"Devil's Due" | |
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Star Trek: The Next Generation episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 13 |
Directed by | Tom Benko |
Story by | Philip Lazebnik William Douglas Lansford |
Airing in the latter half of Season 1 of "TNG," fans got the series' first truly Worf-centric episode with "Heart of Glory." After the Enterprise rescues a trio of Klingons from a damaged freighter, Worf discovers the survivors are lying about being attacked by Ferengi.
En route, he advises Worf during a visit to his quarters to take this opportunity to clear his father 's name and regain his family honor. At first Worf feels that it is not yet time, but Picard reminds him that while patience is a Human virtue, this situation demands a more Klingon response.
The first hostilities go well enough for Gowron to be installed by Picard. Then a major Duras fleet appears and Picard refuses the military help requested by Gowron and Worf, who then declines to resume his post when leaves are canceled, so he honorably resigns to keep fighting at Gowron's side... — KGF Vissers
Worf gets a well-deserved dressing down from Sisko, and takes an important step in his personal evolution. In the "DS9" Season 3 episode "The House of Quark," Klingon Grilka marries Ferengi bartender Quark in a desperate bid to keep control of her family's house.
On an alien planet, young Wesley Crusher commits a transgression - small by our standards but mandatorily punishable by death in theirs. On an alien planet, young Wesley Crusher commits a transgression - small by our standards but mandatorily punishable by death in theirs.
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, the Enterprise's Klingon Chief of Security, Lt. Worf, challenges the Klingon High Council's accusation that his father was a traitor.
Marta DuboisMarta Dubois (15 December 1952 – 8 May 2018; age 65) was the actress who played the impostor Ardra in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fourth season episode "Devil's Due". Dubois was born in David, Panama.
Picard was a crucial player in eventually restoring Worf's family honor, and even played a major role in choosing Gowron over Duras as the rightful heir to the Klingon Empire. Worf, and the Klingons as a whole, were conspicuously absent from the first season of Star Trek: Picard.
When Alexander does appear, in the season 6 episode "Sons and Daughters," he is now an adult — Klingon's age much quicker than humans do, so even though he's only approximately 9 years old, he appears as a teenage male.
Worf was dishonoured midway in season 3 until the season 4-5 two parter where his house was restored by Gowron. This lasted until the DS9 season 4 premier where Worf's house was once again dishonoured by Gowron.
Ardra was the Ventaxian culture's version of a devil. Her mythical evil qualities led her to be compared to the Human character of the Devil and the mytho-historical Klingon avatar named Fek'lhr. She was the cornerstone of Ventaxian theology.
65 years (1952–2018)Marta DuBois / Age at death
Marta DuBois (December 15, 1952 – May 8, 2018) is an Panamanian actress who played Michelle Hue in the original 1980 series Magnum, P.I.
In another reality, Worf is first officer of the Enterprise, serving under Capt. Riker, who assumed command after Capt. Picard was killed by the Borg. He is married to Deanna Troi and has a daughter Shannara Rozhenko and a son Eric Christopher Rozhenko.
After all, Picard and Seven of Nine had never even met in the mainstream Trek continuity and, on the surface, the two have little in common beyond their shared trauma at the hands of the Borg. What could her presence possibly bring to this story, which ostensibly has so little to do with her?
4 days agoIn Star Trek: Picard's era, Worf (Michael Dorn) replaced Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) as Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E - a surprising choice that Starfleet Command initially argued against.
In a private moment, K'Ehleyr confirms to Worf that the Klingon boy is his son, Alexander, and she did not tell Worf for fear he would try to have a deeper relationship with her; Worf, already burdened by his discommendation, fears for Alexander's future, given the stigma of his family name.
In this episode, ambassador K'Ehleyr returns to the Enterprise to advise Captain Picard, who has been chosen as a neutral party to arbitrate the selection of the new Klingon leader from two candidates, Gowron and Duras, one of whom is suspected to be a traitor.
K'Ehleyr was suggested as the inspiration for later Star Trek main cast character B'Elanna Torres. In terms of the continuity in the show, it provides an origin story for Worf's son Alexander. The episode introduced the bat'leth to the series, which became the iconic weapon of the Klingon.
Worf soon discovers K'Ehleyr, dying, just in time for her to reveal that Duras is her killer; then she has Worf promise to look after Alexander. Returning to his quarters, Worf grabs a bat'leth, leaves his combadge behind, and transports to Duras's ship. There he challenges Duras to the Right of Vengeance.
This was also the first episode with the semi regular Klingon character Gowron, who would appear in subsequent episodes of both TNG and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; the character was played by Robert O'Reilly. The Bat'leth prop, a Klingon weapon, was designed by Dan Curry for this episode.
