As much as I adore this show, I have to admit that the last few weeks have definitely challenged that love. I barely remember most of the episodes from this season, and I believe that's for a good reason - maybe self-preservation. To call season one "bumpy" is charitable, to say the least, and if I was watching this for the first time, I don’t think I would have lasted past “Code of Honor” or “Angel One”. So you can imagine my relief as I watched this episode. “Heart of Glory” is a good hour of television. It’s not just good in comparison to the dregs of this season; it’s just a really strong episode of television, period. That’s a first for this show.
Remember Worf? The big guy with the bumpy forehead who got the shit kicked out of him by Lore? The show hasn’t done much with Worf yet, but there’s so much great potential there. In the original series, the Klingons weren’t particularly interesting, but they were one of the defining villains of the show, so much so that they entered the popular lexicon. When TNG kicked off with a Klingon wearing a Starfleet uniform and piloting the ship, there was a sense right from the beginning that there was a story there. As of yet, we’ve only gotten bits and pieces. When it becomes apparent that this episode was going to dive more into Worf’s history, and the Klingons themselves, it would be easy to be apprehensive, considering the show’s fairly poor track record in treating the alien races with dignity (coughcoughFerengicough). But by the end of this series (and continuing into Deep Space Nine) the Klingons end up being established as one of the richest cultures in science fiction.
The Enterprise gets word that a ship has come under attack. Unfortunately, this ship is smack in the middle of the Neutral Zone, and Picard is apprehensive about pissing off the Romulans. The crew warps in, and finds a Talarian freighter that's been heavily damaged. Riker, Geordi, and Data beam over to search for survivors, with Geordi sporting a new toy that lets the bridge see through his VISOR. Picard seems amazed by how Geordi sees, which continues the trend of Picard being super impressed by every piece of technology on the damn ship. It’s a bit overplayed, but since it’s Patrick Stewart, he makes it work.
It doesn’t take Riker and company long to find the only survivors left on the ship: three Klingon warriors, one seriously wounded. They beam back to the Enterprise, and take the injured man directly to sickbay. While Dr. Crusher works to try to save his life, the other two Klingons, Korris and Konmel, regale Worf and Captain Picard of how they managed to destroy the Ferengi ship that attacked them in the fight. Picard seems dubious, but listens politely, and has Worf take them to their quarters. There, Korris and Konmel began taunting Worf, asking if he’s been “tamed”.
This scene could have been truly bad. Korris and Konmel could have been caricatures, sneering at Worf and talking down to Picard. Instead, they instantly have personalities. Their bombast is calculated, and their prodding at Worf’s sensibilities is deliberate. They feel real, as if they have a story that extends far before this episode. Worf verbally spars with the pair, and they reveal that they lied about the attack. Korris and Konmel don’t believe the alliance with the Federation has been a positive for the Klingon Empire. They are leaving the Empire, searching for a war to fight, a way to live the warrior life they idealize so much. As this discussion happens, they get a message from Dr. Crusher: their comrade is dying.
The three arrive in sickbay, the wounded Klingon convulsing and moaning in pain. Korris moves quickly to his side as he starts to die, and pries open his eyes, making sure that his gaze is fixed on his fellow warrior. The injured man finally dies, and all three Klingons begin to growl, softly at first, until it builds to the trio roaring at the top of their lungs. It should be goofy. It should be cheesy. It’s not. It feels otherworldly, eerie, and daunting. Later, Data tells Picard that it was the Klingon Death Scream, a ritual. The roar is a warning to the afterlife. “Beware,” says Data. “A Klingon warrior approaches.”
If the rest of the episode stumbled, this alone would be enough to make it stand out. In two minutes, the Klingons are established as a distinct and rich culture, with religious beliefs, traditions, and philosophies separate from humanity. In the following discussions, as Korris despairs of the weakness that he believes peace is causing in his people, it doesn’t feel like a lecture on how awful war is. It tells us everything we need to know about this individual, so that his actions for the rest of the episode feel earned.
