To Boldly Sew is a recap of DS9 episodes, with a specific focus on the fashions of the many aliens and other characters that make up the series. Feel free to discuss matters of plot and general Star Trek things in the comments.
All screenshots come from trekcore.com, which is the same place as the original TNG fashion blog (http://sttngfashion.tumblr.com/).
At Quark’s, some people have won at Dabo and Quark is not happy. The big winner is a guy with very shiny outfit.
I can’t really make out the actual pattern here, which seems to be a combination of stripes and some paisley swirls on the jacket, and gold coins that I think are sewn onto the shirt. In the dim light, it’s interesting. I’m sure in sunlight it’s blinding. The dude’s hairstyle is pretty interesting, too, with sort of loopy swirls. I can’t tell where his hair stops and his forehead begins. Also, he’s got kind of a hair net type clip holding some of it back.
One of the Dabo girls winks at Jake, who waves back. The winner starts to leave but the Dabo girl talks him into staying. Both Jake and Quark watch with interest as the guy loses.
The guy starts to come on to the woman as she walks away, introducing himself as Okolar and asking what her name is. “Busy,” she says, and goes to sit with Jake. He says she’s evil for talking the guy into playing again when he was going to walk away a winner. She says the first rule of dabo is to “watch the wheel, not the girl.”
I’m not sure if she’s actually really well-endowed or if that’s just the dress talking, but the dress itself looks like it’s made of gold shiny material, and her hat (?) seems to match. The gold earing is a nice touch also, more ostentatious than Bajorans usually wear. Her hair seems to be in the messy, I-just-woke-up style, which I’m not sure I like.
We don’t have a good view of Jake’s shirt right here, but I’m reasonably sure it’s the same one he wore a few episodes back in “Equilibrium.”
She asks what’s for dinner the next night with Jake’s father. Jake knows nothing about this. She says that he came by that afternoon and invited her for dinner the following night and said it was Jake’s idea. Jake is surprised by then admits that he did mention this as an idea and thought his dad forgot. She wonders if it’s a problem. He says no. They stare dreamily into each other’s eyes.
Quark grumpily pokes buttons on some device and a purple-haired woman comes to talk and flirt with him.
I think we’ve seen this lady before selling questionable merchandise to Quark, but I’m too lazy to go back and find her again so I might be wrong. Anyway, I love her hair. Her outfit seems to be some mix of vinyl/leather and something, and we don’t get a great look at it, but I love the purple.
Quark, meanwhile, is wearing the outfit first introduced in House of Quark, but without the blue vest this time. I can’t really describe the pattern on the shirt or jacket, but I like it.
She says she has some salvage for him. He says it’s not a good time to be selling it, but she says it’s legal and really salvage. Quark says he’s not looking for junk but he might want some entertainment.
She insists he’ll like the junk – it’s wreckage from a ship that crashed in the Gamma Quadrant. Quark asks how much. Three bars. What kind of ship is it? She doesn’t know. He asks if he can see it, but she says there’s no time. He’s hesitant but she flirts with him some more so he agrees.
Quark goes down to the cargo bay (I think) to see his new purchases. There’s stuff everywhere and climbs over the piles. As he’s about to leave, he hears a baby crying. He moves aside some tubes and opens what looks like a plastic tub with a lock on it and is surprised and dismayed by what he sees inside, saying “no,” several times.
CUE THEME
Bashir looks over the baby.
The baby is wrapped in a gray thing. It’s not clear if this came with the baby or if someone found it and gave it to him.
The nurse’s outfits on DS9 continue to be terrible. I give them props for not having them wear short white skirts or something, but these are terrible in a different way. Every time they pop up I’m just taken aback. And they don’t come up very often, so I feel like the show runners must know they’re terrible and not want to show them often, but at the same time feel like it’d be too much work to come up with a new costume. Anyway, I do like this person’s attempt to mitigate the horror with an interesting braid mohawk. It looks like a mohawk, but with a braid!
