Original air date: June 26, 1989
It's poker night again. Data, still getting a grasp of the game, claims that Worf is only winning because he's had a string of good hands. Indeed, Worf bets aggressively into Pulaski, who has a straight, but Worf's full house defeats her, and he takes the pot. In their next hand, Worf opens with another big bet, but Picard cuts in to summon them to the bridge immediately. As they leave, La Forge says he's sure Worf was bluffing this time, but Worf maintains, "Klingons never bluff!"
The ship has been ordered to receive an emissary from Starbase 153, who will arrive at the coordinates via a modified Class 8 probe, a tiny but fast vessel. Picard deduces that, whatever the issue is about, time must be of the essence. The emissary turns out to be a half-Klingon, half-human woman named K’Ehleyr (that’s "Kay-Lar"). Picard introduces her to the crew, but when she greets Worf it becomes clear that the two of them have a past, one which Worf does not remember fondly.
K’Ehleyr briefs the crew on their mission: the Klingon vessel T’Ong, sent out before the Klingons and the Federation made peace and with its crew in suspended animation, has sent a message indicating that the crew will soon be awakened, and it will be within striking distance of several Federation outposts when it happens. The Enterprise, being the closest ship to the T’Ong, has been ordered to intercept it. K’Ehleyr informs them that diplomacy is not likely to work, so they will probably have to destroy the T’Ong. Picard is unwilling to accept that and orders his staff to think of another way.
On her way to her quarters, K’Ehleyr discusses her parentage with Counselor Troi, as they’re both half-human, and she admits that she tries very hard to keep her Klingon instincts under control, as they cause her to act out in unpleasant ways. As she and Worf discuss the mission, as well as their past, it becomes clear that her distrust of Klingon ways extends to other Klingons as well. As Worf tries to determine what the T'Ong's mission was, she insists that it’s immaterial, as they will surely attack any Federation target they see. The argument gets heated, and K’Ehleyr returns to her quarters and breaks a table out of frustration.
At that moment, Troi visits her again and suggests letting off some steam with some exercise. She chooses to try out Worf’s calisthenics routine (last seen in "Where Silence Has Lease"). Meanwhile, Worf has been worked into an agitated state as well and he has much the same idea. Seeing the program already running, he enters and joins her. And of course nothing sets the mood for Klingons like kicking ass together, so inevitably the two end up knocking whatever Klingons call boots over a commercial break. To Worf, this and their history together mean that they have to take the Oath and become wedded, but K’Ehleyr isn't ready for that kind of commitment. She spurns Worf's proposal, leaving him bitter.
When the Enterprise encounters the T’Ong, it quickly fires upon them and cloaks. Since it is an old ship, La Forge manages to find an emissions trail to follow them by. K’Ehleyr still insists that the ship must be destroyed, but Worf says he has another idea. They cut off the T’Ong and hail it, with Worf and K’Ehleyr sitting in the captain’s and first officer’s chairs and wearing Klingon uniforms. He convinces the T’Ong that the Klingons have won the war with the Federation and orders them to turn the ship over to him. They are skeptical, but yield when he gives the command for the Enterprise to fire. Picard returns to the bridge, commending Worf on his first turn as acting captain. Riker asks how it felt, and Worf replies that he liked the chair.
K’Ehleyr is set to beam to the T’Ong to take command of it, but chastises Worf for trying to let her leave without a word. She admits that she really was tempted to take the Oath with him, but was too scared. She suggests that next time they meet things might go differently (although she doesn’t realize just how different things will be by then…)
This episode provides examples of:
- Accidental Marriage: Worf states that, by Klingon custom, he and K’Ehleyr must wed after shacking up, but K’Ehleyr refuses.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Between Worf and K’Ehleyr, in spades. Appropriate, considering that they're Klingons.
- Book Ends: When Worf bets big in the poker game, Geordi accuses him of bluffing, to which he replies, "Klingons never bluff." At the end, when no one else can find a nonviolent solution to the problem, it is Worf who comes up with the idea of bluffing the other Klingons into thinking he commands the Enterprise and that the Klingons won the war.
- Call-Back: Worf's "calisthenics" program last seen in "Where Silence Has Lease" is brought back. The skull-faced adversary is back. We're again shown how feral Klingsons can go after combat.
