Worf has great parents
Posted by happydude7422@reddit | TNG | View on Reddit | 172 comments
Posted by happydude7422@reddit | TNG | View on Reddit | 172 comments
lyidaValkris@reddit
It always bugged me that Worf wasn't very respectful and proud of his adoptive parents and their culture.
Just imagine - we could have had a russian-klingon. How amazing would that be?
They were so very nice and supportive of him. Worf is just as bad of a son as he is a father... and husband. I really don't like Worf, actually.
greeneggiwegs@reddit
I feel like they were so tied up in having a Klingon character do Klingon things they forgot he spent the vast majority of his life on earth. I’m not against him connecting to his culture, but sometimes it feels like he knows nothing about humanity.
TJRex01@reddit
No, that’s the point - he’s an immigrant who needs to,prove he’s the real deal. He’s obsessed with being more,Klingon than the Klingons. Deep down he’s worried about being Klingon enough.
The Klingons from the actual Klingon empire are significantly different from him. Most of them are scum bags obsessed with intrigue and manipulation. Ezra calls them out on this in the last season of DS9 - for most Klingons, honor is just a facade.
And the “Klingons don’t laugh”, even in TNG Guinan called him out on it, and Riker serving aboard a Klingon vessel involves Roker connecting with his new Klingon crew with humor. (By being a himbo “one or both”?)
AccomplishedEmu1886@reddit
Al Roker on a glingon ship.
lyidaValkris@reddit
another fun layer of irony on top of that was he was so obsessed with being klingon, he went overboard and failed to be klingon. This was demonstrated easily every time he met another klingon who showed up his pre-conceptions of what he thought was his culture.
Temporary_Spread7882@reddit
He’s also an idealist - took all that whole honour, self sacrifice and service for the greater good of the empire talk seriously, when it was all just scheming and selfish power games for those in charge, and selfish drunken fighting for basically just enjoyment for the regular warriors.
I love the arc when he quits Starfleet in Redemption 1+2 all bright eyed and bushy tailed in order to be a “real” klingon, then experiences how the real klingons actually roll, and is so grateful to be able to come back to Starfleet where his supposedly Klingon warrior ideals are actually adhered to much more closely.
EveningArmadillo5429@reddit
"I've heard Klingon belly laughs that'll make your toes curl."
TheFarnell@reddit
Worf initially expressed interest in Russian culture but his parents tried to protect him from excessive drinking, opera, political intrigue, and violence, so they pushed him to Klingon culture instead.
greeneggiwegs@reddit
I love in DS9 when he said Klingons don’t laugh. Tf you mean bro they laugh all the time. YOU don’t laugh.
theadamabrams@reddit
That was in Redemption Part 1 (here). It's very possible he said in DS9 too.
lyidaValkris@reddit
One of my favourite Worf/Kern moments. I loved Kern for trying to get him to live a little.
Zauberer-IMDB@reddit
Hahaha. Impossible.
WolverineComplex@reddit
I’d say that’s actually quite accurate and how it would be though
lyidaValkris@reddit
truth
slinger301@reddit
Worf is a Klingon fanboy. It was like watching an American samurai fan traveling to Japan.
Sea-Quality4726@reddit
He's also a high ranking noble of the imperial bloodline. So most people won't correct him, and the ones that could enjoyed making things up and laughing at him more.
deadrepublicanheroes@reddit
Klingaboo
LiamtheV@reddit
A Klingaboo, if you will.
BigConstruction4247@reddit
Worf is a weeb.
WolverineComplex@reddit
Yeah and we see real life examples of people being like that!
AdhesivenessGlum1143@reddit
Dax (both Jadzia and Curson) had a much better understanding of Klingon culture than him and vibed much better with random Klingons. I wonder if that ever made him feel some kind of way…
NarmHull@reddit
I think it's that, but also sometimes people who are adopted into different cultures try to find their roots, and often overcompensate. Often true Klingons find Worf's hyper-Klingon weeabo nature annoying.
Legitimate_Lion_3575@reddit
I have to agree. My daughter is half Mexican and seems to denounce her white DNA all the time. Although it might be less of that and more of just not wanting to be like her mom 😭
wildskipper@reddit
B'Elanna was a better (half) Klingon character in that respect. She wasn't slavish and obsessed with a horrible warlike culture that anyone who was brought up on a Federation planet would naturally be disgusted by.
mspk7305@reddit
In tng, his parents are actually asked about that and they say that they wanted to immerse him in his Klingon culture as much as they could.
egabald@reddit
The opposite of Michael Burnham, she went full native.
