DS9: “Waltz” and “Who Mourns for Morn?”

Date: August 15, 2020

Season 6, Episodes 11 and 12

Musical Accompaniment: Some instrumental rock music

Interstellar News: I ran to our engineering campus to check my mailbox for the first time since March 6 and found a nifty pair of Bluetooth headphones waiting for me, along with hand sanitizer and wipes.

Favorite Quote from “Waltz”:

Sisko: You could have left me behind. Why didn’t you?

Dukat: I didn’t want to.

Well that totally answers it (waves hands in sarcasm).

So what had happened in “Waltz” was…: Sisko is aboard the Honshu as Dukat, who has made a remarkable recovery, is being escorted to his Federation hearing when some Cardassians destroy the ship. The Defiant is deployed so Worf, O’Brien, Bashir, and Dax can try to find any survivors and then they must immediately go protect a convoy, so they are on a time crunch. Sisko and Dukat made it in a shuttlecraft but Sisko is hurt and Dukat is being super nice because he wants to talk to Sisko and get him to admit they are friends and Sisko respects him. Sisko realizes the comm system is offline and fixes it when Dukat is out, but Dukat keeps hallucinating… he sees Kira, Damar, and Weyoun. Dukat figures out Sisko fixed the system and beats the shit out of him and then they talk. Dukat is distraught that the Bajorans never cared he was trying to do what was best for them and that they never gave him the recognition he deserved, damn it! Sisko plays along and then has it out with Dukat, getting Dukat to exclaim how he hates Bajorans, how he and other Cardassians are superior, and how Dukat should have killed them all when he had the chance. Sisko briefly escapes but Dukat comes to and steals the shuttle, leaving Sisko on the planet badly wounded. The Defiant, who has picked up 14 survivors, are about to go to the convoy when they get a message from Dukat and rescue Sisko.

“I fear no evil.”: As a counselor I do not like to use the word “crazy” but Dukat totally had a psychotic breakdown, is “crazy” with a capital ‘C’, and it was fascinating to watch. He’s always been the classic narcissist who loves to hear himself talk, thinks everything he does is the absolute best, and always thinks everyone else is wrong. He’s totally addicted to power and that is the thing most important to him, tied closely with his image in the eyes of others. He can’t fathom that Kira doesn’t want in him some way, which is why he never really hears what she has to say. His hallucinations of Kira, Weyoun, and Damar are turned up way past 11 and are gross exaggerations of how he perceives those three to think of him. Somewhere, though, he believes his own bullshit. He says he believed Cardassians to be superior to Bajorans but he fell in love with a Bajoran woman and then had Ziyal, so is Ziyal inferior by her birth or is she somehow better because she’s half Cardassian?

Obviously Dukat thinks that anything that is of his loins, or that he has a part in, is the most spectacular thing in the universe, but his downfall is caring about what others think of him. It’s similar to how Weyoun and Sisko talked a few episodes ago when Weyoun wants to pretend like they’re good friends and Sisko wasn’t having it, but this time Dukat really can’t wrap his head around it. I mean they are totally alone, well except for his hallucinations, so why can’t Sisko just admit he likes and respect Dukat? Starfleet wouldn’t ever know but it’s the absolute most important thing to Dukat, that is until he breaks.

One bit about the Defiant I thought worked best was when Worf and Dax remembered their orders and O’Brien and Bashir tried to advocate for Sisko because it made absolute sense. Worf and Dax are on the side of honor and take their duties as an officer seriously, including making those command decisions whereas Bashir and O’Brien are worried about their loyalty to their friends… which is not bad but also not a good thing to have in the chair, which is why O’Brien stays enlisted and Bashir stays the doctor. I was sad, however, that O’Brien and Bashir seemed disappointed when they found the survivors because none of them were Sisko, that’s a pretty crappy thing. When Kira, who believes Sisko to be the Emissary and an important part of her religion, is telling you to proctect the convoy – you go protect the damn convoy. I enjoyed crazy Dukat, annoyed and hurt Sisko, and Worf kicking Bashir off the bridge, but I was very underwhelmed by the rest of the episode. 4 escape pods for this episode.

Favorite Quote from “Who Mourns for Morn?”:

Odo: Your respect for the dead is heart-warming.

Quark: I’ll have you know that Morn died without paying this month’s tab.

Odo: Oh, how inconsiderate of him.

Quark: We’re talking about a lot of money. The man had quite an appetite. You know he had two stomachs to fill. Ever watch him eat? It was a beautiful thing.

Oso’s sass is fantastic, give me more!

So what had happened in “Who Mourns for Morn?” was…: Morn’s ship is destroyed in an ion storm so Quark holds a memorial service, gives a nice speech, and finds out he’s Morn’s beneficiary. A review of the financials shows Morn is broke, has suuuuuper ripe beets in the cargo bay, and a hot tub of mud in his quarters. Morn’s ex-wife Larell shows up and offers to split Morn’s retirement money with Quark, it’s 1,000 bars of latinum he won in a lottery. Soon after two brothers, Krit and Nahsk, come a-calling claiming Morn loaned the money from them. Lastly a man named Hain tries to arrest Quark, claiming Morn was a prince and the money is his inheritance. All three parties break into Quark’s room and it’s a reunion of The Italian Job because the four of them and Morn stole the latinum years ago but the statute of limitations on prosecution just ran out and they’re all trying to get it from him. Quark opens a storage locker and finds where the latinum is and they all agree to split it five ways, but fighting breaks out and everyone gets arrested – except for Quark. Quark, unfortunately, finds out the latinum is only “worthless gold” and then fortunately finds out Morn faked his death in order to suss out the others and get them arrested. To show his thanks, Morn regurgitates some of the liquid latinum that Morn has been hiding in his second stomach for 10 years.

“Keep it warm for Morn.”: I’ll start out by sharing a joke where we always say that my husband’s family has a second stomach, but it can only be filled with dessert (or bacon). This is mostly because I have seen him, his brother, his father, and his grandfather all fill themselves with meat and sides and bread, and then dive into the desserts like they didn’t just fill their bellies. Anyway, onto the episode.

Quark is super gullible in this episode, but he’s wanted a break for so long he doesn’t think that this might be a trap. After the brothers showed up I was starting to become suspicious and Quark should have too. I loved the absurdity of this episode, but not as much as I’ve liked other Ferengi-based episodes. I wish Quark was smarter or quicker to catch on, or had some other plan than giving into everyone’s demands. If this was before “The Magnificent Ferengi” sure, maybe I buy it, but Quark’s a hero now and he’s also a much smarter business man than that. Check if Morn ever was married, who the royal family really are, or ask for documentation of the loan – which he actually did that last one. Quark in the container with latinum, the jokes about gold being worthless, the brothers doing their best to intimidate, THE BEETS, and Odo riding to the rescue were all great bits. The best, though, was the memorial service where everyone knew to bring something (except O’Brien, sigh) and Quark was being his usual Ferengi self. I wish there was more to say, but I’m fresh out. 5 shots of latinum for Quark – gross.

TA Out!