Date: July 14, 2020

Season 4, Episodes 4 and 5

Musical Accompaniment: The Dallas String Quartet YouTube mix

Interstellar News: Today was much less hectic, but I have been sad most of the day.

Favorite Quote from “Indiscretion”:

Kira: Ouch. Run this dermal regenerator over the wound.

Dukat: This isn’t funny.

Kira: It is from this angle.

Dukat: You know what’s even funnier? This doesn’t work.

Kira: You have to activate it.

Dukat: Ah. Ah, yes. Oh, much better.

The entire scene is just hysterical. JUST TAKE IT OUT!

So what had happened in “Indiscretion” was…: Kira gets a lead on the Ravinok, a Cardassian ship carrying Bajoran prisoners, that was lost six years ago. She goes to investigate but Gul Dukat tags along. They find the ship crash landed in the Dozaria system where Dukat identifies several remains and shares with Kira that he loved a Bajoran woman, they had a daughter, and if she’s alive he’ll have to kill her. They dress as Breen guards, free the survivors, and Dukat decides to take his daughter back to Cardassia.

On the station Yates is thinking about taking a job on Bajor and Sisko reall fucks up “the talk”. He gets advice from Dax, Bashir, Quark, and Jake and decides he needs to apologize and commit. He makes up for being an ass, they have a much better talk, and Yates already took the job because she’s a grown ass woman who don’t need no man.

“You are in love with the sound of your own voice.”: I’ll start with Sisko and Yates. At first I was super confused why Sisko reacted the way he did and why Yates blew up at him, there was an under-reaction and over-reaction in the same room at the same time and I was like “whoa”. Later we watch Dax and Bashir dissect his every word the way middle school girls do when someone in the group has a crush. By the end of the episode we realize that Sisko is fucking terrified that he’ll lose Yates because of his job and instead of talking to her about it he just shut down. His reaction now makes sense and hers does too and I’m happy for both of them.

The best part about Kira and Dukat is that Kira never lets her guard down with Dukat, not once. Even when they’re laughing about him sitting on the spike she’s more laughing at him than with him. She tells Dax something similar near the end of the episode. While Dukat may be charming and a good orator, he’s at heart a man who is willing to do anything to survive and he’s the ultimate Cardassian patriot. The turn at the end where he welcomes he daughter so suddenly was a bit abrupt for me and I wonder if it has something to do with Kira now that I know he has a propensity for Bajoran women. I’m shocked that Kira doesn’t demand to see Ziyal before they depart or that she doesn’t worry that once they’re out of Bajoran space there might be an “accident”, but I’m sure I’ll find out about it unless this is one of the things they never bring up again. 8 big plant spines right up Dukat’s backside for this episode.

Favorite Quote from “Rejoined”:

Kira: What do Klingons dream about?

Worf: Things that would send cold chills down your spine and wake you in the middle of the night. It is better you do not know.

Husband said he would pay good money to listen to Michael Dorn deliver scary stories in Worf’s voice.

So what had happened in “Rejoined” was…: A Trill science team is coming to DS9 to use the Defiant for some tests, but the lead scientist is also a joined Trill and her past life was married to one of Dax’s past lives, Torias. At the reception it’s clear Lenara and Dax are attracted to each other, fueled by their old host’s memories, but it’s forbidden to interact with old host relationships or risk exile and the death of your symbiont. The first test goes well, Dax and Lenara get closer, and Bashir is the world’s worst chaperone. The second test causes damage to the Defiant, Dax does some cool force field surfing, and she saves Lenora. Dax tells Lenora she’s willing to risk everything for the love she feels for her, but Lenora is not willing and leaves the station.

“Your head’s full of latinum”: I have a lot of problems with this episode, but mostly because the Trill made up some stupid ass rules. If two symbionts love each other, why can’t they keep doing so throughout their different host’s lives? Or, if you’re not supposed to interact with anyone from an old life, why don’t they just make a rule that joined Trills can’t be in relationships with other joined Trills? Either way I have a problem with those solutions because you’re putting rules in place with people’s lives… telling them who they can and cannot associate with because the symbiont is the most important thing in the world? It seems like the hosts have to jump through an awful lot of hoops to give the symbionts a varied lifestyle each time.

