The Emissary

DVD, TNG S2 (The Emissary)

Having watched the 'Voyager' episode 'Prophecy' only recently I see it 'borrowed' quite a lot in its premise from this one. Strange then, that that should be a slightly better experience. It comes down to pacing and this series' predilection for taking its time over things. At first the teaser scene appears to be a fun, but pointless opening, and only at the end do we understand the importance of Worf's poker face, and that was an example of the episode working well. Unfortunately too many scenes don't have a twin that will later expose their necessity, and much of the first half is little more than an attempt to build anticipation for something that whimpers rather than bangs.

An argument could be made for Worf's personal experiences taking precedence, and so leaving any other denouement unimportant, but though his scenes with K'Ehleyr bring to the fore Klingon traditions and idiosyncracies, they don't lead anywhere very interesting, at least not at this stage of the series. If it were not for later events you would almost say this episode wasn't worth watching. Introducing a Klingon female onto the ship was a worthwhile plot to explore, and adding the subtlety of a connection with Worf and the half human, half Klingon angle was bold. The status of the episode isn't increased because of these things however, because we've seen so many strong Klingon episodes that were much more exciting than this, and B'Elanna Torres clearly explored every avenue of being a half-breed with a foot in two cultures (even forgetting Spock, Odo and assorted others!), so eclipsing the episode's USP.

The story isn't completely without merit, and marks the first proper female Klingon role on the series. The Holodeck fight sequence is surprisingly brutal for the time, but nonetheless enjoyable, and the fairly chaste references to mating don't bring down the tone of the episode, and indeed show Klingons to be more committed than humans. Once again, as with 'Prophecy' I was left with the hollow feeling that a ship full of Klingons from another era, back when the Federation was at war with them, should have provided the excuse for the series to go into full throttle. We've seen Klingons used intelligently in a contemplative, but also belligerent mode already in the series with Season One's 'Heart of Glory', so a quiet clash of cultures wasn't going to set the screen alight. On a side note, K'Ehleyr states Worf doesn't like people with a sense of humour. He responds grimly that he did not say that. His side of it would be proved very true in his interactions with Jadzia on DS9, who possessed the most flippant and playful sense of humour in all Trek!

**