Overall Rating: 6.8
Nice effort - the Kira/Odo thread has been quietly coming to a simmer for some time now, but this episode gives the shippers their first taste of a payoff - but...the execution doesn't feel quite right. I fear I'm going to have to place the blame on Renee Auberjonois (more on this later).
Plot Synopsis:
While quarreling over nonsense on a return trip from Prophet's Landing (a Bajoran colony near the Cardassian border), Kira and Odo pick up a distress call from a Lecepian transport ship under attack from a Maquis raider. They pursue the attacker to an M-class moon in the badlands, but when they arrive, there is no sign of the Maquis. There is, however, a strange crystal life form that ensnares Kira's foot and traps her in a seismically unstable cave. They try all the usual tricks to get her foot free of the crystal, but nothing works. Odo even goes to the runabout to try to beam her out of there but the moon's atmosphere jams their sensors and he can't get a lock. They're stuck - and ideas are running thin.
They waste a good day on the moon chasing the apparently ghost-like Maquis terrorist and attempting to fracture the crystal that has Kira's foot in a vice-grip before Odo begins to realize that there's no way she's going to be freed in time. The crystal slowly expands to consume the vast majority of her body and she with hope lost, she orders him to take the runabout and get off the moon while he still can. It's all very carefully engineered to extract the truth from him - and Odo finally confesses that he's in love with Kira and can't bare to abandon her. And this is where she screws up. She claims a similar love for Odo and Odo balks. He's observed no signs of this in her in the past and this is the final straw. He puts the pieces together and realizes it's a changeling! At gunpoint, the changeling admits to stashing Kira in a stasis chamber in the hopes of understanding why Odo would reject the Great Link for the company of solids. And now, she believes, she understands. Odo rescues Kira and they escape the moon - Odo keeping the truth about his encounter with the fake Kira from the real person.
Meanwhile, Nog approaches Sisko and offers him a bribe to write a letter of recommendation for him to be allowed to take the entrance exam and earn himself a spot in Starfleet Academy. The sudden change in ambition from the Ferengi troublemaker throws Sisko and his son for a loop, and the Ops crew finds various ways to test Nog's sincerity. Finally, Sisko rejects Nog's request because he's being evasive in his answers to personal questions Sisko asks about his reasons for this sudden interest and Nog tearfully admits that he doesn't want to end up a lobeless Ferengi businessman like his father Rom. This revelation convinces Sisko to give Nog a chance at his new found dream.
Writing: 8.5
We've got a pair of interesting, low key, plot developments that move some key characters forward in ways that I think are very positive...and some well crafted vignettes that could almost stand alone (I appreciate a good story within a story...it makes the characters and their universe seem that much richer). The only complaint I have is that the two plots aren't thematically tied together in any way that makes sense. They both nice plots on their own...but they lack cohesion. Still...several very nice highlight-worthy scenes are explicated below for your reading pleasure.
Acting: 5.0
I really hate to do it...but I have to pan Renee Auberjonois here. For this story to have been the big winner it deserved to be...perhaps even a feature-worthy piece to add to DS9's huge collection...it needed Odo to absolutely nail his scenes with Kira. We needed the emotion to have a big impact on us, especially during his declaration of love and subsequently heart-breaking realization that this wasn't Kira and that she might never feel the same way about him. What we got instead was some severely awkward and off-step acting in the key moments surrounded by a painful flatness and lack of creativity on his part. I don't know...maybe he was uncomfortable with the script or maybe he hadn't had much experience doing romantic scenes, but he just KILLED this episode for me. And that is a very...very rare thing. Nana Visitor did well with her half of the drama (including very creepily changing personality at the moment of the big changeling reveal and playing the raw emotion in a very heartfelt way), so it wasn't all bad. Unfortunately, Aron Eisenberg (Nog) was off his game as well. He played the over-eager thing way too goofily for a story that was supposed to have a touching and serious conclusion. This is a kid who's supposed to be maturing and it's coming across like he's emotionally about 11 years old. So the characters getting the biggest nudge forward both sort of sucked out on the acting front...not what you want.