Sisko is appalled that Quark bought a child. Quark says he thought he was buying wreckage and didn’t know about the baby. Sisko says he should have inspected the merchandise. Quark says he usually does.
Dax comes in and tells Sisko they haven’t been able to trace the Boslic captain who sold Quark the wreckage since she left the station. Flight plan says she’s headed for Risa, but that’s up for debate.
Bashir says he doesn’t know the baby’s species, but he seems healthy. For a humanoid he has a very fast metabolic rate; his cells are dividing very quickly, but he sees no other issues so he guesses this is normal for the baby’s species. He wants to keep him for further tests. Sisko agrees.
Sisko asks Dax about the ship the baby was on. She says O’Brien just started to analyze the wreckage and should have a report in a few hours. Quark starts to protest but then falls silent at a stare from Sisko and leaves.
Sisko picks up the baby and coos over him.
My mistake, the kid’s blanket thing seems to be a baby-specific thing, as I can see the hint of fasteners there beneath the chin. Star Trek doesn’t like (visible) fasteners and wants to pretend they don’t exist, so I think I wasn’t supposed to see this. Shh. Also, rather than being generically gray, it’s kind of a light beige with swirls of purple that looks gray from a distance, so why didn’t they just get gray?
Dax suggests calling the orphanages on Bajor. Sisko has baby fever and barely hears her, then passes the baby to Bashir, asking to be kept informed.
Dax and Sisko leave, with Dax teasing Sisko about his baby glow. Sisko has a romantic view of babyhood while Dax points out the diaper changing and sleepless nights. Sisko says he longs for the days he could make Jake happy by lifting him over his head.
They say good-night and part.
Jake is lying on the couch reading or something (I don’t know, maybe it’s a game) when Sisko comes in and asks for a hug.
Jake is grumpy and not interested and pulls away. He asks why his dad didn’t tell him he was going to invite Mardah to dinner. Sisko says he told him weeks ago that if Jake didn’t invite her soon he’d invite her himself. Jake says he still wanted more warning.
Yep, that’s the shirt I thought it was. It’s not a terrible look for Jake, but the bright pink stripes are distracting me and I think it’d be better without it.
Sisko is confused that Jake is upset, and Jake admits that it’s not a problem, he’s just surprised. Sisko says that since dinner is tomorrow night, Jake has a whole day to prepare her for the traumatic experience of having dinner with the old man. Jake says it’s just dinner. They both awkwardly agree.
Back in the infirmary, Bashir has summoned Sisko to talk about the new visitor. There’s nothing wrong with him, but he’s not a baby anymore, he’s an adolescent.
Okay, so…does he grow new clothes as he grows his body? Or did they go and replicate them? And also boots, because those look like some heavy duty shoes.
Anyway, the kid has on sort of two-toned gray pants, gray shirt with a kind of bluish tint to the chest? He’s also developed some brow ridges and grown some kind of unruly hair.
Bashir explains that lots of species have accelerated growth rates, but they’re usually small, physiologically simple creatures. This rapid maturation process is unusual. Sisko comments that he looks 8 or 9 years old – but how old is he really? Bashir says two weeks maybe.
They’ve been talking about the kid like he’s not in the room between them so I thought maybe he doesn’t talk or doesn’t understand, but then the kid says “Who are you?”
Sisko says he’s Benjamin and that’s Julian and asks if he has a name. The kid says he needs food. Bashir isn’t surprised considering his metabolism.
The kid then asks where he is. Sisko says a space station. Does he know what that is? No, but he wants to learn. Sisko says they have a lot to learn from each other.
Bashir discretely pulls Sisko aside so they can talk about the kid without being so obvious. He has advanced language skills and cognitive reasoning and he didn’t pick them up by listening to Bashir and Sisko talk – either it’s a natural ability or a basic intelligence implanted in his genetic structure.
