Day 108: DS9, "The Begotten"

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S5EP12, “The Begotten”

 Summary: Kira’s finally going into labor with O’Brien’s baby, but they aren’t the only two characters dealing with impending parenthood; someone sold Quark a baby changeling, and Quark, naturally, sold it to Odo. Odo is immediately taken with the small lifeform and tries to connect with it, talking to it softly and encouraging it to shapeshift. However, the arrival of Dr. Mora, his old teacher/tormentor, makes things a little more difficult, especially since Odo has some issues with Mora he still hasn’t fully worked through. But since the Federation would really like to know more about changelings, Odo winds up accepting Mora’s help…which may be good for all of them in the long run.

Standalone Thoughts: This episode is really, really sweet. Even though in practice, it’s just Rene Auberjonois talking to a pile of goop, Auberjonois’ acting, combined with the music, really sells how invested Odo is in trying to help the baby changeling, and so we get invested too. In particular, the moment I took this review’s header from is incredibly heartwarming, mostly because of the look on Odo’s face. It’s just hard not to feel at least a little warm and fuzzy at some point in the episode.

This episode also does a much better job with the conflict between Odo and Mora than “The Alternate” did. Not only does it ignore “The Alternate” entirely (as I suspected at the time), but Odo has much more of a motivation to be snappish and lashing out at Mora, and Mora has more of a chance to tell his side of things, which in turn allows for better character and plot development. Sure, things get a little rushed at the end, but it’s handled lightly enough that it only becomes apparent after the fact.

As for Kira finally going into labor; it’s mixed. There are some good moments and nice worldbuilding, but the fact that Bashir winds up dropping out of the proceedings entirely is strange, and the sniping between O’Brien and Shakaar seems somewhat forced (especially since O’Brien seems to have gotten over his feelings from “Looking for par’Mach in all the Wrong Places”. I will, however, accept the argument that he’s just stressed because his son is close to being born.) That being said, it also leads to a lovely ending for the episode, which counts for a lot. So let’s just say that it’s a slightly weak part in a mostly strong episode, and consider the episode a great success.

How it Relates to the Whole: WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE. This episode finally lets Kira have “her” baby, which will allow her more freedom and the O’Briens something new to interact with, but more importantly, it gives Odo his shapeshifting powers back, which also opens up the plot potential. Sure, there’s not even much of a technobabble reason for how this managed to happen, but the result is a good scene and new possibilities for later down the line (I can safely say later events wouldn’t be possible if Odo wasn’t a shapeshifter again), so I find that acceptable.

Other: *Not much to report on today that isn’t tied into the main stories, but I do like the scene where Odo is trying to introduce the changeling to the idea of humanoids, at which point Worf comes up and says “Why are you talking to your beverage?” It’s a great humor beat, and could almost have qualified for Best Exchange. However, I was sure I could find something better, and as you can guess, I did.

Best Line/Exchange: There were a lot of sweet or funny moments in the episode, but the one that I think probably works best is this;

Quark: You’re in a good mood.

Odo (setting out bottles and glasses): Yes I am.

Quark: Which means you’re probably about to arrest me on some trumped up charge.

Odo (Pouring drinks): Not at all. I am buying you a drink.

Quark (looks stunned, approaches the bar and sits down cautiously): Why?

Odo: Doctor Mora has gone to sleep and I (removes cap off another bottle) still feel like celebrating. (chuckles and pours drink)

Quark: What are you up to?

Odo: I am happy, Quark. Can’t you just accept that?

Quark: No. It doesn’t fit. If you’re happy, there’s something very wrong in the world. The center cannot hold.

Odo (finishes making the drinks): There we go!

Quark: I’ve got it. You’re getting back at me for selling you that sick Changeling.

Odo: Actually, I should thank you.

Quark: If you want the money back, just say so.

Odo: It changed my life. (lifts his glass) Here’s to you, Quark.

Quark (now looks completely bewildered): All right, all right, I confess! I don’t know what I did, but I did it. Just stop, I can’t take it anymore.

It’s got humor in Quark’s reaction, sweetness in Odo’s behavior, and some revealing of character through how Quark responds to this unexpected change in Odo’s mood. As exchanges go, you can’t get much better than this.