Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
"The Alternate"
Air date: 1/10/1994
Teleplay by Bill Dial
Story by Jim Trombetta and Bill Dial
Directed by David Carson
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
Dr. Mora (James Sloyan), the scientist who helped Odo develop his shapeshifting abilities, and also a father-like figure to the rogue Changeling, comes to DS9 to reconnect old bonds which have grown apart since Odo left Bajor in search of something better than being a "science project." Meanwhile, an Unknown Lifeform™ that Mora and Odo have brought back from the Gamma Quadrant (which, by the way, may be a clue to Odo's mysterious origins—or not) roams the station and attacks people, in a plot akin to a B monster movie.
If ever there were an episode with a split personality, "The Alternate" is it. There are two ideas here that the writers must've been set on jamming together into one, never mind that they really shouldn't have had the slightest reason for coexisting. Nevertheless, "The Alternate" manages to be a riveting show on some levels, even if it's the epitome of mediocrity on others. The Odo/Mora scenes are fantastic, opening the backstory to how Odo became who and what he is, even how his personality came to be. Sloyan is superb as Dr. Mora, and Auberjonois' turn as Odo is a highlight that exhibits attitudes that are far more "personal" than the character typically takes on.
Then there's the lifeform plot, which is filled with long stretches of dull scientific exposition, technobabble, bizarre red herrings, and even a few suspense scenes (some of which actually work). The episode's twist is that the lifeform is actually Odo in an uncontrollable shapeshifting state, who chases after Dr. Mora because of gas particles that have been absorbed into his (Odo's, that is) cellular structure. As implausible as it probably is in plot terms, this explanation somehow manages to have some moving emotional implications in the Odo/Mora storyline, driving home a bond the two realize they need to reopen and reevaluate. But couldn't this have been done without so much mundane (and unlikely) underlying subplotting?
Note: If you watch this episode again, you'll notice a blatant change in character backstory. There's a dialog scene here that strongly suggests (more like flat-out says) that Sisko's father had died years ago. Look at the scene where Sisko offers words of wisdom to an Odo concerned about Mora's condition after encountering the toxic gas: "In the end there was nothing [my father] could do, and nothing I could do." This is contrary to "Homefront," in which we learn Sisko's father is still quite alive.
Previous episode: Rivals
Next episode: Armageddon Game
Like this site? Support it by buying Jammer a coffee.
48 comments on this post
Tue, Feb 19, 2008, 4:34pm (UTC -5)
Wed, May 23, 2012, 10:29am (UTC -5)
Wed, Jun 6, 2012, 9:31am (UTC -5)
Mon, Oct 14, 2013, 11:32pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Oct 22, 2013, 3:45pm (UTC -5)
4/10
Fri, Jun 27, 2014, 11:54am (UTC -5)
3 of 4 stars.
Wed, Aug 20, 2014, 8:36pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Nov 3, 2014, 9:27pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Apr 7, 2015, 2:47am (UTC -5)
Sat, Aug 1, 2015, 7:57pm (UTC -5)
James Sloyan -- excellent in all his various Trek roles -- is wonderful in his interactions with Auberjonois, and creates a portrait of a man who has just the right set of contradictions. He sees Odo as a son and a science project; he knows Odo better than anyone in some respects and is blind to some of the most obvious signals Odo gives off; his words of encouragement have the natural effect of pushing Odo back into his shell. I love how Mora correctly recognizes more clearly than Odo does that Odo sets himself apart from others because he feels he has to and only retroactively justifies it as "what he wants", and yet at the same time is totally unable to see how his needling Odo about this just makes Odo grind his heels more. I think that one of the most telling moments in the episode for where Odo's distrust of others (and himself?) comes from is toward the end, when Mora secretly informs Odo that Mora knows that Odo is his sample, and then makes the argument that Odo's friends on the station would *never* accept him knowing this. In many ways this is an exaggeration of a particularly anxious parent's response -- "I want to protect you by poisoning your ability to trust others, because I know that none of them can love you as I do" -- which has the secondary effect of ensuring that the child comes back with them. Mora, who was a scientist during the Occupation and very likely had to work hard to keep Odo out of the Cardassians' hands (I wonder if part of the reason he insisted on Odo doing the Cardassian Neck Trick was a recognition that being a lovable clown is the best way to reassure the Cardassians that Odo was neither a threat, nor a creature they can [ab]use for their own purposes), distrusts everyone but himself when it comes to Odo, while also criticizing Odo for failing to open up to others. His desire to see Odo blossom makes him critical -- or, worse, surprised at every indication of Odo's success; his desire to see Odo safe makes him try to make Odo afraid. And he is completely unaware of these behaviours.
