The Dauphin (episode)
Wesley falls in love with the new leader of a war-torn planet.

Summary

Teaser 

The  is given the task of transporting the young leader of Daled IV, Salia, and her guardian, Anya, to their homeworld from their place of exile on Klavdia III. Their world has been in civil war for generations, and Salia is expected to bring peace to her troubled planet, which is tidally locked, developing separate cultures that dwell on day and night sides, which has caused the war. Salia was the child of two now deceased natives of Daled IV who were on opposing sides of the conflict. She is seen as the only person who can bring about peace due to her parentage.

The Enterprise beams up Anya and Salia. In a chance encounter, Wesley Crusher walks out of a turbolift and encounters Salia while they are in the corridor just outside the transporter room and become smitten. Anya orders Salia to go straight to their quarters. While they walk away, Wesley asks Commander Riker who the young woman is. Riker tells Wesley that she may not have time for him, as she is destined to rule a world.

Act One 

In his quarters, Wesley is standing and looking at himself in a mirror while adjusting his hair when Data walks in, mentioning that he wanted to see him. Wesley asks Data on everything he knows about Salia and he fills him in on her parentage and her important role in bringing peace to Daled IV.

Later, Captain Picard checks in on Salia from the bridge, and they say they are fine. Counselor Deanna Troi senses that they are hiding something about what they really are and not being truthful about it. It is hard to believe that they will bring peace to the planet. 

Afterwards, Salia continues conversation with a young woman in her quarters, doubtful about how she will know what to do when arriving at Daled IV. She thinks instinct will not be enough, but the woman assures her she will know what to do. Then, the woman transforms into a shorter creature, but obviously Salia expects this.

Meanwhile, Wesley cannot concentrate on anything. He bumbles in engineering, nearly dropping a tool from the second level and chief engineer La Forge relieves him of duty, insisting that he go talk to Salia. He has no idea what to say, and therefore visits Worf and Data, where Worf regales him with a passionate summary of Klingon romance, Data starts explaining the romance from an anatomic angle. Wesley tells Worf that his advice seems too dangerous and he says to Data that he does not want to dissect her.

Picard invites Anya to take a tour of the ship, and Salia says she would like to join. However, the shorter creature – who turns into Anya – does not permit it.

Act Two 
Wesley goes to Riker for advice in Ten Forward, and Riker lays his smoothest lines on Guinan. As they quickly get caught up in the back-and-forth, Wesley becomes exasperated at all three situations he has seen, and finally decides just to go to Salia's quarters. When Wesley arrives, Anya is away on the tour. Wesley cannot say anything immediately, but Salia asks about the replicator. He treats Salia to a Thalian chocolate mousse from Thalos VII, and, finding out she has never been on other planets, takes her on her own tour.

In the holodeck, Wesley shows Salia the surface of a planetoid orbiting a ringed planet. She is amazed at all that she sees and Wesley tells her that this is such a great time to be alive. She says that it is – for him. He quickly follows up that it is for both of them. Wesley then calls for the holodeck to change the setting to Rosseau V, where the harmonic resonance from the neutrino cloud becomes synchronous after a time. 

Anya is on a tour of the ship with Worf, where she becomes increasingly agitated at how unsafe the ship is. In engineering, she identifies what La Forge is doing and starts to diagnose it, pointing out potential problems. This culminates with her revealing her true nature as an allasomorph when Dr. Pulaski refuses to kill a sick patient, Hennesey, who has Andronesian encephalitis. She intends to kill him herself.

Act Three 
Worf wrestles with Anya as Pulaski calls for more security. Picard arrives, and Anya transforms back to the old woman. Anya declares the ship unsafe and that she is more powerful than any of them. Picard agrees she is powerful, but the ship is fine and orders her back to her quarters for the rest of the trip.

After their sightseeing of planets on the holodeck, Wesley takes Salia to Ten Forward, where she laments how she will never be able to leave Daled IV after she arrives. In some ways, she will be even more isolated than she was while on Klavdia III. When Wesley suggests she stay on the Enterprise, she bolts from the room, and Guinan hints that Salia wants Wesley to follow her. She, emotionally distraught, yells at him, and is soon met up with Picard and Anya. Anya demands that Salia come with her and Picard orders Wesley to move away from her. Salia goes to her quarters with Anya while Wesley stands in the corridor, alone.

Act Four 
The Enterprise arrives at Daled IV, surprised to find an almost identical environment, still having trouble with communications. 

In his ready room, Picard tells Wesley not to see Salia again. He would not usually get involved, but the events thus far seem to be endangering the ship and crew. However, Salia comes to visit Wesley in his quarters later, telling him that she slipped out while Anya was asleep. As Wesley and Salia are kissing, Anya suddenly appears, and Wesley is shocked to discover that Salia, too, is an allasomorph, as both Anya and Salia shapeshift in a fight over whether or not she should be allowed to see him.

