DS9 5x05-12
Jul. 19th, 2010 03:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kindkitI've actually seen through 5x17 (more reviews soon), but please don't spoil me for any developments, even minor ones, beyond that. Thanks!
5x05, "The Assignment"
A pretty good episode with a great performance from Rosalind Chao. I wish the Pah-wraith mythos hadn't been quite so Christian, though.
Incidentally, what the hell was Bashir doing watering the plants in the O'Briens' quarters? I'm now convinced that he moves in temporarily whenever Keiko isn't around.
5x06, "Trials and Tribble-ations"
This is the one episode of DS9 that I'd seen before--it was recommended to me last year after I watched "The Trouble With Tribbles" for the first time. I liked it a lot the first time, and it's even more fun now that I know who all these characters are!
5x07, "Let He Who Is Without Sin"
It's sort of painful to spend 90% of an episode wanting to hit one of the lead characters with a club. Worf, you are a jackass. Props to Jadzia Dax for not putting up with his bullshit ("There are things you can't control. One of them is me.") but I was actually kind of freaked out by Worf's controlling behavior and his tendency to blame Jadzia for everything, because it pinged my "this guy is going to become abusive" alarms.
There were a few Worf moments I liked, such as him telling Bashir, "Do not hug me!" and him eyeing the little gold Speedo that Jadzia had apparently packed for him. He's funny when he's the fish-out-of-water, not so funny when he's domineering. And the Patented Tragic BackstoryTM did not in any way excuse his attitude. Hopefully, seeing what can come of that sort of inflexibility and puritanism will make him think.
I'm trying to decide whether Jadzia can be called canonically bisexual or not. Worf was jealous of her history (as Curzon) with Arandis and clearly saw potential for the two of them to become lovers again. Plus, the implication seemed to be that if Jadzia didn't take up with Arandis it was because of her commitment to Worf, not because she didn't still find Arandis attractive. So . . . she's canonically bisexual in every respect except having it explicitly stated. And I do think that statement, that acknowledgement, is important. And it's a problem that we only see Jadzia's bisexuality in the form of attractions she doesn't act on, while all her actual relationships and liaisons are with men. On the other hand, it's impossible to describe Jadzia as straight when there's plenty of canonical evidence that she's sometimes attracted to women. Which sounds like "canonically bisexual" to me. (Also: so Curzon Dax and Sisko went to Risa together, hmmm . . .?)
It is just like the Bajorans to have a ceremony for breaking up a relationship. And wow, am I glad to see this one break up. Leeta's little-girl cutesiness gets on my nerves SO MUCH. I know she's supposed to be smart under the mannerisms, but the mannerisms are annoying. She doesn't strike me as Bashir's type at all (she and Rom are a much better match), but then Bashir is odd about women.
Other things: Starfleet uniforms are fairly hideous in my opinion, but not half so hideous as the clothes these characters wear when out of uniform. THE COLORS BURN MY EYES. But on a more cheerful note, Morn had a date, which was sweet, and Odo laughed at a joke in a completely non-sarcastic way, which was also sweet.
5x08, "Things Past"
I'd been wondering how Odo managed to work for the Cardassians and not end up with blood on his hands. Now I've got the answer: he didn't.
Presumably this is the episode that makes people argue over whether Odo is a fascist. My vote is no. Or rather, up to the execution of the three falsely accused men, he may have been in a sense, because he was so obsessed with the rule of law that it didn't occur to him to care whether the law was just. Afterwards, he began to care; that's why he's so ashamed of what happened that he tries to block it out of his memory.
Kira's reaction to what she learns was brilliantly done, especially the betrayal she feels even though intellectually she understands that, as she says, "the truth is that anyone who lived through the occupation had to get a little dirty." The final shot of the episode, with her and Odo standing at a distance and Odo looking down in shame, is heartbreaking.
The way Garak is written in this episode isn't plausible, I think. I'm willing to believe that he has racist attitudes towards the Bajorans (for one thing, all Cardassians seem to), but I don't think they'd take such a crude form as "the occupation benefitted Bajor!" and "servile work is in their nature." Garak is too smart and too cynical to be such a stupid bigot, especially given he's been living among Bajorans on DS9 for years. I can see why the writers wanted someone in the episode to play the role of colonial apologist, but it would've worked better if written more subtly.
And then there's Dukat, the sleazeball. Him, I absolutely believe in the role of self-satisfied "benevolent master," describing the people he oppresses and exploits as his "children" and the women he sexually abuses as his friends. He reminded me strongly of the Amon Goth character in Schindler's List; I wonder if the writers had that in mind.
5x09, "The Ascent"
Fizzbin!
And lovely Odo-Quark friendship. Probably my favorite moment was Quark saying, as he bundles Odo onto the travois, "I'm not trying to rescue you. I'm taking you along as emergency rations." It's probably quite true--I can believe that Quark would've eaten Odo if he'd died--and yet not the real truth at all. It's so typical of their relationship.
5x10, "Rapture"
A bit of a yawner except for the spiffy new uniforms: now 90% less polyester-looking! And the grey-on-black with the color-coded shirt underneath looks much nicer than the old bright colors on black.
