46 – The Emissary

Grade: B

Summary

A half-human, half-Klingon ambassador travels to the Enterprise aboard a coffin-sized probe, with orders from Starfleet. Captain Picard is to destroy some Klingon warriors who have been cryogenically frozen for the last 75 years. Picard obviously wants to find another solution to the crisis, but the ambassador is pretty sure there isn’t one.

Commentary

This is a very good episode, especially considering the rest of the second season episodes. In fact, sometimes I even forget this is a second season offering. Suzie Plakson returns as a guest star, but this time she plays a half-human half-Klingon ambassador who warns the Enterprise about the cryogenically frozen Klingons. There is a bit of overacting here, but she plays her part very well, and the character development in this episode is great. I love the insights to Worf’s character that are shown here.

The ending is a bit anticlimatic, and slightly predictable, but still fun to watch. The music could have been a lot better than it was, but it’s passable. Really, the focus of this episode is on the character development, and it’s very good here. In terms of character development, the only comparable episode in this season is Measure of a Man.

One of the great things about this episode is that the events are fairly symbolic of what’s happening in Worf’s relationship with K’Ehleyr. Neither one of them is very open to negotiation, and both are very set in their ways. But at least Worf takes the position that there are always more options than just one.

Since this is Star Trek we’re talking about, you’d expect that once K’Ehleyr leaves the Enterprise at the end of the episode, this is the end of her relationship with Worf. Thankfully, she appears again in a future episode, and Worf will continue to deal with the aftermath of this episode throughout his time in Starfleet. Ultimately, this makes Emissary an even better episode than usual.

Of Note

One of the guest stars in this episode is Diedrich Bader, in one of his very first roles. You’ve seen him everywhere – check out his entry on IMDB to see what else he’s been in.

Another guest you may recognize is Anne Ramsay at the helm.

No Wesley Crusher this time.