EveningArmadillo5429@reddit
Kern....got a bad hand. For sure. Worf didn't make it any better, really.
mspk7305@reddit
Bruh.
lyidaValkris@reddit
there's a lot more to showing respect to your parents then mentioning them in your lineage.
mspk7305@reddit
dafuq you on about, for a klingon to put non-klingons in his bona fides shows massive respect
lyidaValkris@reddit
and that's literally the only way he ever shows it. he acts like he's embarrassed about them
AnimusFlux@reddit
To be fair, he acts like he's embarrassed about everything all the time.
PositronicGigawatts@reddit
Hard disagree. Worf is all into Klingon culture, sure, but he never disparages human culture. I mean, you ever hear him making fun of Geordi for using a fork? Plus, when he grew up he joined Starfleet, which is like 99% humans.
Also, he's embarrassed when his parents show up at his work, but everybody else has the same issue! Deanna is in a constant state of eyerolling when her mom shows up,and Riker would rather beat his father to death than interact with him. At least Worf is only awkward.
Bakuhoe_Thotsuki@reddit
If he had behaved more inline with the family life he had, you'd have fans screaming that hes a gay effeminate synptom of pandering woke bad writing.
lyidaValkris@reddit
I think that's applying modern deplorable sensibilities onto something that happened in the 90s.
I think it would be quite the reverse. The cold war ended right in the middle of TNGs run, and friendship with Russia/Russians was in the air.
He most certainly could have been a manly russian-klingon and it could have been even a bit of a homage to Chekov
charlie_marlow@reddit
Just head on over to Babylon 5 to see it done right.
Ivanova is always right. I will listen to Ivanova. I will not ignore Ivanova's recommendations. Ivanova is God. And if this ever happens again, Ivanova will personally rip your lungs out! Babylon control out.
lyidaValkris@reddit
B5 is on my list to watch! I'll keep this in mind.
Critical_Liz@reddit
Like in DS9 when he has his brother mind wiped and he drama queens about he has no family.
What an asshole.
lyidaValkris@reddit
Felt so bad for Kern. Kern was awesome. A fate worse than death.
-PM_Me_Dat_Ass_Girl-@reddit
Worf's parents were Belarusian.
lyidaValkris@reddit
I meant ethnically Russian, since the nation of Russia presumably no longer exists in the 24 century.
Belarusian literally means "white russian"
factoid_@reddit
We see word actually try pretty hard with Jadzia. They had significant cultural differences. She knew what she was signing up for.
He agreed to her choice of honeymoon. Potentially sacrificed his career to rescue her in a jungle.
They were really only married a few months but we see him giving it his best effort
lyidaValkris@reddit
Yeah then Worf acted like a total toddler on Risa, spoiling Jadz's vacation because he's such a stick in the mud.
Even Worf trying his best is not quite good enough. You made a good point that Jadz knew what she was getting in to, still boggles my mind.
HalJordan2525@reddit
I heard the respect loud and clear when he said “son of Sergei, House of Rozhenko”.
mspk7305@reddit
100%
RadVarken@reddit
It took him a long time and lots of disappointing experiences with Klingons to get him there. He outgrew his weebness and became the warrior he always dreamt he was.
thalasi_@reddit
Dude got himself adopted by Martok at 45 years of age rather than get mistaken for Russian. Brutal.
handsomeape95@reddit
I'm just getting through my first rewatch since it originally aired and had this realization. I wish I had Worf's parents.
lyidaValkris@reddit
They're so sweet!
pjs-1987@reddit
Shame he didn't learn from them
tommytraddles@reddit
He learned enough to know that his son should also be raised by them 🤣
ElectricPaladin@reddit
I got to tell you, sometimes knowing that you aren't a fit parent and giving your child to someone else is the best and last gift you can give your child...
pjs-1987@reddit
And sometimes the best gift you can give your child is a big ass bat'leth
thinkthingsareover@reddit
Now I'm wondering if Klingons scold their children for running with scissors.
ElectricPaladin@reddit
Hell yeah.
sorcerersviolet@reddit
Although not trying to see or talk to your child for five years is still a problem (DS9 continuity, but still...).
