ST:TNG Season Four, Episode Seven "Reunion"

ST:TNG Season Four, Episode Seven "Reunion"
Production Order: 7
Air Order: 7
Stardate: 44246.3
Original Air Date: November 5, 1990

So I didn't mean to disappear like that.
My cat rescue activities usually take up several hours of my week, but our busy season is summer, not only because we're inundated with kittens, but also because we've found that there are many, many festivals during the summer where we can pimp out kittens to the public for donation money. (No, not like that, y'all. We have a people-sized cage and you can climb in for a buck to play with kittens for two minutes.)
Then...
"Please," I begged my roommates. "Let's not move during Pride season. I have kitten stuff to do, and it's time consuming."
"Don't worry," I was assured. "We will not move house during Pride season."
Yep, we moved during Pride season.
Also, our friend fell and broke her leg in three places. And then her heinous bitch of a roommate took the opportunity to kick her out. So we had to move our friend as well.
I have six more cat events between now and the beginning of September. And a pet-sitting gig. And a weekend that includes two weddings, one of them out of town. And I'm officiating the other one in an inflatable t-rex costume. And I'm making the bride's shoes.

Somehow, my time management skills include complete denial that I can do all of the things and still pull a weekly blog post out of my ass. If you've been reading this blog long enough, you know that that's complete bullshit. I once decided that I could work 80 hours a week and still blog - WTF?

So that's why this post has been sitting 80% done in my blogger, waiting for the remaining screencaptures and write-up, and why my posts may be spotty for July and August. I do feel bad because I know many of you are probably dicking around at work on Monday mornings and wondering where the hell your terrible Star Trek blog has gone. It's still here. It's just that I've accidentally sealed it in a box marked "sort" and tossed it into the back of a truck.

*******

Picard's Log 44246.3: "Gonna go check out this vague thing in another star system. It has no bearing on the episode, so I won't bore you with the details. They just needed us to be in the middle of something not terribly important so they could interrupt with something more pressing."

There's a full minute or so of pretending that some anomalous readings are the thing that we're here for, then we get to the real point of this episode:

And then, even better:

Fuck yeah, it's K'Ehleyr!
"Wazzup, Picard?"
She notices Worf behind him at Tactical and greets him as well. The purr when she says Worf's name is gone, but the ever-present Suzie Plakson smirk is there.
"So, I need to talk to you ASAP. Can I come over?"
"Sure," says Picard.
The screen turns off, and Picard tells Worf to go get K'Ehleyr from the transporter room.
"Oh, man. Can somebody else go?" asks Worf.
"Why?" demands Picard.
"Um, I have been dishonored by the Empire. My being there might offend the Ambassador."
Worf, you fucking liar.
It's actually made all the funnier when you consider that K'Ehleyr doesn't give two fucks about Klingon traditions and honor. Flimsiest excuse ever.
Fortunately, not only does Picard see right through this, but he calls Worf on his shitty excuse: he can't go run and hide every time a Klingon vessel decloaks. He's still a crew member and he still has shit to do.
"Uhhhh, withdraw my request."
"Yeah, you better."

Worf goes to the transporter room, and the chief there (not O'Brien this time) tells him that two people are ready to beam over. Worf doesn't recall that K'Ehleyr was bringing someone else, but shrugs it off.
So he says "energize," and K'Ehleyr beams over... with a bitty Klingon in tow.

Dramatic music! Opening credits break!

K'Ehleyr drops her kid (Alexander) in the Enterprise's school, and makes a note that he hasn't spent a lot of time with other kids. She isn't quite as sassy when talking about him. Motherhood'll do that to you, I guess.
She and Worf get in the lift and the sass returns. "Not even a bite on the cheek for old times'sake?"
He's all stiff and formal again.
"I've been discommendated. Maybe you heard?"
"Yeah, I heard. So what? Do I have to do some dumb ritual or something before I can talk to you?"
K'Ehleyr, you're my favorite. I'm naming my next girl cat after you.
They get snippy, and she remarks that he looks like he wants to ask her something.
"Do I have to ask?" he demands.
"Yes."
Heads up: he doesn't.
The lift doors open and he gets out.
"Should I tell Alexander that he has no father?" she calls after him.
He pauses, then continues walking away from her.

