Plot Synopsis: Picard balances his Federation and Klingon duties as the new Klingon Chancellor, Gowron, faces a civil war. Worf and his brother Kurn fight to regain their family’s honor.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser gets right to the point. The Enterprise is heading to the Klingon homeworld to install Gowron (last seen in Reunion) as leader of the high council. Picard tries to persuade Worf into using this opportunity to remove his discommendation (from Sins of the Father), but Worf is hesitant. Gowron’s ship suddenly pulls alongside and says they need to talk in order to prevent a Klingon civil war! Plot A is about Worf and the civil war, there is no plot B. Gowron meets with Picard to tell him Duras’s sisters (Lursa and B’Etor) are plotting to challenge his installation as leader, and have already secured military support. He asks for the Federation’s open support but Picard won’t step outside his role as arbiter of succession. Later, Worf spills the beans about why he really accepted discommendation to Gowron and asks for him to undo it, but Gowron’s hands are tied because the council is still loyal to Duras’s family and he needs their support. It’s not long before Lursa’s plan is revealed: she has found a son of Duras (named Toral), and he challenges Gowron’s claim to leadership. And Lursa and B’Etor are working with Romulans. There is a ton of intrigue in this episode, and two primary conflicts: should Picard find Toral’s claim valid or not, and if he doesn’t should the Federation involve itself in the coming conflict? Picard shoots down the kid’s claim and all hell breaks loose. The council splits, civil war erupts. The episode ends with a twist nobody on this earth saw something. The plot is well-paced, twisting, unpredictable, and ends in the second-best cliffhanger of the series.
Favorite Scenes: This entire episode is packed with good stuff. A key scene happens about 14 minutes in, when Worf meets with Kurn on his ship. Kurn tells Worf he won’t back Gowron or Duras; he has made a plan with other leaders to overthrow the council and install a new one. He asks Worf to join him. Worf says no, that Klingons cannot gain honor by acting dishonorably. Kurn doesn’t like this but Worf convinces him to back Gowron, and the price of their support will be the restoration of their family honor.
Another key scene is when Lursa and B’Etor invite Picard for a private meeting to influence him to recognize Duras’s son Toral’s claim. Surely, they say, you can see his claim is legitimate. Picard listens, then gives his response.
Picard: I’ll tell you what I see. If I find Toral’s challenge valid, the two of you will very quickly gain control of the Council, and Gowron will be found dead shortly thereafter. If I reject Toral’s claim you will accuse me of serving Federation interests, and it will serve as a rallying cry to declare war and overthrow Gowron.
Lursa *smiling*: You see very clearly captain. But one thing is missing. If you rule against us, and we are victorious in a war against Gowron–
B’Etor *hastily adds*: Which we would be!
Lursa: –it will mean the end of the alliance with the Federation.
B’Etor: And we would hate to see that happen as much as you would.
Lursa: This is not a threat, captain. Just an unfortunate truth.
B’Etor: So why be our enemy, when you can be our friend?
Picard *giving his parting shot*: You have manipulated the circumstances with the skill…of a Romulan.
Use of Cast/Characters: This episode is clearly about Worf. He finds a way to regain his family’s honor, gets Picard to help him some, and directly influences the succession of the Klingon Empire. Not bad for a guy whose character was an afterthought when the series started! As in Reunion, Picard has to walk a tightrope here. The Prime Directive is all about non-interference in other worlds and cultures and his job has been not only to arbitrate succession of leadership of the Klingon Empire, but sort out his own sympathies with Worf as well as a possible fundamental shift of power in the quadrant should Duras’ family lead the high council. Then he has to pull the ship away while Worf is on a ship under attack. The question is later put to him, should the Federation join Gowron in fighting Duras–with very persuasive arguments–and he makes a risky decision with heavy consequences. The crew of the Enterprise are more than just the best in Starfleet, they are power brokers in their own right! Riker and Data have only a few lines while Geordi, Beverly and Deanna don’t have any at all. Guinan has a nice little scene with Worf, which I think serves the purpose of reminding him he is still learning what it is to be a Klingon, and that’s OK; it’s also a factor in Worf asking Picard for a leave of absence. Robert O’Reilly and Tony Todd do their usual good jobs as Gowron and Kurn. Barbara March is great as Lursa and Gwynyth Walsh is nice as B’Etor as well.
Blu Ray Version: Some corrections were made, particularly to the coloring of the matte picture of the Klingon homeworld. Also in the 33rd minute the console next to Worf is now animated instead of static, a nice touch for those paying attention.
Nitpicks: This is not really an ensemble episode as Geordi, Beverly and Troi have no lines and Riker and Data do almost nothing. I’m also not sure what would have happened had Picard declared Toral’s claim legitimate? Probably another Rite of Succession, in which even though it was clear he wasn’t as qualified as Gowron the sister’s enormous influence would have assured he would win. Finally, Gowron says women may not serve in the High Council but he offered K’Ehleyr that exact position in Reunion.
Overall Impression: What an episode! This 45 minutes manages to weave together threads from Sins of the Father, Reunion, and even Yesterday’s Enterprise and The Mind’s Eye into a cohesive whole. Who wouldn’t get excited about Klingons fighting, and in a civil war that Worf is involved in no less! This episode has it all: great action (with Klingons!), a great plot, wonderful acting, intrigue, and a shocker at the end. Redemption really delivers, and for the second season in a row we get a great cliffhanger with a big surprise at the end. This is an episode that ranks as one of Ronald Moore’s best writing achievements, and it’s a heckuva lot of fun to watch. To top it all off, the title of the episode actually makes sense! I’m happy to rate this episode 5 out of 5 stars.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: It was Denise Crosby’s idea to bring herself back as her own daughter, and she pitched it. Evidently this was meant to be the third season cliffhanger, which makes sense because almost all of the relevant episodes take place in the third season. It was delayed a season because of all the excitement about the Borg story. Evidently former President Ronald Reagan visited the set during the shooting of this episode. Here’s a link to a picture of it if you’re interested. When asked what he thought of the Klingons he said, “I like them. They remind me of Congress.”
The only other episode in which we see the phaser range was in A Matter of Honor. Were you wondering if Guinan won her bet with Picard to make Worf laugh before he makes Lieutenant Commander? She already did it, back in the opening scene of Yesterday’s Enterprise.
The cast and Gene Roddenberry celebrated this as the 100th episode of the series. Here’s a pic of the cast and crew celebrating. And yet I’ve named this the 99th episode, how to reconcile this apparent contradiction? I give a full explanation during this section of my review of the episode Legacy, where there was a related issue. Sufficeth to say this is the 99th episode, but the 100th production hour of TNG given that the pilot was two hours long. The actual 100th episode is the first episode of season five.
Missable/Unmissable? Definitely unmissable. Sins of the Father, Yesterday’s Enterprise and Reunion are practically required viewing before watching but those, this and the next are four of the finest Klingon episodes in Star Trek history. The following episode will finally resolve this multi-season arc. See you next season!