Galag0@reddit
I didn’t realize how much I had in common with Alexander! Our childhoods a pretty similar.
babiekittin@reddit
Dude it's not like he was even near Earth during that time. I mean, beside 2073 during the borg invasion... and the loss of the Big D back in 2371...
sorcerersviolet@reddit
He couldn't send the occasional letter at least?
babiekittin@reddit
Do you know how much subspace costs in a post scarcity economy?!
helpusdrzaius@reddit
It's a television program about a space station, not Growing Pains.
RustBeltLab@reddit
You meant Family Ties, actually.
kittenconfidential@reddit
why not have a full house? did we leave charles in charge? clearly, family matters less to worf than always attempting to regain his honor
helpusdrzaius@reddit
sister sister
Serious_Ad2816@reddit
Wait, who's the boss here?
ElectricPaladin@reddit
True, true.
rad2themax@reddit
I have a friend whose mom left her and her dad behind to start a new family with some guy she met online. My friend always said the best thing her mom ever did for her was leave.
Darmok47@reddit
Hot Take: Worf wasn't a bad parent, but possible the only sane one who realized the Enterprise-D was a terrible place to raise a child. Ship was always in some sort of crisis every week.
DS9 was a military target in a volatile area too.
Isgrimnur@reddit
Miles: let’s let Molly play with interdimensional friends!
Teripid@reddit
You know he had to have transporter pattern buffer "cloned" her a few times when he messed up really bad...
Isgrimnur@reddit
We're going to need another Molly!
NarmHull@reddit
Miles was ready to drop Molly off in a cave forever by herself because she went feral and needed therapy.
Questenburg@reddit
Molly could take Aleksander, let's be real here
Fulano18109@reddit
Data’s cat spot could take out Alexander
Alorxico@reddit
Serious_Ad2816@reddit
Spot would fuck that poor kid up but at least he'd make it to stovakor.
Santa_Hates_You@reddit
Yeah well Molly is not a little bitch like Alexander is.
Various-Pizza3022@reddit
My hot take is that becoming a dad after your one night stand which apparently involved no birth control had a kid and didn’t tell you until a year later and she almost immediately is murdered before you work out custody are not a series of events likely to lead to Father of the Year.
(Which is before we touch on the Doylist reasons for Alexander’s existence; he was mostly a plot coupon for when it was convenient).
ElectricPaladin@reddit
But, you've got a point that "Worf was a bad dad" is kind of unfair to the character. You, too, might be a crappy parent under those circumstances.
eagle_flower@reddit
I mean, over 7 years, the Enterprise experienced some sort of crisis no more than 26 times per year. So there were plenty of boring days.
MindlessNectarine374@reddit
Didn't a few of these events encompass more than one day?
eagle_flower@reddit
Yeah, I tried to carefully phrase it as “26 times” for the episodes than spanned multiple days. We do see meals, sleep, shifts, etc that can mark the passage of days.
Rickshmitt@reddit
sirboulevard@reddit
Yeah but then they threw Alex back at Worf after a year.
Actually, come to think of it... Troi couldn't get Alexander under control either, and Martok softball called him an undisciplined loser to his face, and Key'lhr didn't seem to punish him at all. I think the kid was unparentable.
Maybe Worf should have tried to raise one of the blue barrels, they seemed to respect him more.
Mistervimes65@reddit
Damn.
Marquar234@reddit
Worf never had a child, so we don't know how good he would have been.
mspk7305@reddit
....my dude
theadamabrams@reddit
I assume this is a joke about how Worf usually acts as though Alexander doesn't exist.
acquaintedwithheight@reddit
People pretend to forget about Alexander because Worf seems to never remember him
Serious_Ad2816@reddit
shhhh it's easier this way
factoid_@reddit
Eh they abandoned Alexander just like he did. Nobody wanted that kid
milkstrike@reddit
Too bad he didn’t learn how to be a good parent from them
maggiemazz29@reddit
Didn't Worf ask his mother to send him some of her beef stroganoff at the end of this episode?
SarcasmCupcakes@reddit
Rokeg blood pie.
baebae4455@reddit
He has all the specs and diagrams at home.
Unusual_Entity@reddit
"I am Worf, son of Mogh, house of Martok. Son of Sergei, house of Rozhenko." He was honoured to have them!
