Classics: DS9 4:14 - The Sons of Mogh

Overall: 8.8

The conflict of cultures on display in this episode is enthralling - and the conclusion is refreshingly free of politically correct bromides.

Plot Synopsis:

Memory Alpha has a summary here.

The Skinny:

I'm sensing a theme here. Last week, SABR Matt reviewed an episode in which a demoted Dukat (when he's not trying to slime his way into Kira's pants) confronts the defeatist attitude of his government and ultimately decides to disobey his superiors for the sake of his people's self-respect. This week, Worf grapples with the aggressive actions of his government and ultimately decides that his notion of honor and the notion of honor now dominant in the Klingon Empire are irreconcilable. Next week, SABR Matt will review an episode in which Rom challenges Ferengi tradition (an episode that is well-written despite its absolutely screwy message in re: trade unionism). In each case, what we see is a clash between competing definitions of Cardassian, Klingon, or Ferengi identity, and in each case, that clash is actually quite interesting to watch (if, of course, you ignore the silly inclusion of Karl Marx in the third example).

One of the outstanding features of this series is its attention to world-building and cultural development. Though not all of DS9's alien societies are equally well-conceived, they are all remarkable because they are multi-layered. Yes, they borrow many alien cultures from the larger Star Trek universe, but DS9's writers have a gift for creating characters who bring these cultures to life in new and deeper ways - and Worf is a perfect example. He may be a Next Gen implant, but on DS9, he is used in a far more interesting manner. In the current episode (and in others), we explore the intricacies of the Klingon soul through Worf - and what we find is that being a Klingon involves far more than drinking blood wine and charging happily into battle. To be a Klingon means that you especially prize straightforward confrontation (Worf criticizes Gowron's forces for secretly setting up a minefield outside Bajoran space on Klingon grounds), adherence to one's promises (Worf takes seriously his oath to Starfleet), and bravery in combat, but it also means that you must struggle daily with your society's Nietzschean darker impulses. In a world where the gods are dead, the temptation is great to embrace the idea that might makes right - and in that same world, as we see with Kurn, the larger society often defines the value of your life according to external signs of your power and not according to anything intrinsic to your nature.

The above described conflict within Worf already launches this episode into the C+/B category. What pushes it into the B+ category is this conflict's resolution. Ron Moore doesn't fall back on the comfortable, politically fashionable notion that we can all "co-exist" without making compromises. Instead, Worf, while still retaining his essentially Klingon personality, comes to accept that the Federation viewpoint on the Mauk-to'Vor is correct, and he agrees to an alternative. That's astonishing. It is quite bold these days to explicitly acknowledge (through Sisko's words and Worf's actions) that "tolerance" can - and should - only go so far and that some assimilation is preferable to ghettoization.

Writing: 9.0

Obviously, I found Worf's dilemma quite fascinating, but the minefield storyline is also surprisingly suspenseful.

Acting: 8.5

Michael Dorn delivers a nice performance here, particularly in his final scene with Kurn.

Message: 9.0

Multiculturalists, listen up: we don't have to accept honor killing as just another "unique tradition" that is worthy of preservation. Some things are simply wrong.

Highlights:

WORF: Kurn, where have you been? It has been four months since your last message.
KURN: I've been overseeing the end of a once-proud house. Perhaps you've heard of it. It was called the House of Mogh.
WORF: I know what has happened. I regret that by opposing Gowron I have brought disgrace to our family.
KURN: You regret? What's next, Worf? Do you want to apologize to me? Express your sympathy? How many human weaknesses will you display?
WORF: I do not apologize for what I have done. I could not join Gowron in his war with Cardassia or the Federation. It would have been dishonorable.
KURN: Oh, so in avoiding dishonor for yourself, you brought it on the rest of your family. What a noble act. How selfless.
WORF: I will not debate this with you, Kurn. What is done is done.
KURN: For you, it's done. You and your comfortable Federation life, your glorious Starfleet career. But not for me. Our family had a seat on the High Council. We were feared by our enemies, respected by our friends. It was even said that if Gowron died the leadership of the Council might be passed to someone from the House of Mogh. Then you chose to side with the Federation against the Empire. Gowron took our ships, our land, our seat on the Council, everything.
WORF: Kurn, I know this has been difficult for you.
KURN: What do you know? Did you watch as Gowron's men seized our land and stripped our family of its name? Did you have to endure the humiliation of being ejected from the High Council in front of the Emperor himself? No. You chose to stay here, safe, comfortable, secure. You have everything you want and I have nothing, not even my honor. But you can give that back to me.
WORF: By killing you?
KURN: I'm already dead to our people, and so are you, but you don't care. I have never asked you for anything, but you took away my honor and only you can give it back. So now, I am asking you for Mauk-to'Vor. Is an honorable death too much to ask from my brother? (Interesting scene.)

