Synopsis: Lt. Worf works to free Klingons living in a Romulan prison camp.
This episode picks up on Lt. Worf’s story where “Birthright, Part I” left off. Worf is captured by Romulans and told that he must stay in this prison camp in which Romulans and Klingons live harmoniously. Worf is extremely resistant to this, as to him, who has lived outside this unique world created out of necessity, Romulans and Klingons are blood enemies. Yet, as resistant as Worf is to the idea of Romulans and Klingons living together, the older Klingons in the camp are equally as resistant to returning to the Klingon world, because that will cause shame upon their families. An elder Klingon tells Worf that if his son found him, he hopes that he would be Klingon enough to kill him.
Throughout this episode there is an ongoing resistance to change from the elder generation, and Worf himself. When Worf resists the society found in the camp his actions are analogous to how the conscious ego perceives bits of material from the unconscious that come into its awareness.
However, amid all this rational conscious ego action, there is a moment of somatic discovery that actually brings across the change Worf is hoping for in the young people in the camp. Worf starts doing movement exercises that we have seen him do in prior episodes, but without explaining what they are. The exercises are called the mokbara, “the form clears the mind and centers the body” (Echevarria & Curry, 1993). And Worf tells the younger generation in the camp Klingon stories, giving them back their myth. This is a bit of a paradox, because Worf, who’s rational ego will not let him accept the idea of Klingons and Romulans living together, is using the body and myth, both associated with the unconscious, in order to show the younger generation a different perspective. However, learning about things on the outside causes a need to change, which can be painful. As the young Bael states: “we were so happy. We didn’t know there was anything missing from our lives” (Echevarria & Curry, 1993).
At the end of “Birthright, Part II,” the elders realize that Worf has already changed the hearts of the younger generation, and that they will no longer be content in the camp. So, when Worf offers them transportation back to the Klingon Empire, they leave. They leave to do what is not easy, to try to find their true selves in a world that is not as tranquil or pleasant.
Reference:
Echevarria, R. (Writer), & Curry, D. (Director). (1993, February 27). Birthright, Part II (Season 6, Episode 17) [TV series episode]. In R. Berman & M. Piller (Executive Producers), Star trek: The next generation. Paramount Television.
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