DS9: “Past Prologue” and “Babel”

Date: June 7, 2020

Season 1, Episodes 3 and 4

Musical Accompaniment: More iTunes foolishness. Artists include: Coldplay, Blink 182, Sister Hazel, and so many Warped Tour compilation albums.

Interstellar News: Today was the last day of celebrating the husband’s birthday weekend and boy was it a hot one today.

Favorite Quotes from “Past Prologue”:

Danar: If you require all vessels to endure such lengthy docking procedures, Commander, you’re going to have a lot of impatient traffic out there.

Sisko: I apologize. We’re still trying to repair all the damage your forces did before they left. It does create unreasonable delays.

Sisko with the professional snark, I approve.

Snarky and Sly Sisko: “Go over my head again and I’ll have yours on a platter.” and “I think, Doctor, you could definitely use a new suit.”

Kira: Either way, I have to betray someone.

Odo: The only important thing is not to betray yourself.

Odo dropping that good knowledge on Kira. Apparently he’s part Constable and part Counselor.

So what had happened in “Past Prologue” was…: Garak, a Cardassian clothier still on station, introduces himself to a very obviously uncomfortable Bashir as everyone believes Garak is a spy. A Cardassian ship is firing on a Bajoran ship and we meet Tahna Los, an old underground friend of Kira’s, who is requesting asylum. The Cardassians wants Tahna but Sisko won’t have any part of it. Kira tries to convince Tahna that the Federation is a necessary stepping stone, but he doesn’t want to hear it.

The Duras sisters, B’Etor and Lursa, show up at the station and Odo finds out they are working with Tahna. They also, however, want to sell him to the Cardassians after he pays them so they go to Garak who, in turn, goes to Bashir. Kira knows something is off and she agonizes over betraying her kind, but knows she has to go to Sisko and Bashir is able to fill in the missing gaps. The sisters are delivering the second piece of a bomb and Tahna is going to try to blow up the wormhole because he thinks everyone will then leave Bajor alone. Kira directs him into the wormhole where the bomb detonates into nothingness and Sisko gives Tahna a choice: Federation or Cardassian custody. He chooses… wisely.

…and then I found five dollars: Finally, an episode with it all! There’s a complicated political issue, several different plots and schemes, Sisko’s snark meter is at 9, and there are Klingons! Kira understands that Bajor is young and impressionable and can eventually walk on their own if they accept Federation aid for a bit. What Kira doesn’t understand, however, is how to work with Sisko yet. She tattles to the Admiral, who isn’t pleased, and then realizes too late that Sisko is totally on her side. She also puts too much stock in her friendship with Tahna, not comprehending that not all Bajorans may want what she wants. After years of Cardassian occupation I can totally understand that some Bajorans just want to be left alone, even if the Federation only wants to help. The sisters are recognizable villains who are trying to do anything to build up their war chest, and helping Tahna and then betraying him to the Cardassians is twice as nice for them even if it doesn’t wind up paying out. Tahna, in the end, also sees the benefit of choosing the Federation over the Cardassians though I am sure he resents that he has to choose at all. The only thing I can truly hope is that Garak and Bashir continue to have such entertaining conversations. Garak is a pip and Bashir is totally out of his element, I need good banter in my life! 7 antimatter containers for this episode.

Favorite Quote from “Babel”:

Odo: Rom’s an idiot. He couldn’t fix a straw if it was bent.

Quark: You’re right. Rom is an idiot. Remind me to get rid of him tomorrow.

Odo and Quark have some good banter, I think I’m going to like their “frenemy-ship”.

So what had happened in “Babel” was…: Everything on the station is going wrong and O’Brien is having a hell of a day. After he fixes some replicators he begins to not make sense and Bashir diagnoses him with aphasia, but isn’t sure what the cause is. Quark is having trouble with his replicators so he sneaks stuff out of the fixed ones that, apparently, infect the whole ship with the aphasia virus first through the replicator and then through the air. 60% of the station are down and, over the course of the episode, more and more people become infected including Dax and Jake.

Bashir finds out it was engineered by the Bajorans and was set up 18 years ago when the station was first built and somehow O’Brien triggered it to go off, Kira is put in charge of tracking down an antidote. Bashir is infected, Kira finds the medical assistant of the guy who made the virus, and Sisko and Odo try to stop a ship from leaving and causing major structural damage. Sisko and Kira both go down with the virus but Quark steps in to allow Odo to send the ship off into space with 10 seconds left to spare in proper Trek fashion. The assistant finds the antidote and everyone gets back to normal.

…and then I found five dollars: This entire episode reminded me of what happened to Alan in an episode of Boston Legal, a show that Shatner was on. At first I thought this was similar to a TOS episode and then remembered it was Denny Crane (Shatner’s character in BL) and not Captain Kirk, oh well.

As someone who is still separated from loved ones due to Covid-19, I thought this episode was a little eerie. A virus with no cure, varying incubation periods and severity depending on who it infected and at what time, a bar being considered an “essential service” during a lock down quarantine, and the doctor becoming sick before he’s able to find a cure. I was thinking to myself how interesting it was Bashir was fine and then WHAM, word salad. I also love that Odo and Quark were the last two standing, though of course Sisko and Kira miraculously lasted quite long.

I was hoping to find out more about how Dax was feeling about being a woman, and honestly about her in general… I’m sure I will in time. I absolutely loved how Sisko became Dad and then went right back to being Commander, but still had time to check in on his son. Kira is super bad ass and is determined to do whatever it takes to stop the whole station from going under, even if she’s going to be arrested or reprimanded for it. Nothing motivates people faster than being infected by something that they may be able to develop a cure for, and it was just so lucky for him that Bashir was super close to coming up with the antidote. I also think it was an interesting twist that it was Bajorans who were screwed over by their past selves as the ones who installed the virus were likely captured before they could enact it and I’m sure we’ll continue to see how deep the hurt runs over the course of the show. While this episode was far from perfect, it was a lot of fun. I cannot, however, get over how DUMB the nurse was. She knew that everyone was affected with aphasia but kept asking “what” when anyone affected talked to her. Come on woman, you’re a NURSE! Oh well, maybe she needs 7 more years of medical school or something.

TA Out!