SISKO: Mister Worf, I want you to tell me why I shouldn't put you on the next transport out of here.
WORF: You are well within your right to do so.
SISKO: I didn't ask you about my rights. Answer my question!
WORF: Captain, I do not have an answer. Sir, I realize my actions were in violation of Starfleet regulations, but --
SISKO: Regulations? We're not talking about some obscure technicality, Mister Worf. You tried to commit premeditated murder!
DAX: Benjamin, it wasn't murder. Worf and Kurn were performing a Mauk-to'Vor ritual. It's part of Klingon belief that when --
SISKO: At the moment, I don't give a damn about Klingon beliefs, rituals or custom! Now I have given you both a lot of leeway when it comes to following Klingon traditions, but in case you haven't noticed, this is not a Klingon station, and those are not Klingon uniforms you're wearing. There is a limit to how far I'll go to accommodate cultural diversity among my officers, and you've just reached it! (Can it be? Is DS9 acknowledging that there are - gasp! - limits to toleration? I'm stunned.)

ODO: Your brother's had an interesting career with the Klingon Defence Forces, Mister Worf. I just have one question. Does he know how to use the stun setting on a disruptor?
WORF: Non-lethal skills are not valued in the Empire. (LOL!)

ODO: I'd say your brother's doing well, Commander. He's been on the job six hours and he's only killed four Boslics so far.
(Worf sighs, clearly disappointed -- but, of course, Odo is just kidding.)
ODO: Kira's right. You do need a sense of humor. (Heh.)

KURN: You want me to turn against my own people? Will my dishonor never end?
WORF: It is their actions that are dishonorable. Secretly mining star systems is not the act of warriors. They behave like - like Romulan cowards.
KURN: Is that how you rationalize this? By calling your people cowards so you can be a hero?
WORF: Kurn, let me ask you this. Do you agree with what has happened between the Empire and the Federation?
KURN: It is not my place to criticize.
WORF: Answer the question!
KURN: No. I opposed the decision to break the treaty, but I was overruled in Council.
WORF: Why did you oppose the decision?
KURN: Because Gowron underestimates the Federation. He thinks they're soft, weak, and he is wrong. Sooner or later there will be war.
WORF: A war the Empire may lose.
KURN: Yes.
WORF: You know that mining this system is just the beginning. If we do nothing, it will only encourage Gowron to continue thinking of the Federation as weak. Eventually he will attack, and that will be the end of the Empire. That is why you must join me on this mission. Not for my honor, and not for the Federation, but to prevent the Empire from being destroyed in a war they cannot win. Our people have turned their backs on us, but we have not turned our backs on them. Let it be the Sons of Mogh, side by side, saving our people. (Another very interesting scene.)

DAX: You don't seem very pleased.
WORF: I am still troubled by the death of that Klingon officer.
DAX: Your report said it was self-defense.
WORF: That us not the point. I should have seen what he was going to do.
DAX: What do you mean? From the way you described it, he was standing so close to you, you couldn't have seen the knife in his hand.
WORF: He decided to kill me while I was looking him right in the eyes and I never saw it. But Kurn did, and he was three meters away.
DAX: Worf, I don't think you can tell someone's going to kill you by looking at them.
WORF: A Klingon can. It is an instinct. The ability to look someone in the eyes and see the decision to kill. An instinct I no longer have. Kurn was right. I have lived with humans so long I no longer think like a Klingon. For a long time I have tried to walk the line between the Empire and the Federation. I told myself I could live in either world - that it was my choice. But the truth is, I cannot go back to the Empire.
DAX: Do you want to go back?
WORF: I had always hoped that one day the House of Mogh would reclaim its rightful place and that I would return. But now I know that even if I did, I have no place there. (He takes off his Starfleet communicator.) This is all I have.
DAX: Is that enough?
WORF: It will have to be. But my brother does not even have this. For him there is no future without the Empire. No life.
DAX: Sounds like you're thinking of carrying out the Mauk-to'Vor ritual again.
WORF: No. I was able to do it once by telling myself it was an honorable Klingon ritual. But now I cannot help but think of it as humans do. As murder. (Again, it's amazing that in this episode, Worf's Klingon values yield to his Federation values. Such a pro-assimilationist conclusion is quite daring.)

KURN: Who are you?
WORF: I am Worf.
KURN: Are you part of my family?
WORF: I have no family. (Very sad.)