Star Trek: TNG 5x16 Full Reaction!
Added 2026-02-07 18:00:15 +0000 UTC
Comments
"Don't make me cry Star Trek" *Plays the "Worf wants to kill himself" episode*
DoomGuy54321
2026-02-11 15:17:22 +0000 UTCI have heard people bring up about how the initial injury isn’t terribly believable or convincing on screen. Curious how it looked in the initial airing where the picture quality isn’t what it is today. And as we’re both saying, a network drama back then really was never going to go all out with the potential game changer that this could have been. Nowadays, maybe, though like you note they dither some with that, like on Arrow. Still says something about how Jess got involved in this, plus the emotion is very strong. Thanks for explaining the Good Place of it all. Jess did get on the wavelength, same as me, painful though it is. Similar thing of having gone through the period of the very strong suicidal ideations. Think the strongest time was about sixteen years ago, though some of it did obscenely flare up to about that level again about five years ago. Jess and her reactions did help save me, sort of how like how you say the finale to the show helped you. So, I get that. Though dated, yeah, this does hold up. One key difference in perspective is that Worf’s influenced by the physical disability, and in my case, the problems were far more on the mental side of things. Figured you’d allude to the Mo chuisle of it all. (And good nod to Margo by the way.) Couldn’t figure out a good nod to that myself, and given the heavy subject matter, combined with how it was getting Jess, I felt it wasn’t the best idea to reference Ricky Bobby. Too much of a tonal clash as we’ve said once or twice. I do see the wish for better understanding from the crew. There is that great moment when Riker leans into it when Worf starts sounding like a Klingon equivalent of a cafeteria Catholic. Shared assessment of loving how the medical plotline, though as I say, I more side with Beverly, the answers aren’t simple or clean. Which is also where you cut the crew some slack with the issue of how they handle Worf’s desire to commit suicide. That’s another movie like Pretty Woman where I haven’t seen it in a long time, so didn’t think about that rather apt comparison. I’ve also never seen Heaven’s Gate, though I know that it’s apparently a worse film than the actual worst picture winner of that year, which is genuinely a good film, or at least one that I love. Just like the worst picture winner for my birth year is one that is a damn fun time. (Jess would certainly HATE the one part of it.) Not entirely sure if I ever saw the next episode before. Vaguely know of it. Might be behind on that as the weekend is going to be busy, but we’ll see how it goes. And after that one, we have one very good stretch for the remainder of the season, complete with the one that’s my very close second favorite/borderline tied with Déjà Q for favorite overall, and the one that’s Jess’s favorite.
Thomas Corp
2026-02-08 01:41:01 +0000 UTCI couldn't stand Wu's whole arc, which very much felt like they had no idea what to do with him after he was the one actor they were able to get back from the start. Though given the general writing quality, that's not much of a surprise.
Ryan
2026-02-08 01:06:53 +0000 UTCI kind of wish Worf's mother could have been part of this somehow. She'd definitely handle it better than Character Actress Margo Martindale, and have a worthwhile take on it after knowing him so long. Now I just want to see Beverly say "All right, give me Ham on five, hold the Mayo." Hopefully without selling out everyone else in Stalag 17.
Ryan
2026-02-08 01:04:08 +0000 UTCYou know this episode is working for you if you still get invested despite the two big issues bookending it. First, after everything we've seen Worf shrug off it's basically impossible to believe that barrel could cause so much damage even if the shot wasn't long and wide enough to let us clearly see the empty hunk of plastic bounce off his back. And rather more seriously, you have to ignore how we know the whole time there's no way in hell the show is going to either kill a major character or leave him permanently paralyzed. Even more recent shows have dithered over that kind of step, just ask Felicity Smoak. So we're just waiting for Bambajan to run in and announce he's found an obscure loophole in the rules that will let everyone stay in the Good Place. Ron Moore later said he hated working on it, probably for just that reason given some of his later work. But luckily, it seems that you definitely got on its wavelength, as painful as that might be. I'm not coming at this story from a neutral perspective, since without going into too much detail, I've been through a period where I was seriously thinking about suicide (and a big part of getting out was deciding to hold on at least until I could see the final episode of a show I loved, by which time I wasn't thinking that way anymore). So everything from Worf very much rings with me, even if some parts haven't aged the best, especially with multiple movies since this time including a Best Picture winner that openly have the message "Disabled people have nothing to live for and should just kill themselves." And I could wish for his crewmates to be a little more understanding, though the best part for me is when Riker points out he can't lean so hard on his cultural practices for this issue and then pick and choose which parts of it he wants to follow. I wish more stories would have the guts to make that clear. The story with Dr. Russell also becomes a lot more interesting than I was expecting, and admirably daring in its lack of easy answers. I just wish they would have gone with an actress whose presence in this particular kind of story doesn't make you expect her to shout "Don't say penis in this house!" at any moment. Despite which, Caroline Kava does her usual good work here that makes me wish she could have had a bigger career, which was probably stymied by Michael Cimino's horrible anti-Asian movie where no one escaped unscathed. Up next week...oh. Well, this is going to provoke some interesting discussions, if nothing else.
