Note: This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.
I’ve always liked a show that uses continuity. Some shows go all out
and establish a mythology while others simply have an overarching story line. The problem with this is that it’s hard to pick up in the
middle of a show. If you miss one episode of 24, for instance, it
throws everything off. Shows like Law & Order, on the other hand,
are easy to pick up. You could actually shuffle the episodes and
continuity would barely be an issue. With the fourth season of Star
Trek: The Next Generation, we were beginning to see that continuity.
“Reunion” is a perfect example.
The episode starts with The
Enterprise being surprised by a decloaking Klingon ship. K’Ehleyr,
Worf’s half-Klingon girlfriend from “The Emissary”, greets them. She
wants to beam over. Worf is sent to greet her…and her son. And yes,
the child is his. Worf isn’t comfortable with this, as he was recently
dishonored. Before we can get to that, K’Mpec is dying. He’s the
leader of the Klingon High Council. K’Mpec knows all about this. He
and Worf agreed to cover it up to protect Duras, as Duras being
dishonored might fracture the Council and with it, the Empire.
K’Mpec
wants Picard to oversee the Rite of Succession. Most of the work is
done for him. There are two contenders remaining. All Picard has to do
is figure out which one of them poisoned the guy they might be
replacing. K’Mpec doesn’t want someone so cowardly that they’d use
poison leading the Empire. Oh, and by the way…one of the contenders is
Duras. (The other is named Gowron.)
Things aren’t easy.
K’Ehleyr, not being too big on Klingon culture, is the only adult of
Klingon descent comfortable around Worf. Duras and Gowron throw a hissy
fit whenever Worf is around. At one point, Picard has to tell Worf to
deal with it. Picard understands that Worf doesn’t want to be around
other Klingons and that the feeling is mutual. Picard will do his best
to accommodate this, but Worf is still a Starfleet officer under
Picard’s command, so tough luck.
If you’ve seen any of the
previous episodes, it will seem strange that anyone is seriously
wondering who poisoned K’Mpec. (At one point, K’Ehleyr says something
to the effect of, “Well, Gowron did try to bribe me…”) We don’t
know who this Gowron guy is just yet, but Duras’s father collaborated
with the Romulans and set up Worf’s father to take the blame. Yes,
K’Mpec and the rest of the High Council knew about it. They tried to
frame Worf’s family because they figured Worf wouldn’t say anything.
Still, is it any surprise that this would come back to bite them where
it hurts? When it’s discovered that the detonator is distinctly Romulan
in design, it’s just a matter of getting the proof before fingers start
pointing in Duras’s directon. (Doctor Crusher finds that one of his
men had the bomb implanted in his arm, giving them the smoking gun.)
If
you’ve seen later episodes of the show or have watched Deep Space Nine,
you know that Gowron goes on to lead the High Council. He even takes
care of Worf’s little discommendation problem at one point. Things
don’t end well for Duras. At least Worf sees to it that things end
relatively quickly, though. (The Klingon Empire considers the matter
closed, but Picard puts a reprimand on Worf’s record.)
I think of
all the episodes in The Next Generation, this one requires the most
knowledge of Trek history. Aside from “The Emissary” and “Sins of the Father”, there is some connection to “Heart of Glory” and “Family”. Add
to this that the episode introduces Gowron, who will play an important
role later on.
My one and only complaint was that no one seemed
to think it was Duras. I understand that they need proof to do
anything, but no one says tells anyone to keep an eye on him. This
leads to K’Ehleyr getting killed, leaving Worf to send Alexander (his
son) to live with his adoptive parents on Earth. Plus, as I mentioned,
Worf takes care of the problem, effectively negating the need for said
proof. (And, for all intents and purposes, Worf gets away with it.)
Nobody
saw this coming? It’s not even that having him onboard the ship is an
issue. Seriously, no one thought that he might poison K’Mpec? No one
thought that he might be in league with the Romulans? I understand that
the truth was hidden, but no one on the High Council though to secretly
monitor him? You’d think that at some point, Worf or Picard would have
said, “Yup. Told you so.”
Looking back, I can see why a lot of
things in this episode had to happen. I wasn’t too thrilled that
K’Ehleyr had to die or that Worf basically passed his son off on his
adoptive parents, but at least Alexander would return, even if played by
a different actor. Being that I’m technically reviewing the episode on
VHS, I can’t recommend buying the VHS tape, as I’m not even sure where
you’d get it. I do like the episode and I recommend watching it, but
I’d recommend watching the previous episodes first.
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