Mora's little speech on the similarities between scientists and lawmen also serves to highlight the ways in which Odo, overall, takes after Mora. Despite his frustrations, we know that Odo values Mora because he patterned his physical appearance after him (though he couldn't get the ears right!) and shrinks in Mora's presence. Mora's cluelessness about how his "friendly" advice about what is best for Odo would actually affect Odo comes down, in part of course, to being a parent, but also in part to being a *scientist*. Just as Odo falls into the trap of believing that his desire for JUSTICE gives him some sort of superpower of objectivity (which he even attributes, in the "Necessary Evil" logs, to perhaps his species), Mora's training as a scientist makes him see himself primarily as an observer, and an objective and dispassionate one at that. He is not quite depicted as the type of scientist like, say, Bashir, who lacks social skills altogether, but Mora's background of viewing himself as an investigator into Odo's nature makes him unable to turn the microscope back on himself and recognize how many of Odo's "flaws" are the result of his own behaviour -- his own stubbornness and certainty of his own objectivity and infallibility -- as *well* as to what extent their mutual desire for the truth and their dedication to hard work means that Odo has learned some of his surrogate father's best traits as well.
While we don't actually get much information about Odo's origins here -- a bit of a disappointment, though people who have watched ahead know what's coming -- I do think the idea that Odo would subconsciously desperately want to destroy the lab very cool. Odo's inability to get through to Mora exactly how traumatic his upbringing was, and (more to the point) how lonely he still felt even around Mora, culminates when the id-Odo essentially tries to murder Mora. Mora's recognition that Odo *wants him*, and his rejection of "RF power"-type tech solutions in favour of the personal, emotional one also signals Mora's full willingness to regard Odo as a person as well as, well, an "unknown sample" to be treated scientifically; and his willingness to risk his life so that Odo can be trapped (and hopefully not killed) is real proof of his feelings for Odo which Odo can actually see and understand. And I like the idea that once Odo expresses his anger the only way that is possible -- through alien gas, ha -- there is the possibility open for real communication between these two.
That Odo actually does turn out to be the killer monster and is still forgiven also helps address one of Odo's big fears -- that he will, if he steps too far afield of what the solids approve of, be destroyed. Mora's fears, which he somewhat projected onto Odo, are wrong -- at least with the station personnel. Odo is regarded as a sick, lonely person affected by alien material, rather than an evil maniac/monster to be destroyed. And in a lot of ways I think that it's good for Odo's rigid moral code for him to find out that he has some destructive urges that he didn't quite recognize. I think Odo knew he was angry at Mora, but I don't think he fully knew *how* angry, and his guilt over having hurt Mora, and Mora's *forgiveness* of Odo, probably help Odo along in understanding that there are grey areas in "justice."
The monster stuff is indeed a bit silly and has a B-movie quality, but it doesn't take up much of the episode, and it is used to good effect to spur a change in the relationship between Odo and Mora, which also helps move Odo along further on his series long arc. 3 stars.