I also like a lot of things about this episode. The chemistry between Dax and Lenara is off the charts and I totally believe they are head over heels in love. It breaks my heart that Dax is willing to throw everything away for the feelings she’s experiencing, because I know that feeling well. When you love someone a certain way and they make you feel incredible, it’s almost like a drug in a way and you lose all sense. Lenara and Sisko both lecture Dax on responsibility, but I’m with Dax that life is too short to not take advantage of things that make you feel good. Time is the one thing we cannot make more of. I also understand, however, that Dax has another life to think about because it’s not just her body. It’s also fun to see Kira in her “dress blues”, Worf being utterly creepy about Klingon dreams, and Bashir being comfortable in the friend zone because he truly cares about Dax’s happiness. We also have a much better version of what happens when a Trill switches genders than in “The Host“, and lets face it this version of the Trill is so much more interesting and complicated and… the spots go all the way down. 7 minutes in heaven for this episode, or spin the bottle – your choice.

TA Out!

Date: July 13, 2020

Season 4, Episodes 2 and 3

Musical Accompaniment: Various El Ten Eleven albums

Interstellar News: We got a new front window installed today and it’s wonderful.

Favorite Quote from “The Visitor”:

Melanie: Why did you stop writing?

Jake: I lost my favorite pen and I couldn’t get any work done without it.

Jake still has a sense of humor in his old age.

So what had happened in “The Visitor” was…: A young woman named Melanie asks Jake, now in his old age, why he stopped writing. He tells her the story of a time on the Defiant where Sisko died when Jake was 18. There’s a memorial service and everyone looks out for Jake, but he’s clearly lost without his dad. One night Sisko reappears and then disappears and months later he reappears again and they realize his temporal signature is off and he’s not experiencing the passage time. Nog heads off to Starfleet, DS9 is given to the Klingons, Jake goes to writing school and then gets married to a Bajoran woman and they settle in Louisiana near his grandfather.

One night Sisko reappears again and Jake decides to go back to school and dedicate his life to helping Sisko, but loses his wife in the process and stops writing. 50 years after the incident Nog is a Captain and Dax and Bashir are back on the Defiant to try and recreate the accident but it doesn’t work. All the while Sisko encourages Jake to move on and Jake won’t give up. He explains to Melanie that he’s got to end his life the next time Sisko shows up so Sisko can avoid the accident and time can reset, which works and the Sisko men hug each other tight.

“If you publish posthumously nobody can ask you for rewrites.”: Thankfully someone had the good sense to warn me this was an emotional episode or I would have been even more of a mess than I wound up. Sisko and Jake are the adorable father-son team that truly love each other and have been though a lot. They lost Jennifer together, they have rebuilt their life on DS9, and they have both grown as people over the last three years. While there is never a good time to lose a parent, it happens to Jake at the absolute worst time. Not only is he there in the room where it happens but he’s still a young man who wasn’t quite off on his own just yet. As old Jake says later on, 18 year old Jake still needed his dad and once it was proven that he was lost instead of dead it was going to eat at him for the rest of his life. Sisko is still father-of-the-century as he encourages Jake to be happy without him and to go on and live his life.

There are a few things that are out of place and are done to get the others some screen time. Having Nog captain the Defiant and pulling Dax and Bashir out of Starfleet’s nursing home is like The Motion Picture or “All Good Things…” where the band gets put back together because reasons. I mean who buys that the Defiant didn’t get blown up or destroyed in 50 years?! I also spent a bit of the episode being confused as to when in the timeline the episode was happening and figuring out where it was going. The technobabble was moderately convincing but it also seemed like a Hail Mary, but it worked and Sisko got to hug his boy and it was super touching. As someone who has lost a parent I can tell you that even when you get to say goodbye you always want just a little more time or there’s always that one last question you want to ask. Jake was able to get that but he sacrificed his life for it. The timeline resets, however, and Jake will never know what happened unless Sisko shares it with him. Overall it was a wonderful episode and very touching, 9 boxes of tissues please!

Favorite Quote from “Hippocratic Oath”:

O’Brien: You’re just guessing. You don’t know how the other Jem’Hadar will react when they’re off the drug. They may go marauding through the galaxy on their own. At least now the Dominion keeps them on a short leash.

