Nerys Ghemor's DS9 Episode Review Thread

[Deranged Nasat]

I also wonder how Rom managed to carry him on that tray. He's a shapeshifter. Where does the extra mass go when he gets small? It doesn't make sense. Basically, he should've been a super dense glass, and Rom shouldn't have been able to lift the tray.

I know this is a rather standard "Trek" fix that probably gets a few eyes rolling- with reason!- but I've heard suggestions that excess mass is shifted into subspace, that a changeling as it is perceived by others is a four-dimensional representation of a five-dimensional being. Of course, that answer opens up a whole can of worms itself...

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Except that he also didn't seem to know what had happened to him when he was back on the runabout. If he was just tense, he'd have still been aware of his surroundings and everything that happened from the time he got hit.

Depends on how severe a panic attack he had, then--but still, it does strike me as a major inconsistency.

I also wonder how Rom managed to carry him on that tray. He's a shapeshifter. Where does the extra mass go when he gets small? It doesn't make sense. Basically, he should've been a super dense glass, and Rom shouldn't have been able to lift the tray.

Oddly enough, one of the "Young Adult" books has Odo stating that he can't simply shapeshift into a rat to go out onto a support beam because he'll still have the weight of a man. (Strange place to find scientific accuracy, I know!)

But the only theory that even HALFWAY makes sense is something I saw in the Animorphs series when I was little (again, odd place to find attention to scientific "accuracy"!): that the extra mass is extruded into some other dimension. There's still a VERY major question as to how such a thing would be accomplished, though.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

But the only theory that even HALFWAY makes sense is something I saw in the Animorphs series when I was little (again, odd place to find attention to scientific "accuracy"!): that the extra mass is extruded into some other dimension.

Lets hope Odo doesn't go mosquito...

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

But the only theory that even HALFWAY makes sense is something I saw in the Animorphs series when I was little (again, odd place to find attention to scientific "accuracy"!): that the extra mass is extruded into some other dimension.

Lets hope Odo doesn't go mosquito...

Ha...in Animorphs, morphing a small form like that was a thing of much fear to some. There was always the possibility of being popped all the way into "Z-space" (their subspace equivalent), or of having that mass run into and scattered by a passing ship.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

But the only theory that even HALFWAY makes sense is something I saw in the Animorphs series when I was little (again, odd place to find attention to scientific "accuracy"!): that the extra mass is extruded into some other dimension.

Lets hope Odo doesn't go mosquito...

Ha...in Animorphs, morphing a small form like that was a thing of much fear to some. There was always the possibility of being popped all the way into "Z-space" (their subspace equivalent), or of having that mass run into and scattered by a passing ship.

I remember- I actually read some of them myself! Good memories .

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who read those!

 

[Sykonee]

Here's a wacky explanation:

Odo seems able to go from liquid to solid easy enough, so maybe he can also turn into a gas as well (in fact, he does in Chimera, doesn't he). Thus, he assumes the shape of a glass, and the excess mass is turned into ether surrounding the glass and tray, without actually 'weighing down' on the tray in the process.

...which sort of begs the question why did he have to turn into a glass in the first place. Ergh... thinking... too... much... hurts...

 

[apenpaap]

Maybe he's just scared of being blown away and scattered without a solid part as anchor.

 

[Eyes]

I like the Animorphs theory best, its the only one which actually makes sense to me, only Odo doesn't seem to have a fear of morphing into small things, or a limit of two hours, or having to control any animal's thoughts, or *long list of Animorph limits*. So, basically, Odo's an advanced Animorph, who can also turn into inanimate objects.

Including the ether just requires too much thinking.

 

[Pemmer Harge]

's magic, innit?

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I like the Animorphs theory best, its the only one which actually makes sense to me, only Odo doesn't seem to have a fear of morphing into small things, or a limit of two hours, or having to control any animal's thoughts, or *long list of Animorph limits*. So, basically, Odo's an advanced Animorph, who can also turn into inanimate objects.

Including the ether just requires too much thinking.

