Review Text
Note: This episode was rerated from 3.5 to 3 stars when the season recap was written.
Nutshell: A solid installment with a very brave twist at the end. I don't know how the writers are going to get themselves out of this one, but I'm definitely interested in finding out.
The writers just keep getting themselves in deeper and deeper. How are they going to resolve the mess they've created in a mere four episodes (that's counting "Call to Arms" and not "Sons and Daughters" since the latter was an episode that offered little into the sweeping arc) in a manner that is both plausible and dramatically satisfying? Presumably, we're going to have at least some of it put to rest in the next two episodes, so my question is "how?" We shall certainly see.
In "Behind the Lines," we get some compelling follow-up to Kira's decision from "Rocks and Shoals" to begin a resistance effort and start causing some station-side trouble. The episode opens with a big fight in Quark's that erupts between the Cardassians and Jem'Hadar. It was Kira's and Rom's doing; they stole Damar's padd and left it outside a Jem'Hadar soldier's quarters. The padd contained an "inflammatory document" that angered the Jem'Hadar; the resulting melee in Quark's leads to a number of Cardassian and Jem'Hadar deaths.
The idea of Kira and Rom encouraging dissension from within the ranks of this uneasy alliance is a very appropriate one. I've long believed that the gaps in the alliance could be exploited to its detriment, so Kira's plan certainly makes a lot of sense. The funny part is how Dukat and Weyoun have to put aside their own differences to keep control of their respective troops. "Smile, Dukat. Our men need to see that we're still allies," Weyoun whispers to him.
Similarly, I also enjoyed seeing the operations of Kira's resistance cell—one of utter simplicity with the odds decidedly against its success: Four people (Kira, Odo, Jake, and Rom) sitting around Kira's quarters discussing any possible way of undermining Dominion plans. When someone knocks on Kira's door, the sense of uneasiness is crystal clear. The key word here is "covert"; lay low or surely be exposed.
Then there's the interesting, not-so-neutral role of Quark, the friendly barkeep who keeps his ears open. Particularly believable was his pumping of Dukat's right hand Damar (Casey Biggs) for information, and his successful attempt at getting the information out of him by drinking some of the hard stuff with him. (As Worf once said, "You cannot loosen a man's tongue with root beer." Now, kanaar on the other hand...)
When Quark shows up to Kira's resistance meeting drunk—and with crucial information that Damar has a plan for deactivating the minefield—we see a barkeep who is genuinely sick of the occupation. He had become too accustomed to the Federation presence, and he wants it back. He doesn't like the Cardassians anymore ("They're mean and arrogant") and he can't stand the Jem'Hadar (for obvious reasons). It's refreshing to see Quark take a side, and since he's generally regarded as neutral by the Cardassians, this could be something that works in the favor of Kira's resistance efforts.
On the other hand, just as Quark finally seems to be coming around into usefulness, "Behind the Lines" also documents Kira losing her grips on a person much more vital to her cause—namely Odo, who finds his priorities completely shattered when the troublesome Female Changeling (Salome Jens) comes to Odo to offer her insight into the Great Link so that Odo might learn more about himself.
We all know this shapeshifter. Nearly every time she shows up it spells trouble for Odo. This time she reveals that she is trapped in the Alpha Quadrant because of the minefield. She has come to Odo to tell him he has been forgiven for his killing of another Changeling, and that he can still return to the Great Link if he so desires.
One minor qualm I have is that the opening scene between Odo and the Female Founder feels a little too much like deja vu. We've heard some of this dialog several times before—where she tries to convince him that he should return to the Great Link, that he doesn't belong with "solids," and so forth. If this didn't ultimately work so well in terms of the story, I'd wonder if it weren't written for the benefit of people who hadn't seen season three.
On the other hand, it definitely stands to reason that the Female Changeling would come Odo under the given circumstances. If she has truly been trapped in the Alpha Quadrant for the past four months, her explanation that she "wants to be with one of her own" is very plausible given what the story tells us about a Changeling's need for a sense of completeness and fulfillment that the Great Link provides. The Female Changeling's offer to help Odo learn about himself is a genuine one—but the Founders are crafty people. If they can manipulate Odo to the Dominion's own self-serving ends while simultaneously helping him return to the Great Link, all the better.
Odo's decision to allow her to link with him is one made out of desperation from another issue: He needs to find some peace, for he is too distracted by his feelings for Kira that his thought processes are constantly affected. He admits that it's absurd, but he can't control his feelings. The other shapeshifter offers him "clarity." Under the circumstances Odo's decision takes a very dangerous road, but the beauty of it is how unavoidable it seems. He's simply too vulnerable to make the better choice.
To say Kira is worried would be an understatement. When she finds out Odo has linked with the other shapeshifter she's angry and extremely frustrated. I've said before that Nana Visitor projects emotion onto the screen as good as or better than any actor I've seen, and her performance here is further proof of that. Kira can't finish her sentences as she realizes what the implications of Odo's actions are. She makes Odo promise not to do it again—too much is at stake right now for her to risk him not being completely focused. But by this point I was already suspecting that it was too late; Odo's speech and demeanor had already considerably changed, and his own naivete that he would be able to control this volatile situation he had created was the one mistake that would lead him down his one-way path.
But, because Kira has known and trusted Odo for so many years, she trusts him one more time despite his distractions. What choice does she have? When Odo says "I promise," you take him for his word; he's one of the most honorable characters around.
The problem with Odo is that he has so many Achilles heels. His feelings for Kira have already affected him. Add that to his species' inherent nature to return to the Great Link and the presence of another Changeling who is certainly capable and intending to manipulate him, and we have the makings of serious trouble. We've seen before that Odo is capable of making decisions that may not be in the best interests of everybody but may be in the best interests of himself (the future Odo in "Children of Time" comes to mind). That's why Echevarria's script for "Behind the Lines" is so good. As the plot advances, the dramatic irony becomes clear. By the time Quark reveals to Kira that the minefield is on the verge of coming down, Odo has shown more interest in finding out how many shapeshifters are in the Great Link than he has in thinking about ways of thwarting Damar's plans. Sure, Odo has moments where he is actively involved in the resistance planning—he volunteers to disable the security alarms long enough for Rom to go into a secured area of the station and alter some tech stuff crucial to Damar's plan—but for the most part Odo's mind is already on the other side of the wormhole ready to join the Link.
The effectiveness of the story's dramatic irony I attribute to Rene Auberjonois' striking change in the way he performs Odo. Before linking he's the Odo we know—aggressive, passionate, and forceful when he speaks his mind. But after linking he is reserved, indifferent, and quiet. He just doesn't seem to care, because his life has suddenly gone in a new direction. This new direction is interesting in itself, as it toys with the possibilities of the Changelings' existence. ("The drop becomes the ocean, and the ocean the drop."; "How many of us are there?" "One and many; it depends on how you look at it.") Herein, one also wonders to what degree the Founders are individuals, and to what degree they're a collective (providing still another way of analyzing the Dominion in terms of the Borg).
