‘ETHICS’ (TNG)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This is a story where Worf injures his spine after having a barrel container fall onto his back from above. It’s also a story for Beverly Crusher who tries to save Worf’s life using an unorthodox approach.
The episode begins with Worf and Geordi in cargo bay #3 where the accident happens. After Worf’s taken to sick bay, he’s informed by Beverly Crusher that his spine’s damaged and that there is no cure.
Wow! You’d think that there would be a cure for everything medical-wise in the 24th century, wouldn’t you? I suppose the idyllic future does have its limits and it was so intriguing to show that in the episode.
Beverly Crusher soon calls on the services of Caroline Kava as Dr. Toby Russell, a medical specialist. Yeah Toby’s a man’s name I know, but if Bill can have a man’s name in ‘Doctor Who’ why not in ‘Star Trek’?
Dr. Russell comes to help with saving Worf’s life and restoring his spine. She suggests a risky and possibly life-threatening, experimental, untested procedure that might allow Worf to regain mobility.
Essentially she suggests they clone Worf’s spine, extract the original and replace it with the new one. Beverly Crusher isn’t happy with this suggestion by Dr. Russell as she considers the risk to be too great.
It’s interesting how Beverly works with Dr. Russell. They start off being optimistic and getting on well before this level of tension and friction between them. The ethics dilemma comes into play in the episode.
Beverly puts her patients first before trying any untested method to save somebody’s life. Dr. Russell is a gambler and seeks success in her untested methods, which is what Beverly greatly disapproves of.
As Beverly and Dr. Russell visit Worf in his quarters, where he’s lying in bed unmoving, it’s suggested they give him implants to help him regain 60% of his mobility. Worf is not entirely happy with the idea.
Dr. Russell then mentions the risky method of replacing his old spine with a new one to Worf. This plants a seed in Worf, giving him some hope. Beverly is not happy that Russell blurted to him like that.
As Worf is immobile in bed, he considers his life to be over. He refuses to see his son Alexander and demands that Riker, who he considers his close comrade, to kill him in a certain Klingon ritual of death.
Riker however refuses to help kill a friend. He consults with Captain Picard on the matter, but Picard insists that it’s Worf’s wish to be killed due to his Klingon beliefs. Riker does not see it that way though.
Eventually in a scene where Riker has the knife and the Klingon robes to conduct the death ritual in Worf’s quarters, a point gets raised. Riker tells Worf it’s a family member who must conduct the ritual.
The only family member of Worf’s on board the Enterprise is his son, Brian Bonsall as Alexander. This is Brian Bonsall’s second appearance as Alexander in the ‘TNG’ series. I liked Alexander in this episode.
Alexander wants to see his father despite being refused to see him. Eventually he gets to see his father when he has implants for a temporary measure. But this doesn’t end well when Worf falls to the floor.
When Worf sees his son a second time regarding the death ritual, he is unable to ask his son to do it. I liked it when Worf tells Alexander to return his knife back to their quarters and his son agrees to do so.
Worf decides to undergo the risky medical procedure to restore his spine. Beverly is reluctant but soon agrees to it. I did like the scene where Picard sees Beverly and persuades her to conduct the procedure.
Eventually, Beverly, Dr. Russell and Patti Yasutake as Nurse Ogawa conduct the procedure of extracting Worf’s old spine and placing in the new one. It’s so tense when the procedure seems to fail.
It seems Worf is dead when everything was going so well. But just as Alexander and Deanna Troi see Worf in the medical lab, Worf miraculously comes back to life which was so astonishing for me to see.
I like how the episode ends with Beverly questioning Russell’s methods in medical procedures. I also liked it when Alexander helps Worf to find his feet again since it’ll take time to get used to his new spine.
‘Ethics’ is a pretty decent episode in the ‘TNG’ series. It’s not a highly action-packed episode and is more a character piece. But it’s decently well-written with Worf immobile as Beverly tries to give back his life.
‘Ethics’ (TNG) rating – 7/10
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