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UNCUT - Firstborn (TNG S7E21) | Star Trek Journey 318 (Patreon)

Published:
2025-10-22 14:00:11
Edited:
2025-10-23 14:12:16
Imported:
2026-09
Tags:
stj

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River Acheron

Commenting blind (gonna watch this when my shift ends noon eastern time), I will guess you guys were entertained by this but didn't love it. As for me? I mean, it's okay. It's your standard end-of-series character wrap up with a sci-fi twist. Some nice cameos with Quark and the Duras Sisters. And I do love my Klingon episodes. I can't call it a banger though. Sooo.....I dunno. C+

Derek Locke

Was wondering if you'd catch the head ridges! His forehead Kemtar's forehead makeup exactly matches Alexander's.

Collin Freeman

I like the oral traditions of telling historical stories the Klingons have. Reminds me of some cultures of Earth.

Collin Freeman

I'm with you guys: B episode. Not great but good.

Collin Freeman

Closure is a good way to describe a lot of the season 7 episodes. They knew the series was coming to an end and tried to wrap up some loose ends, giving some of the recurring guest characters stories of their own to add a certain finality to them.

Keith S

I had to rewatch your reaction to the Kimtar is Alexander reavel. I thought your eyes were going to pop out of your heads, I loved it.

Ross Townsend

Absolutely watch it again. It feels much more impactful knowing Alexander has watched his father die and is trying to convey so much to his younger self, and to Worf. The lines have new meaning. Also note the forehead ridges. They are family-specific. Kurns and Worf's are the same, as is K'mtar's and Alexander's. Doesn't have to be the best episode to hold meaning for these characters. Even when the plot is a little contrived.

fcast17

I'm sure there'll be a lot more than this, but man,, there's a somewhat early Voyager episode where the credits are going to be SO spoilery.

Marko

I'm wondering is it always the father's side the ridges are inherited from? Since K'Ehleyr had different ones, and Alexander's don't look like the mix of the two. Worf and Kurn have the same ones Alexander does. I assume Mogh had them as well. Although his father, if that indeed was the Worf from STVI, does not.

River Acheron

Well K'Ehleyr was half human and I always assumed Worf's genes completely dominated hers lol

Darren

Better on rewatch that I remember. The reveal scene is great, it’s a solid episode overall and B feels right.

Vina

It might be random but it seems to be the case from the little evidence we have that the father's ridge pattern is inherited but are less pronounced in women: there are several members of the house of Duras we've seen, and all have similar ridge patterns but they are more pronounced in the male Duras family members than in Lursa and B'Etor

Sam Langanke

The alien lin the mine looked and sounded a lot like Steve Buschemi. It wasn't him obviously. But still.

Duncan McDonald

Ah, I forget all about this episode! Really enjoyed "Keeping up with the Mogh's". Great twist too. And Jarok! / Dr Mora!

Ryan

They did such a good job with adult Alexander's lines. Just about everything he says is a reference to his being Alexander, but it's not obvious until after the reveal.

Marko

That is good observation on the Duras family.

Worf and Riker Ride Again

I love the scene in 10 Forward, great acting by both Dorn and Sloyan. The banter between the Duras sisters and Worf made me laugh, especially Worf’s smirk.

Jon1701

Credits are going to spoil the shit out of you in the future. It’s only going to get worse. I know we have talked about this before but there is literally nothing you can do apart from shut your eyes for the first 30 seconds. 😂

Steven Linden

The reality of these crossover appearances, like Quark in this episode, is that the whole purpose of them was promotion. "Come watch this week's DS9 - Q is going to drop by!" or "Don't miss Quark on this episode of TNG!" They had no incentive to avoid spoiling the appearance; on the contrary, they definitely wanted you to know that Quark was going to show up, so you'd tune in and keep watching!

Greg Quinn

Yeah he said it during the ready room conference

Greg Quinn

Yeah that's a fair way to describe it. I'd just say it's not all complete closure because obviously there are the movies yet to come and they knew that. Its closure with the doors slightly a jar.

Nick

Regarding opening credits spoiling guests, you have to remember that these were on in the era of “next time on” and commercials. While you guys go into these episodes cold, and no clue what an episode is going to be about, when these were being broadcast the first time, we’d have an idea about the plot and major guest appearances would be advertised like crazy.

paultardspambot .

