“Reunion”

Suzie Plakson would have made a great regular on one of the Trek series. She had quite a presence.

Yes only flaw with this excellent episode is a bomb going off for no reason at all!

Otherwise stunning & shocking. Always feel sad when Plakson dies, excellent character.

2 comments for possibly one of the most important and well done episodes of worf, and star trek cannon from here on? Wow.

I think this episode is amazing! Every beat is perfect, the pace is perfect, this is the only watchable Alexander piece. When I was a kid and Work impaled Duras with Riker screaming in the background, I was stunned, I couldn't believe peace loving Star Trek did this! But I was happy to. And then the scene where alexander asks worf if he is his father and Worf hugs him....I still cry...

Excellent episode, I expected 4 stars before opening the page!

By the way, the bomb was a way to kill Gowron: dispute solved, and Duras takes power. Eventually the opposite happened: Duras killed, and Gowron takes power!

Alas, poor K'Ehleyr. It's a shame she hated her Klingon side so much, this episode kinda proves that she could use it effectively. It was very fun seeing her stand up against Gowron and Duras, even if the latter didn't exactly work out well for her. She was an interesting character in her two appearances, more than worthy of a more permanent role in the franchise. Killing her off is a bit of a loss.

But only somewhat, because between the first instant we see her lying there dying to the last instance we see Worf standing over Duras' body is one of the most intense sequences in all of Trek. Every single moment of that time is perfect, from Worf howling to the Klingon underworld to Alexander running away to Worf's comment to Alexander to the fight on the Klingon ship to Riker arriving in time but Worf ignoring him in the heat of battle. You cannot tear your eyes away from the TV.

And then there was the scene with Picard and Worf. This is completely uncharted waters for us. A member of the senior staff just committed murder! What was Picard going to say? And then, he simply... let Worf go with a slap on the wrist? Yeah, it's a black mark on his record, but no demotion, no prison, no nothing?

And yet, it kinda makes sense. Picard's in completely uncharted waters here too...

For one, look at the geopolitics (er, astropolitics?) involved. Duras just murdered a Federation diplomat. That is a horrific response for a member of the Klingon High Council, and would undoubtedly have put a serious strain on Klingon/UFP relations. A few episodes later, Picard would be willing to have the Enterprise destroyed and to start a war with the Romulans when he believed they had kidnapped a Federation ambassador; why should it be any different here? Even worse, the murderer had a 50/50 chance of being the next chancellor. How could the Federation work with the Klingons after that? Would there be war? And keep in mind, at that point Picard knew that Duras was working with Romulans, or at least had strong evidence of it. Having Duras as Chancellor would be intolerable to the Federation, yet their hands were tied legally. Worf's actions untied them in a manner that was perfectly legal in the Klingon justice system.

It's hard to punish a guy too much when he just saved the Federation. Even a pair of humpback whales know that much.

Secondly, this is the inevitable endgame of the Federation's obsessive "tolerance" culture. By claiming that all cultures have a right to exist, the Federation essentially endorses Worf's commitment to the Klingon culture. And if Worf is to be allowed to act in a Klingon culture, what happens when that culture clashes with Federation culture? Presumably, duels are highly frowned upon in the Federation, yet perfectly rational for Klingons. If your culture places "tolerance" above its own morals (including "duels are bad"), then how can you punish someone for that?

Picard's speech to Worf provides the answer. You can respect other cultures, but only insofar that they respect Federation culture. In other words, duty to the Federation morality comes first. This isn't as obvious as it might seem; given the obsession with tolerance today there are plenty of examples where the law and public opinion is murky on where the majority must sacrifice their culture to the minority and vice versa. With Worf being the only Klingon in Starfleet, it may be possible that this possibility was not clearly spelled out, and Picard may have felt some responsibility for that. After all, he explicitly endorsed Klingon civil code last year by not only allowing Worf to stand trial, but by accepting the role of Worf's fighter during the trial. Picard's actions led to the death of at least one Klingon during Sins of the Father, why is this much different? So he had to be lenient this time while laying down the law that it could not happen again (presumably Sisko didn't get the memo when Worf killed Gowron...).

And finally, it just seems like a slap on the wrist to us. To Worf, Picard's note that it would go in his record was, essentially, an attack on Worf's personal honor. And we know how much that means to him. Notice how much he stiffens when Picard says that to him. To Worf, the knowledge of severe disapproval from his superior officer was punishment enough. And Picard undoubtedly realized it. Especially since he softened up immediately afterwards, asking Worf about how long he would allow the discommendation to last.

One last comment as a random aside: just how ridiculously stupid is the Federation? K'Ehleyr is the Federation ambassador to the Klingons and not vice versa, correct? If so, why the heck would they send someone who HATES Klingon culture to be an ambassador there??? That's some rather insulting diplomacy there. At least they had Curzon... Of course, if she was the Klingon ambassador to the Federation, then that makes more sense...

Fantastic episode.

Really is a shame that K'Ehleyr wasn't kept around, but I do think it was crucial to Worf's character development that she died. She was a rare kindred spirit for Worf: a Klingon working in the federation.
I had forgotten that she was half-human before she appeared in that first episode a few seasons prior. So she pre-dates Belanna Torres as a female half-klingon half-human.