Worf easily gains the upper hand, but Duras taunts him - if Worf kills Duras, Worf can never regain his honor. Worf nonetheless strikes the killing blow. With Duras dead and no other challengers present, Gowron is named Chancellor of the Empire. After the Klingons leave, Picard takes Worf to task for killing Duras.
This marks the introduction of a fictional spacecraft to the Star Trek franchise, the " Vor'cha ", a Klingon starship which was designed by Rick Sternbach and the model built by Greg Jein. This was also the first episode with the semi regular Klingon character Gowron, who would appear in subsequent episodes of both TNG and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; the character was played by Robert O'Reilly.
Worf confronts Kurn alone, where Kurn reveals he is Worf's younger brother; when the rest of Worf's family left to the Khitomer colony, he was left with Lorgh, a friend of their father Mogh. Kurn was raised as Lorgh's son, unaware until recently of his relation to Worf.
This is the first of four appearances of Worf's brother Kurn, each played by actor Tony Todd, in the Star Trek franchise; Kurn last appears on the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the episode " Sons of Mogh " (broadcast February 12, 1996).
Meanwhile, Duras has ambushed Kurn, aware of his Mogh bloodline, and attempts to get him to betray Worf. Kurn refuses and is seriously wounded in the ensuing fight, no longer able to support Worf in front of the Council. Picard accepts Worf's request to take Kurn's place.
In one of the most shocking moments in all of "TNG," Worf claims the right of vengeance and kills Duras on his own ship. It's one of the few moments in all of "Trek" in which Worf weighs the choice of acting as a Starfleet officer against acting as a Klingon warrior, and chooses the latter.
In Season 4 of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," Worf joins the series as its newest regular cast member. Still mourning the loss of the Enterprise-D in "Star Trek: Generations," Worf is summoned to DS9 to find out why a large Klingon fleet has arrived at the station. When he discovers the fleet's commanding officer General Martok (J.G. Hertzler) plans to invade the neighboring Cardassian Empire, Worf once again finds himself choosing between his loyalty to his people and his duty as a Starfleet officer.
In the "DS9" Season 3 episode "The House of Quark," Klingon Grilka marries Ferengi bartender Quark in a desperate bid to keep control of her family's house. When she returns two seasons later in "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places," Worf is smitten by her, but she only has eyes for Quark. In an homage to Edmond Rostand's 1897 play "Cyrano de Bergerac," Worf takes it upon himself to teach Quark how to woo Grilka. He writes poetry for the Ferengi, and even uses tech to manipulate Quark's body during a bat'leth match.
Believing, as a Klingon, that life is no longer worth living, Worf asks Riker to help him commit Hegh'bat, Klingon ritual suicide. At the same time, Dr. Crusher and neurology specialist Dr. Russell (Caroline Kava) clash over the ethics of the radical procedure Russell wants to perform on Worf.
When a Cardassian spying on the Dominion for Starfleet needs extraction in Season 6's "Change of Heart," Worf and Jadzia must rendezvous with him on the planet Soukara and bring him safely to Federation space. In order to avoid enemy detection, they need to land 20 kilometers from the rendezvous, then make their way through dense jungle. Along the way, the pair ambush and kill a Jem'Hadar patrol group, but Jadzia is badly wounded. They try to journey together regardless, but it soon becomes clear Worf either must leave Jadzia to die and complete the mission, or abandon the mission and save Jadzia. In the latter case, the spy — and his intel — will be lost.
The "Star Trek" franchise is known for tackling difficult issues, and this episode is no exception. Out of all the episodes that focus on Worf, "Ethics" is doubtlessly the most controversial. Worf's story deals with euthanasia, while the conflict between Crusher and Russell tackles medical and scientific ethics. At the same time, considering Worf seems more willing to die than live with a disability, the issue of ableism is present as well. If there's any great weakness to the episode, it's that the futuristic new spine Worf receives offers a sci-fi easy button to a reflection of real life dilemmas.
Things get even more tense between the Federation and the Klingon Empire in "Rules of Engagement," which sees Worf accused of purposely destroying a Klingon transport filled with defenseless civilians. Ron Canada plays the cunning Klingon advocate Ch'Pok who arrives on DS9 to argue for Worf's extradition to the Klingon Empire. Captain Sisko represents Worf in the proceedings, which ultimately reveal the entire incident was staged in order to win a propaganda battle against the Federation.
Captain Picard takes the USS Enterprise -D to Qo'noS so that he may fulfill his role as the Klingon Arbiter of Succession. En route, he advises Worf during a visit to his quarters to take this opportunity to clear his father 's name and regain his family honor.
Once on board, Gowron tells Picard in the ship's observation lounge that the House of Duras has massed a large fleet and are preparing to move against him. Although Duras died in disgrace and his family should share in that, Gowron says the Duras family's corruption is too widespread – honor will soon have no meaning.