- Continuity Nod: If you freeze the frame in the holodeck's list of recent programs, you can see references to previous episodes: "Klingon Rite of Ascension Chamber" and two previous "Dixon Hill" adventures.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Like most Klingon rituals in the first few seasons of TNG, the marriage ritual is implied to be simple and blunt, completed in a matter of sentences. By the time it got to Worf's marriage in Deep Space Nine, the Klingon wedding ceremony took a matter of days. Possibly justified if the oath Worf makes a big deal about in this episode is more of a betrothal than the actual ceremony (though he certainly acts like they're effectively already married).
- Klingons were also later shown to be much more casual about sex outside of marriage than Worf claims they are here, but then again it is Worf who may be holding to some standard his adoptive parents didn't know fell out of fashion two centuries ago (this is in line with a number of subsequent episodes, including those of DS9, that show Worf as being fairly out-of-touch with how "native" Klingons actually behave).
- The 75-year-long Klingon sleeper mission seems weird considering their prior Trek appearances, but seems extremely weird compared to their later TNG Proud Warrior culture.
- Riker's oddly smug "How did you like command?" question to Worf after the deception, which makes it sound as if he's jealous and/or threatened. This is clearly in line with Riker's early careerist characterization which would go away in favor of his infamous stubborn refusal to take his own command.
- Exact Words: Worf wasn't lying to Captain K'Temoc that he is commanding the Enterprise (at the moment, he is Officer of the Deck and is ordering other officers on the Bridge—note that he formally hands command back to Captain Picard afterwards), that K'Temoc technically committed an act of treason by firing on the Enterprise (Klingon Empire and the Federation are allies, and any military officer attacking their ally unilaterally without their government's approval would be an act of treason), and that there is no current state of war between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets.
- Foreshadowing: They didn't think their little escapade wouldn't come with consequences, did they?
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Freezing on the holodeck display will reveal some Continuity Nod examples.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Everyone is surprised to find that their ambassador is a Klingon/Human hybrid.Troi: I didn't know it was possible for a human and a Klingon to produce a child.K’Ehleyr: Actually, the DNA is compatible, with a fair amount of help. Rather like my parents.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Upon finding the T'Ong, Data says, "Sensors show life-forms aboard, but I am unable to ascertain whether they are awake or dormant. However, their propulsion system is inactive, so I would hypothesize that the crew is asleep." The T'Ong then shoots the Enterprise, and Data continues, "However, I could be in error."
- The Magic Poker Equation: Apparently playing a simple game of five-card draw, Pulaski bets big with a high straight, yet gets beaten by a full house.
- Metaphorically True: "Did it not occur to you that the war would be over by now?" The T'Ong crew are left to assume that this means the Federation lost. Worf also says he is "commanding" the Enterprise without actually calling himself Captain, or mentioning that the command is temporary.
- Ms. Fanservice: K’Ehleyr's just rocking those skintight outfits.
- No Time to Explain: Invoked by "Captain" Worf, who gives the crew of the T'Ong a choice to submit their ship to Worf's command or "die in ignorance." Without the chance to think things over, the captain elects to surrender.
- Old Flame: Worf and K'Ehleyr.
- Punch a Wall: Out of sheer frustration and rage, K'Ehleyr destroys the glass table in her quarters, just before Troi arrives.Troi: You're upset.
K'Ehleyr: Your finely-honed Betazoid sense tells you that?
Troi: Well, that and the table. - Slap-Slap-Kiss: As established in previous episodes, Klingon foreplay looks a lot like a fist fight.
- Sleeper Starship: We've seen human sleeper ships before, but the T'Ong is the first Klingon one.
- Statuesque Stunner: K'Ehleyr is quite tall and portrayed as very sexually appealing to Worf. (Suzie Plakson is 6'2", only slightly shorter than Michael Dorn's 6'3".)
- Stock Footage: The T'Ong is represented using stock footage of the Klingon K't'inga battlecruisers from the opening scene of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, with added cloaking device and and disruptor cannon effects.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Picard notes, "Whenever Starfleet gets enigmatic, I know we're about to face a challenge."
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Worf tells Picard that there may be an alternative option, but we aren't told what it is until we actually see him and K’Ehleyr sitting in the command chairs in full Klingon regalia.
- You Fool!: "You fool! Did it not occur to you that the war would be over by now?"
- Your Tradition Is Not Mine: K'Ehleyr has no intentions of taking the oath of marriage, even though Worf insists that honor demands it.
