Alex Acks: Sound and Nerdery

Time for more DS9! Starting with Profit and Loss, where we get to meet Quark’s old main squeeze, who happens to be Cardassian. She also happens to be a political radical, shepherding two other politcal reformers on the run from the Cardassian government.

There’s a lot of good character work for Quark, expanding him out past his usual character trait of “greedy.” After scheming and plotting to find ways to make his former lover stay with him, he finally does the noble thing and lets her go. I think this episode also has really great development for the Cardassians as a whole, because it takes them from being monolithic space assholes; it gives their politics a dimension and shows not all of them believe the same things.

But the real start? Our Totally Heterosexual Friend, Elim Garak. This is such a good episode from him… because we find out he’s been exiled, and that he really is serious about his love for Cardassia… and just how much he wants to go home. To the point that he basically allows himself to get played by some Gul you can also tell he hates. Because he wants to believe he can go home. And the conversation he has with Quark that is definitely about fashion is A+… though it’s a shame that Quark ruins it at the end by saying what he actually means.

A+ episode. The only thing I didn’t like is that they gave the two female Cardassians like super femme-y lips, which isn’t a problem of itself, but the makeup just looked really weird and out of place.

Then we get to Blood Oath (alternate title: Grumpy Old Klingons), which has Dax expanding on her connection with Klingons. And it’s got some great trans parable moments in it.

Kor: Curzon, my old friend!

Jadzia: It’s Jadzia now.

Kor: Jadzia, my old friend.

The Klingon s don’t expect Jadzia to keep the oath to go murder the albino guy who killed their kids. (The villification of the albino is not great.)  Where it gets interesting is that Jadzia wants to keep the oath, and she feels obligated. Though she obviously has conflicting feelings at the thought of revenge killing… to the point that she asks Kira flat out how many people she’s killed. (Jadzia, you can’t just do that!) Kira talking about how killing takes a part of you, too, it a good moment for her. This episode is mostly concerned with the dichotomy of the Trill… it’s supposed to be a new life, because you can’t keep paying your old debts, but that doesn’t mean the old lives are easily forgotten. And the parallels between Jadzia choosing to remember Curzon and then also choosing to remind the Klingons of their pasts is lovely, drawing them all into their shared history.

Kang: thank you for saving the death blow for me. You have honored me one last time.

The conclusion is very Klingon, with a high body count. Two of Jadzia’s old friends dead, while the third sings their death song for them. You can’t have a Klingon episode without “It is a good day to die.” Jadzia’s note is very much her own: “It’s never a good day to lose a friend.”

Look, I really love the Klingons, for all their problematic underpinnings. Every time I get to see their culture expanded on a bit and not made a joke, like Kor’s singing, it makes my heart happy.

Also, I really love that this looked like a pretty low-budget episode. All the mooks (didn’t bother Jadzia to mow them down…) are human and it looks like they just rented someone’s house for the day.

The Maquis part I and IIare something I vaguely remember… in that the Maquis were way too politicky for me when I was a kid and this was where DS9 really started losing me. I could certainly do with less of Quark hitting on the Vulcan lady. But the highlight of these episodes for me is Sisko having to deal with Biggest Piece of Shit Ever, Gul Dukat. Sisko loathes Dukat, Dukat is horrible and smug, and they snipe at each other. And then Sisko actually has to rescue Dukat… even as Central Command hangs Dukat out to dry, which is extra hilarious.

Also, there is a lovely moment where Odo is complaining that he wants the power to do more searches and set a curfew, because the Federation have too many rules on him and that’s why he can’t keep the station safe.

Kira: And the station will be just the way it was during the occupation.

Odo: Say what you like. It was safer then.

Kira: Unless you happen to be a Bajoran.

Odo: *awkward pause*

Methinks Odo is sure running the station with an authoritarian iron fist would be great as long as he’s the one in charge.

