Plot Synopsis: A mysterious family friend and advisor encourages Worf’s son Alexander to become a warrior.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser shows what a wuss-bag little Alexander has become. Worf somewhat clumsily talks to him about his upcoming rite of ascension, which will begin his path of being a warrior and Alexander says no. Plot A is about Worf and his son, there is no plot B. The Enterprise is doing nothing so Worf and Alexander go to a Klingon religious holiday. It seems to be working, and afterwards an assassination attempt is foiled in part due to K’mtar’s intervention, a close Mogue family advisor. K’mtar says the house of Duras is trying to kill off the house of Mogue to get Kurn’s seat on the council. K’mtar and Worf set out to make the boy a man, but they fail again and again. Riker and the Enterprise chase after Lursa and B’Etor, getting some info from Quark along the way. K’mtar gets tired of Alexander sucking at everything and recommends a Klingon boarding school. They finally catch up the Duras sisters, but the marking on the assassin’s blade shows a son for the Duras house that is not born yet–something’s fishy. After “K’mtar” tries to kill Alexander he spills the beans–he’s Alexander from the future!
Favorite Scenes: The scene where K’mtar tells Worf his true identity is surprisingly good. His reasons are sound, and realistic given his history. It’s not bad.
Use of Cast/Characters: Picard is only in the first seven minutes, but he is a thoughtful man. It’s a measure of his relationship with Worf that Worf opens up to his captain, and Picard takes the Enterprise out of their way so father and son can attend an event. This is really Michael Dorn’s episode, and the dynamic between Worf and Alexander is on stage for the last time. Alexander has incredible development. We not only learn he won’t become a warrior, but we see what kind of guy he does become! Riker does some detective work tracking down the Duras sisters (last seen in Redemption II), and is clever enough to detect them while cloaked. Troi is slightly helpful, Geordi and Data have some short screen time down on a planet, and little else. Taking last place is Dr. Crusher, who has only one line. Hey, as long as you say one line you get paid! James Sloyan plays “K’mtar” and he does a good job. Armin Shimmerman does a cameo as Quark, and is just his usual self. It’s always great to see the Duras sisters!
Blu Ray Version: There are two deleted scenes. The first occurs right before K’mtar’s holodeck idea for training. It’s an unnecessary scene in the hallway where K’mtar tries to get Alexander’s interest. The second has an expanded role for Troi: Worf goes to her for counsel, and she offers good insight. When he worries Alexander won’t be accepted as a ‘true Klingon’, she points out that others may not think Worf is, because he’s in Starfleet. She goes on that he has achieved balance between his two heritages, and so can Alexander. This facilitates the mental journey Worf makes in changing how he thinks of his son. It’s a good scene and could have been left in.
Nitpicks: The method of Alexander finding a way to travel in time is fairly weak and not really explained. It’s forgivable because how he does it is not really the point. Would it be too much to ask for more time with Lursa and B’Etor? They’re great characters and don’t have enough screen time. The scene with Data and Geordi on the planet in the mine is sort of a waste. I’d rather have the Troi/Worf scene back in, or more time with someone else.
Overall Impression: The heart of this episode is the relationship between a father and a son. It’s a relatively forgettable episode, but it’s better than I gave it credit for initially. There is a theme here that I appreciate more as I have grown up, which is that our children don’t often follow the path we want for them. Learning how to adjust and love them is one of the lessons of life. There is an uncertain future for Alexander, and that’s ok. While this isn’t a bad episode, it’s not particularly good either. I rate this episode 2.5 out of 5 stars on a good day.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: The original story involved Alexander falling into a time portal and permanently aging into a bitter 25-yr old. Thank goodness Michael Piller said no it, but it later became the plot of the DS9 episode Time’s Orphan. Also, originally the plan was for K’Ehleyr to be Alexander’s rescuer at the end of the story. The actress was interested but couldn’t do it because a conflict with other commitments. It would have been cool to see her again. Sloyan, who portrayed K’Mtar, was also Admiral Jarok back in the awesome The Defector. This is the eighth and final appearance of Alexander Rozhenko. If you do want to see the character again he appears in two episodes of DS9’s season six: Sons and Daughters and You are Cordially Invited. It’s also the final TV appearance of Lursa and B’Etor, two wonderful characters that are frankly underused here. The reference to them recently visiting DS9 is for the episode Past Prologue. We see them one final time in the Generations film. Finally, this episode was nominated for the Outstanding Hairstyling Emmy.
Missable/Unmissable? It’s missable unless you are an Alexander fan. So’s the next.