The redemption of Kai Winn didn't work for me at all. However courageous she may have been about herfanaticism religion in the Cardassian prison camp, it doesn't change the fact that in order to further her ambitions she's engineered at least one murder and nearly dragged Bajor into a civil war.
I'm indifferent to the return of Kassidy Yates, although it's interesting that Starfleet apparently doesn't object to one of its captains having a romance with a convicted Maquis smuggler.
5x11, "The Darkness and the
Light"
Go, Kira! It was nice to see her having the courage of her convictions, and I found her attitude here much more plausible (and interesting) than her occasional bouts of guilt.
Crazy!Cardassian guy was maybe a little too Silence of the Lambs, but it certainly created a scary atmosphere.
5x12, "The Begotten"
What the hell? What was supposed to be the point of turning Odo back into a shapeshifter just half a season after he was made human? Plus I still don't see what the point of turning him human was in the first place (er, I get it from a Watsonian perspective--the Founders trying to punish Odo--but from a Doylist perspective it looks like a stunt, a "shocking twist" to raise ratings, and whose consequences for the character were never properly elaborated).
And because I found the storytelling clumsy, I started to notice plotholes. How on earth does the baby Changeling merge with Odo and give him his abilities back? And what's happened to Odo's physiology? Has he completely reverted? (I see from later episodes that he apparently has, but wow, does that ever not make sense.)
Apart from the Big Plot Twist, this felt like the exact same episode as "The Alternate," especially the trajectory of the Mora-Odo relationship. The show seems to have no idea what to do with Odo anymore, which is a shame because he's such a wonderful character, with so many more possibilities than the same old angst trotted out over and over.
It was nice to see Kira and Odo get their friendship back, though.
5x05, "The Assignment"
A pretty good episode with a great performance from Rosalind Chao. I wish the Pah-wraith mythos hadn't been quite so Christian, though.
Incidentally, what the hell was Bashir doing watering the plants in the O'Briens' quarters? I'm now convinced that he moves in temporarily whenever Keiko isn't around.
5x06, "Trials and Tribble-ations"
This is the one episode of DS9 that I'd seen before--it was recommended to me last year after I watched "The Trouble With Tribbles" for the first time. I liked it a lot the first time, and it's even more fun now that I know who all these characters are!
5x07, "Let He Who Is Without Sin"
It's sort of painful to spend 90% of an episode wanting to hit one of the lead characters with a club. Worf, you are a jackass. Props to Jadzia Dax for not putting up with his bullshit ("There are things you can't control. One of them is me.") but I was actually kind of freaked out by Worf's controlling behavior and his tendency to blame Jadzia for everything, because it pinged my "this guy is going to become abusive" alarms.
There were a few Worf moments I liked, such as him telling Bashir, "Do not hug me!" and him eyeing the little gold Speedo that Jadzia had apparently packed for him. He's funny when he's the fish-out-of-water, not so funny when he's domineering. And the Patented Tragic BackstoryTM did not in any way excuse his attitude. Hopefully, seeing what can come of that sort of inflexibility and puritanism will make him think.
I'm trying to decide whether Jadzia can be called canonically bisexual or not. Worf was jealous of her history (as Curzon) with Arandis and clearly saw potential for the two of them to become lovers again. Plus, the implication seemed to be that if Jadzia didn't take up with Arandis it was because of her commitment to Worf, not because she didn't still find Arandis attractive. So . . . she's canonically bisexual in every respect except having it explicitly stated. And I do think that statement, that acknowledgement, is important. And it's a problem that we only see Jadzia's bisexuality in the form of attractions she doesn't act on, while all her actual relationships and liaisons are with men. On the other hand, it's impossible to describe Jadzia as straight when there's plenty of canonical evidence that she's sometimes attracted to women. Which sounds like "canonically bisexual" to me. (Also: so Curzon Dax and Sisko went to Risa together, hmmm . . .?)
It is just like the Bajorans to have a ceremony for breaking up a relationship. And wow, am I glad to see this one break up. Leeta's little-girl cutesiness gets on my nerves SO MUCH. I know she's supposed to be smart under the mannerisms, but the mannerisms are annoying. She doesn't strike me as Bashir's type at all (she and Rom are a much better match), but then Bashir is odd about women.
Other things: Starfleet uniforms are fairly hideous in my opinion, but not half so hideous as the clothes these characters wear when out of uniform. THE COLORS BURN MY EYES. But on a more cheerful note, Morn had a date, which was sweet, and Odo laughed at a joke in a completely non-sarcastic way, which was also sweet.
5x08, "Things Past"
I'd been wondering how Odo managed to work for the Cardassians and not end up with blood on his hands. Now I've got the answer: he didn't.
Presumably this is the episode that makes people argue over whether Odo is a fascist. My vote is no. Or rather, up to the execution of the three falsely accused men, he may have been in a sense, because he was so obsessed with the rule of law that it didn't occur to him to care whether the law was just. Afterwards, he began to care; that's why he's so ashamed of what happened that he tries to block it out of his memory.