My hunch is your reaction was subdued for the same reason mine was. When coming off a great part 1, it's awkward to change over for a single episode. It's sort of like... ok, this isn't just competing with itself, but the subconscious thing you want to see the part 2 and here's an interruption. This was a bit strange in real time because DS9 had haters from the beggining and a lot of people who checked out after season 1. Season 2 was when things really started to roll, particularly the latter part. This is probably why people remember it so differently. Are you thinking of the second half or the first half which felt more like season 1 tonally. And TNG was wrapping, the movie and Voyager were being promoted (it was going to be the flagship show of a new network)- this was probably "peak" trek time in terms of how big it was in general culture- 1995. Just getting into it I was wrapped up with the excitement not thinking about how TNG was ending. But it's funny- I kind of divide season 7 episodes into "good" or "barely remember". This goes into the "BR" half but nit because its not good. I think its more its placement and being the TNG sendoff for Alexander who was always kind of meh. You can think of Wesley as "meh", but his nerd boy Gary Sue character was a much bigger part of the show and he did deserve a send off. I like Josh appreciate they actually finished his character arc, even if it was silly by concept. I also like in the resolutions we got, it both is a send off and kind of arc end for characters but doesn't lock them down. Picard and Crusher was wrapped up by not wrapping it up. A (divisive) late romance that was an extension of a bond going back seasons... neat little things that made it feel like it was the end but was still fundamentally TNG. I have a lot to say on DS9 but I'll save it for part 2 of the Maquis.

paultardspambot .

DS9 gets tricky with this as the line between "recurring guest character" and "regular cast member" blurs at some point because DS9 just had a much larger supporting cast and was telling different kind of stories.

paultardspambot .

right, it was established early on the Enterprise had some downtime which let the Enterprise under Riker go to this Klingon outpost and then chase the Duras Sisters around because the outpost happened to be nearsome spatial thing that stellar cartography wanted shots of. Its funny to think about how the Enterprise is so multipurpose, it has competing departments want to use it stuff for scientific reasons but they also have to moderate every peace conference, transport random people, AND be THE capitol ship of the Fleet and actually do military stuff. TOS Enterprise felt more like a military/astronaut ship from the get-go, it's funny to think how much stuff Starfleet covers

Martin Wilson

Regarding the dvds for future series “Enterprise “ is available on Blu-ray.

Narnman

as for credits spoiling things you guys could both block out the bottom of the screen with your hands so characters and actors arent spoiled

Josef Nitervol

The way that James Sloyan says father is so similar to the younger Alexander says it. It's a really good episode

Scarpad’s Domain

I mean actors have to get credit as part of their contracts there’s simply nothing you can do about it

Aramis Calcutt

Weird how Troi has zero role in this story. Weren’t she and Worf seeing each other just a few episodes ago?

Scarpad’s Domain

Damn wishing this was Marquis part 2. Still saying that mostly all but the final two shows of tng are pretty mid

jon bolton

I like the call backs, but just think the story itself is ok. C

Forbidden Donut

Different circumstances/episodes, but speaking of how one of you previously said that you felt like you should like Blood Oath more than you do, upon reviewing this episode, that's kind of how I feel about this one. I do like it, but until rewatching it this morning, my memory was 'meh'. I did enjoy it more this time, and I probably would give it a B as well, but in theory this feels like it could have been an A/S, but I'm not sure what it needed to get me there.

TinMan_7B9

Great performance by James Sloyan, but as a Klingon episode it's not much better than Birthright. It's actually similar to "New Ground", but with a time travel twist.

Brian Onderdonk

Just wondering, first time comment, love the commentary on this channel - is the plan to include Voyager in the reactions? I grew up with all 3 shows and each one I adore, but each for very different reasons. All put together they create such a wonderful universe, the 90's was a fantastic Trek era. It would make me sooooo beyond thrilled if Voyager gets mixed in with the TNG films for complete continuity - forgive me if I'm ignorant, I'm new to comments and can't recall if they've ever mentioned adding Voyager to the release date order schedule

paultardspambot .

there plan is to do all of trek in release order

Deep Red

Don't worry, they have said many times that they are fully committed to watching every Trek show and movie in release order, as Paul said

Deep Red

They're just frustrated that it's at the beginning of the episode instead of the end

Deep Red

I thought that was the case. But there are definitely times down the road where they deliberately hide a credit so as not to spoil a reveal. My guess is they just didn't think Armin Shimmerman would get a huge pop like other people would. Especially considering the fact that DS9 was the new unpopular kid on the block. It would be like making a big deal out of a local bar band being the opening act for Led Zeppelin

Deep Red

I think it's the other way around. DS9 was very unpopular at the time, so this might have been cross promotion for DS9 instead

Deep Red

Target Audience and "Whinging About the Opening Credits" . Name a more iconic duo.

