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I'm rethinking Geordie marrying Leah

Ya know what I wished that last line between them had been?

Not, "Geordie, I thought you knew... I'm married."

I thought - hoped - she was saying "Geordie... I'm gay."

We get a good social commentary moment, some inclusiveness, and Geordie gets a gut-punch realization that yeah, he really does have NO instinct about relationships at all. :lol:
Weirdly enough, I just caught an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore show that reminded me of this - Phyllis' brother was in town, and she was horrified that he and Rhoda were getting friendly. In the end Rhoda assured her she didn't have to worry - didn't you know your brother is gay?

So MTM in 1973 was more socially conscious than TNG in 1989.
 
Weirdly enough, I just caught an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore show that reminded me of this - Phyllis' brother was in town, and she was horrified that he and Rhoda were getting friendly. In the end Rhoda assured her she didn't have to worry - didn't you know your brother is gay?

So MTM in 1973 was more socially conscious than TNG in 1989.
Not hugely surprising - 1970s shows were often much more progressive regarding representation of gay characters than in the eighties. The AIDS crisis set things back by twenty years.

Matt Baume has written a lot about this, among others.
 
I don't think any sane screenwriter would list Leah as Geordie's wife. It's not the '80s anymore.
I can already imagine the social media campaign: "Why did they marry a woman on Star Trek to a creep, a cyberstalker, someone who gaslighted her? Is this the 'Enlightened Future'?"
It's sad that people deny themselves plot and character development for snap decisions these days. Enemies to lovers is a very old trope, albeit a slight exaggeration in this instance.

But people seem to have severe issues with a universe moving forward, telling new stories and changing up its status quo. Given the feedback to new Star Trek shows people really just want stagnant world states that never advance so they wouldn't be able to factor in a decade of stories for Geordi and Leah to develop a relationship.
 
Leah and Erica look like sisters, not the same person, so how can a blind man find the exactitude of their similarity to an out of date hologramatic caricature?
 
I never minded Geordi and Leah's interactions on the show. I don't think a lot of the fan reactions to his actions are warranted, I don't think he was out of line and I also don't think her reaction was wrong either - I like the point the episode makes that they're both guilty of assumptions about what the other is like - and they become friends at the end of it.
I think people don't consider the period the show aired and expect the episode to address concerns of stuff like deepfaking it was never supposed to. People like to trash Geordi's character about supposed things offscreen and I feel like there's 178 episodes to show what he is and what he stands for.
That said, I never wanted Geordi and Leah together purely because of small universe syndrome. In the original draft it was Aquiel who was his wife, so I think the writers only had it on their mind that Geordi would hook up with girls he'd met before, which just feels too easy.
 
I never minded Geordi and Leah's interactions on the show. I don't think a lot of the fan reactions to his actions are warranted, I don't think he was out of line and I also don't think her reaction was wrong either - I like the point the episode makes that they're both guilty of assumptions about what the other is like - and they become friends at the end of it.
The problem is that at the end of the episode

1) Geordie LIES to Leah. He tells her he only wanted "her friendship" when it's clear he was looking for a romantic relationship or something else. It's a textbook case of gaslighting.
2) The episode makes it clear (according to the authors) that Leah is the one IN THE WRONG. She's the one forced to apologize to her cyberstalker.
3) The episode tells us that poor Geordie is the victim, someone who embarrassed and made a female colleague who was only there for work feel uncomfortable. And that she is the real monster.

So the "they're both guilty" argument doesn't hold up.
 
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The problem is that at the end of the episode

1) Geordie LIES to Leah. He tells her he only wanted "her friendship" when it's clear he was looking for a romantic relationship or something else. It's a textbook case of gaslighting.
2) The episode makes it clear (according to the authors) that Leah is the one IN THE WRONG. She's the one forced to apologize to her cyberstalker.

So the "they're both guilty" argument doesn't hold up.

What dos Geordie see when he looks at a hologram?

When he looks at a person IRL he seems a rainbow swirl.

I doubt that Holograms look like rainbow swirls to Geordie?

So he really was attracted to the sound of her voice or her genius?

Maybe her height?
 
What does Captain Geordie have that an Experimental Star Ship Designer might want?

She wants a bed on a Star Ship????

Building these ships is fun for Leah, but she can't get into Starfleet, and even if she could, she is too valuable to put on the front line, so they won't let her Zoom.

