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!

Date: July 29, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 10 and 11

Musical Accompaniment: We’ve progressed to songs that start with the letter ‘G’ today.

Interstellar News: A lot can change in a year, and a lot has. I’m not up for ratings tonight, so you won’t be getting any on these.

Favorite Quote from “Rapture”:

Sisko: Your son. You can stop worrying about him. He forgives you.

Whatley: How the hell did he know that Kevin and I weren’t getting along?

Bashir: He’s the Emissary.

Bashir explaining away nothing.

So what had happened in “Rapture” was…: Starfleet members are sporting new uniforms and the Cardassians have finally returned the painting of the lost city of B’hala. Sisko is intrigued and heads to the holosuite to study it but is electrocuted by the save file. He’s fine but starts having visions and being very Emissary-like. Bajor’s petition to join the Federation is approved and the signing is going to be on DS9, but Sisko is fixated on finding B’hala. Yates returns and he takes her to Bajor and they find B’hala, to the joy of Bajorans everywhere. Bashir wants to operate to stop the headaches and save Sisko’s life, but Sisko won’t do anything to harm the visions. Kai Winn comes aboard and she and Kira snipe at each other as always, but she’s willing to help Sisko. Winn and Sisko use the Orb of Prophecy and Sisko warns Bajor not to join the Federation just yet, but then he collapses and Jake makes the decision to go ahead with the surgery. Sisko wakes up with the visions gone but is content with Yates and Jake as his little family.

“Make up something.”: I guess I never understood why Bajor was so important to the Federation because they sent Sisko there before anyone even knew the wormhole existed. They’re a planet on the mend overcoming a 50 year military occupation, what could they have to offer? Putting that aside, I love the passion Sisko has for a puzzle… it’s no wonder he has an aptitude for engineering. It’s a nice personality quirk the writers really followed up on across several episodes now. This episode also does a nice job of showing that not only has Sisko embraced his title as “The Emissary” but he really is it too and so much so that even the Kai is won over enough to help him. The Kai also gets a bit of a punch in to Kira because everyone suffered during the occupation and Winn believes Kira has forgotten that. Jake has to make a very difficult decision and Sisko knows, especially after the events of “The Visitor“, how much Jake needs him. Sometimes it’s hard to balance being a captain, a dad, and a religious icon and Sisko shows us even he falters when forced to choose. The thing is, though, we always have to choose.

Favorite Quote from “The Darkness and the Light”:

Dax: You know the Rules of Acquisition?

Worf: I am a graduate of Starfleet Academy. I know many things.

Dax is shocked and Worf is, well, Worf.

So what had happened in “The Darkness and the Light” was…: A Bajoran vedek that was once a part of the Shakaar resistance cell is killed and Kira get a recorded message “that’s one”. Kira hears from a woman who helped smuggle them information and asks Worf and Dax to pick her up on the way back, but she’s killed in a transporter accident (that’s two). Number three is a man named Mobra and, while everyone is looking into verify this, Kira goes to her quarters to find Lupaza and Furel. While she is out, however, they are killed so Kira steals the lists of suspects from Odo and goes in search of a Cardassian named Silaran. Silaran was the servant of a Gul whose house Kira and the others bombed, which disfigured Silaran and killed many other innocents. Silaran only wants to punish the guilty so he plans to take the O’Brien baby out and then kill Kira but he tries to sedate her and it doesn’t work due to the herbs Bashir gave her, and she kills him.

“The light only shines in the dark and sometimes innocence is just an excuse for the guilty.”: This was a super dark Trek episode and it brought me back to Private Practice when Violet’s baby was forcibly taken out of her. I will forever be horrified by Fala’s transporter death, that has to be the most horrible way to go and no one should let Barclay see this episode. Both sides have a valid argument. The Bajorans were occupied by a hostile force and did everything they could to repel their invaders, and everyone who wasn’t Bajoran was an enemy because they were not wanted nor invited. The Cardassians who weren’t part of the military just went where they were told, it didn’t matter where they cleaned the house just that the house was clean no matter the planet or circumstance. They shouldn’t have been the ones targeted. What you get when you look at it from an outside perspective is that both sides we right and both were wrong and everything is a shade of grey. While there are some great parts, like Nog showing how his lobes can be an asset, I don’t understand why no one has alerted Shakaar and the DS9 crew seems to be the only ones investigating this. I mean Shakaar is the First Minister and it was his cell, so there should be something resembling hunkering down or everyone being on high alert. I almost buy that Silaran is the guy who put this all together, only because he’s likely not done anything else with his last 10+ years, but how did he afford everything and how did it go off without a hitch as he’s clearly missing some marbles. In the end, I’m left feeling empty about this episode.

TA Out!

Date: July 28, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 8 and 9

Musical Accompaniment: Songs that start with the letter ‘F’

Interstellar News: Happy 7 months worth of posts! Today we have two Odo heavy episodes.

Favorite Quote from “Things Past”:

Odo: How much damage would it do to the timeline if Quark were to suffer a mysterious accident?

Sisko: I’m not sure. But maybe we should conduct a little experiment and find out.

