Let's talk of DS9's arch enemies and remember the best of Quark and Odo scenes. My favorite episode is The Ascent. They call each other: petty thief, prude, lecher, freak, fraud, fascist and failure. Hilarious
Odo: I guess you're not as successful a businessman as you think you are. Quark: Which means you spent the last ten years of your life trying to catch a nobody, with little success, I might add. So you tell me: which one of us is the bigger failure?
My two favorite exchanges of theirs off the top of my head: Quark: You remember back there, when I told you I hated you, and you told me you hated me? Odo: Vividly. Quark: I just wanted you to know... I meant every word of it. Odo: So did I. Quark: A-ha, I knew it! When I saw the two of you slip out, I said to myself, that no-good, misanthropic, cantankerous changeling is trying to sneak off the station without anyone noticing. Odo: That was the idea. Quark: Well, it's not gonna happen, is it? Odo: Apparently not. Quark: So - now that I'm here... is there something you want to say to me? Odo: Such as? Quark: Such as... 'Goodbye. You certainly were a worthy adversary.' Or maybe something with the words 'mutual respect' in it. Odo: No. Quark: No? What do you mean, no? Odo: I mean, no. I have nothing I want to say to you. Quark: You telling me that after all these years, after all we've been through, you're not even gonna say goodbye to me? Odo: That's right. Nerys, I'll be on the runabout. [he utters one last contemptuous grunt and mounts the runabout] Colonel Kira Nerys: Don't take it hard, Quark. Quark: Hard? What're you talking about? That man loves me! Couldn't you see? It was written all over his back.
I love the moment when they're on te runabout and Quark takes the padd from Odo and starts to read it. "This is work, NOT recreation!" Then the face he does when he come back to the reading...
Yes, Odo and Quark’s exchanges are amazing, they truly need each other but will never admit it. Still, they sense it. Odo complimenting Quark in “Civil Defense” episode. Odo: Quark, I've met a lot of Ferengis in my time. And the truth is, though some of them may have been more wealthy, I've never met one more... devious. Quark: Really? Odo: Would I lie?
Odo: (reads aloud) "Dear Quark, I used parts of your disruptor to fix the replicators, will return them soon - Rom." Quark: (grabs the note) I will kill him! Odo: With what? (The Way of the Warrior)
Civil Defense Quark: You're telling me I'm stuck here? With you? Odo: No. *I'm* stuck here with *you*. Believe me, a far worse fate. and Odo: I suppose, during the Occupation, the Cardassians considered their Security Chief a security risk. Quark: And I know why. Odo: Oh, do you? Quark: It's because they knew you were an honorable man - the kind of person who would do the right thing regardless of the circumstances. And now, your integrity is going to get us both killed. I hope you're happy.
Quark: I dropped by your quarters this morning. Odo: Oh? Quark: I heard some noise, and when I went to complain, I found a work crew installing soundproofing in the floor. I have to say, Odo, I'm touched, that you would do something like that for me. Odo: I'm having the floor reinforced. The fact that they're soundproofing it as well is incidental. If you think I'd put up with three days of construction for your sake, think again. Quark: I guess I should've known. Thanks anyway. Odo: Don't mention it.
Right out the gate, this was the passage where I knew I'd love these two: I hope they've got a burn unit in the Infirmary, because Odo just got scorched!
And then later odo says: You know, I wasn't sure if I was going to like him. Odo's smile never gets old.
When DS9 was finding its feet, I think Quark and Odo had some of the best scenes in those early episodes. The writers and actors really had this relationship established from the get go. I liked the scenes towards the end of Babel where there was just those two left unaffected by the virus. Comedy gold. "I've got to get down to the docking ring before that ship explodes." "I'll beam you down there." "You'll...?" "Relax, I served on a Ferengi freighter for eight years. I must have witnessed the procedure hundreds of times." "Witnessed?! You mean you never operated the controls yourself?" "Energizing!
He really did. His smile reminds me of the emotion I feel when I see Gowron's eyes. It's like a very intimidating look that you don't want to mess with.