Why didn't Worf shave his head during the Dominion War or the Destiny Trilogy?

[Unimatrix Q]

With the new official explanation for the baldness of the Discovery Klingons in Season 1 as something the Klingons did in times of war (internal between the Houses and external against other species) at that time, i wonder why Worf, as one of the most tradition abiding Klingons out there, didn't shave his head during the Dominion War or during the Destiny Trilogy?

Other than that i find this explanation to be a good one, particularly if one remembers General Chang in "The Undiscovered Country"...

 

[Therin of Andor]

At New York Comic Con, Star Trek: Discovery star Mary Chieffo explained why her Klingon character, L’Rell, had a new head of hair in the Season Two trailer.

“The Dominion War takes place more than 100 years after the events of Discovery,” she says. “Traditions change and are lost in time. Much of what T’Kuvma predicted about homogenization and assimilation of the Klingon race occurs after the explosion of Praxis & subsequent political shift.”

Chieffo is referring to the destruction of the Praxis, the moon of the Klingon homeworld of Qo’noS, as seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The Klingons mined Praxis and it was a key source of energy for the Klingon Empire. The moon’s destruction caused a political shift that ultimately led to the signing of the Khitomer Accords, which turned the long antagonistic relationship between the Federation and the Klingons into a relationship between peaceful allies. Signed in the late 23rd century, the Khitomer Accords were still in place in the late 24th century and informed the relationship between the Klingons and the Federation in storylines featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.

Chieffo’s assertion that the peace treaty fundamentally changed Klingon culture is supported by episodes like Deep Space Nine’s “Blood Oath,” in which Klingon characters like Kor, Koloth, and Kang - each introduced in the pre-Khitomer Accords era of Star Trek: The Original Series - vaguely comment on how the old Klingon ways have fallen out of favor since making peace with the Federation.

While this explanation makes sense in a vacuum, some fans noted a few apparent continuity problems. The Klingons had already shaved their head before entering open warfare with the United Federation of Planets. On Twitter, Chieffo pointed to an explanation provided by a fan to cover that, noting “the 24 great houses were warring and feuding with each other before the Federation war, hence T’kuvma trying to bring them all together.” So, an internal war still counts as a war, hence the shaved heads.

Looking towards the other end of the timeline, some fans wondered why the Klingons didn’t shave their heads during the Dominion War, as seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. On Twitter, Chieffo explained this was the result of some of T’Kuvma’s fears of assimilation and the loss of tradition coming to fruition.

https://comicbook.com/startrek/2018...J5e5K_zbmsFaoN1-wvC08-eoDCt04Yi4gfVXC2VW7pCag

 

[Christopher]

How is this a Trek Lit question?

 

[Unimatrix Q]

@Christopher
As many trek authors, including you, are watching this board and it's also an issue retroactively concerning the war against the Borg in the Destiny, i think Treklit is a good place for asking this question.

I'd love to discuss this question here to learn how other members here think about this matter and how to reconcile this issue with the novelverse.

 

[Christopher]

I'd love to discuss this question here to learn how other members here think about this matter and how to reconcile this issue with the novelverse.

There's nothing to think about. It's just a haircut. Handwaving that is five seconds' work, because obviously cultures and fashions change over time. Honestly, it's one of the easiest continuity problems in DSC to fix.

 

[Unimatrix Q]

There's nothing to think about. It's just a haircut. Handwaving that is five seconds' work, because obviously cultures and fashions change over time. Honestly, it's one of the easiest continuity problems in DSC to fix.

In any other case i would concur but not with Worf, who's all about klingon tradition. I can't find any reason why he may have made an exception in this particular case.

 

[Christopher]

In any other case i would concur but not with Worf, who's all about klingon tradition. I can't find any reason why he may have made an exception in this particular case.

What? Chieffo answered that in the first two sentences of the passage Therin quoted. This has already been explained.

 

[Unimatrix Q]

What? Chieffo answered that in the first two sentences of the passage Therin quoted. This has already been explained.

I'm not so sure of that. Such a thing wouldn't be quickly forgotten, neither by the Feds nor by the Klingons. The tradition may be outdated or even obscure in the 24th century, but things like that didn't have stopped Worf before.

 

[Christopher]

Look -- obviously it's because the "custom" wasn't invented until now. There's no way Trek continuity is ever going to fit together perfectly, especially where Klingon appearance is concerned.

But the fact is, most of the time, people who claim to be adhering to ancient tradition are actually following their own modern set of beliefs and practices and pretending they represent "the way things have always been" because that gives them the illusion of greater legitimacy. For instance, US evangelicals' idea of "traditional Biblical marriage" bears no resemblance to the variety of marriage practices actually described in the Bible. So-called traditionalists are always very selective at best about what parts of past tradition they actually honor.

 

[DimesDan]

Simple really. The Dominion War and Destiny were written over a decade ago.

 

[DimesDan]

Also @trampledamage, should this be in the Disco arena of fun?

 

[marlboro]

Sisko beat him to the punch. They may have to wear the same uniform, but there is no way a fashionista like the Son of Mogh is gonna show up to work with the same hairstyle too.

Worf: slaying lewks...with a bat'leth.


A better question is how we didn't have 6 seasons worth of DS9 featuring Jadzia talking about redundant Klingon wangs.

 

[Nyotarules]

Because Star Trek made the 'mistake' of assuming all non human races are monolithic and only humans are culturally and racially diverse. Real reason it takes too much time to create diverse cultures for fictional races for a TV show.
So the real in universe reason Worf did not shave his head is the same in universe reason you would not expect Uhura (from East Africa) to wear a kilt but would not be surprised when Scotty (from Scotland) does.

 

[DonIago]

Worf is an African Klingon, not a European Klingon.

 

[Nyotarules]

Worf is an African Klingon, not a European Klingon.

He's a Russian Klingon lol

 

[DonIago]

Oh. Is he a European Russian Klingon or an Asian Russian Klingon?

 

[marlboro]

He's a Russian Klingon lol

Russians inwented Klingons!

/Chekov

 

[Nyotarules]

Oh. Is he a European Russian Klingon or an Asian Russian Klingon?

All of em!

 

[Christopher]

Worf is an African Klingon, not a European Klingon.

So what's his airspeed velocity when unladen?

 

[Jinn]

So what's his airspeed velocity when unladen?

Is he using warp drive or spore drive?