Date: June 19, 2020

Season 2, Episodes 12, 13, and 14

Musical Accompaniment: Bruce Springsteen’s YouTube mix

Interstellar News: Happy Juneteenth everyone. Remember that all lives can’t matter until all lives actually do matter. Be kind, wear a mask, and wash your damn hands. Also, I’ve decided to start shortening my summaries again, this way you get more of my snark and sass.

Favorite Quote from “The Alternate”:

Dr. Mora: Constable?

Odo: It’s a nickname that I barely tolerate.

Dr. Mora: It’s the expression of affection that you find difficult to accept.

Since we know Kira was the first one to use it and he has an affinity for her, I think it reminds him of her.

So what had happened in “The Alternate” was…: Dr. Mora, the Bajoran scientist who was assigned to Odo when he was first found, arrives at DS9 and it’s a real father-and-son who have an awkward relationship kind of interaction. Mora needs a runabout because he thinks he’s found Odo’s people, so Mora, Odo, and Dax go on a journey. They find a pillar and a specimen but beaming the pillar up causes an earthquake and gas that renders everyone unconscious except for Odo.Back on DS9 the specimen breaks out of the lab and something attacks Bashir. Dax gets better and runs an analysis while when Mora gets better he puts the pieces together and realize the gas had an effect on Odo and Odo is the something that attacked Bashir. After a heated argument Odo transforms in front of Mora, so Mora acts as bait and they are able to trap Odo in a force field. Odo makes a recovery and we get our hallmark moment before “dad” and “son”.

…”My replicator or yours?”: As usual… I have questions! What was the damn point of the pillar? What happened to the specimen? Why didn’t they just observe Odo in his bucket, or put his bucket in holding while he was in it? Why was Mora such a fucking prick? Did Odo ever do that investigation for Quark? Does Keiko ever find out that O’Brien keeps things from her so she doesn’t worry? So I get that Mora must have done a lot to help Odo and they spent quite a bit of time together so he’s always going to be the sort-of-father-figure, but Odo is a grown ass man and has been on his own for several years now, give it a rest pops. I also find it interesting that this is such a stark opposite from Data. Data wanted so badly to be more human-like and embraced having a “brother“, a “dad” and “mom” and even a “grandpa“, but Odo knows he’s different and doesn’t care. Odo is unapologetic about being his true authentic self and not trying to fit in just to make others comfortable, it’s the most wonderful “yeah, not doing that… fuck you.” The Hallmark moment felt a little forced, but it did when Riker and his dad made amends, so there’s that. I wish I could rate this episode as an 8 for Odo, but it just didn’t seem to have any bite to it, so I’m forced to give it 4 not-so-perfectly morphed ears.

Favorite Quote from “Armageddon Game”… O’Brien’s Ordeal: “Marriage is the greatest adventure of them all. It’s filled with pitfalls and setbacks and mistakes, but it’s a journey worth taking because you take it together.”

So what had happened in “Armageddon Game” was…: O’Brien and Bashir are helping the T’Lani and Kelleruns figure out how to destroy Harvesters, deadly weapons used in a war that has recently ended. Bashir cracks the code, O’Brien destroys all the files and, just as the last Harvester is being destroyed, two Kellerun shoot up the place. O’Brien sets the place to self-destruct and he and Bashir beam down to the planet. An ambassador from each side flies out to DS9 and explains Bashir and O’Brien are dead, say it was a terrible accident, and provide video evidence – which we all know is a doctored piece of bullshit. Sisko gathers everyone to watch and sends them on their tasks and then goes to Keiko, but she points out the video must be a fake because O’Brien never drinks coffee in the afternoon. Dax and Sisko head out to retrieve the roundabout and investigate.

