Day 13: DS9, The Storyteller

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S1EP13, “The Storyteller”

(As an aside, I should probably point out a slight discrepancy in my numbering system. As amusing as it is that Episode 13, generally an unlucky number, and April Fool's day coincide, it's not entirely accurate. Apparently, episodes that are two hours long actually count as two separate episodes by the syndicate, since they can show them in separate parts on TV, despite the fact that they initially air as one episode and are generally bundled in the DVD's as one episode. Thus, "Emissary" was actually  Episodes 1 and 2, and "The Storyteller" is technically Episode 14. However, as I find this a stupid way of doing things, I choose to number them as the average person would if they were just going by the DVD box. Fortunately, this will only be a problem in three seasons; things should be more straightforward most of the time)

Summary: O’Brien (reluctantly) accompanies Dr. Bashir down to a Bajoran village to tend to what sounds like a serious matter. It turns out that the Sirah (Kay. E. Kuter) is dying of old age, but the village needs him to drive back the Dal’Rok, a cloud creature that comes for five days every year to terrorize the village. To O’Brien’s astonishment, the Sirah chooses him as his successor, and now he needs to figure out what the actual situation with the Dal’Rok is, while convincing the village that he’s not the one they’re looking for. Meanwhile on DS9, Sisko is trying to mediate a land dispute between two Bajoran factions, one of which is led by Varis (Gina Philips), a stubborn teenager. When she’s not in the conference room, Varis winds up spending time with Nog and Jake, their outsiders perspective offering her a new way of looking at things. In both cases, it all comes down to unorthodox ways of doing things.

Standalone Thoughts: I liked this episode. Even though it’s juggling two plots that are completely unrelated to each other, both of them have elements that click just right. Jake and Nog really feel like young teenagers here, still interested in “kid” activities but also starting to be intrigued by the opposite sex while also having no idea how to handle that. It’s realistic and fun to watch (with the exception of a scene where Nog convinces Jake and Varis to help him steal Odo’s bucket, which is still realistic but also painful), and helps keep Varis from being unlikeable. Odo’s reactions to their antics are lovely too, stern where appropriate but also bantering with them in his own way. As for the main plot, it (no doubt deliberately) has some of the qualities of a fairy tale, and the sets and lighting do a lot to encourage that mood. If you like fairy tales like I do, that’s another pleasant element. The story itself is familiar, but the trappings make up for the tropes. The whole thing leaves me with a happy feeling, and that’s always a good thing to have in your show.

The character work is in good form, too. Jake and Nog I’ve already praised, but Colm Meaney gets good mileage out of O’Brien’s everyman status, and Sisko remains tough but fair. Above all, though, Bashir’s actually continuing to improve from last week. His first big scene is basically him being self-aware enough to admit that he’s a bit awkward, and making a genuine attempt to reach out to O’Brien. I believe him when he says that O’Brien’s opinion means a lot to him. Sure, he’s still not perfect, but it’s way better than what we saw in “The Passenger”. Maybe we’re finally getting somewhere.

(I know I keep going on about this, but in addition to my Bashir bias, it’s also the one element that’s noticeably rough around the edges. Once things finally settle down with him, I should hopefully have less to say on the matter.)

How it Relates to the Whole: While I’m pretty sure none of the main plot elements (Varis, the land dispute, the Dal’Rok situation) show up again, there is a little groundwork laid for future events. Specifically, the show is taking tentative steps in starting up the O’Brien/Bashir friendship. O’Brien still doesn’t seem like he’s all that fond of Bashir (his enunciation of “Julian” has a sharp, sarcastic edge to it, to the point where Bashir tells O’Brien to go back to calling him “sir”), but Bashir has made an overture, and they’ve proven they can work together reasonably well. There’s no obvious sign that the two of them are going to become friends, but the door has been left open, and we’ll just have to see how long it takes before the writers really do something with it.

Other: *Sisko’s line delivery in the pre-credits scene comes across as very disapproving, no matter who he’s talking to. I’m not sure if it’s because of good acting (Sisko’s about to head into a new and no doubt stressful situation), or if Avery Brooks wasn’t feeling well and it was reflected in his voice.

*The entire situation with the Dal’Rok, especially in the first sequence, feels like it’s either aping something from Shakespeare (it’s been a while since I read it, but King Lear would probably be the best comparison) or the Cecil B. DeMille Ten Commandments movie. Not that that’s a bad thing, just that it’s hard not to make that comparison.

*I mean absolutely no disrespect to Lawrence Monsoon, who plays the Sirah’s former apprentice, but his delivery in a lot of his scenes reminds me uncannily of Keanu Reeves. Which leads to mental associations that does distract slightly from the plot, but only slightly.

Best Line/Exchange: I almost went with O’Brien’s casual “You’ll get it.” when Bashir asked for an honest answer, but that’s more of a nice beat than a great line. So after a little thinking, I went with…

Nog: Maybe this isn’t a problem. Maybe it’s an opportunity.

Because unlike the exchange between Sisko and Varis later in the episode, this is actually a decent life lesson that is declared casually rather than profoundly. Granted, not every problem can be looked at as an opportunity, but it puts a different spin on things and might allow someone to look at their situation from a different perspective. Sometimes, you need all the encouragement you can get.