Star Trek the Next Generation Episode Review: "The Emissary"

I must confess, I've had several opportunities to watch this particular episode in the past and never seemed to manage to watch it in its entirety. As a result, when I saw it was on TV this morning and I realized I actually had time to watch it, I finally made the effort.

I was successful in seeing the entire episode for the first time. However, after doing so, I also found I wasn't overly impressed with it.

The overall premise, involving the frozen Klingons, was actually not too terrible. I actually found I liked this plot because it did put the Enterprise in a bad spot. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) likely wasn't going to be able to convince the Klingons they were no longer at war. But, he was also obviously very reluctant to destroy them too.

I especially loved how Worf was the one who came up with the plan to keep the crew alive, mostly because it was something that was pleasantly unexpected. Plus, it came from him, one of the crew members you don't normally see clever plans from.

My biggest problem with this episode was Worf's relationship with his ex-girlfriend. They start out bickering, hook up, then bicker again when she doesn't want to marry him. It probably wouldn't have been such a big deal, except for the fact their relationship got most of the screen time and, as a result, got really old, really fast. I think it would have been much better in smaller doses.

As I said, I liked the overall plot because it did open up a whole lot of possibilities, especially if the Klingon ship started going on a killing spree before the Enterprise could intercept. However, because Worf's love life took center stage and became the primary focus, I don't think this episode was as good as it could have been.

My Grade: C