This Underrated Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Is Actually One Of Worf's Best

Michael Dorn's surly Klingon Starfleet officer, Worf son of Mogh, is probably the greatest character innovation in Star Trek: The Next Generation. From the moment he walked onto the bridge in "Encounter at Farpoint" in the first episode of TNG, then-lieutenant Worf has had an undeniable presence, drawing the gaze of audiences and crew members alike. He is tough, and, as he proclaims in "Qpid," "not a merry man." Having held positions ranging from Starfleet Captain to Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire, it’s not a stretch to say Worf was the most important Klingon of the 24th century.

Ethics" (S5:E16) Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Summary

After his TNG introduction, Worf became a recurring character in both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Picard, and, with every appearance, Worf rose to the occasion and shown how capable a Klingon can be in Starfleet. Of course, this was not always a given. In Star Trek: The Original Series the Klingon Empire and the Federation were far from friendly, so Worf's presence on the USS Enterprise in TNG revealed a Star Trek paradigm shift. To become the hero he was meant to be, Worf had to grow and change - that growth started in TNG.

"Ethics" Is A Great Lieutenant Worf Star Trek: TNG Episode

It Reveals Worf's Dual Love For Honor And Family

Star Trek TNG Ethics Alexander and Worf on the Floor

Lieutenant Worf's best episode in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which best reveals the emotional depths of his warrior's soul, is season 5, episode 16: "Ethics." Over the first five seasons of TNG, Lt. Worf's identity is slowly built outwards and expanded upon. He is not just a threatening force on Captain Jean Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) bridge, Worf is a poker player who drinks tea, loves Klingon Opera, and has a young son, Alexander Rozhenko (Brian Bonsall). "Ethics" puts Worf in a position where an injury strips all those things away.

As a result, seeing Worf confront the limitations of his own body is incredibly moving. Because Worf understands himself first and foremost as a warrior, he sees suicide as the more honorable alternative to living with paralysis. The scene where Worf asks Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to help him die is incredibly well handled, as is Commander Riker's refusal. The fact that it is his son, Alexander, that convinces Lt. Worf that life is worth fighting for, no matter his physical abilities, is one of the most gut-wrenching scenes in Star Trek.

"Ethics" totally defies that criticism and shows Lt. Worf at his most reflective and vulnerable.

While other Worf-centric episodes of The Next Generation, such as "Redemption" or "Tacking into the Wind," show Worf navigating his position relative to his Starfleet values and Klingon heritage, "Ethics" takes a much more introspective approach to the lieutenant. The greatest criticism that can be lobbied against Lt. Worf, especially in the early seasons of TNG, is that he is sometimes treated as more of a wall of muscle than as a character. "Ethics" totally defies that criticism and shows Lt. Worf at his most reflective and vulnerable.

Philosophical Episodes Are What Star Trek: TNG Does Best

From "The Measure Of A Man" To "The Inner Light," TNG Is Best When It Makes You Think

Star Trek TNG Ethics Alexander and Worf bedroom

What makes "Ethics" stand out as such an excellent episode, not only for Lt. Worf but also for Star Trek: The Next Generation in general, is the manner it handles incredibly fraught subject matters: disability and suicide. This slots "Ethics" in among other top tier TNG episodes that deal with questions of morality and philosophy. Across the board, the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation are episodes like "The Measure of a Man," where Lt. Commander Data's (Brent Spiner) personhood is put on trial, and "Chain of Command," where Captain Picard withstands torture in defense of truth.

Even "The Inner Light," which is frequently held up as one of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, deals with immensely philosophical questions of the nature of experience, memory, and what it means to live a life. In other words, the best TNG episodes are episodes that make audiences confront the implications of ideology. "Ethics" stands out among these other excellent episodes because it takes those strong philosophical foundations and applies them to Lt. Worf: a character who did not receive much philosophical treatment early in TNG.

Worf Wouldn't Be Who He Is On Star Trek: DS9 Without TNG's "Ethics"

Before He Can Fight The Dominion And Love Dax, Worf Has To Learn To Look Within

Kor (John Colicos) lifts a Klingon bat'leth from a glowing table with Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) and Worf (Michael Dorn) standing behind him in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sword of Kahless.

Despite how excellent Lt. Worf is in TNG's "Ethics," Starfleet's only Klingon officer wouldn't really come into his own until Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. On that Bajoran space station, Lt. Commander Worf became a hero in the Dominion War, helping to secure the first ever military alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Worf became the first officer of the USS Defiant, and was able to go toe to toe with Jem Hadar soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.

The only version of Worf capable of these accomplishments is a version Worf that knows himself fully and unapologetically.

Perhaps most importantly, and most revealingly, Lt. Commander Worf also met, fell in love with, and married Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) while serving on Deep Space Nine. The only version of Worf capable of these accomplishments is a version Worf that knows himself fully and unapologetically. That journey of introspection began in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Ethics," and Worf would not be a complete character without it.