The final act is a chilling winner that leaves us hanging for another week. Odo breaks his promise and links again, just at the time when he should be disabling the alarm according to the set plan. As a result, Rom is captured trying to undermine Damar's plan and subsequently thrown in a holding cell. The minefield will now almost certainly come down. People are going to die. Kira is furious. When she confronts Odo, he simply and calmly tells her "I was in the Link. It just ... didn't seem to matter." He doesn't expect her to understand—and it's a good thing, because she sure doesn't.
This is a brave ending, because it takes some real chances. Not only does it bury the Federation's chances in the war even deeper under apparent hopelessness, it completely changes Odo's attitudes and his relationship with Kira. What's more, Odo doesn't even seem to care about what he has caused by his inaction; he now sees it as "none of his concern," because he is a Changeling—understanding his own people more and "solids" less. I don't see how Kira could ever trust Odo again. I wouldn't.
Now for a brief comment on the B-plot, which was also pretty strong: Sisko being taken off the front line and being assigned to a desk job in charge of an entire tactical wing is a prudent idea. His knowledge of the Dominion certainly makes him qualified to make these tactical decisions, and it also highlights the bond between Sisko and the crew of the Defiant, which he must sever in the interests of larger duties. These are the little details that make this war arc truly epic in scope.
What happens next? How can Kira continue without Odo, and how will Odo end up back on our side? How will anybody trust him again?
That's why they say "Tune in next week..."
Next week: It's a time to stand when Sisko decides he wants his station back.
Previous episode: Sons and Daughters
Next episode: Favor the Bold
Like this site? Support it by buying Jammer a coffee.
69 comments on this post
Anthony2816
Plot-wise, it makes no sense for the female changling to look like Odo.
Blue
It sorta does, Anthony. She wants to make Odo feel a similarity between them, so she takes on his style of humanoid. She wants to present a consistent "face" so she maintains this form for the solids, too.
I thought this was a very nice episode, and deserving at least 3.5 stars. Hit a lot of great notes, such as Sisko's usefulness as strategist --> REMF (rear echelon mother-frakker), Quark, Kira and Rom's dissension plan, Kira & Odo. It just felt right. That said, I thought Dax repeating Sisko's speech was really heavy-handed, glaringly so. On the whole, though, another great war ep.
Nic
Although I enjoyed Sisko's B-story, I don't think it's believable that they would put him in charge of a tactical wing. Yes, he has had the most contact with the Dominion, but I'm sure that there have been Starfleet military and tactical experts that have spent the last three years analyzing Sisko's reports and sensor readings etc. Those people would be more qualified than Sisko is. The Federation is VERY, VERY big, people.
It also would've been fun to see Dax's first mission as captain of the Defiant, there was so much potential there that wasn't exploited.
Nebula Nox
I agree with Blue that having the Female Changeling's face similar to Odo's is helpful. Obviously, it helps viewers identify them as the same species. But as Odo's face and features are the ones he is able to create, perhaps they are closest to his natural state? After all, at one point long ago, the shapeshifters were solid too.
Justin
One can speculate that the Odo-ish appearance of the changelings is the easiest, most comfortable, and least taxing humanoid form they can take.
Paul York
Odo is a complex character, both appealing and abhorrent at the same time, because he is vulnerable, believes in justice, is honest to a fault, etc. and then is able to make decisions that seem highly immoral (Children of Time, this episode), where people die because of his indifferent to humanoid life. He is a tragic character, torn between his desire for justice, on one hand, and his emotions, on the other. We see him emotionally all over the place with Dr. Mora, with the baby Changeling, with Kira (most often), and with his ambivalent relationship with the Great Link -- and the women he fell in love with as well in some other episode. I think he is the most fascinating character in DS9, except for Sisko, whose connection with the Prophets is profound and mysterious, and Quark, who wrestles with himself morally on many occasions (Business As Usual, and in this episode) but always choose goodness over profit, when it is one or the other.
Paul York
I should add that Garek and Dukat are also fascinating characters, for the same reasons: they are torn between two worlds, and within themselves. Garek, as an exile, is torn, and Dukat is torn by his love for his daughter and within himself, but in a strange way: he believes he should have been more of a totalitarian. Hitler had the same issue: he reproached himself for not being more ruthless, like Stalin. Hitler and Dukat both saw their good sides as weakness and hated that side of their own natures. This is what makes Dukat a tragic character as well -- because we know he has some goodness in him, but it is so hopelessly buried in hatred and lust for power, it never emerges, except briefly. Martok is also a very memorable character. After watching all the Treks now, I have to say that DS9 is my new fave -- though they all have their strengths.
John
I love angry Kira.
Kotas
A good episode overall.
6/10
Vylora
I always saw this as a very well-written continuation of the arc and further proves that ST can handle both episodic and serialized storytelling. Nothing here really stood out as amazing, just really good stuff.
High end of 3.
Yanks
Rene Auberjonois' continues to impress with his multi-leveled performance of Odo.
But man, this should result in him not serving or at least he should receive no trust going forward.
...or, you could look at it like he's drunk and it's only a problem with the female changeling is around.
3 star for me.
Robert
I love Odo's character, and you could look at it like mind control (I mean, the link is only a few steps away from the Borg and we don't blame Picard for Locutus' actions) but something about that really bothered me too.
It would have been really, really bold to just continue having scenes with the bad guys (Weyoun/Damar/Female Changeling) on Cardassia and have Odo join them for awhile (like 5-10 episodes) and do a really slow burn of his "awakening" back to the realization that what he did was awful.
When you combine this sudden wake up (triggered by Kira's impending demise) and Laas' comment that he'd have gone back to the link if it wasn't for Kira it shades Odo's character way too darkly.
I mean, it's great that he's willing to do ANYTHING for love (kill the colony in Children of Time, resist the urge to join his people at the expense of the entire Federation, etc) but I have to hope that Laas' statement means something slightly other than the obvious because otherwise you're literally in a situation where if Kira died in the middle of the war Odo is on the next stolen runabout back to the Dominion....
DLPB
My problem with this episode, and with all of this arc is that the Cardassians, Chaneglings, Vorta and otherwise would not allow Kira to remain free on the station. Or Rom. Or Jake. They would all be arrested. Kira would likely be executed, and Jake would be used as a hostage.
The writers just decide to throw out logic.
Robert
@DLPB - The Dominion wants good press, so to speak. If they could actually win Bajor over (and remember, Bajor is not a Federation planet) it'd be seriously good press for them not being evil conquerors.
M.P.
I thought taking Sisko off the front lines made all the sense in the world. This is the first time (that we know of) the Federation has been on the losing side of a full-scale war. They would value people like him with real tactical and strategic experience and would make use of that.
To the person above who said the Federation is a very big place: that just further supports the point.
