10 Star Trek Villains Who Were Actually Right

10. Duras

No one is about to say that Duras was a likable man. Not only did he orchestrate the wrongful accusation of Mogh, and by extension his family, for the Romulan attack on Khitomer, but he also murdered K'Ehleyr to keep the secret. He also assassinated K'mpec, but what Klingon hasn't murdered a superior in order to rise up the ranks?

The questionable methods aside, Duras was attempting to seize power in the Klingon Empire, while also keeping his family name clean. It must be remembered though that while Duras certainly employed Romulan techniques in his acts (the bomb on K'mpec's ship) - it was his sisters who openly allied with the Romulans by the time of the civil war.

Duras attempted to shift the blame to Mogh's family to ensure that the House of Duras would rise to lead the Empire. From his point of view, the Empire had weakened itself by allying with the Federation and had strayed too far from the imperial efforts of times gone by. His dubious relationship with the Romulans aside, it could easily be argued that his attempt to rebuild the strength of the Empire suffered more from his methods than his goals.

By the time of his death, he was merely a symptom of a much larger problem in the Empire. His efforts, however dire they might have been for Worf and Starfleet, could well have started the Empire on a journey back to its former fearsome strength.

Or, as Duras himself may have put it, he very nearly did 'Make Qu'nos Great Again.'