Ooh, check out this cool shot of K'Ehleyr reflected in the Obs Lounge table. If I were rich, I would commission someone to make me that fucking Obs Lounge table.

So we're in the Obs Lounge, and K'Ehleyr is telling everyone why she's on board the E again. Seems K'mpec, the current council chancellor and guy who was too fat for the likes of Worf's nanny, is dying. Two factions have been at each other's throats for a while, and only K'mpec has been able to keep the peace. With him dying, a civil war may break out, and then everyone else will get dragged into it... the Tholians, the Ferengi, the Roms, the Federation. K'mpec is on the cruiser that K'Ehleyr came in, and wants to talk to Picard alone.

Another fabulous shot

Picard hops next door to the cruiser, and K'mpec dismisses the guy who brought Picard in, so they are totally alone. K'mpec is breathing heavily, and Picard offers him the use of the E's sick bay, but K'mpec waves him off.
"Nah, it's too late. For months, someone has been poisoning me, and there isn't a cure. They put it in my wine." And then he takes a swig from his wine. Maybe this wine isn't poisoned. Maybe he no longer has any fucks to give if it is.

"Why am I here?" asks Picard.
"You're gonna mediate after I die. Help them pick a new guy to take my place."

"Say fucking what?"
"Yeah, I can't trust anybody on the council, and I need an outsider here."
Picard tries to argue that a Federation officer getting involved in Empire business is inappropriate, but K'mpec says that this isn't any different than the other times that Picard has mediated in the affairs of other worlds.
It... it kind of is though, K'mpec. In those cases, the differing sides agreed to mediation, and then selected the Federation, and Picard was probably selected, either specifically or from a pool of officers that could do the job. You're asking him to step in and do it for you, and while you have the right while you're alive, nothing says that they have to accept him once you're dead. And they're gonna be hella pissed.
Picard says no.
"Lol, if you refuse, the Empire will get all up in arms with the Federation. Also, I already told the two factions of the plan. They're on their way now."
"You asshole! I don't want to be involved in this!"

"Well, fuck," sighs Picard. "I don't want to choose the next leader of the Klingon Empire."
"Nah, you won't be. You just choose the challengers."
"But you said only two challengers are coming? There's nothing for me to do."
"Sure there is. Find out who has been poisoning me. Gowron... or Duras."

"You remember Duras, right? That nasty little motherfucker whose father caused the Khitomer Massacre, and who got Worf discommendated to cover that shit up? He's one of the challengers."
"Yeah, I remember he tried to have me killed, too."
"I went along with his bullshit for the good of the Empire," laments K'mpec. "Fat lot of good that did us. Find the poisoner, Picard. A man who kills an enemy without showing his face is without honor."

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Picard's Log, supplemental: "K'mpec is dead. He ruled the Klingon Empire longer than anyone else."

At the school, a bunch of kids are stacking blocks on a table. They all tumble over and Alexander growls at them.
"What the hell?" demand the other kids. "Now we have to start over."
Worf pulls him aside. "Dude, don't attack other kids. There's no honor in that."
"I would have won," protests Alexander.
Worf points at the door. "Just fucking go."
Out in the corridor, Alexander asks Worf where all of the other Klingons are on the ship.
Worf pauses, wondering how complicated he should get. "It's just us."
"Why?"
"Because the Federation and Empire are friends, but I'm the only one who signed up for Starfleet."
"Why?"
"Warriors don't ask so many questions."
"I don't want to be a warrior."

Alexander runs into K'Ehleyr's quarters and she scoops him into a big hug. They're pretty cute together. I buy their relationship, and she seems like a good mother. But typical mom, she has no idea that her kid is an asshole at school.
"You're back early!" she says playfully.
He throws Worf under the bus. "HE made me leave!"
She tells him to go play in his room for a while, and he runs off.

Of course Worf is pissed about the the whole "I don't want to be a warrior" comment, and he says that Alexander doesn't know their ways, but really, what was he expecting? K'Ehleyr doesn't give two shits about The Klingon Way. Which she then reminds him.
"Why do you care?" she demands. "You won't even claim him."
Annnnd, here we go.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he thunders.
"Come on, Worf. You know why. You would have insisted we take the oath and be proper Klingons."
"You should have told me," he repeats.
"Targ's out of the bag now," she says softly.
"Look, I can't acknowledge him as my son. My dishonor would end up being transferred to him, and also his kids. I can't do that to him."
"Yeah, about that: why the hell did you accept discommendation?"
He explains the whole Mogh-Khitomer thing, but stops short of telling her about that dick Duras and the secret he and Picard are keeping.
"But you challenged that shit! Why did you give up?"
The argument is brought to a halt when Riker pages them to the bridge.
So I guess they just leave Alexander alone in K'Ehleyr's quarters?

Duras' and Gowron's ships have arrived, and Duras hails the E.
"Why the fuck are you involved?" Duras demands of Picard. "This was a stupid move by K'mpec."
"We're gonna do the Sonchi ceremony in one hour on K'mpec's ship," replies Picard.
"One hour? Why the delay?"
Sassy Picard Moment: "There's no delay. That's the time I've chosen."
Unspoken: So fuck off, Duras.
The lift opens, and K'Ehleyr and Worf enter. Duras sees him and calls Worf a petaQ ("weirdo") and tells him to stay away from the ceremony. No one on the bridge acknowledges this, and Picard warns him about being on K'mpec's ship in one hour.
Then Picard asks Communications to talk to Gowron's ship about the ceremony.

He then tells K'Ehleyr to meet him in the transporter room in an hour, and calls Worf into the ready room.
Once the doors have closed behind them, Picard tells Worf that the next few days are going to suck for him.
"Yeah, I know," says Worf. "I have duties to perform, yada yada."
"No, I just meant that I get it. This will suck for you. I sympathize." He sits down. "K'Ehleyr is going to walk me through the Rites of Succession."
Worf asks for permission to speak freely. "Duras is a fucking traitor. He can't lead the council."
Picard looks like he wants to agree, but he's trying to keep it neutral. "He has a legal claim." A pause. "So Klingon tradition says that the son has to accept the actions of the father, and I don't agree. Betraying the Empire was his father's crime. But Duras' crime was throwing your father under the bus, and that's something I won't forget. But you should not forget that you accepted that discommendation."
"Yeah, to keep the Empire from falling apart!"
"My problem now is whether or not he killed K'mpec."
Worf is startled. "Huh?"
"K'mpec was poisoned."
Now Worf is pissed. "Klingons don't use poison. There's no honor in killing someone that way."
"Yeah, K'mpec thought one of the two challengers did the poisoning."
Worf pauses. "I don't know a lot about Gowron. Just that he complained to the council a lot. I bet it was fucking Duras."

Next door on K'mpec's ship, the group is gathering for the Sonchi ceremony. Sonchi means "he is dead" and involves poking the dead guy with Klingon painstiks and challenging him to a duel. The thought behind it is that A) when you're poked with a painstik, it's so freaking painful that there's no way you won't react; and B) that no Klingon will resist a challenge.
K'mpec has been sat in a chair, with Picard and K'Ehleyr standing behind him.

K'Ehleyr mutters to Picard which one Gowron is. Gowron has crazy eyes. Pretty sure he'd cut you in a dark alley just for funsies.

Duras the Dick comes in with his guys.
"This is going to suck," whispers Picard.
"We only have to prove that K'mpec is dead, then this part will be over." She hands him the painstik.
Picard pokes the dead guy with the stick, which glows, and mumbles "Qab jiH ngil" (face me if you dare). Obviously, K'mpec is dead and does nothing. Picard is disgusted by the ritual, but tries to hide it.
Then Gowron repeats it, then Duras. Both Gowron and Duras poke K'mpec harder and more forcefully than is necessary.
K'Ehleyr steps forward. "Sonchi."

Duras demands that they move forward with the Rites of Succession. He really wants to sit his butt in the big chair.
"Slow your roll," says Picard. "We're gonna proceed with laws and traditions."
"WTF do you know about Klingon law, human?" demands Gowron.
"Let's meet up on the E to do the next part," Picard starts to tell K'Ehleyr.
Duras yells that they need to do this here and now, but there's an explosion in the chamber. The guys that Duras and Gowron brought with them go flying.