Bashir: They’re not animals. They’re people being used as slaves. And this is their one chance at freedom.

I liked O’Brien in TNG but here I see more of his flaws.

So what had happened in “Hippocratic Oath” was…: Worf is having a hard time leaving the Security life behind and he interferes with Odo’s investigation into Quark and a smuggler. Sisko helps Worf understand there’s a difference between being on a starship and being on a star station and Worf endeavors to give it his all.

O’Brien and Bashir are heading back to the AQ when they crash land on a planet filled with Jem’Hadar who are trying to beat their drug dependence and leave the control of the Dominion. Goran’Agar is the only one who can live without the drug and he enlists Bashir’s help to create what they were trying to do to the child in “The Abandoned“, though O’Brien keeps trying to find ways to escape because he doesn’t trust anyone. Bashir wants to help and orders O’Brien to assist, but O’Brien escapes and blows up the progress Bashir had made in order to save his life. Goran’Agar allows them to escape and the two men need some time before they can rekindle their bromance, as each was on a different side.

“Quark definitely is a shade of gray.”: As much as I love Worf he just doesn’t know when to stop, even though he understands orders he still always thinks he’s right. I think he’s met his match with Odo especially given how surprised he was when Odo changed shape. It’s a nice little side story that shows what is happening on the station and how Worf is getting along with his new crew.

The real story is happening where O’Brien and Bashir are captive. The Goran’Agar seems genuine and sincere, Bashir has his views on life and the sanctity of it, and O’Brien believes it could be a ploy to create soldiers who can no longer be controlled. I have to side with Bashir on this one because doing the Jem’Hadar a favor could be the turning of the tide in relations between the two quadrants. This conflict also shows how real a work friendship can be tested when your fundamental philosophies differ. It’s wonderful that there’s no happy ending because in truth they both need time to consider the other’s position, but I wonder if this will be one of those things that gets resolved off screen or if it will be the things that drives a wedge between the two men. It’s really one of the first times that Bashir has pulled rank and you can hear O’Brien cursing in his head at the downside of being an enlisted man. I really liked that all points of view were explored here, even the side of the Jem’Hadar. 8 vials of ketracel-white for this episode.

TA Out!

Date: July 12, 2020

Season 4, Episode 1 (though it’s a double)

Musical Accompaniment: Listening to my “study” playlist on iTunes

Interstellar News: The introduction has changed, I liked the old music better. Dun dun dun dun…

Favorite Quotes:

Odo: I didn’t know you spoke Klingon.

Garak: Oh, you’d be surprised at the things you can learn while you’re doing alterations.

Plain, simple Garak surprising even Odo.

Bashir: Constable, I’m sure there’s more than one Klingon who thinks that slaying a changeling would be worthy of a song or two.

Odo: Doctor, if a Klingon were to kill me, I’d expect nothing less than an entire opera on the subject.

Odo making the best of a bad situation.

So what had happened was…: Sisko kept the goatee but is now bald and everyone is searching for a changeling on the station, but it’s just a drill otherwise Bashir would be dead. Yates and Sisko meet for a dinner date, exchange gifts, and are interrupted by Dax because the Klingons have arrived en masse. General Martok was sent by Gowron to be ready for when the Dominion attacks, Cardassia has closed their borders, and some Klingons attach Garak. The Klingons also are stopping ships to search for changelings, using the same blood test from “The Adversary“, so Sisko calls for backup in the form of Worf. The Enterprise had a bit of a tough time and no one knows Klingons like Worf does, and he still enjoys prune juice! Worf meets the senior staff, handles some Klingons in the bar, and tries to get information out of Martok to no avail. Dax, however, gives Worf and idea and he gets the truth.

