Do you feel sorry for Alexander?

[Romo Lampkin]

I do. Worf pretty much had too much plot to get through in TNG to look after him. I think Alexander's fate is an interesting one. Klingon culture is imbalanced in its obsession with all things martial. In a way it could be an allegory for contemporary Western culture and its fixation with selling things and yourself as a 'brand' (how distasteful and tacky), consumerism, financial products, IT, shallow extroversion and ornate social rituals etc. So Alexander didn't fit into this culture, then tried to but found he couldn't anyway because he simply didn't have the aptitude to be a warrior and so was ridiculed/ostracised for it. This is saddenning and it was a mistake for him to try and become a warrior. What he should have done was leave that culture entirely and follow a genuine interest. Thankfully in the federation, unlike this world, one can do that without reprecussions. But it was stupid of him to go onboard a Klingon vessel with little to no training, he was lying to himself imo.

 

[Dukhat]

I did feel a little sorry for Alexander, until DS9 decided to bring him back as a teenager, when he really shouldn't have been more than 8 years old at the time. I had a harder time wrapping my head around that than feeling sorry for him.

 

[BillJ]

No. He was a douche.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I did feel sorry for him, until he joined the KDF. At least then, he had a job to do. Maybe he wasn't very good at starship duty, but at least he tried.

Adult Alexander wasn't that bad, as a character. I like what the novels have done with him, having him become an ambassador. There's one SNW story ("Staying the Course") which is probably my favorite appearance of Alexander that ever was.

 

[Romo Lampkin]

I dunno, I felt sorry for him when he joined the KDF because he was so out of his depth it was unreal plus you knew he was never going to hack it. He was always going to suck at his job compared to Worf, in fact not just Worf but just generally, for the rest of his life he would never have the ability to advance himself above a minion status (disregarding the ambassador appointment, just going on what I've seen in the show). He would be akin to the junior grade science officer Picard. What was the point of serving in an organisation if he had no talent for fleet/military work? It would be like banging his head against a brick wall. Yet he did so for emo reasons and probably to culturally fit in. Depressing when you think about it. His life is just one of perpetual failure and humiliation. PS in a certain way he reminds me of Gomer Pyle, minus having exceptional rifle skills and going crazy.

 

[Jonny]

In TNG I did. Not as much in DS9 though I understood why he had issues with Worf in it (even though the age thing was slightly head-scratching to say the least).

 

[Longinus]

I did feel a little sorry for Alexander, until DS9 decided to bring him back as a teenager, when he really shouldn't have been more than 8 years old at the time. I had a harder time wrapping my head around that than feeling sorry for him.

Why should aliens age at the same the pace as humans?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I hated the way DS9 treated Alexander. Not that he was a good character in TNG, but it made no sense to me to take the son of a Klingon who had behavioral problems and was raised on human peacefulness and make him into a comic idiot. He was never stupid in TNG, he just had problems fitting in and abandonment issues. And they wrote him really badly as the cheesy comic idiot.

It would have made more sense for him to be stupidly advocating peace with the Dominion. Much more suited to his established character.

I love DS9, but for some reason they were absurdly terrible at Worf's family.

 

[Dukhat]

Why should aliens age at the same the pace as humans?

That wasn't the problem. The problem was that nobody went out of their way to mention that Alexander was actually only 8. If they had made some comment about Klingons aging faster, that would have been fine. But they didn't. Because they didn't really care about it. They just wanted Alexander to be a troubled teen to fit their story, without sufficient explanation as to why he now looks and acts like a late teen and not an 8 year old. And that's what annoyed me.

 

[borgboy]

I do feel sort of sorry for him, but in DS9 I found him frustrating.
I thought it was interesting that apparently Klingons age really differently than humans, but it's a shame they didn't address that. There was a lot of interesting things they could've done, including addressing that as Alexander was a quarter human he might not be as mature as other Klingons.
Alexander was an interesting child, and I found his clashes with Worf very sympathetic. Worf didn't understand Alexander and had a hard time relating to him, but he loved him, even if he often failed him. DS9 forced Alexander into a warrior life that didn't suit him and then acted like it wasn't a problem, that it was something he needed to grow into instead of him finding a path that truly suited him.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The problem was that nobody went out of their way to mention that Alexander was actually only 8.

Why should they? It's obvious that Klingons age faster just by LOOKING at Alexander over the years. They don't need to spell it out for us. Same goes for Ktarians (re: Naomi Wildman).

 

[Timewalker]

In TNG I did. Not as much in DS9 though I understood why he had issues with Worf in it (even though the age thing was slightly head-scratching to say the least).

It's called SORAS - Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome. The kid is aged to fit a plot point, not because it makes sense for the character. Then you end up with absurdities such as parent-child characters being played by actors who are the same age (or as close as makes no difference), or kids who were elementary school age suddenly dealing with high school angst and college drama.

It's not so jarring in Star Trek IF there's some mention made for the character's sudden rapid aging. For example, Voyager's Naomi Wildman is half-human/half-Ktarian. That was cited as the reason for her rapid aging so by the end of the series she looked twice as old as her actual chronological age.

With Alexander, it just seems to me that they applied SORAS because the plot required Alexander to be a misfit teenager, and didn't take into account everything previously established about his character.

 

[Longinus]

Well, Alexander was already aging faster than a human would in TNG. We we first saw him, he was about one year old and was played by four year old Jon Steuer. Later, ages two to four, he's played by Brian Bonsall who was at least six years older than that. Toral also seemed to mature faster than a human would.

 

[Terok Nor]

Why should they? It's obvious that Klingons age faster just by LOOKING at Alexander over the years. They don't need to spell it out for us. Same goes for Ktarians (re: Naomi Wildman).

I don't know about that. Molly O'Brien was born during TNG Season 5 (1991-1992) and looked about 4 or 5 during DS9 Season 1 (1993).

 

[DS9forever]

Was it ever definitively said Alexander was conceived in TNG season 2? I thought Worfs girlfriend just didn't tell him at that time he had a son.

 

[Kor]

I don't know about that. Molly O'Brien was born during TNG Season 5 (1991-1992) and looked about 4 or 5 during DS9 Season 1 (1993).

In the future, humans are inflicted with SORAS as well.

Kor

 

[Terok Nor]

Was it ever definitively said Alexander was conceived in TNG season 2? I thought Worfs girlfriend just didn't tell him at that time he had a son.

I used to think it was before Season 2 but when I rewatched "The Emissary" it's implied it's the first time Worf and KEhleyr did it. Worf demands they marry there and then or make a mockery of their union. It would make a lot more sense if Alexander was born prior to the beginning of the series.

 

[Leviathan]

Meh, he was probably just travelling at .95c for 10 months and added 9 years. It happens.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Well, Alexander was already aging faster than a human would in TNG. We we first saw him, he was about one year old and was played by four year old Jon Steuer. Later, ages two to four, he's played by Brian Bonsall who was at least six years older than that. Toral also seemed to mature faster than a human would.

And in the seventh season episode of TNG where we saw an adult Alexander who went back in time to convince his younger self to become a warrior or watch his father be murdered, that future self told Worf he was three years old when K'Ehleyr died right in front of him.
Honestly, I wanted to clobber Worf a few times. Geez, your girlfriend (or wife) is stabbed and dies in front of your child and you send him away right away. Be a man and take responsibility! Hell, Riker took responsibility for a kid that wasn't even his (Future Imperfect)!

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Wasn't there actual dialogue somewhere in TNG regarding Klingons aging faster? Or was it Voyager with Tom & B'Elanna?