LogFAQs > #972767794

Episode 23: Rightful Heir

That's the spirit.

Picard's naturally nonplussed by this situation. Both stern and compassionate towards Worf. Nothing but decent as he navigates this nonsense, though he really isn't happy about it.

Riker sarcastically humours Data. Enough faith in Worf to immediately assume somethings wrong. Skeptical, as he should be.

Worf is acting like he has a fever. Depressed over a crisis of faith, but very grateful for his leave. Frustrated over his lack of divine insight. After a pep talk, approaches his meditation with a more maddened and determined zeal. Hits a point of ecstasy when Kahless actually shows up. Thankfully, he's dubious of this nonsense, though it pains him to be doubtful. Just about holding back a breakdown when Data asks about religion. Returns to his zeal when it seems like Kahless is legit and is quite the idealistic fool when debating with Gowron. Gets justifiably spiteful against Kahless when the truth comes out. Offers a wise, if uneasy, solution to the problem. Doesn't help his crisis much.

Data had a fun night. Initially seems like he doesn't fully understand faith, but probably has the most honest expression of it out of everyone. I like that he hovers around the Klingon stuff to try and figure something.

Korath is every religious instructor. Which is to say, an unrepentant fraud.

Kahless is a fun, hammy sort. Basically, the Klingon Jesus and, initially, just as cool as that would suggest. Despondent when he learns what he is, but eventually pulls himself together.

Gowron is acting purely out of political interests, but the stuff he says isn't wrong. Definitely on his side in this mess. Love his glee at both questioning and then defeating Kahless.

That shot of Worf's smoldering quarters is more interesting than most of the last episode. The Klingon monastery is quite nice. A lot of flames and dark lighting for the meditations. Some religious esque iconography. A painting of Kahless to compare with the "real" thing and a table that is quite similar to the last supper.

So, Klingon faith is a slightly more warrior focused (little bit of Norse there) flavour of Christianity, but still ultimately a flavour of Christianity. I don't inherently dislike Christianity anymore than any other religion, apart from that I'm sick of it being a an almost genericised stand in for faith in general and that I'm also sick of Christian parables and references being used in lieu of actual originality or thought. So, I'm slightly disappointed in the look of Klingon culture we get here, but they do redeem themselves slightly. I think I've mentioned before that I consider rabid dogmatism to not be the ultimate expression if faith, so much as its actually the ultimate antithesis of it. Faith, whether on the individual level or communal, has to be an ever evolving thing. It's why I have more respect for older and dead religions that allowed for many different and sometimes contradictory stories involving their characters as opposed to "faiths" with a far more rigid canon. (Its also why bible studies perplex me a little. Once you get past the obvious introduction to your culture, you're either inviting the creation of a new sect, which I would applaud a little, but probably won't go down well with others or you're puzzling over a 2000 year old solved issue). So, Worf flatly regarding Gowron's loitering crew members as fools was a good moment.

More interesting is how characters handle the inherent fakery of faith. Data, the most rational character, chooses to believe he is more than a cluster of machinery, despite that obviously just being the facts of the matter and its treated as a mature philosophy that allows him to live a life and actually grow and change with his experiences. It inspires Worf to come up with a similar idea that involves owning up to their fake messiah whilst simultaneously using him as a means of spiritual enrichment for the Klibgons. It's treated as a somewhat cynical parallel to how the Roman empire, and other states, was basically forced to gradually make Christianity the official religion for reasons of political expediency (a few high ranking folks, including emperors, genuinly believed, too), but I think they're also intentionally invoking Voltaire here, as well as his famous line of the necessity of God. I don't believe God itself is actually necessary, but I do think a decent litmus test for how worthwhile a faith and its instructions are is to consider whether they still would have any personal validity in the event that they were somehow disproved. There's a little bit of this in Worf and Kahless' last conversation, too, where the ideas are said to be more important than any reverence towards the man.

I can't help but be sick of Christian iconography, in this show and others, but it has moments that make it a better exploration of faith than I'd expect and its a perfectly well made episode, besides.

Onto Second Chances.