The Emissary is an ELITE Star Trek Episode
Added 2024-04-11 19:21:28 +0000 UTCTHURSDAY'S YOUTUBE VIDEO - Discussion on Star Trek TNG S2E20 - The Emissary
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I was going to try and make this a PM to Josh but, couldn't figure out how to do that and I doubt anyone other than him is likely to read this anyway. Here is my other big problem with The Emissary that occurred to me after I wrote the above. The other problem I have with the episode is the less than stellar writing for K'Ehleyr. She is this expert they bring in to deal with the crisis, and her solution? Blow them up, which she never really deviates from in the episode. Wow, I'm sure that none of the 1000 plus people on the Enterprise could have come up with that gem. This is further exacerbated by Worf coming up with the solution completely on his own based upon the extended poker scene at the beginning of the episode. So, K'Ehleyr literally contributed nothing to the solution of the problem which really didn't help with my impression of her as a character. I think they fell back on the old trope of Federation experts and admirals being a-holes and it just made her look like a pompous jerk to me. I do want to take a break here and say that I agree that Suzie Plakson's performance was amazing. She is clearly an exceptional actor given that she was able to sell the character given the less than stellar writing she was saddled with. I think another problem I have, like Josh and Alex are fond of pointing out, is that the stakes were too high for the set-up. So, in the spirit of constructive criticism this is what would have worked better for me. The Enterprise discovers an old Klingon ship having drifting into Federation space (the cryo-ship) with unusual life form readings. The ships trajectory will ultimately take it past some heavily populated Federation colony worlds (weeks away). They keep out of what they know the older ships sensor range is and send a priority message to Star Fleet who then sends K'Ehleyr as we see in the episode. They pick her up and she gets to do the exposition on what the Klingon ship situation (thus establishing her credentials). As the tension between Worf and K'Ehleyr builds someone recommends a poker game to relieve the stress and this is where Worf gets to deliver the "Klingons never bluff" line. Then, for the solution, we could have a joint resolution with K'Ehleyr perhaps hinting to Worf that it's time to rethink the whole Klingons not bluffing thing (I'm not a script writer so I'm sure someone could do it better) and Worf coming up with the surprise solution that we see. This would have allowed the story to better focus on the Worf/K'Ehleyr relationship without the urgency of the background situation that brought them together.
Nick Sauer
2024-04-23 12:45:45 +0000 UTCWhat is your definition of a spoiler?
Ross43
2024-04-13 04:25:53 +0000 UTCStar Trek at it's best!!
Comrade Wireless Caller
2024-04-13 03:58:50 +0000 UTCDon’t worry about it, we didn’t know Spock was blinded in TWOK
Josh (Target Audience)
2024-04-12 14:41:47 +0000 UTCI'm not sure how I feel that she thought the holodeck program was too easy, and then "Computer, level 2". So is the difference between level 1 and 2 so great? I guess it was hard enough to get them both hot and bothered. When Worf and Riker did it, it was so intense that Worf was gonna kill Riker and had to be snapped out of it. At least those two endings weren't reversed.
Josh Turner
2024-04-12 11:57:05 +0000 UTCJust to clarify and give credit on Worf/K'Ehleyr relationship piece, had Josh not made the comment about Worf being a virgin prior to the holodeck scene I honestly don't know how many viewings of the episode it would have taken for me to figure that out.
Nick Sauer
2024-04-12 09:34:47 +0000 UTCTo answer Josh's question, I guess filler was the wrong term. What I felt more is that many of the scenes in the episode were way longer than I felt they needed to be. I found myself getting bored frequently throughout the episode. I wouldn't even dignify the Klingon-sicle story as a b-plot given that it was nothing more than an excuse to get K'Ehleyr together with Worf. The problem was that I was (and still am) super interested in that concept. Why did the Klingon Empire do this? Did someone in the empire see that it might be failing 75 years ago? How many more of these ships were/are there? I felt pretty seriously let down by there being zero examination of this in the episode. I don't know if it quite hit the bait-and-switch level for me but, it comes pretty damn close. I will also take back my Amok Time comparison as I now see, thanks to your observations, that the marriage reference was for what happened on the holodeck as opposed to Worf and K'Ehleyr's first meeting (which was my interpretation from both my recent and original viewing of the episode back when it first aired).
Nick Sauer
2024-04-12 00:52:08 +0000 UTCNo spoilers, but if you guys are digging the development of Klingon culture now, you've got some treats in store, both as you move through TNG and in one other upcoming series in particular. Can't wait!
North
2024-04-12 00:28:11 +0000 UTCMichael Dorn's deadpan delivery makes Worf's funny lines even funnier.
KatWithAttitude
2024-04-11 21:08:26 +0000 UTCMichael and Denise Okuda did such a stellar job on the displays and control panels. LCARS was their invention. Such a great asset!
Chris S.
2024-04-11 20:03:15 +0000 UTCNo one thought that any viewer would be able to see the “Okudagrams” such as the display on the entrance to the holodeck. Michael Okuda usually made them just to amuse the cast and crew.
Aramis Calcutt
2024-04-11 19:35:58 +0000 UTC