On planet Bashir and O’Brien find shelter, some rations, and a communications device that needs work. O’Brien begins the work but needs help from Bashir because he’s been hit by liquid from the Harvester and is getting sicker by the minute. The ambassadors find them and explain they had to wipe out anyone with the knowledge of the Harvesters so that no one could ever build them again, but Dax and Sisko beam them out before they can be shot. They are pursued in the runabout but Sisko transports the foursome over to the other runabout and heads home just as their runabout is destroyed by the whackos in charge. O’Brien makes a full recovery, Keiko visits him in the infirmary, and she finds out her husband does drink coffee in the afternoon.

…”Help me up. I want to die on my feet.”: So it’s absolutely wonderful two people decide to stop killing each other and want to eradicate every last bit of information on the weapons, but they took it to the ultimate extreme. This episode also further illustrates how green Bashir is and how little experience he’s had in the field. It also shows just how bad ass of an engineer O’Brien is, but damn his interpersonal skills need work. He’s just so fed up with Bashir and barely gives him a chance, he’s already decided what type of man Julian is and doesn’t take into account that Bashir is really just a baby in terms of Federation service. I was disappointed in Sisko’s reaction to their “death” but loved that Dax and Kira met at the bar and Quark toasted to the fallen comrades, because he’s sort of part of the team. The reveal that both sides are in on it was a shock, and Bashir and O’Brien getting beamed out was also perfectly timed, and I absolutely loved Sisko’s plan at getting them the hell out of dodge. I don’t understand why the aliens suddenly decided to stop pursuing them if they were so hellbent on eradicating the knowledge of the technology, maybe they thought better of it. The absolute best moment, though, is Keiko’s reaction at the end when O’Brien admits he sometimes drinks coffee in the afternoon. I almost spit out my drink at their adorableness. 6.5 hearts and flowers for this adorable couple.

TA Out!

Date: June 18, 2020

Season 2, Episodes 10 and 11

Musical Accompaniment: A Billy Joel mix from YouTube

Interstellar News: I had a moderately frustrating day at work followed by a fully frustrating evening.

Favorite Quote from “Sanctuary”:

Sisko: It’s hard to keep a secret in Ops, especially when you’ve been shouting at a monitor for the last two days.

Kira: I thought I kept it down to an angry whisper.

Sisko: Let’s just say that your voice carries.

Sisko is the master of understatement.

So what had happened in “Sanctuary” was…: Sisko and Kira talk about paperwork, Quark is beside himself because of a Bajoran musician who’s mesmerizing the crowd but cutting into his profits, and a ship comes through the wormhole with four aliens from the Gamma Quadrant. Unfortunately the Universal Translator isn’t so universal and they have to poke along for a while until Kira finally makes a breakthrough with Haneek, the woman, who identifies herself as a Skrreean farmer. Haneek, along with three million of her closest friends, are a female-dominated society (with multiple bonded mates) who were recently liberated, thanks to the mysterious Dominion, and now they are free to find their Kentanna – a planet of sorry where they can sow seeds of joy.

Some of the Skrreeans are found and brought through the wormhole, Kira and Haneek bond over an ugly dress, and Odo is besides himself with all of the activity on the station. Nog and Jake talk about girls and get into trouble with some of the Skrreean boys. Haneek is elected to lead her people to Kentanna which she thinks is Bajor and everyone else things is Draylon II. The Bajorans do not vote to allow the immigration and Haneek takes it badly, but not as bad as her son Tumak. Tumak and two friends steal a ship and make for Bajor, they refuse to answer and turn off the engines but they have a radiation leak and, through a series of unfortunate events, the ship explodes. Haneek and her people leave, but not before she tells Kira that it could have been but they’ll never know.