Sat, Aug 1, 2015, 7:59pm (UTC -5)
This reminds me of a joke on "Frasier." On "Cheers," Frasier had told Sam that his father was dead, long before the idea of Frasier starring in his own spin-off had come up. When his spin-off did happen, Frasier's father was introduced as a living cast member. So when Sam visited Frasier on his own series and was introduced to his father, he immediately said that he thought Frasier had said that his father was dead. Martin (Frasier's father): "You said I was dead?" Frasier: "I was mad at you!" A good way to turn a continuity error into a joke by confronting it directly. (Somewhat similar to the famous "we do not discuss it with outsiders" joke from "Trials and Tribble-ations.")
Mon, Aug 3, 2015, 8:16am (UTC -5)
Honestly I always thought Trek should have just hired a Trekkie nitpicker to let them know everything that was wrong with a script. I mean, I respect if you need to ignore continuity (A LITTLE BIT) for the sake of a story... I mean, I really liked Sisko's dad, and I'm not sorry they did it.
But it would still have been good to have somebody letting the writer's know every time they screwed up.
Fri, Sep 4, 2015, 3:23am (UTC -5)
Tue, Sep 15, 2015, 4:08am (UTC -5)
And to Dear William B thanks for helping me understand Odo's anger and resentment at Dr. Mora.
Thu, Sep 17, 2015, 9:53pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Sep 26, 2015, 5:08pm (UTC -5)
Open on Quark auctioning off a bit of a deceased Ferengi (at bargain rates). Odo manages to sabotage the deal, taking particular zeal in telling Quark how much he's looking forward to his death. It turns out Plaig (the dead Ferengi) is not dead at all and Quark has either been duped or trying to dupe. It's the Capitalists' way.
Enter Dr Mora, who immediately starts scrutinising Odo's appearance. Mora is of course the scientist who was assigned to Odo after he was found. Quark pounces on the opportunity to embarrass Odo, recognising Odo's discomfort.
Particularly pleasurable is Sloyan's ability to match Auberjonois' gruff cantankerousness with nonplussed wit and self-confidence. The wit they share in common. Odo has the authority, Mora has the confidence. It mirrors in some ways the dynamic between Odo and Quark except that Mora seems to actually make Odo feel vulnerable. He knows that Odo still yearns desperately to understand himself and his origins (as does the audience), and he's counting on that truth to bridge the gap of trust between them. A great setup.
Act 1 : ***, 17%
Time for a bit of DBI, where we get one of those clichéd father-son conversations between Jake and Ben. [wretch]
Thankfully, Odo ends this crap and asks Sisko for runabout on his and Mora's behalf. Mora wants to investigate some lifeform readings in the Gamma Quadrant which could explain Odo's origins.
There's an amazing amount of information conveyed just by the performances from the more interesting father-son pairing of Mora and Odo. While on the runabout, Mora manages to continuously interrupt and speak for Odo to Dax, all while singing both their praises. It's clear that Mora gets carried away by his excitement and his pride (as many parents do), but also remarkable that this man's ego manages to shut Odo of all people down to nought but rolling his eyes in frustration.
The scientists and Odo beam down to a volcanic planet, which is covered in ruins. They find a pillar and a silicate lifeform which they beam back. This triggers a volcanic eruption which nearly kills them. The set may be cheap, but they manage to squeeze a great deal of drama out of the discovery and subsequent harrowing escape.
Act 2 : **.5, 17%
The Bajorans are critically injured by their experience. While Bashir treats them, Odo observes Dr Mora curiously, as one would a scientific sample, and quite likely they way Mora observed Odo many times during their time together.
Sisko shares the story about how his father almost died but didn't with Odo. This naturally triggers Ben to reflect on his own relationship with Jake and....oh wait, no that would make sense. Nevermind.
Later that evening, the lifeform that they brought back seems to have escaped from its containment field. Duhn duhn duhn...
