Editing Gowron (section)

==Appearances==

===''The Next Generation''===
Gowron makes his first appearance in the ''Star Trek'' franchise in ''The Next Generation'' episode "[[Reunion (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Reunion]]" as one of two possible successors to the role of Chancellor of the [[Klingon High Council]] (the other candidate is [[Duras (Star Trek)|Duras]] ([[Patrick Massett]]), his longtime rival). [[K'mpec]] ([[Charles Cooper (actor)|Charles Cooper]]), the incumbent Chancellor, suspects that either Duras or Gowron had been poisoning him, and appoints Captain [[Jean-Luc Picard]] ([[Patrick Stewart]]) as "Arbiter of Succession" to determine who will be the next Chancellor. However, before the arbitration process can be resolved, Worf's ([[Michael Dorn]]) one-time mate, [[K'Ehleyr]] ([[Suzie Plakson]]), discovers the evidence that implicates Ja'rod (the father of Duras) in the Romulan attack on the Klingon outpost [[Khitomer]], and to prevent her from disclosing it, Duras murders her. Claiming right of vengeance, Worf challenges Duras to a duel and kills him, resulting in Gowron's ascension to the Chancellorship.<ref name=reunion>{{cite episode |title = Reunion |episode-link = Reunion (Star Trek: The Next Generation) |series = Star Trek: The Next Generation |last1 = Perry |first1 = Thomas |last2 = Perry |first2 = Jo |last3 = Moore |first3 = Ronald D. |last4 = Braga |first4 = Brannon |last5 = Deighan |first5 = Drew |name-list-style = amp |season = 4 |number = 7 |date = November 5, 1990 }}</ref>

Gowron reappears in the two-part episode "[[Redemption (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Redemption]]", with his position now under threat from the Duras sisters, [[Lursa]] ([[Barbara March]]) and [[B'Etor]] ([[Gwynyth Walsh]]), who are driving for Duras' illegitimate son Toral ([[JD Cullum]]) to be appointed Chancellor. It is revealed that the Duras clan has been in league with the [[Klingon]]s' traditional enemies the [[Romulan]]s, and their attempt to seize power ends when the allies abandon them. Gowron also restores the honor of [[Worf]]'s house during this episode's events.<ref name=redemption1>{{cite episode |title = Redemption (part 1) |episode-link = Redemption (Star Trek: The Next Generation) |series = Star Trek: The Next Generation |last1 = Moore |first1 = Ronald D. |season = 4 |number = 26 |date = June 17, 1991 }}</ref><ref name=redemption2>{{cite episode |title = Redemption (part 2) |episode-link = Redemption (Star Trek: The Next Generation) |series = Star Trek: The Next Generation |last1 = Moore |first1 = Ronald D. |season = 5 |number = 1 |date = September 23, 1991 }}</ref>

Following these events, he was mentioned in "[[Unification (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Unification]]" as attempting to write the [[Federation (Star Trek)|Federation]]'s aid out of the official history of those events.<ref name=unification>{{cite episode |title = Unification (part 1) |episode-link = Unification (Star Trek: The Next Generation) |series = Star Trek: The Next Generation |last1 = Taylor |first1 = Jeri |last2 = Berman |first2 = Rick |last3 = Piller |first3 = Michael |name-list-style = amp |season = 5 |number = 7 |date = November 4, 1991 }}</ref> Gowron is once more challenged in the episode "[[Rightful Heir]]" by the apparently resurrected [[Kahless|Kahless the Unforgettable]]. It is ultimately revealed that this Kahless was in fact a clone, whom Gowron appoints to the symbolic post of Emperor of the Klingon Empire following the suggestion of Worf.<ref name=heir>{{cite episode |title = Rightful Heir |episode-link = Rightful Heir |series = Star Trek: The Next Generation |last1 = Moore |first1 = Ronald D. |last2 = Brooks |first2 = James E. |name-list-style = amp |season = 6 |number = 23 |date = May 17, 1993 }}</ref>

