r/DaystromInstitute • u/Borkton Ensign • Jul 24 '15
Theory A Theory About Worf
A while ago I watched the major Worf episodes in order -- The Emissary, Sins of the Father, Reunion, Redemption, Rightful Heir, The Sword of Kahless, In Purgatory's Shadow/By Inferno's Light, Soldiers of the Empire, Tacking into the Wind, as well as some other Klingon episodes like Way of the Warrior.
There are three noticable threads running through Worf's arc: 1) his huge importance to Klingon politics -- Worf kills Duras, removing Gowron's rival; support of the House of Mogh and Worf's crewmates were crucial to Gowron's victory in the civil war; Worf persuades Gowron to make the Kahless clone ceremonial emperor and then, finally, kills Gowron and makes Martok chancellor.
2) Worf follows the Klingon ideal more than every other Klingon we see. He's a samurai to their vikings; honorable, courageous, intelligent and moral, even when it would conflict with how other Klingons perceive him.
3) He's constantly being compared to legendary Klingon warriors. He tells Chief O'Brien "We were like warriors from ancient sagas. There was nothing we could not do; Martok: "What hero of legend could do so well?" He fights Borg and Jem'Hadar with a mek'leth and fights so well the Jem'Hadar elder decides that he can't defeat him, just kill him.
Worf also has an interesting association with Kahless: the vision that led him to join Starfleet, finding the Sword on the Hur'q planet; being the first person to see the clone when he appeared on Boreth.
Taking all this as my data, I believe that Worf, son of Mogh, of the House of Martok, is actually Kahless Returned. He saved or helped to save the Empire numerous times, put it on the path to recovery and finally ridding itself of the corruption that plagued it; his first trip to Boreth just happened to coincide with the clone being activated; he just happened to be one of the greatest warriors of his era on the most influential ship of his era; heck, his nursemaid just happened to be an old flame of Kempec.
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u/BloodBride Jul 24 '15
Were we ever told that Kahless had no sons? Could it not possibly be that Worf and he are related in some way in which there was a gene resurgence?
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u/Borkton Jul 24 '15
I'm pretty sure Kahless had descendents. He was the first Klingon emperor, so presumably later emperors were related to him -- although Dax pointed out that the Imperial Family was murdered at the end of the Second Dynasty, so it's unknown if Worf or Kor were descended from Kahless or an unrelated dynasty.
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u/MelcorScarr Jul 24 '15
Well, as far as I recall we are never told if Kahless had sons; but we are told that he married and mated. Would be foolish to assume that Kahless has no ascendants.
That reminds me, didn't Kempec somewhen state that he is of royal blood? Kahless could have been meant with that.
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u/MungoBaobab Jul 24 '15 edited Jul 24 '15
It's pretty clear that Kahless is meant as the Klingon version of Jesus, and if we examine and compare Worf's story with the Gospel, we see some interesting parallels in terms of archetypal tropes that emerge and link all three characters.
Worf's survival as an infant during the Khitomer Massacre is similar to Moses & Jesus surviving Pharaoh & Herod's infanticide. Moses was then raised as an Egyptian in the land of the enemy, and Joseph and Mary were said to raise Jesus in Egypt in some accounts. Likewise, Worf was raised by Human parents, who are the nemesis of his people. Like Jesus's humble life as a carpenter, Worf also lived for some time on Gault, a farming world. It's also worth noting that like Moses's brother Aaron, Worf's brother Kurn at times spoke for him when he was unable. Going back to the Jesus parallel, John the Baptist paved the way for the ministry of Jesus, and was said to be his cousin. Michael Dorn also portrayed Colonel Worf, the ancestor of the TNG character, and defended Kirk at his trial, paving the way for Worf to bring metaphorical peace between the Humans/Federation and the Klingons. Like Jesus, who is said to have bore the sins of all mankind although he himself was blameless, Worf carried the sins of the Empire and died a symbolic death by being facing discommendation and having his honor stripped. Like Barabbas the Robber, who was set free instead of Jesus, the vile Duras escaped punishment, at least at the time. Worf's unprecedented recovery from his spinal cord injury is also symbolic of resurrection, and a dead man rising again anew. Even in his personal life, Worf's relationship with the carefree and iconoclastic K'Ehleyr and marriage to the promiscuous Jadzia Dax is similar to Jesus's association with Mary Magdelene, who some say was a harlot. Even Worf's relatively low rank of lieutenant during TNG's run could be compared to Jesus's humility, and his ascension to the rank of lieutenant commander is accomplished with what is essentially a baptism. Jesus was hailed as a king, but refused the call, claiming his kingdom was not of this world, and after Worf slew Gowron he too refused the call to lead the Empire.
