Guinan: Master Po from Kung Fu, or Isaac from the Love Boat?
While some may compare her to Isaac, the black bartender on The Love Boat, such a comparison is unfair and demeaning. Guinan's superficial role was to mix drinks in Ten Forward. However, her primary role was as advisor to Captain Picard; in fact, in most important matters, she was his chief advisor. It was Guinan who counseled Picard right before the attack on the Borg. It was Guinan who convinced Picard to listen to Ensign Ro about the Federation-Cardassian conspiracy in "Ensign Ro". And, most importantly, it was the alternate-universe Guinan who convinced Captain Picard to attempt to change the time line in "Yesterday's Enterprise", when the Federation was facing defeat at the hands of the Klingons. No character from Classic Trek, except perhaps Spock, had such a great influence on the Captain of the Enterprise.
While Guinan couldn't be admired for her looks--her motif consisted of baggy, maternity clothes, she wore a huge, silly looking hat, and she had no eyebrows--she had powers and abilities that most would envy. For one thing, we saw in "Time's Arrow" that she has a live span of hundreds of years. For another, she seems to have powers perhaps even rivaling the Q. In "Q Who", Q appears in Ten Forward and raises a hand as if to use his power to harm Guinan. Guinan responds by raising her fingers in the shape of a claw as if to counter whatever energies that Q is going to send against her. And if Guinan can counter the powers of the Q, then she must be truly powerful.
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