===''Deep Space Nine''===
Gowron's first appearance in the series is in the episode "[[The House of Quark]]". He rules over a dispute of the status of the House of Kozak.<ref name=housequark>{{cite episode |title = The House of Quark |episode-link = The House of Quark |series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |last1 = Moore |first1 = Ronald D. |last2 = Benko |first2 = Tom |name-list-style = amp |season = 3 |number = 3 |date = October 10, 1994 }}</ref> In the episode "[[The Way of the Warrior (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|The Way of the Warrior]]", Gowron launches a Klingon assault upon the [[Cardassian|Cardassian Union]], claiming that the newly installed civilian Detapa Council is infested with Changlings from the [[Dominion (Star Trek)|Dominion]], a powerful organization from the [[Galactic quadrant (Star Trek)|Gamma Quadrant]] that is attempting to gain a foothold in the Alpha Quadrant. When the Federation Council condemns his actions, Gowron formally withdraws the Empire from the [[List of treaties in Star Trek#Khitomer Accords|Khitomer Accords]], thus ending the alliance with the Federation.<ref name=warrior>{{cite episode |title = The Way of the Warrior (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) |episode-link = The Way of the Warrior (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) |series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |last1 = Behr |first1 = Ira Steven |last2 = Wolfe |first2 = Robert Hewitt |name-list-style = amp |season = 4 |number = 1 & 2 |date = October 2, 1995 }}</ref>

Despite this, Gowron journeys to the station, hoping to get Worf to argue on behalf of the Klingons. He does not take Worf's refusal well, and reinstates his discommendation (this time also executing the consequential removing of the House of Mogh from the High Council, seizing the Houses' assets, lands and titles, meaning Worf and his kin were made full outcasts). Later in the episode, the [[USS Defiant|USS ''Defiant'']] is forced to fight several Klingon ships, at a predetermined meeting point in space, to rescue [[Dukat (Star Trek)|Gul Dukat]] ([[Marc Alaimo]]) and the rest of the Detapa Council. The ''Defiant'' returns to the station, only to find it surrounded by a fleet of Klingon battleships, led by both General [[Martok]] ([[J. G. Hertzler]]) and Gowron himself. The Chancellor issues Captain [[Benjamin Sisko]] ([[Avery Brooks]]) a final ultimatum: turn over Dukat and the Detapa Council, or else. Sisko refuses, warning that [[Deep Space Nine (space station)|the station]] is not quite as helpless as they were led to believe. However, Gowron attacks Deep Space Nine anyway in an attempt to capture the Detapa Council. A fragile peace is reached by the end of the episode when it is found DS9 is more than capable of defending itself.<ref name=warrior/>

In the episode "[[Broken Link (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Broken Link]]", Gowron risks a war with the [[United Federation of Planets]], demanding the disputed Archanis sector. Starfleet comes to the conclusion that Gowron is in fact a [[Changeling (Star Trek)|Changeling]] through faulty information leaked to [[Odo (Star Trek)|Odo]] ([[René Auberjonois]]).<ref name=link>{{cite episode |title = Broken Link |episode-link = Broken Link (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) |series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |last1 = Behr |first1 = Ira Steven |last2 = Wolfe |first2 = Robert Hewitt |first3 = George A. |last3 = Brozak |name-list-style = amp |season = 4 |number = 26 |date = June 17, 1996 }}</ref> Sisko, Odo, Worf and [[Miles O'Brien (Star Trek)|O'Brien]] ([[Colm Meaney]]) infiltrate a Klingon ceremony to try to expose him in the follow-up episode "[[Apocalypse Rising]]", unexpectedly aided by Gowron's top advisor General [[Martok]], with Worf challenging Gowron to a duel with Bat'leths. Worf wins the duel, and is about to deliver the final blow, but Odo realizes in time that the Changeling is in fact Martok, who he exposes and who is subsequently killed by Gowron's men. In spite of this, Gowron does not change his policies though he agrees to a cease-fire between the Klingons and the Federation.<ref name=rising>{{cite episode |title = Apocalypse Rising |episode-link = Apocalypse Rising |series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |last1 = Behr |first1 = Ira Steven |last2 = Wolfe |first2 = Robert Hewitt |name-list-style = amp |season = 5 |number = 1 |date = September 30, 1996 }}</ref>