1) The single tactical wing Sisko is now planning for is just one of many. With how large the Federation is, it could be one of dozens.
and also important:
2) Sisko isn't in charge of this tactical wing. He is an advisor to Admiral Ross who is truly in charge and has all final say. It is stated several times in dialogue that they work together in the planning (Sisko only plans one mission solo but still needs approval. The rest is stated to be a joint effort.)
zzybaloobah
Did anyone else have problems with putting Dax in command? AFAIK, she's never held a command. Now she's in command of one of the Federation's most powerful warships, on a critical high-priority mission? You don't give missions like that to brand new captains.....
Loved the interplay between Rom, Kira, and Odo....
$G
Another very strong episode. On par with "A Time to Stand" as a very effective stepping-stone episode.
Good things:
-The fight between Damar and the Jem'Hadar. There's something very satisfying about watching the bad guys at each other's throats like this.
-Rom. I normally have a hard time enjoying his scenes, but he's used really well in this arc. If he hadn't come into his own in "Bar Association" he certainly does here. The sabotage plan is genuinely tense.
-Odo. He's got a desire for order and "justice", but he's also very emotionally vulnerable. Episodes like "The Search," "Crossfire," and "Children of Time" have set this up particularly well. He IS part of the team, but he's also an outsider and his tendency toward obsessions can cause a lot of trouble for a lot of people. I'm glad the writers didn't forget about this.
-Kira. When she's mad, it makes every scene better. I think she's best character on the show, which is I think is pretty high praise considering the show also stars Odo, Sisko, Dukat, Garak, and Morn.
-Sisko working as Ross's assistant. Jammer's right that it just ups the ante. It makes sense, too, since Sisko's been shown to be something of a tactical whiz (think back to S3's "Defiant" when The Sisko unintentionally shows up Dukat with his tactical prowess, and right in front of the Obsidian Order too). I also have no problem with Dax being in command, and she's done it before. Worf would obviously be more desirable but I think he's put to better use with Martok on the Rotarran. See how big it all feels? Awesome.
A solid 3-1/2 star episode for me. This is the best stretch of Trek since the II-III-IV movie trilogy.
Jonathan
I can't believe no one else has mentioned the label on the compartment that Rom got caught breaking into during the episode's final act!
A51. As in, Area 51.
Surely, that is not a coincidence.
MsV
I loved this episode for many of the reasons all of you liked. them. I like Kira in this one too, but then again, I liked her from Season 4 on. I hated her 1-3. I am sure Kira won't forgive Odo right away, since it took until His way before a relationship began. I can only imagine how distant she was for a while, even when they never showed this on screen.
john smith
I think it would make more sense for the female changeling to impersonate Odo in the final scene when Kira talked to him, so that when Odo regain his sense it would look forced. The female changeling had a hold on him, but if even just one sentence was enough for Odo to see past her, then this conversation with Kira would make no sense.
Diamond Dave
Superb intro, as Kira commentates on the Cardassians and Jem'Hadar having at it. The rest of the episode doesn't keep up the same intensity though - the Sisko story, while interesting in its own way, doesn't really tell us anything new. We've had stories about Kirk, Picard etc finding it difficult to give up day to day command for bigger picture duties. Guess what - Sisko is the same.
The Odo story is intriguing, primarily because we haven't yet seen the resolution. We can assume his Zen like calm will not last - but how? Kira's anger is well realised, but this is really all about set up.
Rom early on is reminiscent of the Mirror Universe Rom, which is a nice touch though. Of course he got executed... 3 stars.
oskarsan
great episode, really shows how the characters have changed because of the war.
jack_faith
Strong episode. Agree with jammer on the opening scene here between Odo and the founder. What we're seeing in this season thus far is Sisko has been benched and Kira is effectively the quarterback/point guard, only on her terms. This whole Trek variant as Resistance rather than Roddenberry style providence, all's well that ends well, is very near to covering itself for some of the manifest shortcomings you run into when you overextend a franchise concept. There is nowhere else to go, creatively, than question, re-examine, the nature of the Federation's dominance. Lol above at the comment of Sisko's tactical nous. There is a rather more challenging issue, staring you in the face! I'd say well played, Behr, Ronald Moore and Rene, only you have supplanted one faux hero for an equally faux villain - not talking about Dukat (who everyone digs I hope) but the blasted Dominion - the Jem' Hadar and those hairdressers. Still, I do hear you Jammer on the comparison between the Borg and the Founders. A great last scene. Very classy. In spite of my objections I would very easily defend this remix/b side take on Trek against detractors. It really has broken free of the limitations of the self contained episode structure. (worst scene: Dax doing her impression of Sisko. Put her in a runabout with Wes, Deanna and her mom. Voyager never got this bad. Laters!)
Luke
"Behind the Lines" is very successful at moving the plot forward and addressing relevant characterization. The main problem, sadly, is the ending. This is an absolutely chilling cliffhanger! Odo has gone over to the enemy, Rom has been arrested by the Cardassians and is being interrogated, Kira's plans are completely screwed, the minefield is being brought down and the Female Shapeshifter knows about the resistance. However, Odo's "defection" (it's probably not a coincidence that Quark misremembers "deflector" for "defector" earlier - nice bit of writing there!) never gets the payoff it virtually demands. After this he should have NEVER been reinstated as DS9's Chief of Security. If he's that vulnerable to the enemy's wiles then he has no business being in such a critically important post! But, much like with "Hard Time" and its lack of follow-up, that is a problem of later episodes, so I really can't hold it against "Behind the Lines", because the material actually presented here is top-notch. In fact, it's really a problem with "You Are Cordially Invited", as this issue is basically resolved by a single off-screen conversation between Kira and Odo.... in a closet.
The A-plot also offers some other really great material. Quark moving away from a neutral position to one aligned with Kira and the resistance, Rom showing that he can be a real winner of a character (despite what Jammer has said about him in the past) and the continued showing of cracks in the relationship between Dukat and Weyoun. I especially love the use of Quark here. Clearly the writers are finally using him as something more than the "comic" relief and treating him with respect. In fact, by the time the Occupation Arc is finished, he'll come away looking more like a hero than Odo. Beautiful!
The B-plot involving Sisko being made Admiral Ross's adjutant isn't anywhere near as compelling, but still enjoyable. It's nice to see the more low-level effects of the war like this while we focus on more large picture stuff in the A-plot (something "Sons and Daughters" failed at). And it's enjoyable to see Sisko attempt to adjust to this new position. I've heard through the grapevine that it was originally planned to make Sisko an Admiral after the Occupation Arc for his actions in retaking the station. That would have been a great change to the series! But it was scuttled at the last minute because the powers that be felt that nobody would accept the "main" character of a Star Trek series being something other than a Captain (pretty stupid when you remember that Sisko was a Commander for three years!). If there is a single problem with the episode, it's Dax's reenactment of the phaser cell ceremony in the Defiant's mess hall. Terry Farrell was simply not as convincing as Avery Brooks was with that material. You have to be more than a little manic to pull off a speech like that, and nobody on "Deep Space Nine" does that better than Avery Brooks.
9/10
Peter G.