Implanted, Sisko asks – artificially? Bashir thinks it’s possible and cites some medical-technobabble about how he doesn’t think it’s an inherent genetic thing – he thinks his metabolism is enhanced artificially. Sisko wants Bashir to test the kid’s abilities – maybe he can tell them who he is and where he’s come from.
In the cargo bay area with the wreckage, O’Brien shows Sisko where Quark says he found the body – it looks like a stasis chamber according to him and was damaged in the crash. Sisko thinks this could imply they didn’t want him to start maturing while he was on board.
O’Brien says the rest of the wreckage seems to indicate it was a freighter or transport vessel. No computers – just junk like twisted bulkheads and burned deck plating. He promises a full inventory by the next morning.
Sisko is pleased. He also mentions that the replicators in his quarters are on the blink and asks if someone can come by and fix them. O’Brien knows about the dinner because Jake mentioned it to him that morning and seems to be talking about it a lot.
O’Brien says that bringing a girl home for the first time can be traumatic. Sisko points out that even though she’s a dabo “girl”, she’s 20 years old and thus a woman. Jake is a 16-year-old boy; it has to stop. O’Brien wonders why Sisko invited her over.
Curiosity, mostly, Sisko says. He wanted to see what he was up against. O’Brien asks what if he likes her. Sisko says he doesn’t want to like her.
Kira has a plant. It looks like a mini tree. She goes to see Odo. He steps out of his quarters and shuts the door behind him.
Kira gives him the plant and says it is something to brighten his new quarters. He awkwardly thanks her. She looks pointedly at the closed door. He sighs and says he supposes she’d like to see the quarters. She says everyone does. He sighs again and lets her in.
There’s a big metallic sculpture thing in the middle. He says it’s not finished yet and it’s the start. Of what, she asks.
I kind of like this. I wonder if the set designers went to a modern art sculpture museum and copied things or got ideas or just came up with wild stuff on their own? This is way too big for any of the rooms in my house, sadly, but I’d think it was cool if I had a huge backyard.
Odo says he wants to make the room into a place where he can explore what it means to be a shape-shifter. Kira thought so and says he wouldn’t need a whole set of quarters for a bucket.
He says he doesn’t use the bucket anymore. He keeps it as a reminder, but now when he regenerates, he just reverts anywhere in the room and experiments with different shapes and textures, in private.
Kira apologizes for intruding. He says she’s always welcome. She wonders where to put the plant. Odo takes his bucket and sets the plant inside. They smile at each other and she says “Perfect.”
Dax and Bashir have a drink together in the replimat. Bashir says that the boy’s DNA sequence has been altered. She wonders if he was a unique experiment or if it’s common in his species. Bashir says that he’s also missing a key enzyme and without it his circulatory system would simply shut down.
Can he replicate the enzyme? Yes, he says dismissively, but why would anyone design an organism with such an obvious flaw?
A voice the captions identify as Nurse Hortak calls at that moment and says Bashir is needed in the infirmary immediately. They both head over.
Out on the promenade, people are alarmed as the “kid” has come out of the infirmary. Bashir tries to calm him down and tell him no one will hurt him, but is punched in the face for his troubles. The assailant runs off…all we can see from behind is long dark hair. Dax calls security.
Odo comes running out of his office and yells for him to stop. The kid mows over a few people and tries to tackle Odo, but Odo becomes liquid and the kid flies right through him and lands on the floor. We get a look at his face for the first time as he turns back in surprise to stare at Odo as he re-forms.
Dax comes over and recognizes the kid as a Jem’Hadar. She calls Sisko and tells him.
Sisko, Odo, Bashir, Dax, and Kira meet in the conference room. Sisko says that Starfleet Command wants to make sure the boy is healthy enough to travel, then send him to Starbase 201 and hand him over to a team of specialists.
Odo is too cool for chairs, while Kira looks like she’s slouching like the kid who doesn’t really understand the point of English Literature, man, what does Shakespeare gotta do with us? Bashir is leaning back slightly and drinking, and Dax is leaning forward in her seat like the teacher’s pet.
