Stardate: 42901.3
Original Air Date: June 26, 1989
Writers: Thomas H. Calder (story), Richard Manning and Hans Beimler (teleplay)
Director: Cliff Bole
“I will not be complete without you.”
“The Emissary” begins with a rousing scene of the crew playing poker (Worf, the “Iceman,” is cleaning everyone’s clocks) when suddenly, they are interrupted by a Class-C emergency. The Enterprise is ordered to divert to coordinates 4-2-3 by 1-1-2 by 5-1 immediately, a point near the Boradis system (an area that colonized recently, the first Federation outpost was established 34 years ago on Boradis III, since then the Federation has colonized several planets in that sector but there have been no reported issues). There are four colonies in the Boradis system as well as nine other outposts scattered throughout the sector.
Starfleet Command’s Admiral Gromek (Georgann Johnson) hails the Enterprise and tells Picard that the Enterprise will soon be joined by a special emissary from Starbase 153. It is a top security mission and so no further information can be provided. The envoy is apparently aboard a Class-8 probe, which is just over two meters long but if the transmitters and life support systems removed there would be just enough room for one person (a Class-8 probe can travel at a speed of Warp-9).
When the crew beams the probe aboard the Enterprise, they are greeted by a half-Klingon half-human named K’Ehleyr, pronounced “Kay-Lar” (played by Suzie Plakson). We learn that she had an unconsummated romantic relationship with Worf six years ago.
Meanwhile, we learn the reason the Federation brought K’Ehleyr aboard the Enterprise. Two days ago, Starbase 336 received an automated transmission from a Klingon ship, the T’Ong under captain K’Temoc (Lance LeGault), that was sent out over 75 years ago when the Federation and the Klingon Empire was still at war. The message was directed to the Klingon high command and that the ship was returning home and was about to reach its awakening point. The Klingon crew are likely in a cryogenic state and when they awake they will believe the war is still ongoing. The Enterprise’s task is to find the ship and prevent violence. But why wouldn’t a Klingon ship be more appropriate for this mission? K’Ehleyr explains that the nearest Klingon ship, the P’Rang, is on its way but it is still two days behind the Enterprise and this may leave the T’Ong free to destroy nearby Federation outposts. K’Ehleyr says the Enterprise will need to destroy the Klingon ship since Klingons of that era were entirely unresponsive to diplomacy, however Picard asks the crew to explore other options that avoid violence.
Despite his obvious personal history with K’Ehleyr, Worf is assigned to work with her. But the enmity between the two of them is palpable. They yell at each other as K’Ehleyr’s much-despised Klingon temper comes out. When she destroys a glass table in her quarters, Counselor Troi suggests that she use some of the exercise programs in the holodeck for venting out her frustrations. In the holodeck, K’Ehleyr battles several creatures in an arena until Worf arrives and they battle the creatures together (on “Level Two”). Then they fight each other and undergo some sort of strange Klingon mating ritual (cut to a commercial break) before Worf claims they are now husband and wife, but K’Ehleyr rejects his sacred Klingon oath.
Back on the bridge, as the Enterprise is nearing the Klingon vessel, K’Ehleyr suggests a solution to the T’Ong –the Enterprise will intercept the Klingon ship before its crew awakens by overriding their cryogenic controls. However, they may have already awoken. When the T’Ong suddenly appears, K’Ehleyr pleads with Picard to let the Klingons die in battle, but Worf offers an alternative. When they come face-to-face Worf poses as captain of the Enterprise and K’Ehleyr poses as his lieutenant (the highlight of the episode). They threaten to destroy the Klingon vessel until it lowers its shields. Thankfully, this ploy works. K’Ehleyr is dispatched over to the T’Ong until P’Rang can arrive.
In the end, Worf and K’Ehleyr share a tender moment together in the transporter room where K’Ehleyr confesses that last night in the holodeck did actually mean more to her than she previously let on. As she is beamed away, Worf says, “I will not be complete without you.”
My Thoughts on “The Emissary”
“The Emissary” contains a fascinating plotline about Klingon warriors awakening from cryo sleep after 75 years only to find themselves the 24th century believing they are still at war with the Federation (in some ways this was reminiscent of the TOS episode “Space Seed” or Joe Halderman’s The Forever War), and the introduction of K’Ehleyr offered a compelling premise. But yet again, this episode has another off-putting tone to it, with some flimsy dialogue (particularly the extensive bickering between Worf and K’Ehleyr) and confounding decisions by leadership (for example: why would Picard assign Worf to work directly with a woman he clearly despises after a failed triste six years ago? And why wouldn’t Starfleet be comfortable sharing the details of the Klingon ship with the Enterprise in advance?) There is some nice character development here and it’s a Klingon episode, which automatically earns it a boost, but ultimately it just missed the mark.
A few other lingering questions for me with respect to this episode include: How was the tiny prob capable of going Warp 9? And how was the Enterprise able to match the probe’s speed precisely and then beam it aboard when it was previously established that the Enterprise could not use the transporter while the warp drive is activated? And why would Starfleet even send this probe in the first place? Why not simply send the necessary information to the Enterprise? And if they did need to send a probe, why not send a more suitable ship for K’Ehleyr?
Star Trek Trivia:
- In this episode, we learn that a Class-8 probe is just over two meters long but if the transmitters and life support systems are removed there would be just enough room for one person (a Class-8 probe can travel at a speed of Warp-9).
- The transport probe carrying K’Ehleyr was actually a repurposed prop that previously served as Spock’s photon torpedo cannon.
- Suzie Plakson appears in several other episodes of Star Trek as four different characters (TNG, Voyager, and Enterprise). She previously appeared as Dr. Selar in the second season episode “The Schizoid Man.”
- The character K’Ehleyr returns in the fourth season episode “Reunion,” her final appearance.
- There is a strange little contradiction in this episode wherein the Enterprise can now use the transporter while in warp speed (previous episodes stated this was not possible).
- This is the second of two episodes to feature Anne Elizabeth Ramsay (she plays “Clancy”).
- Dietrich Bader appears as a “tactical crewman” (credited as himself). This was one of his first television credits.
- Lance LeGault plays the Klingon captain K’Temoc. Lance LeGault (1935-2012) was best known as U.S. Army Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s television show The A-Team.