Deep Red

ps. love you guys <3

Some Guy

I really get the sense that the Enterprise D was built in an era of starfleet decadence and complacency, feeling like they were too advanced and too evolved to need something so crass as a dedicated military.

Philbot

Klingon Ren faire.

Philbot

Sloyan has always felt like a discount tv Christopher Lloyd.

River Acheron

You know what it is? Modern TV did away with extended opening sequences and watching old shows can be weird for us lol. Not the show itself, but the long drawn-out openings. For the watchalongs, I have become skilled at syncing up, skipping the opening and then re-syncing. lol The only place where drawn out openings still exist is in anime. (sadly Crunchyroll - an anime streaming app - lets you skip SOME anime's opening themes.) i honestly don't know how people suffered through waiting back in the day for pretty much all shows. Don't get me wrong, some opening themes are badass, but once you see it a few times, it gets redundant.

ShazD

Found this rather boring I'm afraid. Haven't ever rewatched it. Once you know the twist there's no point in rewatching...

Jovet

This episode would have been so much better without the "I am Alexander!" twist.

Jovet

39:20 I'm glad you both had that reaction! hahaha

Jovet

LOL!!

Jovet

I maintain that opening credits can't really spoil anything.

Jovet

And yet the Enterprise sails on...

Sunny

I always wanted to love this one, but it just didn’t measure up to what I normally enjoy from a Worf episode. Especially since someone letting a stranger Klingon hang out with your kid with like no vetting seemed so odd to me considering how few friendly klingons Worf encounters.

Target Audience

Yes, we are watching the entire franchise in release order

Target Audience

There is something you can do about it. You can put them in the opening scene.

Scarpad’s Domain

Well if it makes sense to the story for them to be in the first seen , here it didn’t serve the story. Even if you know their in it you don’t know how

Avaria

Okay. I'm going to restate a lot of the same points that Josh brought up, but I really want to express my frustration with Worf and Alexander and how they were handled over the course of TNG. First, and this always makes me want to scream at the sky, this is the only episode after "Reunion" in which K'Ehleyr is mentioned in context with their family at all. In Ten-Forward, Worf says that he wants Alexander to be able to honor his mother, but we are never shown them talking about her or even acknowledging her at all. Why is this? One of the earliest and certainly one of the most prominent memories this kid has is his mother -- the only parent he knew during the first three years of his life -- getting brutally murdered. How is Alexander meant to honor his mother, if her influence is not active in his life? Second, and I think this is where Worf's parenting falls apart, Worf seems almost totally incapable of wrapping his head around the idea of a Klingon, especially a male Klingon, who is not fully enmeshed in the warrior aspect of Klingon culture. I get that for Worf being a Klingon means being a warrior, but at this point, having directly interacted with the Klingon Empire on multiple occasions, and being in a relationship with a half-Klingon diplomat, it feels a little ridiculous that Worf struggles to frame his cultural heritage as a Klingon in any other context. Because, third, this is not the first time Alexander has said outright that he's not interested in being a warrior. This is the emphatic his been about it, but it's not the first time. And it's no wonder. Again, his mom, who was the only parent he knew, was brutally murdered and he directly witnessed her death. And then, immediately after that, his father, whom he'd only just met, goes and brutally murders someone else. Of course Alexander is going to think battle for glory or honor is stupid, that's what killed his mom. And that it seems Worf never sat down and talked with him about it from that framework seems nuts. What were they doing with Deanna? Was it just, "He's not listening to me again, but I am his father so he must," every time? I think Alexander was very attached to K'Ehleyr who, let's not forget, was very dismissive of Klingon culture herself. I think he carries a lot of trauma from her death that seems, for the most part, to have been unaddressed. So, I think it's very natural for him to cleave more to her path than Worf's; for him to want to find ways to mediate conflict rather than engage with it. Look at who Alexander likes to spend time with. Outside the age-appropriate friends we hear him mention (but rarely see) it's the Trois: the ship's counselor and her diplomat mother. I also think Alexander is a theater kid. I don't get the sense that he was drawn into the performance on the Klingon colony because it was a battle, I think he liked the street opera. It would also explain his interest in the Deadwood program on the holodeck -- his role isn't a fighting one, it's one where he gets to spend time with both the heroes and the villains and see both sides of the story. That Alexander seems to have largely been stifled throughout his childhood from fully exploring his genuine interests, while living in an environment that seems uniquely suited to allowing them to flourish seems like an absolute missed opportunity. And I know adult Alexander is upset because he feels responsible for Worf's death -- so much so that he felt motivated to erase his own timeline -- but I really dislike his speech about his guilt in this episode. If you go back and listen to what he says, the reason his efforts failed is that he had no support, not even from within his own House. Is he partially at fault for not listening when Worf tried to warn him that his timing was off? Sure. However, there are several mentions of how influential Kurn is throughout this episode, and adult Alexander says that Worf tried to get him not to go forward with his efforts to reconcile the Houses. How would it have been different if Alexander had been given support so that there was the physical strength that Klingons respect available to back up his efforts? It should not have required a time-traveling adult version of Alexander nearly in tears over his losses to shock Worf into acknowledging his son as person with his own goals and destiny. Ultimately, I know it's a failing on the part of the writers. They created Alexander as a conduit of vulnerability and conflict for Worf when it wasn't strictly necessary and then didn't know what to do with him once he was there. But it's so frustrating that it seems like they never sat down and really thought about Alexander until the very end of the show. Alexander could have been a much better character if they'd taken advantage of his exposure not only to a vast number of different cultures, but to people like Picard and both Trois, to expand on this side of him before the final month of the show. To show that there are ways to engage with a society that aren't just compressing it into a monoculture. Still, it's encouraging to see that they did get there for now. Sorry for the essay, hopefully it was mostly coherent.