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

K'Ehleyr is in her quarters staring out the window when Worf comes in.
"I haven't gotten your report on the explosion," he says.
"Um, two dead, one wounded. Have you come to see how I fared?"
"I'm head of security. It's my business."
"Uh-huh. So you're just officially worried about me?"
He goes all gruff. "You know how I feel."
But then they drop all pretense, and get honest: Worf admits that he would have insisted they take the oath... but not just because of tradition. She replies that she thought a lot about telling him about Alexander, but she wasn't ready.
"You said you were incomplete without me," she says. "And it took a while, but I realized that I was incomplete without you as well."
He steps forward and touches the side of her neck. "jIH dok (My blood)."
She touches his neck and replies, "Maj dok (our blood)."
This is actually the first part of the Oath, and I'm so excited, because I totes ship them. What should their ship name be? W'Ehleyr? K'Orf?

But then Worf steps off. "No, I can't. It means you guys would have to bear my dishonor, and that sucks."
Crap, that must be frustrating to K'Ehleyr. She doesn't want to do The Thing because Worf wants to do it out of a sense of tradition. Then he later says that he still wants to do The Thing, but mostly because he needs her. She is finally ready to do The Thing, but he pulls away and tells her that he can't, because of the honor thing that she hates so much.
"I don't give a shit what other Klingons think!" She really doesn't, bro.
"Yeah, but what about Alexander? He might want to live in the Empire someday, and I can't have him tainted, being in a family of traitors."
"Family of traitors? That's bullshit."
He sighs. "I can't take the oath with you, and I can't claim Alexander as my son."
She is disappointed. "If you can't be his father, at least be his friend."
He seems to agree.

K'Ehleyr meets with Picard in the ready room. He's concerned because they haven't finished investigating the bomb yet, and he needs to buy more time.
"They'll be here soon," says K'Ehleyr. "I don't think you can stall anymore."
"How long does the Rite of Succession take? Can we fluff it up?"
"Nope, the modern version is pretty much just a straight-forward meeting where you name two challengers."
"Modern? What's the traditional version?"
"It involves a long, drawn-out part called the ja'chuq. Each challenger lists the battles they've been in and the prizes they've won, in order to prove that they're fit to lead the council."
"Can we do that?"
"You're the arbiter. You can do whatever the fuck you'd like. Add a talent portion or a swimsuit competition if you want."
"Rad."
She gets up to leave, then turns back to him. "Hey, what do you know about Worf's discommendation?"
"Sorry, I'm not allowed to say."

Picard and K'Ehleyr go into the Obs Lounge, where Duras and Gowron are waiting with two Security Golds.
"Let's get this over with so I can kill Gowron," says Duras.
Gowron gives a creepy reply:

Yeesh, crazy eyes and snaggle-toothed.
"Whatever," sneers Duras. "You don't have the balls to face me. Why don't you plant another bomb?"
Gowron dives for him, but they're quickly separated by the Golds, and Picard yelling "mev yap!" (enough!). Picard knows many useful Klingon words.
Re-seated, Picard tells them that they're doing an old-school ja-chuq. They're both pretty pissed and Duras tells Picard that K'Ehleyr has been giving him shit advice, because the ja'chuq is "obsolete."
"I want to respect old traditions," says Picard firmly. "And I'm the arbiter, so you can suck it. If I say I want a battle resume to get the job, then you better fucking do it."

Alexander is in Worf's quarters. I guess they're being friends? He asks about the bat'leth, and Worf tells him that it has been in his family for ten generations.
Alexander asks to hold it.
No.
And Worf takes it off the wall, and hands the large weapon to the preschooler.
I... really?
Alexander holds it the wrong way, so Worf gives him a brief intro into bat'leth technique.
It's awesome that he's trying, but... could you have picked a less-dangerous activity, Worf?

K'Ehleyr is in the Obs Lounge by herself, reading a padd, when Gowron comes in. She points out that the next meeting isn't for three hours, and he tells her that he wants to meet with her alone.
"I am honored," she says sardonically.
"Why the fuck is Picard dragging out the ja'chuq? We don't do that anymore."
"He wants to be thorough."
"He relies on you for Klingon law advice, yes? You could speed it up."
"Why should I?" she asks.
He cuts to the chase. "You serve the Federation, but you could be serving the Empire more directly. There's more honor in that. What do you want? Command of a ship? A seat on the council?"
She gets his meaning. "And these things will only come to me if you come to power. Fuck off. You sound like a Ferengi."
Boy, does nobody understand K'Ehleyr? Girlfriend has to repeat herself fifty times every time she's on camera. She's not interested in power or glory or Klingon trappings. She wants Worf. And she's pretty straight-forward in her communication.
"Ugh, you are stubborn like K'mpec," he huffs. "It would be better for you if you cooperated."
"Are you seriously threatening me, Crazy Eyes?"
He laughs the laugh of the deranged and walks out.

