DS9: “Trials and Tribble-ations” and “Let He Who Is Without Sin…”

Date: July 27, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 6 and 7

Musical Accompaniment: Electronic music

Interstellar News: Today was Monday, in case you were wondering.

Favorite Quote from “Trials and Tribble-ations”:

Worf: They are Klingons, and it is a long story.

O’Brien: What happened? Some kind genetic engineering?

Bashir: A viral mutation?

Worf: We do not discuss it with outsiders.

Apparently I have to wait until Enterprise to find out, ugh!

So what had happened in “Trials and Tribble-ations” was…: The Temporal Investigation team arrives on DS9 to interview Sisko about what happened over the last two weeks. The Cardassians wanted to give the Orb of Time to the Bajorans and a man named Barry Waddle comes along as well. Turns out that Waddle was Darvin from “The Trouble with Tribbles” who wanted to reset the timeline. They change into vintage outfits, there’s now a hat for Worf, and Dax geebles about an old tricorder while Odo looks just like Cyrano Jones. The team splits up and searches the OG Enterprise and the space station for Darvin while bits of the original episode are also played, now with them in it. Worf explains Tribbles are the mortal enemies of Klingons and also that they do not talk about why these Klingons look so different than Worf. Odo and Worf finally catch Darvin who admits to putting a bomb in a tribble, so now the search is on for that. Sisko and Dax find it and space it, Kira figures out how to use the Orb, and Sisko meets with Kirk because he can. The investigators leave and Odo has a problem as the Tribbles have taken over the station.

“I’m a doctor, not an historian.”: This episode was a lot of fun. Having recently re-watched the TOS Tribble episode after listening to a live table reading of it, it was fresh in my memory. That made watching this episode even more special as I recalled a lot of the things that were callbacks to the 23rd century. We had smooth-headed Klingons, uniforms of a different color scheme, lots of extra things to carry, O’Brien looking just like Scotty, and Bashir using a famous phrase of McCoy’s. There’s also a lot of new stuff, like Dax really enjoying the outfit of a Yeoman, Bashir thinking he could be his own great-grandfather, Odo grasping at clues, and literally everyone throwing Tribbles around. They did a really great job integrating the DS9 crew into the scenes from the past, and still keeping all of the extra funny parts, like the bar fight and Kirk getting dumped on. My favorite, though, is O’Brien and Bashir not knowing how the turbolifts worked and honestly all of O’Brien being completely befuddled by the old technology, in a flip from when Scotty and La Forge were together on “Relics“. Let’s not forget Odo falling in absolute love with the Tribbles just as Uhura did, O’Brien trying to get everyone to tell Worf he smells of lilac, and all of the wonderful things that make this anniversary episode so special. I genuinely enjoyed this episode enough to give it 1,771,561 Tribbles.

Favorite Quote from “Let He Who Is Without Sin…”:

Worf: I will do as I please…

throws Fullerton across the room

… I am on vacation.

Worf attempting to have a sense of humor.

So what had happened in “Let He Who Is Without Sin…” was…: Dax and Worf are going to Risa as they “have much to discuss” and somehow they wind up bringing Bashir, Leeta, and Quark along. Everyone changes into more comfortable clothing, except Worf, and they all go their separate ways. As Worf is contemplating changing into a bathing suit he’s approached by a man from The New Essentialists Movement, who want the Federation to go back to a more moral time. This appeals to Worf who goes to their rally and eventually helps them mess with the weather grid. Bashir and Leeta go through the Bajoran Rite of Separation, mostly because Leeta has the hots for Rom which confuses both Bashir and Quark. Worf has trust issues with Dax due to her extensive past and his abandonment issues, but he finally shares with her the story of why he’s so restrained. When the Essentialists start causing earthquakes Worf and Dax step in to save the day and watch the suns set.

“Do not hug me.”: This was an awful episode. It was very Worf that he did not change the entire episode but it was also very unlike Worf to be vulnerable about his past. I did also love how Worf paid Dax a compliment in the Worfiest manner possible, it was very adorable. Worf really is a traditionalist at heart and would like nothing more than to lead the textbook Klingon warrior life, he just hasn’t quite accepted that he cannot. Dax and Worf both admit they won’t change but they could be a good balance for each other if Worf would take the stick out of his ass and communicate with his partner. Almost everything else about the episode is awful and pointless and just made me lose my high after such an awesome episode before it. I’m not even going to rate this one, that’s how utterly useless I believe it is.

TA Out!