Worf's idea is that the House of Mogh will support Gowron, but not yet; they will wait until Gowron is surrounded by his enemies, and then they will offer him their support and the price will be the restoration of their family name. Kurn doesn't know if the other squadron commanders will go along with this, but will try to convince them.
Kurn is outraged that Worf would support someone who wouldn't clear their family name. Worf tells Kurn that one cannot regain honor by acting dishonorably. He reminds Kurn that he is older, and Kurn must listen to him.
Worf meets with Kurn on Kurn's ship, the IKS Hegh'ta, and tells him that Gowron has refused to restore their honor. Kurn says that if the Duras family doesn't kill Gowron, Kurn intends to. He tells Worf he has the support of four squadron commanders in key sectors, that he wants to sweep away the old council and put a new one in its place. Kurn tries to get Worf to join him and that together, they can restore their family honor and bring justice to the Empire.
Worf wants to use information in the Enterprise 's computer banks about the Khitomer massacre to prove that the facts were altered and has Data gather the needed information . Picard enters the bridge and asks Worf if he has prematurely ended his leave of absence. Worf responds that he has not, so Picard curtly asks that he join him in his ready room. Once inside, Picard sternly reminds Worf that using information in their ship's computer banks to affect political change on his home planet is a compromise of Starfleet's core principles. Worf asks Picard not to tie his hands now, and the captain admits he's in a similar situation – although he will follow his role as arbiter according to Klingon law, he knows that allowing the Duras family to control the council would have grave repercussions both the Klingon Empire and the Federation. He agrees to make the Khitomer files available to anyone who wants them, to Worf, to the Duras family, to the Klingon High Council, anyone – but that is as far as he can go in this matter.
Gowron asks if there is proof, Worf says there is, and goes on to explain about Duras' family being so powerful that if he had been exposed it would have split the Empire so the Council chose to blame Mogh, long dead, his only known son far away, serving in Starfleet (the y hadn't known about Kurn ).
In 2293, Worf represented Captain James T. Kirk and Dr. Leonard McCoy when they were put on trial on the planet Qo'noS, on the charge of murdering Chancellor Gorkon. While Worf was powerless to prevent the pair being convicted in what was essentially a show trial, he nonetheless managed to convince a trio of judges who were presiding over the case that the evidence was not strong enough to support the death penalty. He noted that Gorkon's assassins could have merely been wearing Starfleet uniforms rather than being members of Starfleet themselves. Due to this line of deliberation, combined with the closeness of an impending peace summit, the sentence was commuted to a life term on Rura Penthe .
Worf was later a member of a Klingon delegation that accompanied Chancellor Azetbur to Camp Khitomer, where the peace conference was to be held. Shortly after the event began, he unmasked a disguised Klingon sniper and discovered that this assassin was, in fact, Colonel West. ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )
Worf was a lieutenant a board the USS Enterprise, under Kirk's command. Once the prime timeline was restored, Colonel Worf remained aware of his alternate self, due to the influence of the Guardian of Forever, which revealed that, in this reality, he was a defense attorney specializing in hard luck cases.
Once the prime timeline was restored, Colonel Worf remained aware of his alternate self, due to the influence of the Guardian of Forever, which revealed that, in this reality, he was a defense attorney specializing in hard luck cases.
In the game Star Trek: Klingon Academy, it was revealed that Colonel Worf had a younger brother named Thok Mak ( β ), who was an instructor at the Elite Command Academy ( β ). As with both Worf and Colonel Worf, Thok Mak was played by Michael Dorn.
Shortly after the event began, he unmasked a disguised Klingon sniper and discovered that this assassin was, in fact, Colonel West. ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )
In the novel The Forgotten War, the younger Worf mentions to one of the reptilian aliens called the Tarn that he "had a grandsire" who was involved in a protracted battle against the Tarn, at a location called Garamora.
When K’Ehleyr is killed, Alexander (Brian Bonsall) gets shuffled off to Worf’s adoptive parents on Earth for safekeeping. Worf’s parents, who are Russian, love Alexander as their own. But the whole situation caused some fans to wonder why Worf didn’t speak with a Russian accent like his parents.
Kor was portrayed by actor John Colicos and appeared in the classic TOS episode, “Errand of Mercy.”
Moore, known by some as the “Klingon Guy” during his time on Trek, had to actually fight with creator Gene Roddenberry to get some of these episodes made. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Moore shared what happened behind the scenes.
The Federation and Klingon Empire are now friends again. Dax and Worf join General Martok on a secret mission for the Empire against the Dominion. Worf must serve Martok again, even though he disagrees with the general’s fear of battle against the Jem’Hedar. Ron Canada appears again as a Klingon crew member.