Weekend Trek “Redemption Part 2”

 

Klingons love a good fight, and that means they will even fight each other.  But toss some sneaky Romulans into the mix, and it may be something that Starfleet needs to look into.  That seems to be the case in Star Trek the Next Generation‘s fifth season.  Jimmy and Tom have some thoughts below.

“Redemption Part 2”

While Worf fights the Klingon civil war on the front lines, Picard takes his own actions to stop the conflict.

jimmy:  It’s a good thing for the Federation that the Romulans forget they could move in 3 dimensions.

tomk:  That’s why you cast a big net.

jimmy:  It’s not that big.

tomk:  Oh, and I am sure you had a better plan than Picard.

jimmy:  I wondered if they even needed the net plan or Data’s insubordination, as there were multiple times they seemed to know exactly where the cloaked ships were and what they were doing.

tomk:  Well, Sela’s helmsman kept forgetting to flip the turn signal off.

jimmy:  Makes as much sense as anything else.

tomk:  Also, Captain Jake and the Night Crew got a lot of Romulans drunk.

jimmy:  Those Romulans are lightweights.

tomk:  They also treat androids better.

jimmy:  That was another thing…how did Sela know which ship Data was captaining?

tomk:  It had a “warning: android captain” sign in the window.

jimmy:  lol

Probably put there by that android hating Lt. Commander.

tomk:  Well, I didn’t put it there. I like Data.

jimmy:  Me too.

tomk:  Maybe if he got that beard back, that jerk would have been more impressed.

jimmy:  Data had a beard?

tomk:  You forgot?

jimmy:  Haha, right..I did.  Or I blocked it out.

tomk:  Well, it was season two…

jimmy:  That explains it.  It’s a hell of a beard though.

tomk:  No wonder you need to do a rewatch.  You only seem to remember Borg attacks, ridiculous martial arts involving swinging sticks at your jerk father, and Worf’s love life.

jimmy:  And sometimes not even that!

tomk:  Well, I am not going back to season one now that we’ve started season five.

jimmy:  Fine, we’ll talk about the short lived Klingon civil war.

tomk:  Everybody won.  Except the Duras sisters.

jimmy:  And those guys Candyman smoked with the sun.

tomk:  They were distracted by more boob windows.

jimmy:  More Klingons die that way.  It is a good way to die.

tomk:  It’s that or in combat.

jimmy:

tomk:  He seems jolly.

jimmy:  Jollier than that never laughing Worf.

tomk:  Some people don’t know how to relax. 

jimmy:  Those sisters seem like they know how to have a good time.

tomk:  Seemed kinda intense to me.

jimmy:  They’re still Klingons.

tomk:  Also seemed like reoccurring villain types.

jimmy:  Fine.  They’re no fun.  You happy now, Tom?

tomk:  I think it is obvious I am not. I miss Data’s beard.

jimmy:  We all do.

I’ve been harsh to this episode so far, but it is a good one.  I just found some of the things I mentioned kind of silly if you think about them too much.  I did like the Yar/Sela twist, but you know I’m a sucker for in-universe continuity.

tomk:  You also like it when Picard invites his adversaries over to hang out in the conference room.

jimmy:  You don’t?

tomk:  They get to visit my second-best bathroom.

Or Watson’s office.

jimmy:  They sure don’t want to give Tasha a satisfying death.  Her in show death was incredibly lame.  They kind of made up for that with her implied death at the end of “Yesterday’s Enterprise”.  Even though it takes place off screen for the most part, it is certainly a better send off.  And while I like the twist of her survival, this tramples all over her legacy, making her a slave and consort and eventually having her executed off screen.

tomk:  It does give Denise Crosby more time on the show even if Tasha’s daughter only appears like three times.

jimmy:  Any idea if this was something the show came up with and approached her or was she clamoring for a return?

tomk:  I have no idea. Someone probably just thought it would be cool and she probably liked eating, a difficult task without money.

jimmy:  Eating is important.

tomk:  Exactly.  Have a piece of pie.

jimmy:  Space pie?

tomk:  Um, sure.

jimmy:  Delicious.

tomk:  Not GAGH! flavored at all.

jimmy:  It better not be.

So, I watched the review from your friends at Reverse Angle.  Nothing ground breaking, but they did make a keen observation.  When Sela appears on the view screen to tell the sisters to leave Worf alone, this is the first time Worf has seen, and probably even heard about her looking identical to Tasha Yar, and he seems to have no reaction at all.

tomk:  He’s a stoic Klingon man, and no one understands him but his woman.

jimmy:

tomk:  But Worf was probably just so disillusioned by the whole thing. He didn’t really fit in with the Klingons.

jimmy:  He’s more machine now than man. Or more human than Klingon. Or something.

tomk:  He did spare Duras Junior to try and break the cycle of violence.

jimmy:  The kid is lucky. I doubt any other Klingon would have done that.

tomk:  He did come back to cause Worf some problems in at least one episode of DS9.

jimmy:  I remember that.

Narrator: He didn’t.

tomk:  The Duras sisters also appeared on at least one DS9.

jimmy:  They must have been below cleavage quota for that season.

tomk:  Eh, the sisters have a movie appearance that hasn’t happened yet.

jimmy:  We’ll be awhile before we get to that.

tomk:  Or we can always skip ahead.

jimmy:  Where’s the fun in that?

tomk:  Skipping bad episodes?

jimmy:  I won’t remember them in a month anyways.

And we’re in season 5 now…no bad episodes from here on out!

tomk:  I’ll remember that you said that the next time Lwaxana Troi or Wesley Crusher come to visit.

jimmy:  I guess we’ll see.

tomk:  Does that mean that you have nothing to add about how quickly Worf got his job back?

jimmy:  Was it ever in question?

tomk:  It’s like a Starfleet resignation doesn’t mean anything anymore.

jimmy:  What were they going to do?  Let O’Brien stay on the bridge and be a main character?

tomk:  Are you saying O’Brien isn’t interesting enough to be part of the main cast of a Star Trek show?

jimmy:  It was a joke.

tomk:  Was it, Jimmy?  Was it?

jimmy:  Yes?

tomk:  Ok. You can have another piece of pie.

jimmy:  Space pie?

tomk:  Sure.

jimmy:  Delicious.

tomk:

jimmy:  Worf gets it.

tomk:  Too bad he was eating omelets, not pie.

jimmy:  So Worf’s back. Tasha’s dead. O’Brien’s demoted. Emotionless Data gets mad and yells at subordinates. Anything else?

tomk:  I could point out the next one is an absolute classic.

jimmy:  Point it out after we watch it.

tomk:  Well then I don’t have a segue. You aren’t getting anymore pie.

I’m going to give it to Gowron.

He gets the power and the pie.

jimmy:  And then the women.

tomk:  But not the Duras sisters.

jimmy:  He’s probably ok with that.

tomk:  Are you?

jimmy:  Yes.

tomk:  In that case, we can move on. Jimmy, his stomach full.

jimmy:  That’s a good way to be.

tomk:  The Moose and the Beaver when the last season of GoT aired.

Cousin Minka, her look disappointed.

The pie, finished.

Do you have anything else to add now, or do I need to lay more hints what the next episode is?

jimmy:  I didn’t want to step on your Klingon haiku.

tomk:  So, ready to move on?

jimmy:  Unless you want to try another segue.

tomk:  Watson with his pants damp.

jimmy:  Hmm…now I’m not sure I want to watch the next one.

tomk:  Malin Ackerman in Jimmy’s mancave.

jimmy:  That turned around quickly. I’m in!

tomk:  Engage!

Next:  “Darmok”