“THE ABANDONED”
“Damn, my hairstyle is clearly not at all trendy among my fellow Jem’Hadar...”
In many ways “The Abandoned” is kind of the inverse of TNG’s “I, Borg”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think “I, Borg” is a fantastic episode and a great piece of Trek, but it does effectively neuter the Borg in what was only their third appearance in the series. It really wasn’t until First Contact that they again presented any legitimate menace and then Voyager...well, let’s not digress. If “I, Borg” showed that even a race as utterly ruthless and lethal as the Borg could have a cute, fuzzy side, then “The Abandoned” does the opposite.
Although it’s not for lack of Odo’s trying! The Constable takes a personal stake in the matter, feeling understandable remorse for what his people have done to Jem’Hadar—which is to say, programming them to be not people, but psychotic, drug-addicted killers. Odo seems desperate to prove to the boy (who, tellingly, is never given a name in the episode) that he can choose a different path in life, but that, sadly, doesn’t end up being the case.
It’s a bleak message but, nevertheless, a realistic one. If a person is predisposed to be a certain way with every fibre of their being, then how much free will do they actually have? Again, that’s a topic I don’t want to get into, but it does raise interesting questions (I find neuroscience fascinating, and some neuroscientists actually do claim that free will is an illusion, for experiments have shown that the decisions we make are actually made before the mind consciously knows it). This episode isn’t a good fit with Trek’s optimistic view of life and people, and definitely won’t have appealed to the Gatekeepers out there, but, frankly, I don’t think it could have gone any other way. This is our first encounter with the Dominion since the season’s opening two-parter and if we saw a Jem’Hadar coming around with just a bit of a pep talk from Odo it would certainly have robbed them of their menace. Later in the series’ run, of course, we would see glimpses of “humanity” in the enemy, but it would definitely have been too soon at this point in the series.
Overall, this is an engaging and entertaining hour and it kept my attention throughout. The episode structure does, however, feel a little...unpolished. While there’s a lot of good material here, there’s also a lack of focus, with the first half of the episode meandering with an extended mystery over the boy’s identity (and recalling another, less successful TNG episode: “The Child”). It’s not until around the halfway mark that the writers finally seem to decide what the story is about. This leads to a particularly rushed feeling— in the last act, in particular. The end result is just a tad unsatisfying, because after such a leisurely first half, the second skips to warp speed and then just abruptly...stops, literally mid-scene. I recently read, however, that during the first half of the third season the writers were struggling to get scripts in on time. It definitely seems that this is one script that would have benefited from another draft or two, with just bit of restructuring and tightening.
That said, it’s still a keeper, and there are some wonderful moments throughout. I haven’t mentioned the Jake subplot, but it’s a gem, and possibly even more enjoyable than the main plot. It is kind of sitcom-fare, but it’s cute and feels authentic, and I hadn’t quite noticed before what a beautiful and infectious smile Cirroc Lofton has! Sisko/Jake material was always a highlight of the show, and this is no exception. Plus, Sisko’s scene in the Infirmary with the baby Jem’Hadar was adorable; who knew that tough, grumpy Sisko had such a sweet and tender side with kids?
Rating: 7
