I just saw Birthright I and II, and it was great.
It's a good story, but it's one that unfortunately got stretched over the course of two episodes unnecessarily. The first crossover with DS9 is a big deal and is fun to see Picard and Crusher traipsing about on the Promenade, and it's nice seeing Bashir all googly-eyed over Data, but that part of the story is over and done with in Part I, leaving us with just the Worf A-story in Part II, which honestly I always felt could have been handled a little better. Always nice to see Cromwell too, but feels underused here given what a good actor he is. Hard to believe this was just a year or so before he'd win an Oscar!
I suspect this was all done to justify spending on the budget for extras, makeup, and all the new sets, but still... not one of TNG's best. Another redeeming quality: since this is likely about the only time we'll ever see Deep Space Nine in HD, I appreciate it for that as well.
First thing's first: Worf looked cool in all black.
Interesting. I assume you noticed he wears the same outfit in "Chain of Command" and later "Frame of Mind" -- the "Starfleet Rescue Uniform" as the action figures called it. Data, Crusher and Picard wore them as well! But yes -- Worf is a total badass here, at least visually. They even made an
action figure of Worf from this episode, with all the gear we saw him using.
Second, I would've liked to have seen Kurn involved, but then Worf probably didn't have a lot of time.
Timing is everything. Also, we just don't know how close or how far the Carraya system is from the Kingon Empire, and more importantly, Kurn may well have been off captaining his own ship someplace else at the time.
Third, Worf going on another personal side mission. This time, he goes to the Romulan border. Again, he leaves the Enterprise to go on a personal mission that could potentially have repercussions to the Federation. I do wonder whether Picard would really allow him to do this.
Well... Picard did let him go, so... Yes, he would. I'm not sure I understand what "repercussions" for the Federation there might be. What do you mean, exactly?
Fourth, does anyone think there might be a Prime Directive issue with Worf's manipulation of the Klingon-Romulan children?
Nope. The Prime Directive is about non-interference with civilizations that are less advanced than ours. The idea being that we (Starfleet) don't have the right to insert ourselves or interrupt the natural development of a society less advanced than ours. These Klingons and Romulans were living with all the luxuries and accoutrements of the rest of the 24th century major players. If anything, it makes total sense for Worf to interfere because the whole damn place started out as a concentration camp! He goes there to rescue his father but finds out it's a whole different ball game going on there. The whole point about the episode, clumsy as it is, is that even Worf has to come to realize that yes, Klingons and Romulans can get along, it's just not something he's prepared for.
Worf in his singlemindedness, wants to bring these Klingons back to the Klingon Empire because he thinks they're all being held prisoner against their will. The truth as we learn is far from it -- this is a kind of utopia, where the prisoners and wardens have set aside their differences and built a life together (probably what Khan had in mind for Ceti Alpha 5) and more importantly, far removed from the bitter goings-on between Qo'nos and Romulus.
Fifth, wasn't Worf's escape attempt laughable? He caused an explosion, causing everyone to look around for something wrong, and then tries to "jump over the fence" in broad daylight. Why not just avoid the explosion, leaving everyone to focus on their business, and quietly jump the fence? Or, wouldn't it have smarter to just jump the fence at night when everyone is sleeping?
Oh, '90s syndicated TV.
Again, this probably had as much to do with spending as anything else -- 1) they want you to "see" on screen where the money went, so it's during the day. 2) Shooting the escape at night would liklely have required another setup for the (production) day, and they probably didn't want to waste time with it because they probably figured it wouldn't matter. But yeah, for a tactical officer, he's not altogether very... tactical.
I still enjoyed the hell out of this episode. It's probably the most watchable, involving episode of the season so far.
We will have to agree to disagree.
