“The Bonding” (3×05)
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It’s the nature of life in Starfleet, operating on the galactic frontier, constantly encountering the unknown, that fatalities are inevitable. In the Kirk era, when only officers and crew served aboard the Enterprise, the red shirts would die and then the episode would move on.
But the Enterprise-D has children and families on board, and this episode explores the fallout when one of the minor characters on an away mission is killed, orphaning a son in the process.
We get to see Troi conduct her duties as a counselor in a way that the show seldom had time for. We see how the tragedy stirs up painful old memories for Dr. Crusher and Wesley, who lost Jack Crusher in a similar incident. And we see Worf deal with his survivor’s guilt and his empathy for the late archeologist’s son, who has been orphaned as he himself was orphaned.
The intervention of the energy beings from the planet complicate the boy’s grieving process. While their attempts to atone for the archeologist’s death are well-intentioned, they instead make it more difficult for her son to accept and process her death.
This episode began its life as a spec script. It sat in the slush pile until Michael Piller came on board as showrunner in season three. It would begin Ronald D. Moore’s long association with Star Trek. The version that was actually shot was heavily revised by Piller and executive script consultant Melinda Snodgrass.
There’s a lot I really like about this one: The aliens are a source of tension and conflict, but they’re trying to do the right thing. Compared to most other episodes, the violence and death here have consequences that linger and must be dealt with. Troi is utilized as a competent professional instead of just eye candy. Dr. Crusher and Wesley’s ongoing grief over Jack Crusher’s death have a chance to be revisited. Worf is allowed to be nurturing in a very Klingon-specific way.
The child actor who played the orphan boy wasn’t very emotive. But it worked for the character, who had a lot of internalized anger and grief.
My biggest irritation with the episode is the lack of follow through. It ends with Worf essentially welcoming the boy into his family, but then we never see him again. Worf’s actual son Alexander will get introduced shortly thereafter, and even that storyline doesn’t get handled especially satisfactorily either.
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