Not sure why you gave this 3-1/2 stars -- it's clearly a four-star episode. Great script, excellent direction by Frakes (who's since become one of the best directors in television) and fantastic performances all around. This is high on my best-of-Trek list.

"Reunion" is one of the prime examples of what Trek can, and should, be. It's pure, unadulterated universe building, nothing else. There is no "seek out new life and new civilizations" or "boldly go where no one has gone before" here. And thank God for it! It's an unabashed attempt to showcase the larger picture in this fictional universe. What this episode provides via the Klingon Empire and with Worf's personal story is exactly what I thought was missing from "The Best of Both Worlds."

By dealing with entities and people we already know, it allows for scenes that would otherwise be as enjoyable as watching paint dry (scenes of people talking in the Observation Lounge and the scenes between Picard, Gowron and Duras) to instead be infused with a great amount of drama and emotional investment.

And I have to say, massive props are due to the writers for having the guts to do two rather unexpected things - having K'Ehleyr die and having Worf do the non-PC thing of killing Duras in full Klingon berserker mode. Both of those were major risks for this show that often doesn't rock the boat.

Hands down one of the best of TNG and quite possibly one of the best of the whole franchise.

10/10

And so we delve deeper into the murky world of Klingon politics. As noted above, this adds more flesh to the bones of an existing story line, a welcome development now possible with 80 odd episodes in the bag.

The return of K’Ehleyr spices matters wonderfully, and the shock of her death to Worf killing Duras in revenge is a great sequence. Worf's struggle with his loss of honour is well documented, as is the revelation and slow acceptance of his son.

And introducing the excellent Gowron is another plus. 3.5 stars.

An excellent episode! It's so sad seeing K'Ehleyr dead, but Worf's reaction, and then murdering Duras, was all fantastic to watch. This is one of those episodes that never loses its power over me.

Great Episode and great turning point for Klingon story arc.

This is the ultimate Klingon political episode of TNG along with Redemption.

DS9 would follow this to the end with Taking into the Wind, where [major spoilers removed by Jammer].

Excellent episode, especially the great performance of Suzie Plakson. The single downer is the introduction of the runt character, Alexander, who went on to become the most annoying character in the entire franchise.

Have to concur, it's a 4 star episode. The bomb thing is easy, he meant to blow up Gowron but didn't quite get close enough, only got his guard/aide instead. Can't see how this isn't 4 star, it's definitely a stronger episode than BOBW II for example.

Terrific episode - great to see K'Ehleyr again but also too bad we won't be seeing her again. She brings a spark to the episode, her facial expressions, her attitude. What's with the Klingon kid showing no expression at all upon seeing her killed? I would have expected some tears, crying. The part about the son drags the show down a bit, although at the end when Worf says he's the father was a nice touch.

As for the main plot, it's the usual Klingon stuff with Duras/Gowron acting like tough guys - both equally distasteful in a power struggle. But the plot plays out well although I do feel the part of the bomb going off was left a bit up in the air. Small detail that isn't too important.

Good episode for Picard to have to take on the job of arbitrating between the 2 Klingons. Also liked his talking-to to Worf after Duras is killed was well done. Liked how he had to deal with the 2 Klingons - they did respect him ultimately.

I still feel the Klingons are a bit ridiculous given how their customs operate. Apparently no issue for Worf to kill Duras for the Klingons, but StarFleet gives him a reprimand - whatever that turns out to be.

I'd rate "Reunion" a strong 3.5 stars. It really picked up with K'Ehleyr's murder - a big moment - and the chain of events that set in motion. Wonder where it leaves the Klingon empire with Gowron in charge...

Agree with the strong 3.5 stars, probably actually a 4 in my book. One of my favorites. Though I do agree with what was mentioned above, the sub plot involving the bomb going off required more thought. Was the bomb intended to kill Galron? If so then why didn't the bomber stand closer to him? It seemed to effect everyone the same. And what was with Dulras' rush, the "finish this now!"? Oh well, a small flaw in an otherwise stellar episode.

I LOVE the episodes involving Klingon politics. For me this one is somewhere between 3.5 and 4, so let's call it 3.75. Hell, it really is a classic--4 stars.

Super episode-great link to Sins of the Father and good introduction to Gowron.
I agree that Suzie Plaxton played her character brilliantly and a shame they bumped her off.

This was a brilliant Worf episode.

A great episode. It occured to me, whilst rewatching TNG's Klingon episodes, that TNG's increasingly bland scoring never really affected its Klingon episodes, which used a pretty cool, portentous, epic score to lend gravity and scope to what were really very small tales, set on very small soundstages.

Not much to say, except that Gowron’s crazed eyes give him a highly recognizable appearance.

@ Trent: I’m pretty sure I can hear a little bit on the Klingon theme from the Trek films used in TNG when there are Klingon action scenes. They don’t completely reuse the theme from the films but the melody is in there

Shakespearean in tone and body count.

Boy, I sure did hate to see K'Ehleyr go. Made for great drama, but the character and Suzie Plakson brought so much. I wish they had given her more appearances as Dr. Solar.

Count me among the fans that loved these Klingon and Romulan political intrigue episodes.