Soon after, a Klingon ship closes on the Enterprise. They inform Picard that Korris and Konmel are criminals, and demand that Picard turn them over for trial and execution. Picard agrees, but allows Worf to speak on behalf of the pair. He asks the Klingon captain to exile them to a war-torn world, where they will have the chance to fight and die like warriors. There’s a quiet sadness to the discussion, especially when the captain acknowledges how much better that option would be. He comments that a dishonorable death by execution “diminishes us all as Klingons,” but that his hands are tied. He has his orders, and no one balks from doing what needs to be done.
Picard orders Tasha to take a security team to arrest Korris and Konmel. Confronting them in the hallway, she panics when a door opens and a child runs up to Korris, who scoops her up. Yar immediately reports that they have a hostage situation. Korris looks at the child, and looks at Yar in disgust when he hears her. Without a word, he hands the child to Worf, and they are arrested and taken to the brig. Yar expresses her relief to Worf, who responds, slightly offended, that Klingons do not take hostages. They don’t hide behind the weak. It’s a strong moment, as for the first time on the show, one of the vaunted Enterprise crew is dead wrong, almost offensively so, about another culture.
Secured in the brig, Korris and Konmel pull a MacGyver as they pluck components out of their clothing and assemble a weapon. They break free, and fight a quick and brutal battle with a security team. Konmel is killed, Korris kills two officers, and makes his way to engineering, where he sets up with his phaser pointed at the warp core. (One could question the design of a highly volatile propulsion system that’s so weakly shielded that a shot from a sidearm could destroy an entire ship, but we’ll let it slide.) Worf meets with Korris, and insists that seeking out external battle isn’t the only way that a Klingon warrior can prove himself. When Korris refuses to budge, Worf shoots and kills him, giving him the death scream as a show of respect.
There have been several episodes this season that I’ve commented had the potential to be something interesting and thought-provoking, but failed on every level to accomplish that. “Heart of Glory” is nearly the exact opposite. It had the potential to be a disaster on par with “The Last Outpost”, but instead, we get the first episode from this series that shows a strong glimpse of what TNG will eventually become known for. We’ve met the Klingons, and they aren’t simple or cartoonish. Already, we’ve gotten a glimpse at a rich culture, and the show has (finally) demonstrated that it can handle new races and ideas with subtlety and skill. That’s an important hurdle for this show to face, and while I know that the season has a few more warts, “Heart of Glory” is our first sign that there’s something special here.
Remember Worf? The big guy with the bumpy forehead who got the shit kicked out of him by Lore? The show hasn’t done much with Worf yet, but there’s so much great potential there. In the original series, the Klingons weren’t particularly interesting, but they were one of the defining villains of the show, so much so that they entered the popular lexicon. When TNG kicked off with a Klingon wearing a Starfleet uniform and piloting the ship, there was a sense right from the beginning that there was a story there. As of yet, we’ve only gotten bits and pieces. When it becomes apparent that this episode was going to dive more into Worf’s history, and the Klingons themselves, it would be easy to be apprehensive, considering the show’s fairly poor track record in treating the alien races with dignity (coughcoughFerengicough). But by the end of this series (and continuing into Deep Space Nine) the Klingons end up being established as one of the richest cultures in science fiction.
The Enterprise gets word that a ship has come under attack. Unfortunately, this ship is smack in the middle of the Neutral Zone, and Picard is apprehensive about pissing off the Romulans. The crew warps in, and finds a Talarian freighter that's been heavily damaged. Riker, Geordi, and Data beam over to search for survivors, with Geordi sporting a new toy that lets the bridge see through his VISOR. Picard seems amazed by how Geordi sees, which continues the trend of Picard being super impressed by every piece of technology on the damn ship. It’s a bit overplayed, but since it’s Patrick Stewart, he makes it work.
It doesn’t take Riker and company long to find the only survivors left on the ship: three Klingon warriors, one seriously wounded. They beam back to the Enterprise, and take the injured man directly to sickbay. While Dr. Crusher works to try to save his life, the other two Klingons, Korris and Konmel, regale Worf and Captain Picard of how they managed to destroy the Ferengi ship that attacked them in the fight. Picard seems dubious, but listens politely, and has Worf take them to their quarters. There, Korris and Konmel began taunting Worf, asking if he’s been “tamed”.