Quark being a little shit while Odo and Sisko consider the consequences.

So what had happened in “Things Past” was…: Sisko, Dax, Garak, and Odo are in a runabout returning to DS9 from a conference but as they approach Worf gets no answer and Bashir finds them in a coma. The foursome wake up on Terok Nor and realize that they’re almost 10 years in the past, but they all look like Bajorans to everyone but themselves. Dax is taken by Dukat to be his “friend” and the men are taken to Quark’s for work. They figure out who they are and Odo keeps hallucinating and acting strangely, but some of the pieces don’t make sense for the others. It turns out that Odo, acting as Security Chief under the Cardassians, executed three Bajoran men and later did a deeper investigation only to realize they were innocent all along. He never wanted anyone to know, but now the others do. They all wake up and Bashir figures out the plasma storm created something akin to The Great Link, and Kira doesn’t know how to process this revelation.

“Let’s assume that’s a no for the moment.”: The mystery here is interesting but the ending is disappointing. Let’s start with the good parts. Dax plays the shy Bajoran woman until she knows what Dukat wants and then she’s back to her usual self once she’s developed a plan. I love that she’s the one who needs to save the men who have gotten themselves trapped. We get to see a little more of what DS9 was like when it was Terok Nor and in a flipped version of “Necessary Evil” where we see Odo as a Bajoran. There are some parallels here where Odo was still trying to find himself then and he’s back here doing it again. This time he’s unsure of himself because he’s still adapting to being mostly solid and he’s completely embarrassed he was ever on the side of injustice. Garak is amazing, as always, and I could watch him and Odo snark at each other forever.

Where I stop liking the story is at the end. Bashir is utterly useless and there was nothing he could do medically until Odo willed himself and the others out of the coma-link-thing. The worst, though, is his conversation with Kira at the end. This is a wonderful opportunity for them to put their past behind them because they both did things they weren’t proud of, I mean Kira even says that. But their conversation leaves much to be desired and really brings this down to 4 holding cells for me.

Favorite Quote from “The Ascent”:

Odo: Quark, there’s no way you’re going to be able to drag me up that mountain.

Quark: Just watch me.

Odo: Stop trying to be a hero. You’ll get to the top faster if you leave me behind.

Quark: Don’t you get it? I’m not trying to rescue you. I’m taking you along as emergency rations. If you die, I’m going to eat you.

Odo: You’re joking.

Quark: Waste not, want not.

I was really hoping “waste not, want not” was either a Rule of Acquisition or an Old Ferengi saying.

So what had happened in “The Ascent” was…: Jake is moving out of Sisko’s place and into one with Nog who is back on the station for field study. Nog is all rules and regulations while Jake is enjoying the bachelor life and it’s a regular The Odd Couple situation. They argue and Nog moves out but Rom and Sisko realize the boys can learn a lot from each other and make them move back in together. They make up and decide to play dom-jot.

Quark brings some root beer over to Rom’s for Nog’s homecoming but Odo takes him on a runabout for a Federation grand jury hearing. Quark suggests they play fizzbin, a nice callback to “A Piece of the Action“, but Odo is more interested in his romance novel. Quark hears something, it’s a bomb, the detonate it and have to make an emergency landing. Almost everything of importance was destroyed in the explosion so they have to hike up a mountain with a transmitter. As they are wont to do, Odo and Quark fight and fight and fight. It’s cold, they’re tried and hungry, and the mountain goes on forever. At one point tensions are high enough that they physically fight and Odo breaks his leg. Quark drags him and the transmitter along until it’s too much and then… Bashir, Worf, and Dax come to the rescue because Quark made it to the top.

“I just wanted you to know I meant every word of it.”: This episode was full of odd couples. Jake and Nog were best friends but a year at Starfleet Academy has made Nog more disciplined and Jake is, well, living on his own for the first time and is all too happy about it. His conversation with Sisko reminded me of the “12 o’clock rule” I had with my parents all through undergrad. On the weekend they couldn’t call me before noon unless it was an emergency. This was mostly because they would both call at 8:00 am after I had been the designated driver for my older friends (I was the youngest and the only one with a car for a while). It’s also fun to see Sisko and Rom, another odd couple, bonding over their sons and seeing what a good influence one could have on the other… a far cry from Season 1.

Quark and Odo, on the other hand, are far too similar. They are both outsiders who have been evicted from their home land. They both have something that maters to them more than anything else, for Quark it’s profit and for Odo it’s justice. They each know how to hit the other’s buttons but they also know when to laugh about their differences. Part of this episode really reminded me of The Bucket List, especially the climbing the mountains bit. Overall it was a cute bit for various “couples”, but nothing spectacular and deserves only 6 hours of climbing.

TA Out!

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!

Date: July 26, 2020

Season 5, Episodes 4 and 5

Musical Accompaniment: More music on shuffle from my iTunes, today with hard and soft rock.

Interstellar News: I’m not sure how it’s going to be August at the end of this week, but there it is. One more episode of The Umbrella Academy covered and I forgot just how much I loved it.

Favorite Quote from “…Nor the Battle to the Strong”:

Jake: I wasn’t sure whether to show it to you or not.

