Star Trek: 10 Times Worf Was Ignored (But Was Absolutely Right)

6. Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect
CBS Media Ventures

There's only one thing worse than being ignored when you're right...and that's being ignored again and again and again.

This is the maddening fate that befalls Worf when the Enterprise finds itself trapped in a time loop. After reliving the same days over and over, the crew start to get a strange sense of déjà vu they just can't shake. When echoes from past loops bleed into their present, they surmise that the destruction of the ship might be responsible for locking them into the temporal phenomenon.

It's at this point that Worf suggests they reverse course, an entirely sensible proposal given the need to avoid the explosion and escape the loop. However, Picard dismisses the idea out of hand, insisting they can't afford to second-guess themselves. It's an interesting stance, considering that second-guessing the course of events is precisely what alerted them to the phenomenon in the first place.

And so, they continue into a temporal distortion for the umpteenth time, and we're subjected to the sad sight of the Enterprise exploding...again. Eventually, they find a way to send a clue into the next cycle, avoiding another deadly collision and escaping for good. But they could have escaped sooner if they'd just listened to Worf.

And in Worf's defence, he isn't even being particularly Klingon here. His suggestion isn't aggressive, mistrusting or confrontational. He's literally suggesting that they turn around to try to avoid a death trap. And he still gets ignored.

But the real insult to injury? They discover they've been trapped for 17.4 days, making it highly unlikely that Worf was ignored only once. Who knows just how many times he ended up being ignored?

Contributor

Katherine has been boldly going since childhood, when the BBC Two 6pm Star Trek slot changed her life. She was drawn in by the franchise's optimism, compassion and flair for character-driven storytelling. She's been writing stories since she could pick up a pen and has spent far too much time immersed in television, films, books, music and theatre. She loves any chance to talk or write about her favourite fandoms, of which there are many. When not busy writing, she can usually be found playing video games or explaining why the concept of a transporter is actually terrifying.