Piller was disappointed with the following Ro episode, "", as it put her in the position of disbelieving Counselor Deanna Troi without having had the weight of "victories" in the past to convince the viewer of the power of her convictions. But she enjoyed her sudden relationship with Commander William Riker in "". Forbes shared the view of that episode, later saying "When you have amnesia, you wonder if that brings out a side of you that's always wanted to come out. Would you really be comfortable with that? It's an interesting thing. I had a really good time with that episode." Later in the season, "The Next Phase" was written with the idea of being a vehicle for Geordi La Forge and Troi, but it was decided to include Ro instead as one of the lead characters. Ro had been included as one of three lead characters in Morgan Gendel's original pitch for the episode "". This would have seen her in a love triangle with Picard and Riker. Instead, the concept was redeveloped to focus solely on Picard.