This scene could have been truly bad. Korris and Konmel could have been caricatures, sneering at Worf and talking down to Picard. Instead, they instantly have personalities. Their bombast is calculated, and their prodding at Worf’s sensibilities is deliberate. They feel real, as if they have a story that extends far before this episode. Worf verbally spars with the pair, and they reveal that they lied about the attack. Korris and Konmel don’t believe the alliance with the Federation has been a positive for the Klingon Empire. They are leaving the Empire, searching for a war to fight, a way to live the warrior life they idealize so much. As this discussion happens, they get a message from Dr. Crusher: their comrade is dying.
The three arrive in sickbay, the wounded Klingon convulsing and moaning in pain. Korris moves quickly to his side as he starts to die, and pries open his eyes, making sure that his gaze is fixed on his fellow warrior. The injured man finally dies, and all three Klingons begin to growl, softly at first, until it builds to the trio roaring at the top of their lungs. It should be goofy. It should be cheesy. It’s not. It feels otherworldly, eerie, and daunting. Later, Data tells Picard that it was the Klingon Death Scream, a ritual. The roar is a warning to the afterlife. “Beware,” says Data. “A Klingon warrior approaches.”
If the rest of the episode stumbled, this alone would be enough to make it stand out. In two minutes, the Klingons are established as a distinct and rich culture, with religious beliefs, traditions, and philosophies separate from humanity. In the following discussions, as Korris despairs of the weakness that he believes peace is causing in his people, it doesn’t feel like a lecture on how awful war is. It tells us everything we need to know about this individual, so that his actions for the rest of the episode feel earned.
Soon after, a Klingon ship closes on the Enterprise. They inform Picard that Korris and Konmel are criminals, and demand that Picard turn them over for trial and execution. Picard agrees, but allows Worf to speak on behalf of the pair. He asks the Klingon captain to exile them to a war-torn world, where they will have the chance to fight and die like warriors. There’s a quiet sadness to the discussion, especially when the captain acknowledges how much better that option would be. He comments that a dishonorable death by execution “diminishes us all as Klingons,” but that his hands are tied. He has his orders, and no one balks from doing what needs to be done.
Picard orders Tasha to take a security team to arrest Korris and Konmel. Confronting them in the hallway, she panics when a door opens and a child runs up to Korris, who scoops her up. Yar immediately reports that they have a hostage situation. Korris looks at the child, and looks at Yar in disgust when he hears her. Without a word, he hands the child to Worf, and they are arrested and taken to the brig. Yar expresses her relief to Worf, who responds, slightly offended, that Klingons do not take hostages. They don’t hide behind the weak. It’s a strong moment, as for the first time on the show, one of the vaunted Enterprise crew is dead wrong, almost offensively so, about another culture.
Secured in the brig, Korris and Konmel pull a MacGyver as they pluck components out of their clothing and assemble a weapon. They break free, and fight a quick and brutal battle with a security team. Konmel is killed, Korris kills two officers, and makes his way to engineering, where he sets up with his phaser pointed at the warp core. (One could question the design of a highly volatile propulsion system that’s so weakly shielded that a shot from a sidearm could destroy an entire ship, but we’ll let it slide.) Worf meets with Korris, and insists that seeking out external battle isn’t the only way that a Klingon warrior can prove himself. When Korris refuses to budge, Worf shoots and kills him, giving him the death scream as a show of respect.
There have been several episodes this season that I’ve commented had the potential to be something interesting and thought-provoking, but failed on every level to accomplish that. “Heart of Glory” is nearly the exact opposite. It had the potential to be a disaster on par with “The Last Outpost”, but instead, we get the first episode from this series that shows a strong glimpse of what TNG will eventually become known for. We’ve met the Klingons, and they aren’t simple or cartoonish. Already, we’ve gotten a glimpse at a rich culture, and the show has (finally) demonstrated that it can handle new races and ideas with subtlety and skill. That’s an important hurdle for this show to face, and while I know that the season has a few more warts, “Heart of Glory” is our first sign that there’s something special here.
