With his political power faded, Kor comes to Worf for a job aboard a Klingon ship, where he might die in glorious battle. But Martok has a bitter hatred for Kor, and is incensed at Worf's efforts to help. Plus, Kor's mental faculties are in decline, which may put all of them at risk on their dangerous mission.
In the early seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I'd often ding episodes for focusing too much on their guest stars and not enough on the main characters. Part of me wants to ding this episode for the same reason: it's an episode all about Kor, who has appeared only twice prior on the show (plus once in the original series and once on the animated series). The meaty roles in this story are his and Martok's. Worf's part is marginal at best, a fact which actor Michael Dorn even brought to script writer Ronald Moore's attention. Moore acknowledged the issue, saying he'd imagined more of a "caught in the middle" struggle for Worf (that didn't really materialize), and promising he would fight to give Worf a good story before the series ended.
Deep Space Nine earns episodes like this, though. Over years, it patiently built up a stable of secondary characters through increasingly prominent appearances, to the point where it feels as necessary to feature them in episodes as the characters listed in the opening credits. I myself probably wouldn't have put Kor into that category... but then, I don't always like the Klingon-centric stories. And if maybe I wouldn't give Kor a big send-off, I don't begrudge one for actor John Colicos, whose decades-long career and place in science fiction fandom (besides this, he was the original Baltar in the original Battlestar Galactica) merit attention. Indeed, this performance in "Once More Unto the Breach," was his final acting role before his death.
It really is a fine meal for John Colicos. He starts out almost the villain in his entitlement, appropriate since the character began as a villain some 30 years prior. But his sliding mental faculties make him sympathetic, and his quiet retort to the mocking by Martok and his crew flips the roles and makes Martok the villain for a moment. Kor gets other great moment too: offering condolences to Worf over the death of Jadzia, reminiscing with Ezri Dax (and once again showing how cool he is with the changing nature of Trills), and regaling an audience with tales of triumph.
And there's a lot more to like in the episode. The central conflict here is one of class struggle, and it's quite compelling. Ronald Moore was looking for something to put Kor and Martok against each other, and says he was inspired by the actors' performances: John Colicos seemed to play Kor as an aristocratic and entitled figure, while J.G. Hertzler played Martok as more of a down-to-earth man. The story that Martok's career was blocked by the casual disdain of the lofty Kor -- a moment so insignificant to Kor that he can't even remember it -- feels honest and potent.
Hertzler, who considered his own family to be blue collar, relished the story he'd been given, and really threw himself into this performance. Some of the best flourishes in the episode were his. When explaining his feud with Kor, the detail that Martok's father died before Martok became an officer was a line Hertzler added -- and ad libs were something the actors on Star Trek are almost never allowed to do. At the end, when the crew sings in honor of Kor, the fact that Martok does not join them was a specific choice Hertzler fought for -- he knew Martok could pity the man, but never truly forgive him.
Worf is on the sidelines for most of the episode, but still comes in off the bench for one or two good moments. His opening comment to Bashir and O'Brien as they debate the Alamo is insightful: essentially that there is no point in having a legend if you aren't going to believe in it. (This is the same thesis statement that closes the episode.) The moment Worf catches a thrown knife right out the air is almost ridiculous, but executed so well that it actually works. And in the end, he goes full Starfleet with a wild, technology-based plan to save the day.
Other observations:
- Guest actor Neil Vipond makes a real meal of his small role as Martok's aide Darok. It's a shame the character wasn't brought back again after this. Or perhaps more a shame that, if he wasn't going to be brought back, he didn't go off with Kor on the desperate mission to save them rest.
- More great final season visuals. The atmospheric maneuvers of the Klingon ships, with strafing runs and a mix of CG ships and practical explosions, looks great. In contrast, we don't see Kor's final battle... which actually works better for the story and isn't just a matter of saving money.
- Ezri orders a Moscow Mule, a rare moment when a real-world alcoholic beverage is mentioned in Star Trek.
Even though I might not have bothered with a sendoff for Kor, I mostly liked this episode. I give "Once More Unto the Breach" a B.
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