Act 3 : ***, 17%
They deduce that the lifeform escaped through the ventilation shaft (isn't that always the way?) just in time for Dax to make an entrance. Turns out Bashir hid her clothes from her so she had to sneak out of the infirmary. I'm sure that had no ulterior motivations.
In the infirmary, Mora and Odo share a good scene. Mora called him in to ask to be of use. Odo assures him that the situation is under control. They discuss the metamorphic abilities of the lifeform, but what the scene is really about is what William B described above as “just the right set of contradictions.” In the same breath, we can become angry with Mora for being so single-minded in his scientific pursuit, but stilled moved by his genuine and unprompted concern for those around him. Likewise, Odo's feigned indifference is clearly betrayed by a sense of loyalty and affection for Mora, especially in his injured state.
Jammer complains about the dry, technical exposition during the hunt for the lifeform, but I vehemently disagree. While the actual dialogue is indeed dry, director David Carson is able to create a simmering sense of quiet dread. A very refreshing change from similar scenes in season 1. I find it quite effective. This is achieved primary by having the camera close to Miles so that he takes up most of the frame as he moves through the corridors (can we call them Jeffries Tubes?). As for the claim that this horror-movie stuff doesn't belong in a character study, I don't quite get that either. I mean this is really a horror movie populated by strong characters (Odo and Mora), so fleshing out their relationship is a necessary and welcome *addition* to the plot. O'Brien eventually discovers the now-dead life form in a startling moment which is undercut only slightly by the goofy sight of snot dripping onto the floor.
Even the Dax/Bashir flirting scene is palatable, giving way to a classic sneak-up-from-behind monster-movie bit. Is it a little corny? Yeah, but I think it's about as effective as it could be given the limitations present. A genuinely good effort.
Act 4 : ***.5, 17%
MORA : Constable?
ODO : It's a nickname I barely tolerate.
MORA : It's an expression of affection that you find difficult to accept.
Boom. Mora's dichotomy is on display again. While he pontificates (a little arrogantly) about the similarities between the scientific and police methods, one can attribute his enthusiasm to either grating egoism or an attempt to bridge the gulf between himself and Odo (which is probably even more grating to the Constable).
The script wisely takes every opportunity to flesh out Mora's motivations wherever there's a lull (like during his and Dax' analysis of the DNA residues).
Mora confronts Odo and reveals that he has deduced (secretly) that the monster is actually Odo. It says a lot about the man that, while he may partly still see Odo as a science project, the first person he tells about his discovery is Odo himself, out of respect for his personhood.
Act 5 : **.5, 17%
Odo's panic at the news is telling. He's not horrified by the idea of being a monster, but of being a *criminal*. This harkens back to my reflections on “Necessary Evil”: “[T]he story is given this noire veneer in order to accentuate the theme of semblance. Here, Odo's persona as the neutral observer, cold investigator and un-relatable alien is cracked open.” Another crack is forming. While in NE, Odo's persona as a lawman is what held him together, here the idea that he could be acting *illegally* cuts right into that veneer.
The only objection I have to this scene is, while Odo is visibly transforming under the stress of Mora's (understandably) angry reaction to Odo's rejection of his trustworthiness, the observing scientist fails to notice the heaping, sweating pile of goo Odo is becoming. Then again, I suspect Mora is purposefully antagonising Odo in order to test his theory.
After Odo transforms, Mora informs the senior staff about whom they're tracking and suggest using himself as bait to catch him.
Okay, so here's the bigger problem: Sisko decides, yeah sure, let's use this civilian as bait to catch the creature! Are you seriously telling me there aren't gasses they could use to render Odo unconscious? Or energy fields? Odo isn't a telepath, why not use a hologram of Mora to bait Odo? Talk about a needlessly reckless command decision. Likewise, the whole “set phasers to kill” fake-drama is ridiculous. Odo-as-The-Creature has not killed or even wounded anybody. Sure he's dangerous, but come on!