@ Luke,
"If he's that vulnerable to the enemy's wiles then he has no business being in such a critically important post! But, much like with "Hard Time" and its lack of follow-up, that is a problem of later episodes, so I really can't hold it against "Behind the Lines", because the material actually presented here is top-notch. In fact, it's really a problem with "You Are Cordially Invited", as this issue is basically resolved by a single off-screen conversation between Kira and Odo.... in a closet."
I'm going to be a rebel here and go on record saying that I believe Odo and Kira resolving their issues off-screen in a closet was not only a good way to handle it, but was the best way they could have handled it. It seems like Odo's betrayal was so beyond the pale that we'd need to hear a really good argument from him to make up for it. Or maybe some people think there should have been no coming back from that. But what he had was basically a religious experience; the kind that changes your life in an instant. Of all people Kira would understand that, since she's said the same thing happens in an orb experience. In fact, Kira has even experienced this without an orb experience. When Akorem instructed the Bajorans to change their lives on a dime Kira went right along with it, giving up her responsibilities and quitting her job. Not out of malice, but because she saw a new calling; the same way Odo no doubt saw it when he felt called to the life of a Changeling in the link.
But about the resolution in the closet, I think a picture says more than words. For anyone who's been up all night bearing their heart to someone they're interested in or developing a relationship with, that feeling of intimacy where time goes away and even loud noises like the music don't matter - that's a real image that the sight of them in the closet conjured. At least, it did for me. Seeing them having a heart-to-heart in the closet always struck me close to the heart, because I know what sorts of difficult things they might have had to admit (both of them). Those things aren't our business to hear! It would almost be embarrassing to have to hear it. Just because the audience feels entitled to know everything as the ultimate voyeur doesn't mean it's what's best for the audience. The job of a storyteller is to get the audience to a destination, not to let them in on every possible detail. I, for one, am very pleased that what Odo and Kira said to each other remained between them, just as things should be between potential lovers.
I know the actors didn't like having these issues resolved in that way, but I think they're wrong as well. They're biased because they want the chance to act out those delicious scenes, but desire can conflict with understanding.
William B
I sort of agree with Peter G. on this regarding Odo/Kira, though I go back and forth. I think ultimately I can't quite parse the way they get together in "His Way" after this series of episodes, but for them to reestablish a kind of stability through private dialogue is sort of okay. Re: Luke's point that Odo should not be Chief of Security after this, I agree that in-universe a reassessment of his position would be prudent. However I always got the impression that Sisko et al. did not find out about what happened with Odo here. That Odo linked with the female changeling seems to be a matter of record, at least for Bashir (as his doctor), but the Dominion records do not show that Odo was supposed to be working for the Resistance and it would be up to the Resistance whether or not to talk about what Odo did. I tended to assume that there was a kind of agreement not to talk about it. Certainly I don't think Kira or Odo would want to talk about it.
That does, though, leave Quark, Rom, Leeta and Jake. Odo's non-action basically guarantees a death sentence for Rom (unless, of course, Odo intervenes to save him later), and his redemptive act is enough to go some way to redressing the consequences of his inaction, but is it everything? While Rom and Odo are not close, Quark's relationship with Odo should IMO have been impacted here too. I think we do see some impact, in that I think that Odo's relationship with Quark does seem to be less hostile and more recognizing that the two are both flawed individuals in "Who Mourns for Morn," "His Way" and "The Sound of Her Voice." Quark's knowledge of Odo's years-long pining for Kira and his overt loneliness is maybe how he understands/contextualizes Odo's betrayal.
All that said, in rewatching I was mostly more okay than I thought I would be with the aftermath of Odo's losing himself in the Link. There is a real sense that what happened in the Occupation really tested and transformed all the characters on the station. It reminds me a bit of the speed with which Odo forgives Garak's going over to Tain and even torturing him in "Improbable Cause"/"The Die Is Cast," to the point of even inviting Garak to have lunch sometime at the end of the episode. In addition to the religious experience Peter G. mentions, Kira has just for the first time felt the sting of feeling that she *herself* has perhaps become a collaborator in "Rocks and Shoals," and so she identifies with Odo even as she despises what he did, and in that "what about the Link?" moment in "Sacrifice of Angels" she also shows she recognizes what it is Odo has given up.
A lot of what I really like about this Occupation arc is that it is essentially a way for the show to reprise the Cardassian Occupation with some of the roles shifted and characters learning some unpleasant truths about themselves. After all, the lineup includes Kira, Odo, Dukat, Quark, and Rom, all of whom eventually find themselves on the opposite side of where they were before. And while "it is order you believe in, not justice" has been hanging over Odo since season three, I think this episode in particular is what finally demolishes the idea that Odo is some sort of incorruptible figure, while still allowing him to make a "real" choice to pick a side in the next few episodes.
William B
By "all of them find themselves on the opposite side" I should qualify that at some point or another during the second occupation they are in a position very unfamiliar to where they were during the first occupation, but certainly not always or even most of the time. (E.g. Kira mostly works for the Resistance but only after realizing she sees herself as a Collaborator; Quark tries to play neutral like he did before but this time he cannot; Odo tries to be for justice but collapses into his personal/spiritual connection with the Founder until his love for Kira brings his moral feeling for solids back. Just a summary, not meant to be exhaustive.)
William B
For Odo in particular, his belief, which everyone who knew him seemed convinced of, was that he had an innate sense of justice, possibly left over from his people ("Necessary Evil") which allowed him to be neutral and entirely fair and a true man of his word who respected all life while in the middle of a brutal regime with fights going on constantly. Despite working for the Cardassians, he somehow managed to earn respect from Bajorans like Kira because he stood above the fray (Kira even saw him as being above people like her, I suspect, based on her dialogue at the end of "Things Past"). Quark insisted in "A Man Alone" that Odo was *not* a collaborator. But this is all kind of suspicious; as Rusot and his flunkie rhetorically ask in "When It Rains," what exactly did Odo *think* was going to happen to the people he turned in? Odo certainly believes his own myth, as does everyone else, at the beginning of the series, and the people who don't are racist lunatics like those we see in "A Man Alone." But in "Vortex" Odo comes to realize that he can have respect for a criminal; in "Necessary Evil" we see that Odo was wrong on his *very first case*, that he is only just now learning what Kira was trying to tell him all those years ago about the impossibility of not choosing sides; in "The Alternate" Odo's buried rage is exposed. And then the Founders tell him that his love of justice is just love of order. Eventually we get to "Things Past" and it's revealed that his judgment was flawed but also that he was sloppy, for reasons which Odo-as-Thrax articulates: the Bajorans shouldn't be waging this pointless, disorderly resistance in the first place; Odo did not deliberately sell the Bajorans out knowing they were innocent, but he was already predisposed to look at them unkindly because he did not believe that any Bajorans' cause had any practical meaning or use.
