I'm rethinking Geordie marrying Leah

[Mres_was_framed!]

Maybe she is in Starfleet later on: suppose that Brahms is her maiden name and the name that made her famous, but her middle name is Erica and her married name is Benteen. She is also the youngest captain in the history of the fleet, beating Picard's record of 28, because they promoted her quickly due to the Dominion War. Thus she is a bit younger than Geordi and he might have expected that she was still single, insomuch as the computer was not using her married name

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Lest we forget the fabrication personality the computer cooked up saved 1000 lives.

Baloney. Shutting off the computer and Picard piloting the ship out by himself with two thrusters (metaphorically, one propeller) after a brief rocket burst is what saved their lives. Shutting everything off except life support and the two thrusters was Geordi's idea, not the computer's. The computer had said, literally, that there was no other way, except to rely on the computer.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

Baloney. Shutting off the computer and Picard piloting the ship out by himself with two thrusters (metaphorically, one propeller) after a brief rocket burst is what saved their lives. Shutting everything off except life support and the two thrusters was Geordi's idea, not the computer's. The computer had said, literally, that there was no other way, except to rely on the computer.

And how did Geordi come up with that idea...

 

[CorporalCaptain]

And how did Geordi come up with that idea...

It sure was fuck wasn't because "the personality the computer cooked up saved 1000 lives."

 

[Detached Nacelle]

It sure was fuck wasn't because "the personality the computer cooked up saved 1000 lives."

Had the computer not invented that personality it would not have had the interactions with Geordi that it did which led to his epihany. It was the inspiration he needed to come up with the idea that saved the day ergo it was a pivotal part in saving everyone on the ship.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Had the computer not invented that personality it would not have had the interactions with Geordi that it did which led to his epihany. It was the inspiration he needed to come up with the idea that saved the day ergo it was a pivotal part in saving everyone on the ship.

There you go again. The computer did not invent the personality. Geordi ordered the computer to make the program using source material that he specified. Geordi deserves credit for coming up with the idea that Picard did not, granted. The computer deserves no credit.

So Geordi actually realized something after dicking around with the holodoll. That does not excuse the dicking around. Why he couldn't have been hammering it out with the other engineers is a huge mystery. This is supposed to be one of the more prestigious posts in Starfleet. Was the whole engineering team away on leave, on Risa? Does he have no staff that he trusts, that can be trusted? Bad writing. Awful.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

There you go again. The computer did not invent the personality. Geordi ordered the computer to make the program using source material that he specified.

Pastrami. He specified only her professional data, personnel profile and appearance at a symposium. The computer filled in a lot of blanks somewhat unnecessarily in and just made up a personality as it could not realistically infer that their work would lead to a romantic entanglement based on just those professional records.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The personality is not synthesized without Geordi prompting the computer to do so.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

The personality is not synthesized without Geordi prompting the computer to do so.

His prompt was her starfleet personnel file and a talk she gave at some conference. Nothing more. So in order for your point to have any logic to it she would have had to have said officially on record that touching an engine is touching her. Given her reaction to the hologram saying that it clearly is not the case so it is obviously just something the computer made up thinking her passion for her work would make her likely to see it that way and the computer massively missed the mark.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

His prompt was her starfleet personnel file and a talk she gave at some conference. Nothing more. So in order for your point to have any logic to it she would have had to have said officially on record that touching an engine is touching her. Given her reaction to the hologram saying that it clearly is not the case so it is obviously just something the computer made up thinking her passion for her work would make her likely to see it that way and the computer massively missed the mark.

Good grief, again, more factually incorrect statements about the episode. Geordi absolutely prompted the computer to synthesize the artificial personality. The dialog [transcript]:

LAFORGE: Yes! All right! Computer, do you have any, you know, personality on file for Doctor Brahms?​

COMPUTER: Starfleet personality profile analysis, stardate 40056.​

LAFORGE: Did she ever debate at the intergalactic caucuses on Chaya Seven?​

COMPUTER: Doctor Brahms attended Chaya Seven caucuses on the following stardates​

LAFORGE: Never mind the dates. Computer, if you add data from all these sources, could you synthesise a true representation of Doctor Brahms?​

COMPUTER: There would be a nine point three seven percent margin of error in the interactive responses from the facsimile.​

LAFORGE: I can live with that. Do it. (Leah takes a breath, then smiles) Doctor Brahms?​

The personality is not synthesized without Geordi prompting the computer to do so.

 

[Skipper]

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.

That dinner just wasn't supposed to happen, stop. He purposely deceived and lied to Leah (who was tired from work) about the nature of the dinner, when she had NEVER shown any interest in Geordi beyond work. He made her feel uncomfortable. With a colleague she was forced to work with. It's wrong on so many levels it's almost embarrassing. The problem is that the episode's narrative framework wants us to sympathize with poor Geordi, the victim of the wicked Leah, who doesn't appreciate his attempts at seduction.