Dramatic music!

Riker goes down to Engineering to get an update on the bomb. Geordi and Data have been working on it, and they tell him what it was made of, and that it was really tiny. Could have been hidden anywhere in the room.
"Also," says Geordi, "it had a molecular-decay detonator."
"Only one race uses that," says Data.
Riker cringes. "The Romulans."

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Everybody meets up in the Obs Lounge to talk about the bomb.
"How the hell did the Romulans sneak a bomb on a Klingon cruiser?"
"Wouldn't be hard if they had Klingon help."
"The Roms and Klingons have been blood enemies for 75 years."
"Maybe Gowron or Duras is looking to form an alliance with the Romulans."
"A Romulan-Klingon alliance? That would suuuck. The power balance in this quadrant would shift in really bad ways."
Riker asks the end question: "Duras, or Gowron?"

"Gowron asked to talk to me alone," says K'Ehleyr. "Offered me a seat on the council if I sped up the ja'chuq."
Picard shakes his head. "No Romulan connection there."
"Threatened me that I would end up like K'mpec if I didn't cooperate," she finishes.
"Nah, I think it's Duras," interjects Worf.
"Why?" asks K'Ehleyr.
Picard chooses his words with care. "We've... had some experiences with Duras that have proven him untrustworthy."
This piques her interest. "Can you tell me more?"
"No," he says flatly.
Stonewalled again.

"Okay," says Picard. "We now have a security issue on our hands that involves the Klingon Empire, the Federation, and the Romulans. Worf, I want you to come to the next meeting."
"But... my discommendation... they'll be super pissed off."
"Yep," smiles Picard.

K'Ehleyr goes back to her quarters. "Hey Majel, I need the logs for the last time the E was at Qo'nos."
"Cool," says Majel. "I have 43 ships' logs, and ten personal ones."
"Did Worf make a personal log?" she asks.
"Yep. You can't have it, though. That's what personal means."
"Fine. Fuck it. Just give me the ships' logs."

In the Obs Lounge, Gowron completes his portion of the ja'chuq and sits down.
Which is fortunate, because I didn't want to sit through all that. I love me some intrigue and Klingon politics, but I don't want to hear about no glorious boring-ass battles.
"Okay, thanks," says Picard. "I recorded all of your stuff and your claims to the chancellorship. We're gonna take a recess while I go over it."
Gowron nods: acceptable.
"I'm sure you guys have been doing your own investigations into the explosion on K'mpec's ship," says Picard.
They say they have in that way that other group members say they've started on their portions of your group project, even though it's not due for another week. Which is to say, they haven't done shit and you're going to be forced to carry the project in order to not fail.
"We're done with our investigation," says Gowron. "We didn't find anything weird."   
"Interesting," says Picard. "We found something else."
He calls Worf in. Instantly, both Gowron and Duras are both up in arms.
"Shut the fuck up, and sit the fuck down," Picard barks.
"We won't move forward with this process unless he leaves," yells Duras.
"Oh, you want to withdraw your petition for chancellor?" asks Picard. "Because that's what I'm hearing."
Duras sits and scowls. Imagine being this asshole, insulting an innocent man to cover up the fact that your own father was a piece of shit. I mean, I guess it's not too hard, seeing as how he himself is a piece of shit.
"Worf is my chief of security, and I need him here for this part," Picard explains.
Worf turns to Duras. "Tell us what your investigation turned up."
"It was a bomb," sneers Duras.
"No shit, Sherlock."

Gowron admits that his team found the same thing: just a bomb.
"No, it was a Romulan bomb!" Worf yells.
"What the fuck?" yells Gowron.
"I'm going back to my ship to see if this is true," huffs Duras.
"Me too," says Gowron darkly, staring down Duras.
"Mr Worf, send our results to both ships, and the High Council," says Picard.
"Aye," replies Worf, who has clearly enjoyed yelling at Duras.