So this episode throws another wrench into the proceedings, and something of the definite one: Odo breaks his word and doesn't even care once he links with the Female Founder, which particularly underscores that his ability to seek justice from a position of "neutrality" relied on the fact that he *was unable to form sufficiently close connections to threaten his objectivity*. Odo viewed romance as suspect and perhaps even something of a prelude to criminality early in the series. Now he gives himself over to interpersonal intimacy fully, which for the first time makes sense to him -- and which he places over everything else in his life. His code gets discarded because it was only a flimsy way to make sense of a world where he could not connect to anyone anyway.
Where I think this development weakens is over the next few episodes. (SPOILER) As is hardly a surprise, what brings Odo around is his feelings for Kira, which we have already learned stay him from the Link ("Heart of Stone"), lead him to personal depression and ruin ("Crossfire") and given enough time can warp him into caring about no lives but Kira's ("Children of Time"). And I think this development makes sense, but watching these episodes I still don't quite understand what changes from Odo's attitude at the end of this episode, his total serenity, and his anxious attempts to get Kira to like him again even in the following episode. I think some of it is simply time and the novelty wearing off -- the Link grows a little stale once he and the Founder start resorting to having humanoid sex and talking about how much Odo wants to do that with Kira -- and I do think that, given enough time, Odo's feelings for Kira would resurface. "Chimera" clarifies some of this by looking at different types of love; ultimately Odo recognizes in Kira a selfless/self-sacrificing dimension to love which is much less present in the Founders. In fact, I think that the key element really is faith -- without the actual intermingling provided by the Link, we have to rely on faith that our emotional understanding of other humanoid beings is an adequate reflection of what goes on with them within. Kira is defined by her faith, not just religious faith but faith in general, and I think it is that quality that Odo ends up falling in love with (he is much more of an empiricist), to the point where the comparatively tiny amounts of communication of affection he and Kira can share are enough to be worth more than the overwhelming sensory/spiritual experience of the Link, which nevertheless lacks the faith in goodness outside the Link which Kira represents.
The difference between Odo in these episodes and Odo in "What You Leave Behind," next time he and the Founder link, comes down mostly to his experience with Kira -- though I like to believe that Bashir and O'Brien risking their lives to cure him and his frienemiship with Quark matter too -- and his confidence in actually going for it, which requires a big leap of faith that is difficult for him given his various bad experiences over the years. In fact we could say that a lack of faith in anything they cannot directly feel is the *central* flaw of the Founders -- they are unable to believe that solids have good intentions since they cannot link with them, and they only trust solids whom they can manufacture as a result. So I do believe Odo coming around despite the overwhelming sensations from the Link to view Kira as being a person worth preserving, and finally to affirm most of the values that he had claimed to have before, but in terms of episode-to-episode execution I still find the transition from the Odo at the end of this episode to the one in "FtB" and "SoA" to be rocky.
Dave
The Founder steps out from the corridor seconds after Kira finished talking about their sabotage. Did the Founder not hear any of that exchange? Kira continues to walk the station free long after this.
DLPB
@DLPB - The Dominion wants good press, so to speak.
--------
Which is why they are conquering the Alpha Quadrant and killing people left, right, and centre. You aren't making sense in your defence of something that can't be defended again. The reason that my complaints aren't fixed is nothing to do with good storytelling and all to do with BAD storytelling - and making certain characters totally invincible.
Quarkissnyder
I liked the A story. It was fun, had dramatic tension, was interesting, well-acted, and had a great ending.
My main quibble with it was how trusting Kira was when she knew that another changeling was on the station. When she first goes to Odo's quarters I was sure that she was talking to the female changeling impersonating Odo and not to Odo. Why wasn't she worried about this? When she goes back later and the female changeling is around the corner, why didn't she suspect that was the case? For someone who grew up in the resistance, that made no sense.
The B story--eh. Starting with the fact that it made no sense for the admiral to tell Sisko that he, Sisko, was being sent on a mission with the Defiant and he had to figure out how to get that mission done by the next morning. That's not how the chain of command works. The admiral would have come to him with a mission and a plan and Sisko would have carried it out.
The whole promotion thing just felt weird and off. The admiral's utter lack of acknowledgement that Sisko was not looking for a promotion and did not want to leave the Defiant rang false.
Why do the Jem Hadar have quarters they can be sent to? They don't sleep or appear to have any hobbies. What do they do there? Or do they sleep?
Why do they hang out in Quark's? Why are they ever off duty?
It would be awesome if they turned the B-story into a 30-something like arc where Sisko suddenly has more power over his old friends, makes new friends, and deserts his old ones, leaving to hard feelings.
Tanner
I was hoping that Odo would kill the female Founder and assume her form, so he could give orders to the Vorta. But , nope.
I like how the PADDs can't seem to hold more than one document or file at time. Gotta hand over thee PADDs? Even in 1997 a tablet/iPad was just a technical dream.
I guess no FX budget to see Dax and the Defiant successfully destroying the Dominio spying array. Too bad.
Spuzm
Since O'Brien is talking about naval traditions I think it's funny that Dax gives an order that is responded with "Aye, captain". The correct response would be "Aye, Aye, Captain" which means that the order was understood and will be carried out at once. A response of "Aye" is simple agreement and does not mean that the command was understood as an order.
(Someone correct me if this is wrong. I just got curious and did some very preliminary reading.)
spuzm
Actually the show was correct. "Aye, captain" would work in the scenario shown. Disregard above comment.
Strejda
@DLPB You are wrong. Nothing you said contradicts their argument. Domion wants good press BECAUSE they are conquering shit left and right. Bajor signed a non-agression act and as they said in the first episode, they want to show that as long as you don't resist, there is nothing you have to worry about. It makes sense just fine.
Daniel B
Odo was my favorite character until this episode assassinated him. And he was never the same character again, sadly. For all the ways DS9 got better in seasons 5-7 with the war arcs, it got worse with characters. Not just Odo (although no other character fell so far in one single episode and never again recovered), but Worf/Dax as well because of how poorly their relationship was done, and Jake mostly just disappeared. Quark and Bashir were the only ones to really improve any as characters.
Startrekwatcher
3 stars
That's better
The A story was so so. I really didn't think Sisko becoming an adjutant to Admiral Ross and Dax taking the Defiant on a mission offscreen was all that interesting in fact, it seemed like writers frittering away precious narrative real estate that could have been used to do something more compelling--given they were only working with six hours to tell the Occupation arc. Same thing with Sons and Daughters wasting their Klingon story on Worf and Alexander's family issues. Plus Terry Farell wasn't the strongest actor on the show and her performance doing the depleted phaser ritual didn't do much for me
The more interesting part of the episode takes place on the station where The resistance is trying to sew chaos and Weyoin returns to the storyline and Dukat gets more interesting material than in the previous episode
Things kicked into high gear when it was revealed that Damar was ready to bring doen the minefield. It restored urgency to the arc with this looming deadline
I also enjoyed the Kira/Rom pairing as they worked together to disable the graviton emitter-/I think it was funny Rom eating fruit from his fruit basket that was hiding all his tools. The sequence with Rom waiting patiently in the conduit til 0800, Kira arriving at security realizing Odo isn't there, going to tap her commbadge to warm Rom but interrupted by Damar then rushing to a spot on the promenade to contact Odo who is merging with the Founder blissfully unaware of her message then cutting back to Kira contacting Rom to alert him then cutting to him having already opened the hatch with alarms blaring was absoluteky exciting thrilling and tension-filled!