Kira is fine with this. Odo asks what kind of specialists. A team of xenobiologists and exopsychologists. Odo concludes he’ll be studied like a lab specimen. He’s not happy about that.
Bashir agrees that he can’t be treated like a biological sample as he’s a sentient life form. Dax points out that the Founders might have removed his sense of free will and he’s just a genetically programmed killing machine. Kira agrees and says they don’t want him walking around the station if that’s the case.
Odo says if they want answers about the Jem’Hadar, he can find him. He offers to get to know the kid and talk to him and keep an eye on him. He says the kid has shown a certain deference to him, a genetic alteration most likely.
Sisko is hesitant, and wants to speak to Odo alone, so the others leave. He says he wants to know what’s going on. What the Founders did to the Jem’Hadar and this boy was not his fault.
Odo says he knows, but he feels an obligation to try. He also knows what it’s like to be a specimen in a lab. They’ll be courteous and caring and not hurt him, but he’ll just be a specimen. He wants to find out if he’s a programmed killing machine or if they can help him be something else.
Sisko agrees to tell Starfleet they are running some preliminary tests firsts. He also tells Odo to be careful.
The kid is in a holding cell. He keeps running at the force field and bouncing off.
Bashir tries to talk to him and explain that his body is missing a certain chemical and that’s why he’s feeling anxious and having muscle spasms. The boy says there’s nothing wrong with him and runs at the wall.
A long and fruitless argument might have continued, but Odo appears and the kid chills out. He tells the other security guy to wait outside and says everything is under control now. He turns off the forcefield and invites the kid to leave the cell. Obediently he goes to sit.
Odo says he doesn’t look well and asks how he feels. The kid says something is wrong with him and he feels sick when he eats and has pain in his head and chest. Bashir says his body is addicted to this enzyme and he’s experiencing withdrawal. Odo asks if he can replicate the enzyme.
Bashir says that he can’t exactly duplicate the enzyme without further tests but the kid is resistant. The kid stands up and says he doesn’t want the tests. Odo says Bashir is trying to help him and he should let him. He has a firm but kind tone, like a teacher or a parent.
The kid agrees to the tests and sits in the chair, looking pained.
Odo tells him his name is Odo. The kid says he doesn’t have a name. Odo says when the tests are done he can show him around the station. The kid agrees without complaint. Odo asks what he wants. The kid gets up and says he wants to fight.
Who, me? No, the others. Why? I don’t know, but that’s what I want. Is it wrong? Odo says they need to find other interests for him to pursue. He encourages him to relax and smile. The kid tries awkwardly.
Bashir comes over with some machinery to get started.
Jake and Mardah make googly eyes at each other over the table with PDA that I might not be comfortable with in front of my parents – and I’m married. Sisko brings in a dish of shrimp Creole with Mandalay sauce and they separate. Sisko says it’s spicy food. He serves a dish and passes it to Mardah.
Mardah has wisely gone far more conservative with her clothing for the dinner, with a shirt that’s not even a v-neck and is instead kind of boring. Her hair is still kind of all over the place, but it’s a little less messy than before so I’m okay with it.
Jack has this monstrously hideous shirt on. Stop the presses, this is Jake’s Worst Outfit for Season 3. Shiny orange – which wouldn’t be that bad on its own – but then this diagonal blue striping that starts some stripes and random big dots of color. If the set decorators went to the modern art museum for inspiration, they must have brought along the costume designer and one of them turned a painting into this shirt. Wow.
He asks her to tell him about herself – anything. Family? She says her parents were killed by the Occupation and she was raised by the neighbors until she was 13, when she moved out on her own. She has a sister and brother on the planet, but they haven’t talked in years.
Sisko asks why not. She says they weren’t thrilled when she got a job as a dabo girl. She told them what she thought of their lives so they stopped talking. She says it’s amazing how people will judge you based on nothing more than your job.
