[Forbin]

Troiker?

Trorf?

Hmmm..

[Lance]

Steven321 wrote:

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I was always more of a fan of Riker/Troi and Worf/Troi. I always thought that Worf and K'Ehleyr (even though it was intended) was the better and correct romantic ark for him, which didn't really last to long. But with Worf and Troi, it never really looked like a relationship in my opinion, it was more of that "you're my best friend, I'm not sure if we should go further" and he was always concerned that it was wrong and he didn't want to cause conflict between himself,Riker and Troi.

The only honorable thing to do.

One of the many cuts made to Nemesis was a short scene where Troi makes a call-back to her thing with Worf, in light of having married Riker. It reminds me how much even the production team kind of thinks, hey, it was a crazy idea that we sort of threw in there but would be perfectly happy if everybody kind of forgot about it. I don't think it was ever really 'serious' for Worf and Troi. They played with it, but I think ultimately they'd have parted company even if the time shenanigans of All Good Things hadn't got involved.

[Use of Time]

I don't know. If they had pitched it earlier, then maybe I could have been on board but as we all knew the show was coming to an end, I think many people felt it was time to go ahead and start putting Troi and Riker in that next level of their relationship. We all knew that they belonged together and seven seasons of teasing their intricate relationship was enough. I think it would have helped provide the closure for the show and prepare the story for their subsequent marriage in Nemesis.

[Steven321]

Riker and Troi also had history before they were both on the Enterprise, which set the tone for the both of them for the future.

[Takeru]

I liked Worf/Troi because it was a relationship that actually seemed to go somewhere in a relatively short amount of time. Riker/Troi and Picard/Crusher both did the will they, won't they stuff for years except it was more like "They won't, we do occasional episodes where we pretend they will for 20 minutes ... then we'll act like there's no attraction at all for the next 12 episodes". It was frustrating so I really appreciated seeing a relationship develop, not just grabbed from the storyarc closet once or twice a year.

[Squiggy]

It seemed a bit-last minute and apparently the powers that be didn't think much of it since they ignored it after All Good Things.

There really wasn't much of a romance outside of the anti-time future where Worf was mad at Riker over her death. We saw what...one interrupted kiss?

[indolover]

I thought they were too mis-matched. Some may say opposites attract, but the opposite is true also since relationships are often based on commonalities.

I guess Worf respected Deanna due to her kindness and empathy (the character trait not her sensing others' emotions) whilst Deanna respected Worf due to his honour, courage and integrity. So in that sense one can see how the relationship would have emerged.

that said, Jadzia/Worf was better executed.

[jimbotron]

Clearly running out of ideas, but innocuous.

But hey, it's no Scotty/Uhura in Star Trek V.

[Trekker4747]

It made no sense and came from out of nowhere. I mean Worf once LAUGHED at the idea of sleeping with a human woman, citing them as too fragile. This was a man we saw who CRAVED Klingon love, interaction and traditions. So unless Troi was a REAL minx it bed the two of them hooking up made zero sense.

[R. Star]

It was season 7 and they were running out of plot ideas.

[Seven of Five]

I started watching TNG partway through S7, so when it looped back to S1, I spent a long time wondering when they got together. I thought they were a good match because I was 12, and them together was what I was used to.

These days I'm more iffy. They ignored the potential of the Riker/Troi romance in favour of this, and it seemed like a somewhat random pairing. Not as bad as the Chakotay/Seven nonsense in Endgame, but still odd.

You can maybe interpret episodes differently in retrospect - any time where Worf goes to Troi for help when he struggles with Alexander, for example. Ethics especially has him asking her to be Alexander's guardian if he dies during his operation. This is what I did when I was younger and was looking for the start of the relationship. I didn't know that the pairing was a random plot to help keep S7 afloat.

I always find it odd that there was never any mention of the relationship again. Sure, when thing don't work out they just peter out, and I know the producers weren't so hot on their idea after the series finished. Just a quick mention of it somewhere along the line, perhaps on DS9, wouldn't have gone amiss.

Or maybe it would for everyone else.

[MikeS]

jimbotron wrote:

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Clearly running out of ideas, but innocuous.

But hey, it's no Scotty/Uhura in Star Trek V.

I'd forgotten about that one!That one WAS out of place!

Spock/Uhura in the new movie too.

Damn is there anyone that woman never slept with?!

[Trek Survivor]

I'm not sure it "came out of nowhere" - Worf and Troi had been getting progressively closer ever since season 5 in episodes like "New Ground", "Ethics" (remember he made her promise to look after Alexander if anything happened to him), "A Fistful of Datas" etc.

Did I like it? I was OK with it. It's also realistic that sometimes friends hook up and then decide it doesn't really "feel right". It was nice to FINALLY get some character progression on TNG to be honest.