Something else the episode wisely did was bring the Founder into the mix. It made sense that she would be overseeing things in the Alpha Quadrant and get trapped here when minefield went up. Her interactions with Odo were very interesting In fact, I think part of why I enjoy seasons 6-7 so much was because at this time the series was focusing more on these more interesting recurring characters like the Founder, Weyoin, Dukat, Damar, Winn and Garak. Dax, Obrien, Bashir and Quark were not really ever that interesting to me
I also enjoyed further insight into the Founders. I always liked learning about the Dominion and little fascinating details about them--next season along these lines we got a very interesting backstory on the Vorta that was also quite fascinating
And the final scene with Odo so completely detached was quite unsettling. At the time I thought the writers were setting up the idea of Odo joining the Founders and returning with them to Cardassia
DLPB
Strejda
Mon, Jun 26, 2017, 3:45am (UTC -5)
@DLPB You are wrong. Nothing you said contradicts their argument. Domion wants good press BECAUSE they are conquering shit left and right.
------
Can anyone explain to the person above why what they have just said makes as much sense as the Tooth Fairy? I'm bored. No, I'll do it:
A massive conquering and brutal attack force does not care about good press. Do you honestly think Hitler was doing PR during his campaigns across Europe in WWII? Dear god, some of you will excuse any bad writing with any ridiculous crap that enters your skull.
Rahul
Pretty cool episode here -- remarkable how Odo changes after the 2nd link and how infuriated Kira gets when she realizes Odo doesn't give a crap anymore. Definitely throws a major wrench in the resistance cell's plans and really spells doom for the Federation ultimately. Odo resisted the Great Link before, but given his unease and feelings for Kira getting in the way, he probably feels serenity or something when linked.
The appearance of the female changeling is trouble the moment she popped up -- apparently trapped in the Alpha Quadrant. I liked how Odo was asking questions of the female changeling hoping to avoid having to link again after Kira dressed him down, but then he succumbs and the plan to prevent Damar from defusing the mines is shot.
I'm starting to like this Damar character as Dukat's right hand. He has an uneasy relationship with Kira and comes across as a true Cardassian. The drinking scene with Quark was great -- you just knew he wanted to spill the beans about his plan. And then Quark has his line that is something like "I got drunk on canaar with Damar".
The B-plot of Sisko getting some new responsibilities makes sense but you get the sense that before long he'll be back commanding the Defiant. What wasn't well done for me was how such a big deal was made about how difficult the Defiant's mission would be to destroy some Dominion sensor grid but then it seems like the Dax-led crew did it no problem. Anyhow, this was just some contrivance to show how badly worried Sisko is about the Defiant.
3 stars for "Behind the Lines" -- more great acting from Nana Visitor and it's getting more and more enjoyable watching Dukat/Weyoun manage DS9 with all the hairy situations happening beneath their noses. But the bomb dropped is Odo's transformation. Pretty compelling story here.
Andrew
I think this episode, rather than The Begotten, should have been where Odo is turned from being a solid back into being a changeling again. If the female changeling returned and told Odo that the link had forgiven him, and then proved it by offering to restore his powers and giving him back what he lost, then that would have made Odo's betrayal somewhat more understandable, and as a result made his subsequent return to the fold somewhat more plausible. One of the strengths of this episode, and of the Odo character as a whole, is that he is torn between these two worlds, so giving him his powers back at this point would have been the most logical time to do it.
As Jammer noted in the review for The Begotten, there was concern that episode would come to be remembered only as the episode where Odo gets his powers back, and I think that is pretty much what ended up happening. To me it makes more sense for the founders to make him a changeling again because they had the power to make him a solid in the first place, rather than have a scientifically mumbled explanation where Odo somehow gets his powers back from a dying baby changeling. It makes Broken Link a little less powerful if Odo is able to become a changeling again without the link's approval. Also, if Odo had remained a solid for the entirety of the fifth season, it would have raised the question in the viewer's mind about whether he would ever become a changeling again, which I think would have been the better choice.
Peremensoe
DLPB: "A massive conquering and brutal attack force does not care about good press. Do you honestly think Hitler was doing PR during his campaigns across Europe in WWII?"
He certainly was. With Goebbels and Riefenstahl and many others assisting. It was a principal ministry of the Nazi government. Hitler cared a lot about what people thought. Germans, annexed and occupied countries, neutral countries, and enemies--all had propaganda carefully composed for them. It was both cynical and audacious; in 1944 the Nazis invited the Red Cross to visit Theresienstadt concentration camp--elaborately prepared for the occasion--to see how well the inmates were being treated!
Andy's Friend
@DLPB
" Do you honestly think Hitler was doing PR during his campaigns across Europe in WWII? Dear god, some of you will excuse any bad writing with any ridiculous crap that enters your skull. "
Hitler in Paris and the Nazi German flag being raised over the Acropolis in Athens immediately come to mind.
DLPB, think of any major incident in the Eastern Front in WWII, or of many in the western front: what images come to mind? How many of those images are not German? Is the majority of photographic material, so many of the images we usually associate with a great many events in WWII, as in the examples above, not of German origin, made by officials of Nazi Germany?
You may wish to have a look at the German Wikipedia page on the Propagandakompanie of the Wehrmacht, the professional corps of German war photographers, filmmakers, journalists, etc., with a good introduction and links to several dozen of its most prominent individuals:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propagandakompanie
It fittingly opens with one of the most famous photos documenting its use: a photo exhibition in March 1940 in Berlin "documenting " to the Germans the fine war effort of their troops:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-L02529,_Berlin,_Ausstellung_von_PK-Bildern.jpg
To see a few thousand photos by 462 Propagandakompanie photographers, see:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Propagandakompanie?uselang=de
Note that many photographers more or less specialised: in certain theatres of war, but also, in certain types of photos, say, 'the everyday life of our troops' -- the canteen or sanitary facilities in barracks, soldiers doing routine maintenance of equipment, soldiers eating, playing games, or otherwise socialising, soldiers writing and sending letters home, etc.
All this is, to some extent, documentation. But it is also a deliberate selection of themes for specific purposes. It is also propaganda.
The same is true of photos of German troops interacting with occupied peoples. Usually, such photos humanise the German troops. Often, they humanise some of the occupied peoples. And some times, they dehumanise certain other occupied peoples. Which, where, when, and why? Again: propaganda.
Finally, note that some of the most memorable photos of the war were specifically staged for the photographer, even if seemingly taken in mid-action during some event, as if the photographer were simply a bystander taking a picture. Often, he was not: entire scenes were choreographed, rehearsed, and repeated in his honour, for his camera to capture. This also includes newsreels, etc. Pure propaganda.