K'Ehleyr is still in her quarters looking for info on why Worf has been discommendated. She asks Majel to hook her up to the Klingon internet. Then she tries to use her diplomatic access to check out the council documents, but is told that they're sealed, and she can't get into them unless she has a higher clearance.
"What? Who sealed those?"
"Duras," says Majel.
"Oh, for fucks sake! Give me his biographical information!"

Duras goes back to the quarters he and his guy were assigned on the E. He starts barking off orders about how he needs to talk to someone on his own ship, and his guy tells him that Ambassador K'Ehleyr has been poking her nose into his documents, trying to get at something.
"Aw, hell nah," says Duras. "Distract the guard outside the door for me."
His guy goes out into the corridor and simply walks away.
The Gold takes off after him, yelling about how he needs an escort to leave his quarters.

Duras stomps down to K'Ehleyr's quarters.
"I heard you've been poking around where you shouldn't be," he growls.
"I've been looking into Khitomer," she growls back. "Funny that your father was at Khitomer, and you had all the records sealed. How the hell did you get Worf to take the fall?"
"Don't you insult my father!"
"STFU, traitor. You betrayed the Empire, just like dear old dad."

Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Riker goes to sick bay to talk to Crusher about the explosion, as she has the bodies of the two Klingons who were killed. She tells him that one guy was Duras' guy and the other was Gowron's guy. She says she was puzzled about the bomb's explosion pattern, until she looked at an arm of one of the dead men.
"The bomb was implanted in his arm," she says, showing him some medical scans.
"Yeah, the Klingons consider that an honorable way to die - suicide that takes out an enemy. Which guy was it?"
"Duras' guy."
Shocker.

Worf and Alexander are walking through the corridors, talking about bat'leths.
"Sometime, I'll take you to the holodeck, and show you all the stuff a bat'leth can do," says Worf.
God, you're not gonna take him in to that program where he was conceived, are you? Gross.
They go into K'Ehleyr's quarters -

Fuckfuckfuck
Worf calls for a medical team, and scoops up a heavily-bloodied K'Ehleyr. She's so weak, she can barely move.
"Gowron?" he demands.
"no..." Her voice is almost inaudible.
"Duras," growls Worf.
Instead, she whispers, "Alexander," in response.
She puts her son's hand on Worf's, then her own hand falls and she goes limp.
He screams her name... then again... then roars. Klingon death rite. Freaked out, Alexander runs away and stands facing the wall.

Worf steps back to Alexander and asks if he's ever seen death. The very young child shakes his head.
"Look at it," says Worf.
Man, that has to scar a kid, looking at his murdered mother.
Crusher and a Blue rush in and immediately start taking scans.
"Stay with the doctor," Worf tells Alexander.
He takes off while Crusher realizes that she is too late.

Worf goes back to his quarters and it takes him about two seconds to figure out what to do: he ditches his sash and his comm badge, and grabs his bat'leth.

K'Ehleyr's body is taken away under a silver sheet on an anti-grav gurney while Crusher tells Riker and Picard that she had too many stab wounds and internal injuries to get K'Ehleyr into stasis in time.
"Where is Worf?" asks Picard.
"Took off," shrugs Crusher.
"Majel, where is Worf?" asks Riker.
"Not here," says Majel.
"Where?" asks Picard.
"He transported over to Duras' ship," Majel replies.
"Fuck fuck fuck," says Riker. He takes off as well.

Worf, now on Duras' ship, steps into the room where that steaming pile of horseshit happens to be.
"What is that doing here?" Duras sneers.
One of Duras' guys, the one who probably let Worf in, tells Duras that Worf claims Right of Vengeance.
"What the fuck for?' Duras laughs.
"K'Ehleyr was my mate," Worf growls.
Duras' guys gasp. They didn't know. Is this juicy gossip? Or have they realized what Duras has not, that he is completely and utterly fucked?
Duras seems amused, and draws a sword.

Riker and Data stalk the corridor on the E, with a security Gold in tow.
"What's the plan if he won't come with us?" asks Data.
"He's coming back, whether he wants to or not," growls Riker. "Set your phasers for max stun."
They go into the transporter room.

