DS9: “The Alternate” and “Armageddon Game”

Date: June 19, 2020

Season 2, Episodes 12, 13, and 14

Musical Accompaniment: Bruce Springsteen’s YouTube mix

Interstellar News: Happy Juneteenth everyone. Remember that all lives can’t matter until all lives actually do matter. Be kind, wear a mask, and wash your damn hands. Also, I’ve decided to start shortening my summaries again, this way you get more of my snark and sass.

Favorite Quote from “The Alternate”:

Dr. Mora: Constable?

Odo: It’s a nickname that I barely tolerate.

Dr. Mora: It’s the expression of affection that you find difficult to accept.

Since we know Kira was the first one to use it and he has an affinity for her, I think it reminds him of her.

So what had happened in “The Alternate” was…: Dr. Mora, the Bajoran scientist who was assigned to Odo when he was first found, arrives at DS9 and it’s a real father-and-son who have an awkward relationship kind of interaction. Mora needs a runabout because he thinks he’s found Odo’s people, so Mora, Odo, and Dax go on a journey. They find a pillar and a specimen but beaming the pillar up causes an earthquake and gas that renders everyone unconscious except for Odo.Back on DS9 the specimen breaks out of the lab and something attacks Bashir. Dax gets better and runs an analysis while when Mora gets better he puts the pieces together and realize the gas had an effect on Odo and Odo is the something that attacked Bashir. After a heated argument Odo transforms in front of Mora, so Mora acts as bait and they are able to trap Odo in a force field. Odo makes a recovery and we get our hallmark moment before “dad” and “son”.

…”My replicator or yours?”: As usual… I have questions! What was the damn point of the pillar? What happened to the specimen? Why didn’t they just observe Odo in his bucket, or put his bucket in holding while he was in it? Why was Mora such a fucking prick? Did Odo ever do that investigation for Quark? Does Keiko ever find out that O’Brien keeps things from her so she doesn’t worry? So I get that Mora must have done a lot to help Odo and they spent quite a bit of time together so he’s always going to be the sort-of-father-figure, but Odo is a grown ass man and has been on his own for several years now, give it a rest pops. I also find it interesting that this is such a stark opposite from Data. Data wanted so badly to be more human-like and embraced having a “brother“, a “dad” and “mom” and even a “grandpa“, but Odo knows he’s different and doesn’t care. Odo is unapologetic about being his true authentic self and not trying to fit in just to make others comfortable, it’s the most wonderful “yeah, not doing that… fuck you.” The Hallmark moment felt a little forced, but it did when Riker and his dad made amends, so there’s that. I wish I could rate this episode as an 8 for Odo, but it just didn’t seem to have any bite to it, so I’m forced to give it 4 not-so-perfectly morphed ears.

Favorite Quote from “Armageddon Game”… O’Brien’s Ordeal: “Marriage is the greatest adventure of them all. It’s filled with pitfalls and setbacks and mistakes, but it’s a journey worth taking because you take it together.”

So what had happened in “Armageddon Game” was…: O’Brien and Bashir are helping the T’Lani and Kelleruns figure out how to destroy Harvesters, deadly weapons used in a war that has recently ended. Bashir cracks the code, O’Brien destroys all the files and, just as the last Harvester is being destroyed, two Kellerun shoot up the place. O’Brien sets the place to self-destruct and he and Bashir beam down to the planet. An ambassador from each side flies out to DS9 and explains Bashir and O’Brien are dead, say it was a terrible accident, and provide video evidence – which we all know is a doctored piece of bullshit. Sisko gathers everyone to watch and sends them on their tasks and then goes to Keiko, but she points out the video must be a fake because O’Brien never drinks coffee in the afternoon. Dax and Sisko head out to retrieve the roundabout and investigate.

On planet Bashir and O’Brien find shelter, some rations, and a communications device that needs work. O’Brien begins the work but needs help from Bashir because he’s been hit by liquid from the Harvester and is getting sicker by the minute. The ambassadors find them and explain they had to wipe out anyone with the knowledge of the Harvesters so that no one could ever build them again, but Dax and Sisko beam them out before they can be shot. They are pursued in the runabout but Sisko transports the foursome over to the other runabout and heads home just as their runabout is destroyed by the whackos in charge. O’Brien makes a full recovery, Keiko visits him in the infirmary, and she finds out her husband does drink coffee in the afternoon.

…”Help me up. I want to die on my feet.”: So it’s absolutely wonderful two people decide to stop killing each other and want to eradicate every last bit of information on the weapons, but they took it to the ultimate extreme. This episode also further illustrates how green Bashir is and how little experience he’s had in the field. It also shows just how bad ass of an engineer O’Brien is, but damn his interpersonal skills need work. He’s just so fed up with Bashir and barely gives him a chance, he’s already decided what type of man Julian is and doesn’t take into account that Bashir is really just a baby in terms of Federation service. I was disappointed in Sisko’s reaction to their “death” but loved that Dax and Kira met at the bar and Quark toasted to the fallen comrades, because he’s sort of part of the team. The reveal that both sides are in on it was a shock, and Bashir and O’Brien getting beamed out was also perfectly timed, and I absolutely loved Sisko’s plan at getting them the hell out of dodge. I don’t understand why the aliens suddenly decided to stop pursuing them if they were so hellbent on eradicating the knowledge of the technology, maybe they thought better of it. The absolute best moment, though, is Keiko’s reaction at the end when O’Brien admits he sometimes drinks coffee in the afternoon. I almost spit out my drink at their adorableness. 6.5 hearts and flowers for this adorable couple.

TA Out!