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In "Hide and Q", Q grants Riker the powers of a member of the continuum, only to have Riker vow to never use those powers again.

Presumably Riker keeps those powers, he just never uses them.

Is this plot point brought up in any subsequent episode?

Can Riker realistically ignore those powers for the rest of his life? Shouldn't he have been tempted more than once to use them?

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    I expect the Continuum stripped the powers from him at the end of the episode since they couldn't let a rogue Q roam around without being part of the Continuum.
    – Roger
    Jan 6, 2017 at 21:17
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    Agreed. If the Q are genuinely worried about humanity's "potential" then they aren't going to give a human their powers and just let him walk away from the Continuum. Riker himself may not even be aware the powers were removed, assuming he was sincere about never trying to use them again.
    – Steve-O
    Jan 6, 2017 at 21:20
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    "Presumably Riker keeps those powers, he just never uses them." - I thought it was obvious that he loses them at the end of that episode (as part of what seems to be a general rule, at least in TNG, that the events of each episode have no lasting effect in later episodes, with occasional exceptions such as deaths or promotions).
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Jan 6, 2017 at 22:18
  • That really was a weird episode though. I mean, okay, some of the other 'gifts' RikerQ offered the crew made a lick of sense, but... "Hey Wesley, I'm just going to age you to full adulthood, just cause you idly want to be more grown up."
    – starpilotsix
    Jan 7, 2017 at 2:08
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    "Presumably Riker keeps those powers, he just never uses them." I like that you just assumed this, and want to try imagining future episodes in that context. He must have had incredible self-restraint.
    – Z. Cochrane
    Jan 7, 2017 at 17:02

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Q's wager was that if he failed to tempt a human to join the Q Continuum he would "never trouble humanity again"

"Q" (BROTHER) I recall no wager!

PICARD: I'm sure your fellow "Q" remember you agreed to never trouble our species again. Just as they're aware you've failed to tempt a human to join you. So, "Q", I strongly suspect you have some explaining of your own to do...

The script indicates that after Riker rejected his powers, he was stripped of them by the Q Continuum, as part of the same process of returning all of the other crew members to normal.

A sudden MAJOR FLASH OF BRILLIANT LIGHT... wiping out the entire SCENE for a moment. Then WE SEE REVEALED the bridge crew exactly as we saw them when this ACT began. "Q" is no longer there -- Wesley is fifteen again -- Worf is without his warrioress -- Tasha is the familiar security chief. And all are at their duty positions, with Wesley assisting Data at Ops, Beverly standing near Picard.

The next time we meet Q (in TNG: Q Who?), it's made 100% clear that Riker no longer has the power of the Q

RIKER: The next time we saw you, you asked me to join the Q continuum.

Q: You made a large mistake in not accepting my offer.

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