And no sexy times happened with the Leah hologram just one kiss.

It didn't matter if it was "just" a kiss or a night of hot sex. It was an act of intimacy that the real Leah would never have consented to. Try kissing someone against their will and tell me if the “it was just a kiss” defense works.

They seem to both apologise to each other and laugh over the misunderstanding.

Why did the writers want us to believe that somehow they're both wrong, when the only one who behaved badly was Geordi? What did Leah do wrong? Was she a little rude at the beginning? How awful, my God, poor Geordi.

But there's one key point, which the episode glosses over (and you too, it seems): Geordi lied, lied, LIED to Leah.

So, I’m guilty, okay? But not of what you think. Of something much worse. I’m guilty of reaching out to you, of hoping we could connect. I’m guilty of a terrible crime, Doctor. I offered you friendship.

He wasn't interested in her friendship. He wanted a romantic relationship. He makes it clear. But instead he plays the victim and blames Leah for not understanding and for being the monster.

And maybe you don't remember the episode, but it's Leah who apologizes. Not Geordi. Why? Because it was the '90s, and women were supposed to be grateful if a man "courted" them, even if they didn't want to.

But let's review a very strong sentence said by Leah.

I have been invaded. Violated.

That's very strong. Geordi should have understood. Respected her feelings. If he thought she misunderstood, he should have apologized for creating this situation. Instead, what does she do? He attacks her FOR NOT RESPECTING HIS FEELINGS.

Oh by the way, Geordi LIES to Leah when she asks him how he knew so much about her, even how she wore her hair.

But I would to quote this from this review

All of this culminates in Geordi somehow yelling at her for 'badgering' him and insisting that he's shown her 'courtesy' and 'respect' - 'courtesy' and 'respect' is not inviting a woman you just met in a professional context to your quarters on the pretence of doing some work, putting on your sexiest massive early 90s jumper and dimming the lights, Geordi. That's pretty much the opposite of 'respect'.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

That dinner just wasn't supposed to happen, stop. He purposely deceived and lied to Leah (who was tired from work) about the nature of the dinner, when she had NEVER shown any interest in Geordi beyond work. He made her feel uncomfortable. With a colleague she was forced to work with. It's wrong on so many levels it's almost embarrassing. The problem is that the episode's narrative framework wants us to sympathize with poor Geordi, the victim of the wicked Leah, who doesn't appreciate his attempts at seduction.

Seduction is a strong word, sure he was laying it on a little thick and pivoted way too casual but she also noped out of it. She wasn't forced to attend it, no pressure, no revoking of her agency. Yes the dinner should have stayed well lit and in uniform but this is more I would say Geordi's awkwardness and deficiencies in the social graces than being a creep.

It didn't matter if it was "just" a kiss or a night of hot sex. It was an act of intimacy that the real Leah would never have consented to. Try kissing someone against their will and tell me if the “it was just a kiss” defense works.

Kiss a photo of someone and tell me how much harm that does a person. Now if he'd had sex with the hologram it would have been much different equatable to deepfake porn today.

Why did the writers want us to believe that somehow they're both wrong, when the only one who behaved badly was Geordi? What did Leah do wrong? Was she a little rude at the beginning? How awful, my God, poor Geordi.

But there's one key point, which the episode glosses over (and you too, it seems): Geordi lied, lied, LIED to Leah.

She was unprofessionally hostile.

He wasn't interested in her friendship. He wanted a romantic relationship. He makes it clear. But instead he plays the victim and blames Leah for not understanding and for being the monster.

And maybe you don't remember the episode, but it's Leah who apologizes. Not Geordi. Why? Because it was the '90s, and women were supposed to be grateful if a man "courted" them, even if they didn't want to.

She jumps to the wrong conclusions and assumes the hologram was for nothing more than sexual gratification. She assumes the absolute worst and has to be yelled at just to get her to listen. She's not unjustified in her anger but she over-reacts and makes terrible assumptions.

But let's review a very strong sentence said by Leah.

That's very strong. Geordi should have understood. Respected her feelings. If he thought she misunderstood, he should have apologized for creating this situation. Instead, what does she do? He attacks her FOR NOT RESPECTING HIS FEELINGS.

Oh by the way, Geordi LIES to Leah when she asks him how he knew so much about her, even how she wore her hair.

But I would to quote this from this review

I do agree that Geordi spun a ridiculous web of lies and as is always the case it unravelled. He absolutely should have been honest with her but she probably would not have been receptive to it given the agenda she starts out with. Yes the best outcome would have been to just drop the idea flat out like after their initial meeting on the transporter pad, like she's nothing like what the computer said never mind.