…”I don’t have any males. Not at the moment, anyway.”: This was a very interesting episode. I liked how the universal translator needed some time to catch up and I suspect that will continue to be a trend as there are more interactions from the Gamma Quadrant. I also immediately saw the similarities between the Skrreeans and the Bajorans, like how the T-Rogorans occupied their planet for 800 years and forced them to be their laborers and slaves… sounds like the Cardassian occupation to me just 16 times as long. The thing I don’t get is that the Bajorans are all about their prophecy but then don’t take stock in someone else’s? Why couldn’t they try it out for a year and if it wasn’t working out then the Skrreeans could move to Draylon II, but if it did work out than Bajor would have helped themselves and another race. I will admit that Haneek totally overreacted and put all of her eggs into the Bajoran basket, but she should have been allowed to make her arguments or for them to come to some soft of compromise. It just felt like the Bajorans focused too much on the negative and “what could happen if everything went wrong” but didn’t focus much on “what could happen if everything goes right”.

The part where Tumak dies is incredibly sad, not just for a mother losing her son and a child losing their life, but because it’s something that never should have happened. No one deserves to lose their life because death is the one thing we cannot recover from. Think about what happens when a ship comes through the wormhole; Sisko always tries to communicate and uses every other non-lethal method of contact before resorting to a violent response and then it’s only if the station is in danger. Here the Bajoran military caused so much interference and three Skrreean children died because their first thought was violent. I also hated, but was unfortunately not surprised, that Nog and Quark were against refugees because they were poor and looked different. I did love that Jake tried to be friendly and Odo pulling Nog by the ear was fan-fucking-tastic. I wish there was more here, but it just didn’t pan out the way I would have liked. 6 icoberry tortes for this episode.

Favorite Quotes from “Rivals”:

Quark: But the blankets…

Bashir: …will be provided by you one way or another, and if the monks don’t get their blankets, Chief O’Brien and I’ll be very upset. Do I make myself clear?

QUARK: Perfectly.

Quark trying to get Bashir to throw the match and Bashir making it abundantly clear that Quark will make a payment one way or another.

Martus: Where are you going?

Rom: Back to Quark. At least then I’ll get cheated by family.

I wonder if Rom’s statement is a Rule of Acquisition?

So what had happened in “Rivals” was…: Alsia and Martus are sharing a drink when Odo comes to arrest Martus, a known con man. Martus is sharing a cell with a snorer who laments about this purple ball that ruined everything and then he dies, so Martus takes the ball. Good luck begins to come to Martus: the charges are dropped, he wins at Quark’s, and he flirts with a Bajoran widow who becomes his business partner and fiancée. Much to the chagrin of Quark, Roana and Martus open up Club Martus and people flock to a new and fun place to gamble and drink… including Rom!

O’Brien makes a racquetball court and Bashir joins him for a game, which turns into three as Bashir whoops O’Brien and O’Brien keeps thinking the next game he’ll beat Bashir for sure. During a brief rematch Bashir intentionally tries to be terrible but O’Brien sees right through and is pissed about it. Streaks of both good and bad luck seem to be happening all over the station. O’Brien drowns his sorrows at Quark’s and inadvertently gives Quark the idea for “The Mechanic vs. The Doctor”, a rematch “for the children”. During the rematch, Bashir is getting his ass kicked and they report what is happening. Martus’s luck begins to fail: everyone hits the jackpot at once, his fiancée and Rom leave him, and everyone starts to flock to Quark’s. Dax figures out it’s the machines in Club Martus and she and Sisko destroy them so Martus decides to invest in Alsia, but it turns out she’s also running a con job and they both get arrested.

…”Think of the children.”: I want to start off by saying Keiko is an amazing wife. She solemnly hands her husband items he needs to get ready for his match while O’Brien is talking to himself in the mirror, without giggling at him, and then smooches him thoroughly and encouragingly to wish him luck. The whole Bashir/O’Brien bit was wonderful. O’Brien, as much as I love him, as some serious character flaws. We know he’s got work to do regarding the Cardassians, but he’s also now the old man screaming at the kids to get off his lawn simply because Bashir is super amazing at racquetball. It’s almost like Bashir was built for it the way he graces the court and serves the ball. It was fun when Bashir had bad luck because he made it look like he was really trying and just couldn’t get his mojo right. He also stood up to Quark and I absolutely loved he took the time to identify what was in the liquid Quark tried to give Bashir.

