Date: August 18, 2020

Season 6, Episodes 17 and 18

Musical Accompaniment: A hard rock instrumental compilation.

Interstellar News: Tonight I ate purple noodles (sweet potato and buckwheat) and they weren’t half-bad.

Favorite Quote from “Wrongs Darker than Death or Night”:

Sisko: Tell me something, Nerys. If you hate her that much, why did you save her life?

Kira: Believe me, there’s a part of me that wishes that I hadn’t. But the fact is, no matter what she did, she was still my mother.

Sisko already knew the answer, he just knew Kira needed to say it out loud.

So what had happened in “Wrongs Darker than Death or Night” was…: Kira gets a transmission from Dukat who reveals that her mother left their family to be with Dukat. After being irritable in Ops all morning Kira begs Sisko, the Emissary, to let her use the Orb of Time and see for herself. Kira is transported back in time, though it’s different than the last time we saw the Orb used, and she saves her family from thieves trying to steal their soup. Meru and Kira, however, are rounded up to become “comfort women” to the Cardassians and Gul Dukat is instantly smitten with Meru. Meru is moved into Dukat’s quarters and several weeks later calls for Kira to be her companion, but Kira is disgusted and calls her mother a collaborator. She agrees to plant a bomb for the resistance but, after activating it, she realizes that her mother made the choice to do this for her family and she saves Dukat and Meru. She returns to present time and debriefs with Sisko.

“Well, if you won’t talk about it, perhaps you should consider doing something about it.”: So Dukat did and did not tell the truth, as is true to his character. Meru didn’t leave her family to be with him by choice, she did it for them so they could have a chance to survive… though that doesn’t make it right as Kira explains. I find it interesting that Kira was the cause of Dukat’s one-month anniversary bombing just as I find it horribly creepy that Dukat has had the hots for Kira since early on. My favorite part was when Kira was with the Legate at the party and how well she handled him both before and after she got him drunk. He also helps tell Kira and the audience that this is not a new act and he’s seen it all before, Dukat really is a slime. While his feelings for Meru may be genuine he’s still doing horrible things to her people, and all to feed his massive ego and god-complex.

The entirety of this episode is what Sisko would say is a shade of grey because everyone has their price. Kira grew up wanting to kick Cardassian ass and that was that, nothing could change her mind, but what made that possible was her mother’s sacrifice. Her mother chose to accept the “easy” route, but what did it feel like for her to be away from her children and her husband for seven years? Did she willing go to his bed or did she feel guilted into it? The episode doesn’t delved into these things but maybe they would have helped Kira. Maybe Kira’s recent realization that she was briefly a collaborator during the Dominion occupation of DS9 helped or maybe it was Sisko’s order to not disturb the timeline that helped Kira save her mother and Dukat at the last minute. There are several things “off” about this episode; the Orb works weirdly, we don’t know if Kira looked like herself or if it was like when Odo had his weird vision, and Sisko just allowing Kira to go off and find out if her mom was sleeping with Dukat. I give this episode 6 Orbs that all sing the same song when you hold it up to your ear.

Favorite Quote from “Inquisition”:

Bashir: I was alone.

Sloan: Are you sure about that?

Bashir: Wait, let me think. Was I alone in solitary? Yes. I think I was.

Bashir with the sass and sarcasm… I approve.

So what had happened in “Inquisition” was…: Bashir is heading out to a medical conference but first he must fix O’Brien’s shoulder… again. The next morning Bashir is suuuuuuuuper tired and he is called to Ops with the other senior officers because Internal Affairs is there, relieves them of duty and confines them to quarters. Bashir is called in by Sloan who asks a few questions and then lets him go. After he is delivered Worf’s gagh by “accident” he also notices someone has been in his room and then he’s called back after O’Brien calls ahead to warn Bashir. Sloan believes Bashir is a spy and doesn’t even know it… blaming it all on his time in captivity. Sloan even puts doubt into Sisko’s head after discussing Bashir’s lying to Starfleet, his genetically engineered friends coming to visit, and his helping the Jem’Hadar try to become free of their addiction. They go to beam him out to Starbase 53 when he’s beamed onto Weyoun’s ship and Weyoun tells Bashir he’s been working for them. The Defiant catches up with the Dominion ship, Worf and Kira beam aboard and grab Bashir, but then all of the senior staff is acting off and O’Brien’s shoulder doesn’t hurt. Bashir finally realizes he’s in a holosuite when Sloan ends the program, explains he’s from Section 31, and offers Bashir a job. Back on DS9 Odo isn’t surprised that Starfleet has something like the Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order, Kira is both impressed and cautious, and Sisko is determined to use Bashir to find out what the hell is going on.

