I noticed on the two named male aliens, they appeared to have scars on their faces – is that to show that they\u2019re aliens, or something to do with their culture and tradition?<\/p>\n
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<\/h2>\n<\/h2>\nHonour and Culture<\/h2>\n
Honour and Culture<\/h2>\n
I\u2019m not sure what the point of the episode was – or whether it was designed that way deliberately. The main thrust of the episode seems to be that we must respect this other culture if we want to deal with them, but their notions of \u201chonour\u201d are weird and backwards to me.<\/p>\n
The idea that counting coup in a form of ritual kidnap and return can be reconciled – in the end, no harm, no foul. It\u2019ll be something to be more wary of next time. But not returning Tasha Yar after the kidnap seems to be breaking that ritual \u2013 it\u2019s clear that the aliens don\u2019t get it, they think that they are doing Picard a favour by allowing him to request her back.<\/p>\n
Nor does it seem honourable to me to declare \u201cI\u2019ll take her as my wife\u201d without giving her the chance to break your leg, entirely reasonably. You can\u2019t kidnap someone and then force them to marry you, unless both cultures allow such a thing.<\/p>\n
And as much as I understand the bias and highly subjective nature of it, I don\u2019t think that culture or tradition is an acceptable excuse for doing something wrong. Any suppression of a person\u2019s rights, be that because of gender, race, sexuality, health, is just plain wrong and it doesn\u2019t matter if \u201cthat\u2019s just their culture\u201d. They\u2019re wrong, and their culture is wrong. That doesn\u2019t need to be respected, even if for the greater good it must be tolerated.<\/p>\n
Equality of the Sexes<\/h2>\n
I feel like in some ways this was a more important part of the episode than the \u201chonour\u201d point. I think it was dealt with well – the only people making a big deal out of Tasha Yar being head of security were the aliens, whereas the Starfleet crew didn\u2019t really make a big deal out of it. Maybe they\u2019re so used to dealing with sexist cultures that they can take others actions in their stride, but they didn\u2019t go to great lengths to make their point of equality to the aliens.<\/p>\n
<\/h2>\nCultural Research<\/h2>\n
While some points in the episode show a great deal of research about the alien culture has been done, they seem to have completely missed the \u201critual kidnap\u201d custom there. That seems like the sort of thing people should be aware of\u2026 on the other hand, the one most likely to be aware of it is Tasha Yar and if Starfleet in general has such a culture of equality, why would she suspect that she would be kidnapped? Surely the Captain or First Officer would be better prizes. Perhaps ritual kidnap isn\u2019t that popular, and there\u2019s a lot of more likely things that need to be researched – for instance, how to convince these guys to give up their vaccine.<\/p>\n
I loved the fact that this is a race that has customs associated with their transporters – rolling out a red carpet before their leader beams aboard! It reminds me that Stargate SG-1, so much closer to our own time, lines the ramp to the Stargate with a ceremonial guard when they have visiting leaders and adapts some of the tradition and respect of the US military to a completely new context. It\u2019s a shame that this isn\u2019t used so much, and that everyone, from high to low, uses the transporter the same way.<\/p>\n
Weapons<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t get the impression that these women really have been training with the dangerous spiked gauntlet weapons – if they have, then their trainers are absolutely rubbish. They\u2019ve forgotten everything they ever knew about using them. I\u2019m not even sure that they\u2019re made correctly. There\u2019s so much apparent weight on them, sitting on the end of the arm, that ideally you wouldn\u2019t be swinging like they do in the episode \u2013 you\u2019re far too likely to miss, and end up striking yourself at the end of the arc. If anything, you\u2019d be better off in a sort of fencing pose to keep your killing fist as far from the rest of your body as possible and use jabbing actions to reduce the chance of hitting yourself. It seems much too easy to avoid a swing, then use your own weapon to push your opponent\u2019s weapon back into them. The momentum of their swing will add to your own push, and the humanoid arm is hinged to go back to it\u2019s own body very easily. Could be a short match if you had your timing right.<\/p>\n
Other Captains<\/h2>\n
How would the other captains have dealt with this? I think Sisko would have been much less diplomatic about things. He wouldn\u2019t have chatted to draw out information, he would have followed the letter of his obligation with obvious distaste, and once they\u2019d got the vaccine, I expect he would have told them where to shove their culture. I can\u2019t see him finding a way out of the fight to the death though. I expect that Kira would have been abducted, as the second in command and liberator of her world – Dax, while a more competent fighter (if she could use a bat\u2019leth), was only a science officer. Would she have been such a desirable prize? I can\u2019t see Kira giving in at all. She would be willing to scrap the vaccine to get herself, or anyone else, out. Sisko or the Bajoran government would have to convince her otherwise. Of everyone on DS9 I can see that she would suggest a rescue operation and steal the vaccine \u2013 she\u2019s not a long-term planner or a diplomat, and she is used to guerrilla operations to uphold her inflexible principles.<\/p>\n
Janeway\u2019s crew is another matter. If the aliens were aware of the Klingon reputation, then maybe they\u2019d have abducted B\u2019elanna. Kes, being a child and not a crewmember, would not be a prize and Seven of Nine would likely have broken his nose before Janeway returned. Janeway herself would be a valuable prize too, possibly the most valuable. Regardless of who is abducted, I can\u2019t see Janeway allowing the fight to go ahead. In the Delta Quadrant, there\u2019s less Starfleet interference so the vaccine mission would be one that they took on themselves and they\u2019d be in the unfavourable position of choosing between appeasing the aliens or giving up on someone they\u2019ve promised to help. If she was abducted, I can see her telling the crew to leave without her rather than acquiesce.<\/p>\n
Being in the unique position of not having to maintain diplomatic relations, I expect the Voyager crew would mount a raid and steal the vaccine they wanted (as well as rescue the captive) – as a payback for stealing their crew member. It can all be justified as being for the greater good.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
I just wasn\u2019t certain of the point of this episode. Are we supposed to respect other cultures regardless of their customs? Their giving Picard the opportunity to request Yar back, and the last thing we hear from the aliens (\u201cYou may excel in technology, but not in civilised behaviour.\u201d) both suggest that they are incredibly tolerant of Starfleet, and Starfleet need to be more polite. On the other hand, Picard and company don\u2019t seem to care too much. They certainly don\u2019t act like they\u2019ve been chastised and they make it clear that their only priority is to acquire the vaccine legally. It isn\u2019t said explicitly, but the impression is given that Tasha Yar would not be given a choice in the marriage. If she was, I doubt that she would have been returned, deathmatch or no deathmatch. \u201cWell, I abducted you, I refuse to return you because I want to marry you, and my wife wants to challenge you to the death. If you survive, I\u2019ll ask if you want to marry me and then respect your decision with grace and dignity.\u201d It just doesn\u2019t make much sense as a motivation. <\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t realise that Wesley was allowed onto the bridge so early \u2013 we\u2019re only on the third episode! At least he didn\u2019t screw anything up this time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I find it incredibly difficult to write \u201chonour\u201d incorrectly, like the actual title of the episode is. So I won\u2019t. This was an interesting episode. It was quite obviously an Original Series episode, in the way that it was shot, dressed, the aliens are \u201creally humanoid\u201d (meaning entirely human with no latex). If you swapped … <\/p>\n