For some reason this reminded me a little bit like “The Game“, mostly with how addictive it was and all for pushing a button. It was great to see the karma in this episode go round and round with Quark getting a little taste of bad luck, Rom realizing that his brother isn’t so bad after all, and Martus getting conned. Odo was having a grand old time holding folks in security and seeing Quark down on his luck. Kira and Dax had super minor roles but they were still fun. I have one burning question, though… WHO WINS THE MATCH?!?! 5 Isiks for this episode.

TA Out!

Date: June 17, 2020

Season 2, Episodes 8 and 9

Musical Accompaniment: 2Cellos Greatest Hits from 2018

Interstellar News: It stopped raining today and the sun was out!

Favorite Quote from “Necessary Evil”:

Kira: My last job was at a replicator plant on Bajor.

Odo: You’re not allowed to quit those jobs. What happened?

Kira: I hit a supervisor for trying what I thought you were trying a few minutes ago.

Odo: I appreciate your restraint this time.

The beautiful beginning to the Kira/Odo banter, which slightly edges out the Odo/Quark banter.

So what had happened in “Necessary Evil” was…: Quark meets with a Bajoran widow who wants him to retrieve something on DS9 from the store where her husband was murdered five years ago. As Quark leaves, a mystery man appears. Odo is super annoyed that he has to start a log and he submits one before shutting down the Promenade for the evening. Quark and Rom break into the shop, extract the box, and open it to find a list of eight Bajoran names. Rom goes to get a copier and the mystery man appears, takes the list, and shoots Quark.

We get quite a few flashbacks interspersed between present day scenes. Gul Dukat calls in Odo to investigate the murder of a Bajoran chemist (the husband of the widow from earlier). The wife points to Kira and says they were having an affair, but Kira waves it off saying she was just there for the tea and she was at Quark’s at the time. Quark, after some prodding by Odo, admits Kira paid for an alibi. She admits to Odo she’s in the Bajoran Underground, but was sent to damage an ore processor.

In present time, Quark’s alive but just barely and Odo and Sisko use their charm to get Rom to tell them all he knows and remember as much as he can. Odo talks to the widow and notes that she’s recently come into some money just as he also finds out one of the names on the list is dead, just the night before. Our mystery man sneaks into the infirmary to suffocate Quark but Rom come in and screams the most piteous scream I’ve ever heard and by god I hope he never does so again. Odo, however, has put it all together that Kira really was the murderer all those years ago because Vaatrik and the names on the list were all Cardassian sympathizers.

…”I don’t drink.”: I love, love, love seeing Odo explain his process because the poor little humanoids don’t realize how observant he is, it’s like watching an alien Sherlock Holmes and I am all here for it. Odo’s snark-o-meter is up past 10 as he has to record the security logs (“Are these kinds of thoughts appropriate for a Starfleet log? I don’t care.”) and I love every damn word in them. It’s so wonderful to see where Odo was when we see his first memory and how much he comes to life when he begins the investigation. You can see how he was able to make a name and reputation for himself and how much he tried to distance himself from being known as a freak show.

I am, however, a little irked that they leave things unresolved at the end of episodes and then never return to them. Obviously Quark’s alive but how long did it take him to heal, did Rom have a mental breakdown when he did, and most importantly – did he change all the locks as he threatened? Seeing Rom be the most bad ass problem solver because he didn’t want to bother his brother is damn adorable and also quite awesome. I wonder if he and O’Brien will ever get matching decoder rings and become the Wonder Twins?

There were just so many good moments in this episode. Sisko playing the “good family friend” card to con Rom into telling them what’s up, and Sisko becomes the “good cop” to Odo’s “bad cop” and is fucking fantastic. I mean Odo even quotes a Rule of Acquisition! The flashbacks were well integrated and we piece things together right about the time Odo is. I can’t find one thing that I disliked about this episode, so we’re keeping it a 10 on the snark-o-meter.