“Looks like you’re going to get to play a spy after all.”: After all those “O’Brien must suffer” episodes, now we have a “Bashir must suffer” episode… except it was all fake, kind of. From the moment he wakes up Bashir is in a holosuite program that is run by Sloan of Section 31, an organization no one has heard of but has been in existance since the first days of the Starfleet charter… SO WHY DOESN’T SOMEONE JUST GO LOOK AT Section 31 of the damn document? So I loved that the clues were there all along: Bashir feeling tired in the morning, the food being delivered incorrectly, someone going through his stuff, and even Weyoun pushing the same lies as Sloan. Sloan absolutely makes the episode, though, as he starts off all nice and then he’s nasty and mean and then he’s determined, and then you find out he just wants to offer Bashir a job now that he’s sure Bashir is not a spy. He manipulates the program just so that the audience really thinks it might be real, and the scones were a nice touch. I would have been really mad if they not only replaced Bashir with a changeling but also made him a spy, so I’m glad that wasn’t the case here. Bashir was also good with his progression of being sleepy, to having a nice chat, to being alarmed and suspicious, to being outraged, to being understanding because he’s been a liar in the past, to finally seeing what he’s been missing this whole time. He also continues to keep his doctor hat on the whole time and be sickened by the notion of a secret operation that is judge, jury, and executioner. Overall, not a terrible episode so it earns 7 of my favorite William Sadler roles (Grim Reaper, Heywood, Detterick, Sheriff Valenti, Milhoan, Janko, and (now) Sloan).

TA Out!

Date: August 17, 2020

Season 6, Episodes 15 and 16

Musical Accompaniment: Instrumental metal and hard rock because… why not?

Interstellar News: I can’t type this large enough or say it loud enough… be kind. Also, happy Black Cat Appreciation day to two of my favorites: Louie (pictured) and Kaylee (who doesn’t like me as much).

Favorite Quote from “Honor Among Thieves”:

Flith: Gentlemen, we just robbed the Bank of Bolias.

Bilby: I was thinking about opening an account there.

O’Brien: Maybe you should go with a different bank.

Bilby: One with better security.

A fun scene between thieves.

So what had happened in “Honor Among Thieves” was…: O’Brien is undercover trying to find out who the Orion Syndicate has on their payroll from Starfleet. O’Brien makes himself useful to Bilby who takes an instant liking to O’Brien. Bilby’s boss, Raimus, bring a Vorta by and the plot thickens as they want Bilby and crew to kill the Klingon ambassador but make it look like other Klingons did it. O’Brien realizes he’s been lied to by Starfleet Intelligence and tries to make it right, but either way Bilby is a dead man. Back on DS9 the crew is glad to have O’Brien back as the station was in shambles without him, but O’Brien confides in Bashir that he feels responsible.

“She works in a flower shop. Arranging flowers.”: This is a pretty typical mob story except they try to make you feel bad for the criminal. The problem with that is everyone always has a choice and, at some point, Bilby decided to turn to a life of crime to support his family, but he knew the risks. I caution to call this an “O’Brien must suffer” episode, but it kind of is. He was put undercover, lied to, and then felt compelled to help someone he came to care for and was unable to do that either. At least he got a cat out of the deal. There are a few things this episode helps set up or make clearer though. Raimus and the Syndicate were named in “A Simple Investigation“, the Vorta is the same one from “Our Little Ship“, and there’s totally a Star Wars reference in “it’s a trap”. We like O’Brien, he’s generally a good guy, so it’s hard for us to watch him have to betray Bilby… but it was terribly naive of O’Brien to believe Chadwick. Overall, though, this episode just doesn’t do it for me and earns itself three Klingon disrupters that just don’t work.

