Gowron's Story In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Almost Had A Much Darker Ending
The glory-obsessed, wild-eyed Klingon character of Gowron (Robert O'Reilly) was first introduced in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Reunion" (November 5, 1990), in which the leadership of the Klingon High Council was in a state of flux. It seemed that the old Chancellor K'mpec (Charles Cooper) was being slowly poisoned, and one of two men was set to take his place. There was the dishonorable Duras (Patrick Massett) or the mysterious Gowron. Ultimately, Worf (Michael Dorn) killed Duras in a fit of rage after Duras murdered Worf's mate K'Ehlyr (Suzie Plakson), leaving Gowron in charge. Gowron would sit at the head of the Klingon High Council as Chancellor until the events of the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode "Tacking Into the Wind" (May 12, 1999), when Worf would slay him as well.
Gowron has always been a fan favorite, as Robert O'Reilly's performance was often enjoyably over-the-top. Grit your teeth and growl the phrase "Gloohry to yooooou," and you're on your way to doing a fantastic Gowron impersonation. In the world of Trekkies, Gowron regularly appears in memes. Robert O'Reilly retired from acting in 2006, but he still regularly appears at "Star Trek" conventions.
Gowron's arc would continue into "Deep Space Nine" as the Klingon Empire would become embroiled in the Dominion War. The War — against a malevolent species of shape-shifting Changelings — lasted for several seasons of "Deep Space Nine" and expanded the show to include about 30 lead characters and no small amount of intrigue.
In the book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams," edited by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, the "DS9" showrunners explained that Gowron was initially planned to be a Changeling in disguise.
Glory to you
"Deep Space Nine" is a massively complicated show, so I shall try to sum up some of its more sweeping political details. In brief, at the beginning of the show's fourth season, Gowron — wanting to assert Klingon dominance in the galaxy by invading Cardassian space — spitefully rescinded the Khitomer Accords, putting the Federation and the Klingons back in an antagonistic position.
The Cardassians, being the Nazis of the "Star Trek" universe, ran to the Dominion for aid in response to the Klingon attacks, and the two empires teamed up to take over the Alpha Quadrant. War was brewing. At the beginning of the show's fifth season, Changeling spies were afoot. A visiting warrior named Martok (J.G. Hertzler) was sent to Deep Space Nine as a trusted associate of Gowron but, through a series of investigations, was revealed to be a secret agent for the Dominion, arranging pawns to set up a Dominion attack. Odo (Rene Auberjonois) initially thought that Gowron himself had been replaced by a Changeling. There are more details, of course, but too many to get into here.
Showrunner Ira Steven Behr revealed that his initial plan for the series was to have Gowron actually be a Changeling, with the real Gowron having been replaced in secret some time in the previous season. Ultimately, Behr shifted that role to Martok. He explained:
"When we launched season five, we brought back J.G. Hertzler as the Klingon, Martok. He was fine in 'Way of the Warrior,' and at the end of the fourth season we said we were going to make Gowron a shape-shifter. Then we started to think, 'Maybe Gowron being the shape-shifter is too on the nose,' so we made Martok the shape-shifter, and then you get rid of him."
Martok
Behr also noted that turning Gowron into a Changeling after so many seasons would upset Trekkies, so he shifted blame to the new character, Martok. The problem with doing that was Hertzler's performance as the Changeling Martok whetted Trekkies' appetites for more of him as well. Behr added:
"[T]here was a feeling that the fans were loyal to Gowron, so we made it Martok. Then we watched the show and said, 'Gee, this guy Martok is great,' so we brought him back on the show as the real Martok and he became a recurring character. He's a terrific actor and was a great Klingon. Very charismatic and fun."
Indeed, Martok eventually rose to be Chancellor of the Klingon High Council and would even appear as a video board game in an episode of "Star Trek: Lower Decks."
Gowron, as mentioned above, was eventually killed by Worf. This would have been a shocking and tragic end, but by the time Worf was challenging Gowron in combat, Gowron had become kind of an a-hole — he wastefully attacked several of Martok's armies out of spite — so it didn't hit as hard as it would have years earlier. Worf was eventually accepted into the house of Martok, fleeing his own association with a long-dishonored family. Gowron, having died in combat, was still said to have died honorably according to Klingon custom.
Hertzlere and O'Reilly loved the characters so much, not only do they appear at cons, but they've even been seen in costume, behaving in character. You can't keep a good Klingon down.