The other bad news is that the CGI creature bits which follow look terrible. Off-camera, Mora and Bashir rid Odo of the particles which turned his resentment into monster-mash. This is exactly how I prefer Trek deal with its sci-fi elements. The plot serves the purpose of creating the analogy which allows the writers to explore the “human” condition of the characters. Dwelling on the specifics is a waste of time, so I'm glad they don't.
Mora and Odo say their goodbyes, having developed a better understanding of one another and their relationship.
Episode as Functionary : ***.5, 10%
For not the first time, Commander Thinks-With-His-Dick sabotages an otherwise strong story, but at least not too badly as he's not the focus. The Mora-Odo material is very strong and plays well against the precedent set by “Necessary Evil.” Sloyan is a rock star in all his appearances on Trek and Auberjonois is typically strong. While I can understand the objections to the monster-movie bits in theory, they are mostly executed very well (save that last scene) and are integrated seamlessly into the fabric of the story, so I don't mind them. This feels for me like one of the few times DS9 attempted a real Star Trek story and succeeded. William B. gives an excellent analysis above of the Mora/Odo relationship and I have nothing else to add, so I won't. A refreshing change of pace from the last several episodes.
Final Score : ***
Fri, Nov 13, 2015, 1:06pm (UTC -5)
Everything else is pretty much a disaster. There are scenes which seem like they are from another episode (eg the Klingon opera), the monster story never really works, the special effects at the end are laughable, the dialogue gets increasingly ropy ("My God, what have I done?") and worst of all, it's actually boring.
You'd think you couldn't go wrong with some Odo backstory, but I guess not. 2 stars.
Fri, Feb 26, 2016, 4:34am (UTC -5)
We don't even learn all that much about Odo past on Bajor. "Necessary Evil" established that Odo walked out on his Bajoran keepers because he felt he could learn more outside of a laboratory. Not much aside from the fact that Dr. Mora feels badly about that and has a slight emotional connection with Odo is revealed here. We don't learn until much later that Odo left because he resented the way he was being treated by Mora and the other scientists.
So, what we end up with is a huge opportunity to delve into Odo's character which is flushed away in order to tell a lack-luster B-movie monster story, complete with a Tentacle Monster wrapping itself around Bashir's neck. At least "Vortex" was able to obscure the fact that it told us nothing about Odo by having other things going for it (enjoyable characters and an otherwise engaging story). The only thing "The Alternate" has in its favor are some of the Odo/Mora scenes. And even then, Mora comes off as somewhat of an unlikable character in this episode - constantly interrupting Odo in the runabout, treating him like a child, desperate to get him to abandon everything just to return to the lab so he can feel fulfilled, etc. If he wasn't played by James Sloyan he wouldn't be likable at all. But Sloyan is awesome in just about anything he does (he's a huge reason why "The Defector" is my favorite episode of TNG), so he's able to infuse the character with just enough charisma and charm that I can overlook most of Mora's character flaws.
Oh, and Dax acts completely insufferable again. Slipping out of the Infirmary even though Bashir didn't clear her for duty because she, apparently, knows better than her doctor and later playing extra-ordinarily hard-to-get with Bashir. At one point Bashir even says "she enjoys it; she actually gets some kind of perverse pleasure out of it." You hit the nail right on the head there, pal! I guess they've finally decided to give Dax some character traits. And they aren't enjoyable.
4/10
Tue, May 10, 2016, 4:11pm (UTC -5)
Fri, May 27, 2016, 6:44pm (UTC -5)
I have to disagree with you on this one, (from a female point of view). If I were Dax I would not be interested in Julian either, he couldn't control his hormones, he acted as if she was no different than any other woman he met. I cannot remember which episode it was but she came down on him for his behavior. We all would like to think we are at least, a little special. He was just a white livered whore.
Fri, Jun 17, 2016, 11:40am (UTC -5)
I recently rewatched this episode with my kids. They both thought that either the creature had shapeshifted into Dax or the gas had affected her and she was helping the creature. Her comments about moving the artifact reinforced this.
