Sons and Daughters

Worf is an odd character in the Star Trek shows. I generally really liked him but also noticed that he was clearly the worst parent in the history of the series' regulars! When Alexander was revealed to him "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as his son, he seemed very uncomfortable with parenting and ALWAYS behaved as if the boy was a disappointment. Now, several years later and on "Star Trek: Deep Space 9", he's even more disappointed and seems to be a completely horrible parent--even by Klingon standards!

The show begins with Worf serving aboard Martok's ship. To his complete surprise, Alexander shows up as a replacement crew member-- and IMMEDIATELY Worf shows his displeasure. As for Alexander, he's unsure of himself, wimpy and a screw-up--and soon the crew is not only riding him but letting Worf hear about this! As a Klingon, naturally this will result in Worf beating the crap out of the crew members, right? Well, not really, as Worf offers the boy no help and tries to get him off the ship! The only understanding one is Martok--who proves himself to be a real stand-up guy!

The parallel story has a similar sort of plot. Dukat is embarrassed that the evidence of his dallying with Bajorans is alive and well. So, he tries to kill Ziyal...making him a marginally BETTER parent than Worf!

Aside from the fact you hate Worf in this one, it's a pretty decent episode--and one that makes your heart break for Alexander. Worth your time.

We have two young people as the title suggests. We have the mixed race Cardassian/Bajoran daughter of Dukat and the son of Worf, Alexander. The former is just a kind of teenaged girl who loves her father who on two occasions betrayed her. Alexander was tossed aside by Worf years before. He shows up as a recruit on board Worf's Klingon battle cruiser. For most of the episode, he is a liability and a bit of a buffoon. Everything he does displeases his father; he cannot win. We are privy to the struggles of these youngsters. A decent episode.

Dukat attempts tries to establish a bond with Kira, whilst Alexander Rozhenko serves aboard the Rotarran.

This is a solid character episode that develops certain individuals quite well.

The titular characters in this story mainly function to drive the arcs of established characters like Worf, Kira, and Dukat. It works well for their development and fits into the Dominion war story.

Personally I preferred the plot involving Ziyal, as it sets up some compelling future plot lines. Also, some of the Klingon honour related shenanigans and machismo on board the Rotarran feel a bit clichéd at times.

For me though out of all characters it is Martok that comes across as the most likeable. The writers and J G Hertzler strike the perfect balance between the Klingon warrior mentality and a relatable person.

All actors are on good for, especially Hertzler, Michael Dorn, Marc Alaimo, and Nana Visitor.

'Sons and Daughters'~ Season six, episode three.

This episode explores the precarious bonds between parents and children as we see Alexander, the now adult son of Worf, return as a recruit on a Klingon ship that his father is serving on. Meanwhile, on a DS9 that is still occupied by the Dominion and the Cardassians, Ziyal tries to foster a friendship between her father Gul Dukat and Kira, who is intent on forming a Resistance to fight back for control of the station.

We haven't seen Alexander since he was a pre-adolescent boy in TNG and I had wondered if the producers had forgotten he even existed until this episode. In 'Sons and Daughters', however, he is no longer the child determined to embrace his human side and is instead desperate to be accepted as a Klingon and is bitter that his father never pushed him more in his childhood to learn the warrior ways, skills he is now lacking and leaving him struggling to be accepted by his Klingon peers. This offers a very interesting insight into the characters of father and son since in TNG, Deanna Troi often made Worf feel inadequate as a father for being so hard on Alexander while encouraging the boy to be human. Yet this episode makes it clear she was wrong to interfere in the father and son relationship whose culture she did not fully understand. It is a turn on the portrayal of Ben Sisko and Nog where Sisko did not approve of the way Nog was being raised yet did not interfere until the boy was old enough to decide for himself, resulting in a young man who became both comfortable in Ferengi and Federation culture.

Equally as compelling is the storyline set on DS9 where we see Ziyal further fleshed out into a likable, if slightly naive character torn between her love for her father and her sororal relationship with Kira. It is becoming continuing apparent that something has to give at some point, especially since Ziyal is also aware that Dukat is not a very moralistic person and her own allegiance has to lie with the Bajorans/Federation.

All in all, this is a well-depicted character-driven episode that nicely deals with familial relationships before the action-packed episodes that are to come later in the season.

Seriously bro, you want some cheese with that wine? Normally I like any episode with Klingons in it with the exception of Alexander. He was annoying back on the Enterprise and he's annoying now. The only thing that's different is now he fights like how Elaine from Seinfeld dances.