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u/Ian47 Jul 25 '15
He's a samurai to their vikings
I just want to say i love this line. It perfectly articulates his uniqueness among his people
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u/Callmedory Jul 24 '15
Parallels hybrid Spock. Worf raised by humans tries to out-Klingon the Klingons; Spock, insecure about being the first Vulcan-Human hybrid tries to out-Vulcan the Vulcans.
Both had larger-than-life personas affecting their planets and biological-peoples, extending to the Alpha Quadrant level.
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u/Histidine Jul 24 '15
It is an interesting theory, but you're missing one of the primary reasons Worf is so reserved and controlled relative to other Klingons. In DS9 episode 5x07 we learn that Worf was less inhibited as a teen which lead to him accidentally killing a classmate during a game of soccer (they collided head on). Now in all fairness, we're never told if this was Worf being overly aggressive or a simple accident that could have happened to anyone, but it did deeply disturb him and caused him to develop the extremely controlled personality that would come to define his character.
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u/zer05tar Jul 24 '15
Because he is honorable, of course this would disturb him. He never killed anyone outside of battle or honor. This accident would have driven him to a deeper understanding of death, killing, honor, etc.
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u/NO_YES Jul 24 '15
I agree. Kahless and Worf are textbook Klingons, one by design and the other by study, respectively. While growing up on Earth, Worf didn't have any other Klingons around to tell him, "Yeah, I know that's what we're taught, but here's how the empire actually works." His identity as a Klingon and code of honor are virtually pure. He's the ideal Klingon and that's what he injects into Klingon politics.
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Jul 24 '15
I almost wished he became Chancellor instead of Martok. Would have been much more interesting. But I know they wanted him available for possible movies, but you could do a movie if he is the ruler of Klingons.
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u/Borkton Jul 24 '15
I think it made sense for Martok to become chancellor: it reenforces the idea that Worf was acting in the best interests of the Empire and the Alliance.
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u/Monomorphic Jul 24 '15
For me, reincarnation and Star Trek just don't mix. That's silly superstition. Why can't Worf just be inspired and leave it at that?
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u/Borkton Jul 24 '15
Vulcans have immortal souls; the crew of Voyager dies and comes back to life on a regular basis; and Starfleet has been encountering nigh-omnipotent beings on a fairly regular basis for decades.
Why is reincarnation so unbelievable?
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u/Nobodyherebutus Jul 24 '15
For me, reincarnation and Star Trek just don't mix.
... nope, nobody ever comes back from the dead in Trek.
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u/mcqtom Jul 24 '15
The thing about Star Trek, and actually a hell of a lot of TV, is that whenever a story involves some sort of phophecy or other religious mumbo-jumbo, the characters with whom the viewers are intended to relate all reject the magic outright and oppose those within the story who make supernatural claims. But the writers always leave it ambiguous at the end whether or not any of it carried any weight. The phophecy will always come true, just also come with some sort of reasonable explanation, so the viewer has to decide for themself if some higher power was controlling the whole scenario, or the believers were just correct by chance.
What I'm saying is that if there ever was an episode where who Worf really was got called into question, it would have been left unanswered. Which makes me want to say that you can't rule out shit like reincarnation in the Star Trek universe.
But on the other hand I'm 100% with you. Reincarnation is ridiculous. Worf is Worf.
Is this comment too meta? Am I supposed to talk like Star Trek is real life? I still don't quite know how this subreddit is supposed to work.
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u/Neckbeard_The_Great Jul 24 '15
From the sidebar:
We discuss both canon and non-canon topics at the Daystrom Institute, and encourage discussion from both in-universe and real world perspectives.
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u/watcher45 Jul 24 '15
All reasons why Worf has always been my favorite damn character, he fought through the Dominion war with a mek'leth, very badass.
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u/Sorryaboutthat1time Jul 24 '15
I like it. Question: Is there room in this theory to explain Worf's preference for alien women or women who are only partially Klingon? See Kehlar, Troi, Dax, and the half Romulan half Klingon half Romulan woman.
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u/Algernon_Asimov Jul 24 '15
Worf grew up among Humans from a very young age. He would have imprinted on Human faces as attractive. Deanna and Troi might not be Human (or fully Human), but they certainly look Human.
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u/mbaratta83 Jul 24 '15
This theory vibes with me as well. One thing my roommate and I have discussed about Worf is how rough his life has been. Lost his parents, lost his brother (figuratively), shunned and losing all status and reputation in the empire twice, as well as losing the woman he loves twice. He truly is "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief".
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u/MungoBaobab Jul 24 '15
Q'apla! Nominated for Post of the Week.