DS9: “Indiscretion” and “Rejoined”

Date: July 14, 2020

Season 4, Episodes 4 and 5

Musical Accompaniment: The Dallas String Quartet YouTube mix

Interstellar News: Today was much less hectic, but I have been sad most of the day.

Favorite Quote from “Indiscretion”:

Kira: Ouch. Run this dermal regenerator over the wound.

Dukat: This isn’t funny.

Kira: It is from this angle.

Dukat: You know what’s even funnier? This doesn’t work.

Kira: You have to activate it.

Dukat: Ah. Ah, yes. Oh, much better.

The entire scene is just hysterical. JUST TAKE IT OUT!

So what had happened in “Indiscretion” was…: Kira gets a lead on the Ravinok, a Cardassian ship carrying Bajoran prisoners, that was lost six years ago. She goes to investigate but Gul Dukat tags along. They find the ship crash landed in the Dozaria system where Dukat identifies several remains and shares with Kira that he loved a Bajoran woman, they had a daughter, and if she’s alive he’ll have to kill her. They dress as Breen guards, free the survivors, and Dukat decides to take his daughter back to Cardassia.

On the station Yates is thinking about taking a job on Bajor and Sisko reall fucks up “the talk”. He gets advice from Dax, Bashir, Quark, and Jake and decides he needs to apologize and commit. He makes up for being an ass, they have a much better talk, and Yates already took the job because she’s a grown ass woman who don’t need no man.

“You are in love with the sound of your own voice.”: I’ll start with Sisko and Yates. At first I was super confused why Sisko reacted the way he did and why Yates blew up at him, there was an under-reaction and over-reaction in the same room at the same time and I was like “whoa”. Later we watch Dax and Bashir dissect his every word the way middle school girls do when someone in the group has a crush. By the end of the episode we realize that Sisko is fucking terrified that he’ll lose Yates because of his job and instead of talking to her about it he just shut down. His reaction now makes sense and hers does too and I’m happy for both of them.

The best part about Kira and Dukat is that Kira never lets her guard down with Dukat, not once. Even when they’re laughing about him sitting on the spike she’s more laughing at him than with him. She tells Dax something similar near the end of the episode. While Dukat may be charming and a good orator, he’s at heart a man who is willing to do anything to survive and he’s the ultimate Cardassian patriot. The turn at the end where he welcomes he daughter so suddenly was a bit abrupt for me and I wonder if it has something to do with Kira now that I know he has a propensity for Bajoran women. I’m shocked that Kira doesn’t demand to see Ziyal before they depart or that she doesn’t worry that once they’re out of Bajoran space there might be an “accident”, but I’m sure I’ll find out about it unless this is one of the things they never bring up again. 8 big plant spines right up Dukat’s backside for this episode.

Favorite Quote from “Rejoined”:

Kira: What do Klingons dream about?

Worf: Things that would send cold chills down your spine and wake you in the middle of the night. It is better you do not know.

Husband said he would pay good money to listen to Michael Dorn deliver scary stories in Worf’s voice.

So what had happened in “Rejoined” was…: A Trill science team is coming to DS9 to use the Defiant for some tests, but the lead scientist is also a joined Trill and her past life was married to one of Dax’s past lives, Torias. At the reception it’s clear Lenara and Dax are attracted to each other, fueled by their old host’s memories, but it’s forbidden to interact with old host relationships or risk exile and the death of your symbiont. The first test goes well, Dax and Lenara get closer, and Bashir is the world’s worst chaperone. The second test causes damage to the Defiant, Dax does some cool force field surfing, and she saves Lenora. Dax tells Lenora she’s willing to risk everything for the love she feels for her, but Lenora is not willing and leaves the station.

“Your head’s full of latinum”: I have a lot of problems with this episode, but mostly because the Trill made up some stupid ass rules. If two symbionts love each other, why can’t they keep doing so throughout their different host’s lives? Or, if you’re not supposed to interact with anyone from an old life, why don’t they just make a rule that joined Trills can’t be in relationships with other joined Trills? Either way I have a problem with those solutions because you’re putting rules in place with people’s lives… telling them who they can and cannot associate with because the symbiont is the most important thing in the world? It seems like the hosts have to jump through an awful lot of hoops to give the symbionts a varied lifestyle each time.

I also like a lot of things about this episode. The chemistry between Dax and Lenara is off the charts and I totally believe they are head over heels in love. It breaks my heart that Dax is willing to throw everything away for the feelings she’s experiencing, because I know that feeling well. When you love someone a certain way and they make you feel incredible, it’s almost like a drug in a way and you lose all sense. Lenara and Sisko both lecture Dax on responsibility, but I’m with Dax that life is too short to not take advantage of things that make you feel good. Time is the one thing we cannot make more of. I also understand, however, that Dax has another life to think about because it’s not just her body. It’s also fun to see Kira in her “dress blues”, Worf being utterly creepy about Klingon dreams, and Bashir being comfortable in the friend zone because he truly cares about Dax’s happiness. We also have a much better version of what happens when a Trill switches genders than in “The Host“, and lets face it this version of the Trill is so much more interesting and complicated and… the spots go all the way down. 7 minutes in heaven for this episode, or spin the bottle – your choice.

TA Out!