Totally boring. I paid very little attention while it played in the background and I scrolled through Instagram.

Well, do what you want. But perhaps you might have enjoyed the show more if you had put away your Instagram, and perhaps the Instagram might have been better if you had turned off the show.

30 minutes of tedious Klingon politics followed by 15 riveting minutes of palpable character drama. K'Ehleyr's death was appreciated. She was well written, but the actress left much to be desired. And of course, the resulting drama was spectacular.

2.5 stars

Not really excited or really drawn in to this episode. I much prefer Sins of the Father or Redemption to this

Just fell flat. Never a fan of the Kehlehr character or the Worf romance angle. I’d eventual go on to like Alexander but didn’t do much for me here. I also thought Picard was a little crusty in his attitude from way he treated Worf to his attitude with Kmpec.

I love K'Ehleyr and was sad to see her go. She would have made an excellent regular or recurring character.

But, the drama of her death was almost worth the loss. I was riveted to the screen throughout. Dorn was great. His anguish at K'Ehleyr's death, his hot-blooded, completely unstoppable, jaw-dropping killing of Duras.

Alexander was never a well done character - not on TNG or DS9. Too bad. With Worf and K'Ehleyr as parents, he could have - should have- been a very interesting character.

More on the Family theme - so far, prominent in every ep this Season.

Definitely, with K'Ehleyr and Worf trying to make a big decision about their personal lives, and the Empire trying to make a big decision about its next leader, we see a lot about the role of tradition vs personal preference vs concern for others (the bigger picture). There's also an emphasis on time and timing, as Picard deliberately delays the proceedings, K'Ehleyr tries to explain and understand why she delayed telling Worf about his son, Worf and K'Ehleyr run out of time, and we learn Worf is biding his time, in regard to getting his good name back.

Both Worf's decision and the Empire's decision are simplified when death limits the options to one.

An excellent episode - the moment Worf kills Duras is absolutely unforgettable.

Good stuff.

This was the episode I realized I was gonna love Worf for a long time. The fury behind Worf's "Then that is how it shall be!" line still gives me chills.

Just having some fun here...

You know...out of all of the main characters only two have children who are recurring characters - Crusher and Worf.

Crusher's child (the white child) is a genius, receives a field commission, is admitted to Starfleet Academy, and eventually gains what are basically demigod powers.

Conversely, Worf's child (the black child) has behavioral issues, steals, is eventually dumped by his father on his grandparents, and later attempts to commit retroactive suicide.

Do some things not change even after 300 years?

Nice try, but Klingons aren't "black" nor is Alexander ever played by a black actor.

It's a decent one, but it's pretty flawed. The bomb going off doesn't add a lot to the plot and the Romulan involvement is very underplayed. Worf's son's non-reaction to his mother's death is ridiculous.

Worf slaughters one of the candidates for ultimate ruler of the Klingon Empire, and gets away with a reprimand.

Not bad, not really a good one.

Tremendous stuff after three ropey episodes. A big mistake having K'EHyleyr topped though- she was a good foil for woof. Still, it's another reason for him to be pissed off- like he didn't have enough issues...

For some reason I thought this episode was going to be boring. Maybe I'm remembering the later Alexander episodes but this was not boring at all. Everybody else said all the great stuff about this episode.

Such a bummer they killed her off. She was one of the best recurring characters and one of the stronger actors.

Terrible decision to kill off K’ehyleyr in a show where the acting bar is set so low by the likes of Frakes, McFadden, and Sirkis. Suzie Plakson had a great onscreen presence and the show would have benefited with her ongoing appearances.

This episode is noteworthy for the fact that crew of the Enterprise have carte-Blanche for committing murder of foreign diplomats so that’s nice.

The whole “Duras is bad” thread never really sat well with me. Duras would never have used poison, so who killed the High Chancellor? The episode seemed to be setting up a better Third Act that never came to be.

3 out of 4 stars.

"Duras would never have used poison..." Why not? He was shown to be dishonorable, self-serving, and conspiring with Romulans. Maybe the Romulans poisoned K'Mpec under Duras' direction, or at the very least a "do whatever you need to do" mandate from him.

K'Ehleyr was my favorite of Worf's love interests. Much better than Troi or Jadzia Dax. As others have said, it was a mistake to kill her off. Plakson may not have been interested in a regular role, but they could have served her and Trek better even with occasional guest appearances. Just imagine K'Ehleyr strutting around Deep Space 9, taking everyone down a peg with cutting remarks. Bouncing her off Quark or Garrick would have been amazing.

Point of clarification: K'Ehleyr doesn't hate Klingon culture, she just sees through a lot of the bullshit honour talk, especially among the elite who clearly only use it as a weapon when it advantages themselves. Unlike Worf, she won't play the game when she knows it has been rigged. That's why she always uses starts off with the Klingon honour is bullshit attack with Worf when ever he plays the honour card, but is eventually forced to concede Worf means it and she actually loves him for it.

Its a shame K'Ehleyr needs to die. But of course, you can only truly enjoy Shakespeare in the original Klingon. It just would have been much better if they gave her a few more episodes before outing her damn spot.