Sisko has gone full suburban dad here, or at least that’s the vibe I’m getting. Gray-blue jacket, but without lapels because those are so 21st Century, blue turtleneck to give the illusion of a tie or an ascot, and then a vest type thing that’s got a bit of color. It’s not horrible. I mean, could be better, but not nearly as bad as his son’s shirt.
Jake looks pointedly at his dad. He then says that Mardah is a good writer and Mrs. O’Brien used to say she should get some of her stories published. Mardah disagrees and says his poetry is better.
They start to argue, Jake saying she should have more faith in herself, but Sisko interrupts, surprised to learn that Jake writes poetry. “Sort of…not really,” he says, and Mardah says he doesn’t have enough faith in himself. She tells Sisko he writes some of the most beautiful things she’s ever read and that’s what won her over.
Sisko is still kind of flabbergasted. Mardah says also the way he plays dom-jot. This is also a surprise to Sisko. Mardah says he’s quite the hustler. Jake awkwardly says he’ll check on dessert and leaves the table.
Mardah says that Jake seemed like just another teenage boy at first but there’s more to him than that and she cares about him very much. Sisko agrees.
At the wreckage of the Jem’Hadar ship, O’Brien shows Odo a case that they couldn’t make heads or tails of. It seems to have the chemical that the boy needs. Odo says it’s logical they would have kept the enzyme on the ship – hopefully Bashir can determine if that’s it.
O’Brien still doesn’t understand why they’d engineer someone to be addicted to a particular chemical. Odo says it’s a way to ensure loyalty. If the soldiers are addicted to a drug only you can provide, that gives you a lot of control. O’Brien says this is a cold-blooded thing to do.
Odo says his people don’t have blood. O’Brien doesn’t bother to explain the metaphor.
Back in sick bay, they’ve squeezed the boy into patient’s clothing and hooked up the tubes. Bashir explains how the tube delivers the drug into the carotid artery directly. Odo asks about the right dosage. Bashir has no idea how long the supply will last and says he’ll have to experiment.
Why did they bother with the patient clothes? I don’t know.
They start with 2 miligrams per minute. Almost immediately the boy seems calmer. Bashir says his heart rate is slowing and there’s some increase in neurotransmitter activity and his cortical impulse readings level out. He tries 3 ccs and then decides to hold it there.
They ask how he feels. The boy says good. Odo tells him to rest and he’ll be in his quarters. The boy wants to go with him. Bashir doesn’t see an issue with that.
Odo says he has his first houseguest.
In Odo’s quarters, the kid asks about the objects and Odo’s ability to change into them – “with varying degrees of success,” he says. Some are more difficult. Which ones are more difficult. Like the one he’s in – he’s found the humanoid face to be challenging.
The kid has changed clothes again, I guess because he’s growing, and now he looks more like a Jem’Hadar. Black outfit with gray (but not really solid gray, there’s some patterns in there) in random spots. Stripes around the elbows. Really, where are these coming from? Did he get to pick out clothes from the replicator?
The kid asks why he wants to look like a humanoid, since he’s better than they are. Odo disagrees and says it doesn’t make him better, just different. The kid looks at all the objects. He says he knows inside that he is inferior to Odo but everyone else is inferior.
Odo says it’s not true, no one on the station is better than anyone else – they’re all equal. The kid says that he must be at fault because he knows Odo cannot be wrong. Odo says that’s not true – he can be wrong and is no different than the kid in that respect. He has to think for himself and make decisions based on what he wants.
He asks the kid to tell him what he wants – without thinking, just the first thing that comes to his mind. He hesitates and says he wants to know more about his people – who he is and where he comes from. Odo empathizes and tells about his own experience. He says sometimes the truth is not very pleasant.
Then he asks the computer to display a specific log and a specific time index. He knows all these numbers off the top of his head so maybe he watches it often? It’s video from the Defiant when the Jem’Hadar attacked. They see the Jem’Hadar beating up the people.
