Once More Unto the Breach

This is the story of Kor, a Klingon legend, who is suffering from dementia after a violent career. In his younger days he was a reckless, unpopular man. Now he lives in the past but wants a chance to die with dignity. Worf gets him on board a ship on a very dangerous mission, but the Captain despises him. What transpires is a very formulaic plot which I figured out half way through. Nothing much new.

This might sound like an exaggeration, but it's not. There are many classic Star Trek episodes, IMHO this is the best of them all.

Maybe it's because I'm older now, been watching Star Trek since the original series was the entire Trek universe. Maybe it's because I admire Klingons, esp their old ways. Maybe it is because I'm a man against time, but I think this is the best episode of Trek ever made.

Sacrifice, honor, overwhelming odds. It's the best of the best. Not a huge production budget, no amazing CGI effects, no massive sound stages or production facilities, just good acting, plot and classic theatre.

Savor the fruit of life, my young friends...

Kor aka "Gaius Balthar" from Battlestar Galactica (John Colicos) was the first Klingon that we ever saw in Trek in the episode "Errand of Mercy", "Those old Scientists", Season 1 Episode 26.

Remember when television shows had 30 episodes per season? We were fortunate that Deep Space 9 had 26 per season. And then Enterprise had 22, Discovery had 16 then 14 then 12 then 10. Strange New Worlds only gets 10.

With more available episodes there are more opportunities for episodes like this: this is the third deep space nine episode focusing completely on activities inside of a Klingon ship, although not the first to have this character.

Even though DS9 was the first Trek show to not have episodic storylines, this episode was the final piece in a three episode arc.

Four episode arc, if you include "blood oath" from the 2nd season.

The three Klingons from The Original Series: Kor, Koloth and Kang appeared in blood oath, connected them forever to Dax. Kor was the one who survived, leaving him the one to tell the stories about Koloth and Kang.

In Errand of Mercy, he was depicted as a very down to business Klingon. Confronted Kirk. Probably even respected Kirk.

But in season two of DS9, they bring back the three Klingons... and somehow they recovered their Brow Ridges, and they had hair that looked like poodles. Dahar Masters.

In the subsequent episodes featuring Kor, he was more like a regular Klingon, but this is not the same person who confronted Kirk. This is not the same guy who was blowing up 500 Organians at a time... he was not as cruel. Especially after discovering that he really did not harm anybody on Organia. But he had become a "drunken lag at some Salvation army mission", always accosted by Lethians.

This is a Klingon that, in surviving, developed some issues.

And those issues are the focus of this final episode.

I'm glad that he had one final scene with Dax if not Jadzia, that did not seem to matter to Kor, Dax was Dax whether Curzon, Jadzia or Ezri. Kor understood that it did not matter.

We see here that he is barely holding himself together, can't be taken seriously by any other Klingon, doesn't know what to DO... Until he finally does.

And he acquitted himself magnificently.

"Long Live the Klingon Empire"

Edit: I have to mention something about the plot, the original Klingon plan was not to sacrifice any ships at all, but the original plan got fouled up. I am not going to say by who, take a guess. Or watch the episode. Ending up being chased by Jem Hadar, who were able to locate cloak ships the same way that they had located the defiant in "the search", with a proton beam. Who can say if the same thing would have happened had the mission gone completely as planned? But it didn't.

Kor comes to DS9 looking for a purpose.

I like episodes focussed on Klingon culture and this is a pretty good story for Kor, Martok and Worf. It has an engaging conflict between two characters that makes for solid drama.

Since TNG, I think the Klingon characters have been Star Trek's way having having its cake and eating, in a show predominantly featuring peace-loving characters, by indulging their appetites for stories about warrior codes and the glory of battle. Themes about historical legends come through strongly.

The weakest part for me is the ending. Not just the predictability of it, but how little investment is made in the production values. Considering the build-up given to a certain moment of glory, it is poor that we are just given a verbal explanation of the event and no effort is made to show it.

J. D. Hertzler, John Colicos, Michael Dorn, and Neil Vipond all make great Klingons and all give entertaining performances.