Review and Random Thoughts: "Emissary"

[prelocandkanar]

After giving myself a few years’ hiatus, I’ve begun re-watching DS9. I’d like to post reviews as I go, but I’m not sure that I’ll manage fully-structured, detailed reviews. They may be more like reactions or random thoughts. Take this one, on….

“Emissary”

Comments

[syredronning]

The place has been wrecked by the Cardassians when they left, so it really looks like, well, let’s say it needs work. Sisko doesn’t want to be there. Jake doesn’t want to be there. Quark wants to leave. Kira wishes the Federation would leave. Odo wishes everyone would leave.

YES. Wonderful comment on this episode *hearts DS9*

The Sisko-Picard is really painful but great, and Dukat is really perfect from the first moment on. Oh, and Garak. And Kira. Awww. Must-watch-again.

[sophia_gratia]

{via ds9agogo}

Yay! Okay if I friend you so that I can keep up with these?

I love the anecdote about boob-costuming in TOS - I didn't know that. And now I understand so much better why Dabo girls' costumes are off the wall as they are. (Still, when I first started watching DS9 and didn't know that Leeta would come along to be a fully-developed character, all my feminist instincts kicked in and railed against the gratuitousness of those same costumes - it's only retrospectively that I can truly appreciate them.)

Do Universal Translators do metaphors? (Rhetorical question - of course, I’ve seen “Darmak.”)*snort* I've always wanted to write a crackfic about all the ways the UTs could malfunction, but haven't gotten up the energy for it

[prelocandkanar]

Oh, yes -- I don't know how I failed to mention that "wilderness" scene. It's brilliant. (The writing in this show is just amazing, isn't it? So many quotable lines

[sophia_gratia]

I've been meaning to write something for a while on Kira and emotion - it's a rare thing for a woman in science fiction (or just fiction generally, in any medium or genre) to be both very tough and very emotional. And unproblematically emotional, too - the show generally casts Kira's capacity to feel strongly and to let strong feeling show without compunction in a positive light, and it's something the other characters admire about her, something for which she's respected. Okay, forget fiction, that's rare enough in real life. ... But before this comment becomes a disquisition, I'll just promise the longer version at a later date.

Dabo boys would be incredible. (I kind of love a mid-series Jake who decides to rile his dad by taking a turn as one for a while. Yes. Yes, I love that.)

Bashir took a LONG time to grow on me, but he did indeed - I think I came around to him at about the same pace as O'Brien did, now that I think of it. And now when I rewatch early episodes I just want to pat his adorably naïve little head.

[roseandheather]

Oh, DS9. There are several damn good reasons why it's my favorite Trek show. (Let's forget the fact that most of them are named "Kira", ok?)

And I am so, so glad to find someone who agrees with me about Avery Brooks! While DS9 is my favorite show, he's my least favorite Captain, and you quite neatly summed up why. At least Shatner had a good excuse - backstory is that he was trying to remember lines he'd just been given minutes before, and then had to rush to fit them in - Brooks doesn't.

On the other hand, Kira makes up for all of that, and then some.

I definitely look forward to more!!!

[prelocandkanar]

Thanks!

Brooks has his moments (mostly due to the amazing writing). His scenes with Jake tend to be the most real and appreciated.

But Kira is made of awesome. As a character she rocks, and I think Nana hits all the right notes. I can't wait to write more about her.

[jolinar_rosha]

wow, love your analysis of the episode! Haven't seen any S1-3 eps in so many years... I remember all the things you mention, but as general events only - I sadly can't remember specific character expressions, but your review brought some of them back. :D

I came across Emissary on tv by accident. It wasn't from the beginning of the episode (though I watched the full thing later on). So I'm going through channels, and the first thing I saw was the scene with Dukat. I'd only seen a little bit of TNG then, and I'd never seen a Cardassian before.

I was mesmerized by this oh-so-strange alien species, that looked so strangely reptilian and so menacing and so AWESOME (I have no other english word that fits). And I got that the particular character was, apparently, a villain - but he was just so amazing.

So, I guess, I owe my love for DS9 to Dukat. How's that for funny? :P

[prelocandkanar]

Oh, Cardassians are such excellent villains, and Dukat is the best of the best. Physically, they're superb. (Andrew Robinson said that he had no idea how to play his character, until he wore the make-up for the first time. As soon as he saw himself in the mirror as a Cardassian, he said, he knew who his character was.)

Dukat is the perfect villian. He's so nuanced. He's slimy and oily, yet when he speaks, he can be so reasonable and so sincere --until he turns around and does something so despicable! But he really loves *his* Bajorans, and it just tears his heart that they don't appreciate all he's done for them!

He's arrogant and elegant and so pleased with himself. He's just puzzled that others aren't as in love with him as he is!

I adore Dukat. Can't wait to delve more into him.

[jenexell]

This is brilliant. You must keep this up. I recently started watching all the eps again, (i do it about once a year) and you sum up my feelings on this episode to the T.

Your comments about Avery Brooks made me chuckle. He does get better as the show goes on (acting wise) and I like him better than Janeyway (someone please give that woman a throat sweet) but he's certainly no picard. and speaking of, you're right about their scenes together, brilliant to see someone not worshipping at the alter of the picard, unfortunately putting Avery Brooks in the same scene as Patrick Stewart only emphasis the vast difference in acting skill. Oh well.

Can't wait to see what you say about Past Prologue. Its one of my fave eps.

[prelocandkanar]

Past Prologue is one of my favorites, as well. If nothing else, for that amazing first scene between Bashir and Garak!

Brooks is kind of a hoot. He does often do a good job... except when he doesn't. *smirk* Still, I do like that he's not a Picard wanna-be; that he is a distinct person. And I can't ignore that I love that a person of color is in the head honcho's chair. (What would it have been like with Will Smith...?? Wow... that's an entirely different show.)

Thanks for the props!

[jenexell]

It occurs to me now you say someone of colour in the head honchos chair, that DS9 did more to mix things up than any show except TOS (which lets face it, having a Russian, a black woman, a Japanese man and an alien on the bridge in its time was seriously pushing the limits of a lot of people's tolerances