The Good: Ties up some loose ends (with Alexander), Decent character work, Fair acting
The Bad: Odd character direction for Alexander, Some truly lame lines, Does not fit as well in context.
The Basics: A starkly average episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine interrupts the otherwise tight Dominion War arc when Alexander joins the crew of the Rotarrn.
One of the things I appreciated a lot about the heavily-serialized nature of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was that when the show started doing longer story arcs, the producers stopped doing recaps of the prior episodes. At some point, they seemed to say that you were either watching or you weren’t and if you weren’t, well, too bad! You should be! I like that. So, when “Sons And Daughters” begins with the command crew of the Defiant aboard the Klingon ship the Rotarrn, without any recap of the prior two episodes of the season, viewers are either up to speed or they need to go back and get up to speed by watching those earlier episodes! It also helps that “Sons And Daughters” is the least congruent story in the Dominion War arc. This stands alone much more than the others in the arc and as such, a recap is far less necessary for the main (“Sons”) plot than the b-plot (“Daughters”).
“Sons And Daughters” is notable because it marks the return of two important characters in the Star Trek pantheon. Alexander, Worf’s son who was essentially written out of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the episode “Firstborn” (reviewed here!). Of course, that episode was conceived, shot and aired long before anyone had an inkling that Worf would be joining the crew of Deep Space Nine. So, with Worf’s story continued, it made some sense to continue the story of Alexander. In a similar fashion, the story of Ziyal continues and it is a little problematic in that the main function it seems to serve is to reinforce a lesson Kira learned in the prior episode.
After dropping the Defiant survivors off at a Starbase, the crew of the Klingon ship Rotarrn takes on a few replacement officers. Among them is Alexander Rozhenko, Worf’s son. General Martok is surprised to learn Worf has a son and he is concerned when there appears to be friction between Worf and Alexander. When Worf tries to deal with the conflict head-on, he learns that Alexander enlisted in the Klingon military and wants nothing to do with Worf. As the Rotarrn goes into battle against the Jem’Hadar following training exercises, Worf is left uncomfortable with Alexander’s abilities . . . or lack thereof.
Meanwhile, on Terok Nor, Kira is slumping through her daily routine trying to figure out how to organize a new Resistance when Ziyal returns to the station. Kira’s desire to spend time with Ziyal comes into conflict with her loathing of Dukat. As Dukat and Kira gush over Ziyal’s artwork, Ziyal begins to think she has a real family. This leads Dukat to once again make an advance on Kira, which leads Kira to another crossroads.
“Sons And Daughters” is, in many ways, a “necessary evil” episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Ziyal has to come back (especially to make subsequent episodes work) and Alexander is a bigger dangling loose end in Worf’s story than Toral was (and he came back in “The Sword Of Kahless” in season four!). So, the intent behind Bradley Thompson and David Weddle’s episode is a good one. And while the episode is all right, the execution is not all that it ought to be.
I can live with Alexander coming back as something of a goofball. Alexander being clumsy is fine. The fact that he seems a little dim and Marc Worden (yes, like Toral, Alexander was recast for his Deep Space Nine incarnation) plays him a little melodramatically is easier for me to swallow than the fact that Kira seems to regress between the prior episode and this one. Kira was committed and determined and when “Sons And Daughters” begins, she is at a place where she might actually consider attending a social event with Gul Dukat?! Ack!
Moreover, “Sons And Daughters” has some painfully obvious moments and lines. I recall when I first saw a preview for the episode and cringing when Martok said “When a father and a son do not speak, there is trouble . . .” It’s no better in context, either! J.G. Hertzler, professional that he is delivers the line very well, but it’s a pretty crappy line.
On the acting front, Casey Biggs has his swagger down as Damar and this is one of the episodes where it ought to be clear to viewers that Damar is going to be a real force in the show. Damar bullies around Kira and Biggs plays Damar as if he has monster balls. Seriously, Biggs has the swagger and he makes Damar cocksure in a way that is very different from the more overtly arrogant Dukat (played with the usual magnificence by Marc Alaimo). And for all my problems with Kira’s character arc in the episode, Nana Visitor is wonderful as her. In fact, Visitor has great on-screen chemistry with both Melanie Smith and Marc Alaimo in this episode, which is a real treat to watch.
On the Klingon side, “Sons And Daughters” has a lot of plot similarities to “Soldiers Of The Empire” (reviewed here!). None of the crew of the Rotarrn from that episode are recognizable in this one, which implies that there has been heavy turnover aboard the Klingon ship so far in the war. Unlike “Soldiers Of The Empire” where Martok had to get his groove back, “Sons And Daughters” reestablishes a relationship between Worf and Alexander.
As a filler episode, “Sons And Daughters” is all right, but it is not the epitome of Star Trek and is hardly the most thrilling episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or the Dominion War arc.
[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Complete Sixth Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the penultimate season by clicking here!
Thanks!]
5/10
Check out how this episode stacks up against other episodes and movies in the Star Trek franchise by visiting my Star Trek Review Index Page where the reviews are organized by my rating of them!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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