Act Five 
The Enterprise finally gets communication and beam-in coordinates. Unable to reply due to the atmosphere, Picard simply has Worf go down to escort the passengers to the transporters. There, Anya says goodbye to Worf, saying it would be nice to meet again or do battle on the same side, and Worf agrees. Anya is transported to her home moon to Salia's surprise. Anya says she has completed her task and cannot go with her.

Salia comes to say goodbye to Wesley, but Wesley is hurt by her deception and asks her to leave. Anya and Salia have a heartfelt goodbye, and Wesley comes to the transporter room to say goodbye to Salia also, just before she beams down in her true form, amazing Wesley. After she is beamed down by Chief O'Brien, Wesley, somewhat depressed, goes to Ten Forward and sits at a table alone, when Guinan comes over and sits in the opposite chair to comfort him. Wesley tells her that he won't feel the same about another woman the way he felt about Salia. Guinan, to Wesley's surprise, agrees with him. She assures him that there will be other women but he will not feel the same love for another woman quite the same again. Wesley tells her that that doesn't make it any easier for him. Guinan remarks "It's not supposed to."

Log entries
 Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2365

Memorable quotes
"Oh, I don't know if she'll have time for you, Wes. She's destined to rule an entire world."
 - Riker, to Wesley

"Mr. Worf, have our passengers' accommodations met with their approval?"
"I doubt if anything ever meets with that woman's approval."
 - Picard, with Worf referring to Anya

"This child is supposed to bring them together."
"She seems too delicate for such a task."
"Do not be fooled by her looks. The body is just a shell."
 - Picard, Riker, and Worf, discussing Salia's role as leader of Daled IV

[Worf makes a prolonged scream.] "That is how the Klingon lures a mate."
"Are you telling me to go yell at Salia?"
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar…and they hurl heavy objects…and claw at you…"
"What does the man do?"
[dreamily] "He reads love poetry." [Worf regains his composure.] "He ducks a lot."
 - Worf and Wesley

"Go to her door. Beg like a Human."
 - Worf, giving courtship advice to Wesley

"Judging by her appearance, it is likely you and Salia are biologically compatible. Of course, there could be a difference in the histocompatibility complex in the cell membrane, but–"
"Data, I want to meet her. Not dissect her."
 - Data and Wesley

"I don't think this is my style."
"Shut up, kid."
 - Wesley Crusher, while viewing Riker and Guinan pretending to flirt with each other

"This is a great time to be alive."
"For you."
"For both of us. This all just beginning. We've only charted 19 percent of our galaxy. The rest is out there just waiting."
 - Wesley Crusher and Salia 

"You underestimated me in your sickbay. That is usually fatal."
 - Anya, to Worf

"Seeing her on the transporter pad… It was like seeing pure light."
 - Wesley, on finally seeing Salia's true form

Background information

Production history 
 Second revised final draft script:  
 Premiere airdate: 
 First UK airdate:

Title 
 The term "Dauphin" is French for "dolphin" and was traditionally used as the title of the crown prince of the . () The French title for this episode is La Dauphine, using the feminine form of the title. Some elements of this lost culture are present in the decor of the sets used for Federation Presidential offices in Paris through the .

Special and visual effects 
 Visual Effects Supervisor Dan Curry recalled the morphing sequences of the characters. For this technique, his department used a painted morph scene, a hand-animated sequence from pic to pic. Curry had used this technique earlier in his career, in the horror film  in 1986. ("Departmental Briefing Year Two: Memorable Missions – The Dauphin", TNG Season 2 DVD special feature)
 The asteroids were volcanic rocks that Curry had purchased from a local building supply store. He remembered, "I took a bucket and carefully selected each rock for its 'appropriateness' as an asteroid. One of the guys working in the supply yard got very curious, watching me pick up these things one at a time. Finally, he came over and said, 'Hey man, I've never seen anyone so particular about rocks as you!' When I explained what they were for, I wasn't sure if he thought I was crazier than he had in there first place!" (Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, p. 092)
 The special effects team worked hard to achieve the morph effects; however, Director Rob Bowman thought the monster outfits looked cheap and tried to lessen their screen time as much as possible. ()

Sets and props 
 The star field shown in the background as the Enterprise-D departs Daled IV is a mirrored image. The right side of the central vertical axis is a reflection of the left side. This is similar to what was used for the star field on the bridge in the original Star Trek pilot, .
 Wesley Crusher's superconductor magnet prop, slightly modified, appears again in  as the spatial trajector matrix.
 The electronic chess game seen in Wesley Crusher's quarters was a Modern Props rental that had been made for  as the Nukem board game from the in-movie commercial. It also appeared as set dressing in  in 2015 Marty McFly's home den. The game pieces seen in this episode were previously seen on a version of a three-dimensional chess board.

Cast and characters 
 In this episode, Wil Wheaton received his first onscreen kiss. It was from actress Jamie Hubbard, who was ten years older than Wheaton. ()
 Madchen Amick was the runner-up for the role of Salia. ()

Continuity 
 In this episode, Wesley Crusher states that "we have only charted 19 percent of our galaxy." In , set one year prior, Kosinski had noted a figure of 11 percent.