What makes these episodes interesting is that they introduce a group of humans (and Vulcans, and presumably other normally-Federation aliens) that are definitely not aligned with the Federation–and control enough territory to actually be a political force. There have obviously been anti-Federation societies before, but they’re normally just a colony on a single planet. So adding in another player gives the universe more dimension, just like adding the political dissidents to Cardassia in Profit and Loss. And their political argument is compelling enough that it makes a Federation officer defect to their side.

Not a lot of deep character work in these two, in my opinion, but it’s such a great expansion to worldbuilding.

On the other hand, The Wire is nothing but deep character work.

I love the starting bit of Garak as the literature nerd, talking about the repetitive epic (of which The Never-Ending Sacrifice is the pinnacle achievement) as foundational to Cardassian art… and how different cultures value different things–service to the state instead of individuality. It’s a wonderful little world building detail. Made more wonderful because since this is Garak, there is no way to tell if he’s earnestly giving Julian literature he thinks is great and important, or if he’s doing the equivalent of me handing someone Ethan Frome and claiming it’s a very important classic. The sidebar ends with Something Is Wrong With Garak, to start the whole episode in motion.

Because you bet your ass it’s a Garak episode. And Garak is so intensely Garak in this. So wonderfully terrible and tricky and adamant about the importance of lies. In a way it feels like a riff on Duet, because it’s another story about a Cardassian maybe being someone else, and then again maybe not, but it’s a question of whose soul atrocity lives within. Except this one isn’t a case of closure through punishment and who gets punished, but a question of who Garak is, and what the truth means, and the lies people construct around themselves and what they’ll do to survive all kinds of chronic pain and wrenching cognitive dissonance. (What does Garak actually value as opposed to what he claims to value? What is internal to him as a person and what is imposed on him by his culture? Who did he really betray?) Garak keeps telling different versions of the truth, separating himself into two people, having them play different roles, and each time the story has a different purpose that he’s trying to work on Bashir and himself. And just holy shit, watching Andrew Robinson play so many different versions of his character in so many different emotions is stunning.

Garak: They’re all true.

Bashir: Even the lies.

Garak: Especially the lies.

Garak is still a bad man, and I still adore him.

Last up is Crossover, which starts with Julian annoying the bajeesus out of Kira by being extremely Julian while they’re on a mission in a runabout. Random Star Trek space stuff happens and… MIRROR UNIVERSE TIME!

This one’s fun because it’s not just about humans with sinister facial hair. Instead we get an alliance between the Klingons, Bajorans, and Cardassians that have enslaved the humans in the area. And it’s all Kirk’s fault–by convincing evil Spock to be a less evil reformer, and thus open the Terran Empire up to the alliance. It is just a trip to see Garak dressed like a regular Cardassian and Nana Visitor playing special edition Bondage Kira. I imagine these episodes were just a ton of fun to film because everyone gets to play a complete twist on their character.

This group of episodes starts off strong with Rivals in my opinion. There’s not a whole lot of meat to this episode… it’s a standard “Macguffin makes things go wacky in the station and the crew has to figure out the source and stop it”-type episode that doesn’t have any metaplot for meat. But it’s just so dang fun. The macguffin in question is a little toy-like device that alters the laws of probability, meaning people suddenly start having hilariously good or hilariously bad luck. The guest star trouble-maker is Chris Sarandon, aka Prince Humperdinck, and he’s in fine form. He’s a con-man on the take before he gets his hands on the macguffin.

The B-plot is a fun sports rivalry between O’Brien and Bashir… a one-sided rivalry. O’Brien wants to reclaim is space racquetball glory days. Bashir is a much better player than him. O’Brien refuses to give up. Bashir just wants out. It’s actually really fun to witness.

And in the end, the con-man gets conned, which is one of my favorite plot devices ever. I love this dang episode. I wouldn’t want every episode to be like it, but it’s a good break from more serious stuff.

The Alternate is definitely a more serious episode–and it’s all about Odo. Dr. Mora, who was the scientist in charge of Odo when he was found, shows up on the station. Odo’s got a lot of feelings about this that René Auberjonois does really good work expressing, often via long stres.

