DS9: “Shakaar” and “Facets”

Date: July 10, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 24 and 25

Musical Accompaniment: Spanish love songs played on the guitar

Interstellar News: It’s never the worst day ever when you’ve had a puppy sleep on your lap.

Favorite Quote from “Shakaar”– The Complaint of the Changeling: “It has been my observation that one of the prices of giving people freedom of choice is that sometimes they make the wrong choice.”

So what had happened in “Shakaar” was…: The First Minister of the Bajoran provisional government dies and his interim successor is Kai Winn until an election can be held. Winn asks Kira to help reclaim some farm equipment from Shakaar, a man she fought with in the Resistance. He and two old friends explain they were supposed to have the equipment for a year but he is willing to work out a compromise. Instead Winn tries to have him arrested and he and Kira flee with the equipment. Winn tries to get Sisko and the Federation to intervene but he can’t and won’t and the situation spirals out of control. As Kira and crew are cornered she and Shakaar talk to Colonel Lenaris in order to avoid civil war, so Shakaar tells Winn he’s running against her.

On the station O’Brien is on a darts winning streak at Quark’s and Quark is looking to make a quick buck. He gives good odds and attracts quite a crowd. O’Brien is “injured” before he can make his last shot, however, and a Vulcan wins on 15-to-1 odds to the dismay of Quark. After surgery O’Brien is no longer “in the zone” but Bashir makes a good shot and is next on Quark’s list.

“I didn’t fight the Cardassians for twenty five years just so I could start shooting other Bajorans.”: So I’m to believe that the entire senior staff is so enamored with O’Brien’s win streak that no one notices or cares that Kira is missing for two weeks? I also do not buy for a minute that O’Brien was really hurt, though I’m glad Quark wasn’t smart enough to figure it out. I mean I understand that O’Brien is a klutz sometimes but it’s usually when he’s getting his adrenaline fix, not when he’s reaching for coffee. I mean he’s a bit older but he’s not that old… though I did throw my back out once trying to put pants on, so maybe.

The Kira part of the episode is more than enough to make up for the lame antics happening at Quark’s. We get a look into her life before Bajoran independence and we also get to see how she’s grown over the last three years. She really does try for a compromise, surely something can be worked out, but she does forget she’s dealing with Kai Winn who is insane and would get along great with Umbridge. Kira’s friends are a reminder of her past and for what she fought for but also a good kick in the pants as to what’s really happening on the surface. It’s hard to remember that when you’re up in the sky and several hours away from where you grew up and it’s even harder when you’re not living that life. I’m really glad both she and Shakaar came to the relization at the same time that they didn’t want to fight their fellow Bajorans, it isn’t what they fought for. Shakaar realized he could make a difference by using his leadership skills and he even was able to convince the militia the merits of his plan. Kira really did act as an intermediary and wasn’t the sole hero of the hour, which I really liked. In the end Kira gets into absolutely no trouble for missing two weeks worth of work and Kai Winn loses power, so this episode gets 6 bullseyes from me.

On a slightly different note there’s something that confuses me about Bajor. How do you get everyone on an entire planet to follow only one religion? Maybe Bajor isn’t as large as Earth but I can’t imagine even the smallest planet not having several kinds of personalities and people on their surface. Maybe it’s very American of me, but it’s hard to believe that there’s not a single atheist or other believer in the whole population.

Favorite Quote from “Facets”:

Quark: What can I get you, Nog?

Nog: A root beer. It’s an Earth drink. Something they serve at the Academy.

Quark: A root beer. This is the end of Ferengi civilization.

Nog being proud of himself and getting himself ready for Earth drinks while Quark is all doom and gloom.

So what had happened in “Facets” was…: Dax is going to go through the zhian’tara, the Trill Rite of Closure, and “meet” all of her previous hosts as their memories are temporarily transferred into another body. Kira embodies Lela, the first Dax host, who was clearly a wonderful and strong woman in a time where the Trill were likely less appreciative strong women. She was a legislator and apparently Italian in a previous life, she used to wildly gesticulate before the men teased her for it, and is responsible for some of Jadzia’s mannerisms. O’Brien takes on Tobin who’s super nervous and super smart but is the reason for Jadzia taking on a unique way of problem solving. Leeta, the dabo girl, has Emony’s memories and was a gymnast which helps Jadzia understand her affinity for Klingon martial arts. Quark takes on Audrid who loved being a mother and the head of the Symbiosis commission. Bashir embodies Torias who was brash and lived life to the fullest but was in an accident and didn’t live as long as he would have liked. Sisko takes on the responsibility of hosting Joran, the psychopath killer, and even inside of the holding cell he causes trouble. Last it’s Odo who takes on Curzon but it’s almost like a true joining as Odo is a changeling. They originally intend to stay connected but Jadzia talks them into separating and Curzon proclaims his love for Jadzia.

Nog, on the other hand, is still trying to qualify for the Starfleet examination. Rom is so damn proud and has Garak tailor a uniform for Nog, but Nog fails part of the test. Rom realizes Quark did something and hulks out on his brother, again, because Nog’s happiness is the most important thing to him. Nog passes the exam when his uncle isn’t interfering and O’Brien can’t believe he’ll have to call Nog “sir” after Nog graduates from the academy.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow your bodies for a few hours.”: Rom is the absolute best and is so supportive of his son, it really is interesting how alike Sisko and Rom are when it comes to fatherhood. I almost feel bad for O’Brien, almost, but I absolutely don’t feel bad for Quark at all. I hope he comes around to being proud of his nephew.

I truly enjoy learning about the Trill joining process and found the whole thing fascinating. I wish there was more time with some of the hosts, especially since the only way I got some of the names was by looking up the transcript for the episode. It was fun to see Jadzia realize what things came from previous hosts and what things were simply enhanced after being joined, she really got to learn a lot about herself. I can understand why this is needed after so many hosts there’s a lot of information floating around and I’m sure it’s not so readily available on command, especially the more removed she is from the host. We’ve heard a lot about Curzon not just because he was Sisko’s friend and mentor but also because he was the most recent host. I do wonder why she didn’t think too hard to ask Curzon before, though? Maybe she was scared or maybe it was hidden from her somehow. Sisko plays Joran perfectly and I will admit I was a bit scared for Jadzia but knew she would be okay because there are several more seasons. The biggest bit for me was the Odo/Curzon hybrid which was a true melding of personalities and I absolutely loved watching Odo drink for the first time. It was wonderful that Odo, once separated, had a greater appreciation for what it’s like to be a humanoid and Dax, once rejoined, understood Odo a bit more unlike any other “solid” person could. Dax becomes more sure of herself and is finally growing into her own. This episode gets 7 previous hosts for me.

TA Out!