Sons and Daughters

DVD, DS9 S6 (Sons and Daughters)

War is a difficult enough business without having to bring family members into it, but for Worf that's exactly what happens here, with Alexander Rozhenko making his 'DS9' debut, much to everyone's surprise (the war must be going badly if raw recruits like him are required). I suppose the surprise should be that it took them over two years to do it, since Worf's son was an integral part of his life for most of 'TNG.' But was he? He was introduced early on, but Worf kept sending him away to wait until he was old enough to be shown on screen, or because he might get in the way of warrior stories. I don't think Alexander was ever really used to the best of his potential, often coming across as a whiny little brat, nothing like you'd expect a Klingon child to be, especially not one from the genes of the great Worf! But then again, Worf has ever been atypical for a Klingon so it stood to reason that his family wouldn't be either, and don't forget that Alexander's Mum, K'Ehleyr, was half-human, making him one-quarter human, with all the weakness we humans have. What this story does is address, in a small way Worf's perceived abandonment of his son, palming him off to his human grandparents, the Rozhenko's (how much fun it would have been to see them bustling round a Klingon ship, much to Martok's consternation!). This is the reason Alexander has pursued the course of the warrior, when we learned from his last appearance in the final season of 'TNG,' that it wasn't for him, his own future self coming back in time to try and force him to change.

That future was likely changed because Worf learned that he was to die because his son wasn't there to aid him, but now it seems there's even less chance of that happening because Alexander wants to be a warrior after all. It's refreshing to see that this doesn't take the expected route: the young man fails at first, but eventually wins the respect of his compatriots and that of his Father by some daring deed. No, in this, Alexander ends the episode by locking himself in a cupboard by mistake, the last in a catalogue of errors for which he is laughed at. The difference is that by the end they're laughing with him rather than at him. Worf may have been right, that the crew had accepted him earlier as the ship's fool, but they grow fond of him because of, or in spite of, his mistakes, shown best by the bully Ch'Targh, who initially teases and tries to teach him a lesson, ramming home his point to Worf when the Father intercedes, asking if he'll fight the Jem'Hadar for his son, as well. He's not so much of a bully after all, just a typical Klingon soldier, and he ends up volunteering to help Alexander when he goes to fix a problem during the battle. (One of the recruits that joins the Rotarran at the same time as Alexander is named Katogh of Ch'Pok - this could be the same Ch'Pok who was the Klingon advocate for Worf's extradition in 'Rules of Engagement').

The battle scenes may have been the weaker part of the episode, which is strange to say on this series, and in a time of war, but the Rotarran seemed sluggish in the way it was filmed, and even the Jem'Hadar vessels didn't seem as sharp and manoeuvrable as usual. Not that it matters to the story, as it is a story all about the characters, not the action, something else which may surprise in this six-part war story. Everything is about the people embedded in this war, not the actual fighting. The complexities of life under occupation continue to be explored on a personal level for Kira, who, despite everything, falls for Dukat's latest trick, his wily persona always knowing what strings to pull and when: bringing Ziyal back from Bajor to stay on the station, ostensibly because he missed her, but how much of that is true, and how much is it about impressing Kira and using his daughter as a tool in that regard? Even in an episode in which he's trying to get to her, even refusing to accept her response that the bond between them doesn't exist, except in his head ('I don't like you,' 'yes you do'), he shows his true nature by having her meet him whenever he returns to the station, like some kind of lapdog! On a side note, the interesting thing about this episode is that she was supposed to wear her dress uniform, and I'm not sure we'd ever seen that on the series (unless it's the dark blue outfit she wears in 'Crossfire'), so it's a shame she didn't.

