Star Trek the Next Generation Episode Review: "Heart of Glory"

I had yesterday off from work and, while my wife and oldest daughter were running an errand, took the time to watch this episode in between getting caught up on some work around the house. Overall, while the premise was somewhat interesting, I really wasn't a fan of this episode.

The episode started out OK, mostly because there was a bit of mystery about the Klingons they rescued and why they were on the freighter. And, when the episode reveals they are being hunted and have killed their own people, it does create some potential for suspense.

The problem is the episode never fully takes advantage of its potential. The Klingons are well equipped to do some serious damage. But, they mostly just made threats and stood around talking about what they could do. Heck, even when their leader, Korris (Vaughn Armstrong) was threatening to blow up the ship, his threats just seemed hollow, despite assurances from Worf they weren't.

I think the biggest part of the reason this episode flopped was the way it gave extra effort to tell the viewer more about Klingons and their culture. Considering this is an alien race that has been around since the first Star Trek series in the 1960s and was a big part of the movies based off of that original series, a summary explanation (similar to the one given for Worf becoming a member of the Enterprise crew) was all that was needed.

I also wasn't a fan of the way the episode inferred Worf being Klingon would somehow result in him turning on the Enterprise. With all the talk of honor that was constantly shoved down my throat watching this episode, that just seemed like the last thing he would do. We were, after all, talking about Klingons that killed other Klingons. I just don't see how he would even consider siding with them.

This had a decent premise. But, the execution of this episode fell flat and it never really reached its potential.

My Grade: C