Always fun to get to watch an episode I loved as a kid, and even better when it is as good as I remembered! The story of Worf getting unstuck from his particular version of reality is particularly entertaining since Worf is such a grump most of the time that at first the other characters think he is just being Worf. It also gives us the chance to see how things might have been different if say Picard had been killed by the Borg, or if Wesley was a lieutenant, or Worf was captain. The one scene that always sticks out in my memory is the one near the end where thousands of Enterprises have appeared and one of them is from a universe where the Borg are winning and then open fire to try and stop the universes from being fixed up again.
The episode opens with Worf alone on a shuttle returning from bat'leth tournament which he won. Upon returning to the Enterprise he is greeted by Riker who follows Worf to his quarters. Worf is apprehensive since it is his birthday and he hates surprise parties. Riker tells him he does too and pretends to leave, but rushes in just as the rest of Worf's friends jump out shouting surprise. Worf isn't exactly pleased but does his best to have fun with is friends. He cuts the chocolate cake for everybody and gets a painting from Data. Suddenly he feels dizzy for a second and then notices the captain is there all of a sudden and the cake is no longer chocolate. He ignores it and goes about his day aiding in the investigation of a malfunctioning deep space telescope array. In engineering he again feels dizzy for a moment and when he looks up everyone in the room is in a different place.
He heads to sickbay to see what is wrong and Dr. Crusher asks if it has to do with his concussion. He is surprised and she tells him he got a concussion when he lost the bat'leth tournament and may be experiencing memory loss. Things keep getting stranger as they are approached by a cardassian vessel he saw in the logs of the telescope. He asks why they aren't attacking them but no one else remembers seeing any Cardassian ships in the log. Suddenly they are being attacked and he is at tactical, but the controls are so different he can't figure out how to turn on the shields and they suffer a direct hit. Geordi is killed and that night Troi comes to his quarters. He tells her he doesn't want to talk about it so she walks over to the replicator and orders hot chocolate. Then she sits down on his bed and calls him over. He is shocked when she kisses him and she is shocked he would be surprised by a kiss from his wife.
Back in sickbay Data has discovered that Worf isn't from the same universe as the rest of them. He seems to be fluctuating between slightly different universes every time Geordi's visor lets off some sort of pulse. Captain Riker and Lt. Crusher get to work on a plan to fix things and Data discovers a fissure in reality. It appears Worfs shuttle traveled through it and that is how he became unstuck. While investigating the Enterprise is attacked by a Bajoran warship. During the fight the fissure becomes unstable and more and more Enterprises start appearing in every direction. Captain Riker manages to contact Captain Picard on the "real" Enterprise and they figure out a plan to send Worf back through the fissure to stabilize things. Deanna is very sad to be losing Worf as it appears she may not get her Worf back, but she understands that he is leaving a son behind if he stays. As Worf heads for the fissure a haggard Riker from a Borg infested universe tries to stop him and Captain Riker is forced to destroy his ship. Worf awakens in the right universe and his Deanna even convinces everybody else he would hate a surprise party. The episode ends with Worf asking Deanna to dinner and her agreeing.
Review: I don't just love this one because of the awesome multiple Enterprise scene at the end, but it really helps. The subtle uniform alterations are a cool way to let the audience know that things are changing. If you like parallel universes (I clearly love them) then this is the episode for you!
9 out of 10
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