Favorite Quote from “Change of Heart”:

O’Brien: A single malt, preferably something from the Highlands.

Worf: I will need some time.

O’Brien: Oh, your credit’s good.

Worf agreeing to pay up on the bet he just lost.

So what had happened in “Change of Heart” was…: Dax is playing tongo while Worf and O’Brien look on and bet, as Quark’s won 206 straight games. Quark makes it 207 but Dax and Worf still wind up having a wonderful time in bed together that night. They are awoken early by Kira who needs them to meet with a Cardassian spy. They argue about their honeymoon and video chat with Lasaran who wants to defect. They arrive on planet and traverse the jungle but Dax is hurt by some Jem’Hadar. She makes it as long as she can but Worf has to leave her in order to rendezvous with Lasaran. Worf suddenly changes his mind, carries Dax back to the roundabout, and returns to DS9 where Bashir saves her. Worf is reprimanded by Captain Sisko but is also understood by used-to-be-husband Sisko. Worf and Dax will no longer be allowed to go on missions alone.

There’s also a side plot with O’Brien being obsessed with learning tongo and beating Quark, getting Bashir to help him, and Quark totally mind-fucking Bashir in order to make it win 208.

“I would rather lose a bet on you than win on someone else.”: I liked the side plot with Bashir, O’Brien, and Quark… especially because Quark is so, damn, good as distracting Bashir. I absolutely love married Worf. There’s a part on the shuttle where he asks Dax, “Why? Did you want to fight over it?” and he practically does an eyebrow waggle and I about lost my mind at playful and amorous Worf. They’re playful in bed, adorable in both the shuttlecraft and in the jungle at night, as well as professional after Dax gets hurt… at least up to a point. Dax does her best to soldier on and she uses humor to lighten up the situation while Worf feels super conflicted, but they both know what has to be done. Worf to the surprise of everyone, including Dax, tells Starfleet regulations to go fuck themselves and he saves his wife. He didn’t know it but when the chips are in and the cards are down, he puts her first. It’s wonderful and romantic and makes you want to cry, especially because we’ve seen Worf grow up over several seasons. He lost K’Ehleyr, has been a terrible father to Alexander, didn’t have enough time with Troi, and has finally found love in the middle of a war. He’s finally realizing he can be a Klingon and be true to himself but also be a husband and a father and all of the other things he wants to be without losing who he is. He’s found out he has different priorities than he thought and that’s totally happened to us all. My mother asked me every year on the first day of school what I wanted to be when I grew up from Kindergarten all the way to senior year of high school and “professor”, “teacher”, or “advisor” was absolutely never on the list. We never know what or who will be brought into our lives and change absolutely everything. One hopes they can hold onto it for as long as they can, and boy would a happy ending for Worf and Dax be fantastic amidst all this death and destruction. 7 bottles of young and sweet bloodwine for the happy couple.

TA Out!

Date: August 16, 2020

Season 6, Episodes 13 and 14

Musical Accompaniment: iTunes on random (Billy Joel, 50 Cent, Foo Fighters, Sublime, Counting Crows, Jimmy Eat World, and a bunch more).

Interstellar News: Three loads of laundry completed. Nine stretch goals and two bonuses unlocked on the “Lucky Devils/Witchy Ways” Kickstarter with 15 days to go! A fabulous friend and wonderful writer is pimping his Patreon, with a fun surprise if he gets to 60 backers… so go on and support the arts!

Favorite Quote from “Far Beyond the Stars”:

Benny: Sounds like a great life.

Jimmy: Yours ain’t no better. Writing stories about a bunch of white people living on the moon. Who cares about that?

Benny: I’m not doing that anymore. I’m writing about us.

Jimmy: What, colored people on the moon?

Jimmy, asking the tough questions.