Favorite Quote from “Second Sight”:

Dax: Let’s hope it works. Right now, it’s a promising theory.

Seyetik: Of course it’ll work. I never fail. Well, I did once, but I found it didn’t agree with me. So I swore never to do it again and I never break my word. You should be glad you’re coming with me, Lieutenant. This’ll be my crowning achievement. Giving birth to a star. Even I will have a hard time topping that one.

Dax being a realist and Seyetik being, well, full of himself.

So what had happened in “Second Sight” was…: Sisko can’t sleep because it’s been four years since his wife’s death and Jake can’t sleep either, he had a bad dream and misses his mom too. Sisko is looking out into space (literally) when a beautiful woman named Fenna chats him up but then mysteriously disappears.

The station is welcoming Dr. Seyetik, a terraformer who is has plans to reactive a dead sun. Sisko runs into Fenna again and shows her around the station but she runs away despite having a good time and being drawn to Sisko. Jake asks his dad if he’s in love, Nog told him about “the signs”, and Jake says it’s okay if Sisko is in love – but he wants to meet her. The senior staff is at dinner on the Prometheus when they all meet Nidell, Seyetik’s wife, who looks exactly like Fenna. Nidell, however, has no idea who Sisko is. Sisko had asked Odo for help, so Odo comes to report he couldn’t find this Fenna woman, and then explains that no one has left the Prometheus aside from Seyetik. Fenna reappears near Sisko’s quarters, they kiss, and she disappears right in front of his eyes.

Dax and Seyetik are about to leave when Sisko decides to join them. Fenna reappears and Dax’s readings show she’s pure energy. They head to Nidell’s quarters and find she is passed out and Seyetik is absolutely furious. Turns out Nidell manifested Fenna because she was under a lot of stress, but she doesn’t remember anything about Fenna once she wakes up. Seyetik realizes his wife is unhappy but also knows that Halanans mate for life, so he puts himself in the pad and launches it so that he’ll die FOR SCIENCE! He, of course, wrote his own obituary. Fenna disappears and Nidell wakes up, determined to head back to her home world.

…”It’s hard to talk man to man with a woman.”: There are very few things I liked about this episode, but Dax was one of them. She is really coming into her own this season and is even comfortable about gossiping with Sisko and proving her worth as science officer. She’s also suitably flummoxed as to why Seyetik asks her for help when she’s not a doctor, but she doesn’t call for the ship’s doctor either so I don’t know what’s up with that. There was also the great moments of O’Brien fixing yet another thing that went wrong and Kira being suspicious of Sisko ordering tea instead of raktajino. I also reaaaaaaaaaaaaally loved Fenna’s outfit and absolutely want one. Seyetik manages to be super ridiculous and I’ve always loved Salli Richardson (Eureka, Gargoyles, and so many others), but I just wasn’t really sure how him killing himself made Fenna disappear, it was Nidell that needed to be de-stressed. I was just very underwhelmed by this episode, it’s 4 dead suns for this one.

TA Out!

Date: June 16, 2020

Season 2, Episodes 6 and 7

Musical Accompaniment: More cello covers followed by some saxophone covers, I need the instrumental.

Interstellar News: Apparently I moved to Seattle or Forks, because all it does is rain here.

Favorite Quotes from “Melora”:

Bashir: Melora, no one on this station is completely independent. In space we all depend on one another to some degree.

Melora: I just want you all to know that you can depend on me.

Bashir: You’ve proven that. Now, what do the rest of us have to do to convince you?

Melora: Of what?

Bashir: That you can depend on us.

Bashir crashing through Melora’s hard exterior.

So what had happened in “Melora” was…: Melora Pazlar is a cartographer and an Elaysian, they are used to lower gravity, so O’Brien and Bashir have been making accommodations for her chair to get around the station. She’s very defensive and doesn’t want any special treatment aside from the necessary modification for her to move around. Bashir is undeterred and invites her to eat at the new Klingon restaurant, which is a great scene, and she loosens up a bit and lets him share some time in lower gravity. Unfortunately she has a minor accident the next day and moans about wanting to be more independent, so Bashir looks into research and comes up with a protocol that will help her to be so. The trade off, however, is that she can’t stay in her own gravity. Melora and Dax head to the Gamma Quadrant and discuss The Little Mermaid.

