Was killing K'Ehleyr the right decision?

[JirinPanthosa]

If it weren't for the murder of K'elyhr it wouldn't have made sense for Worf to kill Duras.

It does seem odd that Duras thought he could get away with it. The way the computer can track everybody's life signs all the time it's a wonder there isn't some kind of emergency system to transport somebody automatically to sickbay and put them in stasis whenever it detects they're on the verge of death.

Maybe Duras just figured he had diplomatic immunity so as long as he got off the ship before anyone found her there's nothing they could do.

 

[Praetor]

It has to be the diplomatic immunity angle. Either that, or Duras is just stupid. Which, actually...

 

[T'Girl]

... had K'Ehleyr not been killed, Worf would not have killed Duras ...

Ahhh, but what if Duras had murdered Worf, then K'eheyr would seek revenge by challaging Duras to the duel, and then of course killing him.

At the end of the episode, Picard would invite K'Ehleyr to his ready room and explain that her skills would be of great service on the Federation Flagship.

After K'Ehleyr's experiences in Parallels, she and Deanna Troi would begin a passionate affair.

 

[R. Star]

... had K'Ehleyr not been killed, Worf would not have killed Duras ...

Ahhh, but what if Duras had murdered Worf, then K'eheyr would seek revenge by challaging Duras to the duel, and then of course killing him.

At the end of the episode, Picard would invite K'Ehleyr to his ready room and explain that her skills would be of great service on the Federation Flagship.

After K'Ehleyr's experiences in Parallels, she and Deanna Troi would begin a passionate affair.

You may commence writing this fanfic.

 

[Praetor]

Decon scene. And... go!

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Yet this master of subtlety was somehow going to rule the Klingon Empire?

Ironic that he spent so much time working with the Romulans. Apparently, he learned nothing from them in terms of working behind the scenes or not drawing attention to himself.

--Sran

 

[Dream]

Decon scene. And... go!

Let's just keep that silly Decon stuff on ENT only.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

One of the biggest errors a writer can make is killing a character to fulfill a plot point in a story. Especially when that character has so much potential for future stories. K'Ehleyr was certainly one of these characters. The same could be said for Duras. Killing him at that time meant the Klingon arc peaked too early. It would have been much more interesting to have some of Duras's significant minions meet their end instead with him escaping and Chancellor Gowron then having to fight a greater threat alongside the Federation. Considering their capacity for duplicity, why would any of Duras's followers allow Worf the opportunity to avenge his mate's death when they were all complicit, with the Romulans, in trying to overthrow the empire? They would have ganged up on him and done him in. The story, as played out, does not follow its own inherent logic.

If it weren't for the death of Duras Reunion would have been a pretty average, forgettable episode.

I would make the counterargument to this that character death should occur when it's logical to the story. So many long running shows wrap characters in an overly obvious 'Bubble of protection', and when that happens, any further jeopardy that character is in gets neutralized.

Another saying I've heard writers throw around 'You have to be willing to kill your baby'. If you're not willing to kill off good characters now and then, your entire story loses tension.

 

[Dale Sams]

... had K'Ehleyr not been killed, Worf would not have killed Duras ...

Ahhh, but what if Duras had murdered Worf, then K'eheyr would seek revenge by challaging Duras to the duel, and then of course killing him.

At the end of the episode, Picard would invite K'Ehleyr to his ready room and explain that her skills would be of great service on the Federation Flagship.

After K'Ehleyr's experiences in Parallels, she and Deanna Troi would begin a passionate affair.

Very similar to *my* ending of ST: Generations. Picard is killed. Kirk becomes Captain of the Ent-E.

 

[CybexAl]

One of the biggest errors a writer can make is killing a character to fulfill a plot point in a story. Especially when that character has so much potential for future stories. K'Ehleyr was certainly one of these characters. The same could be said for Duras. Killing him at that time meant the Klingon arc peaked too early. It would have been much more interesting to have some of Duras's significant minions meet their end instead with him escaping and Chancellor Gowron then having to fight a greater threat alongside the Federation. Considering their capacity for duplicity, why would any of Duras's followers allow Worf the opportunity to avenge his mate's death when they were all complicit, with the Romulans, in trying to overthrow the empire? They would have ganged up on him and done him in. The story, as played out, does not follow its own inherent logic.

If it weren't for the death of Duras Reunion would have been a pretty average, forgettable episode.

I would make the counterargument to this that character death should occur when it's logical to the story. So many long running shows wrap characters in an overly obvious 'Bubble of protection', and when that happens, any further jeopardy that character is in gets neutralized.

Another saying I've heard writers throw around 'You have to be willing to kill your baby'. If you're not willing to kill off good characters now and then, your entire story loses tension.

This argument is silly because you can make that rule about any of the main characters in the series. What sells good TV are the compelling characters that work and also enhance the ongoing story. So many times in all of the series main characters, including the Captains, have faced points where it would have been logical for the story to kill them off to make the strongest of points e.g. Locutus of Borg and the Chain of Command stories. Jelicho or Riker could have taken over but the writers wont go there. K'ehleyr was like Ensign Ro. Played by a great actress and imbued with a passion and power seldom portrayed by females in Trek. Compare what she brings to the table against Troi or Dr. Crusher. No, these convenient and facile points about advancing particular story arcs are just that. I think TNG was diminished by this.

 

[picsiskvinechef]

There were few other options.

Either keep her as a guest star, or an onboard girlfriend for Worf. the latter wouldn't have been consistent with Worf's values though, but then even Worf himself admits that some aspects of Klingonness have washed off due to living with humans.

She would have made a good recurring character though. Perhaps she survived getting stabbed by Duras, and Worf gets a kind of revenge by killing Duras in Redemption.