Two good ones in a row would have been too much to ask for, I guess.
“Arsenal of Freedom” isn’t really a bad episode, though. In a way, I almost wish I had watched it before “Heart of Glory”, because I think that a lot of my negative reaction to this episode is in contrast to the previous one. But where “Heart of Glory” handled a lot of dimensions fairly deftly, “Arsenal of Freedom” beats us over the head with a clumsy allegory about the foolishness of the military-industrial complex. It’s a silly episode that was trying to be serious, and that’s one of the surest signs of a swing and a miss.
The USS Drake is missing. In the pantheon of MacGuffins to get the Enterprise to where the plot needs them to be, the missing starship is up there with unexplained temporal phenomenon or mysterious distress call. One of the biggest stumbling blocks of the episode is that while the first few minutes are devoted to Riker telling us all about how well he knows the Drake’s captain, the actual fate of the Drake is somewhat ambiguous. We know that the ship was destroyed and that the crew was killed by the end of the episode, but no one really seems to give too much of a shit.
Anyway, the USS Drake is missing, and the Enterprise goes to find out what’s what at its last known location, a planet called Minos. Minos used to be home to some fairly well known arms manufacturers who became famous for selling weapons to both sides of a conflict to turn a profit. However, now there’s no one left alive on the planet, and the only remnant of this civilization is an automated sales video. The automated sales transmission, to be fair, is pretty great, played with gusto by the late Vincent Schiavelli. Picard can’t figure out what’s going on, so Riker, Yar, and Data beam down to the surface. After they split up (terrific idea, fellas, just top-notch), Riker is somewhat shocked to see the Drake’s captain step out from behind a bush, and start asking him questions.
Another mark in the episode’s favor: Riker isn’t portrayed as an idiot. At no point does he actually think that this is his old college roommate. He figures out immediately that this is a simulation, and starts fucking with it. (When the simulation asks Riker the name of his ship, Riker rolls his eyes and says he serves on the USS Lollipop, asserting that it’s a “good ship”.) After a few moments, the simulation vanishes, and is replaced by a floating drone that looks like an overpriced sex toy. It starts firing at Riker, and as Yar and Data come join him, the three quickly shoot it down. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before a second drone pops up, and this time, it doesn’t go down as easily. Before Yar and Data’s sustained phaser fire can destroy it, it encases Riker in a stasis field. Hearing this, Picard and Crusher beam down to the planet. They would beam the away team back up, but are unable to do so because of the subspace plot device field surrounding the planet. Picard leaves Geordi in command of the Enterprise, pops on down to the planet’s surface in time for another drone attack, and he and Crusher run headfirst into a giant hole. Excellent performance by the creator of the Picard Maneuver.
At this point, we split into two storylines. On the planet, Data and Yar are trying to break Riker free, while Picard struggles to save the seriously wounded Crusher down in the pit. To make matters worse, Data figures out that the drones are going to continue to appear, and each time, they’ll be more and more difficult to destroy. Apparently, this is what happened to the arms dealers of Minos. They forgot to install an off switch or something, and the drones killed them all as part of a sales demonstration. Data jumps down to try to help Picard and Crusher, and Riker and Yar are pinned down by the newest drone while Vincent Schiavelli appears as a hologram, happily informing Picard of all the sweet features of the “Echo-Papa 607”. It’s a darkly funny scene. Crusher’s bleeding to death, Yar and Riker are being bombarded by lethal weapons fire, and Schiavelli is eagerly talking about the extended warranty as he tries to convince Picard to buy.
Up in orbit, Geordi and the Enterprise find themselves under attack by an orbital drone. The problem is, the drone is invisible, they don’t know where it’s going to attack from next, and to make matters worse, the new chief engineer (we’ll call him Lt. Cmdr. Jerkface, because he never appears again), keeps coming up to the bridge to give Geordi shit about his command decisions. Jerkface thinks that he should be in command and that the Enterprise needs to dip, Geordi tells him to get his jerk face back down to the engine room and do his damn job, and Troi nods beatifically in the background, pleased at how Geordi handled the situation.
