“YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED”
Till season finale do us part...
In many respects, this was the perfect episode to follow the season’s opening arc. It certainly offers a breath of fresh air following the darkness, intensity and grit of the preceding half-dozen episodes and also serves as a nice bookend, given that Dax and Worf got engaged in the episode that precipitated it all (“Call to Arms”). It marks something of a milestone, too. Though we’ve seen characters get married before—O’Brien and Keiko, of course, and...well, the odd background character (I’m thinking of the ill-fated junior officers in TOS’s “Balance of Terror”), this is the first time two Trek regulars have ever tied the knot. That’s something that deserves a little celebration, and this episode, silly though it is, is gloriously celebratory. In keeping with DS9’s Ferengi episodes, you really need to approach it with the right mindset in order to enjoy it: specifically, by shifting the brain into neutral and accepting that it’s not meant to be taken too seriously.
Alas, it does succumb to many of the usual cliches associated with sitcom-esque “wedding shows”, including conflict with the in-laws, a problematic bachelor party and the inevitable moment where tempers flare and the wedding gets cancelled. Of course, no one actually expects for a second that it will ACTUALLY be cancelled, but it’s one of those twists you just have to indulge (because there seems to be an unwritten law that you can’t have a TV wedding without last-minute cold feet or a breakup).
Fortunately, Ron Moore again demonstrates his aptitude for comedy and delivers an otherwise sparkling script with a great, irreverent sense of fun and some genuine laugh out loud moments. While much used to be made of the claim the DS9 cast weren’t as close as the TNG cast, they nevertheless work so beautifully together and, perhaps more than any other Star Trek, actually feel like a genuine family. That family feel is very much on display here and it’s surprisingly joyous seeing everyone let their hair down following the grim toll the war episodes took on everyone.
Particular mention must go to Dax’s party, which is, hands down, the most lively and FUN party I’ve ever seen on Trek. When I rewatched TNG last year, I couldn’t get over how dull and dreary the crew could often be. I recall an episode where we saw Riker spending his time off sitting in his quarters watching two holographic women play harps, while the rest of the time celebrations involved sedate gatherings in Ten Forward, a bar that is sanitised and sterile in the extreme. Everyone seemed far too stoic and repressed to me; almost a little inhuman. That’s why it’s so wonderful to see the characters let loose and genuinely seem to have fun here. It’s a raucous, lively, sexy affair, with fire dancers, loud music, dancing, and people getting drunk on what surely wasn’t synthehol. It reminded me a little of my wild party days, although things never got QUITE as crazy as Nog’s, um,
unique dancing and a brawling Lurian butting chests with people.
It’s fun seeing a Klingon bachelor party which, far from being a drunken, hedonistic brawl, is actually a hellish test of endurance that leads to Bashir and O’Brien plotting Worf’s murder. Incidentally, it’s a realm shame that we didn’t manage to get at least a cameo from some of TNG’s crew. While that would have undoubtedly overshadowed the episode, it still seems wrong that Worf doesn’t consider at least Picard and Riker among his closest friends. Alexander makes his final appearance, which I can’t say I’m sad about, although—while I’m not crazy about his descent into total buffoonery—he isn’t nearly as grating as he was in “Sons and Daughters”. I can only hope he soon left his ill-advised foray into Klingon military service and grew up to live a life more suited to him.
I have to say that, hands down, the radiant bride owns this episode. Terry Farrell is an absolute delight as the vivacious, fun-loving, wry and rebellious Trill and this is definitely one of Jadzia’s most enjoyable episodes. How I would miss her when she left the series, although you can see here why Farrell ended up cast on sitcom BECKER, because she really has a knack for comedy and has brilliant timing. Jadzia’s interactions with the formidable Sirella (including her delightfully passive aggressive takedown of Sirella’s family history) are genuinely funny, and while there are definitely a number of cliches at work, it’s
not often you get to see the bride actually punch her mother-in-law to be.
A real highlight of the episode for me is the scene between Jadzia and Sisko. It’s marvellously written and beautifully played by Farrell and Brooks, who really had such a great chemistry through the series. It’s hard to even label their relationship. The best description is perhaps Guinan’s description of her friendship with Picard: “beyond friendship, beyond family.” While Dax is in some ways like a father/mother, mentor and confidante to Sisko, at the same time Sisko has a parental and mentoring relationship toward Jadzia. They seem to shift back and forth, often in the same scene, and it makes for a wonderful relationship that sparkles with richness and genuine emotion.
Mention must be made of the “closet talk” between Odo and Kira, which is a disappointing way to reset their relationship and sidestep any consequences from Odo’s recent act of betrayal. I don’t actually mind that we don’t hear the conversation, because it really wouldn’t have fit the tone of the rest of the episode; an episode that, as it is, already had more than enough going on. But I wish we’d seen a more gradual resolution to this conflict, perhaps seeing their relationship continue to be strained for a while longer before they slowly rebuilt their trust and closeness. But, it is what it is, and sometimes in life a good conversation actually can clear the air quite quickly.
The final wedding scene is fairly brief but fun, with some neat Klingon flourishes and an interesting tale about two hearts coming together to slay the gods themselves; a narrative that we will come back to in “Change of Heart” later in the season. All in all, I enjoyed this one a lot. It’s fun, celebratory and really rather uplifting.
Rating: 8