The kid is intrigued. Odo says his people are a race of brutal warriors, but he doesn’t have to be like that. He can channel his aggression in other ways. The Kid asks how.
They go to a holosuite and Odo orders up program Odo 1. Odo clarifies that the person who appears is not a real person. How strong is he? As strong as you want him to be, and he can’t be hurt. Do whatever you want to him. But outside this room, you have to control yourself and live peacefully among others.
The holosuite is green. I don’t know why. The alien is some green-skinned creature dressed in what looks like decent fighting gear.
Weapons appear, including one in the kid’s hand. After confirming with Odo that he can, he starts to fight with the hologram. He soon defeats his opponent and then asks if he can do it again with a stronger opponent.
They fight. The kid complains it’s too easy and wants it harder, so Odo ups the difficulty to three.
Kira comes in and watches the fight for a moment, then asks if she can talk to Odo. They step outside. While Odo is gone, the kid increases the difficulty setting to level 5.
Outside the holosuite, Kira expresses her astonishment that the kid has moved in with Odo. He says he feels safer with Odo. Kira says he was programmed to feel that way. Odo says he thinks he’s forming a real connection and the kid is trusting him.
Kira asks if he can trust the kid, and how long will Odo be able to control him? Odo says he’s not trying to control anyone, he just wants to give him choices aside from laboratory specimen or Jem’Hadar soldier. She says she never thought she’d say this, but he’s listening to his heart and not his head. The boy was created in a lab. He’s designed to do one thing – kill.
Odo says he was designed to a Founder and Kira was designed to be a terrorist, but they’ve chosen to be something else. He wants to give the kid a chance. Kira says fine, give him a chance, but don’t forget he’s a Jem’Hadar and dangerous. He says he’s aware of the risks.
Odo goes back in the room and the kid is still fighting. He ends the program. The kid is on an adrenaline high and breathing heavily.
They walk through the upper levels of the promenade, everyone giving them a wide berth. The kid correctly perceives that everyone is looking at him and afraid of him. He stares down a guy who comes nearby.
Odo says that they’re afraid and curious. The kid says they should be – he could kill any of them. Odo asks if that’s all he thinks about – killing? Isn’t there anything else. He thinks and says he doesn’t think so. Odo sighs and says there’s more to life than that – more to discover and experience.
The Kid says maybe there is for him and everyone else but for him…
Sisko calls Odo, interrupting, and says he wants to see Odo in his office. Odo agrees, telling the Kid to wait in his quarters.
In Sisko’s office, Odo can tell something is wrong. Sisko says Starfleet is sending a ship to pick up the boy in five hours. Odo thought they had an agreement.
Sisko apologizes and says he did everything he could, but Starfleet considers the boy a top priority and orders are orders.
Before anything else can be said, the kid appears from nowhere. I think he was invisible? He has a weapon and he says they’re not sending him anywhere.
There’s a doorway behind him (which I’ve never noticed before?) so maybe the kid came in that way? How did he turn invisible? NO IDEA. Maybe there was something in the wreckage of his ship, even though we never see him visit the wreckage? Is it a biological skill? How would that even work?
Sisko asks what he wants. A runabout. To go where? Not his concern.
Odo tries to talk him down, but the kid says that he knows what he’s doing – he’s leaving and taking Odo with him since he also doesn’t belong. Odo looks toward Sisko and then says it’s okay and there’s no reason to hurt anyone – Sisko will see that no one interferes.
The kid says that if they do, he’ll kill them.
They leave out that door.
Walking down the hallway, Odo asks where they are going. The kid says the Gamma Quadrant – it’s where both their people are and where they belong. Odo disagrees.
DS9’s corridors are kind of psychedelic.
The kid says he won’t allow them to put him in a laboratory or go with them to Starfleet. Odo says there are other options besides the Gamma Quadrant. They can go another place. It’s a big galaxy – they just have to find an unexplored space. Odo says he will help.
