Series: Star Trek: TNG
Episode: 4.07 Reunion (11/05/1990)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 0/0/33
Notable Guest Stars:
Suzie Plakson (K’Ehleyr) – Plakson has appeared before on TNG as a vulcan medical officer and once before as K’Ehleyr. She’ll return as Lady Q for Voyager.
Robert O’Reilly (Gowron)- He is an award winning director of theatre and will appear as Gowron for several years on TNG, DS9 and Star Trek: Klingon video game.
Patrick Masset (Duras)- He is better known for his writing and production credits. He did appear in the series Friday Night Lights, which he wrote and produced as well. More recently he produced The Black List.
Charles Cooper (K’mpec) – Cooper returns as K’mpec for his second appearance but he also appeared in The Final Frontier as General Korrd.
Jon Paul Steuer (Alexander) – The actor playing Alexander would be changed over the years, but Steuer got to create the role. He was also known for his roles on Grace Under Fire and Little Giants. However, he unfortunately died in 2018 at 33.
Basil Wallace(Klingon Guard) – He gets a special mention for being in West Wing, though I honestly don’t recall his character.
Review:
Reunion continues this seasons theme on family, this time returning to Worf. K’mpec reaches out to the Enterprise through Ambassador K’Ehleyr. Picard is surprised to find he is K’mpec’s chosen mediater for his successor. Worf meanwhile gets surprised with a son.
Alexander’s age and growth patterns always confuse me because he is probably a year or two old but looks like he is five. And then he looks 10 for the rest of the time as far as I can recall. I might change my opinion on that later. I guess we can excuse the weird casting ages as a Klingon growing period.
The House of Duras is, of course, here to cause problems. I think that I can get away with saying they are the problem makers because lets face it, It’s the House of Duras. They’ve been causing problems since 2250s. Of course at this point Enterprise had never aired, and the various episodes after this involving this family haven’t aired.
Overall I like this episode. There is enough suspense. The only problem I really have with this episode is the death of K’Ehleyr. She dies to give Worf a reason to kick Duras butt (erg…understatement) but we don’t get to see her fight Duras. She doesn’t get to die in Battle, just be seen dying. It gives Worf and Alexander a place to bond over their mutual grief. I’m always a bit suspect of female characters being killed off to cause inspiration for male characters. They could have avoided the look of that if we had gotten to see her fight Duras. We got to see her stand up to Gowron, but Gowron wasn’t battling her.
Interesting Notes:
- Story by Drew Deighan, Thomas Perry and Jo Perry
- Written by Thomas Perry, Jo Perry, Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga.
- Directed by Jonathan Frakes (second of eight episodes)
- Gowron is a reoccurring character and will appear in both TNG and DS9
- K’Ehleyr was mentioned as a possible inspiration for B’Elanna Torres, although honestly the only thing they seem to have in common is they are half-human. Might have to do a comparison later once I get to Voyager.
Pros:
- K’Ehlyr. My second favorite Klingon (after B’Elanna Torres)
- Klingon cultural practices and exploration
- Gowron. My fifth favorite Klingon.
Cons:
- K’Ehlyr’s death
- I’m a little bothered that Worf sent his son off to his parents right away. I suppose he could conclude he is not a proper parent but a part of me wishes that he had tried for a little bit.
Screencap via CygnusX1.net
Sokorra Lewis 