Series: Star Trek:TNG
Episode: 2.20 The Emissary (6-19-1989)
Rating: 5/5
Redshirt Status: 0/18.5/21.5
Notable Guest Stars:
Suzie Plakson – K’Ehlyr. She also has appeared as a Vulcan doctor, and later as Mrs. Q.
Lance Legault –K’Temoc
Georgann Johnson – Admiral Gromek
Anne Elizabeth Ramsay – Clancy. She is known for her role on Mad about You
Diedrich Bader – Tactical Crewman. I know him as Jethro Bodine in the film version of the Beverly Hillbillies.
Review:
This episode is an important episode for Worf’s storyline, as well as a major Klingon episode. The episode starts with a poker game, but the main plot begins when the Enterprise is sent on a special mission and an emissary is sent – via a probe – to tellthem the particulars.
K’Ehlyr is a character I wish we had seen more of. She’s a half human Klingon and seems to work as a federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire. She is sent to help the Enterprise to greet a Klingon ship that has been in cyrogentic sleep since before the treaty between the Empire and the Federation and would therefore want to attack Federation colonies along their route.
This almost plays second fiddle to the secondary plot of K’Ehlyr and Worf’s romance. It develops the traditions of the Klingons involving marriage. Klinons seem to be romantics, where lust, love and marriage are all intertwined. Worf is very particular about this, though he seems to loosen on the matter later seasons (evidenced by how he handles his relationships with Deanna and Jadzia.)
Back to the main plot, this episode ties back into the Kirk era. This episode takes place about 80 years after the events of The Final Frontier so this mission must have been sent out around the same time. So imagine the Klingons from that point in time coming across the Federation of Worf and Co. Its going to be a long process helping them adapt.
On a bright now, K’Ehylr will return in a later season, but not for a while. I wish we could have seen more of her. Seeing her interact with B’Elanna would also have been interesting. They are both hybrids, though the halfs are switched.
This episode was well written. It may have had two plots, as is common in TV shows, but it was balanced so you don’t feel like one story outweighed the other. Each part has a satisfying conclusion to the story at hand.
As I’m scheduling this to post, I realized it is kind of amusing that an episode dealing with Worf and his first love ends up posting on Valentine’s Day.
Interesting Notes:
- Written by Thomas Calder
- Directed by Cliff Bole
- This is the second Dixon novel episode.
- This the first of two episodes involving K’Ehylr and both are important to Worf’s storyarc as a character.
Pros:
- K’Ehylr
- Klingon Culture explored.
- Worf backstory
- Seeing Picard deal with his crew on different things.
Cons:
Nothing really stands out in this episode.
Screencap via CygnusX1.net
Sokorra Lewis 