Ryan
2026-02-08 00:58:12 +0000 UTCFor instance: There’s also the other conflict with Dr. Russell. Adore your reactions to that. You hear some fans jump on Beverly. You stood up for her as it is very much in Beverly’s character to prioritize her patients’ health over potential scientific breakthroughs. Some fans bring up being critical of Beverly for how they view her as being against scientific progress. Which, sure, yes, scientists and medical professionals are researching all the time to discover cures for new diseases and new medical threats. Keyword: new. Which is where Dr. Russell loses us. More so when she just jumps to using her own theories, claiming that conventional methods will be ineffective, when as Beverly rightly points out, she never even tried the conventional method, nor did she verify that said conventional method was in fact ineffective. Leads to Gates being beautiful with selling it when Beverly goes into whisperboarding mode, oh there are chills at that part. Your own reaction mirroring Beverly’s was a damn fine sight. Love your own requests that Dr. Russell fuck off. Beverly only goes through with the experimental procedure as it ends up being the least shitty option, shitty option though it still is. Alexander gets me in the heart throughout this, and it’s where the episode really is difficult to watch anymore. One part of it that doesn’t get as touched on is how Worf undoubtedly wouldn’t wish to burden his son into becoming essentially primary caregiver at such a young age. There was no other choice for some of us, and again, so much of this just cuts into the soul. There is a good showcase of a big thing in the world: how fathers don’t want their sons to see them in such vulnerable states. The flip side is that the children don’t wish to see their fathers laid up with tubes up their nose, even though, more often than not, there comes a day when that happens with everyone’s father. Some of us are left with that as the last image that we will ever have of our fathers. And it ties into one of the big things that ends up being one of the bigger things that incites resistance from me. By the logic of the Klingon way, we should just kill our fathers the moment they become disabled, and FUCK everything about that part. Apologies if I’m too heated about that. I can only fail to be objective here. Love how Worf comes to the same conclusion when he realizes that tradition dictates his son would have to do the deed. The surgery scene is intense. Patti gets some good time as Alyssa in this one. She and Beverly are two very cool customers. Great how you jumped on Dr. Russell for talking about her precious research when it looks like Beverly has lost a friend. The heart cracks something fierce with the scene of Alexander being woken up to be told that his dad is dead. That part is far too real. Appreciate your own reaction to that part. Then the lazy writing of plot armor kicks in, but it is still a good moment. Gets you good the relief in Alyssa’s voice when Worf comes back. We both love the last scene with Beverly and Dr. Russell. The latter just pisses you off with how she says that because the operation was successful, that Beverly is jealous, and Beverly spells it out for her echoing my own thoughts, and it brings up the trigger that’s there thanks to my mom’s profession. Mom’s a retired science teacher, you grow up around a lot of scientific types, and it leaves you with great sympathy with the patience of science. Dr. Russell is trying to rush her success too fast, when, as Beverly observes, she may not even live to see the day when her methods are successful. It’s like Dr. Wu’s arc in the Jurassic Park films. Amoral mad scientist though he becomes, he takes his work extremely seriously and knows that he cannot afford to cut corners. Even getting mad at his employers for failing to understand the complexity of creating an entirely new life form. Something that he outright says is all uncharted territory, and how he describes how long it takes by likening it to less a sprint and more a marathon. We both love Gates superbly selling Beverly’s line, “You gambled, Worf won.” Seriously adore the reactions there. Ending on the last scene, that brought back some memories. Like that you found it cute. Odd though this may sound, it is a strange comfort to have both of us really go throughout the emotional wringer on this one. You were not alone with this one, Jess, we went through it together. Different reasons as to why, but we got through it together. Thank you for the very emotional reaction, Jess, and you be sure to give Rocco a big hug.