KaijuDirectorOO7@reddit
His legal name might as well would have been Word Alexandrovitch Rozhenko!
TheZooCreeper@reddit
"But raise raise your own lousy kid."
DaddyCatALSO@reddit
Without looking it up, are this "Four O'Clock," and I Bury the Living Theo Bikel's only genre work?
Left-Escape@reddit
Alexander Rozhenko has entered the chat…
lookimatree@reddit
EveningArmadillo5429@reddit
No, Worf. You never did.
How do you spend so much time with Sisko and have NONE of that peak dad energy rub off on you?
EveningArmadillo5429@reddit
...phrasing.
MyKidsArentOnReddit@reddit
Worf: who?
Oh, riiiiiiiiiiiiight
SlimeGrog@reddit
Remember when Worf was trying to prove to Jadzia that he can be a good father and A is not mentioned at all?
FlashHound@reddit
In Soviet Russia our child is Klingon
mja2175@reddit
So Worf’s adopted surmane is something like Papatrianaphilo?
bassmedic@reddit
Rozhenko. It sounds Ukrainian but he mentioned being raised in Minsk.
RaisedByBooksNTV@reddit
You can have bad parents and not suck. You can have good parents and still suck.
bluetitan88@reddit
yep gotta keep it simple.
just imagine if he had been raised by some scandinavian couple, and growing ud with the stories of the vikings, he just might have been better able to care for his kid.
AdPhysical6481@reddit
Her eyes rival Gowron's.
BlackLion0101@reddit
I wish we had more with them. They raised Worf and Alexander. They were good people.
Mister_Mojo78@reddit
"Minsk" I love how worf just kept saying that to O'Brien in What You Leave Behind
goettel@reddit
The mom makes great blood pie too.
Sea-Quality4726@reddit
She totally had real varhalla candles ready and stored for Worf's wedding
Algolvega@reddit
It’s great that in the future, Russian parents will admit to having feelings.
Redwingedblackbird81@reddit
Wish we had seen more of them.
Foreign_Sundae6488@reddit
He got most his info on Klingons form hollo novel. And bad one to like with boobs on them and everything
PillaisTracingPaper@reddit
Theodore Bikel. What a boss.
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
I remember him as "Uncle Yossel", Ivanova's rabbi on B5, who came to B5 to sit shiva with her after her father died.
ranger24@reddit
'Krill? Is it kosher?'
solidus0079@reddit
I was about to say!
B5 represent! (Dodges thrown vegetables)
Crimson60652@reddit
It’s a shame Worf ruined his brother’s life, multiple times, only to erase his memory, then become part of the house of Martok…
CaptainMatticus@reddit
Their scene with Guinan is one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. Learning that Worf never looks towards Qo'noS, but always towards Earth, is a sweet little thing.
mspk7305@reddit
And the prune juice.
Raevson@reddit
The upper picture without the context of the lower one.
Not the best frame to pic.
Kinda hits a bit different...
This-Breadfruit-1958@reddit
I have all the specs and diagrams.
CMDR_Kaus@reddit
I just watched this entire episode because of this post and the comments. Thanks for the feels again everyone
EdgelordZeta@reddit
And turned out the exact opposite
MatthewKvatch@reddit
His old man was great in B5 as well.
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
Uncle Yossel!
Darmok47@reddit
I love their whole conversation about whether an alien fish is kosher when they go out to dinner.
I wonder if replicated food would be kosher.
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
Only from the Kosher replicators :)
abornemath@reddit
And he came away with no hint of a russian accent and is somehow fluent in Klingon.
Darmok47@reddit
My headcanon is that he's speaking Yiddish the whole time but the UT translates it into English. Picard is speaking French, too.
ShiroHachiRoku@reddit
Worf was 9 when he was adopted and lived in Russia the whole time. I just don't get how he's so rigidly Klingon which isn't even Klingon at all! He doesn't laugh, he isn't aggressively extroverted, he was so starched up and rigid as if he was cosplaying what he thought Klingons were. It would've been nice to have him be more social in the D and be less of a stick in the mud. This could've also made his relationship with Alexander much better. Alexander himself was patterning his life against Worf's Klingon beliefs which it made it exponentially weirder.
Darmok47@reddit
IIRC he mentioned growing up on a colony planet, so not Earth. Not full-time anyway.