Anybody up for an Animorphs thread over in TV and Media? Say the word and I'll start one...

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

OK, got 2 more episode reviews for you--"Battle Lines" and "Storyteller."

I thought that "Battle Lines" was a decent episode...and one thing that I felt really made this story was Kira. I've seen her get flamed as a b*tch, especially in early seasons--and I must completely and totally disagree. Was she undisciplined sometimes in the way that a Starfleet officer would be? Yes. But she may also be the only female character that Trek EVER treated as a serious officer and in a CONSISTENT manner. (Unlike Janeway, Archer, or nuKirk, she has the excuse of not being a Starfleet officer, to explain her gaffes--and you can actually track her improvement.)

She was a strong woman, of that there was no doubt. And maybe some felt threatened by that. But I personally loved it. Everything from her haircut to her uniform (in early seasons) said that she was there to be taken seriously as the Bajoran liaison...she was not there to be "the sex interest." Yes, Nana Visitor is pretty, but this was secondary--it was about the character, not a set of boobs.

This strength is why, when she cries at the loss of Opaka, her inspiration and her people's religious leader, I do not see this as some sort of "helpless woman" moment of weakness as is so common on TV. It seems like a very natural reaction, and one that does not at all diminish her.

I felt like Kai Opaka really defined the Kira character and her personal quest for the rest of the series: to find forgiveness and to forgive herself. This is something she will really struggle with and perhaps does not even come to fruition until she has to fight alongside the Cardassians in Season 7. (It certainly hadn't by Season 5, as evidenced by her behavior in "The Darkness and the Light," and "Ties of Blood and Water.")

Now, for the plot itself, I felt like there was some really bad acting with the Ennis and Nol-Ennis, and it felt like a TOS-type plot that had been done time and again. What redeemed it was the character work as mentioned above.

On the thought-provoking questions section: why did Dukat downplay Kira's actions, in his file? Could it be for the reasons we saw in the Terok Nor series, that he did it because of his relationship with Meru? And was he trying to keep her "protected" as a way of making her "grateful" later when he could pull that out and show her how he hid her actions? (Again, the sick "do the mother, do the daughter" thing Dukat seemed to have in mind...)

The second question...and one I seriously wonder about: should Sisko have been censured for acquiescing to Kai Opaka's insistence on investigating the signal with her aboard? Yes, she was a very high-ranking official, but he seemed to recognize it was against his better judgment. And her loss, as we later see, does severe damage to Bajoran internal politics.

Third: does Opaka's statement that her pagh and Sisko's will cross again hint perhaps at the later revelation that Sisko is part-Prophet?

In the continuity/nits section...I have to ask about shuttle aerodynamics. Especially if the shields are down and we don't have some weird excuse about the shields perhaps being used to create an aerodynamic shape, what's to keep the shuttle from just flipping end-over-end or breaking up completely during a crash landing, due to the lack of a decent airfoil?

Another nitpick...why did the shuttle not back the hell up when they detected that signal? Even if Sisko didn't have the suspicious instincts to do that, Kira should've given that she had to fly in her role in the Bajoran Resistance, and she should've recognized this as a potential weapon. I would've ordered full reverse immediately the instant I picked up that energy buildup. (To his credit, however, O'Brien WAS clever enough to do this.)



As for "The Storyteller"...well, I think this is one of those cases where the B-plot really outshined the A-plot, by a mile (although some of this early Bashir-O'Brien interaction is just priceless: great bickering followed by a tiiiiiny hint of the later friendship).

What really helped the B-plot to do so well was that I felt like Cirroc Lofton was really getting a lot more comfortable in his role as Jake--his interactions with Nog and the tetrarch were pretty well done! (I love how he starts to put his feet on the tetrarch's table, then catches himself!) I particularly enjoyed watching the three of them get caught in the prank in Odo's office!