Odo, who is very good at his job, reads Worf like a very well read book and Worf tells Sisko that the Klingons are going to invade Cardassia because they think Central Command has been taken over by Dominion spies. Despite objections the Klingons head that way but Sisko can’t warn the Cardassians even though the Federation has a treaty with both parties, so Sisko is overwhelmed by the sudden need to be fitted for a new suit and allows Garak to overhear what’s coming so he’ll warn Dukat. Gowron gets mad at the Federation and tries to get Worf to come to the dark side, I mean back home to the Empire. Sisko decides to go rescue Dukat and the Depta Council, firing on and being chased by Klingons all the way back to the station. The Klingons attack the station, the battle comes inside, Worf apparently learned how to shoot, and as Starfleet arrives the Klingons decide to back down. Worf decides to stay and changes over to the command track and he looks good in red.

“Have you ever met a quiet Klingon before?”: This is absolutely how you start a season off… wow. I do, as always, have a few questions. Has anyone checked Gowron to be sure he’s not a changeling? I understand he’s always been a little crazy but this seems unreasonable, even for him and even for a Klingon. I get they want to test people but there are ways to go about it, and this is not the way. Thankfully DS9 is run by an awesome Captain with a kick ass senior staff who are doing their best to keep Bajor and the wormhole safe, despite what’s going on in the universe. Sisko knows how to bend the rules without breaking them and comes up with creative solutions to problems, though sometimes it is with the help of his team. He’s also super adorable when he’s with Yates, but I think he likes baseball just a smidge more than her… you can see his eyes light up when she gives him the baseball hat a bit more than his eyes lit up when she walked in wearing a revealing dress.

There were some really excellent moments. Worf getting the family friend drunk and taking Dax’s advice to help him get information the Federation needed was a fun moment and a way to establish that Worf is a textbook Klingon rather than one who has lived the life. Quark and Garak’s discussion about root beer was very interesting, informative, and entertaining. Those two don’t interact a lot, their styles of communication are very different, but that scene just worked. In fact every scene that had Garak in it was fantastic: standing up for Odo’s non-exisitant mother, exchanging words with Bashir in the infirmary, sniping with Dukat every change he got, and just being a wordsmith of epic proportions. I disliked the Dax and Kira bonding moments as it felt forced just because they were both women, but it was fun to see Dax encouraging Kira to bring out her imagination and how mortified Kira was when she met Worf. Worf’s “nice hat” line made me giggle and reminded me how much I missed him. He fits in nicely with the senior staff and he continues to be the lone Klingon who actually puts honor above all else, sigh. 9 bat’leth victories for Worf!

TA Out!

Date: July 11, 2020

Season 3, Episode 26

Musical Accompaniment: A romantic instrumental mix, though I’m not in a romantic mood at all.

Interstellar News: Technology failed today but other things were accomplished, so I’d say it was a wash. Happy 7/11 day, I hope you enjoyed your free slurpee!

Favorite Quotes:

Dax, She’s Too Old For You Bro: “There’s nothing worse than a long-distance relationship.”

Kira: Now that you have another pip on your collar, does that mean I can’t disagree with you anymore?

Sisko: No. It just means I’m never wrong.

Oh Sisko, you’re so funny **slaps knee**.

The Complaint of the Changeling: “I’ve never found it necessary to fire a weapon or take a life. I don’t intend to start now.”

So what had happened was…: Sisko is finally promoted to Captain and Ambassador Krajensky tells him to gear up the Defiant in order to show some force after a coup on the Tzenkethi home world. En route to the border there’s a problem with the transceiver and I’m getting flashbacks to “Emergence“, though the parasite is not so colorful. Sisko determines it’s sabotage and Dax scans everyone for tetryon particles one at a time, just like in “Court Martial” where they found the guy who was hiding by isolating heartbeats… and it’s still just as annoying. Dax finds out that Krajensky is really a changeling and he takes over the ship and sets it to start a war with the Tzenkethi. After sweeping the ship and getting everyone all paranoid they realize they can do a blood test to see who is the changeling and it’s Bashir who is chased by Odo into the conduits. Sisko sets the ship to auto-destruct while O’Brien is trying to damage the force fields in engineering. Two Odos emerge near the warp core and it’s a little bit of “Whom Gods Destroy” all over again. Our Odo harms the changeling, O’Brien gets everything unlocked, Sisko stops the auto-destruct, and everyone heads home. Odo shares that the changeling told him he was too late and that the Dominion and changelings were already everywhere… dun dun dun.

