Things Past - Really Really Underrated

[tomalak301]

Over the last few nights, I've been watching some episodes of DS9 from my favorite season (Season 5) that I've not seen in a long time. One of those was Things Past. This episode barely get's talked about (Necessary Evil get's talked about more but both episodes are connected in a way) and I think it's one of the series best episodes, and possibly the Series second best Odo episode. Just the atmosphere of going back to Terok Nor, Odo having to relive a dark secret, and then the end where we get to the same place we got at the end of Necessary Evil. I've seen this episode a few times, but the revelation had me kinda shaking still. Here is a guy who we know prides himself on order and justice, and he oversees the killing of 3 innocent men. Also, Smith being a guest star (I love all his guest appearances) was a much added bonus.

So what are you thoughts on what I think is a very underrated gem of a show. I'd probably put it in a top 20 list if I had to make one.

 

[Jono]

The only thing I remember about that episode is that Kira is a bloody hypocrite.

 

[Tallis Rhul]

The only thing I remember about that episode is that Kira is a bloody hypocrite.

Care to elaborate? If you're talking about what I think you're talking about it's no different from any of the Resistance activity really...

Garak's face when he got a good hard smack from that guard was pretty amazing, he was so confident they'd just accept what he had to say and then the rug got pulled out from under him.

It was a really well put-together episode. I used to worry when they went back to Terok Nor because the pace often slowed right down, but this was very entertaining.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Though you'd THINK Garak would learn his lesson after being treated the way his words suggest he'd treated Bajorans...he deserved that punch in the jaw and then some.

 

[DevilEyes]

Over the last few nights, I've been watching some episodes of DS9 from my favorite season (Season 5) that I've not seen in a long time. One of those was Things Past. This episode barely get's talked about (Necessary Evil get's talked about more but both episodes are connected in a way) and I think it's one of the series best episodes, and possibly the Series second best Odo episode. Just the atmosphere of going back to Terok Nor, Odo having to relive a dark secret, and then the end where we get to the same place we got at the end of Necessary Evil. I've seen this episode a few times, but the revelation had me kinda shaking still. Here is a guy who we know prides himself on order and justice, and he oversees the killing of 3 innocent men. Also, Smith being a guest star (I love all his guest appearances) was a much added bonus.

So what are you thoughts on what I think is a very underrated gem of a show. I'd probably put it in a top 20 list if I had to make one.

It's a great episode. I'd probably put it in my top 10. Granted, I always had a weakness for the episodes that showed flashbacks to Terok Nor at the time of the occupation. And it was great that they finally dealt with the whole issue of Odo's role during the occupation and whether his hands really are so clean. It would have been a bit unrealistic if there had been absolutely nothing he had reasons to feel guilty about.

 

[DevilEyes]

The only thing I remember about that episode is that Kira is a bloody hypocrite.

Because she is bothered about Odo's activities at the time when he was a collaborator? She never liked collaborators, that's nothing new - the only astonishing thing is that Odo always managed to get a completely free pass from her and every other Bajoran. Of course, he hardly did anything wrong (apart from what we find out in this episode) and we are told he was just and fair and objective most of the time, but I still think that people from Bajoran Resistance and Bajorans in general would not be as understanding if he was a Bajoran himself, had done the same job and acted in exactly the same way.

 

[Eyes]

It's a very good episode, but its overshadowed by all the other things Season 5 has to offer. As the best season of Trek in my mind, 23 out of the 26 episodes are very good, and the 3 that aren't are average (Ferengi LS, Soldiers otE, and Let He...). On my 2nd watchthrough, the only thing I remembered this episode for was for being another Necessary Evil-esque story. It is evidently a lot more than that, but some parts of it just feel like its been done before.

 

[TeutonicNights]

I many ways it's stronger than "Necessary Evil", but a few things ultimately make it place lower on my list.

1) The whole "linking" stuff. It was nicely explained and everything, but nothing beats the simplicity of flashbacks.

2) It was all reduced to those dudes who were killed "by mistake" by Odo. They definitely made it seem it was an isolated incident in the end.
MAYBE a few more, but Odo isn't sure.
What about the other dudes (thousands over the years?) who got sent to labor camps for decades simply for standing in the wrong place? What did he do to prove they were innocent? Would it have been A-okay if the five guys had been in the cell with the twenty-years-hard-labor guys?
What about "his" justification of blaming it all on the Bajorans' resisting?
Odo was a a friggin collaborator and a fascist. And that part was at least as interesting as those five guys. Therefore the ending was a let down for me.

On the other hand, I didn't get the ending of "Necessary Evil" either.
What was so terrible aboutKira not telling Odo the truth? It's not like the guy was a close friend to Odo or anything. And it would make sense that Kira would be very hesitant to come out with something like that. She might still have told him sometime.

 

[tomalak301]

It's a very good episode, but its overshadowed by all the other things Season 5 has to offer. As the best season of Trek in my mind, 23 out of the 26 episodes are very good, and the 3 that aren't are average (Ferengi LS, Soldiers otE, and Let He...). On my 2nd watchthrough, the only thing I remembered this episode for was for being another Necessary Evil-esque story. It is evidently a lot more than that, but some parts of it just feel like its been done before.

If there was one thing I wish DS9 did more was going back to Occupied Bajor and Terok Nor. They did it twice, and this episode was different enough from Necessary Evil to make it work twice.

 

[DevilEyes]

It's a very good episode, but its overshadowed by all the other things Season 5 has to offer. As the best season of Trek in my mind, 23 out of the 26 episodes are very good, and the 3 that aren't are average (Ferengi LS, Soldiers otE, and Let He...). On my 2nd watchthrough, the only thing I remembered this episode for was for being another Necessary Evil-esque story. It is evidently a lot more than that, but some parts of it just feel like its been done before.

If there was one thing I wish DS9 did more was going back to Occupied Bajor and Terok Nor. They did it twice, and this episode was different enough from Necessary Evil to make it work twice.

Actually, they did it three times. And each time they used a different mechanism to get there, flashbacks were used just the first time, before turning to more means of showing Terok Nor.

 

[tomalak301]

It's a very good episode, but its overshadowed by all the other things Season 5 has to offer. As the best season of Trek in my mind, 23 out of the 26 episodes are very good, and the 3 that aren't are average (Ferengi LS, Soldiers otE, and Let He...). On my 2nd watchthrough, the only thing I remembered this episode for was for being another Necessary Evil-esque story. It is evidently a lot more than that, but some parts of it just feel like its been done before.

If there was one thing I wish DS9 did more was going back to Occupied Bajor and Terok Nor. They did it twice, and this episode was different enough from Necessary Evil to make it work twice.

Actually, they did it three times. And each time they used a different mechanism to get there, flashbacks were used just the first time, before turning to more means of showing Terok Nor.

Always seem to forget Wrongs Darker than Death or Night. Probably because that's right before In the Pale Moonlight.

That's another thing about this episode that makes me wonder. Preceeding it was Let He Who is Without sin. Now I know that episode is greatly hated, so why is this episode forgotten? I thought it would be considered a breath of fresh air compared to the previous one for most people.