After the space drone continues to fuck up the Enterprise, Geordi takes the Enterprise just out of the system, moves the civilians to the saucer section, and separates the ship, leaving the saucer behind in safe territory in command of Jerkface. The drive section warps back to the planet, and Geordi comes up with, to be fair, a pretty slick tactic. He takes the drive section down into the atmosphere. When the drone pursues, they’re able to detect the turbulence of its movement through the atmosphere, and destroy it.
The episode winds up from there. Picard figures out that all he has to do to shut down the sales demonstration is to tell Schiavelli that he’s definitely interested in buying, everyone beams back up to the ship, Geordi gets to retain command until the saucer section is docked again, and they warp away, one happy family. Oh, wait, I guess the USS Drake is still gone. Lots of dead Starfleet officers. Probably a report to file about how they didn’t figure out what happened to the Drake, which was the one reason they were there. Also, the fact that they didn’t record a scene for a future episode where a Starfleet accountant calls to scream at Picard about why they just got a huge bill from Minos is a crying shame.
“Arsenal of Freedom” isn’t really terrible; it’s just kind of pointless. The moral lesson (apparently this episode was penned when the writer, Maurice Hurley, read about the United States selling F-14 Tomcat jets to Iran) never really clicks. The resolution to the conflict of the planet is incredibly goofy and anticlimactic. Geordi’s scenes are moderately interesting, but aren’t enough to carry the episode. Still, with all of that, it’s a harmless and slightly entertaining hour. But after “Heart of Glory”, I don’t think I’m going to be satisfied with that anymore.
A few more thoughts:
Next time, we learn that drugs are bad with “Symbiosis”, and get to experience one of the most famous flops of the series with “Skin of Evil”.
- Dietrich Stogner
“Arsenal of Freedom” isn’t really a bad episode, though. In a way, I almost wish I had watched it before “Heart of Glory”, because I think that a lot of my negative reaction to this episode is in contrast to the previous one. But where “Heart of Glory” handled a lot of dimensions fairly deftly, “Arsenal of Freedom” beats us over the head with a clumsy allegory about the foolishness of the military-industrial complex. It’s a silly episode that was trying to be serious, and that’s one of the surest signs of a swing and a miss.
The USS Drake is missing. In the pantheon of MacGuffins to get the Enterprise to where the plot needs them to be, the missing starship is up there with unexplained temporal phenomenon or mysterious distress call. One of the biggest stumbling blocks of the episode is that while the first few minutes are devoted to Riker telling us all about how well he knows the Drake’s captain, the actual fate of the Drake is somewhat ambiguous. We know that the ship was destroyed and that the crew was killed by the end of the episode, but no one really seems to give too much of a shit.
Anyway, the USS Drake is missing, and the Enterprise goes to find out what’s what at its last known location, a planet called Minos. Minos used to be home to some fairly well known arms manufacturers who became famous for selling weapons to both sides of a conflict to turn a profit. However, now there’s no one left alive on the planet, and the only remnant of this civilization is an automated sales video. The automated sales transmission, to be fair, is pretty great, played with gusto by the late Vincent Schiavelli. Picard can’t figure out what’s going on, so Riker, Yar, and Data beam down to the surface. After they split up (terrific idea, fellas, just top-notch), Riker is somewhat shocked to see the Drake’s captain step out from behind a bush, and start asking him questions.
Another mark in the episode’s favor: Riker isn’t portrayed as an idiot. At no point does he actually think that this is his old college roommate. He figures out immediately that this is a simulation, and starts fucking with it. (When the simulation asks Riker the name of his ship, Riker rolls his eyes and says he serves on the USS Lollipop, asserting that it’s a “good ship”.) After a few moments, the simulation vanishes, and is replaced by a floating drone that looks like an overpriced sex toy. It starts firing at Riker, and as Yar and Data come join him, the three quickly shoot it down. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before a second drone pops up, and this time, it doesn’t go down as easily. Before Yar and Data’s sustained phaser fire can destroy it, it encases Riker in a stasis field. Hearing this, Picard and Crusher beam down to the planet. They would beam the away team back up, but are unable to do so because of the subspace plot device field surrounding the planet. Picard leaves Geordi in command of the Enterprise, pops on down to the planet’s surface in time for another drone attack, and he and Crusher run headfirst into a giant hole. Excellent performance by the creator of the Picard Maneuver.