Narnman

you'll also miss who the director is but could use visual clues in the episode to see if you can guess who it is and then rewind back to the beginning to check who is right. like treat it like a mini game

John A

But then they will not see the writers or the directors. Back in the day they did spoil some of the guests in the teaser spots, so that they get the viewers to want to see the episodes.

David Brown

Patrick Stewart was barely in this episode because he was guest hosting Saturday Night Live the week this was filmed, and they rehearse during the week.

River Acheron

Honestly....they are. I dunno if you guys have seen DanDaDan. It's batshit in the best possible ways.

River Acheron

I don't think it's part of any contract that should say "as Quark" or any other character name. the actor's name should be sufficient and that way, you don't REALLY know if it will be that character or someone else. Secondly, I don't think it's part of any contract that the credits be at the beginning of the show. The end should be sufficient. I could be wrong but I'm thinking the real reason is these kinds of guest appearances were promoted on TV commercials before the episode aired. They WANTED fans to know.

Jon1701

I think back in the day, when spoilers were not such a thing, it was no biggie when we saw names in the credits because more often or not we had seen trailers or read magazines etc. If they are going for the full “release order” experience there are times when I think it wouldn’t do the lads any harm to watch the odd trailer in advance because they will be more hyped than just seeing a name in the titles.

TinMan_7B9

On the contrary. It's the one thing that saves this from being just another C-tier "I don't want to be a Klingon" Alexander episode.

Jovet

No. They weren't.

Jovet

Contrariwise, it's quite weird. It's more a Twilight Zone twist than Star Trek. Time travel in ST is already sketchy, this doesn't help. And if Alexander could come back in time, why wouldn't he have chosen instead to go back and prevent his mother's death at the hands of Duras??

tyranusfan

Was that the week Salt n Pepper was on?

reactive1

I was going to mention the forehead ridges and saw your comment, thanks for covering that.

reactive1

Yeah, “Enterprise” was available on Blu-Ray right off the bat and wasn’t remastered later like TNG. This was due to the way it was filmed versus how TNG, DS9, & Voyager were filmed.

