20 Most Cringeworthy Star Trek: The Next Generation Moments

15. The Traveler's Unhealthy Interest In Wesley From Where No One Has Gone Before (1987)

Readers may be wondering why there are so few entries dedicated to Wesley Crusher on this list. Part of it stems from Wesley Crusher being a gaping nexus of annoyance, and once we started, we wouldn't be able to stop. But while Wesley's popularity is just above that of JarJar Binks and the U.S. Congress, there are relatively few things he does that cause active cringing. Sure, we might roll our eyes when he saves the ship again because, as Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has taught us, nobody likes a smartass. But that's not cringey, and watching him nearly get pounded by Geordi LaForge and then slapped by his own mother is more of a gift than a reason to cringe. The Traveler's reaction to him, on the other hand... shudder. It has been pointed out that, if you watch the Traveler's face when he looks at Wesley, and if you listen to the cadence of his delivery when he's waxing rhapsodic about Wesley just so, you'll know what it's like to witness a pederast wooing his prey. The fact that it all eventually culminates in the Traveler taking Wesley to "the higher planes of existence" is also troubling. They're probably horizontal planes, by the looks of it. Shame Beverly can't take out a restraining order.