[TNG] Season 6, Episode 23: Rightful Heir
Rating: 2
Star Trek can often have a well meaning but ultimately condescending feeling when dealing with religion, and Rightful Heir is a good example of that. Here, and in most other religion themed episodes, it usually boils down to a sentiment along the lines of “belief in something is good!” with the implication generally being the actual thing that is being believed isn’t really important. It’s a baffling position to take, but if the problems with this episode were purely thematic, it could still earn a higher rating from us. Unfortunately, it’s a weirdly dull episode, considering Klingon Jesus turns up. A huge factor is that Kahless should be an incredibly compelling personality. There would be a ton of great drama to mine from a faithful person encountering the real subject of their devotion, and how that subject both aligns and differs from the worshipper’s preconceived notion of them. But Kahless is pretty bland – and instead of Worf dealing with that more fully, the time is split so that there can be some dry and predictable intrigue around whether he’s real or not. The whole thing is never bad enough to be a 1, but there’s nothing really to recommend.
Read more at Memory Alpha
Notes:
