The Adversary - Then who would protect the Ambassador?...haha?

[marsh8472]

I have this episode playing now. I usually let the bad jokes go but figured I'd call this one out.

I'm guessing the point of the bad joke here was to show Sisko and Eddington being chummy and we're supposed to use our suspension of disbelief to pretend the joke was funny? Or can someone help and let me in on what's so funny in this scene:

SISKO: Very good, Commander. That'll be all.
EDDINGTON: Captain, I just want to say that I agree with what Chief O'Brien said. About your promotion. It's about time.
SISKO: I appreciate the sentiment, Commander, but it doesn't really change anything. I have the assignment I want, I have the crew that I want. The rank doesn't make much difference.
EDDINGTON: You'd be surprised. People don't enter Starfleet to become commanders, or admirals for that matter. It's the captain's chair that everyone has their eye on. That's what I wanted when I joined up, but you don't get to be a Captain wearing a gold uniform.
SISKO: You could always transfer from Security to Command.
EDDINGTON: Then who would protect the Ambassador?
(they laugh and smile here, what's so funny??)
SISKO: Dismissed, Mister Eddington.
EDDINGTON: Thank you, sir.

Obviously the next person in charge of security would be in charge of protecting the Ambassador. Is Eddington pretending that no one else is capable except him? If so, it's still not funny. I don't get it.

 

[Tosk]

You're not supposed to take his reply so literally. It's a polite way of not answering the question directly, but also answering it enough that Sisko gets his meaning.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

He's trying to lighten the conversation.

He answers yes to the question, Sisko takes it seriously and now they're having a serious discussion about transferring to command at an awkward time to have that conversation. He answers no, he comes off as weak and satisfied in his current job. He cracks a joke, he breaks the tension and awkwardness without seeming weak and satisfied.

 

[MacLeod]

We all now doubt have ambitions of what we wanted to do, where we wanted to be etc.. We don't always realise those ambitions and come to accept our role/position. Eddingotn could be saying if everyone was a Captain who would do the other jobs. Besides Eddington is wrong we know of at least one Starfleet Officer who had no dreams of the centre chair. Scotty who said all he wanted to be was an Engineer.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I think the point he was musing about is that children who dream of entering Starfleet dream of being Captain and commanding a ship, but not everybody can make it there.

His reason for making a lame joke is fairly straightforward, but maybe difficult to understand for the sort of people like myself ten years ago who had trouble processing social nuances. If Eddington responded "Yes I want to be Command", to the person he would have to make the request through, without being clear he's joking he puts Sisko in an awkward position where now he has to respond in a way that sets expectations, before he has fully thought through the request, which establishes an uncomfortable sense of obligation between them for the whole time until they can sit down and seriously discuss the request. Whereas if he responds "No", he guarantees Sisko never promotes him again.