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
I thought Paul Sorvino played his dad. Or did he play Worf's brother?
melkor3011@reddit
Brother
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
However, I just recognized the dad and looked him up. Theodore Bikel played Rabbi Yossel Koslov on Babylon 5.
Darmok47@reddit
He also played a great Columbo villain, too.
-PM_Me_Dat_Ass_Girl-@reddit
Worf's dad was also the Rabbi who came to the station to have Ivanova sit Shiva, right?
Darmok47@reddit
Yeah.
jojo-again@reddit
They probably the best parents in the franchise. It's a shame that Worf doesn't show more respect for them. He'll fight armies for his klingon father's honor but he won't show that level of gratitude to his human parents.
donpuglisi@reddit
I love Worf's parents. This whole episode is in my top 3 favorite, and they're the main reason
BubiMannKuschelForce@reddit
Worf: "No Russian!"
Itchy_Pride1864@reddit
For sure
mediumAI1701@reddit
He tried, he just couldn't remember the quote, honest.
stpony@reddit
He should have been Lieutenant Rozhenko.
ReasonableDefense@reddit
I love that he seemed to finally realize that at some point and in Picard he actually includes his human family in his name.
doomt101@reddit
sweatpantsocialist@reddit
Worf being a bad parent makes no sense in the show. He’s pretty emotionally mature and level relative to Klingons. He’s a great teacher in the show, shown when he show ensign Sito to stand up for herself during the lower decks episode. He takes criticism well. Data points out that he’s being a bad first officer and he immediately agrees and apologizes. He has very good parents, as this post points out.
Word being a bad dad is lazy writing
VioletFishie@reddit
I always crack up at "earth station Bobruisk" which is a real place in Belarus, right by Mohilyev.
Danloeser@reddit
I like to picture them taking young Worf to Klingon cultural events and trying to make sure he learns all about his roots. It fits nicely with how awkward and serious he is with other Klingons.
Critical_Liz@reddit
And yet, he himself is an utter tool.
hollow4hollow@reddit
Mrs Rozhenko is the reason I love lapsang souchong tea 🍵
dnkroz3d@reddit
I loved these two, especially the mom. "We came to see Worf. NOT THE SHIP!"
frieswelldone@reddit
I just watched this episode last night and thought the same thing.
Bailer86@reddit
"I am Worf, Son of Mogh, House of Martok, Son of Sergey, House of Rozhenko. Bane to the Duras Family. Slayer of Gowron."
Hearing Worf mention his parents in Picard made me happy
rawaka@reddit
Worf, son of Sergei, house of roshenko
WolverineComplex@reddit
I like this because it illustrates the point that, even though as a parent you probably won’t get everything right, as long as you love your child and support them, that’s a good step.
Upbeat_Leader_7185@reddit
Yeah, but Madame Lazora's psychic. That would make parenting a lot easier.
skunksignals@reddit
And yet he’s a dick as a father, wtf
Imma_da_PP@reddit
I always found them to be absolutely adorable. They were so understanding of his need to be Klingon but were also his safe space. As Guinan said, despite trying his best to be a Klingon, they were “home” to him.
superpenistendo@reddit
Damn if they don’t look like Leela’s parents from Futurama 🤔
MolybdenumBlu@reddit
Worf is the worst member of his family.
Malnurtured_Snay@reddit
...too bad their good parenting didn't rub off on him.
joeyjoejojo19@reddit
I love you Kaplapa!
RedditOfUnusualSize@reddit
They appeared in one episode (IMDB says Helena appeared in Season 5 "New Ground", but I for the life of me cannot remember her saying anything in that episode). They only needed one episode to join the echelons of greatest parents in Trek. Quietly one of the best guest-star turn in the series, which absolutely says something given the overall quality of guest performers in that series. The only criticism I would have of their scene with Guinan is that it wasn't long enough.
seanx50@reddit
"however Son, you are a shitty father"
AllCapsLocked@reddit
These are some the saddest story lines with Worfs adoptive family. His views so blinded that he could not fully acknowledge the honor this family showed him when he was so weak and meek. That its like he felt so much shame about it, but if some other Klingon family raised him, would he have risen as high as he did living in the Empire. I wish in his awaken awareness era he would have acknowledged this inner shame better.
KaleidoscopeExpert93@reddit
I have all the specs and diagrams.
(Jeez and I thought I was a star trek saddo 😆)