Klingon politics. Yawn. Worf is a (single) parent. Yawn. Complete lack of humour. Yawn. No sci-fi unique to this episode. Yawn.

It was well-produced though, so although I was personally bored sh*tless, I will grudgingly give it 2 stars. Apologies to all who vehemently disagree with my rating - it’s all subjective!

I get your negative feelings towards the Klingons. They are one of the most flawed concepts in Star Trek. Cavemen in spaceships essentially. I find them so silly that I can enjoy them on the same level as I enjoy the little murder bears from Star Wars.

@Booming

Not so much cavemen as Vikings perhaps? Only without the art.

Which leads to another question. Why do none of the Trek alien species have a sense of humour? The Vulcans, Romulans, Klingons… all without a real laugh (the Klingons only laugh at someone else’s discomfort or dishonour which is not the same as having a GSOH). As for the Ferengi, we only laugh AT, not WITH. Creating a race that enjoyed a good joke would have been a wonderful move on the part of the creators. Unless Roddenberry lacked one himself, perhaps?

@Tidd
The Vikings were far more often traders than raiders. Be that as it may, the Klingons are behaving like primitives. They are still partially cannibalistic.

About the humor. There were other species who liked humor. There is Balok. The Trill liked to laugh. Then there is the scene in which Quark and the Karemma guy disarm the torpedo and laugh. The Bajorans liked to laugh. Guinans species, too. Betazoids where seen giggling occasionally. Cardassians laughed sometimes about non disturbing things. Q.

Roddenberry himself. That guy was flying high most of the time and considering that he was married to Majel Barrett aka Lwaxana one would assume that he had a sense of humor.

"Creating a race that enjoyed a good joke would have been a wonderful move on the part of the creators."

This was the whole idea behind Neelix! He has his haters, sure, but they just don't get how revolutionary it was to invert the Roddenberry "glum alien" archetype.

Oh yes, Neelix. Star Trek’s answer to A.L.F.

Honestly I think the lack of humor can be laid at the feet of the actors and directors involved. Any actor in any role can create humor if it's desired (and if they're actually funny). Some of the glummest material is fertile soil for the biggest laughs. On DS9 I think they did a good job overall of really letting the actors be people with each other, covering the range of emotions. That includes Garak, Dukat, the Bajorans, Quark, Odo, and many other non-humans who had plenty of chances to enjoy humor. And of course Spock in TOS had plenty of witty remarks, even though they are of course all played dry. Kor in Errand of Mercy had plenty to be merry about. Once we get into TNG, VOY, and other shows, it's really the writing styles and the performances that dictate whether anything will have levity. I really don't think this particular issue can be laid at the feet of Roddenberry.

Taking a look at the Klingons even in TNG, Gowron definitely knows how to have a laugh, and he cracks wise on occasion. Kurn, too, seems to wield sarcasm quite well. Other characters have more of a stock feel to them. And we really don't get very many Romulans to choose from, even though in theory they should be able to enjoy joking. The writing was so uber-focused on their totalitarian miseries that there was no room for anything else. It's like cracking open 1984 anytime a Romulan is onscreen.

And hey, there's Mr. Mot! He's a funny man.

The setting plays into it as well. A quasi military ship will provide far less opportunities for humor than a space station with many civilians, bars and shops.

@ Booming,

Maybe, but I dunno about that. TOS featured a bridge that was more submarine-like, and definitely more military, than TNG's luxury-liner bridge design, and the scenes in that show are filled with jokes, one-liners, and ribbing each other.

Ya I don't understand where this idea that aliens aren't allowed to be funny came from. It's plainly untrue. Guinan has a whole speech about it in TNG S03 - Redemption.

@Peter
What I mean is that contact with other species is different if you are on a Starfleet ship. If the flagship has to fly somewhere then the mission is often serious. Less opportunities for comedy. The Orville highlights that problem because it is a comedy show. They often have serious missions and them somebody make a penis joke which often doesn't fit and feels misplaced.

But I agree with your point. Comedy is an art and not everybody can be funny.

I love K'Ehleyr so much. One of my favorite characters and so well acted. The first time I watched this I really hated that she died, and I still do. I know it works with the story but it's one that hurts. Suzie Plakson did well as the female Q on Voyager and as St. Selar but she OWNED this character. I thought K'Ehleyr and Worf were great together - much better than any of Worf's later loves (and I barely know about those on DS9 as I never managed to even getting close to finishing that series, it wasn't for me). This is a great episode.

After weighing in on Terry Farrell's acting as being bland and below average, I'd say Suzie Plakson is a much better actress. She was refreshing to see in TNG which has a weakness, especially in the earlier seasons, with too many poor guest actors.

I'd say most of Plakson's roles rely on a bit of friendly snark and she has a very expressive face. So she's very good at this type of role but also showed that she can do a pretty good Vulcan in "The Schizoid Man". One thing, for me, about doing a good Vulcan is the subtle facial expressions. There is suppression of emotion but I think there is also a very subtle reaction to a situation, statement somebody makes etc. before going into emotional suppression -- it takes place in a split-second. Some actors are able to pull it off well, others like Robert Foxworth in ENT's S4 Vulcan trilogy show too much emotion.