While this doesn't explain within the plot why Dax seemed to be acting weird, it does explain why the writers included these scenes. I think Dax was meant to be a red herring to take our suspicion away from the true culprit Odo.
Sun, Nov 27, 2016, 3:13am (UTC -5)
Fri, Apr 21, 2017, 12:32am (UTC -5)
Apart from the unresolved plot issue about the obelisk, I really enjoyed this episode. Dr Mora and Odo have a very believable and enjoyable chemistry, and the doctor himself is a suitably charismatic character who carries the plot forward and interacts well enough with Odo to draw us into his situation, and care about him. It's funny though to watch 'The Begotten' after this and realise that their relationship didn't improve too much, at least not as much as Dr Mora would have liked.
Before watching s7 I would have agreed hands down with Strejda but Ezri tells Julian in 'Afterimage' that Jadzia enjoyed all the attention and that if Worf hadn't come along, it would have been him. As it is.. I think she probably found Bashir cute, but didn't like him enough to want to be in a serious relationship with him, or take it anywhere beyond mild flirting. Which is completely okay. We're not living in the Middle Ages anymore; women aren't obliged to marry men just because they talked to each other and engaged in a bit of hanky panky.
Sat, May 20, 2017, 4:20pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 4, 2017, 5:23pm (UTC -5)
I preferred learning bits about what Odo can do, but overall I found this pretty dull. Except the scene in sickbay when Odo (before we knew it was Odo) attacked Julian. That had good atmosphere and I actually tensed up a bit.
Tue, Jul 25, 2017, 5:40pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Nov 5, 2017, 7:47am (UTC -5)
I also wondered why Odo is using his shapeshifting so inefficiently.
Wed, Jul 25, 2018, 9:44pm (UTC -5)
3 stars.
Thu, Jul 26, 2018, 3:25pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Nov 26, 2018, 12:36am (UTC -5)
Mon, Dec 3, 2018, 10:30am (UTC -5)
--Odo and Quark are always amusing. A nice start.
--Dr Mora is plainly parental, in the annoying way. But kind of endearing to see some of the classic parent-child here. YAY! I am intrigued.
--More parent-child dynamics with
Sisko and Jake. Brooks would be a great Q, or a Klingon leader, some God-like alien. Not so much, Sisko.
--Does no one notice that the minute they removed that pillar thingy, everything started to shake, rattle, and roll.
--Rene Auberjonois is truly excellent in a challenging role here.
--Dax acting slightly suspiciously . . . just a mislead, I guess.
--Interesting development, Odo tracking himself.
--Odo-Dad trying to manipulate Odo, keep him dependent the way some parents do when they really miss their kid, when their kid is their whole world. It's so odd to see the formidable Odo in the child role.
--Really liked the character development for Odo. Well done.
--What the heck happened to figuring out what the life form and the pillar were about? Dangly loose ends.
Wed, Dec 5, 2018, 7:19pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Dec 6, 2018, 3:30pm (UTC -5)
Plenty of padding with stuff like O'Brien crawling around, Dax/Mora checking DNA samples -- at times "The Alternate" really dragged.
There is Mora who acts like the detective and pins it all down to Odo -- I wouldn't call these scenes "fantastic" like Jammer does but they are the strength of the episode and are reasonably strong. I like how Mora is always trying to humanize and praise Odo for the job he does but Odo is very pragmatic. But Odo breaks down when Mora says he'll be imprisoned for the criminal acts the creature does. That part seemed hard to explain. Later Mora has plenty of regret and they make up -- this whole thing wasn't nearly as powerful as it could have been.
A low point (and typical for Trek) is the resolution -- Bashir has no explanation but after taking down the forcefield, they are able to conveniently extract the creature from Odo. But where is it? Is it dead somehow? I think some things are glossed over arbitrarily here.