Reception 
 Wil Wheaton later recalled, "I used to get a lot of mileage out of this joke I'd tell at conventions. The first girl that Wesley fell in love with turned out to be a shape-shifter who turned into a hideous monster, y'know after he had exposed his soul to her. Which happened a lot to me in my personal life. And I was glad Star Trek was able to capture that parallel." (Intergalactic Guest Stars, TNG Season 5 DVD special features)
 Director Rob Bowman remembered, "Decent show about Wesley Crusher falling in love for the first time. I just felt that there was no real conflict there. We did the best we could with a simple story." ("Rob Bowman – Director of a Dozen", )
 Maurice Hurley commented, "Again, we're dealing with a monster show, and we don't do well with monsters. The idea was good, but the execution didn't work. If we had more time, I think that show would have been better" (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 177)
 A mission report for this episode, by Robert Greenberger, was published in .

Video and DVD releases 
 Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 18, catalog number VHR 2471, 
 UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 2.4, catalog number VHR 4740, 
 As part of the TNG Season 2 DVD collection
 As part of the TNG Season 2 Blu-ray collection

Links and references

Starring 
 Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
 Jonathan Frakes as Cmdr. William Riker

Also starring 
 LeVar Burton as Lt. Geordi La Forge
 Michael Dorn as Lt. Worf
 Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
 Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data
 Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher

Special appearance by 
 Diana Muldaur as Doctor Pulaski

Guest stars 
 Paddi Edwards as Anya
 Jamie Hubbard as Salia
And

Special guest star 
 Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan

Co-stars 
 Colm Meaney as Chief O'Brien
 Peter Neptune as Aron
 Mädchen Amick as Teenage Girl
 Cindy Sorensen as Furry Animal
 Jennifer Barlow as Ensign

Uncredited co-stars 
 Michael Braveheart as Martinez
 Dexter Clay as an operations division officer
 Alex Daniels as Anya as a large creature
 Tim McCormack as 
 Randy Pflug as Ten Forward waiter
 Guy Vardaman as Darien Wallace
 Unknown performers as
 Boliska
 Daled IV contact (voice)
 Hennesey
 Male  computer voice
 Salia as the large creature
 Security officer #1
 Security guard #2

Stand-ins 
 James G. Becker – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes
 Darrell Burris – stand-in for LeVar Burton
 Dexter Clay – stand-in for Michael Dorn
 Jeffrey Deacon – stand-in for Patrick Stewart
 Nora Leonhardt – stand-in for Marina Sirtis
 Tim McCormack – stand-in for Brent Spiner
 Guy Vardaman – stand-in for Wil Wheaton

References 
14th century; 2349; "all right"; ability; air filtering system; allasomorph; Andronesian encephalitis; aquarium; area; assumption; "at heart"; "a thing"; atmosphere; audio signal; beam-down coordinates; blood cell; body; captain's log; carrier signal; cell membrane; century; chance; choice; chocolate; civil war; cocoa bean; colloquialism; Command Headquarters; computer; "come in"; contagion; cosmic ray; course; courtesy; creature; crew quarters; culture; Daled IV; Daled IV moon; danger; deuterium control conduit; dilithium crystal chamber; dish; disease; dissection; door; dream; emotion; engineering systems; environment; estimated time; eye; faction; Federation; feeling; fiber optics laser probe; food dispenser; force field; freedom; friend; galactic zoological catalog; galaxy; gland; governess; guard; guest; hailing frequency; harmonic resonance; head of state; heart; hemisphere; histocompatibility complex; history; holodeck planet; holodeck planet's moons; home; honor; hormone; hour; Human; humanoid; idea; illusion; impulse power; "in a moment"; "in fact"; inhabitant; "in other words"; inspection; instinct: Interspecies reproduction; iron; isolation; Klavdia III; Klingon; Klingon mating rituals; knocking; ladder; language; leader; lifeform; light; line; long range shuttle; love; malfunction; mate; mating ritual; matter-energy conversion controls; message; Milky Way Galaxy; minute; mission; mister; molecular structure; mother; mouth; neutrino cloud; night; number one; object; "of course"; "on board"; "on my way"; opponent; order; passenger; patient; peace; pedestal; percent; place; poetry (love poetry); power generator; prion; probability; problem; ; puberty; quarters; rank; research establishment; resonant field; right; "right away"; room; Rosseau V; Salia's parents; security team; sensation; sensor; shapeshifter; sharing; ship's stores; signal; soul; species; standard orbit; star; superconductor magnet (SCM model 3); terawatt; Thalian chocolate mousse; Thalos VII; tidal locking; time; tour; transformation; transporter; transporter pad; transporter range; transporter room six; ; troposphere; universe; unnamed Federation starship (2349); viewer; visitor; voice; war; warp engine; word; worship

Unreferenced material 
Aldebaran Zeta

External links 
 
 
 
 

cs:The Dauphin
de:Die Thronfolgerin
es:The Dauphin
fr:The Dauphin (épisode)
it:La delfina (episodio)
ja:運命の少女サリア（エピソード）
nl:The Dauphin
Dauphin, The