Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine
Episode
Particulars: S1EP8, “The Passenger”
Standalone
Thoughts: Normally, I try to keep things relatively oblique in these
writeups. I want people to enjoy the show for themselves, so I keep the denouement
hidden so that there can be some surprises
left. However, the way this episode plays out makes it all but impossible to
avoid spoiling things. So if you’re wanting to check this show out for
yourself, skip down to the next piece of bold text.
*Extra line just in case…*
All right then…if you are at all savvy with sci-fi tropes,
you’ll figure out what’s happening even before the opening credits. The minute
Vantika grabs Bashir’s face and whispers “Make me live!”, before immediately
dropping dead, it’s all but guaranteed that we’re dealing with a possession
situation. When Kajada reveals that Vantika has spent a long time finding ways
to prolong his life, it becomes even more blatant. And yet the episode tries in
vain to make the reveal a surprise, trying to set up red herrings in the form
of both Kajada and Primmin. Not only does it not work, but they accidentally
make the situation worse at one point. In an attempt to build suspense, Quark
has a run-in with Vantika, who wears gloves, speaks in a whisper, and keeps his
face hidden. Once he’s done talking, he shoves Quark away…and for several
seconds, you can see Bashir’s face. While this is particularly apparent if you
slow down the video, I noticed it immediately upon my first viewing at normal
speed. If you hadn’t figured it out before, there’s a good chance you’ll have
it ruined for you then. Though I suppose I have to give the filmmakers credit
for actually having Siddig do the part instead of an extra.
Speaking of Siddig and Bashir…I mentioned before that
Bashir was my DS9 crush, but he
doesn’t make it easy for me in these early episodes. He was relatively ok in
earlier episodes, when he came across as awkward but enthusiastic. Sure, he
sometimes crossed the line into “how did you pass your medical exams?”, but at
least he seemed to mean well. Then he turned into a playboy in “Q-Less”, and I
thought that was weird. This episode gives him an ego, and it is painful to
watch. The opening scene had me staring in disbelief at how obliviously smug he
was, especially since we haven’t seen this from him before. It’s kind of
mind-boggling how the writers have been able to keep most of the other
characters fairly consistent, and yet are all over the map with Bashir. What
exactly were they wrestling with?
Now, an argument could be made that Bashir’s smugness
from the beginning was a “pride goeth before a fall” situation, and that
getting possessed would take him down a peg. But there’s not a lot of evidence
of that at the end of the episode, though he’s not as egotistical, either.
There’s a lot you could do with this, but unless there’s some follow up in
later episodes (which I don’t think happens), it’s mostly a missed opportunity.
Oh, and the icing on the cake to all this? When the episode finally makes it
official that Bashir is possessed, Siddig tries his best to differentiate
Bashir’s voice from Vantika’s. However, in practice, it’s just him over-enunciating
his words and talking very slowly. Occasionally, a line will have some genuine
menace to it, but mostly it just sounds stilted. So if you’re a Bashir fan,
this episode is going to hurt. A lot.
Yet while the main plot is predictable, the character
work for pretty much everyone besides Bashir is amazing. Odo gets more
development here than he did in “A Man Alone”, coming across as prickly and
defensive of “his” territory, and blunt to the point of rudeness. Quark really
shows his amoral nature by knowingly hiring mercenaries to hijack the deuridium
shipment, but also gets a scene that reminds us why we like him (he cleans the
floor of the bar at night to try to find anything of value that might have been
dropped so he can pocket it for himself). Sisko’s firm-but-fair leadership
style shines through loud and clear, especially in two separate confrontations
with Primmin and Odo. Even Dax gets a hint of development when Odo points out
that she prefers to sit and eat alone. So while this is an episode that you
could probably skip if you only wanted to see the essential episodes, you’d
miss out on a lot of great material. Since this happened somewhat in “A Man
Alone” as well, I’m starting to think I should use the shorthand “Early DS9; great with characters, not so great
with individual plots.”
How it Relates to
the Whole: Nothing of major note happens here. Like I said, we get more
character development for Dax and Odo, and it will be interesting to see them
grow and change (Dax in particular does a complete 180 on some of the stances
she holds now, as far as I can recall). We also see that it’s not just Bashir
who has the hots for Dax—it was slightly hinted at in the previous episode, but
now it’s confirmed that Quark is attracted to her too. This won’t have a
long-lasting impact on the show, but it is relevant for a while, and thus worth
noting here. As for Bashir…well, I’ll have to keep an eye on the situation and
let you know when things finally seem to have settled down with him.
Other: *The
entire opening discussion between Kira and Bashir is bizarre. I eventually
figured out that Bashir managed to rescue a patient who was presumed dead
because he spotted something no one else did, but the dialogue doesn’t do a
great job of conveying this. When it’s not technobabble, it’s lines like
“Tricorders [are] very accurate with live people, not so accurate with dead
ones”, which just leaves you scratching your head on a first listen. Coupled
with Bashir’s smugness, it’s not a very promising beginning.
*When Kira and Bashir get onto the damaged ship, they
spend almost fifteen seconds standing around scanning the area and reporting
their findings. This is normal Trek behavior…except
that a) Bashir declares they only have ten minutes of oxygen left, and they’re
already coughing, and b) there’s alarms blaring and smoke and fire everywhere.
Couldn’t you two, I don’t know, be moving
forward while you’re running your scans?
*Credit where credit is due; Primmin’s character does a
great turnaround. He starts off as a pompous guy who tries to exert his
authority, but after a talking-to, he approaches Odo and seems genuinely
apologetic. It’s fast, but believable, and I like that. And on a related note…
Best
Line/Exchange: Odo gets a good semi-sarcastic retort (“What kind of fool
are you?”/“My own special variety”), but I have to give it to this bit;
(After butting
heads with Odo…)
Primmin: It’s
not the way they taught us at the Academy, is it, sir? If you want my opinion…
Sisko: Actually,
I don’t. You and I are guests of the Bajorans, Lieutenant. You don’t have to
forget what you learned at the Academy, you just don’t throw it in anyone’s
face here. If you’re really smart, you might even learn a few new things about
station security from our Constable. Clear?
Sisko’s mini-speech here perfectly encapsulates what the
show will later become; something that respects its history but is perfectly
willing to do its own thing. And even if the crew didn’t know that’s what
they’d be doing, I appreciate the little glimpse of what’s to come.
After the Fact Update:
The DS9 Companion confirms that
the original intent was to make Bashir arrogant and a bit full of himself, with
him gradually growing into a better person as the show went on. It’s good to
know that, although it doesn’t seem like they were always highly successful at
conveying that idea. The Companion also
reports that the audience feedback for Bashir was very negative in the first
season. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I can very much understand why.
No comments:
Post a Comment