ODS9EG- "Sons and Daughters"

[VF5SS]

Chuck continues his campaign against the Dominion

to be fair to Alexander, the BATLETH is kind of a terrible weapon for any actor to wield

I've seen big tokusatsu weapons that were easier to use than that

[Burak Gazan]

I should know better to watch these reviews while consuming liquids

"Sorry Alexander, the only way you are going to kill a Jem'Hadar in close combat is if you are wearing a suicide vest... and even THEN you might press the wrong button and unlock his car or something..."

Damn near killed me

[Baffalo]

I think they should've left Alexander alone and just focused on Worf and Martok. Sure, there wouldn't be quite so many laughs, but you'd be focusing on people who will mean more in the long run and who we actually give a damn about.

[Metahive]

I like how this episode totally ignores Firstborn from TNG where Alexander insisted on not becoming a warrior and Worf eventually approved of it even if it could mean his own death. Wait, I don't like it, I find it fucking stupid. So Alexander abandons his aspirations to follow in the footsteps of his mother and become a diplomat to become the class clown on a klingon warship because...why exactly? I don't think the episode provides a satisfactory answer.

[tezunegari]

I never understood why he became a soldier of the Klingon Empire.

OK, he was young when he made the decision not to become a warrior like his father. He might have had a change of heart during all those years.

But it would have been better for SoD to make him a Federation engineer serving in an exchange program or being on loan from a Fed-fleet to help repair or upgrade the Klingon ship. That way the Klingons can learn that you don't have to be a fearsome warrior to be a hero. (Didn't he save the ship when he locked himself in that compartment?)

[Uraniun235]

I half-jokingly wonder if it was meant to add to the "Worf has a shitty family life" arc that built throughout the series:


- His parents were killed by a traitor whose son later successfully framed Worf's father for the treachery
- His son's mother is killed by same traitor's son
- His adoptive brother is, in his eyes, a huge embarrassment to the family
- His real brother winds up having to have his memory wiped because he's suicidally ashamed of the aftermath of Worf's actions
- His son disappoints him by first deciding he doesn't want to be a Klingon Warrior; then it turns out Worf couldn't even be bothered to call or write after dumping Alexander with his adoptive parents; then it turns out Alexander sucks at being a Klingon Warrior
- His wife gets killed by Dukat


The dude cannot catch a break there.

[Enigma]

Don't forget the countless times Worf being thrown about.

[Ahriman238]

I half-jokingly wonder if it was meant to add to the "Worf has a shitty family life" arc that built throughout the series:


- His parents were killed by a traitor whose son later successfully framed Worf's father for the treachery
- His son's mother is killed by same traitor's son
- His adoptive brother is, in his eyes, a huge embarrassment to the family
- His real brother winds up having to have his memory wiped because he's suicidally ashamed of the aftermath of Worf's actions
- His son disappoints him by first deciding he doesn't want to be a Klingon Warrior; then it turns out Worf couldn't even be bothered to call or write after dumping Alexander with his adoptive parents; then it turns out Alexander sucks at being a Klingon Warrior
- His wife gets killed by Dukat


The dude cannot catch a break there.

Don't forget he was estranged from his apodted parents for many years, and it took the near destruction/assimilation of earth to bring them together again.

Or that he accidently killed a child in his youth.

[Cesario]

Really, my sympathies were entirely with Worf in this episode. He knows, KNOWS that his son doesn't want to be a warior. He has given his blessing to his son's future diplomatic career. And we were both confused as fuck by the events in this episode.

If Alexander wanted to join up to stop the Dominion, why join up with the Klingons instead of Starfleet which he's culturally got more in common with? If he wanted to impress his father, Worf had no problem with him not being a warior last we saw. If Worf was being a huge douche offscreen since the last time we saw Alexander, why weren't Worf's parents doing a better job keeping him stable?

And even if all those questions are answered, why in the world did he not get some basic combat training before signing on to a klingon warship? And why did the Klingons let him sign on without basic combat training?