But for sure K'Ehleyr was Plakson's best role on Trek, a good foil for Worf, and I too was shocked/disappointed that she got killed -- but that also lends to the weight of this episode, that it doesn't play it comfortable and is one of TNG's finest hours.

Yeah, K'Ehleyr's death was shocking and she felt somewhat underused and it almost feels like a waste.

"Almost", because her death and what what follows is one of the most stunning and riveting sequences in Trek.

Suzie Plakson is always good. She was in a comedy years ago and her quick wit really shone.

K'Ehleyr's job always confused me....was she an ambassador in Klingon employ? If so, why are her extreme anti-Klingon views tolerated? OR is she a diplomat in Federation employ, who has been assigned to the Klingon home world, finally ending up as a liaison to Kempec when the Klingon-Federation alliance begins to take root?

I think she did a poor job as a Q - rather than being always good. Your mileage may vary.

Not her fault....not her fault....nothing would've helped that one.... : )
Voyager's The Q and the Grey

"K'Ehleyr's job always confused me....was she an ambassador in Klingon employ? If so, why are her extreme anti-Klingon views tolerated? OR is she a diplomat in Federation employ, who has been assigned to the Klingon home world, finally ending up as a liaison to Kempec when the Klingon-Federation alliance begins to take root?"

She is the Federation ambassador to the Klingon empire.

@Jason R.
Thanks. You're right.

Nevertheless, for such an important character, K'Ehleyr remains a puzzle. She had a Klingon father. (Name?). She had a human mother (Name?). She presumably lived at some point inside Federation space? Or always on the Klingon home world?

In my search for details, I learned that her costume set sold at Christie's in 2006 for $1920.00. (a bargain!).
According to the catalogue (live auction 1778, lot no. 614), most of the costume elements were "...inscribed Suzie Plaxton or Plaxton [sic] - worn by Suzi Plakson as K'Ehleyr...."

Suggestion: if no other name is available for K'Ehleyr's father, perhaps "Plaxton" would be cool. Her mother: could be "Suzie," short for "Susan A. Kane." The mother's maiden name Alexander, (middle initial A.), would then explain K'Ehleyr's later choice for the name of Worf's son. Susan A. Kane has other Hollywood associations.

Security was a joke in this episode all around. Trained Star Fleet guards can just be distracted and led away, people can walk unannounced into someone's quarters on the Federation flagship and murder them ( I guess door locks aren't a thing in this episode) people can beam onto Klingon ships and roam around nilly willy. Crusher sure took her sweet time getting to a medical emergency also; something wrong with the transporters? Sure it was a great episode otherwise but come on, what's up with all that?

Why are Gowron and Duros so obsessed with completing the succession so quickly? Ohhh noooo, it might take hours or even days? They might have to attend more board meetings with Picard in that conference room!! Gowron is even is willing to give K'ehlyr a seat on the high counsel just to "quicken the pace"? Egads. Not a patient man is he?

Well that's a good question, Jason R. Maybe the fact that they're in such a hurry is an actual plot point. Perhaps we're supposed to suspect that both of them have something to hide that they'd like to brush over with a quick process. Maybe they both intend to just attack each other regardless of the ruling, so any delay in the process is just a waste of time anyhow.

In particular we can expect that Duras wouldn't want any deep investigations into his past to happen, and maybe Gowron has skeletons in his closet too? Or maybe on Gowron's side he is so convinced that he's the worthy choice that he is actually just impatient to be named Chancellor already. He is kinda brash like that.

"Maybe they both intend to just attack each other regardless of the ruling, so any delay in the process is just a waste of time anyhow."

Well one thing I noticed watching this last night is that succession is actually supposed to be settled by a *fight* - K'Mpec tells Picard that when he states that Picard's role as Arbitor was merly to select the challengers. I think I glossed that over previously and failed to realize that it was likely a real duel to the death where the only question is who partakes in the duel i.e. who is eligible to fight for the Chancellorhood (eliminating the risk tbat any hobo who is good with a sword could win the title). Of course it all goes to shit for Duras when Worf cuts him in half, leaving no one left to challenge him. Gowron basically wins by acclamation. Boy, what an ungrateful prick he was.

Good point. So I guess they did just want to throw down and fight and not waste time with words. In fact the main reason for the delay was essentially so they could buy time to get Duras disqualified. Maybe an easier solution would have been for Mr. Worf to control Gowron's body by remote control so that he'd win.

I have a lot more to say about this episode and will post another time. I just wanted to say that I LOVE how Patrick Massett plays Duras! He is so passionate and aggressive.

Frankly, Duras was screwed no matter what.

Even if he hadn't murdered K'Ehylar (or even if Worf hadn't sought revenge), Gowron was highly suspicious of him after that scene in the conference room. By then, it was clear that Picard was going to install Gowron over him and once Gowron was in power, he likely would have had Duras hunted down and executed. Or at minimum challenged him to a duel on the accusations of being a traitor.

Peter G. : "Well that's a good question, Jason R. Maybe the fact that they're in such a hurry is an actual plot point. Perhaps we're supposed to suspect that both of them have something to hide that they'd like to brush over with a quick process. Maybe they both intend to just attack each other regardless of the ruling, so any delay in the process is just a waste of time anyhow.