As for the A-plot...I think what ticked me off was that it showed the Bajorans in a VERY bad light. And in my head I could even picture what the Cardassians would've done with the whole Sirah/Dal'rok thing for their homefront propaganda to show what "backwards, superstitious folk" the Bajorans are and why they "need" to be occupied. Personally, I think the Cardassians actually DID, as it would explain a lot about the skewed perception their public back home, and their soldiers on the ground, had of the Bajorans. I mean, this was the typical TOS/TNG "false supernatural" scenario and could've even been used to undermine the entire Bajoran religion except for one tiny thing: we don't really know what the Orbs are. (And we're VERY fortunate that the powers that be avoided that final leap as they did on so many TOS/TNG episodes, as this is one of the great things that really made DS9 stand out.)

My major problem with the whole Sirah/Dal'Rok thing is that the Prophets seem to be about KNOWLEDGE and understanding. Prophecies and visions can be mysterious, but it's about getting people to come to a conclusion and see things with greater wisdom than before. But this village seems trapped in a cycle of fear and the temporary relief of fear, never really maturing in their faith. This use of their Orb seems inconsistent with their character--for a fragment to be used to deceive people seems like it would almost be blasphemy and I have GOT to wonder what the Vedek Assembly would say if asked to rule on it.

One thing I noticed Sisko doing that I thought was a very good command move was to make sure to recognize Kira's unique knowledge and skills when it came to dealing with the Paqu and Navot, saying, "I'll have you at my side to help me avoid making mistakes." To acknowledge this, and by extension acknowledge that he is not perfect and that he knows he needs the support of others, is a very good way to gain buy-in from Kira (who we know is not 100% sold on Starfleet's presence).

On continuity notes--we really get to see the implications of officer-enlisted interaction for what may well be the first time in Trek, and I liked seeing that.

We also see Bajorans with and without the additional nose ridge--it kind of seems from this like it might be some sort of recessive trait that some Bajorans have, but the majority does not...which makes sense and I think would actually be scientifically understandable.

Also, a rather funny coincidence that appears in my fanfic with something in this episode. We have the "Navot" (pronounced "Nah-VAHT") as a nation-state on Bajor, and in Star Trek: Sigils and Unions, one of the major Cardassian ethnic groups comes from a region known as "Nevot" (pronounced "Neh-VOHT"). I can't imagine the people of Navot would've been happy to discover this similarity...

 

[PSGarak]

There's also an editing mistake in "Battle Lines" that is fairly glaring. In the middle of a battle scene after Sisko has supposedly had his comm badge taken away, they cut to him, and he's wearing it. They cut away and back to him a few seconds later, and it's gone again. On the whole, I didn't enjoy that plot, but I have to say that I agree with you about Kira's grief over Opaka. I didn't feel that it diminished her in any way. I found it to be a very powerful scene, particularly as she attempted to chant the death chant while in the midst of her grief.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Kira's character focus- and character development- steal the show in "Battle Lines". I loved the character from the start, and I agree with your assessment, Nerys, that she was probably the only female character who wasn't defined by some standard of "femininity" and was instead treated consistantly as the officer she was. She's certainly my favourite female character in Trek. Her interaction with Opaka here, particularly her "confession" about feeling unable to let go of the violence and the hatred, moves me every time I see it- as I mentioned earlier in this thread. The actual plot of "Battle Lines" is nothing special, but I do wonder why the Prophets were- apparently- so interested in the Ennis/Nol-Ennis that they wanted Opaka there rather than on Bajor. The novels have an interesting answer, I think, given the Ascendant encounter...

As for "The Storyteller", it sets off the Bashir-O'Brien dynamic, which can only be a good thing, and as you say it uses Jake and Nog well too. The whole dal'rok business is a bit awkward, and indeed somewhat too resonant with TOS/early TNG "poor superstitious fools" stories. On the upside, between this and the two warring tribes the episode does present Bajorans as having diverse and distinct cultures, as a planetary population would realistically have. One does wonder if the Vedek Assembly is aware that an orb fragment is hiding in an isolated village- if not, did our Starfleet heroes tell them?