“We are everywhere.”: The ending confirmed something I had already figured out after realizing other changelings could impersonate a humanoid, that they had already infiltrated parts of the AQ. I loved how Odo was people-watching as everyone was being scanned for particles and how he was genuinely surprised when the saboteur turned out to be a changeling. I also totally called it being Bashir later on when I noticed a second vial in his hand, and I think I might finally be catching on to how this show works. There were a lot of interesting moments and a lot of good lines but this was not the most compelling season finale.

It’s absolutely one that sets up what I am sure is to come, given that I know there’s a book about the Dominion War, but it’s something that progressed in a way that was not too surprising once I caught on to the story. Why does Sisko get his orders from an ambassador and not directly from Starfleet? O’Brien heard a noise more than once and Bashir was being super weird, that was also a giveaway. They also did the one-at-a-time thing TWICE in the same damn episode and I’m sorry but that’s just two times too many. I hate that Odo had to take a life, especially from one of his fellow changelings, but it was the changeling that harmed Odo first so at least he didn’t break that long standing tradition. Also, this is now the 862nd time that a ship is saved in the last minute and it’s a bit old at this point, especially since we know this is not the end of the story. I will say it must have been quite a shock to hear Sisko be all dramatic with his opening log entry before you see he’s being promoted. I have to give this episode 6 tamales and am saddened I couldn’t rate it sweet potato flautas instead.

Overall I enjoyed Season 3 much more than the previous two seasons, almost all of the episodes I rated pretty high. Even though I still have four more seasons of DS9 to go, I am ready to update my Rankings page. I’ll just go ahead and say it’s nice to have a variety of other races in a science fiction show that takes place in space.

TA Out!

Date: July 10, 2020

Season 3, Episodes 24 and 25

Musical Accompaniment: Spanish love songs played on the guitar

Interstellar News: It’s never the worst day ever when you’ve had a puppy sleep on your lap.

Favorite Quote from “Shakaar”– The Complaint of the Changeling: “It has been my observation that one of the prices of giving people freedom of choice is that sometimes they make the wrong choice.”

So what had happened in “Shakaar” was…: The First Minister of the Bajoran provisional government dies and his interim successor is Kai Winn until an election can be held. Winn asks Kira to help reclaim some farm equipment from Shakaar, a man she fought with in the Resistance. He and two old friends explain they were supposed to have the equipment for a year but he is willing to work out a compromise. Instead Winn tries to have him arrested and he and Kira flee with the equipment. Winn tries to get Sisko and the Federation to intervene but he can’t and won’t and the situation spirals out of control. As Kira and crew are cornered she and Shakaar talk to Colonel Lenaris in order to avoid civil war, so Shakaar tells Winn he’s running against her.

On the station O’Brien is on a darts winning streak at Quark’s and Quark is looking to make a quick buck. He gives good odds and attracts quite a crowd. O’Brien is “injured” before he can make his last shot, however, and a Vulcan wins on 15-to-1 odds to the dismay of Quark. After surgery O’Brien is no longer “in the zone” but Bashir makes a good shot and is next on Quark’s list.

“I didn’t fight the Cardassians for twenty five years just so I could start shooting other Bajorans.”: So I’m to believe that the entire senior staff is so enamored with O’Brien’s win streak that no one notices or cares that Kira is missing for two weeks? I also do not buy for a minute that O’Brien was really hurt, though I’m glad Quark wasn’t smart enough to figure it out. I mean I understand that O’Brien is a klutz sometimes but it’s usually when he’s getting his adrenaline fix, not when he’s reaching for coffee. I mean he’s a bit older but he’s not that old… though I did throw my back out once trying to put pants on, so maybe.

The Kira part of the episode is more than enough to make up for the lame antics happening at Quark’s. We get a look into her life before Bajoran independence and we also get to see how she’s grown over the last three years. She really does try for a compromise, surely something can be worked out, but she does forget she’s dealing with Kai Winn who is insane and would get along great with Umbridge. Kira’s friends are a reminder of her past and for what she fought for but also a good kick in the pants as to what’s really happening on the surface. It’s hard to remember that when you’re up in the sky and several hours away from where you grew up and it’s even harder when you’re not living that life. I’m really glad both she and Shakaar came to the relization at the same time that they didn’t want to fight their fellow Bajorans, it isn’t what they fought for. Shakaar realized he could make a difference by using his leadership skills and he even was able to convince the militia the merits of his plan. Kira really did act as an intermediary and wasn’t the sole hero of the hour, which I really liked. In the end Kira gets into absolutely no trouble for missing two weeks worth of work and Kai Winn loses power, so this episode gets 6 bullseyes from me.