Kira's reaction to what she learns was brilliantly done, especially the betrayal she feels even though intellectually she understands that, as she says, "the truth is that anyone who lived through the occupation had to get a little dirty." The final shot of the episode, with her and Odo standing at a distance and Odo looking down in shame, is heartbreaking.
The way Garak is written in this episode isn't plausible, I think. I'm willing to believe that he has racist attitudes towards the Bajorans (for one thing, all Cardassians seem to), but I don't think they'd take such a crude form as "the occupation benefitted Bajor!" and "servile work is in their nature." Garak is too smart and too cynical to be such a stupid bigot, especially given he's been living among Bajorans on DS9 for years. I can see why the writers wanted someone in the episode to play the role of colonial apologist, but it would've worked better if written more subtly.
And then there's Dukat, the sleazeball. Him, I absolutely believe in the role of self-satisfied "benevolent master," describing the people he oppresses and exploits as his "children" and the women he sexually abuses as his friends. He reminded me strongly of the Amon Goth character in Schindler's List; I wonder if the writers had that in mind.
5x09, "The Ascent"
Fizzbin!
And lovely Odo-Quark friendship. Probably my favorite moment was Quark saying, as he bundles Odo onto the travois, "I'm not trying to rescue you. I'm taking you along as emergency rations." It's probably quite true--I can believe that Quark would've eaten Odo if he'd died--and yet not the real truth at all. It's so typical of their relationship.
5x10, "Rapture"
A bit of a yawner except for the spiffy new uniforms: now 90% less polyester-looking! And the grey-on-black with the color-coded shirt underneath looks much nicer than the old bright colors on black.
The redemption of Kai Winn didn't work for me at all. However courageous she may have been about her
I'm indifferent to the return of Kassidy Yates, although it's interesting that Starfleet apparently doesn't object to one of its captains having a romance with a convicted Maquis smuggler.
5x11, "The Darkness and the
Light"
Go, Kira! It was nice to see her having the courage of her convictions, and I found her attitude here much more plausible (and interesting) than her occasional bouts of guilt.
Crazy!Cardassian guy was maybe a little too Silence of the Lambs, but it certainly created a scary atmosphere.
5x12, "The Begotten"
What the hell? What was supposed to be the point of turning Odo back into a shapeshifter just half a season after he was made human? Plus I still don't see what the point of turning him human was in the first place (er, I get it from a Watsonian perspective--the Founders trying to punish Odo--but from a Doylist perspective it looks like a stunt, a "shocking twist" to raise ratings, and whose consequences for the character were never properly elaborated).
And because I found the storytelling clumsy, I started to notice plotholes. How on earth does the baby Changeling merge with Odo and give him his abilities back? And what's happened to Odo's physiology? Has he completely reverted? (I see from later episodes that he apparently has, but wow, does that ever not make sense.)
Apart from the Big Plot Twist, this felt like the exact same episode as "The Alternate," especially the trajectory of the Mora-Odo relationship. The show seems to have no idea what to do with Odo anymore, which is a shame because he's such a wonderful character, with so many more possibilities than the same old angst trotted out over and over.
It was nice to see Kira and Odo get their friendship back, though.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 04:48 pm (UTC)Now I can say what I wanted to say in an earlier post: Until you reviewed the episode in which Odo was turned human, I had totally forgotten that it happened. I guess the fact that it was undone so quickly may explain why. But once my memory was jogged, I remembered I found it implausible to start with and falling flat in its execution, so maybe it was just as well it was jettisoned fast.
Thinking more about the implausibility, I'm wondering: If the Founders could do this, completely change their physiology and change it back with relative ease, why have shape-shifting spies when they could undergo this process, thus avoiding the whole blood test pitfall? The spies wouldn't personally like it, but they'd make the sacrifice for the greater good of the Dominion or such, right?
no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 05:30 pm (UTC)I also really doubt they intended it to be as permanent as they said they did.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 07:07 pm (UTC)I don't think this is such a gaping inconsistency, actually. The Founders' ideology is presented repeatedly as "changelings rule, solids drool," to grossly oversimplify, and I don't really think we have to look any further than that for explanations why not.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 07:28 pm (UTC)Yeah. It's just frustrating that the show has this Big Thing happen, then there's virtually no follow-up, then it's all undone 12 episodes later. DS9 is weirdly erratic in its storytelling; sometimes there's wonderful continuity and actions/events have consequences other times . . . not. And emotional development for most characters has been pretty much over for a while, and instead we get retreads of the same ideas: Kira deals with the violence in her past, Odo struggles to make tentative connections to people, Dax's past lives influence her current self unduly, Sisko has to choose between Starfleet and his other loyalties. And I could happily accept those things as recurring themes, but the presentation isn't sufficiently varied.
why have shape-shifting spies when they could undergo this process
My theory is that the spies need to be able to access the Great Link to communicate with their higher-ups. And shapeshifting may be too useful an ability for a spy to give it up even if it causes some difficulties.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 08:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 07:41 pm (UTC)