In particular we can expect that Duras wouldn't want any deep investigations into his past to happen, and maybe Gowron has skeletons in his closet too? Or maybe on Gowron's side he is so convinced that he's the worthy choice that he is actually just impatient to be named Chancellor already. He is kinda brash like that. "

I just watched this episode yesterday, and it struck me that they never truly solved the mystery of who poisoned K'mpec. Yes, Duras is in league with the Romulans and tried to kill Gowron and in general should never be allowed near power, but....

Maybe Gowron did kill K'mpec. From what we know of him in later episodes/series, he's not exactly above backstabbing someone if he sees an opportunity or feels threatened.

Anyways, I always thought they left that thread dangling intentionally.

@ Chris L.

"Anyways, I always thought they left that thread dangling intentionally."

As I understand, the writers intended to make it clear that it was Duras. They felt Dr. Crusher's reveal that it was Duras's aide who blew himself up was sufficient.

It wasn't until years later -when online message boards became a thing- they realized they weren't as clear as they thought.

K'mpec should have used a poison-sniffing targ to screen his blood wine. Any beagle can tell you that.

In a way, it's Worfs fault as head of security, that K'Ehleyr died. There was only ONE security guard for Duras and his companion. One of the basic rules in security is: One protector for one target person.
And as always: Dr. Crushers ist to blame aswell. In the age of transporters it took way to long to get K'Ehleyr to sick bay or the medical team to her. Polaski would have saved her.

This episode was good, but most of us got sick of Alexander very quickly.

K’Ehylar is magnificent.

I once watched a Trek-focused documentary that described a very young Whoopie Goldberg flipping channels on the TV in 1960-something and being thrilled to see a black woman on the bridge of a starship. (Of course, one can cynically add that it was thrilling because it was kept so rare. Little Whoopi would probably have preferred a world in which black women in high office was a routine yawn. But still: I love that she had that thrill.)

Seeing K‘Ehylar on-screen 30 years ago was a similar thrill for me. She wasn't just strong - she was fierce. It was a rare portrayal.

I echo many of the other comments: what a shame she was killed off! But I cannot regret it - because The Worf howl and ensuing scene was perfection. Love Worf’s delivery of “K’Ehylar was my mate” . Love the effect those words have: the reaction shot of Duras and his crew falling silent, and Duras wordlessly drawing his batt’lith - knowing immediately what Worf has come to do.

"I echo many of the other comments: what a shame she was killed off! But I cannot regret it - because The Worf howl and ensuing scene was perfection. Love Worf’s delivery of “K’Ehylar was my mate” . Love the effect those words have: the reaction shot of Duras and his crew falling silent, and Duras wordlessly drawing his batt’lith - knowing immediately what Worf has come to do."

Yet I always found it weird that despite Worf being persona non grata in the empire (literally as he is referred to as "that" and never by personal pronouns) the mere fact that Kaylar was his mate gives him some kind of holy writ to waltz onto Duras's ship and shove a Batleth up his ass with zero repercussion. And we're talking about Duras here, the guy who poisoned and backstabbed his way up the ladder - I mean damn, this mate thing must have been one hell of a big deal for Duras to have no choice but to bet his life on a sword fight. I don't see him as the type to pay fair, putting it mildly.

And by the way, can someone help me out here: why does Picard claim in subsequent episodes that Duras died "in disgrace"? I mean yes he murdered Kaylar but so what? What about his death would have impacted his honour? Anyone want to explain? Is it simply losing in a sword fight to Worf?

Oh and by the way on this whole "died in disgrace" thing, when Worf announced Kaylar was his mate, Duras's men immediately act like this is a big deal and presumably refuse to intervene to protect their boss. Which means they must have known Duras murdered her and were apparently fine with it.

Because sure stabbing to death the Federation ambassador in her cabin is just fine and dandy but *heaven forbid" a disgraced traitor be denied his right of revenge against their boss, the next leader of the Empire. Klingon morality is, different.

Duras’s crew didnt necessarily know about the murder (why would Duras tell them?) - but they understood from Worf’s words and look and approach that he had come to duel with Duras. That was their first inkling that K’Ehylar was dead, and that Worf blamed Duras for it. This was all surely a surprise to them.

Why woukd they jump up and fight for Duras? It was a duel: an honor-bound ritual combat.

When Lensky publicly slapped Onegin and threw down his glove, Onegin’s men didn’t jump in and beat him up.

When Jamie Lannister challenged Ned Stark, the fighting men on both sides stood back and let their masters face death. (The one guy who intervened to help his lord by stabbing Stark from behind was then *killed* by his lord for this dishonorable conduct.).

Alexander Hamilton s second stood by politely and watched Aaron Burr draw and shoot and kill his friend.

When you were twelve, if someone challenged you to a fight you met and fought one on one, and the spectators didnt intervene (wven if they were your friends and you were getting your ass kicked)..

Dueling 101: The challenger and the challenged fight. Everyone else stands back and nears witness, ensuring the conventions of honor are upheld . As an Earthling, it seems pretty normal to me.

