81 – Reunion

Grade: B

Summary

Someone has been slowly poisoning K’mpec to death. He’s the leader of the Klingon High Council. He asks Captain Picard to select the new leader of the High Council – either Duras or Gowron. Meanwhile, Ambassador K’Ehleyr comes aboard the Enterprise with a surprise for Worf.

Commentary

Suzie Plakson makes a welcome return to the Star Trek franchise as Worf’s love interest, K’Ehleyr. She is a great character and a great addition to the franchise. Though I understand why they wrote the episode the way they did, I wish there were a way they could have kept this a strong episode without writing her off the way they did. On the other hand, it’s pretty remarkable they had the guts to do it this way. I’m not sure the writers of the more recent Star Trek productions would have done it the same way.

I noticed something during the last time I watched this episode. Whenever there’s an explosion on a Klingon ship, is there a requirement to show it in slow motion? I actually don’t remember any explosions on Klingon ships that are NOT in slow motion. Oh well.

Anyway, there is a lot to love about this episode. The acting and characters are very strong, and the storyline becomes more and more interesting with every scene.

It was also great to learn more about the Klingons and Worf’s father’s involvement in the battle of Khitomer. This episode is a great addition to the series and one that you should definitely watch if you haven’t seen it.

Of Note

This episode is the first time we’ve seen the Klingon Vor’cha class attack cruiser.

One error in this episode happens just before Worf leaves the Enterprise. He drops his communicator in his quarters and then beams over to the Klingon ship. Later, when Riker, Data and a security officer try to find him, they ask the computer where he is. Somehow the computer knows Worf beamed off the Enterprise, even though his badge is in his room. In future episodes of this series, the computer can only track the badge, but not the person. So we should have heard the computer say, “Worf is in his quarters.”