A pause to the war and a Klingon Wedding. Originally airing on November 10, 1997 this is You Are Cordially Invited. As a special treat this post was translated into Klingon using the microsoft translator. Check it out here!
The Episode:
Station Log Stardate 51247.5 You Are Cordially Invited
Worf and Jadzia find that their wedding is not going along as planned when they discover they have to seek the approval of General Martok’s wife and Matriarch of the family, Sirella.
The Breakdown:
Although the Dominion War is far from over, the mood on the station is a jubilant one in the weeks following the successful reclamation of Deep Space Nine by the Federation.
Sisko finds himself coming face to face with Martok who is shocked and frustrated at his new appointment as the Supreme Commander of the Klingon 9th Fleet. Martok requests that Worf continue his appointment as the General’s Intelligence officer. Sisko agrees and they begin discussing Worf, his family and how Alexander is a relative screw-up. Meanwhile, Worf and Jadzia share a drink with Worf’s son who informs them that he is being transferred to the IKS Ya’Vang. Jadzia realizes that it may be some time before Worf and Alexander are reunited and insists on having the wedding sooner than later so that Alexander can function as Worf’s Best Man.
Worf and Jadzia begin preparing for their upcoming nuptials each in their own ways. Jadzia finds herself looking forward to a fun party while Worf calls his closest friends to participate Kal’Hayah which is essentially a Klingon Bachelor Party. Martok informs Sisko that Jadzia may not know it but she will have to deal with his wife, Sirella as the Trill will be entering the House of Martok and must earn her way in. Jadzia soon finds that Sirella is not someone to trifle with and, it is clear her work is cut out for her.
Worf confronts Martok about his wife’s Xenophobic views toward outsiders as Sirella has made it clear that she is opposed to the union. Martok warns Worf that he should stay out of the situation as Sirella doesn’t really like Worf either.
Soon Worf’s Kal’Heyah begins and the group, including Bashir, O’Brien, Alexander, Sisko, Martok and Worf find themselves on the holodeck ready to enjoy their party. The party begins with a fast that will take place over four days. The group soon finds that there are five trials that include Blood, pain, sacrifice, anguish and death. Between the fasting, hanging over hot coals and lots of pain, it is soon clear that this is not the Bachelor party that everyone was expecting.
Meanwhile, Jadzia finds herself undergoing mental, physical and emotional abuse under Sirella’s hand. Before long Sirella makes it clear that the Trill will never be ‘one of them’ despite how much Dax proves her worth.
Not willing to just accept her studies, Dax throws a celebration party with a fire dancer and music for all to enjoy. Everyone is invited (with the exception of Worf’s party goers) and it is not long before Sirella arrives and, seeing that Jadzia is too busy ‘acting like a Risian Slut’, causes a scene and storms off. The next morning, Jadzia is hungover and, finds herself defending her position when Worf arrives informing his fiance that Sirella has cancelled the wedding. Worf asks Jadzia to go apologize to Sirella so that they can have a traditional ceremony but, when she refuses, Worf tells Jadzia that they should not be married.
Aboard the Defiant, Worf is visited by Martok who informs his friend that he has made a grave error. Worf tries to justify his position in his decision to call off the wedding, but Martok points out that they are perfect for one another. Worf realizes his mistake and goes to apologize to Jadzia who refuses to change her mind. Sisko, having had a long friendship with Dax, heads off to discuss the matter with her. In her quarters, Sisko finds Jadzia furious and acting out. There he explains that Jadzia has over 300 years of experience and needs to act like it. After a brief discussion, she realizes that she needs to grow up and apologizes to Sirella for her inappropriate actions.
That evening, the ceremony begins and soon the two are married. Jadzia Dax and Worf are joined as part of House Martok.
Is this a ‘Good’ Episode:
As you know, if you have been following along, I love the Klingon-centric episodes. There is something very cool about how this warrior race is portrayed and every glimpse into their culture we get makes for a cool addition into the deep lore that is Klingon culture. For the first time we get a chance to see a Klingon Wedding and what an outsider has to go through in order to be accepted into a Klingon family. I have to say, it was a rather satisfying trial even if the characters don’t seem to enjoy it.
From the get go it was clear that the two had a kinship with Jadzia’s appreciation for Klingon Heritage to Worf’s sense of honor and duty and for the two to find happiness together on the show (albeit for a short time), is nothing short of awesome.
Outside of the obvious relationship, if you were paying attention to the episode, there was another relationship being mended in the background. Throughout the episode, Kira and Odo begin to fix their rather damaged friendship after the rough time the two had during the Dominion Occupation of DS9. While it seems like a cheap way to do it, these subtle side moments pay off in the long run with the two well on their way to mending things as the season continues.
I do love that this episode effectively corrects the misconception that Women have no status in the Klingon Empire. It would seem that women run the individual houses while the men run the government itself. Seeing that no Klingon male would ever bring dishonor to their house, the women actually hold the most power in Klingon Society even though it does not appear like it from an outside perspective.
Now, my biggest complaint about this episode. Where the hell were Worf’s friends and family? I mean, the Rozhenko’s alone should have been there but so should the crew of the Enterprise. After serving for 7 years with them and with Worf conveniently returning for specific adventures, it would seem that at least one of the many crew-members of the Federation flagship could have attended. Sure, you can argue that there is a war on or that they moved the wedding day up but for not one of them to attend is just BS. Not only that, for Worf to then attend Riker’s wedding later on, yeah sorry Worf but your Enterprise friends are pretty lame.
Overall, outside of the glaringly apparent missing guests, this was great episode that solidifies a fantastic journey for two of the characters and subtly begins the journey of another two. While the War with the Dominion is far from over, it is these bright spots that show us why the battle must be won by the Federation.
Gleanings and Cool Bits:
- Jake manages to finally get published, even though he isn’t being paid for it.
- This is the last time we see Alexander on the series, or on Star Trek all together. Man I hope we get to see him in a later series.
- This is the only physical appearance of Sirella in the series but her presence is not soon forgotten as she is mentioned several more times.
Thanks for reading the Retro TV Review, I look forward to discussing the rest of the series with you, one episode at a time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Next Review: Resurrection
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Late To The Game 12/20/2019
Special Thanks to Memory Alpha as they are one of the best sources for details on Star Trek information available. Although I have a pretty deep knowledge on the subject, they have proven invaluable as a regular resource.
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Klingon Translations by:
https://tradukka.com/translate/en/tlh
https://hol.kag.org/page/pIqaD.html
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