Ah! The excellence of "Improbable Cause"!

[Eddie Roth]

I don't really have a topic here, except a little gushing about "Improbable Cause", which was one of the first DS9 episodes I owned on an imported VHS tape back in the day when it was brand new and which I just rewatched for the first time in years. What a great show.

Odo being so snarky throughout the show... So "film noir" an investigator. One of his finest hours on the series... "I seldom waste time speculating about retired spymasters and their associates..."

The repartee between him and Garak (the familiar Bashir-Garak dynamic too) so witty and well-written... Throughout the episode, I found myself remembering huge chunks of dialogue. They just kept coming back to me scene after scene which means I must have had them memorized once. And no wonder, they're so good. The "Boy who cried wolf" fable for one thing and Garak's unforgettable response "You should never tell the same lie twice"...

Finding out HALF the truth about Garak (and his relationship to Tain)...

That delicious scene with the perfume assassin. The look on Odo's face...

And of course, the best part about it is knowing that it culminates in a great exciting action-packed second part...

This is yummy DS9. Is my enthusiasm for this episode still shared 14 years after it first aired?

 

[Lateralus]

I'm amazed that Improbable Cause/The Die Is Cast don't get more recognition. Absolutely fantastic drama, and perfect Trek.

 

[Michael]

Is my enthusiasm for this episode still shared 14 years after it first aired?

It most definitely is! Improbable Cause is a wonderful showcase for both René Auberjonois and Andrew Robinson. But I actually like the second part even more, because it has the haunting interrogation scene and this imaginatively shot moment at the end:

 

[CorporalClegg]

It's always been my opinion that, dialog wise, "Improbable Cause" is the best written Trek episode.

 

[Navaros]

There is indeed no question that Improbable Cause and The Die Is Cast are both masterpiece episodes of DS9. It is immaculate episodes like these that make the early seasons of DS9 unmissable.

 

[Myasishchev]

The episodes Defiant, Improbable Cause, and the Die is Cast form probably the most perfectly executed arc in Star Trek history.

 

[Thor Damar]

Absolutely agreed with all the above. I'll also add the scene with Odo's unseen Cardassian contact for your consideration.

 

[Seven of Five]

'Improbable Cause' is brilliant, especially with the setup from 'Defiant.' The pairing of Odo and Garak is inspired.

 

[Eddie Roth]

Yes, Thor Damar, see i forgot about that because the episode is just so full of great moments. But that cave scene too. "Do you still do the Cardassian neck trick?" Somehow I've always found this creepy. What is a Cardassian neck trick and what does it do to people? Hmm....

 

[Dane_Whitman]

It's always been my opinion that, dialog wise, "Improbable Cause" is the best written Trek episode.

Absolutely right. There isn't a line of dialogue in the episode that isn't excellent.

 

[TheGodBen]

You could give Andrew Robinson the phone-book and he would make it sound interesting, so when he is given dialogue as masterful as that in Improbable Cause it makes for something special. It is sorely overlooked, even by me.

 

[Photon]

ODO
(hard)
I've had enough of your dissembling,
Garak.

DEEP SPACE: "Improbable... " - REV. 01/26/95 - ACT THREE 35.

25 CONTINUED:

ODO (Cont'd)
I'm not Doctor Bashir and we're not
sparring amiably over lunch. You
pulled me into this investigation
and now you're going to cooperate.

GARAK
Pulled you in, I don't know what
you're --

ODO
(interrupting)
You blew up your own shop, Garak.

This catches Garak genuinely off stride for a moment. Odo
pushes the point.

ODO (Cont'd)
(pleased)
Well... I don't think I've ever seen
that particular expression on your
face before. Is it... surprise?

GARAK
As a matter of fact, Constable, it
is. I'm surprised that you would
come to such an unlikely conclusion.

ODO
Drop the pretense, I've known ever
since I spoke with the Flaxian.
Assassins don't like to vary their
methods and he was planning to poison
you... I think you spotted him aboard
the station, and blew up your shop
so that I'd begin an investigation.

GARAK
That seems like a very elaborate way
of getting you involved. If I needed
your help I could've asked for it.

ODO
But you couldn't be sure I'd take
you seriously. Or that I'd help
you. Besides, I think you secretly
enjoyed destroying your shop.


Pure Gold.........if Voyager could have been half as good, I might have watched it all little more

 

[Kira Nerys]

Both eps are good in there own right.

 

[Saito S]

Is my enthusiasm for this episode still shared 14 years after it first aired?

It most definitely is! Improbable Cause is a wonderful showcase for both René Auberjonois and Andrew Robinson. But I actually like the second part even more, because it has the haunting interrogation scene and this imaginatively shot moment at the end:

I love that scene! Definately one of the most visually creative ways to do that conversation. And I agree with all the gushing about both of these episodes. Really excellent stuff. Not sure if it's necessarily my favorite pair of eps in the entire series, personally, simply because there are some eps in later seasons that are just too hard to top, but it's still amazing. It still ranks among the best examples of why DS9 is my favorite Trek series.

Another scene I really liked was after Odo grills the Flaxian, and finally decides to let him go so he can follow him. He goes to a Runabout, and finds Garak there. They spend a few minutes arguing, Odo wanting Garak to get out, and Garak pushing for Odo to let him come along. Finally, when Garak points out that if they don't leave quickly, the Flaxian will get away, Odo grudgingly consents to Garak accompanying him. He sits down, they power up the engines, and a few more words are exchanged as they prepare to follow the assassin. They spend all this time on this back and forth between Odo and Garak, establishing why Odo doesn't want him along and why Garak believes he should come, and setting the viewer up for the next portion of the ep to be "Odo and Garak follow the Flaxian to some planet or other, where they continue investigating while trading thinly veiled barbs." So off they go...

And they've barely cleared the docking ring when KABOOM! The Flaxian ship blows up. So much for that.

I just thought that was brilliant.

 

[Bones2]

Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast probably sum up why DS9 is so brilliant better than any other episodes. Firm favourites of mine.

 

[NKemp3]

I've been on these boards for almost ten years now, just a short time after DS9 came to an end. And during this stretch of time (especially back in the day when I posted more frequently) I have been calling Improbable Cause and The Die Is Cast the best hours of DS9 as a series. So all the stuff written here I agree with. IC has the best dialogue ever on a Trek show. TDIC is a kick ass second part that doesn't let the audience down and sets up a lot of what is to come for the show (which is why I call the two parter DS9's "The Coming of Shadows"). And yes the final inspired directing and staging of the last scene in TDIC is without peer. But I love the two parter for Odo's contribution just a smuch as I do for Garak's.