Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine
Episode
Particulars: S3EP1, “The Search, Part 1”
Standalone Thoughts: This episode hits
the ground running and doesn’t stop. Character developments, finally addressing
dangling plot threads, a giant action scene in the last act—it’s like the
showrunners finally decided to get really serious. There’s some humor on
display (mostly related to Quark, as you might expect), but mostly, the episode
is very somber, complete with a lot of extremely dark moments as we near the
end of the episode. Granted, there’s a high likelihood that everything’s going
to turn out ok (given that this is both Part 1 and the first episode of a new
season), but it may still come as a surprise to first time viewers.
For all
that, though, I think the episode is merely ok. I’m not entirely sure why,
though I suspect it’s because we’re currently getting a lot of setup with very
little payoff. Plus, the developments are happening extremely quickly, so we
don’t have time to fully absorb it before the next big moment. I like the
direction the show’s going, but I think they needed to slow it down a little.
Having a three parter like Season Two did might have been the best way to go.
Of
course, that doesn’t mean I won’t highlight some of the good aspects of the
episode. As I said, there’s a lot of good character development. Sisko’s
command style is openly discussed, revealing that he’s a lot like Kirk in that
he’s too hands-on to ever be comfortable as an Admiral. Kira reveals herself to
be a good friend, trying to reach out to Odo in a variety of ways. And as for
Odo…he undergoes a major personality change, though it’s completely justified.
We’ve already had moments in the show where Odo chafed at being under someone
else’s authority, so that side of things isn’t too surprising. The arrival of
Starfleet security, combined with the effect the Gamma Quadrant is having on
him, would almost certainly make him irritable at best. It’s a little jarring
to see him like this, but once you think it through, it makes perfect sense.
Besides
the character stuff, there’s some nice bits of tension, Bashir has some fine
moments (a great sarcastic line and some action scenes), and several moments of
manipulation or shifting power dynamics. So while it’s not perfect, it’s a good
start, and I’m eager to see how this all plays out next episode.
How it Relates to
the Whole: Hoo boy, where to start? We get the Defiant,
where the crew will be spending a lot of their time, we’re introduced to Lieutenant
Commander Eddington (Kenneth Marshall), who will be a recurring character, we
officially hear the name of the Vorta, and most importantly, we start to learn
about where Odo came from., Really, it would be a better question of what doesn’t
relate to the whole.
Other: *We learn a little ways into the
episode that two months have passed since the events of “The Jem’Hadar” (a nice
nod to the summer break). We also notice in the teaser that Dax has changed her
hair from a ponytail to a bun. While I understand that the start of new seasons
are good times to debut new looks for characters, it seems odd that Dax would change
her hair in the middle of a crisis. Then again, it would be unfair to force her
to work on the Dominion problem 24/7. Maybe she did it to cheer herself up. So
I guess you can justify it, but it still feels weird.
*Kira and
Odo have a conversation that, it could be argued, somewhat parallels the
conversation they had in “The Circle”, only with the roles reversed. It’s not
as good as the earlier scene, but I like that they both try to support each
other in tough times.
*Quark
tries to weasel out of helping Sisko by saying his brother did most of the
talking when they made arrangements to trade with a Gamma Quadrant species.
While this turns out to be a different species than the one we see in “Rules of
Acquisition”, the fact that Pel isn’t even brought up makes me a little sad. I
don’t know how much mentioning her would have changed anything, but I’d have
appreciated the continuity nod.
*The
Karemma that helps the Defiant locate the founders is both reluctant to
help and talks in a snooty British accent. I can’t help but feel that the two
things are related.
Best
Line/Exchange: There’s a lot of good exchanges that reveal personality in
this episode, but the best one is probably:
(Kira and Sisko are
talking about Odo)
Kira: Can I
speak freely? (Sisko nods) What the
hell is wrong with Starfleet? How can they do this to him?
Sisko: This has
been a long time coming, Major. Starfleet has never been happy with the
Constable. They’ve been pressing me to replace him for the last two years.
Kira: Because
he worked for the Cardassians.
Sisko: No, it
goes deeper than that. Odo is not what you’d call a “team player”.
Kira: Why?
Because sometimes he doesn’t go through the proper channels?
Sisko: That’s a
start. But you know Odo. He enjoys thumbing his nose at authority. He files
reports when he feels like it. His
respect for the chain of command is minimal.
Kira: He gets
the job done.
Sisko: Starfleet
likes team players. Starfleet likes the chain of command, and frankly, so do I.
In this short conversation, we learn more about Odo
(though we gleaned a lot of it by watching him over the previous seasons), we
see that Kira really does respect and care about him, and we see that Sisko
supports Odo, but also is loyal to Starfleet. It’s not a fun conversation, but
it’s an illuminating one.
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