Redemption Calls Back to Reunion

[DavidGutierrez]

It just hit me:

In "Reunion," after Worf kills Duras, Picard tells him that if any member of the Enterprise crew cannot perform his or her duties because of the demands of his or her culture, he or she should resign.

PICARD: Do you wish to resign?
WORF: No, sir.
PICARD: I had hoped you would not throw away a promising career.

Later, at the end of the year, Picard tries to recall Worf back to active duty since the Enterprise is leaving the warzone. Worf protests and Picard tells him that his responsibilities as a Starfleet officer are incompatible with remaining aboard a Klingon ship in a time of war.

WORF: Then I resign my commission as a Starfleet officer.
*cue epic combadge drop*

Worf was just doing what Picard told him to do! I never put that together until just now.

 

[jimbotron]

While Redemption had a nice callback to Reunion, Ethics had a bewildering contradiction. In Reunion, Picard rips into Worf for abandoning Federation rules and killing Duras in vengeance. Picard talks about respecting every culture's beliefs, yadda yadda, but everyone who wears that uniform must adhere to Federation rules.

Fast forward to Ethics, when Riker is outraged that Worf wants him to help him commit suicide. Picard's advice to Riker is a complete 180 of his reaction in Reunion.

PICARD: You or I could learn to live with that disability, but not Worf. His life ended when those containers fell on him. We don't have to agree with it, we don't have to understand it, but we do have to respect his beliefs.
RIKER: I can respect his beliefs, but he is asking me to take an active role in his committing suicide.
PICARD: He's asking for your help because you're his friend. That means that you're going to have to make your decision based on that friendship.
RIKER: Which leaves me back where I started.
PICARD: Will. Look, I'm sorry, I cannot help you to make this decision, but I can tell you this. Klingons choose their friends with great care. If he didn't know he could count on you, he never would have asked.

What happened to respecting Worf's beliefs when claiming the right of vengeance? Can't have that. Ritual suicide? Hey, no problem.

 

[Start Wreck]

What happened to respecting Worf's beliefs when claiming the right of vengeance? Can't have that. Ritual suicide? Hey, no problem.

I guess his beliefs are trumped by Federation law (against murder) in the first instance, but not in the second (against suicide). Seems fair enough to me.

 

[jimbotron]

Still, it's quite jarring to hear Captain Picard give his blessing to Riker to help Worf kill himself.

 

[Ithekro]

Things tend to hinge on just what news story of the month the writer was going for with the moral that episode.

The right to die had become news around that time, so Star Trek goes to try to but a progressive moral stance on it.