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| Klingon warrior K'Mtar (James Sloyan) challenges Worf about Alexander's future. |
Friday, March 21, 2014
7-21. Firstborn.
When Alexander says he doesn't want to become a Klingon warrior, Worf decides to expose him to Klingon culture by taking him to a Klingon outpost celebrating the Kot'baval Festival, a commemoration of Kahless' defeat of an ancient tyrant. This seems promising: Alexander throws himself into a re-enactment of the battle, and enjoys playing with other Klingon children.
That night, Worf and Alexander are attacked. Worf is able to fight off the assailants with help from a stranger: K'mtar (James Sloyan), who introduces himself as an advisor to The House of Mogh, sent by Worf's brother to protect him from an assassination attempt by the Duras Sisters, Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh). The Enterprise crew goes to work tracking down the Duras Sisters, still in hiding from the Klingon government.
Meanwhile, K'mtar begins pressing Worf about Alexander's future. When Worf balks at the idea of sending the boy to a Klingon academy, the other man threatens to challenge his right to raise his son, insisting the boy should be taken to the Klingon homeworld!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: Takes seriously Worf's concerns about his son, ordering a deviation in the ship's course so that Worf can expose Alexander more directly to Klingon culture. Spends the rest of the episode on vacation, leaving Riker in command.
Riker: With Picard off the ship, it is left to Riker to coordinate the search for the Duras Sisters... after he gets K'Mtar to explain why Worf was attacked, that is. When the Klingon evades that it's "a Klingon matter," Riker snaps back that it becomes his concern when one of his officers is attacked, and looks ready to physically battle K'Mtar if that's what's needed. I suppose it bears remembering that Riker spent some time on a Klingon ship himself. He also gets a chance to show his roguish side when sparring with Quark, making a deal for information. Jonathan Frakes is in fine form throughout, and every one of his scenes is a good one.
Worf: He genuinely wants to honor K'Ehleyr's memory by allowing Alexander to choose his own path. He just cannot understand how a path other than that of a Klingon warrior could be appealing or fulfilling. He does seem to at least subconsciously recognize that his son isn't suited to a warrior life. He admits to K'Mtar that Alexander's fighting skills are years behind those of most Klingons his age; when K'Mtar pushes him to send Alexander to a Klingon school so that he can catch up, however, he resists. Later, he cuts short the other Klingon's scolding of Alexander for not killing a holo-opponent. Both would be the right way to deal with a young Klingon warrior, but Worf already knows that this isn't the right way to deal with his son. It just takes a hard push for him to consciously acknowledge as much.
Quark: Has an amusing cameo, in which he provides Riker with information about the whereabouts of the Duras sisters. It's only a few minutes' screen time, but it's fun watching Quark and Riker try to outmaneuver each other. Quark voiding Riker's vouchers for his bar even as they negotiate, already knowing what the tradeoff for the information will be, is a golden touch.
Alexander: The final TNG appearance of Alexander is one of his more tolerable outings. Alexander wants to please his father, but also isn't certain that he really wants to be a Klingon warrior. He does enjoy the Renaissance Festival-like performance of a famous Klingon battle, and he is clearly stirred by K'Mtar's appeals to learn to protect both himself and his father - but in a battle simulation, the Klingon blood lust just isn't there. It takes the events of the episode to get Worf to admit what's already clear enough: That Alexander will need to find a different path.
THOUGHTS
After a string of very weak episodes, Firstborn comes as a relief. It isn't top-tier TNG by any means. Its story isn't the most compelling to start with, and it peters out in the last ten minutes. But it is a competent and enjoyable piece, from a writer who has a strong grasp of who the characters are. After the last four episodes, that much feels like an accomplishment.
For about three-quarters of the episode's running time, writer Rene Echevarria does a solid job of balancing the Worf/Alexander thread against the Klingon intrigue. Both plots are kept alive, and both are kept moving at a good pace. A terrific guest performance by James Sloyan adds energy to both threads. Sloyan also has genuinely good screen rapport with Brian Bonsall, which draws a far better performance from the young actor than has generally been the case.
Then, about ten minutes short of the episode's ending, the momentum screeches to a halt with a nonsensical Third Act twist.
A visit to the Memory Alpha wiki reveals that this twist was actually the starting point for the episode. But it isn't integrated into the story. I think the problem is that the story picks the wrong viewpoint character. Had the episode followed K'Mtar, opening with his mission and why he is on it, then the final scene between him and Worf would carry some weight. Instead, the revelation comes across as an arbitrary plot twist that the narrative simply hasn't laid any ground work to justify.
Until the final ten minutes, I was leaning toward a "6" for this enjoyable, albeit unmemorable, outing. But the episode collapses under the weight of its finale, leading me to deduct a point... Which still has me rating this above any of the preceding four episodes!
Overall Rating: 5/10.
Previous Episode: Journey's End
Next Episode: Bloodlines
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