it's TNG UPDATE TIME. last night* we watched "birthright" parts i & ii. just this once, i'm not combining them because i can distinctly differentiate between the episodes, they were actually (after all that angst) kind of unconnected, though i would have DIED to have left it on that cliffhanger
* time changed i'm scheduling this to go up when people are awake
DS9 CROSSOVER! i wish it could have been for both halves. also, i kind of wish odo could have been the one to talk to data even though he has no reason whatsoever to leave. it just would have been so much autism in one room
human brent spiner HORRIBLE to look at. the faces he makes as dr soong (which...why would dr soong be white...was that old man white idr...) remind me of lore's.
however: thrilled that data can dream now. i was so happy also that everyone treated him really niceys. except bashir who microaggressed him one time but i forgive him because it was funny
it was WWWWILD to see tng characters walkin around ds9. i hated tng in my ds9 but i loved ds9 in my tng. i wish they had a budget for a proper crossover. did sisko have to be in the same room as picard again? did o'brien go aboard and say hello? i miss him so bad.
minor deanna and worf moment in this ep when she comforts him over his dad potentially being alive. mwah. i feel like the tng side characters have been non-existent for awhile...first we stopped watching tng as much for ds9, then we got that deanna-only ep, then that picard-only ep, and now the ds9 crossover and the worf-only ep...can we PLEASE get the gang back together
final note i love that worf loves shitty replicator food and also riker's terrible cooking. king.
birthright part ii (tng):
worf's dad plot as a means to get worf to be the pov character for the ethical dilemma of this episode kind of undermined the entire ethical dilemma
the ethical dilemma tng THOUGHT it was presenting was, "if klingons and romulans have escaped the war to live peacefully together, is it right to disrupt their way of life just because their children might choose differently?"
THE ACTUAL DILEMMA IT PRESENTED WAS. IF YOU HAVE SEVENTY-THREE KLINGON PRISONERS OF WAR. actually that's not even a question. they just have them. let's break this down
this romulan guy, unclear if he was the one actually in charge at the khitomer massacre or not (i thought he looked familiar, i looked it up and he previously played a totally different romulan on tng lol), but this guy is running this fucking prison with seventy-three klingons completely at his mercy. yes, they ""asked"" to stay, but they WANTED to die, they ATTEMPTED to die, and they would have CHOSEN to die had the option been given to them, but they're doing this instead in order to keep from bringing consequences down on their families heads. so he has total power over them and he... "marries" one???
i am going to start discussing conception via rape please consider this your warning.
this is of course coming after tasha yar had a FUCKING BABY VIA RAPE in a romulan prison and then got killed for trying to escape. he "married" a klingon woman. ALL RIGHT
even if she thought she loved him and consented to everything SHE IS A PRISONERRR. SHE WAS NOT ALLOWED TO DIE. SHE IS NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE.
like, when worf kissed that girl and realized she was half romulan his revulsion should not have been from the fantasy racism but from realizing she is a rape baby. like, this whole sitch is horrifying
and it really brings into perspective too how lucky worf must have been...he was so young when khitomer happened and yet he's very in touch with his heritage, but something as simple as old klingon stories are considered dangerous by the romulan warden
AND HE IS A WARDEN. again: nobody is allowed to leave where they are. this isn't a peaceful group of equals, conscientious objectors who chose a different way of life. THEY ARE PRISONERS. they're not allowed to look at or even touch any of their old things. they have to find fun and entertainment with old weapons. klingon tai chi classes are NOT allowed
in fact, the REAL ethical dilemma is, is it right to try and force this half-romulan half-klingon girl out of her "home" when it is clear she is happy in here and will be reviled out there? i argue yes because her home IS A PRISON CAMP like girl if spock did it u can too but what do i know
it makes no sense also that these people would be choosing to procreate. if this prison camp is only marginally better than death, or worse than death in some ways but a necessary evil, why bring kids into it??? unless the romulans are the ones making the babies
god this dude even sat at the head of the table and had everyone bring his food to him and then was ready to execute worf for bringing klingon culture into and i repeat the KLINGON PRISON CAMP
anyway, this episode did pop off at a few points. it was cool to see worf help them get back in touch with their own culture and doubly cool to see him get "even" with his like...sort of enemies. ALSO fun to watch that little bootlicking klingon who was sucking that romulan guy's dick finally come to his senses and stand w/ worf
i also loved the part where worf was perfectly happy to die as a klingon rather than live as someone with dishonor...it felt so different from the episode where he tried to kill himself because this time he WAS being honorable and not cowardly. he would have had nowhere to go had he run and he would have been leaving those other klingons behind
i am disappointed though that after all that. worf's dad really was dead. also, how did that guy know where the camp was and why did he tell. ALSO also, how are the klingons gonna get by when they can't tell anyone what bloodline they come from...that's like your picture ID in the klingon world
the point is, as usual, tng almost had something really cool but couldn't get out of its own way and as a result dropped the fucking ball.
NEXT TIME: ds9's "move along home" and "the nagus."