So what had happened in “Far Beyond the Stars” was…: The Cortez is destroyed and Sisko has had just about all the war he can stand, not to mention his father is visiting, Yates is on station, and Jake is around too. Sisko starts having visions, his brain has many of the same indicators it did in “Rapture”, and suddenly he’s a man named Benny Russell who is a writer in 1953 New York. Nog is a paper vendor with a glorious accent and O’Brien is a man named Albert who works at the magazine with Benny. Also at the magazine is the rest of the senior staff. Odo is Douglas the editor while the rest are writers… Quark is Herb, Kira is K.C. Hunter, and Bashir is Julius. Also present is Martok who is Roy, the artist. Benny and K.C. are asked not to be in the staff pictures lest the readers know a black man and a woman are writing for them issue after issue (waves hands in abject sarcasm and heavy eye-rolling). Roy hands them art to base their stories on for the next issue and Benny is entranced by the rendering of DS9.

On his way home Benny is stopped by two white cops (Dukat and Weyoun) who give him a hard time because he’s black and a preacher (Joseph Sisko). He writes about Deep Space Nine and heads to the diner to meet with his girlfriend Cassie (Yates), his friend Jimmy (Jake, with an absolutely awful mustache), and a baseball player named Willie (Worf) who is after Cassie. Everyone at the magazine loves the story but Douglas can’t print it because no one would believe it (even though it’s fiction) as the captain is black. Benny writes some more stories about DS9 and Albert eventually comes up with changing it so it’s a dream, that way people might want it. Unfortunately, Jimmy gets shot and Benny gets beat up by the cops. He finally makes it back to work the day his story is supposed to be published, but Douglas reports the magazine’s owner refused to even print that month’s issue and is firing Benny, who then has a nervous breakdown. Sisko wakes up in the Infirmary with a back-to-normal brain and wonders if he’s living in The Matrix or in Benny Russell’s mind at the least.

“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.”: This is a damn heavy episode with racism, sexism, and a bit of religion thrown into the mix and it works wonderfully. I have always loved the episodes where the main cast get to take on different roles, one of my favorites is “The End in the Beginning” from Bones, and this one knocks it out of the park (no pun intended, sorry Worf). A lot of the characters make sense in the roles they’ve been assigned by Sisko’s brain: Nog is loud, Odo is just doing his job, Quark antagonizes Odo, Bashir is a snobby Englishman, Kira is the kick ass woman in command, Dukat and Weyoun are the bad guys, O’Brien is the fixer, Yates is his girlfriend, and his father is the man who shows him the way. The others are more interesting as Worf plays a smooth talking baseball player who is after Benny’s girl and he looks damn good in a red suit, Jake’s Jimmy reads more as the troublemaker Jake was in the first season or two – just some more adult trouble, Dax is the naive secretary who is new to the group and doesn’t quite fit in, and Martok is an artist with an incredible talent (a far cry from a Klingon warrior). The star, of course, is Benny who takes us on the journey of a talented man who is stymied by the color of his skin and eventually gives us an emotional meltdown because his life was just upended.

In the 23rd and 24th centuries no one mentions anything about the color of the Starfleet officier’s skin, if you’re human it’s groovy. While there are obvious prejudices about Klingons, shapeshifters, and Cardassians over the years no one bats an eyelash at a black captain, a Russian ensign, or a Japanese lieutenant. While there was abhorrent sexism in TOS, TNG and DS9 seem to have gotten it a little more right. Here, though, in the 1950’s we see progress is slow and in present day 2020 we’re not much better. The black and latinx communities, those who identify as LGBTQ, and women are all still earning less and are under constant scrutiny and immense pressure by the rest of society to “conform”. Those who looked “Asian” are harassed over Covid-19 just as anyone who looked “Middle Eastern” were after September 11th. It feels like nothing has changed and it’s terribly crushing. I am constantly perplexed at why I have to tell people to be kind to one another, or explaining why we should care about others. Personally I would be happy to take home less money so that someone else didn’t have to go bankrupt because they have cancer or one of their organs decided to stop working. I know that a healthy neighbor means I have a smaller chance of getting sick, so I totally want them to be able to go to the doctor and not be worried about losing their job. While we are all individuals, we also all coexist on this planet and, so far, it’s the only one we’ve got. What I do effects the lives of countless others, so maybe let’s all be kind. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? A solid 10 for this episode, and it goes onto my favorites list.

Favorite Quote from “Our Little Ship”:

Nog: Do you have a backup plan in case this doesn’t work?