Sisko: Anyone who’s been in battle would recognize himself in this, but most of us wouldn’t care to admit it. It takes courage to look inside yourself and even more courage to write it for other people to see. I’m proud of you, son.

Sisko is SUCH a good father.

So what had happened in “…Nor the Battle to the Strong” was…: Jake and Bashir are returning from a conference because Jake’s doing a profile on Bashir when there’s a distress call and Jake convinces Bashir it will be fun. Spoiler alert: it’s not. The Klingons have attacked a settlement and it’s terrifying for Jake, though he’s enlisted to help with non-medical stuff that needs doing. On the station Quark tries to make decaf coffee for Kira, Odo forgets he’s not a changeling anymore, and the Defiant has to head out to rescue Bashir and Jake because the Farragut was destroyed by the Klingons. The Klingons destroy a reactor so Jake and Bashir run to get the generator off of their runabout, but they are separated and Jake runs away in fear. He eventually finds his way back but is too wrapped up in guilt and ashamed of what he’s done. They have to evacuate the hospital and he panics and brings the roof of the cave down and he wakes up to Sisko and Bashir rescuing him and calling him a hero. He writes everything down and shares it with his dad.

“Listen to me, I’m actually rooting for a plague.”: Whoa is this a heavy episode. Jake doesn’t realize what the cost of a good story could be until he lives it. He goes from being a bored kid to understanding the horrors of battle in the span of just a few days. He realizes it’s a super good decision he decided not to join Starfleet and he’s probably also now not considering being a war correspondent. He really grows up in this episode and it’s easier to tell than the small changes we’ve gotten over the last four years. The other parts of the episode are equally as compelling as Sisko is trying to not worry about his son and, as a 33 year old who still has a father that waits up for her when she visits, I clearly know nothing about this as I wave my hands in sarcasm. Sisko tries to keep himself busy with his mind off all of the bad thoughts and the medical staff does the same, even if Jake thinks it’s in bad taste. Jake encounters a hard ass who tells him life’s tough, but he also had a run in with an ensign who shot himself in the foot and realizes he’s not cut out for Starfleet life, so it’s a whole spectrum of people in one episode to learn from. We also get the little bits like the discussion of pregnancy, Odo continuing to live with his changed anatomy, and a look at what life is like off station. I also enjoyed watching Bashir go from academic to field medicine in a snap and continue to be impressed by his professionalism and willingness to help, a far cry from his Season 1 persona. A 7 paragraph spread for Jake, on page 2.

Favorite Quote from “The Assignment”:

Quark: That’s the problem with working alongside humans, you pick up their disgusting habits. Bacon. Corned beef hash. What’s next, Rom? Orange juice and coffee?

Rom: That might be nice.

Quark: I don’t understand. You gave up a perfectly good job with me to work on the station’s waste extraction system?

Rom: A good waste extraction system is important. Imagine where we’d be without one.

Oh Rom, ever the optimist.

So what had happened in “The Assignment” was…: O’Brien meets Keiko and apologizes for Bashir killing her plants but she’s completely not phased because she’s actually another entity that’s inhabiting Keiko’s body. “Keiko” forces O’Brien to make repairs, on his birthday no less, and then throws him a party that evening. She tells him she has more work for him to do the next day and if he doesn’t Keiko will die. O’Brien goes to tell Odo and Sisko but Keiko “accidentally” falls and now he only has 13 hours. Thankfully Rom offers to help him and they begin to work on the refitting. Unfortunately Dax meddles and they have to alert Sisko to some potential sabotage, so O’Brien blames Rom and asks him to play along. Rom asks a good question – “why are we trying to kill the wormhole aliens?” and O’Brien realizes how he can get Keiko back. He takes “Keiko” in the runabout and aims the blast directly at “Keiko”, killing the thing inhabiting her. O’Brien returns to answer questions and Rom is promoted to day shift.

“You’re in trouble.”: For an “O’Brien must suffer episode”, this one is pretty meh. I mean it’s fun that we get a second rendition of “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow”, this time in English, because of the “Happy Birthday” debacle of Sports Night infamy. Yes, it really did take two people to write that song. But for all O’Brien is the “star” of the episode, is it wrong that I loved evil Keiko? I wonder if Mirror Keiko will have a similar personality in the Mirror Universe, because she looked like she was having so much fun. Rom is also superb in this episode, especially when he figures out what the pah-wraith was asking O’Brien to do because O’Brien was otherwise occupied. I love that Rom is trying to fit in and try things, even if bacon doesn’t agree with his system. It’s so wonderful that Rom has found what he has an aptitude and passion for, and that he’s really taken to living on the station. It’s a good thing Keiko wasn’t pregnant for this episode, though, that would have complicated the fuck out of everything. I also really enjoyed that Molly knew how much the plants meant to her mom and how she was not going be thrown under the bus by O’Brien. O’Brien has now made up for being a ponce in “LFpMIATWP” by doing everything he could to make sure both Molly and Keiko were safe. Unfortunately all of the fun bits were not enough to make me give more than 5 laughing reels to this episode.

TA Out!