Guinan and Jean-Luc Picard shared a long-term relationship, which, according to her, went “beyond friendship and beyond family”. (TNG: “The Best of Both Worlds, Part II”) Picard also made a similar confession, stating that their relationship was something that went “far beyond friendship”. (TNG: “Time’s Arrow, Part II”) She also once said to Geordi La Forge that she was attracted to bald men. (TNG: “Booby Trap”) In return, Picard once remarked that Guinan was “very selective about whom she calls a friend”. (TNG: “Ensign Ro”)
From Wikipedia:
… though the exact nature of that relationship is never revealed.
So what was it? The most natural conclusion would be that they were once lovers, and probably especially intense ones, but surely there are more imaginative takes on it. And I expect that they would be more interesting.
Was Picard one of the people who went back in time along with Data, to 1800’s San Francisco? If so, she would have recognized him when they met again in the Next Generation days, and trying to figure out how the heck he did that could have piqued her interest. That begs the question of why she wasn’t similarly interest in hanging out with Data, who she also would have recognized.
I never got that vibe from them. However Guinan knew that Picard was going to become a starship captain, and an interesting one, and that he would know her in the future, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t arrange to meet him at some earlier time. The details would make an interesting story.
Her past relationship with Picard was always left ambiguous. I wonder if the scriptwriters could ever have written as compelling a story of how they met and became friends as the few cryptic details suggested.
In-universe, it could have been about a number of things.
But in production terms, it was due to Whoopi Goldberg being a largish star at the time she was cast. It would be natural for her to be more willing to take a part that is Special and Important in that way (being unusually close to the show’s main character).
Yeah, THAT was a dumb scene. She goes all “force lightning flinging ninja” pose against a guy that can rejigger the universe with a finger snap.
She does have one seriously useful ability - she can tell that the timestream has changed. That’s actually a pretty good power. But I don’t think she’s Q-like, or even Organian-like.
She made sure to encounter him during his growing up and learned more about him. He had adventures in time and encountered her when she was younger and growing up. These would draw them closer that mere friends and family.
They might also have shared minds in some adventure(s). Remember when Picard lived a life as an alien on another world and grew to be an old man only to return to his current life. Imagine if he was forced to hide for many years in her mind to escape some enemy.
Yes, I’ve often wondered about that scene as well.
Guinan would have to be unique among her people. Why? Her entire race was scattered by Borg aggression. If they shared the power that clearly intimidated Q, the expectation would be that they could do far more damage to the collective than that extra-dimensional race.
I take it “seriously” that she had tremendous power because stupid Q took it seriously. He got so flabbergasted at her threatening pose that he very stupidly warned Picard about her. Of course the flamboyant mini-speech against her trustworthiness was quickly rebutted by Picard, who threw it back at him.
Not necessarily. I mean, a race of aliens with kryptonite powers would probably get whupped by the Borg, but could still mess with Superman, right? So maybe her people have Make Extradimensional Abilities Go Haywire powers, which (a) can make Q reluctant to try anything funny, but which (b) are useless against flesh-and-blood creatures with body armor and conventional weapons.
