Second of this somewhat lopsided two-parter which featured Data finding a program that his father had hidden in his matrix and Worf going on a journey to find out if his father lived through the Khitomer massacre. It's lopsided because the Data story was mostly filler content for the longer and more detailed Worf story. People thought there'd be more follow up on Data, but the second part deals solely with Worf's mission. Some people were disappointed by this set up, but I wasn't.
When it left off, Worf discovered a group of Klingons in a Romulan prison camp and was ready to help free them. However, they not only had no interest in leaving but they decided that Worf couldn't leave either for fear of discovery. This episode begins with a word of general explanation of the situation and it's not hard to understand given what we know of Klingons already. The elder members are Khitomer survivors. This conversation serves to underscore the notion that "death before dishonor" is a very serious thing to Klingons. As disarmed prisoners they tried to kill themselves through starvation but the Romulans kept them alive. They could never go back to their families on the Klingon home world so dishonored and the Romulan called Tokath built this compound out of pity for their situation. They had nowhere to go and nothing to lose, so they settled there and raised new families. Worf tries to take the high road explaining to L'Kor that if he'd found Mogh alive here that he'd have welcomed him back since he now feels no shame about such things. That's partly Worf's human upbringing but also partly, I think, a byproduct of the victory he experienced in clearing his family name from what he would consider the greater dishonor of treason. But L'Kor doesn't see it that way and Worf gives no details about his previous trials. So, L'Kor asserts that if his son had found him, he hoped that he would have the honor of killing him. Later on Worf is roaming around the compound and sees a younger Klingon, Toq, using a war spear as a hoe for the garden. He is disheartened by the boy's ignorance as he tries to explain what it's proper use is. He's then shocked to find out that they've not been told the truth about the war. They think their parents came to this planet to escape the war... not as cowards but more as pacifists. Toq is offended by Worf's lecturing and leaves the conversation quickly. Then Ba'el, the Klingon girl from the pond the night before, steps in to explain in more detail about the stories they'd heard of people being forced to fight in terrible battles. She tells him of the peaceful community they've created here and insists that they have the freedom to come and go as they like. But Worf points out that if they ever asked to leave the planet and visit the home world that they would probably be denied. Ba'el is curious about Worf and very attracted to him but the elderly Klingon woman, her mother, Gi'ral calls her away. The transmitter that Shrek gave to Worf begins to flash to let him know that Shek has landed and is waiting. Worf goes back to his room and begins to take components from behind a wall panel to reconfigure them.
He has to stop and hide them though when Tokath comes to visit him. For all that Worf had said about being willing to accept his father if he was alive, he still defends his culture by making it clear that he disapproves of this set up and lifestyle. He says he doesn't expect a Romulan to understand why it would've been better for the Klingons to have been executed. Tokath tells him that when he informed the High Command that the Klingons wished to stay there that they expected him to stay there as well or they would all be killed. This effectively ended his career and made him a kind of prisoner as well. I have to assume that the Klingons didn't know about the details of the arrangement at the time because they would certainly be ready to die if the opportunity was given back then... that their choice to remain on the planet was because they were being kept alive but didn't want to go back home and dishonor their families. Anyway, Worf doesn't understand this strange show of sacrificial compassion and it's actually a good moment for Star Trek. It adds complexity to the Romulans as did the Unification episodes and continues on this path it had been on for a couple of years of blurring the lines of absolute good guys and absolute bad guys. It would culminate perfectly with the character of Garak in DS9, I think. But Worf is disgusted with the warrior spirit being quashed out of the succeeding generation and is baffled at the idea that Tokath is happily married to one of the Klingon women. Tokath explains the peaceful existence brought about by putting the old differences aside and warns Worf not to upset their way of life. But one can hardly blame Worf, since their version of putting aside old differences includes lying to the younger Klingons about their heritage. And I have go off on a sidetrack opinion at this point because I understand that Star Trek got a lot of complaints from people saying that this episode portrayed Worf as a racist for breaking up the kumbaya commune were two races live in peace and harmony. It amazes me every time how Liberals want to have both ways on everything. They're the ones that started the balkanization of America - hyphenating every ethnic group and attacking America for expecting to have its own unique culture when there are so many different types of people in it and yet somehow Worf is a racist for wanting to pass on the proper Klingon heritage to this new generation? They were laying the groundwork at the time for the degradation of American culture that goes on today in this episode and I guess the liberals of that day were complaining because they believed in the kumaya, peace and love message and I wonder how many of them can look back now and see how that message has morphed into spreading the hate and dissension necessary to bring about communism. But that's just my reflective thoughts after 25 years. Back to the story, Worf has no intention of staying in this depressing environment and uses the components from the wall panel to make a small explosive device that he plants on an empty container in the courtyard while the guards aren't watching. He's almost distracted as he hears a woman singing an ancient song as a lullaby with no knowledge of its meaning but slips over the wall after the explosive distraction occurs. He's spotted and the chase ensues. He nearly makes it to Shrek's ship when he's attacked from behind. He's fully prepared to kill his attacker until he sees it's Toq and his hesitation gets him captured.
