Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark

argon · February 3 2013, 10:06 AM

I don't quite understand what is going on in s03e21 where the following exchange takes place:

Odo: Garak... I was thinking that you and I should have breakfast together sometime.
Garak: Why, Constable - I thought you didn't eat.
Odo: I don't.

Is that Odo's way of telling Garak that he is still mad at him and they will never be friends, or was this an actual invitation?

Or what else does it mean?

Tosk · February 3 2013, 10:24 AM

It means Odo is being very nice to Garak. He's inviting him to spend time together, even though the meal itself is useless to Odo.

argon · February 3 2013, 10:57 AM

I see, thank you.

Tosk · February 3 2013, 11:14 AM

You're welcome. That is, of course, my interpretation of the scene. No guarantees.

teacake · February 3 2013, 12:40 PM

I thought it was a very elaborate fuck you.

I invite you to participate in something with me that I am unable to participate in. That is how much I actually care.

Sindatur · February 3 2013, 04:15 PM

teacake wrote:

I thought it was a very elaborate fuck you.

I invite you to participate in something with me that I am unable to participate in. That is how much I actually care.

I can't fathom this interpretation? Odo values his time and is a very methodical thinker. How would he get any kind of spiteful satisfaction or feeling of oneupmanship from wasting his time listening to Garak prattle on with pretty lies just so he sit and there and not eat in front of him? IIRC, Garak has even told Dr. Bashir, the breakfast isn't important to him, the conversation is.

Nah, I think Odo, gained a respect for Garak's complexity and wanted to share time getting to know him (Well, as well as one can get to know Garak through the lies)

Pavonis · February 3 2013, 05:12 PM

Garak and Odo did have breakfast together regularly, even if it was only depicted once. How could that invitation be an "elaborate fuck you" when there was an actual follow through?

lvsxy808 · February 4 2013, 09:35 AM

Yeah, not an elaborate fuck-you. More like an elaborate "I forgive you."

.

Mage · February 4 2013, 09:45 AM

lvsxy808 wrote:

Yeah, not an elaborate fuck-you. More like an elaborate "I forgive you."

.

Exactly.

Odo realized that even though what Garak did was wrong, he understands why Garak did it; Garak wanted to go home.

Pavonis · February 4 2013, 06:31 PM

argon wrote:

I don't quite understand what is going on in s03e21 where the following exchange takes place:

Odo: Garak... I was thinking that you and I should have breakfast together sometime.
Garak: Why, Constable - I thought you didn't eat.
Odo: I don't.

Is that Odo's way of telling Garak that he is still mad at him and they will never be friends, or was this an actual invitation?

Or what else does it mean?

I think I understand your view on the exchange - did you think that Odo was saying that before the torture, he was considering starting a breakfast routine with Garak, but that because of the incident, Odo wasn't going to do so now? I can see how the dialogue could've been misinterpreted that way, but that is definitely not the intention of the exchange. Odo was forgiving Garak.

Melakon · February 4 2013, 07:16 PM

Odo knew Garak was distressed interrogating someone he considered a friend, and the offer was to ease Garak's pain.

Though those breakfasts must have been interesting, each trying politely to get classified information from the other.

argon · February 5 2013, 05:49 PM

Sindatur wrote:

teacake wrote:

I thought it was a very elaborate fuck you.

I invite you to participate in something with me that I am unable to participate in. That is how much I actually care.

I can't fathom this interpretation? Odo values his time and is a very methodical thinker. How would he get any kind of spiteful satisfaction or feeling of oneupmanship from wasting his time listening to Garak prattle on with pretty lies just so he sit and there and not eat in front of him?

No, the idea is not that Odo would actually eat breakfast with Garag.

The idea is more like saying "You and I will be friends when we eat breakfast together", which will never happen because Odo doesn't eat, therefore implying they will never be friends. This is similar to saying "We will be friends when hell freezes over".

That was my first interpretation of the scene, and I can see that I am not alone. I am still confused though, as I do not remember if the suggestion is being followed up on as is stated elsewhere in this thread. Good thing I am rewatching the show right now and will find out sooner or later.

