The mystery of the Breen language

[Timo]

But then they'd have to do breath condensation (is there a stage trick for that?). That, and droplets everywhere else, too. They had some of that in ENT "Shuttlepod One", now didn't they? They did a frosted-opaque windshield at least.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Myasishchev]

I dunno, that's a good point. I could argue that Odo has no particular need for any humidity when he's flying, or that Vorta don't exhale much water vapor, but these are pretty frivolous and leave reasonable extrapolation behind for the territory of wild speculation.*

My main point here is that I figure that if something's got to be inconsistent, it shouldn't be that the Breen aren't cryophiles.

*That said, I want to make a collateral point here: I don't fully understand why Odo would have the same atmospheric preferences as a solid. I also don't get why he seems to fear freezing to death with Weyoun, either. Wasn't his shapeshifting butt found drifting in the cold of space?

 

[Timo]

Well, in terms of dialogue, Odo probably isn't literally freezing to death. He says "we will have frozen to death before we run out of oxygen", but that's probably just in sympathy of Weyoun's plight. The Vorta then seems convinced that Odo can't die - but he might also be literally arguing that Odo can't die of cold. Or of lack of oxygen, for that matter.

One could see this as an echo of "Vortex" where Odo appears strangely vulnerable to concussion. There, too, he was sharing the runabout with a person he didn't trust. Faking vulnerability was a great way to test the true loyalties of the opponent in that episode. The same would probably be true of "Treachery, Faith and the Great River" as well...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Jono]

Odo's actions could be psychological. He's spent so much time with solids that he mimics their behaviour unconsciously. He sees Weyoun shivering and his sub-conscious gets him to do the same and while he might not feel cold he knows as a solid he should feel cold.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

The loyalty test is also an interesting idea, too--that maybe he was trying to see what Croden was really like underneath all of the lying. (Kind of like the way I get the feeling that at times, he would set Quark up to see what he was really made of.)

 

[PSGarak]

The loyalty test is also an interesting idea, too--that maybe he was trying to see what Croden was really like underneath all of the lying. (Kind of like the way I get the feeling that at times, he would set Quark up to see what he was really made of.)

However, when he was setting Quark up, they made sure that the audience was aware of the fact. They gave no such indication in the scene with Croden, not even a hint of it.

 

[Timo]

It's a working retcon for Odo's one-time and somewhat illogical susceptibility to concussion, though. And there is a definite hinge point right there as regards Odo's attitude towards Croden. Previously, he was reluctantly buying into Croden's long string of lies. Just prior, he got fed a completely different story that was claimed to be the truth that supercedes all the previous lies. This story hinged on Croden being a compassionate creature, against all previous evidence. A test would certainly be in order at that particular juncture - and Croden passed with flying colors. After this, Odo assisted Croden without hesitation in all his actions and aims, even beyond what Croden was asking of him.

What worked once could work twice. With Weyoun, Odo would be testing his willingness for self-sacrifice. Too bad that the test proved to be more complete than he intended...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[PSGarak]

It makes sense as a fanwank. I just don't like having to come up with fanwanks for poor writing or continuity errors. Of course, nothing is perfect, and as explanations go, it's far less convoluted than others I've heard to explain away the same incidents.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

It's not that bad, though--it doesn't call for technobabble or anything like that, and does at least square with the unorthodox approach to the law that Odo sometimes has, especially in the earlier seasons.

 

[Bertie]

There's a simpler fanwank for Odo's susceptibility to cold in the runabout with Weyoun, though — he's already infected with the virus by that point, and we know that the virus causes Changelings to become susceptible to temperature (because the Female Changeling's complaining about room temperatures in Cardassia HQ was used as a sign of her infection).

 

[chakotay_lover]

for the longest time watching ds9 I thought the breen were genetically enhanced humans that escaped the wars and were rebelling against the federation...that would have been awesome. As for the breen language I hated it, it was too much like the star wars seen where lya tries to save han from jabba and shes wearing a helmet that looks alot like the breen helmet and speaking in some vocal mechanized language. Too similar!

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I think the Breen costume may actually have been a deliberate tribute to Boussh. Not 100% sure, though.

 

[ProtoAvatar]

for the longest time watching ds9 I thought the breen were genetically enhanced humans that escaped the wars and were rebelling against the federation...that would have been awesome.

That's a popular theory about the breen and their secrecy.
Personally, I dislike it - it practically screams "little universe syndrome"!
The breen should be something different, something new - not the same rehashed old characters/groups/plots.

 

[Timo]

There's a simpler fanwank for Odo's susceptibility to cold in the runabout with Weyoun, though — he's already infected with the virus by that point

A good idea, although it should probably have set off some alarms for Odo... Feeling cold would be a new experience to him, as a Changeling. But it would be familiar from his brief time as human, so he'd clearly associate it with something being badly wrong!

Incidentally, his brief bout as human was probably what saved his life. It must have purged the virus from his system, so he only recontracted it when joining with the Female Founder during the six-episode arc at the beginning of the war. His disease thus would have developed in synch with that of the FF, rather than leading to his death somewhere in the middle of Season Six at the very latest...

Timo Saloniemi