‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘Heart of Glory’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Over the course of our journey through season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation, we’ve talked at length about how sometimes television shows will explore a particular concept or notion multiple times over the course of a season, when an idea offers up endless possibilities storytelling wise. And this particular discussion continues to come up, simply because revisiting ideas that have been explored in prior episodes is a staple for the inaugural season of this series. For this dynamic show has dug deep often, on how far people are willing to go to either right a wrong or save something that matters deeply to them. Plus, it’s also taken the time to try and explore what life might actually look like in the universe since the imagination knows no bounds there. And it just so happens that another concept that was introduced and explored a little while back, specifically the power of tradition and whether it should be continued to be followed, found its way into the next episode of this storied saga.

Something that took a little while to get to in ‘Heart of Glory’. Because as is often the case with early episodes from this saga, a little deflection came into play, by way of a distress call near the Neutral Zone. Which of course brought about some generic interplay and an idea that this reviewer cannot recall the show re-visiting beyond this particular tale. For this is a story that also saw Geordi LaForge try and help others see the world as he does, with a special transceiver that broadcast his VISOR’s feed to the Enterprise main viewer. Which was an interesting attempt to give the audience perspective on differently abled individuals, and this would have had more gravity had the episode made bigger of use of it, rather than toss it to the side once the away team discovered Klingons aboard the battered freighter they boarded. But it is understandable as to why the show shifted gears away from that idea.

For Commander Korris and Lieutenant Konmel of the Klingon Defense Force, are the characters that are key to the episode’s exploration of tradition and once they are aboard the 1701-D, said exploration gets underway. For these two warriors are carrying quite the burdensome idea, the kind that is looked down upon by the Empire in the 24th Century. In that, they believe that the peace treaty between the Klingons and the Federation is outright silly, and that Klingons should be allowed to be Klingons and hunt and conquer as they see fit. Something that motivated them to rise up against their fellow shipmates when they disagreed with them and that battle is what brought them to the Enterprise. Where they hoped to find a new ally in Lieutenant Worf and that led to some powerful storytelling for certain, since their desire to be joined by Worf in glorious combat put him in quite the conflict.

For Worf is of course, of two worlds. Born a Klingon but raised as a human, and he is also the only Klingon serving in Starfleet and being able to learn another aspect of history and see how other people live and thrive, has allowed for him to understand that while traditions are important to remember and reflect upon, not all of them need to survive. And while the Warrior’s Way sounds appealing and runs through his veins, it faded into the past for good reason. Because it pushed the Empire to the brink and by abandoning it, better and more prosperous times have come to Qo’noS and clearly that line of thinking is designed to offer commentary on the many outdated traditions we deal with on Earth. But what matters more is that Worf’s overall understanding of tradition, motivated him to stand by Starfleet and choose the better way, and really, this was quite the magnificent episode when all is said and done. 

Because this was the first on-screen television appearance of the Klingon Empire since The Original Series and boy do they make quite an impact here. For not only are they at their fiercest once again, we actually get to learn more about Klingon culture for the first time ever by way of discussions of honor and by bearing witness to one of their most sacred rituals. Plus this episode finally lets Michael Dorn shine as Worf, and it really was quite wonderful to learn his backstory and get an idea of how difficult his life has been, since being of two worlds has forced him to fight hard to earn everything in life, including his position aboard the Enterprise. In the end, this was just a pure delight to watch, and it is another story that serves as a foundational episode in regard to the future of the franchise, since this won’t be the last time that poor Worf will be forced to choose between his Klingon brethren and his Starfleet family. Until next time.

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