Sisko: Yes. I’ll destroy the ship.

Nog: There are still a few algorithms I haven’t tried yet.

Nog, not wanting to die, decides to give it another try.

So what had happened in “Our Little Ship” was…: The Defiant is going on a mission (FOR SCIENCE) where Dax, O’Brien, and Bashir will go through an anomaly that will make them suuuuuuuuuper small. Unfortunately the Defiant is attacked by the Dominion, the Rubicon is let loose from the tractor beam, and the Defiant is boarded. All but one of the Jem’Hadar are ones that were grown in the AQ and are therefore different than the GQ ones, they think they are far superior. The First (AQ) believes he’s totally in control while the Second (GQ) is suspicious and tries to pass on his wisdom, but it’s like he’s talking to a brick wall. The First gets Sisko and the others to help repair the warp drive, but of course Sisko has a plan. Meanwhile the Rubicon comes back out but is still small because they didn’t go out the way they came in, so they decide to enter the Defiant and it’s massively hysterical every time they do. O’Brien and Bashir sneak into the conduit to help reroute control to engineering, which Nog thinks he did, and a fight breaks out in the engine room. They take back the ship, go back through the “right” way so they can be large again, and they all return to DS9.

“Mr. Worf, I think your wife is here.”: This was a totally silly episode and much lighter after the previous one. I will admit the plot makes absolutely no sense because the Jem’Hadar are quick studies and there’s no way they’re this clueless about Federation technology, but I don’t actually care because it was so much fun. Nog is, rightfully, upset at Kira making fun of small things, O’Brien is as nervous as ever, and Bashir and Dax are absolutely delighted to be doing SCIENCE. Dax does some fabulous piloting and the scenes inside the conduit made the engineer in me very happy. I seriously giggled every time the tiny, tiny Rubicon was on screen… it was just so damn cute. “This guy is bugging me… pew pew” was absolutely fantastic. Sisko, of course, always has a plan and he lucked out with the half-baked Jem’Hadar of the Alpha Quadrant and his small(er) crew sneaking into the conduit. This was lots of fun and much needed, so it gets a 5 foot tall sassy Italian woman giggling for 5 minutes straight.

And now, for the best ending ever:

TA Out!

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!

Date: August 14, 2020

Season 6, Episodes 9 and 10

Musical Accompaniment: Medieval Wolf Music, whatever that is. Go Pack!

Interstellar News: Professor Zoom went to the groomer today and he smells sooooooooooo gooooooood and is super soft. Also, only four more backers until 100! Consider backing “Lucky Devils and Witchy Ways“.

Favorite Quote from “Statistical Probabilities”:

Bashir: Maybe our projections were wrong.

Jack: How can you say that? We factored in every contingency, every variable. The equations don’t lie. You. You ruined everything.

Bashir: What do you make of that, Jack? Why didn’t you anticipate that? Why didn’t you factor her into your equation? Because you thought you knew everything, but you didn’t even know what was going to happen in this room. One person derailed your plans. One person changed the course of history. Now, I don’t know about you, but that makes me think that maybe, just maybe, things may not turn out the way we thought.

Bashir helping Jack to explain how important it is to expect the unexpected.

So what had happened in “Statistical Probabilities” was…: Four other genetically engineered humans are brought to the station to learn from Dr. Bashir, they were not so lucky to be able to pass as “normal”; Lauren is a flirt, Jack is insane, Patrick is a mess, and Sarina doesn’t talk… they’re “mutants”. Gul Damar makes a statement advocating peace but the mutants dissect it and instantly engage with Bashir, all focusing on the problem. When Weyoun and Damar come to DS9 to talk to Sisko about peace the mutants figure out what the Dominion is after and this leads to a ton of statistical analysis all coming to the conclusion that the Federation must surrender. Bashir loses his shit when Sisko, O’Brien and ultimately the Federation reject this plan, but he won’t participate in espionage which is what Jack, Lauren, and Patrick try to do. Bashir stops them and explains that they could be wrong, after all they didn’t factor in Bashir being untied and stopping them. He promises to come visit them and they beam out to go back to the institute.