At this point, we split into two storylines. On the planet, Data and Yar are trying to break Riker free, while Picard struggles to save the seriously wounded Crusher down in the pit. To make matters worse, Data figures out that the drones are going to continue to appear, and each time, they’ll be more and more difficult to destroy. Apparently, this is what happened to the arms dealers of Minos. They forgot to install an off switch or something, and the drones killed them all as part of a sales demonstration. Data jumps down to try to help Picard and Crusher, and Riker and Yar are pinned down by the newest drone while Vincent Schiavelli appears as a hologram, happily informing Picard of all the sweet features of the “Echo-Papa 607”. It’s a darkly funny scene. Crusher’s bleeding to death, Yar and Riker are being bombarded by lethal weapons fire, and Schiavelli is eagerly talking about the extended warranty as he tries to convince Picard to buy.
Up in orbit, Geordi and the Enterprise find themselves under attack by an orbital drone. The problem is, the drone is invisible, they don’t know where it’s going to attack from next, and to make matters worse, the new chief engineer (we’ll call him Lt. Cmdr. Jerkface, because he never appears again), keeps coming up to the bridge to give Geordi shit about his command decisions. Jerkface thinks that he should be in command and that the Enterprise needs to dip, Geordi tells him to get his jerk face back down to the engine room and do his damn job, and Troi nods beatifically in the background, pleased at how Geordi handled the situation.
After the space drone continues to fuck up the Enterprise, Geordi takes the Enterprise just out of the system, moves the civilians to the saucer section, and separates the ship, leaving the saucer behind in safe territory in command of Jerkface. The drive section warps back to the planet, and Geordi comes up with, to be fair, a pretty slick tactic. He takes the drive section down into the atmosphere. When the drone pursues, they’re able to detect the turbulence of its movement through the atmosphere, and destroy it.
The episode winds up from there. Picard figures out that all he has to do to shut down the sales demonstration is to tell Schiavelli that he’s definitely interested in buying, everyone beams back up to the ship, Geordi gets to retain command until the saucer section is docked again, and they warp away, one happy family. Oh, wait, I guess the USS Drake is still gone. Lots of dead Starfleet officers. Probably a report to file about how they didn’t figure out what happened to the Drake, which was the one reason they were there. Also, the fact that they didn’t record a scene for a future episode where a Starfleet accountant calls to scream at Picard about why they just got a huge bill from Minos is a crying shame.
“Arsenal of Freedom” isn’t really terrible; it’s just kind of pointless. The moral lesson (apparently this episode was penned when the writer, Maurice Hurley, read about the United States selling F-14 Tomcat jets to Iran) never really clicks. The resolution to the conflict of the planet is incredibly goofy and anticlimactic. Geordi’s scenes are moderately interesting, but aren’t enough to carry the episode. Still, with all of that, it’s a harmless and slightly entertaining hour. But after “Heart of Glory”, I don’t think I’m going to be satisfied with that anymore.
A few more thoughts:
- I’m a few days out now from watching “Heart of Glory”, and now I’m starting to wonder if it’s actually as strong as I made it out to be, or if I’m just glad to be watching the early episodes of this season vanish in the rearview mirror. I can easily say it’s the highlight of the season so far. I may revisit it in the future to see if it holds up with some of the later seasons.
- This is the second time that Geordi’s been placed in command, despite there being several senior officers on board. Especially knowing where that character ends up (as chief engineer), it does make me think that the writing team this season had a different arc planned for him.
- Screaming out a warning to the afterlife that a badass is about to show up? That’s hardcore. Shut up, doubting Dietrich who wrote the earlier note. That episode was awesome, and you’re a jerk.
- By the way, if you're unaware, VISOR is an acronym for Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement, which is a long walk for a mildly clever acronym.
Next time, we learn that drugs are bad with “Symbiosis”, and get to experience one of the most famous flops of the series with “Skin of Evil”.
- Dietrich Stogner
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