DLPB
"He certainly was"
No, he wasn't. He was having war declared on him by Britain and other countries as part of a coalition, because he was blatantly breaking international law. It's amazing you've had the gall to even write what you have.
Strejda
@DLPD I can't believe you are always so fucking self-righteous, even after repeatedly being shown you have no idea what the hell you are talking about.
Moegreen
Admiral Ross, the idea that this blandee out-ranks anyone is laughable. Truly a leader of men. He's just slightly less wooden than that Admiral in Rapture. The only one in the entire run of DS9 with any depth or gravitas is Necheyev. Admiral Patrick was more effective than Ross.
Iceman
It's interesting that the comments can't really agree which one is the B-story and which one is the A-story. Regardless, we all agree that the station material is once again fantastically executed. Combined with certain episodes in Seasons 5 and 6, It paints a rather damning picture of Odo. He chose order over justice in "Things Past". He chose his own desire for Kira over her choice and the lives of 8,000 in "Children of Time". And in "Behind the Lines", he chooses his own desires yet again. It becomes problematic in "His Way", but here it works wonders. The Sisko plot was probably the weakest in all six episodes. It's decent, but nothing special. It drops the episode's rating slightly, but not much.
3.5 stars.
Andre Rhine-Davis
I kept feeling like Odo was presenting his case to the Female Changeling really badly. She was like "Come join the Link" and he was like "umm... I can't" and she was like "because of Kira?"
I just wanted Odo to say something like "I do want to be part of our people and join the Great Link, but I cannot condone the behaviour of the Dominion and the way it treats solids. Unless you change your values and behaviours and start treating solids with respect and stop waging this war against the Alpha Quadrant, I'm afraid I must reject your offer".
But after reading all these comments here, I'm starting to think that maybe Odo *doesn't* actually care about the values and behaviour of the other changelings. Maybe Kira *is* the only reason why he doesn't join them! That's really kind of sad, tbh.
"I think this episode, rather than The Begotten, should have been where Odo is turned from being a solid back into being a changeling again." - Andrew
Yes, I totally agree with this! That would have made both this episode even better, and the whole "Odo as a human" arc much much better. His betrayal would have made much more sense, and then this whole change in Odo's personality would have been reflected in "Odo as a human" vs "Odo as a changeling", and he would have had to learn how to "come back to the good side" and find his old values again as a changeling.
"I like how the PADDs can't seem to hold more than one document or file at time. Gotta hand over thee PADDs?" - Tanner
Yeah, that's one part of Star Trek's technology that has not aged well. PADDs seem to just be "futuristic" versions of written reports/documents/books, but still with 1) each PADD being representing a single report/document/book, and 2) having to physically give a PADD to another person, rather than just sending the data wirelessly from one to another. Nowadays, only a decade or two later, this seems pathetically retrofuturistic. It reminds me of how in TOS when they show spaceships controls displaying numbers on an analog dial-based readout :P
Springy
Interesting stuff with Odo. I knew from the spoilers I've read here that Odo and Kira will get together at some point, for awhile at least, but I still just can't see how it will happen. This ep made it even more mystifying. This is not a request for an explanation, I guess "I'll see," just sharing what went through my head watching this.
Odo's betrayal is deep and stunning. He immediately endangers Rom and greatly increases the odds of a Dominion Alpha Quadrant takeover.
He talks to Kira about how she just doesn't get it, but of course, that's a two way street. Like Old Odo in Children of Time, Odo also just doesn't get it, not really, why the solids make the decisions they make - what they value, or why.
Perspective: we see how it affects thoughts and feelings and actions in this ep - watch how Dukat and Weyoun smile to give their soldiers the proper perspective. But mostly, it's Odo's astonishing betrayal that drives the message home about the overwhelming importance of perspective.
Adam
I found it very strange to have Dax commanding the Defiant. She's a science officer. I would have thought you'd have to be in a red uniform to take command.
Eli
This episode illustrates an issue that bothers me about the Jem'Hadar and the Changelings: neither alien seems to require a source of energy. In my view, this creates at least two problems. One, it's extraordinarily implausible that any life form wouldn't require a source of energy for growth, maintenance and reproduction. Two, neither alien has problems to solve that define their existence. This is a dead end creatively, as both aliens seem to sit around doing nothing when not antagonizing the Federation or their other enemies. This issue specifically arises in this episode when Quark complains that the Jem'Hadar are bad customers because they simply stare at the walls, and when the Female Changeling explains to Odo that Changelings spend most of their time simply chilling in the Great Link. If the writers wanted to think outside the box they could have given either species a different source of energy other than food, like sunlight or some other chemical source. Learning about how they solve their day to day problems could have informed their respective cultures.
I should say I enjoy Deep Space Nine and think the Jem'Hadar and the Changelings can be interesting aliens in various episodes. However, I felt the need to point out this deficit (in my view) in their development as characters.
Peter G.
@ Eli,
You bring up an interesting point. Dax herself says that "no wonder they're so upset" because they don't have any fun. This is related to your comment, and in short my sense of it is that they are genetically engineered weapons that the Founders never bothered to assign real lives to. That is indeed a problem. I'm not surprised that it's possible to create a slave race that sits around doing nothing unless you command it. The moral ramifications of doing this weren't really explored in DS9 except very briefly, like during Hippocratic Oath. Since the Jem'hadar were so scary there didn't seem to be much time to worry about their enslavement.
And about the Founders, I think it's a deliberate plot point that they seem to have no constructive motivation other than sitting around in the link for eons. Have you seen the series in completion yet? I'll just say that Odo's arc touches on this issue.
Boooming
@Eli
I always thought that the Jem Hadar get their nutrients through ketracel white and whatever is in these little vials.
And the founders are just beyond us filthy animals when it comes to food. Considering that Odo cannot think of anything else but the Great link it must be super awesome because he (I guess) doesn't seem like a guy who is easily tempted.
To me it was always more confusing that the founders actually had genders. For what?? They don't procreate. They also don't need it to link.
Peter G.
@ Booming,
"To me it was always more confusing that the founders actually had genders. For what?? They don't procreate. They also don't need it to link."
We don't actually know that they do. In fac there's more evidence in the show to suggest that they don't, notwithstanding the fact that casting obviously required gendered humans to play the roles.
Boooming
@ Peter G.
Fair enough but the two male coded founders we meet: Odo and Laas. Both are male coded (look male, tall, walk in a certain way and so on) both only date women. It seems that heteronomativity guided that approach or the suspected intolerance of the audience. I heard a few weeks ago that 20 years ago a majority of Americans wasn't comfortable with mixed race marriages. I guess simliar numbers or even higher numbers weren't comfortable with bisexuality and probably less with homosexuality. Even when the act is done by a genderless alien.
But reading through memory alpha it seems that the founders were ... wait for it... a mystery box. They had no idea what they were until the beginning of season 3. I guess mystery boxes can work when you have a good writing team. hmmmm
"notwithstanding the fact that casting obviously required gendered humans to play the roles."
