Plot Synopsis: After Worf returns from a bat’leth tournament, he is the only person who notices subtle changes on the Enterprise.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser begins with Worf in a shuttle craft returning to the Enterprise, making a log entry reporting he won a bat’leth tournament like the awesome badass that he is. When he gets back Riker tricks him into thinking there is no surprise birthday party for him, but of course there is. Plot A is about Worf sliding out the multiverse, there is technically a plot B involving the Argus array, but the story changes so much you can’t really keep track of it. The surprise party continues, and some strange things start happening–he gets woozy and the cake changes, then Picard is there even though Riker told him he wasn’t coming. Worf asks Deanna to be Alexander’s godmother, then heads to engineering where it looks like the array may have been compromised by the Cardassians. Worf has another dizzy spell and things change again–Beverly tells him he has a concussion from his tournament and now he only placed ninth. The unexplained shifts continue until he finds the Enterprise in the middle of a firefight and no idea how to do his job. Not only that, back in his quarters Troi comes in and makes herself comfortable–when she start to kiss his neck he freaks out, and that’s when we learn she’s now his wife! Worf works with Data to discover Geordi was with him at each shift. They go to sickbay and find that Geordi has died from a Cardassian attack, but that his VISOR is responsible for Worf’s shifts. Looks like the wacky Klingon went through a ‘quantum fissure’ and became unstuck in the multiverse! He makes one final shift, where he is first officer and Riker is captain, while Wesley Crusher mans tactical! Some crazy stuff happens, but Worf gets back safe and sound–and gets some champagne for himself and Deanna.
Favorite Scenes: Practically this entire episode is a favorite scene. It’s just a lot of fun to try and navigate the mystery of the rest of the universe changing all the time, and not knowing how or why. I do love seeing Wesley Crusher again, and my favorite line is his: “Captain, we are receiving 285,000 hails.” It’s great to see the writer really mixing things up, even generating a romance between Worf and Deanna.
Use of Cast/Characters: Worf and Deanna both get some character development, although most of it is out of canon since they take place in alternate realities. Want to know the name of Worf’s hypothetical children? Shannara (from the Terry Brooks series?) and Eric Christopher, but no Alexander. I know it’s controversial, but for my money I thought the idea of a Worf/Troi romance was interesting and would love to have seen it developed more. Picard, Riker, Beverly and Geordi don’t do much. Data is helpful in unraveling the mystery of Worf’s shifts. Wil Wheaton returns briefly as Wesley Crusher, and I think it’s great.
Blu Ray Version: The special effect of the rift opening is more colorful in the remastered episode, and the trails of the Enterprises are more defined.This episode has a commentary track by Brannon Braga, the writer of the episode. There is a deleted scene as well. It involves Data in the conference room talking a bit more about different quantum realities, and is a waste of time.
Nitpicks: So, then the Enterprise contacts the original ship Worf (and all of us) inhabit, but who is the other Worf on their bridge? I’m also not thrilled than an ‘inverse warp field’ solves everything, but then I’m rarely in favor of a purely tech solution.
Overall Impression: This is one of my favorite episodes of the season, and the entire series. It just gets better and better as it goes on, and there aren’t really any slow spots. There are startling moments, such as Worf waking up in the middle of a battle, or suddenly discovering he and Deanna are married. There are tons of details that you’ll only notice on rewatching, such as Data having blue eyes or seeing a Cardassian in a Starfleet uniform. This episode even tugs at my heart strings a little when we learn in the final reality that Picard died back Best of Both Worlds, and a terrified captain Riker saying “The Federation is gone the Borg is everywhere… we won’t go back!” Heck even the title makes sense, and we know how rare that is. I am so happy to rate this episode 5 out of 5 stars.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: The reference to a time when “he thought he was going to die” is from Ethics. In the alternate timeline it was shortly after this that he and Deanna began to have sexy feelings for each other. Heh. In fact, according to the writers they had been laying groundwork for a possible Worf/Deanna relationship since season five! The last line, “champagne” wasn’t even in the script, Jeri Taylor added it when the director asked for a more definitive ending. If you’re wondering if we ever see Worf’s tournament trophy again, look for it in the DS9 episode Resurrection. This is actually the second appearance of the Argus Array, as it was that same array that was in the episode The Nth Degree. Roberto Orci, one of the two writers of the 2009 Star Trek film used the rationale from this episode to justify the continued existence of the alternate reality in that movie.
Dorn tells a story about this episode, where Data and Worf go to visit a very dead Geordi in sick bay. The cast had a lot of fun, where Brent would ask, “May I speak to Geordi?” Dorn or others would respond, “Yes you can, but it’ll be a little one-sided!” For 20 minutes nobody could record any film because they made one joke after another about the android wanting to talk to the dead guy. Marina said she was laughing so hard she was on the floor rolling around for most of it. The crack Deanna makes at the end of the episode about Worf hitting himself with a pain stick hearkens all the way back to The Icarus Factor–it actually happened.
Missable/Unmissable? Definitely unmissable, this is one of the most recommended episodes this entire season. The next one is too.