‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘Reunion’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

If there is one complaint that can be associated with the original Star Trek, it would have to be that The Original Series really did do a poor job of telling follow up stories. In fact, the closest it ever really came to such matters was by way of letting Harry Mudd return to the series from time to time. But by focusing heavily on 'planet of the week' or event style storytelling, the saga missed out on further developing its dynamic characters, since they were unable to face the consequences of some of their decisions or come to learn the aftermath of some of their missions. But thankfully, as the franchise grew and the years rolled along, amends were made in regard to this problem by way of the TOS film saga and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

For TNG embraced sequel episodes and arc-based storytelling and that allowed for some powerful moments to take place and for this incredible future universe to have depth and meaning and really… all of this is relevant to our discussion today, simply because the next episode of this iconic sequel series takes the time to offer up a grand follow up on several events that took place during seasons two and three. For ‘Reunion’ sees Worf’s beloved K’Ehleyr, who we first met in the season two tale, ‘The Emissary’, return to the Enterprise to enlist Captain Picard’s help in an important Klingon matter involving leadership of the Empire. Which is something that we will get to in just a moment. Because first, we need to talk about the other reason that K'Ehleyr is eager to come aboard. In that, the time has come to introduce Worf to his son, Alexander.

Which is a revelation that put Worf in quite the unique spot. One where he was forced to figure out how on earth, he was going to be able to reconcile with his love and raise his son with the dark cloud of dis-commendation/dishonor hanging over his head, and it really was quite incredible to see K’Ehleyr try and free Worf from the shackles of tradition and embrace the possibility that they could be together. Simply because you don’t see the Star Trek Universe challenge notions of tradition all that often. Which made this plot thread quite fascinating and charming at times and heartbreaking at others, especially when it comes to how it ends. Because this episode also marked the exit of K’Ehleyr at the hands of Duras, which brings us to that all-important other plot point that was mentioned a moment ago.

For this tale also takes the time to follow up/expand on some plot threads from ‘Sins of the Father’. Such as the fact that K'mpec was killed in a grand assassination attempt, one that we later learn is orchestrated by the man he helped to protect, Duras. And that particular discovery even manages to expose that Duras is a lot like his father, since he enlisted the help of the Romulans in matters of deception. But what makes the Duras twist so incredibly important, is that it allows for Worf to challenge Duras by way of the Right of Vengeance and defeat him in a harrowing manner. One that finally gives Worf closure in regard to a man that has brought nothing but trouble into his life and well, in the end, all of these plot elements make this a supremely delightful and important episode for certain. Because Alexander would become critical to Worf’s growth down the line and of course, the events in this tale set the stage for the season four finale.

Plus, it also features the first on-screen appearance of Gowron; another character that would be critical to the future of TNG and the franchise as a whole. Which makes this episode a sequel and a prequel and everything in between and it really does a wonderful job of helping to flesh out the Star Trek Universe in a dynamic manner and more importantly, it is just a phenomenal story. One that uses the backdrop of the Klingon Empire to question the nature of tradition and family and it’s full of wonderful performances and slick direction, courtesy of Jonathan Frakes, and honestly… this might be one of season four’s finest episodes to date. Because it features everything that we love about this franchise and this one definitely builds anticipation for the season four finale. But before we get to that particular follow up, we have a lot of other gems to rewatch first, such as the next episode. Which caught fans everywhere by surprise, by way of its fascinating look at a potential future for the crew of the Enterprise. Until next time.

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