Pavonis · February 5 2013, 08:06 PM

Odo doesn't need to eat food, but he can and has done so in the past, remarking that it was "messy". But he can simulate breakfast, as you'll see.

Odo is not a human, and doesn't have the same hang-ups and beliefs that humans do. So Garak tortured Odo - big deal. It was awkward for both of them, and Odo understood Garak's desire to return not just to Cardassia, but to his old life in the Obsidian Order. It wasn't a sadistic act on Garak's part, and Odo understood it. If somehow the roles had been reverse, well, maybe Odo would've reluctantly tortured Garak, too. Maybe.

teacake · February 6 2013, 02:35 AM

Sindatur wrote:

teacake wrote:

I thought it was a very elaborate fuck you.

I invite you to participate in something with me that I am unable to participate in. That is how much I actually care.

I can't fathom this interpretation?

Well.. I think most everything is a very elaborate fuck you so that might explain it

Melakon · February 6 2013, 03:14 AM

teacake wrote:

Well.. I think most everything is a very elaborate fuck you so that might explain it

Isn't it Australia's National Motto?

I mean, since the license plates in The Fifth Element all said "New York-- The Fuck You State"...

February 3 2013, 10:06 AM	#1
argon Cadet	Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark I don't quite understand what is going on in s03e21 where the following exchange takes place: Odo: Garak... I was thinking that you and I should have breakfast together sometime. Garak: Why, Constable - I thought you didn't eat. Odo: I don't. Is that Odo's way of telling Garak that he is still mad at him and they will never be friends, or was this an actual invitation? Or what else does it mean?

February 3 2013, 10:24 AM	#2
Tosk Rear Admiral Location: On the run.	Re: Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark It means Odo is being very nice to Garak. He's inviting him to spend time together, even though the meal itself is useless to Odo.

February 3 2013, 10:57 AM	#3
argon Cadet	Re: Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark I see, thank you.

February 3 2013, 11:14 AM	#4
Tosk Rear Admiral Location: On the run.	Re: Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark You're welcome. That is, of course, my interpretation of the scene. No guarantees.

February 3 2013, 12:40 PM	#5
teacake Admiral Location: Militant Janeway True Path Devotees Compound. With Sehlats.	Re: Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark I thought it was a very elaborate fuck you. I invite you to participate in something with me that I am unable to participate in. That is how much I actually care. __________________ Rider: I can't believe you'd kill me for a field of empty holes. J'onn: It's all I have. ■ ■ ■ Janeway does Melbourne

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February 3 2013, 05:12 PM	#7
Pavonis Commodore Location: South Dakota	Re: Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark Garak and Odo did have breakfast together regularly, even if it was only depicted once. How could that invitation be an "elaborate fuck you" when there was an actual follow through?

February 4 2013, 09:35 AM	#8
lvsxy808 Rear Admiral Location: London	Re: Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark Yeah, not an elaborate fuck-you. More like an elaborate "I forgive you." . __________________ DS9-R fans! Want to know what happened after The Soul Key? Read Deep Space Nine, Season 10 All 22 eps also available here.

February 4 2013, 07:16 PM	#11
Melakon Commodore Location: Unmarked grave, Ekos	Re: Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark Odo knew Garak was distressed interrogating someone he considered a friend, and the offer was to ease Garak's pain. Though those breakfasts must have been interesting, each trying politely to get classified information from the other. __________________ "Every time you think, you weaken the nation." --Moe Howard

February 5 2013, 08:06 PM	#13
Pavonis Commodore Location: South Dakota	Re: Please explain Odo Garak Breakfast remark Odo doesn't need to eat food, but he can and has done so in the past, remarking that it was "messy". But he can simulate breakfast, as you'll see. Odo is not a human, and doesn't have the same hang-ups and beliefs that humans do. So Garak tortured Odo - big deal. It was awkward for both of them, and Odo understood Garak's desire to return not just to Cardassia, but to his old life in the Obsidian Order. It wasn't a sadistic act on Garak's part, and Odo understood it. If somehow the roles had been reverse, well, maybe Odo would've reluctantly tortured Garak, too. Maybe.