Meanwhile a man named Fallit Kot comes to the bar and shares he intends to kill Quark because eight years prior Kot served time for smuggling and Quark went free. Quark tries everything to settle the debt but when food and Dabo girls just won’t do, and Quark’s life is threatened, he offers gold-pressed latinum. Quark takes Kot along on his deal with Ashrock so Kot can take the latinum, but Kot shoots Ashrock and forces Quark to carry the latinum and the merchandise. They make Melora and Dax get back on the runabout they just exited and try to leave the station, only to be stopped by the tractor beam. Kot shoots Melora so they let the ship go and O’Brien, Sisko, and Bashir head out on another runabout to chase them. Melora isn’t dead, disables the gravity, kicks Kot’s ass, and saves the day. She does, however, decide against the treatments at the cost of her independence.

…”I’ll buy one.“: Here’s the thing, I’ve seen lots of wheeled carts and other things aboard the station so why haven’t they made any structural changes since then? You’re telling me no one ever comes aboard with a lot of luggage they need to unpack? So maybe they just run everything through the transporter, but still. I do like Bashir so much more already, he’s less outlandishly flirty for one, but he seems to be interested in women for the fascination value. He’s got the hots for Jadzia Dax because she’s a Trill and has lived as both a male and female. He’s now attracted to Melora because she’s different. I get that everyone has their kinks and I would never, ever kink-shame anyone, but I can’t tell if it’s a preference, his type if you will, or if it’s because he’s a doctor who’s really married to his work but is super fascinated by female aliens. I also don’t like that his immediate thought was to “fix” her, different does not mean deficient. Also, doctors should never date their patients!

When Quark goes to Odo, who already knows everything of course, the exchange between them is fantastic and the look on Odo’s face when he tells Quark he’ll buy a piece of him is so so so so good. I’ll admit I enjoyed two things: Melora opening up and the ending. The singing Klingon, Odo’s face in security, the joy on Melora’s face when she shares a moment with Bashir… they’re all lovely little moments. The ending allowed Melora to prove what she felt she needed to and also might help lead Quark to living a slightly more straight life, one can hope. However, this is Trek does a physical handicap and they really aren’t that great at it. To be honest TOS did it better in “Is There In Truth No Beauty?” and TNG did okay with La Forge (most of the time) and in a few episodes where someone had a different way of communicating (the guy with the chorus, the aliens that worked with Lwaxana, etc.), so I can’t give more than 4 orders of half dead Racht for this episode.

Favorite Quote from “Rules of Acquisition”:

Kira: Actually, I just stopped by to return this.

Zek: Why? Is something wrong with it?

Kira: No, it’s lovely. I just can’t accept it.

Zek: Then I suppose a night of wild passionate romance is out of the question?

It never hurts to ask.

So what had happened in “Rules of Acquisition” was…: Dax is playing tongo with a bunch of Ferengi and one named Pel brings Gramilian Sand Peas to Quark’s attention as the person who eats one immediately goes for a sip of their drink – it’s a way to double beverage profits. The Nagus Zek is back and wants to get the Ferengi foot in the door of the Gamma Quadrant so he offers nitrate to Bajor in order to conduct business on DS9 and then tasks Quark with being his negotiator. Zek is also super smitten with Kira and is a lecherous old man. Quark makes Pel his assistant but what he doesn’t know is that she’s a woman in disguise because Ferengi woman aren’t allowed to wear clothes, be educated, or leave the home world… pah! Dax figures out Pel is different and she admits to Dax she’s a woman.

