Star Trek: 10 Biggest Mysteries About Guinan
What is the story behind one of Star Trek's most famous big-hatted bartenders?
Guinan first appeared in Star Trek in the second-season opener of the Next Generation. The episode, the Child, introduced this deep and mysterious character, who according to Gene Roddenberry, had an intensely deep relationship with Captain Picard. It would take a further four years for this relationship to be truly explored.
However, from her first moment on-screen, Guinan invited all manner of questions from the audience. Who was she, really? Where was she from? What kind of alien was she? Some of these questions would be answered, while some still remain up in the air.
Whoopi Goldberg has been confirmed to return in Star Trek: Picard, with several recent clues, dropped that suggest she will appear in the upcoming second season. While that has yet to be confirmed, there is a rather large challenge of advancing her story and deciding how much, if anything, of her past the show will discuss. Ever the helpful fella, this writer has compiled a list of the biggest mysteries that Guinan is surrounded by, with as many answers as possible. Though, much like the character herself, take every sentence with a pinch of salt...
10. Who Were Her Twenty Three Husbands?
Guinan was present at the wedding of Will Riker and Deanna Troi in 2379. There, she quips to Geordi that she was done with marriage, as twenty-three was the limit for her. Assuming that each of these marriages were binary, in that they were Guinan with one other partner (though who's to say that's how El-Aurian marriages work), then that is a heck of a lot of shopping for new hats.
However, there is nothing said about twenty-three divorces. This introduces the question - how does this arrangement work for El-Aurians? Are they similar to Denobulans, in that they can marry several partners at the same time, who can in turn marry several partners. This would certainly help to keep the cost down.
Perhaps they are time-specific in how the arrangements work. For example, we know that Guinan has at least one son. Though it is never stated exactly how old he is, meaning that any of the twenty-three partners could potentially be the father, could the arrangement not be - one wedding, one child, dissolve and move on?
How do El-Aurian marriage ceremonies work? Why, after all of the years that Guinan appeared to be single on the Enterprise-D, would she elect to remain single forevermore?