There were some weird odds and ends thrown in like Jake having to study Klingon opera and the stone obelisk. No idea wha the obelisk means -- I think that's a loose end. Or is it simply that transporting it triggered the earthquakes and gas that poisons everybody "except" Odo?
A low 2.5 stars for "The Alternate" -- main takeaway for me is the wasted potential of learning about Odo's history and more about his backstory with Mora. This one was fairly boring for stretches, but Mora in future episodes holds decent potential.
Thu, Dec 20, 2018, 1:28pm (UTC -5)
The creature was never in Odo, they removed the gas from him. They didn't realise he'd somehow absorbed it, because they thought "as he doesn't breathe, he didn't breathe it in, and he seems fine".
It was all explained, but it wasn't important - it was the means to the end of showing us Odo's feelings about his "father".
I found this episode quite moving but I have similar issues in my own relationship with my father (and none of the good bits that Odo does realise he has with Dr Mora, despite the problems). I'm glad they didn't linger too long on the "science" behind what was happening, because it was only background. Though it's odd to me as it is to others that Dax just went and looted the Gamma Quadrant like that, as if she has no other way to study the inscriptions. We've already had an episode about how doing that is bad news for DS9!
Thu, Feb 21, 2019, 2:46am (UTC -5)
This prevailing attitude, of treating someone potentially sophisticated (in this case, demonstrably) or ancient as though they were a child just because they’re new or different seemed at odds with the guiding principles of Starfleet, which here seemed to be veering back towards the “we come in peace, shoot to kill” parody rather than more enlightened attitudes. Or is this because I am watching Trek, now, through the prism of another fifteen years of human history?
I was also troubled by Dax’s wanton destruction of an archaeological site. Is it really Starfleet policy to simply beam out anything of interest, vandalising history in the process? I seem to remember that in TNG episodes we saw head-mounted ‘video’ cameras, which would have been the responsible way to record the ruins and the characters on the obelisk — particularly as it played no part in the plot whatsoever aside from various cast members giving it meaningful looks and Odo and Dax’s goofy aside about it moving from one side of the lab to the other.
Another niggle: why does Mora exclaim “my god, what have I done?” Isn’t Bajoran faith based on the Prophets? Wouldn’t “oh, the Prophets” have been a more appropriate oath?
As so often, and recognising the need to wrap up 43 minutes of drama before the commercial break, the closing scene was strange. I’m not sure what was meant by Odo needing to speak loudly enough, or even what Odo was apologising for — it felt to me as though the wrong in their relationship was all in Mora’s side.
Overall, then, this episode really didn’t work for me. Even the title didn’t sit right.
Tue, Jun 4, 2019, 2:46pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Jun 4, 2019, 3:12pm (UTC -5)
At least they haven’t spoiled the famous Voyager crossover episode where Sisko ends up in the Delta Quadrant and Janeway fights the Dominion with help of slipstream technology created by Barclay.
Tue, Jun 4, 2019, 3:30pm (UTC -5)
As Long as they don't spoil the A-Team / Voyager crossover where Barclay pulls Hannibal, Face and BA through an alternate universe portal and then works with them to weld together a makeshift Defiant in a space barn (whose phasers only make enemies sort of fly away and then lie on the floor a bit), then that's fine. If that happened, I would have a definite "ammonia" moment.
Tue, Jan 14, 2020, 12:57am (UTC -5)
Mon, Mar 9, 2020, 4:18am (UTC -5)
Wed, May 6, 2020, 3:57am (UTC -5)
Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 1:15pm (UTC -5)
Also, it’s a nice counterpoint to that annoying meme, “Odo can look like anything, so why does he look like a weird old man?” It’s because he was modeling his looks off of Dr. Mora.
I don’t understand the obelisk subplot though, I agree it seems like it should have been put in another episode.