Message: 7.0
I really like the side-plot on the message front. There is something very sweet about the way Nog defends his father's gifts and wishes to make good and prove something about people like him who cannot follow in the paths their cultures have laid out for them. The great thing about free societies (Ferenginar is not truly free for any number of major reasons...the Federation, acting as a stand-in for the ideals of the United States, demonstrates the value of the free exchange of ideas) is that they maximize a person's opportunity to make the most of their natural abilities. This is the way I actually view the "melting pot" concept. The way it is taught these days - everyone keeps their cultural identities and just co-exists and tolerates the rest - is not the way to build a city on a hill. Nog has to change...he has to shed some of his Ferengi customs and beliefs to be a Starfleet officer...and he will. He doesn't have to lose his individuality, but he has to bend a bit. That's the way it used to be in this country. You could come from anywhere in the world and be free and prosperous inside our borders, but we expected you to embrace the American way of life. I don't see that expectation anymore, and all that does is create cultural division, mistrust, and racism.
Highlights:
KIRA: Those new orbital sensors should give the colonists plenty of advance warning in case the Cardassians decide to violate the new treaty.
ODO: (disinterested) Hopefully.
KIRA: How did your meeting with Chief Vilmar go?
ODO: Fine.
KIRA: Was he properly impressed with the depth of your expertise?
ODO: Hurmph.
KIRA: Odo is something bothering you?
ODO: Why would you say that?
KIRA: Well for one thing, you haven't said five words to me since we left Prophet's Landing!
ODO: Hurmph.
KIRA: Odo, if I've done something to offend you, I wish you'd let me know what it is!
ODO: (long pause) It's not important.
KIRA: Fine.
ODO: Certainly not worth making an issue out of.
KIRA: (annoyed) Glad to hear it.
ODO: It's just...when Governor Eveste invited us to his home for dinner - you said no!
KIRA: So?
ODO: So! You never even consulted me!
KIRA: You wanted to go to Governor Eveste's house for dinner?
ODO: Not particularly.
KIRA: Well then what's the problem?
ODO: In the future, I would appreciate being included in decisions like these!
KIRA: Odo, you don't eat! Besides, you hate socializing with people you don't know!
ODO: Well be that as it may, I'd still prefer to be consulted.
KIRA: Fine...from now on, if we get invited somewhere for dinner, I'll make sure you're the one to say 'no.'
ODO: I'd appreciate that. (Kira breaks into quiet laughter - they already fight like a married couple...isn't it cute?)
ODO: I have an appointment with Chief O'Brien in the Holosuite.
KIRA: An appointment in a holosuite? Doing what?
ODO: Kayaking.
KIRA: Really? You?
ODO: Yes...I'm actually looking forward to kayaking again.
KIRA: Again? You mean you've done it before?
ODO: Twice. He invited me out of the blue and I accepted.
KIRA: (laughing) I'm sorry...I'm just having trouble imagining to two of you together in a boat.
ODO: Well if it helps, he's the one who does all the singing.
KIRA: (still chuckling) He sings?!
ODO: Ancient human sea shanties, mostly (LOL!). He says it's necessary to maintain proper cadence.
KIRA: I never pictured Chief O'Brien as the nautical type.
ODO: Next to his work and time with his family, shooting the rapids is his favorite activity. He's had the program since his time on the Enterprise.
KIRA: How long do these boat trips usually take?
ODO: That depends.
KIRA: On what?
ODO: On how often we capsize.
KIRA: That must be a very difficult program.
ODO: Oh, it is! (oddly excited by this) According to Chief O'Brien, he's dislocated his shoulder at least a half dozen times trying to make it down those rapids.
KIRA: Then why does he keep doing it?
ODO: Because he loves it! And it's been my observation that you...humanoids...have a hard time giving up the things you love. No matter how much they might hurt you. (heh...indeed)
KIRA: Just keep talking to me.
ODO: What do you want me to say?
KIRA: Anything, just...tell me a story.
ODO: A story...
KIRA: I know...tell me how you got your name.
ODO: My name...huh...now that you mention it, that is an amusing story.
