Michael Dorn isn’t all about the hype of series send-offs

Michael Dorn knows something about series endings and send-offs for characters.

Michael Dorn has portrayed Worf, a Klingon warrior, for almost 300 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Picard combined as well as four Star Trek movies. So suffice it to say he’s familiar with endings and wrap-ups for characters and shows. But Dorn isn’t as invested in send-offs as fans are. In fact, the 70-year-old actor thinks people are obsessed with endings and send-offs.

In an interview with Yahoo!Entertainment, Dorn clarified that he sees a difference between the goal and the journey.

"I think that people are obsessed with endings and send-offs. And, it kind of goes to my spiritual journey, Worf’s spiritual journey, that it’s not about the goal. It’s about the journey. As we have seen, how many times have we ended The Next Generation? I don’t think the fans necessarily want that."

Michael Dorn has a point about endings, especially when it comes to Star Trek characters.

How many times have we said goodbye to a Star Trek character only to have that character return in some other manner or form? Spock (Leonard Nimoy) died in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan only to return in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Captain James T. Kirk died in Star Trek: Generations, but he returned in follow-up novels as did Commander Trip Tucker after he was killed off in the finale episode of Star Trek: Enterprise.

Star Trek: The Next Generation had a wonderful final episode only for the gang to return in movies, with the final one, Star Trek: Nemesis, being an appalling way to bring closure to these characters. So now they’re back on Star Trek: Picard with many fans still wanting a “proper send-off.” Dorn thinks statements about those are overused.

"I always joke, ‘Hey, we’re in space. Anything can happen.’ … Who knows what will happen, I just don’t know. But I think the [statements about] endings and the send-offs are overused."

So however Star Trek: Picard chooses to wrap up the final season, it’s almost certain that the characters we’re seeing now will be seen again in some form, especially since Star Trek itself is far from over.