Deep Space Nine 5.16, 5.17, 5.18
I think it’s interesting that “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” comes right on the heels of the changeling reveal. We learn a great deal about the good doctor in this season, and all of it rather unexpected. But I’ve got to say, I still think Julian’s got the best retro-continuity of any character twists in all of the Trek franchise. 'No. You used to be my father. Now you're my architect, a man who designed a better son, to replace the defective one he was given. Well your design has a built-in flaw. It's illegal.''> I find it fun to see Schmullis, or rather the actual Dr. Zimmerman, in yellow instead of blue. And I like that he’s the driver of the action for both Bashir’s coming out as genetically enhanced as well as Leeta and Rom finally getting together as a couple. Boy, Leeta sure does like smart guys, doesn’t she? She’s got a total lady boner for brains. That’s a fun bit of character continuity I don’t think I’ve ever noticed before. I also like the casting for Richard and Amsha Bashir. They are very believable to me as proud parents that just wanted to do what they felt to be right for their child, regardless of the consequences. But then to have Richard also be a failure in his own career choices, sort of living vicariously through his now successful son, just makes his final decision to go to jail that much more powerful. But honestly, Federation penal colony? On New Zealand? Ooh, how rough. Yeah, I don’t buy that it’s going to be that tough of a sacrifice.
I like “A Simple Investigation”. Deep Space Nine has done a lot of different takes on noir and they all seem to focus on a slightly different classic trope. This is definitely the one where the femme fatale and the PI fall for each other. I like that Odo is so clueless about seduction in general or as an investigation technique. I like that this is taking place after Odo has returned to his natural shapeshifting state, instead of while he was still solid. I like the shady stuff going on with data ports and the Orion Syndicate. We’re definitely getting more mafia mentions in the back half of the series. I’m curious why that element was introduced where there are already so many moving parts with the whole Dominion war arc. And it was utterly heartbreaking for Odo to finally let his guard down for this woman and then it turns out she was undercover so completely that she’s not even the same personality he opened up for.
I also like how this twists the Odo/Kira romance slightly. Odo is apparently over the major but she seems to show a bit of jealousy over his relationship with Arissa. It puts them on slightly more even footing, instead of Odo always being the one that’s pining.
“Business as Usual” is where we finally meet Quark’s oft-discussed cousin Gaila. Of course we also learn that the reason he’s successful enough to have a small moon is due to his complete lack of scruples. And, well, Quark has a conscience. I found myself slightly distracted throughout this one by the various guest villains. Hagath, of course, is Victor Maitland. (I would have loved some sly reference to Axel Foley or something.) And the Regent was Joe from Reservoir Dogs. I did like that they used the holodeck as a gun-running loophole and it was fun to see Quark play the two sides off each other in the end.
I do kind of like the subplot with Kirayoshi crying unless being held by his father. Babies are weird like that. It cracked me up to see Miles taking his son to work. You get to be quite adept at doing anything one-handed when you’re a parent. And I also liked the quick interaction between Worf and Miles. It seems that O’Brien’s the one that always calls him out on being a deadbeat dad so it was nice to see that Worf was wistful about missing out on some aspect of Alexander’s childhood. But really, this one was rather slight over all.
I like “A Simple Investigation”. Deep Space Nine has done a lot of different takes on noir and they all seem to focus on a slightly different classic trope. This is definitely the one where the femme fatale and the PI fall for each other. I like that Odo is so clueless about seduction in general or as an investigation technique. I like that this is taking place after Odo has returned to his natural shapeshifting state, instead of while he was still solid. I like the shady stuff going on with data ports and the Orion Syndicate. We’re definitely getting more mafia mentions in the back half of the series. I’m curious why that element was introduced where there are already so many moving parts with the whole Dominion war arc. And it was utterly heartbreaking for Odo to finally let his guard down for this woman and then it turns out she was undercover so completely that she’s not even the same personality he opened up for.
I also like how this twists the Odo/Kira romance slightly. Odo is apparently over the major but she seems to show a bit of jealousy over his relationship with Arissa. It puts them on slightly more even footing, instead of Odo always being the one that’s pining.
“Business as Usual” is where we finally meet Quark’s oft-discussed cousin Gaila. Of course we also learn that the reason he’s successful enough to have a small moon is due to his complete lack of scruples. And, well, Quark has a conscience. I found myself slightly distracted throughout this one by the various guest villains. Hagath, of course, is Victor Maitland. (I would have loved some sly reference to Axel Foley or something.) And the Regent was Joe from Reservoir Dogs. I did like that they used the holodeck as a gun-running loophole and it was fun to see Quark play the two sides off each other in the end.
I do kind of like the subplot with Kirayoshi crying unless being held by his father. Babies are weird like that. It cracked me up to see Miles taking his son to work. You get to be quite adept at doing anything one-handed when you’re a parent. And I also liked the quick interaction between Worf and Miles. It seems that O’Brien’s the one that always calls him out on being a deadbeat dad so it was nice to see that Worf was wistful about missing out on some aspect of Alexander’s childhood. But really, this one was rather slight over all.