Quark and Pel try to negotiate with the Dosi but they leave the station, so they convince Zek to borrow his ship and travel to the GQ in hopes of closing the deal. Turns out they are being denied because Inglatu doesn’t have the pull to get that many vats of tulaberry wine but Zyree tells them about the mysterious Dominion which Quark realizes must have been what Zek wanted all along. They return to DS9 and Quark gives Zek the information for a share of all GQ profits. Rom ruins the moment by explaining to Quark that Pel is actually a female as he broke into her quarters and found her ears, so Quark passes out and decides no one can know. Quark gives Pel some latinum to start a new life and expects that she’s left, but Pel joins him, Rom, and Zek for dinner and takes off her fake lobes. Zek is disgusted but also was tricked by Pel, so he takes away Quark’s GQ profits and then Quark and Pel kiss goodbye.

…”Stupidity is no excuse.”: 285 Rules of Acquisition, my goodness! I weirdly liked this episode for a variety of reasons. Zek is super inappropriate with Kira but he’s also a little sweet about it and takes her “no” just fine, except for all the butt grabbing which was totally not cool. Dax is shown here to be super chill and I’m sure if we all got to live for 300 years and spanned multiple different hosts we’d also be so enlightened. It’s interesting to see how Quark falls back on tradition but kind of grows up a little over the episode, but I got all sorts of Mulan vibes the entire time. I totally know what it’s like to be denied things or discouraged from pursuing them because I’m female, so I totally understand Pel’s desire to be more than what’s afforded to her on her home planet. She really did have the lobes for good business, sigh. I also know the Dominion is an important thing because that was one thing that I’ve heard over the years from those I know who have already watched all that is Trek. I’ve got the 6th rule for you here: never let family stand in the way of profit or opportunity.

TA Out!

Date: June 15, 2020

Season 2, Episodes 4 and 5

Musical Accompaniment: My iTunes instrumental list with Gorillaz, Minus the Bear, and Joe Satriani.

Interstellar News: It rained all damn day.

Favorite Quote from “Invasive Procedures”:

Odo: Oh, please. Don’t try to tell me you’ve been sitting out here all this time pining for Rom.

Quark: I know, I know. He couldn’t find a cup of water if you dropped him in a lake, but even if he is an idiot, he’s still my brother.

Odo: And you’d betray him in a second if it suited your interests.

Quark: That doesn’t mean I don’t love him.

Odo knowing full well that Quark will do anything for gold-pressed latinum and Quark trying to explain the Ferengi family structure.

So what had happened in “Invasive Procedures” was…: DS9 is evacuated, again, due to a violent plasma storm and is being run by the folks in the opening credits. Even Quark has stayed, but that’s mostly to place something in the docking ring. A ship approaches who needs emergency assistance but it’s a trap with two Klingons, a Trill, and another alien who immediately take their combages and make Odo get into a Ghostbusters trap they then have Bashir place in stasis.

The ragtag crew arrives at Ops and overtakes them because the Trill, a man named Verad, wants Dax out of Jadzia. Quark was planning on doing business with them but has been deceived, so he joins everyone in Ops. Bashir performs the operation and Verad is now Verad Dax, though he does everything he can to keep Jadzia alive. Sisko takes advantage of his friendship with both Curzon and Jadzia to try to talk Verad into doing the right thing, but it falls on deaf ears. Quark fakes being hurt so they can liberate Bashir and Odo while Sisko works on Verad’s girlfriend Mareel. Verad is defeated and wakes up feeling empty, remembering nothing, while Jadzia is Jadzia Dax again and remembers everything.

…”Don’t call me Benjamin”: I’m super torn about this episode. We just saw the evacuation of the station and it just so happens the only people on board are the senior staff and Quark… yawn. Also, what kind of deal needed to be done for all of the security measures to be offline? Quark knows that they’ll know it was him and he’d be risking his business, I can’t think of anything worth that risk. I’m also positive there will be no consequences for him which is ridiculous because even helping out did not undo what he did, he totally crossed the line. I understand Kira’s been the star of a lot of episodes but she’s totally a bad ass and I have no idea how she gets outfought by a prostitute.