It’s honestly upsetting to see people misinterpret Odo’s relationship with Dr. Mora as something father-son, and the episode expands and explores that relationship, which is a very uncomfortable one. Odo and Dr. Mora are bound together, but they were scientist and experimental subject, which is a very different sort of power dynamic. They might have some sort of affection for each other, but particularly from Odo’s perspective, there’s plenty of reason to resent Dr. Mora and even feel threatened by him.

The driver of the exploration is a strange volcanic gas that sort of unleashes Odo into an altered, monstrous state when he’s in his rejuvenation cycle–or driven to it by an extreme of emotion. The monster-Odo fixates on Dr. Mora, and while it’s a scary creature, it also becomes very understandable. When Dr. Mora figures out what’s going on, he basically tries to badger Odo, telling him that he’ll be put in a zoo. (Odo’s already been in Dr. Mora’s zoo.) That Dr. Mora is the only person Odo can trust–to which Odo bitterly argues, “Who says I trust you?”

After an episode of Dr. Mora talking over Odo, first almost like a fond parent, then insisting that no one knows as much as he does about shapeshifters (“Except for me,” Odo notes bitterly.) you can hardly blame Odo’s id for wanting to smash him flat. And it takes that level of fundamental anger for Dr. Mora to finally realize that he was not Odo’s parent, but his prison keeper.

It’s such a good episode because it focuses so tightly on the relationship between Odo and Dr. Mora and uses that as a window into both of the characters.

Dr. Mora: You had to speak in a voice loud enough for me to hear.

Odo: I’m sorry.

Dr. Mora: I’m sorry it was necessary.

Armageddon Game is another episode that puts O’Brien and Bashir together. They’re an interesting combination because they’ve got such clashing personalities–and O’Brien will argue with anyone at the drop of a hat. They’ve also got their similarities, being very good at what they do and needing to have something to do that they can pursue. Can’t say this episode is a favorite, but it’s good to see O’Brien getting some development, even if the writers haven’t figured out a damn thing for Julian to talk about that’s not how much he totally wants to have sex with a lady. (Like for goodness sake, watching him natter about space racquetball a couple episodes before felt like a massive change for him.)

Anyway, it’s another stand alone episode. O’Brien and Bashir are working together to destroy some horrible biological weapons at the request of alien cultures that finally have a peace treaty. Right when they’re destroying the last one, some people bust into the lab, shoot everyone, blow up where the weapons are, and O’Brien gets splashed. Then the two of them escape. The aliens then lie that O’Brien and Bashir are totally dead and it’s their own fault. So while the boys try to figure out how to get in contact with DS9, everyone there is feeling incredibly sad–even Quark, in a rare, very genuine moment for him.

We eventually find out that the murder of the scientists and attempted murder of O’Brien and Bashir was orchestrated by both sides of the new peace treaty, because they wanted everyone with knowledge of the biological weapons dead. Which is not what I expected, honestly. But, as that great philosopher Jake Peralta says, “Cool story, still murder.”

It’s an okay episode, but after the incredibly intense character work in The Alternate, it’s a little wanting. It feels like the writers just couldn’t find the same depth in Bashir and O’Brien at this point as they found in Odo, which is a shame.

I do love that Keiko gets to be the one who solves that mystery and discovers the “proof” that O’Brien and Bashir died is bullshit. The bit where she even figures out exactly what O’Brien is drinking by checking the spectroscopic analysis… I wish they gave her more moments like this.

Now, Whispers is another episode that’s definitely my jam. Chief O’Brien thinks there’s some kind of conspiracy going on at DS9, and since the episode is shot very much from his viewpoint, it becomes very evident that there’s definitely something going on in the background. So it’s basically O’Brien becoming increasingly paranoid and then figuring out how to get the hell off the station and go on the run. It’s DS9’s take on The Manchurian Candidate and when we got to the end of the episode I was yelling at the TV because the conclusion was pretty dang fucked up. A+, would watch again.

