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🖖Star Trek TNG S06E17 Full Length Reaction

S06E17 Birthright Part 2

Ok part 2 of the cliffhanger and it was cool to see Worf passing on some of his Klingon knowledge to the new generation and them having his back in the end when he needed them. Engage! 🖖

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** We're following this watch order: STAR TREK EPISODE GUIDE BY AIRDATE

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🖖Star Trek TNG S06E17 Full Length Reaction

Comments

Star Trek is often hailed as "progressive" and "ahead of it times" and without question in many ways they were, but at times an episode will clearly show the limitations of the time it was made and also the American bias. The colonies that later became the US were founded in large part by European settlers who wished to forge a new life for themselves free of the prevailing political and cultural norms an institutions of the European countries they left. The rise in the 20th century of a cultural or spiritual "return to your roots" in the US took hold among ethnic minority groups who's ancestors did not have the same colonialist outlooks many of them slaves and/or those from ethnic minorities that, for whatever reason, were less successful at integrating in the US. Seeking an identify and sense of belonging in an often romanticized ideal of the nature culture of their ancestors. This episode was an attempt to reflect and explore this though allegory but unfortunately in stripping away the various historical factors that gave rise to it it becomes very muddled. While I am not in any way suggesting the writers were anything but well intended, honestly, there are aspects of the central message that I would say are racist. The episode argues that cultural attitudes and values are fundamentally a natural expression of your "race" which is based on ethnicity and are also static an unchanging. If you can trace your bloodline to a group the culture of that group is truly an expression of who you are, you are simply living a lie to believe the culture of the different group you were born and raised in. We can see the most dangerous consequences of this line of thinking with a Star Trek connection and how Sulu's actor George Takei and his family were imprisoned during WW2 as the US government stopped recognising them as American's and instead saw them only as Japanese. As I said, I hold no negative feelings towards the writers of this episode, I simply believe the permeance was conceptually broken from the start.

Dominic Smith

I agree with this, Picard of any Starfleet officer would know and understand the need for those Klingons to preserve their families' honor, and yes, he knows, and he will also keep the secret, and will not ask any further

Sarah

Absolutely - Worf couldn't tell him, but knew that he knew, and Picard knew that he had to play along and not ask too many questions, hence "I understand"

George Foot

Jen -- very much enjoy your TNG reactions, which really do stand out. This is one of my favorite episodes of S6. I like the Klingon/Romulan peoples not only living in peace (that is huge and refreshing) but also the interbreeding (wow), and the Worf interaction. I like this episode better than the last b/c I wasn't very taken by the Data storyline and welcomed the more detail on the Worf storyline. I agree there was a pacing issue. Lastly, interesting that Worf didn't tell Picard, but maybe Worf gave his word.

Clay F

Picard knew

Harmony through Time

May be a bit of a stretch to call this episode 'experimental', but it does feel unconventional from TNG's usual fare. Dorn had a lot of heavy-lifting to do, pretty much carrying the whole thing on his shoulders, and I think he pulled it off quite well. Worf felt as zoned-in on Klingon Kulture as he ever has, still an outsider but now teaching what he also did not experience first-hand from his own youth.

Sykonee

I liked this episode more this time than before, and I am not sure why. Probably hearing Jen react helps bring more depth. I agree that it would’ve been nice to see more from the Data story.

Anthony Picard

I hadn't thought about it that way but would make sense. Ater all, the Data storyline did seem like filler material that went nowhere.

Clay F

I feel like for birthright they had 1.5 episodes of content so they added in the data storyline too to pad it out to 2 full episodes

William Rosmer

Fist pump thumbnail 🙂 NICE 👊 shall watch this in the morning and kick off next Jen Sunday the right way 🖖

Ian

The next two episodes of TNG are great in my opinion.

Geoff S.


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