Too much malicious motivation is being attributed to Geordi here in my opinion when it boils down to poor interpersonal skills.

I don't think this debate is likely to progress anywhere, perhaps we should adjourn from it lest we become dizzy from all the circles we go round.

 

[Tomalak]

Geordi fucked up, but the Holodeck should have had guardrails to prevent that kind of simulation.

It's another of those Star Trek episodes that is unintentionally prescient about an issue the writers couldn't possibly have intended - the Brahms hologram is just as eager to please as Chat GPT tends to be, and the whole thing evokes deepfakes and social media stalking.

But he didn't intentionally create a holographic imitation of a real person to flirt with him - like Barclay did. The computer did the rest, presumably because most people use the holodeck for sex. The algorithm did what it was designed to do.

Geordi's main fuck up was expecting the real Leah to be like the blow-up doll the computer had created for him. That was a naive and embarrassing for both of them. I agree that it was unprofessional to invite her to a romantic dinner without giving any indication that was his intention. She had every right to feel her privacy had been violated and he came off as super creepy.

But she got to know him, and realises that he's a harmless nerd who made a mistake, and was able to get past that.

But I don't think there was any kind of romantic spark there. So it's good that the writers of PIC S3 specifically avoided making Geordi marry Leah.

 

[Skipper]

But she got to know him, and realises that he's a harmless nerd who made a mistake, and was able to get past that.

The big problem, however, is that Geordi won't admit his mistake. He lies and shifts the blame onto the victim. This sounds like a textbook case of DARVO.

From Wikipedia:

DARVO (an acronym for "Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender") is a reaction that perpetrators of wrongdoing, such as abusers or sexual offenders, may display in response to being held accountable for their behavior.[1] Research indicates that it is a common manipulation strategy of psychological abusers.[2][3][4]

The person confronted tends to:

1. Deny / minimize the behavior or its impact
2. Attack the confronter’s credibility, motives, or “tone”
3. Reverse Victim and Offender, reframing themselves as the wronged party and the actual harmed person as the aggressor

Let's see what happens in the episode.

Setup (what triggers the confrontation): Leah Brahms runs the holodeck file expecting a technical reference, but sees it’s intimate/romanticized. She confronts Geordi La Forge, framing it explicitly as a violation of her boundaries.

“I have been -- invaded. Violated.”

That line matters because it defines the issue as harm + boundary breach (not “awkward misunderstanding”).

D — Deny / minimize (relabel what she just saw)

His first moves aren’t “owning it” but trying to control the interpretation: it looks bad, but “you’re reading it wrong,” and nothing improper happened.

“It wasn't the way it might look...”
“Nothing like that happened.”

DARVO logic: he’s not denying the holoprogram exists; he’s denying her moral reading of it (and narrowing the claim to something easier to defend).

A — Attack (shift the focus to her alleged unfairness)

When she presses—asking how far it went, whether there were other programs, etc.—the script has him pivot into anger at her confrontation and her perceived “treatment” of him throughout the visit, turning the moment into an indictment of her behavior

“you've been badgering me...”

DARVO logic: instead of staying with her claim (“you used me like this”), he recasts her as unreasonable/hostile—an attack on credibility and motive.

RVO — Reverse Victim & Offender (the “I’m the injured one” climax)

The confrontation culminates in him reframing the moral center: he depicts himself as someone trying to connect and being punished for it, implicitly positioning her reaction as the real wrongdoing.

“I offered you friendship.”

Why this is classic RVO: the original harm (non-consensual use of her identity in an intimate holodeck scenario) is displaced by a new story where he is the one harmed—by her refusal, her harshness, her “judgment.” The line “I offered you friendship” functions as a motive rewrite: it compresses a complex boundary violation into a supposedly innocent intention, so her outrage can be framed as cruelty or misunderstanding.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Another term for the "I offered you friendship" line might be gaslighting.

 

[Skipper]

Another term for the "I offered you friendship" line might be gaslighting.

Absolutely. "Do you remember when I invited you to dinner in my cabin, with the ambient music playing and I was in seductive mode? That was an offer of friendship, you're the one who misunderstood."

 

[Crewman6]

Picard fans who had grown invested in Picard/Laris.

Are there any such people? And how can we help them? Therapy? Institutionalization? Hard drugs?

 

[Crewman6]

Absolutely. "Do you remember when I invited you to dinner in my cabin, with the ambient music playing and I was in seductive mode? That was an offer of friendship, you're the one who misunderstood."

How could anyone think Geordi was in seductive mode in that hideous sweater?

 

[Tomalak]

How could anyone think Geordi was in seductive mode in that hideous sweater?

To be fair, he's blind.

 

[DonIago]

How could anyone think Geordi was in seductive mode in that hideous sweater?

We didn't say he was good at it...