All she has to do, to have the universe open up to her, like a blossoming flower is go to bed with crazy.

Women have been sleeping with the wrong guy, because he has a nice car, for centuries.
 
That is quite the exaggeration, it was the computer that led him on.
Let's take an example set in the present day.

Let's say my company put me to work on a critical project and called a female colleague from another city where there is a branch of the company to participate (you won't believe it but it happened IRL!)

Coincidentally, she doesn't know me, but I know everything about her from her social media profiles. In fact, I've even fallen for her. I even created an avatar of her on Virtual Girlfriend or something similar, and she says she's in love with me. And I'm absolutely certain it'll happen in real life too.

While we're working, she makes it clear she's only here for work. She doesn't give any indication whatsoever that she's interested in getting to know me beyond the professional sphere. Meanwhile, I continue to flirt with her.

At the end of a very tough day where we've reached an impasse, I propose a work dinner. Just the two of us, no one else on the team. Faced with her hesitation, I assure her there's no ulterior motive. I take advantage of her trust so much that she agrees to come to dinner AT MY HOUSE.

She finds the dinner decidedly romantic, candlelight and all. I even try to seduce her. By pure coincidence, she also discovers that I have an avatar of her on my phone with which I do sexy things. She leaves indignantly.

Now, I don't know how it works where you work, but in this situation the next day I would have a very unpleasant conversation with HR and my managers.

This is exactly what happens in this episode. Plus, Geordie plays the victim, saying he only wanted her friendship, and Leah is forced to apologize.
 
The ship was catfishing Geordie.

Total victim.

Who was the ship trying to molest in the one where the Enterprise turned into a train?
 
That is quite the exaggeration, it was the computer that led him on.

Baloney. Geordi unnecessarily added the personality parameters during a crisis and did so for personal gratification, even after the computer warned him that the behavior of the facsimile would not be accurate.

It's sad that people deny themselves plot and character development for snap decisions these days. Enemies to lovers is a very old trope, albeit a slight exaggeration in this instance.

But people seem to have severe issues with a universe moving forward, telling new stories and changing up its status quo. Given the feedback to new Star Trek shows people really just want stagnant world states that never advance so they wouldn't be able to factor in a decade of stories for Geordi and Leah to develop a relationship.

Also baloney. Stories crafted around baloney are only that: baloney. Saying that people want a stagnant word because they don't want stories crafted around baloney is, you guessed it, baloney.
 
Let's take an example set in the present day.

Let's say my company put me to work on a critical project and called a female colleague from another city where there is a branch of the company to participate (you won't believe it but it happened IRL!)

Coincidentally, she doesn't know me, but I know everything about her from her social media profiles. In fact, I've even fallen for her. I even created an avatar of her on Virtual Girlfriend or something similar, and she says she's in love with me. And I'm absolutely certain it'll happen in real life too.
This imples Geordi only did so for personal gratification and not to try and have the best resources in a literal life and death situation. Lest we forget the fabrication personality the computer cooked up saved 1000 lives.
While we're working, she makes it clear she's only here for work. She doesn't give any indication whatsoever that she's interested in getting to know me beyond the professional sphere. Meanwhile, I continue to flirt with her.

At the end of a very tough day where we've reached an impasse, I propose a work dinner. Just the two of us, no one else on the team. Faced with her hesitation, I assure her there's no ulterior motive. I take advantage of her trust so much that she agrees to come to dinner AT MY HOUSE.

She finds the dinner decidedly romantic, candlelight and all. I even try to seduce her. By pure coincidence, she also discovers that I have an avatar of her on my phone with which I do sexy things. She leaves indignantly.
He hardly tried to seduce her. Yes the dinner had romantic overtones but she was in no way harrassed or anything. And he accepted when she revealed she was married. Didnt pressure her into doing anything.

And no sexy times happened with the Leah hologram just one kiss.
Now, I don't know how it works where you work, but in this situation the next day I would have a very unpleasant conversation with HR and my managers.

This is exactly what happens in this episode. Plus, Geordie plays the victim, saying he only wanted her friendship, and Leah is forced to apologize.
They seem to both apologise to each other and laugh over the misunderstanding.

Immense social awkwardness is in play and had Geordi been less embarrassed and just told the truth right away it would have been avoided. But an awkward person and a hostile person doesnt make for great conversations.
 
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