As for Dax acting weird, I’m not a huge fan of how Terry Farrell portrays Jadzia Dax throughout the series. She’s aloof, probably because Dax is centuries old. She also constantly gives off the vibe that her current body is a novelty, which doesn’t make any sense to me because Dax already has gone through at least five hosts and therefore should be used to the different bodies and social dynamics that come along with changing hosts. I see her behavior in this episode as being consistent with the characterization that Terry chose to portray, although I dislike the choices she made as an actress.
Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 1:28pm (UTC -5)
"But there are implications that he kept Odo from worse fates, like being quarantined on an asteroid."
That's a really good point.
SPOILERS (since I forget what is said here vs in The Begotten)
Dr. Mora seems pretty clear on the fact that he was pushing his luck even doing the experiments on Odo as the Cardassians would have preferred he shelve a useless waste of time like playing with goo. Being on a deadline for results (much as Odo was in The Begotten), he had to take the steps he did to get Odo to react. Otherwise the Odo project might have been taken away, and Odo would have lived out eons in a jar on a shelf. So while I think there is some play to be found here in terms of whether Mora really needed to be as brutal as he was with Odo, we can at least ask whether the alternative might not have been much worse.
Sat, Oct 17, 2020, 9:10pm (UTC -5)
As the episode's opening conversation about frauds and counterfeits lets on, however, these are all decoys. The real monster is Odo. Or rather his surrogate daddy, Doctor Mora, who is essentially Doctor Morbius from "Forbidden Planet".
In that classic film, Morbius so loves his daughter, so smothers her and is protective of her, that his "unconscious desires" leads to the "creation of monsters" which lash out at everyone trying to "take her away". The film famously has a big "Monster of the ID" lashing out at humans hiding behind force fields.
Meanwhile in this episode, we have Doctor Mora as Doctor Morbius. He wants to pamper and protect Odo, take him off of DS9, and also resume the laboratory tests he once performed on Odo as a child, Odo kept in petri dishes and under the lock and key of special shields. This is fatherly love, yes, but also a kind of oppression. The Oedipal Complex writ large, Mora is the patriarch whose love serves to bar Odo from pleasure and freedom, who maintains his power via repression, and who prompts the repressed Odo to slay his father.
Odo's unconscious resentment toward Mora, combined with him "absorbing magical gas", thus leads to him turning into a monster who symbolically, and indirectly, lashes out at Mora. He does this by "freeing an alien contained in a lab" and "attacking doctor Bashir as he runs experiments on the alien in a petri dish". In other words Odo sees himself in this alien, sees Mora in Bashir, and so lashes out.
The episodes ends with the Odo-monster caged in a force field, Mora realizing that he's spent years trying to cage his child - much like Doctor Morbius eventually realizes in "Forbidden Planet" - and father and son eventually solving their little Freudian kerfuffle.
Personally, I wanted a full episode about Dax scanning that monolith. That thing seemed real interesting.
Fri, Sep 24, 2021, 3:30am (UTC -5)
Mon, Feb 7, 2022, 12:42pm (UTC -5)
"Why don't we take it with us?" -Dax
Why don't we take it with us??? Your first instinct as a starfleet officer visiting an ancient site is to just yank a pillar out of the ground and haul it off? Where does it go after DS9 - the British Museum?
Mon, Jul 25, 2022, 12:27pm (UTC -5)
Probably because I don't care about Otto. He's a total buzzkill for the most part, with a few glimpses or redeeming features now and again. He was just about passable in season 1, what with his shape-shifting being a neat plot device at times, but his main functions now seem to be busting Quark's hump and admonishing kids for running on the prome-naaaahd 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
Now he does his little Godzilla impersonation.
Had this in the background most of the time while shopping microSD cards on Amazon and feeling guilty about it... - the shopping ON AMAZON, that is.
I hope they do something with this guy soon or just kill him off.
Yeah. Boring.
Mon, Apr 17, 2023, 9:34am (UTC -5)
Submit a comment
◄ Season Index