TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine

[TheGodBen]

Body Parts (****)

Even though this episode is centred around three Ferengi characters, it doesn't feel like a typical Ferengi episode. Quark's not scheming, Rom's not acting like an idiot, and Brunt is being utterly sadistic. Ferengi episodes would typically be described as broad comedy, but this is more of a black comedy, which makes a nice change for these characters. And it's a good Quark episode, it shows him as a man so desperate for approval from his own kind that he almost kills himself, but he ultimately decides to sacrifice everything that he has to spare his life. Everything except his friends, because that's all that really matter in life. Awww. Okay, so the ending is a little corny, but after four seasons of playing the greedy businessman that tries to exploit everyone, Quark earned a moment like that.

Meanwhile, O'Brien and Keiko's baby gets misplaced, with wacky results! Okay, the results aren't really wacky, in many ways they're heart-wrenching. But this plot is actually pretty clever, it's a neat idea to explore through the medium of science-fiction, and it's a clever way to write Nana Visitor's pregnancy onto the show. I can imagine a major eureka moment when the writers came up with this idea, I bet many backs were patted. If there's one bad thing about this story-arc it's that they never fully explore the loss that Kira feels after she gives birth, but that's a discussion for another day...

[Ln X]

Glad you gave the episode 4 stars! I feared you would give it less for it being a Ferengi episode, but this is one quirky episode. What with Quark tempting death, Kira becoming a surrogate mother and Brunt going out for revenge, this is strangely memorable...

[gazomg]

I enjoyed this, and while the kira pregnancy was creatively introduced into this script this episode is without doubt the emphasis on the ferengi story.

This is typical DS9,,,,dark story and one of the reasons why ilove ds9 more than the others

[Seven of Five]

Yeah I really like Body Parts too. I love how paranoid Quark is after he tells Garak to kill him. I love dark humour.

I loved how the writers dealt with Visitor's pregnancy - I can't remember if they knew she was pregnant when thet decided to make Keiko have another kid. Either way it worked very well.

[Skywalker]

During the Keiko/Kira baby storyline I just kind of rolled my eyes and said "Only Star Trek could do something this overly complicated." But it was a pretty clever workaround that freed the filmmakers from having to shoot Visitor at certain angles, and it made for some pretty interesting character moments.

[TheGodBen]

Broken Link (***)

This is an unusual season-ender for DS9. The last two seasons ended with a threat of the outbreak of war, season 5 will end with an actual outbreak of war, but in this episode the threat of war with the Klingons is in the background while Odo's story takes centre-stage. It's an interesting deviation from what's expected, a quieter, more reflective type of event episode. It's also a good follow-up to the events of The Adversary, Odo gets judged for his actions in that episode, and we also get a confirmation of the threat that ended the third season. The Changelings are everywhere, they've reached the highest levels of the Klingon government, they've been screwing with the Alpha Quadrant powers for a whole year and nobody suspected it. This is a great way to tie the Klingon conflict into the larger Dominion threat, so I must compliment the writers on this stroke.

But I must also chastise them, because they completely forgot that Garak was sent to prison in this episode. I love Garak's actions here, once he is confronted with a serious threat against his people he is willing to do whatever it takes to save them, even if that means sacrificing himself and committing genocide. This is what's so great about Garak, he presents himself as an intelligent, amiable guy, you begin to let your guard down around him, then he does something like this, reminding us that he's a ruthless lone agent. He may be on the side of the main characters most of the time, but he'd kill them all if he thought it was in Cardassia's interest. Sadly, the lack of consequences from this act cost the episode a whole star.

As a side note, it's chilling to hear the female Changeling threaten the entire Cardassian race as doomed considering what happens in the finale. When I first saw WYLB I thought her genocidal order was just a cheap move to make her appear more villainous, but seeing this scene again informed her motivation. She was willing to work with the Cardassians when she thought they'd be useful, but the moment they betrayed her her fury about the Omarion Nebula incident came back and she attempted to make good on her threat.

Mostly, this episode is an Odo story, and it brings him to some strange new places. There's the obvious change in that he has been transformed into a solid, and there's the more emotional change about having been rejected by his people. He has always been an outsider, but when he met his people he was the one that rejected them, which made it easier for him to live with. So Odo is now in an interesting new phase of his life, a good place to leave the character heading into season 5.

[DonIago]

I rather thought that extinguishing the Cardassians was always in the cards; Gul Dukat just managed to make them useful to the Dominion for a little while.

[Sindatur]

Skywalker wrote:

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During the Keiko/Kira baby storyline I just kind of rolled my eyes and said "Only Star Trek could do something this overly complicated." But it was a pretty clever workaround that freed the filmmakers from having to shoot Visitor at certain angles, and it made for some pretty interesting character moments.

Only Star Trek? Nope. Have you not seen Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars? They took it one step further

[Skywalker]

Sindatur wrote:

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Only Star Trek? Nope. Have you not seen Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars? They took it one step further

I have seen that, but it's been about eight years or so.

[Deranged Nasat]

Sindatur wrote:

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Only Star Trek? Nope. Have you not seen Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars? They took it one step further

Of course, Farscape always takes things one step further. Actually, it's usually several steps beyond anything remotely resembling sanity. I say that as a huge fan of the show, naturally.

[Ln X]

Here's a strange thing; season 4 was obsessed with exiling some of its main characters. We have Worf; exiled from his people for not supporting Gowron. Quark for breaking his contract with Brunt and Quark losing his business license. Finally we have Odo, judged in the Great Link and cast out a solid and condemned to whatever fate befitteth him.

To be fair on the writers, Garak only showed up halfway in season 5, so maybe Garak did go to prison and because no photon torpedoes were fired he got a six month prison sentence? Sort of like Kassidy smuggling weapons for the Maquis, she too was sentenced to six months in a penal colony.

[gazomg]

Garak at his ruthless best, a hero to cardassia in his own way.Fights well for a tailor too as worf claims.

[TheGodBen]

Ln X wrote:

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To be fair on the writers, Garak only showed up halfway in season 5, so maybe Garak did go to prison and because no photon torpedoes were fired he got a six month prison sentence? Sort of like Kassidy smuggling weapons for the Maquis, she too was sentenced to six months in a penal colony.

But a few weeks later in Looking for par'Mach... (I think) Keiko mentioned Garak working on some clothes, so he's either out of prison by then or he brought a sewing kit into his cell and people are sneaking him in fabric to work on. His next appearance is in Things Past, which is two episodes before Kasidy returns from her six month stretch even though she was sent away several weeks before Garak. It's possible that Garak's sentence was commuted for good behaviour, but that was never mentioned, and nobody ever brings up Garak's arrest again. I think it's fair to say that the writers dropped the ball on this one.

[apenpaap]

It's a bit odd that you would get only 6 months of imprisonment for attempted genocide. Maybe Garak argued to the judge it was a cultural thing of the Cardassians, and that was accepted as an excuse because of his 30+ Charisma?

[Sykonee]

apenpaap wrote:

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It's a bit odd that you would get only 6 months of imprisonment for attempted genocide. Maybe Garak argued to the judge it was a cultural thing of the Cardassians, and that was accepted as an excuse because of his 30+ Charisma?

There probably is some validity to that (the 'cultural' thing, that is). Garak isn't a Federation citizen, so his intents may not be applicable in a Federation trial, only the actual crimes he did commit: unauthorized access to Starfleet property and assault on a Starfleet officer.