Star Trek episodes centred around a convincing process of reconciliation and/or bonding among races are always a guaranteed win for me; those among them that involve relations between humans and Klingons, a species with a nearly incompatible moral system, are certainly the most ambitious of these. It would have been so easy and predictable for the a-plot, centred around Riker as an exchange commander on a Klingon ship, to consist of him stumbling around committing one faux pas after another struggling to keep his hosts happy. Instead the premise is played completely straight: Riker performs outstandingly as a Klingon commander while retaining his human principles and the Klingons' respect for him by the end feels completely deserved.
Philosophically, episodes like this one do however bring up the contentious subject of cultural relativism. By any acceptable human standard, the Klingon Empire is a ruthless and savage kratocracy. If it were a human society then it would hardly warrant any more normal courtesy than, for example, Nazi Germany, but the fact that it's an alien society muddles the issue: maybe the Klingons are just so fundamentally different as a species that their current society really is the most fit for them. Future episodes do suggest that they are more receptive to kindness and compassion as a species than their society allows, but for now that all lies in the future and when it happens it comes about precisely through their positive experiences with humans. For the time being, this is just a hopeful tale about the prospects of lasting peace and mutual understanding between mankind and a species that served more or less as one-dimensional villains in the original series.
Philosophically, episodes like this one do however bring up the contentious subject of cultural relativism. By any acceptable human standard, the Klingon Empire is a ruthless and savage kratocracy. If it were a human society then it would hardly warrant any more normal courtesy than, for example, Nazi Germany, but the fact that it's an alien society muddles the issue: maybe the Klingons are just so fundamentally different as a species that their current society really is the most fit for them. Future episodes do suggest that they are more receptive to kindness and compassion as a species than their society allows, but for now that all lies in the future and when it happens it comes about precisely through their positive experiences with humans. For the time being, this is just a hopeful tale about the prospects of lasting peace and mutual understanding between mankind and a species that served more or less as one-dimensional villains in the original series.