“Sins of The Father” (3×17)
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This was a game changer, and a real showcase for Michael Dorn’s charisma and star power.
It’s strong right from the first act, when Tony Todd, known for his great horror movie villains, arrives as Commander Kurn, who is to act as the Enterprise’s first officer as part of the same exchange program that Riker participated in. The role could have easily been played as low comedy, with this rude, lumbering brute as a bull in an a China shop. But Todd imbues Kurn with intelligence and discretion. I believed that Kurn carefully thought out and weighed every action he took.
Even though he sought the assignment aboard the Enterprise in order to feel Worf out, he takes his responsibilities seriously. He is a bitter pill for the crew to swallow, but he is careful to operate within the bounds of Starfleet protocols.
The episode then kicks into another gear entirely once Kurn reveals his connection to Worf.
The Federation—especially in TNG—is depicted as a utopian society where truth and justice prevail, and miscarriages of justice are a gross exception. Even though it’s on amiable enough terms with the Federation at this point in the timeline, the Klingon Empire is not a utopian society. That allows the writers to speak to aspects of our society that the Federation does not offer a ready allegory for.
And that leads to a fairly shocking outcome here: The truth does not prevail, and the record is not set right. The pragmatists on the Klingon High Council choose to perpetuate a lie in order to avoid a civil war. The power and influence of Duras’s family shields him from the shame and consequences of his father’s misdeeds.
What gives that discouraging outcome real weight is the choices Worf makes in response to it. For Worf, honor is everything. He would gladly die to preserve his own honor, or the honor of those who are dear to him. But here, to protect his brother and to allow for a future opportunity to clear his father’s name, he accepts a discommendation he doesn’t deserve. He lets logic, rather than passion, prevail. He gets satisfaction privately in K’mpec’s chambers, and then accepts his fate publicly.
It’s a beautiful big brother moment, and it speaks to what Worf’s family aboard the Enterprise affords him: He can bear the Klingon Empire not knowing the truth, because Picard knows the truth and the respect of his commanding officer means more to him than the acknowledgement of a Klingon High Council that he views as hopelessly corrupt and without honor.
We see Worf in a different light after this episode, and I think Michael Dorn plays him differently after this episode. Much of Worf’s storylines in the first couple seasons play off him sticking out like a sore thumb as a Klingon in Starfleet. Here, we start to see that there’s a whole lot more going on under the hood, and a lot that Worf carries with him that he doesn’t share with his friends and colleagues.
Impacts on Star Trek Continuity:
This episode begins to greatly flesh out the Klingon Empire as a political entity. It’s the first time we see the Klingon homeworld Qo’noS, and the first time we see Klingon architecture and design on this scale. The Klingon homeworld doesn’t even get a name until the release of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country a year after this episode aired.
It also begins the Worf vs. Duras arc, which would ultimately play out over two series and one feature film.
The episode also directly references the events of “A Matter of Honor”, a rare bit of ongoing story continuity this early in the show’s run.
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