"Cost of Living" marks the return of Lwxanna Troi (do I hear a collective groan?)
The cold open this week shows us what will be going on in the sci-fi side of this episode. Enterprise blows an asteroid to pieces before it strikes a planet, and we see, but the crew does not, that a shiny metal material lands on the top of the ship as they're warping away; residue from said asteroid, soon to be causing problems.
However the main storyline follows Worf and Alexander, and Lwxanna and Deanna; intermixing throughout the episode. And so it begins with Worf and Alexander arguing back and forth about what orders were given and when, and what was done or was not, while Deanna tries fruitlessly to get a word in edgewise.
It's unfortunate that she does indeed get a word in, because her advise stinks. It's fine that she tries to connect with Alexander, that's not what bothers me. But her recommendations for how they handle their relationship going forward.
It irked me. I'm not a Klingon parent.
She recommends that they make a contract with each persons expectations so they can hold one another accountable. To which Alexander replies "you mean he tells me what to do and I have to do it." And Deanna of course tells him "no it means you both agree to your responsibilities."
Which is horse-pucky. Alexander has problems following orders. He likes to do what he likes to do and that's about it. We've seen this in previous episodes. But instead of Deanna helping him to understand that parents make the rules, she basically tells him he's an equal partner in their relationship. And that sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.
The problem with children being equal partners in their own rearing, is that they are not yet mature and knowledgeable enough to make responsible decisions about certain things. I may be friends with my son, and we laugh and have a great time playing games and watching movies, but he knows I am the parent and he is the child.
I make the decisions and if he is told to do something, he does it. If he has a question about something I will listen to him and we can discuss it, but ultimately it is my decision. What Deanna recommends sounds like therapy-soeak, but has little use in real life.
And so enters Lwxanna to set Alexander straight about the ways of the world. The scenes with her and Alexander are mostly weird as hell because of the holosuite program she takes him into, but ultimately sweet like a grandparent / grandchild relationship. Although her "advice" is no better than her daughter's.
We know Alexander is not trustworthy; at least not yet. He takes advantage of his fathers wording to make it seem as tho he's misunderstanding what is expected of him, rather than outright disobeying. He needs discipline and love, and Worf is struggling as a single dad. I'm afraid Deanna and Lwxanna only add to his frustrations.
Eventually it all works out and everyone is happy, although I don't really know how or why. That's pretty much the impact of this episode; it's forgettable.
On a side note: Lwxanna is annoying and I can only take her in small doses, so this episode is one I don't especially care for. Also, misusing people's names (Woof/Worf) and making little sexual innuendo jokes ("Picard the thoughts you have about me!" wink wink) they get really old. I wondered long ago why someone didn't just come out and say to Lwxanna the thing that needed to be said: Just. Stop. Already.
The cold open this week shows us what will be going on in the sci-fi side of this episode. Enterprise blows an asteroid to pieces before it strikes a planet, and we see, but the crew does not, that a shiny metal material lands on the top of the ship as they're warping away; residue from said asteroid, soon to be causing problems.
However the main storyline follows Worf and Alexander, and Lwxanna and Deanna; intermixing throughout the episode. And so it begins with Worf and Alexander arguing back and forth about what orders were given and when, and what was done or was not, while Deanna tries fruitlessly to get a word in edgewise.
It's unfortunate that she does indeed get a word in, because her advise stinks. It's fine that she tries to connect with Alexander, that's not what bothers me. But her recommendations for how they handle their relationship going forward.
It irked me. I'm not a Klingon parent.
She recommends that they make a contract with each persons expectations so they can hold one another accountable. To which Alexander replies "you mean he tells me what to do and I have to do it." And Deanna of course tells him "no it means you both agree to your responsibilities."
Which is horse-pucky. Alexander has problems following orders. He likes to do what he likes to do and that's about it. We've seen this in previous episodes. But instead of Deanna helping him to understand that parents make the rules, she basically tells him he's an equal partner in their relationship. And that sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.
The problem with children being equal partners in their own rearing, is that they are not yet mature and knowledgeable enough to make responsible decisions about certain things. I may be friends with my son, and we laugh and have a great time playing games and watching movies, but he knows I am the parent and he is the child.
I make the decisions and if he is told to do something, he does it. If he has a question about something I will listen to him and we can discuss it, but ultimately it is my decision. What Deanna recommends sounds like therapy-soeak, but has little use in real life.
And so enters Lwxanna to set Alexander straight about the ways of the world. The scenes with her and Alexander are mostly weird as hell because of the holosuite program she takes him into, but ultimately sweet like a grandparent / grandchild relationship. Although her "advice" is no better than her daughter's.
We know Alexander is not trustworthy; at least not yet. He takes advantage of his fathers wording to make it seem as tho he's misunderstanding what is expected of him, rather than outright disobeying. He needs discipline and love, and Worf is struggling as a single dad. I'm afraid Deanna and Lwxanna only add to his frustrations.
Eventually it all works out and everyone is happy, although I don't really know how or why. That's pretty much the impact of this episode; it's forgettable.
On a side note: Lwxanna is annoying and I can only take her in small doses, so this episode is one I don't especially care for. Also, misusing people's names (Woof/Worf) and making little sexual innuendo jokes ("Picard the thoughts you have about me!" wink wink) they get really old. I wondered long ago why someone didn't just come out and say to Lwxanna the thing that needed to be said: Just. Stop. Already.