He says Odo doesn’t understand. He wants to be with his people – he doesn’t want to be anywhere else. He’s a Jem’Hadar and that’s what he wants to be. He says Odo is not like these people either, but they’ve done something to him – filled his mind with ideas and beliefs. He says he doesn’t know what other changelings are like, but he knows they’re not like Odo.
Odo agrees they aren’t. They continue to walk down the hall.
Sisko and three security officers beam into the hallway, I guess near where Odo and the kid are. He tells them to spread out, but not to fire until either Sisko commands it or the boy fires first. They draw their weapons and head out in different directions.
Sisko takes two steps (or so it seems, maybe there’s a subtle cut in there) and Odo and the kid appear in front of him. He says this is as far as they go.
Odo says he’s leaving on his own accord. He’ll take the kid and then return. He says that if he boards the Constellation when it arrives, he’ll either kill innocent people or be killed himself. Sisko wonders if the boy will let him come back. Odo doesn’t think he could injure a changeling.
Sisko says he’ll tell the Constellation that he couldn’t stop them from leaving without killing the boy. They won’t like that answer, but it’ll be true. The other security people appear behind him. Sisko calls O’Brien and tells him to release the security fields around the airlock. O’Brien agrees. Sisko says he’ll see Odo when he returns, and then he and the security people leave.
The kid says that Sisko was afraid of him. Odo says he was trying to do what’s best for him. The boy says that Sisko isn’t his friend, he’s his enemy. And now he knows anyone not a Jem’Hadar is his enemy. Odo asks if that includes him. The kid doesn’t answer but heads out.
Sisko updates the station log to say that Starfleet is disappointed in the missed opportunity to learn more about the Jem’Hadar. However, with the boy gone life on the station has returned to normal.
On the promenade, Jake and Mardah walk together, giggling. Above them, O’Brien and Sisko start to have a technical talk and then notice the lovebirds. O’Brien says he thought Sisko was going to stop that.
Jake is wearing a better shirt which looks like it’s too big for him. Mardah is wearing the dabo dress. Her hair reminds me of Marie Antoinette.
Sisko says he was but things came up he didn’t expect. O’Brien asks if he got to know the girl. He says no, he got to know Jake better. Have you played dom-jot with him? No, O’Brien says. “Don’t,” Sisko advises.
Below, Kira is sitting at a table in the replimat looking over a pad and having a drink and Odo comes up. He has a seat and says she was right about the boy.
Stray Thoughts:
* I wish this episode had come up last week, because it’s a really good Odo episode. I love how in the beginning he seems to be getting more comfortable with himself. He’s less stiff. He’s embracing his changeling self and sharing that with Kira. And then later on he works really hard at essentially parenting the kid. René Auberjonois did a great job with the subtle emotions here – Odo doesn’t really make a lot of impassioned speeches, but you can still really feel his struggles and frustrations at not getting through to the kid.
* I thought for sure this would end with the kid dying, so that was a nice surprise.
* Aside from the Odo stuff, the episode kind of dragged a little for me. The dinner with Mardah was a great bit of awkwardness, but it’s still kind of weird that Jake, a 16 year old, is dating a 20 year old woman. Even if there’s no age of consent or legal adult age here (or concept of same on Bajor) – which I don’t know how there couldn’t be without massive amounts of abuse – Jake is still essentially a kid. At 16, boys aren’t done developing yet. I’m far less disturbed by her job than by her age. Four years isn’t a huge difference when you’re both adults – but he’s not an adult yet. If I were his parents, I’d shut this down. Meet up with her again when you’re 18 if you want, but right now, no.
* Sorry for the delay in today’s posting. I’d like to promise that next week will be on time, but given the holidays, it’s more likely that there won’t be a post at all. You might be surprised and find one, but in the more likely event that I don’t, Happy Christmas/Hannukah/random Wednesday in December to all of you, and thanks for reading. Things should be back to normal the following week
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