Damar notices and responds grumpily, but he really must bear being Dukat's lapdog, as seen when he's told to deliver a package to Kira's quarters as she might like the idea of him being made to do a common errand like that. Dukat's really using everything under his command to win Kira over, even after their conversation about power in the opening episode, and how he has it, and she doesn't. Enough time has passed that she's got used to acting on his whims, perhaps comforted by the fact that she's now planning the resistance on the station, though things don't seem to have moved along much in that regard. The same thing happens in this story as in the previous: she looks in the mirror and is changed (maybe she should have more mirrors around!) - she didn't actually resolve to fight the enemy because of looking in her mirror, but it is an interesting parallel when she's almost caught under Dukat's spell through the use of his daughter, rather than his dragon-like charm (as he probably thought), and who knows, perhaps if she hadn't already had that spur from Vedek Yassim's public suicide, Dukat's use of Ziyal might just have won her over, though I'm sure Dukat himself would have messed up his hold over her as an ally by being so deluded and selfish - his very mind is compartmentalised, an example shown when Kira returns the dress he sent, and he flips it around to please his daughter, saying it's a gift for her. He uses every opportunity that presents itself, without even thinking, to make people love him.

Bringing Ziyal back was a good idea, especially as we learn that she plans to become a bridge between her two peoples, being half-Bajoran, half Cardassian, and doing it through her art. She even thinks she can mend things between Kira and her Father, which is naivety taken to new heights (carried along by his delight, having dinner, organising parties - he does keep late hours though, with dinner at 22:00, and the party at 21:30, but as noted in the previous review they run on a twenty-six hour clock so it's not as late). She's so eager and bright, without any cynicism, and neither of them want to upset her, but, as Kira says when she realises she's found common ground with a man she hates, Ziyal will get over her dislike of him. The two strands to the story are nicely mirrored in each other, one a son, the other a daughter, both trying to find their place and reason for being, both trying to understand a Father, going down a path to something new, looking for acceptance, both abandoned, though perhaps more in Alexander's mind, whereas Ziyal was literally left behind when Dukat switched sides, yet she forgives. One ends happily, a new understanding between Father and son, the other not so happily, a friendship strained because of the daughter's connection with her Father. Environment may have played into it to a certain extent, too, as Alexander's story took place in the confined, smoky atmosphere of a Bird of Prey, dark and moody, Ziyal's on the bright station, her biggest problem being to persuade Kira to come to dinner, or whether she'll be accepted into an art institute on Cardassia.

It's always good to have a Klingon story, but ironic that this is the one in the war arc to be most character-driven in many ways. It's good that we're told that they're on their way back to Starbase 375, so it's directly following 'Rocks and Shoals,' which was originally supposed to end with the sight of the Rotarran rescuing the survivors of the downed Jem'Hadar ship. The main characters of that episode barely feature here, which is fair because the Klingon characters didn't get much of a look-in in the previous two episodes, but we do see Jadzia appearing quite well and full of energy, so the Klingon medical bay must have done the trick, and perhaps the journey was a long one (though I'm sure it wouldn't have taken O'Brien and Bashir long before they started complaining about the food!). I didn't think Klingons really bothered with medical bays on their ships, but it's probably the most basic of facilities, just a slab in a bare room with all kinds of knives and sharp implements up on the walls. Sounds just like the training room Alexander exercises in, so maybe it doubled as both (we also see Klingon quarters and an office of Worf's for perhaps the first time)! That area gave us a new piece of information about the Jem'Hadar: their bladed pole weapon (first seen in 'To The Death,' I think), is called a kar'takin - two episodes in a row learning a Jem'Hadar word!

When Martok finds Alexander practicing there, I half expected him to teach him how to be a warrior, but it was a bit late by that point! It's nice that by the end of the episode he inducts the young man into his house (I'm sure he'd be a useful Grandad!), the only disappointment being that we didn't see more of him beyond attending the wedding of Worf and Dax, as I liked him a lot more in this than his 'TNG' appearances. I suppose the story was resolved, as it was about the lack of understanding between Father and son, and they had a meeting of minds - anything further would have been Alexander's story, something which would have added another recurring character to an already vast list. Not that they couldn't have done it, but the series doesn't suffer because we don't see Alexander grow into a man. The message here, and it could be said that it is the message of the series, is that you don't need to be the same as everyone else to find your place and acceptance. Everyone's different and has to approach life on different terms: Alexander doesn't have to be the best warrior possible to make his Father proud, Worf can fit into Starfleet, Rom can be a Ferengi with heart, among many other examples. A heartening message indeed. At first I didn't feel this episode was worthy of the previous two, and although it's not on the same level as them, by the end of it, much like Alexander, I had seen its true potential.

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