Kind of hilariously, I found the next episode, Paradise to be just as creepy and fucked up, but in a different way. O’Brien and Sisko beam down to a planet where there’s an unplanned human colony and get stuck on the planet. At first, the humans–who were on their way to a different planet to colonize and got stuck–seem welcoming and pretty cool. Then the leader of the colony, Alixus, starts getting creepier and creepier. She leaves her philosophical writings everywhere, and it becomes apparent she has decided how the community will go and doesn’t want things to change. Alixus doesn’t like doors. Alixus says that everyone agrees to locking people in a hotbox is a totally cool punishment. Alixus has made sure the only thing everyone reads are her philosophical writings. Alixus says they don’t need to have technology even to save someone’s life. Alixus really wishes they’d take off those uniforms and stop talking about Star Fleet coming to rescue them.

Oooh, she is so creepy, and so sure of herself, and so convinced that hers is the only way. Obviously if Sisko doesn’t agree with her shit, he just needs his attitude adjusted with more work. I mean, props to Gail Strickland for playing a character I can hate almost as much as Winn, but being way more subtle about it. My god, her entire speech accusing O’Brien of “wasting his time” trying to get his tricorder to work so he could save someone’s life and making him an enemy that’s trying to destroy the community by challenging what she sees as their righteous way of life. Gave me chills. And that little smile when she puts Sisko in the hot box? Brrrrrrr. (Also, let’s just consider for a moment Alixus, a white woman, locking a black man in a hot box for someone not working as hard as she wants them to. Yiiiiiiiikes.)

Alixus: This is painful for me to. I want so much to give you water. But I can’t without your help.

Hats off to the writers for crafting such a believably abusive and manipulative character. And the thing that’s grossest about it is that if she’d just asked for volunteers for her back-to-nature philosophy wank fest, she would have gotten them. And Sisko points out how people died? “You have no idea how much I suffered, because I watched them die.” The worst part is that she wins in the end–though I will say that about the last two minutes feel like it wrapped up too quickly, too neatly, and I really do not understand why it shook out the way it did.

Also, I need a moment to tell you how much I fucking love Mile O’Brien because he is so unabashedly smart and yet so firmly rooted in the working class. (Which I think is why they keep matching him with Julian, because the contrast is so pronounced.)

It’s time for some Detective Odo in Shadowplay! Dax and Odo go to a village where peole are mysteriously vanishing. Sadly, it’s not murder, it’s that the village is the Matrix, and the Matrix is glitching. That whole plot is pretty straightforward. And then we get Kira and her main squeeze and something about gambling debts as the B plot to fill out the episode. The big take-home from the episode is a little more information about the Dominion and how bad they are–and a fun little thought exercise about if hologram people are actually real people–artificial intelligences.

Odo + Kids is my favorite combo, I think. Odo gets along so well with kids because he basically treats them like they’re tiny adults.

My headcanon for this episode, by the way, is that every 30 years now someone will go back to the planet, do the maintenance on the holographic projector, and let the little colony of hologram AI people continue to evolve.

It’s an okay episode.

In Playing God, Dax has a Trill initiate to teach. There’s some background Star Trek bullshit plot that involves O’Brien dealing with a vermin infestation and then some kind of pocket universe thingy bob that wants to eat the station. Mostly it’s there to let Dax expand on her background a bit and bounce off the nervous student. Though the most fascinating part is seeing Jadzia’s resentment toward Curzon; it’s always cool to see the Trill interacting with their previous lives.

The number one thing to love about this episode is the return of the Klingon Street Food Restaurant and its totally amazing, singing proprieter. The rest is a lot of good character work for Terry Farrell.

Oh, and also this:

Kira: It’ll be like stepping on ants.

Odo: I don’t step on ants, Major.

What a good. Anyway, it’s a good episode if you want Dax development, very meh otherwise. And the development of Dax as a character doesn’t feel as raw or immediate as it did, say, for Odo in The Alternate because it’s more about her revealing events of her past than reckoning with concrete effects in the present. This might also be because Jadzia is a kind of understated character; I do feel like her discussion with Sisko where she struggles with not wanting ot be like Curzon, and then realizing the Curzon might have had a point, and then figuring out her own way to make the same statement without being a total dick is important. But it’s easy to lose when there’s a lot of louder stuff going on in the episode.