Worf and Duras are mid-fight, and for the most part, it's pretty evenly matched.
But then this slimy motherfucker starts yapping.
No. Shut up and fight.
"I'm the only person who can prove your innocence, Worf. If you kill me, then the proof dies with me."

Bitch, Picard was in that chamber, too. And Kahlest seems smart enough to piece that shit together. Also, is Worf really supposed to believe that you'd throw your own lying ass under the bus for him?
"Like I give a flying fuck," says Worf.
He hits Duras in the chest with the butt of his bat'leth (which is actually in the middle), and Duras hits the floor.
Riker and Data rush in.
"Worf!" yells Riker.
But Worf doesn't miss a beat. The bat'leth comes down, and there's a satisfying slice-crunch sound as it gets embedded in Duras' chest.

Caught you monologuing

So that's it. One challenger is dead, the other one wins by default. Worf basically did Gowron's job. Our next shot is of the Klingon cruisers flying away.
Picard has called Worf into the ready room.
"You murdered a dude in cold blood."
"I acted within the laws and traditions of Klingons."
"Yeah. They consider the matter closed. But I don't."
Picard is pretty pissed. When Picard gets pissed, he gets quiet. It's a little scary, and it's got a bit of "disappointed Mom" to it.
"Look," says Picard, "we have a lot of people on this ship who come from different cultures, and they all have different beliefs. But it's not okay to just run around killing people, and when you join Starfleet, those rules supersede the others. If they don't, then you should resign your commission. You gonna resign?"
Worf chews his tongue for a minute. "No."
 "Good. I'm sorry about K'Ehleyr. That really sucks."
Worf's tough-guy-in-the-military demeanor slips a little bit, and you know for one moment in time, he forgot about that part.
"I'm putting a mark on your record."
Worf accepts this silently.
I'm a little surprised. Murder is only worth a black mark on your service record? Alrighty then.
Worf turns to leave, but Picard calls him back.
"Hey. Don't you think we should tell everybody about you being innocent and all? You only accepted discommendation to cover up for that asshole, and he's dead now."
"No," answers Worf slowly. "Everybody else on the High Council bought into that shit. Someday, my brother and I will talk them around, but not today."

We cut to Worf's quarters, where he is talking to Alexander.
"My human parents are going to meet us at a starbase, and you'll live with them," he explains.
"How come I'm not staying with you?" asks Alexander.
"Because you deserve a home, and I can't give that to you."
Worf, you fucking wuss. Lots of people on the E provide homes to kids. You're just afraid to be a dad.
He admits that he misses K'Ehleyr, and guesses that Alexander does too.
Alexander asks if Worf is his father. Worf pauses and replies that he is. A tiny part of him seems pleased, and they hug it out.

This episode is so bittersweet for me.
Good stuff:
- Klingon politics. I loooves me some Klingon politics. I love the ceremony and rules and costumes. I love that they often involve Picard, who knows strangely a lot, even though he doesn't seem to be overly interested in studying Klingon law. (And he knows a lot of useful Klingon phrases? Like okay? I only know some swear words, and that's mostly so I could swear at work without getting into trouble. Picard knows a bunch of stuff, and not just swears.)
- Duras dies. Good riddance. Duras is an open-faced asshole sandwich with extra dick sauce. That guy deserved to die. If he had been the embarrassed son of a traitor and had begged Worf to take the fall to save the Empire, and then felt bad, okay. But he didn't. He knew Mogh was innocent and treated Worf like shit, and not just for the sake of appearances. THEN he proceeds to conspire with the Romulans to take over the Empire by poisoning K'mpec? Jump up your own ass and die, Duras. Still, an honorless Klingon is a pretty good villain.
Stuff that makes me sad:
- The death of K'Ehleyr. I fricking love K'Ehleyr. I ship her with Worf big-time and would have liked to see them take the oath so she could maybe join the crew. K'Ehleyr on a weekly basis? Yes, please. I like them together. Worf needs a companion who will tell him to STFU when he gets too full of himself, and she fit that role easily. But Michael Piller wrote that she had to die so that Worf would kill Duras, and sadly, I agree. Duras needed to die by Worf's hand, and seeing as how Worf willingly bent over for Duras for the good of the Empire, Duras then needed to do something super shitty and personal to set Worf off to the point where he would say, "fuck it all, you're gonna die." Being willing to take the oath with K'Ehleyr and then being denied that because of her death was just enough to push Worf over the edge. I'll say this, though: it's probably helpful that we only got two episodes of K'Ehleyr. If I'd gotten more attached to her over a umber of episodes, I probably would not have agreed that her death was a necessary cog in that machinery.
This is another one of those "ripple episodes" that I like. The events that take place in this episode have farther-reaching tendrils that will be called into play at a later date, and across multiple episodes. I really enjoy the little stand-alone episodes, but I also like the callbacks to the ones where certain motions were set in place. Gowron being made chancellor will come into play again. Worf having a son will come into play again. And Worf killing Duras will lead to the introduction of my favorite Klingons, the Duras sisters.
This is a great episode, I'm just sad about K'Ehleyr.