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

There's also an editing mistake in "Battle Lines" that is fairly glaring. In the middle of a battle scene after Sisko has supposedly had his comm badge taken away, they cut to him, and he's wearing it. They cut away and back to him a few seconds later, and it's gone again.

LOL, wow! But then again, I don't always notice that kind of stuff, and didn't that time.

On the whole, I didn't enjoy that plot, but I have to say that I agree with you about Kira's grief over Opaka. I didn't feel that it diminished her in any way. I found it to be a very powerful scene, particularly as she attempted to chant the death chant while in the midst of her grief.

Definitely.

Kira's character focus- and character development- steal the show in "Battle Lines". I loved the character from the start, and I agree with your assessment, Nerys, that she was probably the only female character who wasn't defined by some standard of "femininity" and was instead treated consistantly as the officer she was.

For the most part, anyway--I didn't like how her uniform got tighter and tighter as the show progressed, and her hair got weird in Season 7. (WTH???)

Even so, I still agree with this...

She's certainly my favourite female character in Trek. Her interaction with Opaka here, particularly her "confession" about feeling unable to let go of the violence and the hatred, moves me every time I see it- as I mentioned earlier in this thread.

The actual plot of "Battle Lines" is nothing special, but I do wonder why the Prophets were- apparently- so interested in the Ennis/Nol-Ennis that they wanted Opaka there rather than on Bajor. The novels have an interesting answer, I think, given the Ascendant encounter...

I forgot what that was. Would you mind reminding me?

The whole dal'rok business is a bit awkward, and indeed somewhat too resonant with TOS/early TNG "poor superstitious fools" stories.

Exactly. It makes that particular batch of Bajorans look naive and stupid--and like I said, I am convinced that village had to have been used in Cardassian propaganda, it was so bad.

On the upside, between this and the two warring tribes the episode does present Bajorans as having diverse and distinct cultures, as a planetary population would realistically have.

Indeed, I liked that. Given that this is one of the few non-repressive planets we've ever seen (and I'm not even sure humanity counts as non-repressive or if they just do it in subtler fashion), it makes perfect sense and I loved it.

One does wonder if the Vedek Assembly is aware that an orb fragment is hiding in an isolated village- if not, did our Starfleet heroes tell them?

No idea...is it still a PD violation if the Federation is in open relations with a world like they were with Bajor?

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I forgot what that was. Would you mind reminding me?

Spoiler: DS9 novel "Rising Son"

First Contact with the Ascendants occurs when an Ascendant crashes on the Ennis/Nol-Ennis moon. Opaka nurses her back to health and is repaid by the freedom of the planet's inhabitants. Opaka also gets insight into the coming conflict and knowledge that the Ascendants also worship the wormhole aliens.

 

[DevilEyes]

OK, got 2 more episode reviews for you--"Battle Lines" and "Storyteller."

I thought that "Battle Lines" was a decent episode...and one thing that I felt really made this story was Kira. I've seen her get flamed as a b*tch, especially in early seasons--and I must completely and totally disagree. Was she undisciplined sometimes in the way that a Starfleet officer would be? Yes. But she may also be the only female character that Trek EVER treated as a serious officer and in a CONSISTENT manner. (Unlike Janeway, Archer, or nuKirk, she has the excuse of not being a Starfleet officer, to explain her gaffes--and you can actually track her improvement.)

She was a strong woman, of that there was no doubt. And maybe some felt threatened by that. But I personally loved it. Everything from her haircut to her uniform (in early seasons) said that she was there to be taken seriously as the Bajoran liaison...she was not there to be "the sex interest." Yes, Nana Visitor is pretty, but this was secondary--it was about the character, not a set of boobs.

This strength is why, when she cries at the loss of Opaka, her inspiration and her people's religious leader, I do not see this as some sort of "helpless woman" moment of weakness as is so common on TV. It seems like a very natural reaction, and one that does not at all diminish her.

