As a writer of fan fiction my entire life, I am well versed in the term “headcanon.” For those that aren’t, it’s a way to refer to an idea housed in someone’s head that works with existing canon, but it’s not necessarily supported by direct confirmation. “Canon” of course refers to the actual agreed upon content in a world, “OTP” stands for “One True Pairing” and usually references a headcanon type relationship that is preferred above all others.
I am a matter of episodes away from finishing a first watch through of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s seven season run. In that time, I have developed intense opinions about each character. Let’s see if my headcanons line up with anyone else’s!
Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Demi/Ace, Hetero: While Captain Picard only has a small handful of romantic and/or sexual relationships through his seven seasons, the relationships he does choose to pursue are intense, based on emotional connection, and incredibly important to him.
- S6E15 “Tapestry”-Sent back in time by Q to right past wrongs, Picard confesses his romantic feelings to longtime friend Marta, feelings that had developed and stemmed from a deep friendship
- S6E19 “Lessons”-bonding with the new Head of Stellar Sciences through music and exploration, Picard tells her at one point that he is incapable of frivolous relationships, and that taking a step with her is an indication of his seriousness and involvement.
- S5E25 “The Inner Light”-While it was only Picard’s consciousness alive in the man Kamin, he still lived out the entirety of a lifetime, including falling in love with the woman who was his wife there, having children and building a legacy with her.
- S4E20 “Qpid”-On a vacation to the planet Risa, Picard meets and falls for the feisty archeologist Vash. She is beautiful and interested in him, but he does not reciprocate an interest until well after he has gotten to know her.
Commander William Riker
Pansexual: Captain Picard’s right hand man, Commander Riker occupies the second in command position aboard the Enterprise. Known for being a ladies man, Riker seems interested in people regardless of their species. This leads me to believe he is more likely to be pan than just a sexually expressive straight man. The differences between species can’t be less striking than between human bodies? If the show aired today, I would posit Riker would experience relationships with humanoid masculine people as well as feminine, and I think one episode in particular backs that up for me:
- S5E17 “The Outcast”- Will meets Soren, an alien from the species J’naii. J’naii have no gender, all members of their species are androgynous, meant to mean without gender. Now, the episode is from 1992 and INCREDIBLY dated in terms of gender identity discussions. It didn’t hold up great in that regard. However, Will and Soren develop an intense romantic relationship, despite cultural taboos meant to prevent J’naii from becoming physically intimate outside their species. Soren confesses to Will that she feels female, against the expectations of her society. He supports her and only wants her to live an authentic life that makes her happy. The tone reads dated, as in, “these poor people who think being genderless is more evolved but look how sad Soren is” rather than focusing on the real issue here, Soren is a transgender woman because she identifies as a gender different from how she was assigned at birth. Will loves her regardless.
- This episode was at once a wonderful exploration of love and gender, and also a horribly dated and painful piece of media to watch as a transgender person. However, the relationship between Will and Soren clearly stood out to others, as Riker’s actor Jonathan Frakes was quoted saying “Clearly, the character who […] fell in love with Riker or vice versa should have been played by a man, and the people at the studio didn’t have the guts to cast a man.” This happens all the time to this day with nonbinary, agender, or otherwise metagender people. Nonbinary people are expected to be “female light,” with assumed AFAB bodies, smaller frames, quiet personalities. (pro tip, don’t ask or assume someone’s assigned gender at birth. It doesn’t matter in most cases, and often feels as though you’re seeking an answer for our real identity) Soren felt like a woman because she was played by a female actress, and met the stereotypes for female frames. She was smaller than Riker, delicate, etc. But gender is so much more expansive than the binary, and I agree with Jonathan Frakes that Soren would have been so much more powerful played by a recognizably male actor.
Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
Bisexual: OK the show runners did Geordi dirty on more than one occasion by making him a really creepy man becoming fascinated with a woman he has never met before by watching her personal log entries and diaries to “solve a problem” that can only be solved with that breach in privacy. Or something.
However, it is very clear to me that the great love of Geordi La Forge’s life is in fact Data. They function like life partners, look for each other before anyone else. Geordi understands the function and science of Data’s android brain better than anyone else save Data himself, and has acted as a next-of-kin before when Data was unconscious.
- S7E9 “the Force of Nature” further provides insight into the daily lives of these men. La Forge wanted to learn about caring for pets, so he borrows Spot from Data. However, this does not go well for Geordi, sparking multiple conversations throughout the day in increasingly silly places (crawling side by side through a Jeffries Tube for example).
- A few episodes prior in S7E03 “Interface” Data risks his own position when he chooses to help Geordi go against Picard’s direct orders, having correctly guessed what course of action Geordi might take next. He knows Geordi so well that not only does he arrive in the proper location at the proper time, but he is able to change plans quickly after sharing words with Geordi, moving to help instead of hinder. I’m sure there’s some painful stuff coming for me between these two in the films.
Lieutenant Commander Data
Ace/Pan: I say ace because while it is clear Data is sex positive given at least 3 heterosexual encounters on TNG, he never initiates. Perhaps because he is an android and without his emotion chip at this time, but sexual drive and urgency for Data may develop with the emotion, but I would prefer if they didn’t quite honestly. Sexual attraction is more nuanced than simple hormones, and Data is clearly ok with performing sexual acts if it means making his partner happy, even if he doesn’t seem to evidence a drive of his own. He and Geordi are definitely life partners.
Counselor Deanna Troi
Bicurious: I’m not sure there’s too much to support a bicurious label, but she does refer to Tasha Yar in Season 1 as attractive, and is excellent at seeing past the outside of a person due to her emotional telepathy, both things that could lead to this conclusion. While her love for Will Riker is clearly the long-standing romantic entanglement of her life, that doesn’t inherently make her straight.
Q/The Q Continuum
GenderFluid/Queer, Pan/Queer/Omni: Q gives no fucks. Clearly attracted to Picard, as evidenced by a throwaway comment about choosing a female form instead had he known Picard’s preferences, there is nothing Cis or Het about Q. He’s obsessed with Picard, often popping into the Enterprise to offer his own form of assistance that probably causes more problems than not.
Ensign Ro Laren
Angry Lesbian. I have no notes at this time.
Final Thoughts
Having gone from Star Trek: Discovery helmed by Bryan Fuller and relentlessly queer, returning to the dated world of The Next Generation was a little rough. And yet, it’s clear to me that the future, that space exploration, that interacting with alien life forms, would naturally lessen humanity’s insistence on gender and sexual binaries. We can loosen our adherence to such things without removing them entirely, because many people do want to feel a specific gender, and I just feel like it’s absurd to insist characters like William Riker are straight when they’re getting busy with alien species whose concepts of gender and sexuality are probably completely different than ours. You’re telling me that every vaguely feminine humanoid alien is going to a) have genitals that look like the expectation and b)behave in bed similarly to human norms which already vary wildly across cultures. I’m just not buying it.
Queerly Beloved 
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