A Dish Best Served Cold

"Blood Oath" Plot Summary:

Three Klingons with whom Curzon Dax took an oath of vengeance - TOS legends Kor, Kang, and Koloth - arrive to plan their long-awaited assault on an evil albino. Although they plan to release Jadzia from Curzon's vow, she joins their quest. They are successful, though Jadzia risks her life and her Starfleet career, and the cost is high: only Kor, a drunken old man, survives along with Dax.

Analysis::

I don't generally like violent, patriarchal Klingon culture or violent, patriarchal Klingon episodes, but Dax really glowed with a bat'leth in her hands! However, I still want to know more about Jadzia as an individual, sans Curzon, Tobin, et al. Sometimes it seems as though this show thinks Dax was more interesting when she was a man, and that irks me.

I had a hard time believing that Kang would even consider cutting a deal for a quick, easy death with the albino - how could honor permit THAT? I had an even harder time believing in their successful assault; if the albino was that dumb, they could have gotten him years ago. Kang got cagey, Koloth got magnanimous, Kor got soft; that last really made me sad, as he was the most interesting villain Classic Trek ever had. I was sorry we didn't hear more about Kang's wife Marta, and the fate of the tribbles.

But being a sucker for cross-generational episode, I ignored the inconsistencies, like when in Federation history did the Trill negotiate with the Klingons? Kira had a wonderful moment talking to Dax about how her past as a terrorist haunts her, although it's annoying that she ratted Dax's plans to Sisko. All in all, as Dax episodes go, this was one of the better ones.