I felt like Kai Opaka really defined the Kira character and her personal quest for the rest of the series: to find forgiveness and to forgive herself. This is something she will really struggle with and perhaps does not even come to fruition until she has to fight alongside the Cardassians in Season 7. (It certainly hadn't by Season 5, as evidenced by her behavior in "The Darkness and the Light," and "Ties of Blood and Water.")

Well said.

For the most part, anyway--I didn't like how her uniform got tighter and tighter as the show progressed, and her hair got weird in Season 7. (WTH???)

I don't know, people keep saying that, but I when I rewatched the early episodes, I thought her uniform was tighter in the early seasons. I was surprised in "Emissary" how much her uniform made her breast look bigger, and how strong her makeup was. I think her look was the best in the middle part of the show, and I'm glad they got rid of the shoulder pads. I don't remember her uniform being that tight in season 7, I think it was actually less form-fitting, and I didn't like her season 7 hairstyle either... but not because it was too sexy, because I didn't think it was - it was a bit too 'ladylike'.

On the thought-provoking questions section: why did Dukat downplay Kira's actions, in his file? Could it be for the reasons we saw in the Terok Nor series, that he did it because of his relationship with Meru? And was he trying to keep her "protected" as a way of making her "grateful" later when he could pull that out and show her how he hid her actions? (Again, the sick "do the mother, do the daughter" thing Dukat seemed to have in mind...)

Well, that works if you want to think about these things completely in-universe. I'm not sure if I am able to think about it that way, though, since I know that that explanation is a result of a series of retcons. We all know that the idea of Dukat having had a relationship with Kira's mother did not exist until halfway through season 6, after the possibility of Nerys herself having an affair with Dukat was finally abandoned due to Nana Visitor's objections, and Behr subsequently informed her: "You aren't having an affair with Dukat, but your mother did". Even Dukat's interest in Nerys wasn't hinted in any way in season 1 and most of season 2, and seemed like an afterthought. They hardly even interacted before "Necessary Evil" - unless you count Dukat speaking over the comm link while Kira is in Opps; the first hint that there may be something there other than general animosity between a former Bajoran terrorist and the former Cardassian head of Occupation, was a short non-verbal exchange that was not in the script ("The Maquis", part 2); and it was only in season 3 that the writers actually decided to establish Dukat's attraction to Kira ("Civil Defense"). So there's no way that anyone would have planned that kind of explanation back in season 1.

What kind of explanation they actually had in mind when they wrote "Battle Lines"? I honestly have no idea.

 

[flemm]

Kira's character focus- and character development- steal the show in "Battle Lines". I loved the character from the start, and I agree with your assessment, Nerys, that she was probably the only female character who wasn't defined by some standard of "femininity" and was instead treated consistantly as the officer she was. She's certainly my favourite female character in Trek.

Agree 100% with the above, though I would go so far as to say that she is one of the most fully realized characters in Trek (not just female), possibly the most in terms of substantial character development over the course of seven seasons.

Most of Trek's great characters are archetypes, really, rather than characters, which is not bad, in fact it can be great, but it is different. I love Spock, Picard, Worf and Data but they aren't as complex as Kira and they don't change as much over time.

I thought the Kira episodes were good from the start while the rest of the show's characters took longer to start coming into their own. Past Prologue, Battle Lines, Progress and Duet are all strong season one episodes mostly devoted to character material for Kira.

As for the costume changes, I thought it was largely a sign of the character becoming more comfortable with herself, with her sexuality and just more comfortable overall. I'm sure the producers were interested in showing off Nana Visitor's figure a bit more, but I don't think it crossed the line into the kind of "babe" objectification that we saw in Trek later.

EDIT, to respond to the following:

What kind of explanation they actually had in mind when they wrote "Battle Lines"? I honestly have no idea.

I think it was just a barb the writers threw at Kira to infuriate her. A precursor of having her mother sleep with Dukat, really, in a sense: Nana Visitor does outrage and being wounded very well, so the writers never stopped giving her reasons to be wounded and outraged.