I agree with Tara but I think it goes even beyond dueling rights. The Klingon rules are all more or less governed around killing as much as is possible while not allowing their civilization to fall apart. There are apparently certain sacrosanct areas of life that are deemed absolutely necessary to fight immediately, one of which is a fight over a mate, and another of which is challenging a captain for command of a ship (or challenging Gowron during Redemption). So while Duras' men might have had a code of conduct of sorts, I also think that "they want to fight" is something that it would take an enormous amount of restraint for anyone to put a stop to, because it would mean that they, too, will be made to stop a fight one day. And one thing Klingons don't want to do is...not fight.

So it's sort of like a prisoner's dilemma: we have to let these dudes fight it out, because otherwise we risk losing *our* privileges to fight in situations where we feel we need to fight. And there's a technological prisoner's dilemma too: we need to let them fight *with swords*, because they want to, and because if we intervene or use disruptors, that means one day when we want to fight someone will just pull an Indiana Jones and shoot us instead of a Bat'leth. And since we trained for 30 years on a Bat'leth, we definitely wouldn't want that to happen...

Hmmm.

I still don't understand why Duras died "in disgrace". And I'll just add: what was Duras's plan to deal with Gowron anyway? A plate of poison Gach? Or did he just have to cross his fingers and hope he was better at dueling?

Or hey maybe putting 2+2 together I figured out the answer to my original question of why the two of them were so obsessed with speeding up the ritual: Duras wanted to get out of there ASAP before Gowron could get onto his ship and challenge him to a fair fight and Gowron wanted to challenge him before Duras could arrange for him to slip and fall in the shower.

I like the interpretation that Duras' men didn't know about his murder of K'Ehleyr but figured it out once Worf strode in. That makes sense to me, as well as why he would die in disgrace. Duras did a politically motivated killing and then was successfully and rightfully revenge-killed by a p'takh discommendated traitor. That's very disgraceful.

You know why else Duras' men wouldn't help? Because:
1) Duras should be able to kill Worf on his own. That's just the way things work for Klingons. But also:
2) Duras' men don't *actually* want Worf to kill them, and they can tell he means business and they might die if they intervene.

So I'd qualify what Peter is saying, in that I agree Klingons want to fight, but they also *often* don't want to fight, at least not to the death. Most Klingons probably do not actually want to fight someone who is going to kill them, just like I think all but the most fanatical Ferengi would probably break a contract if keeping the contract were going to kill them *and they could get away with it*. The problem is that the cultural norms are so strong (and they support them most of the time!) that they are always looking for outs that allow them to save face and also not die.

With Duras, I think he is actually scared here. I think that he knows that Worf probably is going to kill him. But there is no way he can get out of this situation, with his men there. I think in private he would 100% pull out his disruptor, or find a way to stab Worf in the back, or whatever. (OTOH in private, Worf might just find a way to kill him anyway -- I don't think Worf would use treachery, but he might actually be somewhat prepared for some of Duras' treachery.) But I think he knows his life is basically over if his political career is over, and so he needs to fight and hope for the best.

The other reason Duras dies in disgrace is because he did in fact poison K'mpec, which means objectively speaking he has no honor and when he dies he dies in disgrace regardless of his manner of death. After all, he died in combat which in theory should be an honorable death. But not if everyone suspected what he had done. In any case, if it's Picard who says he died in disgrace then it based on his own private knowledge from Sins of the Father, along with learning that K'mpec was poisoned.

Possibly losing a fight to a discommendated Klingon is seen as innately disgraceful.

Maybe I am misremembering but I thought there was a scene where Picard specifically asks Gowron how Duras's family could continue his claim give that he died in "disgrace" and the family is responsible under Klingon law for his misdeeds. The way Picard says it you don't get the impression he's just giving his personal opinion but stating a well known fact that this is how Duras died.

Indeed they never uncover evidence that Duras poisoned K'Mpec, at least none that was mentioned in the episode. And the High Council kept a tight lid on the treachery of Duras's father as we know, even after his death.

So whatever Duras did to "disgrace" himself it must be either murdering Keylar or losing a fight to Worf and neither of those things seem like they would be cause for him to lose his honour.

So I am thinking here Redemption must have been a Retcon of Reunion.

@ Jason R,

This is Reunion:

"PICARD: I had hoped you would not throw away a promising career. I understand your loss, We all admired K'Ehleyr. A reprimand will appear on your record. Dismissed. Mister Worf, isn't it time for the truth about your father's innocence to be told? After all, you only accepted this dishonour to protect the name of Duras and hold the Empire together. Now that he has died in disgrace, what is gained by further silence?"

This is the text I was referring to above, which is just Picard saying that in his opinion Duras' actions were disgraceful. But it's part of an argument about why the continued silence serves no purpose.

This is from Redemption part 1:

"K'TAL: What is your decision?
PICARD: K'Tal, this Council knows the law of heredity well. G'now juk Hol pajhard. A son shall share in the honours or crimes of his father. Toral is Duras' son. That has been established by the genetic scan. But with due respect to the traditions and laws of this High Council, there is no basis for accepting a petition for leadership from a boy who has fought no battles, shed no blood for his people, or earned no honour for himself. One day, perhaps he shall. But not now. Duras is dead. His claim to the leadership died with him. Gowron shall lead the Council."

