Was the Founders identity revealed to soon?

[Solarbaby]

I was shocked when we found out in The Search part 2 that the Changelings were the Dominion. We only just found Odo's people and then we are given a big shock (maybe not so for some people) that they're the bad guys.

I personally would have liked to have seen the changeling's civilisation explored more over a season and then at the end of season 3 we could have found out they were the Founders. A slow build up of storylines showing how the solids are a threat would have been very interesting. Even having some of the changelings come back to DS9 to explore what Odo's life was like. It would have been hard to write without giving hints that the changelings were the Founders. However I think it would have been an even bigger shock and made more sense.

I just don't believe realistically that the Founders would have revealed their identity, especially so quickly. The Vorta in the "Jem'Hadar" that came back to the station implied that no one had seen the Founders and they were myth(even if this was not true and said to feed misinformation to the Alpha quadrant to instill fear). If this was the case then the Founders wouldn't want their identity known

 

[Kira Nerys]

No,it was timed just right .The war that followed, should have happened alot sooner than at the tail end of season five .

 

[Myasishchev]

Nah, it was timed right. I think if the "mystery" had persisted for, say, another season, or even another few episodes, everyone would've figured out that the Changelings were the Founders based on a variation of the economy of characters rule. As it stood, it came as a pretty legitimate surprise.

 

[Jbarney]

I have to say I think they could have dragged it out a little. I think it would have been even a more tension filled surprise if they had another season of Odo searching for his people and the Dominion War looming.....and then show the audiance the truth. Bingo.

 

[Aretaku]

I think if you tried to do it that way, you'd really miss out on developing Odo as a character.

The mission in "The Search" was to find the Founders...the episode splits in part 2 to Odo/Kira in the Gamma Quadrant, and everyone else being run in through the Dominion psych evaluation simulation.

Even if you somehow pull everyone else out of that situation without revealing the Changelings as the Founders, that implies that Odo will indeed stay in the Gamma quadrant.

You'd probably get an episode or two that followed him if they ran it that way, but he'd be largely absent until the Changelings were established as the Founders. That could take a few episodes, and not be a big deal, or a whole season.

Gives him an opportunity for a Face/Heel turn, but I don't think the writers ever even toyed with that idea, or they would have made the consequences of his actions during the Dominion occupation of DS9 more lasting.

 

[Kegg]

I feel the moment they revealed Odo's species they needed to reveal they were the Founders soon after. Rene Auberjonois used to joke the writers would reveal his species whent they were out of ideas with the character, and they pointed out this new twist actually provided him with fresh material - he knows who his people are, but he also knows they're up to some seriously messed up stuff which doubtless troubles him.

So any dilly-dallying is just extending the step from page one to page two, and enough of Odo's initial wonder at finding his people was covered in The Search to make the transition sufficient.

Maybe they might have postponed both to a little later rather than the episodes immediately after the appearance of the Dominion, but then, adding them promptly did give us a face and identity - and indeed, a concernable motive - to what had been up to that point a merely oppressive and aggressive empire.

Now, proceeding to mostly ignore the Dominion threat throughout season three? That was definitely a bad call and why I feel the show really tightened up in the fourth season rather than the third.

 

[Jbarney]

I think if you tried to do it that way, you'd really miss out on developing Odo as a character.

The mission in "The Search" was to find the Founders...the episode splits in part 2 to Odo/Kira in the Gamma Quadrant, and everyone else being run in through the Dominion psych evaluation simulation.

Even if you somehow pull everyone else out of that situation without revealing the Changelings as the Founders, that implies that Odo will indeed stay in the Gamma quadrant.

You'd probably get an episode or two that followed him if they ran it that way, but he'd be largely absent until the Changelings were established as the Founders. That could take a few episodes, and not be a big deal, or a whole season.

Gives him an opportunity for a Face/Heel turn, but I don't think the writers ever even toyed with that idea, or they would have made the consequences of his actions during the Dominion occupation of DS9 more lasting.

"The Search" did not have to happen at the beginning of the 3rd season. They could have continued to develop the tension between the Dominion and the UFP for about a season and then edged into the "The Search" at the start of the 4th season.

Finding out about Odo's people less than half way through the show just took the mystery away too quickly....for me at least.

 

[Aretaku]

I think if you tried to do it that way, you'd really miss out on developing Odo as a character.

The mission in "The Search" was to find the Founders...the episode splits in part 2 to Odo/Kira in the Gamma Quadrant, and everyone else being run in through the Dominion psych evaluation simulation.

Even if you somehow pull everyone else out of that situation without revealing the Changelings as the Founders, that implies that Odo will indeed stay in the Gamma quadrant.

You'd probably get an episode or two that followed him if they ran it that way, but he'd be largely absent until the Changelings were established as the Founders. That could take a few episodes, and not be a big deal, or a whole season.

Gives him an opportunity for a Face/Heel turn, but I don't think the writers ever even toyed with that idea, or they would have made the consequences of his actions during the Dominion occupation of DS9 more lasting.

"The Search" did not have to happen at the beginning of the 3rd season. They could have continued to develop the tension between the Dominion and the UFP for about a season and then edged into the "The Search" at the start of the 4th season.

Finding out about Odo's people less than half way through the show just took the mystery away too quickly....for me at least.

Looking at it from a plot standpoint, yeah, it kinda did.

Organizations like Starfleet and the UFP are not going to sit on their hands for a year after the destruction of a Galaxy class vessel.

 

[Michael]

^ Now, that quote in your sig looks familiar.

 

[flemm]

Yes, in a sense I think it was. Not that it should have been delayed much longer, but the second part of the Search was a weak story, basically a rehash of the "lots of shocking things happen but oops! none of it is real" cliché.

The first part of the Search was great, but rest of the story deserved better.

Probably this needed to be a longer arc, maybe 4-6 episodes or so, to draw out the suspense and allow the discovery of the Founder's identity to come across as the monumental revelation that it was. Of course the show wasn't really ready to attempt something of this magnitude until later on.

My overall feeling on the Search is that the basic idea of the Founders being Odo's people is excellent, but that the discovery of this afterall quite stunning fact should have been handled better. Remember, first contact with the Dominion was made in the preceding season finale. There was no need to reveal the Founders' identity so soon. We had hardly had time to be introduced to the Vorta and the Jem Hadar.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I voted 'no'.

I think it was a good time to reveal who they were. Gave us a long time to work up a good hate for them before the war even started.

 

[Jono]

Voted yes. I don't think it should have been like at the end of the 3rd season but maybe mid-way through.

 

[Red Ranger]

I voted "No." The mystery of the Dominion had built up for more than a season, as I recall. In addition, the mystery of Odo's origins had stretched out for much of the first two seasons.

Now, it might have been possible to stretch out the secret of the Founders if the Vorta continued to lie about really being Founders. Then, if Odo's people were introduced later, that would've been the best way to stretch out who the Founders really were. Or the Vorta could have lied this way: Say they didn't know who the Founders really were, but that they were their representatives, even though the Founders were most likely legends.

So I think it was handled just right.

Red Ranger