Oh my God, there's a Klingon in the Federation and serving on the Starship Enterprise! When did that happen?
So, with the first season nearly drawn to a close, they finally decide to give some kind of explanation of the fact that there's a Klingon on the Enterprise. As I said before, I was glad that they just left him alone at first. It showed that people were comfortable with him being there. It gave you the idea that the Klingons and the Federation had been at peace for a reasonable length of time. But, he was mostly ignored and kept "in his cage" so to speak while they tried (and were continuing to try even in this episode) to build up the Ferengi as the next big antagonist race. The outbursts of surprise about his culture, mainly their propensity for rough sex, were the best they could come up with in the way of cultural development and they were wearing very thin by now. He had become the token alien character aboard the ship. Much in the same way Spock was in the first series only he got even less respect, I think.
This episode still had it's overdramatic and eye rolling moments for me as was typical of every episode in the first season, so it won't get five stars, but you won't get many complaints from me this time. The crew rescues three rogue Klingons from a vessel that's about to explode. They claim to have been attacked by Ferengi but that they had killed them and they'll just be on their way, thank you.
It's later revealed that they attacked another Klingon vessel to loot and plunder it for the glory because they think the Klingon Empire had gone soft in it's alliance with the Federation; that their warrior ways were being stifled. This is such a critical episode that touched off a lot of wonderful scripts that developed Klingon culture and gave real depth to the entire series.
You see the Klingons in their full body armor for the first time instead of just Worf's family baldric that he wears over his uniform. You also see an update of their culture. In TOS the friction between the Federation and the Klingons was likened to the Cold War with the Soviets, but the Klingons weren't really like the Russians or anyone else because of - you guessed it - over-simplicity. The modern Klingon is much more Viking-like and that's the direction it took. You see it in the way they insist on death being greeted with opened eyes and their mournful howls of the death ritual.
There's something of the most base and even barbaric elements of human nature in them, but it was easy to transition them from being mere pillagers to a race of honor. They are brave. The rogue Klingons will not be taken without a fight to be executed like cowards, but would rather die in battle like warriors. I thought it was out of place and counterproductive to this writing process that they kept having Riker say "Klingons"like it was a bad thing throughout the episode because that includes Worf, who is not thought of as bad by anyone on the ship.
I also have to say I wasn't happy with the racist overtones that the episode took. It's the sort of thing that has antagonized the division of the races in America. I'm talking about the way the other Klingons chided and inferred that Worf is not Klingon enough because he's serving in the Federation and not the Empire. Much in the same manner that black leaders have trained the black culture to accuse its people of not being truly black unless they're essentially thugs... that they're "Oreos." I'm just saying that I see the similarities in the way Worf is berated by his fellows. However, at least this is used to start Worf's own story and this is the first time the Khitomer massacre is mentioned and the Romulan involvement in it. I don't think they really knew when they were writing this part how it would blossom into the great episodes that pit the Romulans against the Klingons so effectively that they really didn't need another enemy race like the Ferengi. I know I say that a lot... that I don't think they knew when they were writing something how big it would become... but when I look at it all in hindsight, I honestly don't believe they did. They were consciously writing a back story for Worf, but back at this time I don't think they were thinking too far into the future. I think they came back to these first season episodes later on to find material and ended up finding buried treasure much of the time.
Of course, the most important part of this new development in Klingon culture when Worf carefully draws the line between what the Klingons used to represent in the old series: glory through conquest and what the Klingons now represent: duty, honor and loyalty. And the same respect is shown even for these traitors in their deaths as there is with the other Klingons. So much depth to be pursued. I'm very pleased with this episode.
Other perks of the episode include seeing through Geordi's visor, which you knew they had to do at some point. I almost wish the first time had happened later on when the special effects had improved, but this is still a wonderful spot. You also see Geordi and Data working off each other with the ease and fluidity that became familiar in the series. I think they were finally starting to see the potential in making Geordi their engineer and using Data in the same manner instead of just using him to draw attention to human emotions.
Four stars. Definitely one of the few good first season episodes.
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