Star Trek is no stranger to have politically correct undertones in its various episodes, but this has to be one of the worst examples. They should have just let worfs brother die, rather than turn him in the abomination we see at the end. This episode really writes off Klingon beleifs as being a credible entity, and damages the integrity of all characters involved, by forcing them to act out of character.
shareThe biggest F-You to Kurn comes later when Worf is accepted into the House of Martok, and then Martok becomes Chancellor of the Klingon High Council, making Worf part of the Empire's ruling family. Tough luck, Kurn.
shareMichael Dorn liked the ending. I'd go with his opinion.
shareMichael Dorn liked the ending. I'd go with his opinion.
If Michael Dorn were actually a Klingon, his opinion might have more validity.
shareI was never a fan of this ending either and honestly, after hearing Michael Dorn's ideas for a "Star Trek Worf" show, his opinion doesn't hold much weight with me personally.
I will say that I always kind of wished for a post-Dominion War kind of story wherein Worf goes out and finds Kurn and has Bashir, the genetically altered super doc, restore Kurn's memories. After Kurn's memories are restored, Worf, Kurn, and Alexander re-establish the House of Mogh as a strong ally or "brother house" to Martok.
Michael Dorn liked the ending. I'd go with his opinion.
The episode with Quark dressed up as a woman might give it a run for it's money!
shareI agree it was a terrible episode, but it should not have resulted in Kurn's death. It should have shown Kurn was able to overcome his depression and move on. He was a decorated war-hero thrown out of his house through no fault of his own. There was no reason whatsoever he couldn't recover from that, finding a job in the private sector or simply finding a new house. Making him all suicidal "woe is me" was the ultimate insult to what had been one of my favorite supporting characters.
shareYes that was bad. But what just as bad is what they did to Alexander, Worf's son with him being on a Klingon ship when he previously did not not want to be a warrior.
shareKurn was an outcast in the empire and the empire was the only thing he cared about. I don't know how he would have overcome that given those facts. It seems like the Klingon system of doing things would allow for some sort of penance or redemption but the stories never allowed for that. The best thing that could have happened to SOM is that it went into a trash can.
shareYeah theys all cullerts and theyd be on welfare
sharethere are a lot of terrible episodes in ds9...
shareI just came on here to start a thread about SOM but lo and behold there already is one with the proper feel to it. I hated the ending after watching it briefly. It goes against what we have been told about Worf and Klingon beliefs. Worf should know that there is no cheating when it comes to the afterlife so altering Kurn's memory is a cop out. The story should have progressed to the point where the ritual would have been done in secret and away from the station. Kurn could have died with peace keeping some of his honor and go to Stovokor. I guess that I am fortunate I always missed this episode previously to last week.
shareBelieve it or not, they addressed this issue on Star Trek Online, where Kern got his memory back. By then a lot of things had happened, so it wasn't dangerous for Kern to know his real heritage or who his brother was anymore.
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