Picard says that while Toral does technically inherit whatever public honors his father earned, he's not fit for that inheritance yet until he has some honor of his own. This makes it pretty clear that Picard is not bringing up any hint that there's dishonor for Toral to inherit; more like Toral's honor trust fund hasn't come in yet. Whatever Picard said to Worf in Reunion was and remains private. And I do think that by the end of Reunion we are meant to understand firmly that Duras did poison K'mpec, so that this is part of our canon. The Klingons don't know it yet, but we the audience do.

Peter maybe I have misrembered but I thought it was in a conversation with Gow'Ron that Picard suggested that Duras was tainted, even before Toral appears. And yes it's pretty heavily implied that Duras poisoned Kem'Pec but there is never any evidence either way. Yes we know Duras did it because we know he's a scumbag, but the issue becomes moot after he murders Kay'Lar and has Worf's Bat'Leth embedded in his spine.

And funny enough now that I think of it, it's actually possible that Gowron did poison Kem'Pec a d Duras was innocent. Heck he implied as much to Kay'Lar and given his character it's not totally outside the realm of possible. Just because Duras is scum doesn't mean Gow'Ron isn't too.

@ Jason R,

You're right, there's is this exchange at the start of Redemption:

GOWRON: The family of Duras is massing support. They have many allies on the Council.
PICARD: Duras died in disgrace. By Klingon tradition, his family should share that disgrace.
GOWRON: Their corruption has poisoned the Empire. Honour will soon have no meaning.

But I do think that the idea that Duras poisoned K'mpec is restricted to only those who were in the Observation Lounge during the Arbiter proceedings. You may remember from Reunion that when Picard brings up that K'mpec was poisoned, Gowron looks sternly at Duras immediately. I think he, like Picard, suspects what happened, but none of them can prove it. So as far as they personally are concerned Duras has no honor, and it seems in the meantime no one was able to bring anything to light that made most Klingons think anything was amiss. Or at least not amiss enough.

Isn't it a big factor that Duras was conspiring with Romulans? Although that does not appear to have been made public knowledge.

This is all we know about the Romulans from Reunion:

WORF: What about the detonator?
DURAS: This is pointless! The findings were inconclusive.
WORF: Fortunately, our investigation was more thorough. The bomb used a molecular-decay detonator.
GOWRON: What?
PICARD: A Romulan device.
DURAS: I will return to my ship to confirm these conclusions myself.

There's just zero reason to believe that Duras was exposed or outed in Reunion. He killed Kaylar and Worf killed him in revenge, that's really all we can say.

Keep in mind too that his family was apparently so powerful that even when proof emerged that his father had betrayed the Empire the entire counsel preferred to throw Mogh under the bus than accept the truth. And this continues even after Duros's death.

Interestingly, one wonders if Duros's entire attitude and anger at Picard's involvement as arbiter was that it introduced an unknown element that he couldn't rig in his favor.

The very first thing he does when he finds out Picard is going to be arbitrating is try to bomb Kem'Pec's ship, which maybe was his best (and maybe last) chance to get lucky and take out Gowron.

After that he loses his chance to go after Gowron because the Mekbah is onboard the Enterprise where he can't presumably get away with planting bombs (although I guess stabbing an ambassador in her quarters is fine lol)

So assuming Duros is not the kind of Klingon to risk his political ambitions on the outcome of a sword fight, we can assume his strategy is to bomb, poison and otherwise backstab his rivals, preferably in surprise attacks and Picard and the Enterprise were cramping his style by forcing him onto neutral territory where his agents couldn't operate effectively.

The only question then is what Gowron thinks is going on here and what his intensions are.

Funny enough I think I was only half joking when I raised the possibility that he poisoned Kem'Pec. Even prior to his actions in DS9 there are many hints that Gowron is only marginally better in character than Duros. Basically as Ezri noted later it seems not only are the Klingon elites not honourable as Worf seems to understand, but they are basically depraved and rotten across the board.

@ Jason R,

"There's just zero reason to believe that Duras was exposed or outed in Reunion. He killed Kaylar and Worf killed him in revenge, that's really all we can say."

I'm a bit lost about what or who this is arguing against. My position so far at least has been that Picard and Worf privately know that Duras poisoned K'mpec and probably conspired with Romulans to plant a bomb. And by the end of Reunion I think Gowron suspects these same things. O'Reilly's performance in Reunion is enough to convince me that he had no idea the Romulans were involved. And I find it hard to believe that he'd be so outraged about Duras using a Romulan bomb while going around himself poisining people.

The more political Klingon side of it is the inheritance of dishonor, which Duras should have done based on his father being a traitor. But this was already known by the council. At the start of Redemption this is the issue Picard is addressing, since publicizing the fact of Ja'rod's treason to exonerate Mogh would no longer be stonewalled by Duras, since he's dead. The fact that he 'died in disgrace' makes it easier, but in a way this is beside the point. Since he presumably no longer has any armies it doesn't matter if chains are rattled by announcing he had no honor. And the fact of the matter at *this* point is that even Gowron would have a tough time clearing Worf's name, because it no longer only implicates Duras' family, but all the council members who buried the truth. Gowron would have to be in a position of undisputed power to finally do such a thing.