Day 125: DS9, Sons and Daughters

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S6EP3, “Sons and Daughters”

 Summary: After rescuing Sisko and the others from their predicament from last episode, Worf and Martok are given a new assignment; to escort a convoy that has been repeatedly attacked by the Jem’Hadar. Before departing, they’re given several new crewmen, one of whom is Alexander (Marc Worden), Worf’s son, who was a semi-recurring character on TNG but hadn’t really even been mentioned on DS9 until now. Worf is as surprised as the audience, as Alexander had always seemed like he was uninterested in the Klingon ways. Unfortunately, Alexander seems to resent his father, and his lack of interest up till now means that he doesn’t possess the same spirit or skill as the other Klingons, which inevitably leads to trouble. Back on DS9, Dukat brings Zyial back to the station, which pleases Kira, though she’s less pleased when Dukat uses the opportunity to try to get closer to Kira. The station may be under Cardassian rule again, but there are some things that just don’t change.

Standalone Thoughts: There were two main thoughts that went through my mind while watching this episode. One was that Alexander was the very definition of a whiny, angsty teenager. The other one was “How much of this was in the original gameplan?”

I ask because, for the most part, this episode could very easily have been the second episode of the season, as originally intended. It’s mostly focused on the Klingon perspective, and given that Worf was absent entirely from yesterday’s episode, it would have made a certain amount of sense to give him his own episode to make up for it. But for some reason, the showrunners switched “Sons and Daughters” with “Rocks and Shoals”, and had to do some tweaking as a result. The episode starts with the reveal that Martok was the one who rescued Sisko and the others from the planet, we have a brief interaction with the crew, and then they leave and we don’t see them again for the rest of the story. There’s also a scene between Odo, Kira, and Jake that directly follows on from the events of “Rocks and Shoals” that once again doesn’t relate to anything else in the episode. Those scenes, at least, I can believe were hastily shot to insert into “Sons and Daughters” to create some continuity (and allow the rest of the cast to get a paycheck). It’s the rest of the DS9 material I’m more puzzled by.

You see, Kira’s sparring with Dukat could fit just as easily here as it could have as the second episode, before she made the decision to be a rebel again. There’s even a moment that kind of foreshadows that decision. But it’s really hard to tell if it was written with the intent of being the second episode of the season, or tweaked to make it more fitting once it was shifted to the third. There’s even the slim possibility that they swapped the sections of the script, that Kira Vs. Dukat was meant to be in “Rocks and Shoals” instead. I have no idea which it was, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever find out. Hopefully the DS9 Companion will be forthcoming in a couple of days.

Leaving that aside and focusing on the actual plot, I’d say the episode is ok. Like I said, Alexander is very much the whiny teenager, right down to the vocal intonations, but since I believe the intent was to be annoyed by him, I’m actually praising Worden’s performance. The conflict between Alexander and Worf is fairly well handled, the interactions between Worf and Martok are good, and all the technical elements are fine. Still, there are elements that make it a rehashing of “Soldiers of the Empire”, and it’s not doing much to advance the arc. So while it’s not bad, it suffers from being done at this point in the narrative. Although to be fair, I’m not sure when else it could have been done.

Looking at the DS9 material, I’d say that part’s a bit better. We see more of the Kira-Dukat conflict, which helps add to the plot and the atmosphere, and Melanie Smith does a great job of playing Zyial as a good-hearted person (well, Cardassian-Bajoran) who wants to try to make things better. It’s still not doing much to advance things, but at least it’s doing a little more than the Worf plot is. Fortunately, the rest of the arc is in the proper order, so hopefully things will go a bit more smoothly from here on out.

How it Relates to the Whole: This episode is mostly lacking in continuation of the Dominion Occupation, which may be related to switching it around with “Rocks and Shoals”, as discussed above. As for Alexander, I’m not sure if he’ll ever appear again. Though to the episode’s credit, it does at least acknowledge that possibility in a roundabout way, so I’m content regardless of the direction this goes.

Other: *Dax once again manages to drive me up the wall. When Worf, fretting over the impending wedding, tells her she must do a ritual so she can be accepted into the Martok household (Worf having become a member of Martok’s house in “Soldiers of the Empire”), she says she doesn’t want to do that, because it will be a major hassle. Then she laughs and says she was joking. The problem is, she sounds completely sincere, and it matches her reluctance to do “the honorable thing” after she initiated the relationship in “Looking for par’Mach in all the Wrong Places”. And since she knows how important this is to Worf, it’s probably best not to tease him too much, especially given all the other external stresses he’s facing. But I suppose that’s just Dax for you.

*There’s a very abrupt cut in this episode where Dukat doesn’t sound like he’s finished laughing before we jump back to the action on the Klingon ship. Which just heightens my suspicion that things were changed around to accommodate the episode swap.

*I noticed that Dukat has a weird marking of some sort on his head that cuts across the “spoon” on his forehead that I don’t ever remember seeing before. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be a scar or was a makeup error. We’ll find out in an episode or so, though, so I’ll report my conclusion then.

Best Line/Exchange: After some consideration, I decided to go with this;

(The Klingons are laughing at Alexander for mistaking a Jem’Hadar ship from a battle simulator for the real thing. Worf starts to step forward, but Martok holds up a hand.)

Martok: Wait. He’ll never make that mistake again. It’s better that we should be too ready than not ready enough.

(One of the Klingons claps his hands on Alexander’s shoulders)

Ch’Targh: At least you’re keeping us on our toes!

(The laughing continues, and Alexander tentatively joins in)

Martok: You see. They have accepted him.

Worf: They have accepted him as the ship’s fool.

I like this because it works on several levels. You can read Ch’Targh’s line as mocking or as a sort of encouragement, and you can read Martok’s lines as good parental advice or as someone who’s not seeing the whole picture (as Worf clearly believes). Besides, Martok is right on one level. Embarrass yourself publicly and you’ll do your utmost not to do it again. If it works for humans, I bet it works doubly so for Klingons.