I don't think it was meant to have any real bearing on her activities during the occupation.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I don't remember her uniform being that tight in season 7, I think it was actually less form-fitting,

I dunno--it looks more like a catsuit to me later on, and I don't like it at all. One thing that was very good about her previous uniform was that it looked like everyone else's uniform too. She looked PROFESSIONAL. She wasn't doing like Troi and wearing something else just to show off. (And I was TOTALLY in agreement with Jellico about Troi needing to wear a normal uniform like a professional.)

and I didn't like her season 7 hairstyle either... but not because it was too sexy, because I didn't think it was - it was a bit too 'ladylike'.

Yeah, too froufrou. I got the feeling she was NOT someone who wanted to spend an hour doing her hair in the morning. Big waste of time.

Well, that works if you want to think about these things completely in-universe. I'm not sure if I am able to think about it that way, though, since I know that that explanation is a result of a series of retcons.

I'm just as aware of that myself...but when you're a fanficcer, you learn to do in-universe explanations because you end up having to reconcile those things sometimes.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

"Progress"...now this was a WONDERFUL episode!

One thing I notice about Nana Visitor's acting is that she really seems to come to life when you give her one really good guest start to interact with (Brian Keith [Mullibok], Harris Yulin [Aamin Marritza], Lawrence Pressman [Tekeny Ghemor]), she REALLY seems to sell the connection between her and that guest, whatever the particular nature of the connection was. And that was what really sold the connection she felt to Mullibok. He was an outstanding character--and got some REALLY good lines, that's for sure. (And this, in turn, brought some really great lines out of Kira, too.)

As to the plot of the episode...it's funny how timely it manages to seem even years later, considering the recent erosion in property rights thanks to the Supreme Court's expansion of eminent domain for whatever the government feels would "benefit" the community. The decision that the Bajoran government makes (and the black-clad Minister Toran, whose clothing is undoubtedly intended to evoke memories of the Cardassians) does indeed feel like a Cardassian line of reasoning: we need the resources more than you do, so we're going to take it whether you like it or not.

And I still found myself thinking that what Kira ended up doing in the end...sucked. Perhaps it WOULD have been better for Mullibok to be able to die in his own home. Or better yet, see if there was a way for the Bajorans to tough it out for a year while the other, less hazardous form of extracting the energy was used. Or, hell, pick another moon, one that was uninhabited.

Again, this seems to go back to that theme I saw in some of the earliest episodes, of some Bajorans becoming what they hate. And it was pointed out very directly when Sisko says to Kira that she is on the other side now.

That said, though, the writers are very careful to make sure that the audience never sympathizes with the Cardassians. What they did to Mullibok's companions was made of pure disgusting. And we get the feeling, too, that during Mullibok's nightmare, he too is reliving whatever torment the Cardassians dished out to him.

As you know, I write fanfic from a Cardassian point of view. And as I've felt before--but even more so here, I could just imagine how my characters would feel to be confronted with this anguish. It was very much a feeling of shame, of feeling very tiny and defenseless before these people--like nothing you could ever say or do would ever make a difference.

And that, of course, is a strange foreshadowing of this season's best episode (heck, one of the best of the series). But we've got awhile before we get there...

Oh, and I also forgot to address the B-plot. It was EXCELLENT! In fact, what's really remarkable is that when you consider "In the Cards" later on--you can actually say that lightning struck twice. The adventures of the Noh-Jay Consortium were outright hilarious...and I found it quite fitting that Jake's intuition contributed to Nog's business smarts (just as somehow Nog managed to impress the Tetrarch in the last episode!). This plot also had some real laugh-out-loud lines--especially when O'Brien looked at the boys and their cargo and said exactly how he knew they were self-sealing stem bolts: "I read it here on the manifest." Boy, that knocked them down off their pedestal! Another great moment was when Nog and Jake signaled each other across the bar, and if you look very closely, there's one confused extra sitting next to Jake...

The last bit was when Quark realized who had that valuable land--and he looked at Jake and realized HE was involved in it to. "Nnnooooo..." Guess he'll have to revise his opinion of Jake's influence on Nog upward from now on!