The Enterprise is now looking for Worf. They knew he'd set out with the Shrek and his mission to find a prison camp near Romulan space. When the Yridian doesn't turn up for their scheduled rendezvous, they start tracking his flight plan and when they see the two systems closest to Romulan space they head for the nearest one which is, of course, the right one. Meanwhile they pack a lot of good story into Worf's time on the planet. Tokath lets L'Kor "deal with" Worf since he's one of them (Unity? Harmony? Worf is the racist?) but Worf abandons his belligerent tactics for a slow and precision campaign of introducing the young people to their culture gradually. In the middle of the courtyard, he takes refuge in his meditative exercises that he's been seen teaching on the Enterprise many times. Some of the others start to copy him,but Toq is loyal to the community and tries to stop him from leading this activity. Worf does a simple and harmless take down of Toq and teaches everyone watching that the forms were not just meditative exercises but the basis for Klingon martial arts. It's the sort of thing that the aggressive young Klingon can understand, but he's still resistant. Ba'el takes Worf to her house while her mother is gone and shows him some of the armor and weapons that have been packed away in a chest. Worf laments the rusty state of the weapons and begins to reciprocate Ba'el's attraction to him when he's explaining that a particular necklace is related to the coming of age when one is ready to take a mate. But Gi'ral interrupts and sends him away. In the next scene he's gathered a group of young people to the fire to tell them stories of Kahless. Toq is still obstinately skeptical as he listens to the tale of Kahless and his sword. His interruptions kill the mood, but everyone else is enchanted by the mythology and they go away happy. Ba'el then steps in to put the moves on Worf. I didn't like this romance. Not because she was being aggressive... it's been established that Klingon women are aggressive in the mating process. I just thought that Ba'el was too young. From past episodes I get the idea that Worf would be interested in someone more mature and experienced. It also seemed very fast. Worf has always been a serious character and to see him swept away quickly into a romantic situation seemed out of place. But he's raring to go and when he pulls her face close to bite it, he sees that her ears are pointed. He realizes that she's half Romulan and that Tokath is her father and he pushes her away in anger and disgust. It insults her as she defends her father as a good man who wanted to escape the war with her mother but Worf knows that's a lie and insists that she ask her mother the truth as he walks away. He later apologizes and she can't understand why he can't accept her for what she is since he wanted her before he knew. She's leaves heartbroken. He then finds Toq and others playing a game with a hoop. He picks up a spear and throws it through the hoop while it is in motion. Toq is annoyed as usual when Worf explains that it's training for a ritual called The Hunt and he wisely employs a little reverse psychology with the boy, challenging him to try by claiming that he's probably to young to do it. He can't at first but allows Worf to instruct him in how to hold the spear. He's elated when he hits his target and is interested in going on an actual Hunt when Worf suggests it, but knows that Worf won't be permitted to leave.
Tokath is sure that Worf will use the opportunity to escape but L'Kor reminds him what the word of a warrior is worth since he and his fellows' continued presence in this place is based on the word of a warrior. So Worf takes Toq out into the jungle to hunt and you see all of his senses come alive as he feels for the first time what it's like to be a Klingon. And they do indeed return to the dining area with Toq holding a skinned animal aloft for all to see. He's energized with the success of the hunt and begins to sing what he now knows is a victory chant that he and the other young Klingons only ever knew as a lullaby and soon all of the Klingons present can't resist joining in. Tokath is not happy and although Gi'ral is not singing, he sees the old Klingon fire in her eyes as she watches and he decides to lay down an ultimatum to Worf. He tells him that he must either live quietly with as one of them, or die. Worf chooses death, not only because that's just what Klingons do, but also to teach the young and reteach the old that this is more honorable than living in a cage. Tokath makes a very good point that letting the younger ones out of the compound would condemn them to lives as outcasts because of who they are, but Worf stands firm. After all, it would be torture for him personally to stay there. Ba'el comes to him in the night with a phaser offering to remove his tracking device so he can escape. She still thinks he's wrong minded for rejecting this peaceful existence but she doesn't want to see him killed. But Worf doesn't want to run away from his fate like a coward. She doesn't understand, but Worf considers his death honorable and a worthy sacrifice in the cause of teaching the Klingons to love their heritage. He admits that he does love her and that he'd take her away with him if he could. Tokath puts Worf in front of a firing squad the next day with everyone watching. He is genuinely uncomfortable with having to do this but rationalizes it by saying that his continued presence would destroy their way of life and he gives Worf one last chance to comply. Another small flaw in this episode is that after they established that Worf would never break his word, why would they not just let him leave with the promise to never return or tell anyone before it gets to this point?
