DS9: “The Begotten” and “For the Uniform”

Date: July 30, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 12 and 13

Musical Accompaniment: Continuing the trend of the last few days, I’m now on songs that begin with the letter ‘H’.

Interstellar News: Today was a shit day. I think I’m going to go one more day with no ratings, I hope to be back to my ridiculous rating system tomorrow.

Favorite Quote from “The Begotten”:

Sisko: Why would the Founders send such helpless creatures out into space?

Odo: To find out if the species they encountered posed any threat. What better way to gauge another race than to see how it treats the weak and vulnerable?

Sisko: I see your point.

I really hope aliens aren’t watching the human race right now, we are getting it sooooo wrong.

So what had happened in “The Begotten” was…: Odo is still adjusting to being a humanoid when Quark brings him a sick changeling baby and Odo is instantly smitten and utterly captivated. Odo spends a few days talking to the baby, telling it about life on the station and swearing that Odo would never treat it like Odo was treated, when Dr. Mora arrives. They argue about the approach but Sisko’s announcement from Starfleet makes Odo compromise and they begin to see results. Odo and Mora have a small Hallmark moment, celebrate, and drunk Odo buys a bewildered Quark a drink when something bad happens… the baby is dying. Bashir and Mora do everything they can but it’s dying so Odo cradles it and then it’s absorbed into him and he’s a changeling again.

Kira is an labor while a Bajoran midwife, Keiko, and O’Brien try to help calm her and keep the rhythm. Shakaar’s late arrival causes Kira’s labor to stop. Kira tries again but O’Brien and Shakaar keep acting like little boys so she throws them out, only to invite them in if they can behave. She gives birth to a healthy O’Brien boy but is sad that she can’t be his mother. Strangely Worf is actually around the station but they do not capitalize on this. Dr. Mora and Odo share a big Hallmark moment then Odo runs into Kira post-birth and they decide to take a walk.

“I just wish I could hold him in my arms and never let him go.”: Odo acts like absolutely every new parent I’ve ever known. They swear they’re going to be a better parent than their parents were and then they realize how wrong they were. My parents may have not been fond of each other but, when it came to me, they were always on the same page. I may not have agreed with some of their methods but I think I turned out okay and would make minimal adjustments if I ever move from the terminally furry to the tiny human. He and Dr. Mora act like a parent and grandparent arguing over the “correct” way to raise a baby, but they’re equally adorable when they geeble over the baby trying to emulate a face. I’m reminded a lot of the bittersweet moment that went on with Troi in “The Child“, but here there’s a happy ending for Odo who gets his shape-shifting mojo back. He also gets to comfort Kira, which hopefully means their friendship is on the mend.

Kira, acting as a surrogate, was the epitome of selflessness. The O’Briens want to give her whatever she wants and a traditional Bajoran birth that’s all about relaxing sounds like something I would fail at because I can’t meditate or relax if my life depending on it. Let’s hear it for high functioning anxiety (waves hands in exuberant sarcasm)! Deep Space Nine has really been at the forefront of strong dads (Sisko, Rom, O’Brien, and now Odo) but we now add a strong mother in Kira, who thought she didn’t have a maternal bone in her body. Having children changes you, people say, and I’m sure it’s because of the lack of sleep and privacy but also because you’re now responsible for someone else who is as helpless as they can be. Kira may have brought life into the world but she doesn’t get to raise that life and it’s harder than she thought.

Favorite Quote from “For the Uniform”:

Odo: Sir, have you ever reminded Starfleet command that they stationed Eddington here because they didn’t trust me?

Sisko: No.

Odo: Please do.

Odo cranking the snark up to 11 and boy do I hope to hear Sisko tell them!

So what had happened in “For the Uniform” was…: Sisko is after Eddington, who always seems to be one or two steps ahead of Starfleet. Eddington installs a cascade virus on the Defiant, shoots at it, and strands them in space. This causes Starfleet to take Sisko off the case and Sisko is pissed because he never saw it coming, being taken off the case of Eddington’s betrayal. The Maquis shoot biogentic weapons at Cardassian planets so Sisko takes the mostly useless Defiant out to help, using Nog as the communication system and everyone else having to do manually all the things the computer would normally. They were tricked, however, and the Maquis are able to disable the Malinche. Odo is able to decipher a code and Sisko realizes he needs to embody a villain because Eddington sees himself as a hero. He causes Eddington to turn himself in and Dax admits that sometimes it is good when the “bad” guy wins.

“What are you really up to, Javert?”: The holocommunicator is very Star Wars, I’m just saying. Also, O’Brien made a comment about not doing any barrel rolls, I just felt like I needed to explain the picture. This is the second time we’ve seen Sisko play the villain, though last time he was in the holosuite and it wasn’t reaaaaaally him, and he’s fantastic at it. Sisko really digs deep into the Les Mis bone that Eddington throws at him and it works, but at what cost? Sisko does make a point that the Maquis are false advertising at its worst. How do they expect to ever just give planets back and how will anyone ever really feel safe? I get that it’s a bitch to move, I’ve done it more times that I can remember at this point, but sometimes you have to. Eddington is really a smug bastard throughout the episode, but he also makes a fair point when he identifies this as a personal vendetta. Yes, Starfleet wants Sisko to do it but Sisko is upset with himself and is blind to the fact that Eddington has a year and a half worth of recon on him and his crew. Overall a very interesting episode with more shades of grey than I knew existed.

TA Out!