- Fun Facts:

- Though Alexander is only about a year old, canon explains his appearance as being growth acceleration from his Klingon genes. Apparently, Klingon children at about a year old mature at the rate of about four Terran years. (Yeah, pretty sure the writers really just wanted him to be old enough to have lines and remember K'Ehleyr's death, which they could not have gotten with an infant.)
- This is the first Star Trek episode written by Brannon Braga, and the first writing collaboration between Braga and Ronald D Moore.
- Michael Piller was the one who suggested that K'Ehleyr should die. In the original story, K'Ehleyr came back and revealed Alexander to Worf, but she was in a relationship with Duras. Piller suggested that Duras kill K'Ehleyr, in order for Worf to have a reason to take him down.
-Visual effects supervisor and martial-arts-knowing-guy Dan Curry designed the bat'leth and trained Michael Dorn in how to use it.
- This episode features the first appearances of Gowron, Alexander, and Ensign Jae (a TNG background character who would appear in 62 more episodes and three TNG films).

- Jae actor Tracee Lee Cocco will also appear in DS9 and Voyager episodes.
- This episode also features the final appearances of K'Ehleyr, K'mpec and Duras.

Promotional still of Worf, K'Ehleyr,
and Alexander

- In this episode, Alexander is played by Jon Steuer. However, he was found to be too shy to play the firey Alexander, and was replaced in later episodes by Brian Bonsall.
- This is the first appearance of the Vor'cha-class cruiser.

- This is also the first appearance of the bat'leth. Worf tells Alexander that it's been in his family for ten generations, and it's treated like a rare object, but it would later be established that the bat'leth is the most commonly-used weapon in the Empire. The sword that Duras uses will never be seen again.
- Gowron offers K'Ehleyr a seat on the High Council, but it would later be established that women cannot sit on the council. Ronald D Moore says that he needed the "no girls allowed" rule for a later plot point for a DS9 episode, but says that it fit nicely to differentiate the Klingons from the Federation and the Romulans, who both allow women on their councils. The Klingons are traditionally patriarchal, but by the time of TNG, a female warrior holds roughly the same positions as a male, and to disrespect one just because she was female would be looked upon unfavorably.
- Like Michael Dorn, Patrick Masset (Duras) mispronounces the Klingon word Ha'DibaH (animal) as ha'bidah.
- This episode was directed by Jonathan Frakes.

Red deaths: 0
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Gold deaths: 0
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Blue deaths: 0
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Unnamed color crew deaths: 0
To date: 11,000

Obnoxious Wes moments: 0
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Legitimate Wes moments when he should have told someone to go fuck themselves: 0
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Sassy Geordi moments: 0
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Sassy Wes Moments: 0
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Sassy Worf Moment: 0
To date: 2

Sassy Riker Moments: 0
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Sassy Picard Moments: 1
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Sassy NPC Moments: 0
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Sassy Data Moments: 0
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Sassy O'Brien Moments: 0
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Sassy Crusher Moments: 0
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Sassy Troi Moments: 0
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Sassy Guest Star Moments: 2
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Number of times that it is mentioned that Data is an android: 0
To date: 7

Number of times that Troi reacts to someone else's feelings: 0
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Number of times that Geordi "looks at something" with his VISOR: 0
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Number of times when Data gives too much info and has to be told to shut up: 0
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Picard Maneuvers: 2
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Tea, Earl Grey: 0
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Oliver