“HIS WAY”
Um, Kira, you appear to have an Odo stuck to your face...
Imagine if somebody had watched the first season of DS9 and then somehow skipped all the way ahead to this episode in the sixth season. What do you suppose their reaction might be? Odo taking lessons in love from a holographic lounge singer, cavorting with a seductive holographic Kira and eventually kissing her on the Promenade in front of the entire station? It would seem like something from a parallel universe. You’d probably assume the show had truly jumped the shark by that point. Yet, you know what, I’ve alway thoroughly enjoyed “His Way”. The episode is a little too light-hearted and fluffy to be entirely effective when it comes to the burgeoning Odo/Kira romance, and it’s not without some issues, but it’s nevertheless just a pleasant episode to watch and an effective palate cleanser following the uncompromising bleakness of the previous five episodes.
With the war having loomed large throughout the season, it only makes sense to me that the characters are looking for a little comfort in the past, as people often do in times of trauma. I, for one, really enjoyed the introduction of Vic Fontaine, even though it’s a character that would be grossly overused in the following season (in fact, I think Vic probably got twice as many lines as poor Jake in the final season). While he’s always been a deeply divisive addition to the cast, I immediately fell for James Darren’s engaging and charismatic portrayal of Vic. It helps that I’ve always had a soft spot for older music, and find the crooner tunes of the 40’s and 50’s comforting and enjoyable. I must admit, though, Darren isn’t the best singer in the world. While his lower vocal range, in songs such as “Come Fly With Me” is good, his voice is thin and sounds unpleasantly strained and nasal on songs with a higher register (such as his opening number “You’re Nobody Til Somebody Loves You”). In terms of singing, the real star of the show is Nana Visitor for her beautifully performed rendition of “Fever”. I kind of wish we’d heard more of Nana singing—and the melodious Avery Brooks, who gets a cute little scene with Odo—and less of Darren.
This is an episode it doesn’t pay to take too seriously, although, as I’m reviewing it, I will anyway. While I immediately took a liking to Vic, finding him a refreshing addition to the show, the idea that people are deliberately creating sentient self-aware holograms is rather troubling considering the problems the TNG had with Professor Moriarty. Furthermore, some of Vic’s advice and meddling does not bear much scrutiny at all. It was already established that creating holo-images of people without their consent is illegal, yet Vic does just that, and Odo plays along, schmoozing with the sultry, permissive “Lola”, until it all quite rightly backfires. What Odo is doing is no better than Barclay in TNG’s “Hollow Pursuits”, or LaForge in “Booby Trap”. Yet no one calls up Odo or Vic on what amounts to decidedly creepy and unethical behaviour.
The episode also gets downvoted because it objectifies Kira in general, making her seem like a prize or trophy; focusing entirely on Odo’s wants and desires, while Kira’s are barely afforded an afterthought. That really bothers me and is yet another instance of this writing staff’s unconscious sexism and proliferation of nerdy male gaze. An episode about winning Kira’s heart should have been just as much about Kira as it was about Odo setting out to “win” her by altering his behaviour. It’s initially implied that Kira has no feelings for him other than friendship, yet in a flash of sudden “clarity”, we’re expected to believe she’s suddenly concluded that they are, in fact, soulmates after all. I’m not opposed to the relationship, and it would grow on me significantly as the series went on (and I can never repress a tear when they safe goodbye in the final episode), but it doesn’t feel particularly earned or convincing here.
That said, even though neither Nana Visitor or Rene Auberjonois were happy about the relationship progressing to full-on romance, they are both wonderful and give it their all. While Odo’s behaviour is at times perilously out of character (“Coooool!” “Ze language of loooove”), and at other times borderline creepy, it’s nevertheless also quietly touching seeing him open his heart and try to melt his icy exterior. Although Auberjonois was a middle-aged man, the character’s arc often suggested that Odo was very much an adolescent coming to terms with his feelings, identity and place in the world.
The scenes with Vic and Odo are generally fun and uplifting to watch. Seeing Odo let his guard down during his unwitting date with the real Kira is genuinely sweet, and it’s painful to see him back off and retreat behind his walls again (“Nerys...Kira...Major...”). The climatic clinch on the Promenade is pure screwball comedy and so stylised it doesn’t really feel like anything either character would say or do: “Well, who needs dinner, why don’t I just kiss you now?” “Well, why don’t you?” *smooooch* “You’re right, who needs dinner?” Something that bugs me about Promenade scenes is the unrealistic way EVERYONE stops and stares during certain moments. If two people kiss in the middle of a shopping centre, the realistic reaction is that most people will barely notice or acknowledge it and carry on about their business. Much like the episode as a whole, it’s all very silly, and self-indulgent on the part of the writers who are bending the characters to their whims rather than leading
from character...but it’s nevertheless charming, and, like Jadzia, it still brought a smile to my face (along with maybe a tiny wince, too).
Probably the closet thing DS9 has ever done to a musical, “His Way” is definitely something quite different, and coming after an intense and depressing run of episodes, it’s something of a ray of sunshine. Silly, charming, uplifting, problematic and perhaps borderline creepy, “His Way” is a bit of a mixed bag, but for entertainment value worth a solid
Rating: 7.