Thomas Corp
2026-02-07 19:04:05 +0000 UTCWith the cold winter air, I can see how it exacerbates congestion. Combined with the sleeping in the living room situation for Rocco’s benefit, I get how it wouldn’t be the best. No problem, it happens. Sadly, we’re not going to be sans tears with this one. This one hurt some. Plenty to say. Start with how I know that for you, Jess, and I know Ryan’s spoken of the same; the episodes like Sarek just hit home on such a personal level. This one is one such episode for me; there are too many things in this that become really impossible not to sob, or at least it becomes immensely difficult to not break down crying in several spots in this one. And now it hits home for you given the really BAD FUCKING timing of the dilemma being the spinal injury, rather eerily paralleling Rocco’s condition. My brother has gone through some of that as well, so I get it. Makes me say in response to how you call the episode out on that, “I’m sorry old friend.” Likewise, I apologize for not sending you a few bottles of tequila. We also continue the interesting trend of Worf/Klingon centric episodes that make me hear the John Williams Oscar winning adaptation of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s work from Fiddler on the Roof, complete with hearing Topol as Tevye singing, “Tradition!” throughout the episode. A complicated episode, as you say. Starts out dramatic when Worf becomes paralyzed, kicking off the drama this week. Set aside that given this is a network show back in 1992, obviously, the upending of the status quo was never going to stick, the drama and emotion is very strong. Then when it gets to the ethical dilemma of living with the debilitating injury, it hits both of us going through, present circumstances for you, and the past for me. Can see the desire to split this one into two to allow more ample time to dig into the topics here. Then again, given how badly this one got both of us, it might not be bad that we didn’t get more. Michael sells all of Worf’s scenes so well. Love your assessment of Riker’s dilemma. And yeah, your reaction to that was a picture. Picard is right about the cultural beliefs. Riker concedes that yet also notes that the specific dilemma goes against many things he holds dear, and Jonathan is great in those scenes. Love your read on those scenes. Good on Riker for bringing up fallen comrades like Tasha and Marla. Worf gets hit by the one two Deanna and Riker punch, made more effective with the latter weaponizing the Xanatos energy once again. We both love the quality Deanna scenes, and Marina goes above and beyond when Worf entrusts Alexander to her if things go bad. Your own reaction was astonishing. We have our big guest character of Dr. Russell. Sort of figured about right your reactions to her would be about it what it was. Love how Beverly is also on the side of trying to convince Worf to live, and not go the route of ritual suicide. You can tell that Picard is sympathetic to Beverly’s position and feels for her with how she clearly doesn’t have the answer, at least not a clean one. If she did, she’d be at the Mayo Clinic. Does this place look like the Mayo Clinic? Goes against her training and oaths to just let Worf kill himself. What would Hippocrates say? What would Socrates say? And what would you say, Jess, if Dr. Russell tried to use Geordi as a guinea pig? Probably several four-letter words followed by Dr. Russell being dispatched by thine own hand. I’d live to see it. Speaking of Geordi, which I KNEW you’d bring this up: like the previous episode with Deanna losing her abilities, we sadly don’t get a Geordi focus of him talking with Worf about adapting to living with a disability, even with the episode beginning in such a way that you could have seen it happening. (And I agree with you on believing Geordi saying he doesn’t cheat at the card table by the way.) Again, I think the writers focus on the learning to live with it part. Since Geordi was born blind, there has never been an adjustment process. My being aware of being autistic, as the diagnosis happened, at or around at the latest when I was about sixish, is much the same, so I get how it keeps escaping the writers’ minds to feature Geordi in such plots. But man, it would be something. Good point on maybe it’s not in this to focus on separate dilemmas.
Thomas Corp
2026-02-07 19:04:01 +0000 UTC
