You Are Cordially Invited

[Tracy Trek]

I watched this tonight. And it seemed to me (just like the first time I watched it). Why would Jadzia cowing down to Sirella make her more acceptable to join their family? I figured Klingons would admire someone who stood their ground. I don't think Jadzia was in the wrong about everything.

 

[Marc Voorhees]

I think it has to do with respecting and earning honor. Jadzia hasn't earned any honor in the eyes of Sirella, and the house structure is an invite only proposition apparently. Much like in a job interview where there is a blowhard in part of the process, you still say what they want to hear to get the job. Sirella did seem to go a bit overboard though

 

[Kilana2]

Great episode. Jadzia and Sirella had a bad start, but they seemed to come to terms in the end.
It would have been interesting to see Sirella interacting with Ezri, though. She became a member of the House of Martok, too. Or rather she inherited Jadzia's place. Would Ezri have a similiar fight for acceptance?

 

[Tosk]

Would Ezri have a similiar fight for acceptance?

I doubt it. Even if she didn't remember her experience with Sirella from the first time, Ezri strikes me as much more likely to be diplomatic in that situation. To give honor where it is due and that crap. She probably would have cried a few times though.

 

[Kilana2]

And she could draw on Curzon's and Jadzia's experiences with Klingons.....
If she would have cried? Shortly after her joining with Dax, probably. Later on she would have been more capable of standing her ground against Sirella.

 

[Shada Dukal]

I love this episode, it has always reminded me of the difficult relations between a mother-in-law and a would-be daughter-in law, especially in cultures when two-three generations share the same house.

I guess Jadzia approached the Klingon wedding rituals like an exotic fairy tale - funny dresses, old-time chants - she considered it a mere formality and totally underestimated the in-culture perspective. Lady Sirella did not approve of Worf either, he was practically a pariah, and his alien wife was hardly going to contribute to the good social standing of the House of Martok in the Klingon society.

I really like the moment when Sisko tells Jadzia that she actually should apologize and if she has so little respect for Klingon traditions she should never fall in love with Worf. As usual, Dax was too haughty for her own good but she found a good match in the person of Lady Sirella.

Sirella was magnificent – a real Klingon matriarch – and she gave our beloved Trill princess a valuable exercise in humility, no bed of roses for anyone, especially outsiders.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Klingons would respect somebody standing their ground, but the way Jadzia did it, it came off more bratty than honorable. And we need to consider that Jadzia was requesting entry to her domain, the nest she takes pride in presiding over. She's not going to let anyone enter that domain on any terms but her own.