TNG: “Reunion” and “Future Imperfect”

Date: April 13, 2020

Season 4, Episodes 7 and 8

Musical Accompaniment: Ambient Worlds presents: Moon of Endor

Interstellar News: Today did not feel like a Monday at all.

Favorite Quote from “Reunion”:

Picard: Lieutenant, please receive our guest.

Worf: Captain, I must request permission to send another officer.

Picard: May I know your reason?

Worf: My dishonor among Klingons may offend Ambassador K’Ehleyr.

Picard: Lieutenant, you are a member of this crew, and you will not go into hiding whenever a Klingon ship uncloaks.

Worf: I withdraw my request, sir.

Worf will not be called a coward, so there!

Worf’s One-Two Punch: “A Klingon would not use poison. His murder would have no honor.”

“Reunion” begins with the Enterprise investigating some radiation anomalies when a Kligon cruiser decloaks and hails them, they have K’Ehleyr on board and she beams over with a tiny Klingon boy named Alexander, who is totally Worf’s baby. K’mpec is dying and wants to meet with Picard to have him be the mediator between the two Klingon warriors vying over his seat, oh and one of them has poisoned him. Worf doesn’t want to hurt the boy with his dishonor, as much as he wants to take the oath with K’Ehleyr.

During the ceremony of “poking the dead guy with the pain sticks”, or Sonchi as the Klingons call it, there’s an explosion. Picard needs more time so he chooses to have Duras and Gowron prove themselves to him using the ancient, and ridiculously long ways. In the meantime they find out it was a Romulan bomb that was implanted in one of the Klingon’s arms, and it was one who was with Duras. At the same time, K’Ehleyr looks into Khitomer and finds out what happens, so Duras kills her. Worf takes his “big fucking blade”, also known as a bat’leth and goes hunting for a particular Klingon named Duras. Worf claims K’Ehleyr as his mate and Alexander as his son, who will grow up with Worf’s adoptive parents.

I have SO MUCH TO SAY about this episode. First, I’m glad finally someone has to deal with the consequences on their actions, but why did it have to be Worf? But seriously, a reprimand on his record? I’m sure Worf is shaking in his boots over that (waves hands vigorously in sarcasm). Second, I love K’Ehleyr… a lot. Not only is she a bad ass Klingon and human, she’s now also a bad ass mom who totally embraced her human half when naming her son. I am soooo not here to discuss if she should have told Worf sooner, but we can now see the hierarchy of what’s more important – marrying your mate after you knocked her up or not claiming the kid so he’s not dishonored by your discommendation for made up reasons. I am so pissed at Duras because all of this is his fault on a million levels, and he’s a traitor just like his father. I am quite glad he is dead and Worf was able to avenge his mate, because normally the “good guys” don’t kill, even if it’s warranted.

The main story line is a murder mystery fused with a mediation that Picard has now become famous for. Picard uses his cunning and intellect to give himself time and still staying true to Klingon culture, and he speaks their language when appropriate to remind them he is in charge. I think I knew Duras was going to be the bad guy, but there was just enough that it could be Gowron and his big bulgy eyes. I am wholly satisfied with this episode, especially since I’ve not met Worf’s parents and “Grandma and Grandpa” will be a loving environment for Alexander. Sometimes being a parent means giving your child the best chance for a bright future. Another perfect 10, so damn good.

Favorite Quote from “Future Imperfect”:

Troi: So, what did you wish for, Will?

Riker: Music lessons.

Honestly, I had to pick something from a whole lot of nothing.

“Future Imperfect” has Riker celebrating his birthday, but of course the ship is being probed as they are near the Romulan border so Worf, La Forge, and Riker beam down. There’s a lot of interference and some gas and when Riker wakes up, he’s now captain of the Enterprise and 16 years have gone by. Dr. Crusher explains what happened when Admiral Picard, Troi, and Ambassador Tomalak arrive to finish negotiations between the Federation and the Romulans. There are other small differences too: La Forge doesn’t have his visor anymore, there’s a Ferengi at ops, Data is the first officer , and Riker apparently has a son named Jean-Luc.

Riker conjures up images of his dead wife and it’s Minuet, and then Riker begins to suspect that he’s in The Matrix, which Tomalak proves to be correct. Riker escapes with Ethan, the real name of the boy claiming to be Jean-Luc, who actually turns out to be the one responsible for creating the Matrix. Turns out his mom put him there to keep him safe but he’s been alone, and his really real name is Barash. Riker takes him up to the Enterprise and we are moving on to the next mission.

The entire episode I’m going “this is bullshit” every few minutes, and saying “this is exactly like Season 5 of Eureka, I know it.”, and I was right… kind of. There was too much exposition, too much “oh that explains it so perfectly”, that it made absolutely no sense and took Riker FOREVER to figure out. What kind of infection goes back to the memory point of its inception? On what planet do we live on that the whole gang would stay on the Enterprise for that long and not one person would move on? Okay so Picard and Troi left, but then they were there.

Also, Tomalak is only allowed to be an ambassador on Babylon 5! On Star Trek, he must be the bad ass Romulan who is out for blood! Here’s the thing though, I would have LOVED if it was the Romulans and Riker figured it out and was rescued or some such, but this sappy story about a lonely kid was just too much. I would have been fine with this as a trick by enemies, but how on Earth would this kid know exactly what to put in Riker’s head that would make it believable? This would have earned a 6, even though I knew what was happening from the get go, but because of the kid I give it a 4 string quartet, played by 4th graders who just received their instruments the day before.

TA Out!