Bashir and Dax both did a lot of work in the off season and it shows here where they both lay it all on the line. Dax sacrifices potentially both of her lives for the rest of the crew while Bashir bullies a Klingon, it’s spectacular. The real star of the show is John Glover as Verad who goes from this meek little man with a bit of a pause and stutter do a confident man who stands up tall and takes command of the room. The range of his acting is fantastic and the attention to detail, like his hair being different after the joining. This episode also really made me interested in learning more about the Trills, I find it all so… fascinating. 6 Trill symbionts for this episode.

Favorite Quote from “Cardassians”:

Sisko: So, you deduced that Garak thinks Dukat is lying about something you’re not sure of and you proceeded to interrupt my conversation to confront him about whatever that may be.

Bashir: I’m sorry, Commander. It just seemed an opportune

Sisko: Don’t apologize. It’s been the high point of my day. Don’t do it again.

Sisko is impressed but also, still the boss.

So what had happened in “Cardassians” was…: Garak and Bashir are drinking at the Replimat when a Bajoran man comes in with a Cardassian boy, who winds up biting Garak when approached. Minutes later Gul Dukat calls suddenly concerned about all of the Cardassian children that he was “ordered” to leave behind. The father explains that Rugal was adopted and of course they explained that Cardassians are evil but they think of him as Bajoran while the man traveling with them tells a story of parental abuse which leads to Rugal staying with the O’Briens and an investigation.

O’Brien is a racist against “the Cardies”, which Keiko admonishes, but then later expresses that you can’t judge a whole race of people so I have no idea what’s going on in his head. Garak wakes up Bashir in the middle of the night and they head to Bajor to find adoption records just as Gul Dukat rings Sisko to explain they’ve found the biological father of Rugal, an esteemed politician named Kotan Pa’Dar. Kotan arrives at DS9, as does Dukat, and Sisko presides over a hearing to determine what will happen to Rugal. Bashir and Garak fix the computer and comb through the records only to find it’s been deleted but they find the Bajoran who remembers a female Cardassian dropping off Rugal. Bashir takes his turn at asking Dukat questions while Garak watches on with a shit-eating grin because they have found proof Rugal was stolen only to be used to embarrass Kotan at a later time. Sisko rules in favor of Kotan and sends Rugal back to Cardassia.

…”I don’t need to hear it twice”: So many questions. Where did the witness go and why did he say such things? I guess that was part of the set up by Dukat. What’s up with Dukat and Garak? I hope we eventually find out, I do love some station gossip. This is not the fist time O’Brien has used a slur and I’m glad Keiko is not putting up with that bullshit. It is absolutely fine to hate an individual, it is never okay to hate an entire anything. The Garak and Bashir budding bromance is adorable but the episode spent so much time on their relationship when the story should have been about Rugal all along. Too often the child is the one forgotten about during custody hearings and, as an 11 year old, Rugal should have had more participation in every part of it. I did enjoy, however, how Bashir stopped the runabout to demand answers from Garak. It reminded me a lot of Gibbs from NCIS, here’s a clip:

There was a heartbreaking scene at the orphanage where the Cardassian children wonder if Garak is there to take them home and it makes me want to adopt every damn child I can because children should grow up with people who love and care for them, regardless of who birthed them. It was also obvious that Kotan really thought his child was dead and loved his son very much, but I’m sure it was just as hard for the Bajoran parents who had loved and cared for Rugal as their own… even if they filled his heart with hatred for his own race. No matter how much they thought he was Bajoran, he outwardly looks like a Cardassian and people always judge a book by it’s cover (just ask The Pagemaster). In the end I’m reminded of “Suddenly Human” from TNG where Picard makes the decision that is best for the boy. Sisko dropped his baseball here, and for that he gets a “Golden Sombrero” which is apparently when a player strikes out 4 times in one game.

TA Out!