Episode #39: Blood Oath
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Episode #39: Blood Oath
BLOOD OATH (prod. #439; episode #19 of 2nd season)
written by Peter Allan Fields; Directed by Winrich Kolbe
JOHN COLICOS as KOR WILLIAM CAMPBELL as KOLOTH MICHAEL ANSARA as KANG
(from ERRAND OF MERCY) (from THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES) (from DAY OF THE DOVE)
This episode was something of a treat for old time Trek fans - the ones who well remembered the old TOS episodes. This was one of the few episodes which featured characters from the original series - in this case, Kor, Koloth and Kang - all Klingons who appeared in 3 of the original episodes.
The story is flavored with nostalgia, of bygone days, and this atmosphere is probably best appreciated by the older fans.
In the plot, the three old Klingons have all shown up at DS9. They're either grumpy, drunk or very grim, depending on which Klingon we're speaking of, but they're also on a mission. The story goes that 81 years ago, these 3 Klingon captains had been assigned to stop the rampages of some diabolical space pirate called 'The Albino.' The Klingons succeeded but the Albino got his revenge by killing their children. The Klingons swore a blood oath of vengeance. Oh, yes, there was a 4th member involved in this blood oath - godfather Curzon Dax; Curzon is gone but Dax lives on as Jadzia Dax. The story revolves around Jadzia's internal struggle with committing to this form of justice (Sisko & the Federation may regard it as murder), with her convincing the old Klingons that she is capable of accompanying them and then the actual assault on the Albino's fortress.
The joy, if you will, of this episode is watching the 3 veteran actors reenact three classic roles; between the three of them, they had about 100 years of acting experience by this point and they make the most of it. Colicos especially shines in his reinterpretation of Kor as some latter-day Falstaff. Campbell is the grumpy one while Ansara has never been more grim - it's Ansara as Kang who truly recalls his role from 25 years earlier; he's pretty much the same while the other two have sort of mellowed in their golden years. Ansara probably has the best scenes, such as when he speaks of the changing days for Klingons (he mentions Klingons now starting up restaurants, an obvious reference to the Klingon eatery we've seen in a couple of previous episodes).
There's also a well-acted scene between Terry Farrell as Dax and Nana Visitor as Kira when Dax asks her about her killing ways during the days of the resistance. But, this and a couple of other scenes involving the ethics & repercussions of committing a murder take on an odd tone in the context of this story. Klingons, of course, would find such discussions laughable - to them, killing in revenge, like dying in battle, is the greatest honor. They certainly would not 'feel' the personal impact of such an act, like feeling a part of themselves die. Well, anyway... depends on the alien, I guess.
ABOVE: Sketch of the Albino's Fortress
Extra Deep Space Trivia: Colicos as Kor would return in a couple more DS9 episodes, while Ansara would turn up as Kang in an episode of Voyager (Flashback) Similar topics
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