But Worf refuses and makes the point that he's being executed because he's brought truth to their young people about their origins and the reason this place exists. So Tokath begins giving the commands when Toq, in full Klingon dress walks over to stand with Worf insisting that he be executed too. He tells Tokath that he's not the only one that's wanted to leave for a while and slowly other young Klingons join Worf against the wall including Ba'el. Tokath thinks he's seeing his worst nightmares come true and is torn over whether or not to fire on the group. But Gi'ral brings him to his senses stating that this place was meant to be their prison, not their children's. Tokath then agrees to let anyone who wishes to leave and Worf explains to them that they can never tell anyone about this place, honoring their parents' dual sacrifice of staying behind twice now. Toq is excited and tells Worf of a supply vessel that can take them off the planet later, but Worf sees that Ba'el returned to her parents and is saddened. I can't help but wonder what he was expecting. It's the only life she's ever known and his initial reaction to her ears wouldn't encourage her to try to live anywhere else.
The Enterprise receives a message from Worf saying that he'll be meeting them on a supply vessel and boarding with passengers. Picard asks him if he found his father or the prison camp. Worf says there was no camp and that the Klingons with him were survivors of a cargo ship that crashed long ago. Picard says he understands and you can tell that he knows that Worf is probably not being truthful but is aware of Worf's need to cover whatever the truth was. So Worf is back on the Enterprise and the children of the Khitomer survivors go on to live their own lives which, it must be noted, are also based on lies like their parents.
This episode is so complicated and really needed a follow up to see the full effect of the impact Worf's visit had on the younger generation of Klingons. Even though the prison camp is run like Russia or China where people are executed for going against the social order, the writers chose to make Tokath a sympathetic protector instead of a power mad dictator, so both sides of the situation on the planet needed to be taken into consideration. Perhaps after a few years, some of them may have returned once they realized that they couldn't be honest about who they were; some may have ended up resenting Worf and sought revenge, while others would've been successful and grateful that they had the chance to leave; some may have committed ritual suicide; perhaps some of their parents finally committed suicide after having their warrior fire reignited; Tokath may have declared their compound a permanently free society giving everyone the opportunity to take a chance with their own lives, dishonored or not. The war is over now after all. There's just too many factors that are born from the social commentary.
Of course, in 2018, liberals would have you believe that America essentially is the prison camp that delights in trampling the cultural differences of their people. The writer's were ahead of their time and probably saw it like that back then, which is why the commune was portrayed as benign rather than oppressive like Russia or China. That's why it makes no sense that Worf was thought of as a racist, but the average liberal has never seen the big picture or the long game when it comes to spreading socialism and communism. So, it comes down to viewpoints. If the prison represented totalitarian governments, then Worf's actions were liberating by opening the eyes of the youth to their individuality, encouraging them to be curious about life outside of their world and showing them that freedom is worth dying for. If the prison represented America, then his actions were inherently evil and could easily have taught the youth to hate and despise a homeland that's never been anything but good to them. It's either an empowering or a frightening demonstration of how young people can be so easily manipulated after their emotions are stirred up. Ultimately the different characters end up representing different viewpoints. Tokath represents totalitarianism by his desire to control the population by force. Ba'el and Toq represent the ideal America - Ba'el learns to appreciate her heritage but doesn't elevate it above her home. Toq appreciates his heritage too, but instead of trying to forcefully change his home to suite him, he strikes out looking for what he now thinks might be better. Worf's character, in this case, is either a revolutionary for liberation and freedom or an anarchist bent on destruction of society because it doesn't suite him. Dangerous in either case, but not racist. Also not necessarily good if too much damage is done by his actions.
But it's the complexities that make for good episodes. It's not my favorite, but it's a good for a think piece or debate topic. Four stars.
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