[Stofsk]

It's episodes like this and half the references to DS9 Worf plots that Uraniun wrote in this post above that make me think DS9 writers just didn't have a clue.

[Baffalo]

It's episodes like this and half the references to DS9 Worf plots that Uraniun wrote in this post above that make me think DS9 writers just didn't have a clue.

The sad part is, of all the writing staffs, if DS9 doesn't have a clue, then what hope is there for Voyager or Enterprise? Oh wait, there is none. Nevermind.

[Connor MacLeod]

Worf's addition to DS9 wsa always meant as an attempt to tie into TNG and tap that demographic and (I suspect) bolster ratings. And to be honest while I thought having worf in the crew was cool when this originally came about (I was much younger at the time as well) in retrospect Worf just sticks out in the rest of the cast. If it wasn't for the Dominion war angle he wouldn't have much of a point to be there at all, but even with that angle it felt like his inclusion amongst the main cast was.. forced. That may account for the way he and his plots were handled, including all the contradictions. TNG had one idea/version of Worf, and DS9 is trying to present us a completely different idea of Worf, and the two just don't mix.

[Baffalo]

Worf's addition to DS9 wsa always meant as an attempt to tie into TNG and tap that demographic and (I suspect) bolster ratings. And to be honest while I thought having worf in the crew was cool when this originally came about (I was much younger at the time as well) in retrospect Worf just sticks out in the rest of the cast. If it wasn't for the Dominion war angle he wouldn't have much of a point to be there at all, but even with that angle it felt like his inclusion amongst the main cast was.. forced. That may account for the way he and his plots were handled, including all the contradictions. TNG had one idea/version of Worf, and DS9 is trying to present us a completely different idea of Worf, and the two just don't mix.

IIRC Worf didn't bring much of a ratings boost to TNG. And yes, watching it here recently, he did seem out of place. Everyone sort of had to adjust their pace when Worf was involved, and he was such an outsider even among the main station crew, he slept on the Defiant. I hate that DS9 never became popular enough to warrant their own movies, because I think if they pulled the writers out and put them to work on a movie, it would be quite an amazing thing. The long story arcs, especially towards the end of the series, would be good for the movies (though I was unhappy with what happened to Sisko).

[Coalition]

I never understood why he became a soldier of the Klingon Empire.

OK, he was young when he made the decision not to become a warrior like his father. He might have had a change of heart during all those years.

But it would have been better for SoD to make him a Federation engineer serving in an exchange program or being on loan from a Fed-fleet to help repair or upgrade the Klingon ship. That way the Klingons can learn that you don't have to be a fearsome warrior to be a hero. (Didn't he save the ship when he locked himself in that compartment?)

So Alexander would see one piece of equipment was broken during the fight, and he tells another Klingon (a young woman) to watch one screen, and when the equipment is repaired, she is to bring it back online. The equipment is in a corridor that is flooded with toxic fumes, so Alexander has to hold his breath the entire time. Have her make a comment that no Klingon warrior would do such a stupid/suicidal action. Alexander reminds her that since everyone has been saying he is not a warrior, he will do it.

He gets in, does the repair, and manages to leave in time. Arriving out, the other Klnigons are ready to celebrate because his repair allowed them to win. They stagger back due to the toxic fumes still on his clothes. When the Captain (and Worf) are chewing him out for the stunt and for nearly dying, Alexander replies something like, "I knew it would take me a total of six minutes to get to the site, perform the repair, and get back. I can hold my breath for seven minutes. There was no risk."

He then tells the Captain that there is one thing he did forget to do before he went in there. When the Captain asks what Alexander forgot, Alexander walks over to the Klingon female, grabs and kisses her. He looks at the Captain and says, "That is what I forgot."

When Worf later asks him why Alexander did what he did, Alexander tells that it was what he learned from Commander Riker, "The ship comes first."

Later, we have Alexander inducted into the House of Martok, where Martok tells him he is being welcomed as his own warrior. He will bring his own thoughts of honor into the Huoseof martok, to bring it stronger. In return, Martok offers a family, to train him in the ways of combat (mainly hand to hand, to get his seat at the mess table).