How does such a deplorable character become so admired? Why do fans of The Next Generation overlook the glaringly condemn-able actions of the Enterprise D’s first-officer?
William Riker and Deanna Troi
Simple. Riker’s selfishness, manipulative nature, and self-righteousness is easily ignored by those who refuse to see Riker’s disastrous relationship with Commander Deanna Troi as extremely unhealthy. The writers’ valiant efforts to portray Riker’s sense of entitlement as confidence makes him appear to be a strong character until the failure of his romantic endeavors is analysed. Let’s review his crimes against the queen Deanna Troi, shall we?
William T. Riker reveals the depravity of his character in his unreasonable expectations for Deanna Troi and his entitled attitude when it comes to her sexuality and affections. Let us begin with the very first episode of Season 1, Encounter at Farpoint, where Riker and Troi meet again after a two year split. In the episode Second Chances it’s revealed that Riker’s ambition drove him to choose to pursue a promotion rather than prioritize his and Troi’s relationship. Being career oriented is perfectly fine, of course, except for the way that Riker assumes that he can “pause” his relationship with Troi and pick up where they left off at a later time. Selfishly motivated, Riker becomes easily agitated around Troi’s romantic interests, expects exclusive emotional attachment from her, and treats his own flings as pleasant distractions from his future with Troi – a future he refuses to invest in.
William Riker confronting his doppelganger, Tom, regarding Tom’s pursuit of Deanna Troi in “Second Chances”.
It becomes clear throughout the series that Riker expects Troi to stay loyal to their relationship despite the fact that he ended it. He is quietly obsessed with her sexual and romantic engagements, making it known that he disapproves of all of Troi’s partners. In the episode Haven, Riker refuses to respect Troi’s decision to proceed with an arranged marriage, rudely speaking to both Troi and her betrothed. This possessive behavior is not isolated, Riker repeatedly shows undue annoyance towards Troi when it is suggested that her affections are not all reserved for him (The Child, The Masterpiece Society, The Price, Second Chances, Man of the People, All Good Things…).
Still not convinced that Riker may not be the hero he’s made out to be?
*Possible Trigger Warning*
*Mention of Rape*
Clearly, there are many episodes where Riker oversteps the boundaries of his broken-off relationship with Troi, but it is also suggested that at one point Riker possibly tried to impose himself physically upon Troi. In the episode Violations, a few crewmen are assaulted with an illegal form of telepathic-rape that invokes a memory and distorts it to include the rapist in the scene, eventually causing the victim to slip into a coma. Troi’s memory is particularly violent and involves an incident where Riker and her are alone and Riker asks if she still thinks about their time together. Troi repeatedly tells Riker “we can’t”, while he kisses and touches her. The touching becomes more frenzied as Troi begs Riker to stop, saying that he’s hurting her. Now, the telepathic assault amplifies the tension and agitation in the memories it brings up, so it’s not clear if the actual event was as distressing as shown in the episode. However, it is reasonable to deduce that Riker has, in the past, forced himself upon Troi and ignored her telling him no several times. The possibility of Riker pushing Troi’s physical boundaries – to any extent – is damaging to his supposed reputation of respect and forward-thinking in regards to women.
star REKT
But.. oh my goodness I have never formed so much hatred for a fictional man of a show I’ve seen 8 episodes of
I also have never watched Star Trek and actually really enjoyed this article. You included a good amount of detail so that I could almost picture what had happened throughout the show. I also loved your analysis of Riker because I think it can compare to many of the men, specifically celebrities” that are “worshipped” in our society even though they have controlling or physically/mentally abusive tendencies.
For someone who has never seen Star Trek, I was surprised to be engaged by this article. It is easily accessible to people who aren’t familiar with the plot and characters because you give explanations of the context. This analysis of Riker’s character is very interesting and I like that you seem to have interpreted him in a different way than the writers intended. I’m excited to read more!