In the [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5|fifth season]] two-parter, "[[In Purgatory's Shadow]]" and "[[By Inferno's Light]]", Gowron restores the broken peace with the Federation in the Khitomer Accords after the Cardassian Union joins the Dominion and the real Martok is rescued from a Dominion prison.<ref name=shadow>{{cite episode |title = In Purgatory's Shadow |episode-link = In Purgatory's Shadow |series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |last1 = Behr |first1 = Ira Steven |last2 = Wolfe |first2 = Robert Hewitt |name-list-style = amp |season = 5 |number = 14 |date = February 10, 1997 }}</ref><ref name=light>{{cite episode |title = By Inferno's Light |episode-link = By Inferno's Light |series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |last1 = Behr |first1 = Ira Steven |last2 = Wolfe |first2 = Robert Hewitt |name-list-style = amp |season = 5 |number = 15 |date = February 17, 1997 }}</ref> Gowron makes his final appearances in "[[When It Rains…]]" and "[[Tacking into the Wind]]", where he assumes direct command of Klingon military forces and launches multiple reckless attacks with minimal success, wanting Martok (who he regards as a rival) to suffer a string of defeats.<ref name=rains>{{cite episode |title = When It Rains… |episode-link = When It Rains… |series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |last1 = Echevarria |first1 = René |last2 = Steingasser |first2 = Spike |name-list-style = amp |season = 7 |number = 21 |date = May 5, 1999 }}</ref> Martok, although he knows that this is Gowron's intention, tells Worf not to involve himself. Worf disregards Martok's request and confronts Gowron, killing him in hand-to-hand combat. Under Klingon law, Worf is entitled to assume the leadership of the Empire, but he refuses the Chancellorship in favor of Martok.

Despite the questionable nature of Gowron's actions towards the end of his life, he does die in honorable combat, as evidenced by Worf's performance of the traditional Klingon death howl (done as a warning to those in [[Klingon culture#Afterlife|Sto-Vo-Kor]] – the place of the honored dead in Klingon mythology – that a warrior is about to arrive) over the body.<ref name=wind>{{cite episode |title = Tacking into the Wind |episode-link = Tacking into the Wind |series = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine |last1 = Moore |first1 = Ronald D. |season = 7 |number = 22 |date = May 12, 1999 }}</ref>

===Video games===
O'Reilly appeared as Gowron in [[full motion video]] sequences in ''[[Star Trek: Klingon]]'', an [[interactive movie]]/[[computer game]] released by [[Simon & Schuster]] in 1996. This package also included a "language lab" designed to teach users basic [[Klingon language|Klingon]], where O'Reilly once again appeared in character.<ref name=catchingup>{{cite web |title = Catching Up With Robert O'Reilly |url = http://www.startrek.com/article/catching-up-with-robert-oreilly |work = StarTrek.com |archive-date = September 27, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150927235710/http://www.startrek.com/article/catching-up-with-robert-oreilly |access-date = October 18, 2014 |date = July 31, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1 = Spelling |first1 = Ian |title = The Man Behind Klingon |url = https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-56862319/the-man-behind-klingon |access-date =  |work = The Washington Times |via =  |date = May 5, 1996 |url-access =  |archive-date = October 22, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141022185943/http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-56862319/the-man-behind-klingon |url-status = dead }}</ref> O'Reilly also voiced Gowron in the PC game ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard]]'';<ref>{{cite news |last = Bassave |first = Roy |title = Restore Klingon honor by hunting down the traitor |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ybkoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JC8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6713,218670&dq=klingon-honor-guard&hl=en |access-date = April 17, 2013 |newspaper = Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |page = 28 |date = December 8, 1998 |archive-date = March 12, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160312111310/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ybkoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JC8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6713,218670&dq=klingon-honor-guard&hl=en |url-status = dead }}</ref> the plot of the game has the player character track down potential assassins of the Klingon leader.<ref>{{cite news |title = Games: Top Guns |url = https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-60926850/games-top-guns |access-date =  |work = Daily Record |location = Glasgow |date = December 11, 1998 |via =  |url-access =  |archive-date = March 8, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160308063645/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-60926850/games-top-guns |url-status = dead }}</ref> O'Reilly also played a separate Klingon, Kavok, in the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Hunt |first1 = James |title = Revisiting Star Trek TNG: Reunion |url = http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek/34335/revisiting-star-trek-tng-reunion |work = Den of Geek |access-date = January 31, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160129150324/http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek/34335/revisiting-star-trek-tng-reunion |archive-date = January 29, 2016 |date = February 27, 2015 }}</ref>

O'Reilly's next performance as Gowron was in the [[Massively multiplayer online role-playing game|MMORPG]] ''[[Star Trek Online]]'' in the mission "Leap of Faith," released in January 2021. In the mission the player, alongside General Martok and Matriarch J'Ula, find Gowron in Koth; a realm for those unworthy of Sto-Vo-Kor or [[Gre'Thor|Gre'thor]]. He is in Koth because of the dishonorable actions of his ancestor Aakar (also portrayed by O'Reilly) as Aakar's dishonor doomed his descendants for three generations. He agrees to be the personal servant of [[Fek'lhr]] in the mission's conclusion to guarantee the player and J'Ula's success in enacting their plan to corner and stop Aakar. At the end of the arc, thanks to the death of Aakar, Gowron is granted his place in Sto-Vo-Kor.