KIRA: Tell it to me.
ODO: As you know, when Dr. Mora discovered me, his lab was under Cardassian jurisdiction. All specimens brought to the lab had to be clearly labeled in Cardassian so the overseers would always know what their scientists were working on. Since none of the Bajoran scientists knew exactly what I was, Dr. Mora labeled me "unknown sample," which the overseer translated into Cardassian as Odo'etal.
KIRA: So your name means unknown sample?
ODO: No...the word odo'etal literally means...nothing. Even after it became clear that I was sentient, the Bajoran scientists kept calling me that. As a joke, they split it into two words - like a Bajoran name - Odo Etal. Which eventually got shortened...
KIRA: To Odo...
ODO: (reacts to a tremor and tries to keep Kira from worrying about it by continuing his story) Now the thing is...whenever anyone called me by my name, the first thing I would think of was what it meant - nothing! What better way to describe me. I had no home, no family, no friends...I was alone. And then I met you. (Kira looks stunned - Odo quickly covers his little slip) You, and the others. Sisko, Dax, even Quark. And now, when one of you calls me by my name, I no longer think of myself as nothing. I think of myself...as me...Odo. (Kira dissolves into tears) I'm sorry, Major. I guess that story wasn't as amusing as I hoped it would be.
KIRA: No...I liked it very much. (beat) The ultrasonic generator isn't going to work, is it?
ODO: No...I'm afraid not.
KIRA: I don't suppose you have any other ideas?
ODO: I wish I had.
KIRA: Odo...you've done your best...it's time for you to go.
ODO: Go?
KIRA: This place is going to collapse any moment. The Maquis is probably dead from one of the cave ins. There's nothing more you can do for me.
ODO: You're asking me to leave...
KIRA: As your superior officer, I'm telling you...to take the runabout and get the hell off this moon. That's an order! (very sweet and well-crafted sequence here...I should be reacting more positively to it than I did...looking at the words in the script, I am more impressed than looking at the final presentation)
SISKO: I'm afraid I'm going to have to turn you down.
NOG: Why?!
SISKO: Come on, Nog. You and I both know you wouldn't last a year at the Academy. You don't have the discipline or the attitude to survive!
NOG: It's not true! I'm a hard worker! I proved that to you!
SISKO: I'm sorry, Nog! I'm not going to put my reputation on the line to satisfy some whim or yours.
NOG: It's not a whim. I'm serious about joining Starfleet.
SISKO: You're a Ferengi - why would you want to join Starfleet? There isn't any profit in it.
NOG: I don't care about profit!
SISKO: Then what do you care about?! Come on, damn it! Tell me! Why are you doing this?!
NOG: (beat) Because I don't want to end up like my father!
SISKO: You...father?
NOG: That's right. He's been chasing profit his whole life. And what has it gotten him? Nothing - and you know why? Because he doesn't have the lobes. And neither do I.
SISKO: And a Ferengi without profit...
NOG: Is no Ferengi at all.
SISKO: The eighteenth rule of acquisition.
NOG: My father...is a mechanical genius. He could have been Chief Engineer of a star ship if he'd had the opportunity. But he went into business like a good Ferengi. The only thing is, he's not a good Ferengi - not when it comes to acquiring profit. So now, the only thing he has to look forward to is the slim chance that some day, somehow, he might take over my uncle's bar. Well I'm not going to make the same mistake. I want to do something with my life! Something...worthwhile!
SISKO: Like joining Starfleet.
NOG: I may not have the lobes for business...but I have my father's hands and my uncle's tenacity. I know I've got something to offer! I just need the chance to prove it.
SISKO: Alright, I'll make sure you get that chance.
NOG: You mean you'll recommend me to Starfleet Academy?!
SISKO: I'll send the letter first thing in the morning.
NOG: Commander!! I don't know how to thank you!! (tries to hug Sisko, which is hilarious)
SISKO: Whoa whoa...don't thank me yet. You've still got a lot of work to do.
NOG: Don't worry, sir. You're never going to regret this! (they shake hands like gentlemen...this is a very sweet scene too)
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