On a slightly different note there’s something that confuses me about Bajor. How do you get everyone on an entire planet to follow only one religion? Maybe Bajor isn’t as large as Earth but I can’t imagine even the smallest planet not having several kinds of personalities and people on their surface. Maybe it’s very American of me, but it’s hard to believe that there’s not a single atheist or other believer in the whole population.

Favorite Quote from “Facets”:

Quark: What can I get you, Nog?

Nog: A root beer. It’s an Earth drink. Something they serve at the Academy.

Quark: A root beer. This is the end of Ferengi civilization.

Nog being proud of himself and getting himself ready for Earth drinks while Quark is all doom and gloom.

So what had happened in “Facets” was…: Dax is going to go through the zhian’tara, the Trill Rite of Closure, and “meet” all of her previous hosts as their memories are temporarily transferred into another body. Kira embodies Lela, the first Dax host, who was clearly a wonderful and strong woman in a time where the Trill were likely less appreciative strong women. She was a legislator and apparently Italian in a previous life, she used to wildly gesticulate before the men teased her for it, and is responsible for some of Jadzia’s mannerisms. O’Brien takes on Tobin who’s super nervous and super smart but is the reason for Jadzia taking on a unique way of problem solving. Leeta, the dabo girl, has Emony’s memories and was a gymnast which helps Jadzia understand her affinity for Klingon martial arts. Quark takes on Audrid who loved being a mother and the head of the Symbiosis commission. Bashir embodies Torias who was brash and lived life to the fullest but was in an accident and didn’t live as long as he would have liked. Sisko takes on the responsibility of hosting Joran, the psychopath killer, and even inside of the holding cell he causes trouble. Last it’s Odo who takes on Curzon but it’s almost like a true joining as Odo is a changeling. They originally intend to stay connected but Jadzia talks them into separating and Curzon proclaims his love for Jadzia.

Nog, on the other hand, is still trying to qualify for the Starfleet examination. Rom is so damn proud and has Garak tailor a uniform for Nog, but Nog fails part of the test. Rom realizes Quark did something and hulks out on his brother, again, because Nog’s happiness is the most important thing to him. Nog passes the exam when his uncle isn’t interfering and O’Brien can’t believe he’ll have to call Nog “sir” after Nog graduates from the academy.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow your bodies for a few hours.”: Rom is the absolute best and is so supportive of his son, it really is interesting how alike Sisko and Rom are when it comes to fatherhood. I almost feel bad for O’Brien, almost, but I absolutely don’t feel bad for Quark at all. I hope he comes around to being proud of his nephew.

I truly enjoy learning about the Trill joining process and found the whole thing fascinating. I wish there was more time with some of the hosts, especially since the only way I got some of the names was by looking up the transcript for the episode. It was fun to see Jadzia realize what things came from previous hosts and what things were simply enhanced after being joined, she really got to learn a lot about herself. I can understand why this is needed after so many hosts there’s a lot of information floating around and I’m sure it’s not so readily available on command, especially the more removed she is from the host. We’ve heard a lot about Curzon not just because he was Sisko’s friend and mentor but also because he was the most recent host. I do wonder why she didn’t think too hard to ask Curzon before, though? Maybe she was scared or maybe it was hidden from her somehow. Sisko plays Joran perfectly and I will admit I was a bit scared for Jadzia but knew she would be okay because there are several more seasons. The biggest bit for me was the Odo/Curzon hybrid which was a true melding of personalities and I absolutely loved watching Odo drink for the first time. It was wonderful that Odo, once separated, had a greater appreciation for what it’s like to be a humanoid and Dax, once rejoined, understood Odo a bit more unlike any other “solid” person could. Dax becomes more sure of herself and is finally growing into her own. This episode gets 7 previous hosts for me.

TA Out!