Overall Rating: 7.3
The script for this episode reads like two incomplete stories thrown together to fill an hour on the production schedule, but each story is actually surprisingly sweet and I admit to a bit of personal bias in favor of Jake-centric episodes, so that may be coloring my positive review. :)
Plot Synopsis:
The DS9 Encyclopedia has the details here.
The Skinny:
Two plots that feel more like "A" plots that just weren't long enough to fill an entire episode...the writers were attached to both plots...so they made this episode and gave it a title that really only represents one of those two plots. Usually, a show with two plots going at the same time works better if they both become related somehow...either by action or by theme. That didn't happen here, and there are other problems with this episode (for example, the hammy acting of Meg Foster (Jake's muse, Onaya). But on the whole, I find this one a personal favorite because I think both plots are gushing with pathos and that's enough for me.
First we have Jake struggling with the same desire that most artists (and scientists) feel at the start of their careers. He wants to create a lasting legacy before he is truly ready to do so. Mark Shapiro calls this the "put me in, coach!" syndrome in his book, "Dare to Prepare." The natural thirst for achievement...the deep desire to max out one's potential right away...can get us into trouble. I like that we are seeing Jake mature as the show goes along...mature and find his own voice - and I enjoy this story in particular because it reaches a part of me that I know exists in the writers of this series as well (always good to write about what you know, right?). When I'm at the start of a project, I imagine producing something truly remarkable just as Jake did...and there is a very big part of my mind that would gladly take great risks to see that just once, my imaginings became real. That's one of the things that makes humanity great - our biggest dreams and the lengths we'll go to in order to make them real.
While that story is going on, we've got the return of a very nice dynamic from the first season episode "The Foresaken." I always thought that Lwaxana and Odo worked well together and had a strange chemistry that, although never amouting to a vision of romantic love, always made me want to see them together in some way. Here, a vulnerable Lwaxana comes to Odo for his protection and he offers to marry her to protect her unborn child. I have to say...there's something very old fashioned and sweet about that. By the end, we get the very real sense that Odo and Lwaxana finally understand each other. I mean, there was always a little comic potential in watching Odo run screaming from her uber-advances. :) But I rather like the way they concluded that story both richer for their shared experiences. And each of them got to take turns caring for the other - feels rather symmetric, and I always was a fan of symmetry. It's just another example to me of DS9's tendency to approach romance and interpersonal relationships in a much more mature way than previous Trek incarnations.
Writing: 8.0
Renee Echevarria wrote this one...what a shocker! This guy is the MASTER of characterization and character-driven plots. And once again, his style fits very nicely with the stories being told here and leaves us feeling very satisfied. The dialogue is a little short on deep, meaningful moments, and I'm not a huge fan of throwing unrelated stories together into a disjointed single episode, but otherwise, this is well done.
Acting: 6.5
As I mentioned earlier, I was deeply unimpressed by Meg Foster, but this one doesn't go into the tank on the acting front because Rene Auberjonois and Majel Barrett interacted well together (though Michael Ansara did a less than stellar job as Jeyal).
Message: 7.5
Jake learns a valuable lesson in patience...the fine wine, the best crations take time to ferment in the mind and forcing them too quickly can have nasty consequences. Meanwhile, Odo's offer of real friendship comes from a lesson he himself has learned. He's found meaning in his life by those with whom he associates - including Lwaxana - and that's worth remembering for all of us.
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