They could have worked around that. Get people of the same height and flat breasts and so on. Seems a bit lazy.
Peter G.
@ Booming,
"Fair enough but the two male coded founders we meet: Odo and Laas. Both are male coded (look male, tall, walk in a certain way and so on) both only date women."
Odo didn't know what he was and copied Dr. Mora. In his case we could make a positive case that he unwittingly made himself male and heteronormative. That said, he also made himself "Odo", which is to say, adopted a single fixed set of characteristics that he maintained as his persona. That it should happen to be male seems not that relevant, since any Founder copying a solid would likely adopt its gender as long as it assumed the form; the difference is that the Founder doesn't think of itself as actually being that form or that gender, whereas Odo does.
In the case of Laas we don't get that much information other than that he roams around as a space hydra, tried marriage with a woman once, and likes linking with Odo (a homosexual allegory). Other than trying to obscure even more who was playing the role, I don't really see how they could have done much more to make Laas an ambiguous character.
Yanks
I never thought the "great link" meant sex.
Also, for all we know, ALL founders are male except one.
Boooming
@ Yanks
You are right. All the other founders appear to be male
And the one female founder is leading a cruel war against the Federation and in the end starts to commit genocide. (Oh spoiler for anybody who hasn't seen this show that aired almost 30 years ago.)
The plot thickens :D
@ Peter G.
Laas didn't just "try" he stayed with her until she broke up with him because they couldn't have children and that experience made him bitter.
Lupe
@Yanks 'I never thought the "great link" meant sex.'
It may not MEAN sex, but IMO the linking between the female Shapeshifter and Odo has to be supposed to make us think of intimacy in a way that suggests sexual pleasure. She even asks him "do you want me to stop?" as she's 'seducing' him.
Really strong episode. I'd give it 3.5*, and it doesn't fall short of 4* because of any particular thing it did wrong.
Jamie Mann
Not a bad episode, but the strongest part of this arc was clearly over.
The plotline around the resistance is fairly interesting. Sowing dissension between the Jem Hadar and the Cardassians is a neat little idea, though it's a shame that this was the essentially the only time that Sisco's raid on the Ketracel had any impact on the overall storyline. And Quark's accidental turn as a informant is entertaining.
But the main plot revolves around Odo and his poorly disguised descent into being a drug addict. And that's a bit too laboured for my liking.
There's also an odd little aspect to the end of this story, in that the Founder responsible for Odo's druggie state is standing there and listening in when Kira walks and berates him for failing to help Rom escape. I know she's meant to be focused on bringing Odo back to the Link, but even so, I would have expected her to at least flag Kira's involvement in the resistance to Weyoun and the Cardassians...
P'kard
I actually enjoyed that the "C" Defiant/Sensor Array plot was widescreen. I thought it was going to be a Big Action battle and was amused when it was realised what had happened.
MidshipmanNorris
Kira is always hitting things when she's mad. I wonder if Nana Visitor ever injured her hands doing takes like these? I know that oftentimes when I hit things (when I'm mad), I either break the things or injure my hands.
That's why you shouldn't hit things when you're mad (and why I try not to).
Dirk
Nana Visitor is quite the actress. In the past I didn't pay much attention to her - for various reasons. I can really appreciate her now. She never fails to put in a great performance - a born actress to be sure.
Heavy episode for the most part, although the 'captain being reassigned' has been used for dramatic effect in every Trek show and it just seems dumb. I really wish Dax would die, her shallowness ruins every scene she's in. She does not act like an old man and Sisko calling her that is really getting old. Also, not sure I buy having a cadet on a warship or going on crazy dangerous missions - although it has certainly not been unusual in real wars.
Outside of linking with the changeling woman, has Odo used his ability to change shape at all recently? It really seems like he could get some shit done that way but we never see it.
Icarus32soar
I loathe that orange woman with a vengeance. The greatest creep in the entire ST universe. She wants humanoid sex and a changling link with Odo, and she then wants him to kiss and tell, and he like the idiot he is goes along with it and literally loses the plot. Founder, my foot! Complete and utter tripe.
Pity that Nana Visitor who continues to shine and be scintillating has to share this episode with this "alien".
No. Just no!
Sigh2000
OMG.....Frailty, thy name is Odo.
Great reaction by the justifiably outraged Kira. She should have blown him out of the god-d____ned airlock!
Liam
I thought the ships were powered by antimatter, but apparently the phasers are powered by big disposable batteries. I guess they don't have rechargeables in the 24th century. Anyway the dead battery ritual was kind of cringey.
Michael
I was going to write a quick drive-by to express my exasperation with Dodo and Dodo Femme. Dodo (by) himself is as frustratingly boring as a 10-hour flight delay, but him AND Dodette (she/her...*snort*)? Good gracious, they can put you in a coma, tell you something else! I guess Dodo is here to stay but I hope to frick she doesn't make another appearance. Sheesh!
And Jax, too: Since she hooked up with Worf andbecame his...what was it? parmesan? parma ham? prosciutto?...she's been underwhelming and distinctly "bleh."
But I'm glad I didn't fire off the above before seeing the last five minutes of the ep. because I'd have had to write another comment ripping that idiot Dodo a new one. What a total, absolute moron. Seriously, if that douchebag is not demoted to potato-peeling duty, the Federales deserve to have their asses kicked six ways to Sunday and I'll be cheering on their enemies from now on. (Ideally, they should airlock him though, both as a punishment to him and as a reprieve to us from having to watch that paint-drying on legs for another two seasons.)
PLEASE let this be the end of Dodo!!!
Dirk
More character assassination of Odo by Rene Echevarria.
This is not the established Odo character. I'm sick to death of them perverting his character into this imposter who is timid, unsure of himself, lacking in self-knowledge and purpose. Essentially the opposite of what we've known Odo to be.
LatexZebra
The opening of this episode has always bugged me.
They're faking the Defiant being damaged to lure in a Dominion attack. Yeah fine.
But why on the bridge are they saying things like "Oh we're not going anywhere" or "we're sitting ducks."
Yes, I get that it is a plot device to make the viewer think they're in the shit at the start of the episode but it actually makes no sense for the crew to talk or behave like that when they're setting a trap. The Dominion doesn't have their ship bugged and if there was a changeling on board they'd be in on the plan as well.
Nerdy Nitpick is done.
JonR
I know this is nitpicking, but do they really use up power cells that quickly firing phasers? And are they not re-usable after they've been depleted? Do they have to produce completely new cells every time?
It would be easier to grasp if we knew what the power cell even did. Presumably the phasers are powered by the ships internal power, so I doubt the power cell is a battery. Maybe it's like a fuse... one that blows quite frequently.
That seems like a wasteful way of powering phasers when you're on a Starship that hypothetically has to repurpose as many resources as possible.
So either the writers didn't think it through, didn't really care, or they are purposefully not reusing the cells just so to indulge that ceremony.
Regardless of the reason, I am giving this way too much thought XD
Submit a comment