River Acheron

We have zero idea what was offered to Alexander. Perhaps he could only travel so far back, or only to specific dates. It doesn't even take much head-canon to come up with a reason because we simply do not know. I think you're being extremely nit-picky about that. More to the point, perhaps Alexander accepted her death at this point. And saving her, he most likely would have realized would have changed history FAR FAR FAR more than he was trying to do here. I mean there's literally a dozen reasons why he wouldn't or couldn't save his mother and the episode doesn't need to tell us EVERYTHING Secondly, this is a personal preference but I LOVE the weird reality bending episodes and this is something TNG excelled at. Without the Alexander reveal, this would have been extremely dull, especially for a Klingon episode! We would have gotten a generic "wrap up" episode that absolutely would have suffered without the reality-bending stuff that I would argue most fans adore. Don't get me wrong, I didn't love this episode or anything. I give it a C+ mostly because it didn't do much for me. I rate it SLIGHTLY above standard. But without the Twilight Zone stuff? It would be an easy D for me.

Trekkie74205

Star Trek was the only franchise where anyone could submit a script without having the representation of an agent. The producers could buy the script just for an idea (future Alexander) and have a staff writer do a completely new script. So often these submissions were from people that had no other produced writing credits.

Aaron Wells

Nothing wrong with a little fan service. :)

Loot Narsbaar

My guess is the show itself purposely spoiled Quark's appearance months in advance hoping for some buzzzz

Loot Narsbaar

No need to remaster it because it was filmed and broadcast in HD

paultardspambot .

I think for Worf it's kind of the equivalent of your kid saying he doesn't want to finish high schoiol. From Worf's perspective at the beginning, he doesn't want Alexander to not do the things that would allow him to be a respectable Klingon if he wants to be part of that society later on.

Avaria

Oh, to be clear, I'm not saying Worf shouldn't be encouraging Alexander to experience as much of Klingon culture as possible. I definitely think he should. I just wish he was more open to understanding that there can be more than one path to doing so. Often when Alexander tries to absorb something Klingon he is being taught, but comes at it from a nontraditional angle, he gets shut down, usually without much explanation. Share why it's important to have an immersive appreciation of cultures , especially those you have ties to, even within a larger, broader society and you might see more enthusiasm.

Michael Metrick

I love the long openings. It sets the mood and establishes the grandeur of the series.

River Acheron

But it serves zero purpose nowadays

Miranda

I'm afraid I just find this episode boring. I want to like it. It has a bunch of elements I like. I like Worf. I like looking at his relationship to Klingon culture. But, this ends up being an entire episode about how Worf is a terrible parent. And the sci-fi time travel twist just doesn't work for me. I find it unnecessary. I thought maybe I would like it more this time on a rewatch, but I'm afraid it is about a B grade for me, too. Maybe C+?

Tim Nikiforovs

As S7 eps go, Firstborn is solid. I think B is a fair rating. Sloyan once again does a lot of the heavy lifting, and he has a lot more to work with than in The Alternate. Plus a cameo from the Duras sisters for old time's sake and a Quark crossover, what's not to like. Though whenever Worf says "I have seen you before", I always half expect him to follow it up with "you are a Romulan!!". Regarding why Riker decided to speak to Quark, originally there was going to be a scene where he talked to Sisko first, who then directed him to ask Quark. It does make a degree of sense given the Duras sisters are trying to lay low, and Quark tends to have his fingers in all sorts of shady business, but also Riker does have leverage on Quark as well. Or at least he had. I also don't know how K'Ehelyr would have worked, but it went far beyond a flash in the pan idea. They actually tried to get Suzie Plakson back and she was interested, but had other acting commitments. Actually oriiginally this episode had nothing to do with Alexander. Originally they would have found a Romulan ship with Federation markings and a future version of Riker from a time when the Romulans and Federation were at peace. But it would all turn out to be fake, part of a Romulan plot. It was deemed too generic. Regarding this episode, Michael dorn had this to say. "We don't really know what happens now. Just that the future is uncertain. It's just like real life, but Worf is still a terrible father. He hasn't got a clue." And there you have it, not that any of us needed the confirmation.

MJBull

Older Alexander: "By Kahless, I was such a dumbass." Worf: "Why does my son grow up to look like that Romulan detector? Should I get a DNA test?"

MJBull

Exactly. They did not want to hide that Quark was coming on TNG. It was part of marketing DS9.

MJBull

Worf had asked her to be Alexander's godmother equivalent.

MJBull

Yes. Nothing which is in the episode can be a spoiler. The showrunners wanted the audience to see it as it is presented.

J...

Notice that old Alexander has the exact same forehead ridges as young. They are similar within families, but like a fingerprint for the individual.