“He’s a mutant, just like the rest of us.”: Bashir, who was outed as being enhanced recently, gets so caught up in being with others like him that he forgets about the chain of command and what’s really important. As a doctor and a compassionate person of course billions of lives seem well worth the risk, but that assumes that the Dominion won’t eradicate worlds. I mean Weyoun said just a few episodes ago they should attack Earth and be done with it and now that they’ve lost DS9 I worry about Bajor and Earth. One thing I did not understand is the discussion the senior officers has. Dax has 300 years experience, Worf is a strong Klingon warrior, Odo is a fucking changeling, and Sisko is a damn religious icon. Why are they all allowed to join Starfleet but enhanced individuals are banned?

Yes I understand there’s KHAAAAAAAAAN and the Eugenics War, but for every Jack there’s likely a Bashir. So outlaw it, punish the parents, and see if the kid can be helped. The problem becomes, though, when something is outlawed and people go somewhere else for their fix… and likely somewhere not a reputable or safe, which is likely what happened to Jack and the others. The 24th century may be move evolved than our society, but prejudice still exists and this episode shows it clearly. I did love that O’Brien missed his friend, Bashir eventually helped to illustrate that projections are just educated guesses, and Weyoun is as delightful as ever. 7 lucky shots at the dart board for this episode.

Favorite Quote from “The Magnificent Ferengi”:

Quark: Brother, there’s something I need to tell you

Rom: You mean that ten bars of latinum is an overly generous finder’s fee? I already know that.

Rom is not the worst Ferengi ever, he’s just a MUCH better engineer and problem solver.

So what had happened in “The Magnificent Ferengi” was…: The Nagus calls Quark to let him know Ishka has been captured by the Dominion and he’ll pay 50 bars of latinum if Quark rescues her. Quark and Rom put together an all-Ferengi Mod Squad with Nog, Leck, cousin Gaila, and Brunt. They try rescue missions on the holodeck and are terrible until Rom remembers they are Ferengi and maybe they should negotiate. They are given Keevan to trade for Ishka and will do it on Empok Nor. They arrive first and get set up in the Infirmary but Gaila falls asleep on his shift and Keevan tries to escape so they all RUUUUUUUUUN only to find the ship was disabled. Suddenly the proximity alarm sounds so they all RUUUUUUUUN back to the Infirmary and Nog sees an entire platoon of Jem’Hadar have come to greet them. Quark, Rom, and Nog head out to meet Yelgrun and Ishka and Quark negotiates to make the exchange in 30 minutes. As the Ferengi are celebrating Rom lets slip how much the Nagus is actually paying, the arguing ensues, and Gaila accidentally kills Keevan. They decide for Nog to engineer Keevan “alive” a la Weekend at Bernie’s and make the exchange. The Ferengi wind up with both Ishka and Yelgrun while poor dead Keevan is stuck bouncing into a wall.

“I hate Ferengi.”: The Vorta may hate the Ferengi but this episode made me love them that much more. Nog does his best to try to get the others to listen to him, but he’s too young and has drunk too much of the Federation’s root beer flavored Kool Aid. Leck is fantastic and creepy and not at all your typical Ferengi. Gaila and Brunt are familiar faces who each have a grudge with Quark but also need Ishka alive, and let’s be real it’s Gaila’s show with his ridiculous scream and his shooting of Keevan. And then there’s the running, which is much more hysterical that it was on TOS. Given that we’re in a war and we need to be serious, and hell hostage negotiation is serious too, the humor hit in all the right ways. Watching Rom and Quark crawl around the station’s tubes, and taking a wrong turn to Sisko’s office, was fantastic but equally fantastic were Ishka and Yelgrun. As flamboyant as Weyoun is, Yelgrun is the deadpan opposite and it was delightful whenever he was speaking. Ishka is still giving sound financial advice, even held captive, and it shows she has a passion for it as well as the lobes. You almost feel bad for Keevan until you remember what an asshat he is, but the actor who played him got to be goofy as all hell in the hallway scene and it was beautiful. I love that, as contrived the reason, the Ferengi get to be the heroes in their own story. 9 cheers for the boys from Ferenganar!

TA Out!