Day 61: DS9, Prophet Motive

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S3EP16, “Prophet Motive”

 Summary: Big things are happening on the station. For one thing, Dr. Bashir has been nominated for a prestigious medical award, which everyone but Bashir seems excited about. For another, Grand Nagus Zek has arrived on the station, full of new plans for the Ferengi, including a revision of the Rules of Acquisition. When Quark and Rom get a chance to actually look over these new rules, however, they’re horrified; all of them have been rewritten to be about giving away money rather than earning it. They conclude that something is terribly wrong with the Nagus, but there’s no obvious reason for it…until they get into Zek’s ship and discover one of the Bajoran orbs. It’s obvious to Quark that this is the reason for Zek’s change, but why, how, and most importantly, how can he undo it?

Standalone Thoughts: The funny thing about this episode is that it fluctuates between amusing and kind of sad. A lot of that has to do with Bashir’s subplot, which I’ll get to shortly, but even the main plot has some of that fluctuation going on. While it’s definitely humorous to see the Nagus acting benevolent and scaring the bejeezus out of Quark and Rom, I can’t help but be a little disappointed that Quark wants to return the Nagus to normal. Obviously, a lot of the humor of the Ferengi comes from the fact that they’re all about profit and greed, but the Nagus could do a lot of good for the quadrant with his resources and business savvy. But what can I say? I’m just a hu-mon with some Starfleet ideals in me, I guess.

Then there’s Bashir’s subplot, and it’s kind of painful to me, but only because it once again feels all too real. For once, it has nothing to do with Bashir’s awkwardness—he actually handles himself pretty well—but with the situation. I think we’ve all had a moment where there was the possibility of us winning something, be it a contest we entered or just a random ticket drawing, and even though we keep telling ourselves we don’t have a chance, we can’t help but get our hopes up. Therefore, the subplot has an undercurrent of familiar discomfort in it, made all the worse when we reach the end and the subplot peters out without giving us a moment of catharsis. Not that I know what a proper moment of catharsis for this would be, but still.

I’ve made this episode sound more depressing than it actually is, which wasn’t my intention. If you’re slightly less sensitive to these things than I am, you’ll probably have a good time with this episode. It may just be one you don’t want to think about too much.

How it Relates to the Whole: This being a Ferengi episode, it doesn’t have a lot to do with the main body of the show. That being said, I wonder if this episode helped to lay the groundwork for the events of the very last Ferengi episode. But I can’t be certain of that until we get there, so I’ll put it on the backburner for now.

This is also the first episode where we see Bashir and O’Brien playing darts together. It’s not going to be quite as recurring as one of their later pastimes, but it’s still worth noting, if only for one particular gag in Season Five.

Other: *I don’t have much today, except to say that the title for this episode is great. Almost every Ferengi episode has a title that relates to money in some way, and while this one doesn’t directly do that, it takes advantage of the fact that “profit” and “prophet” are homonyms, and then actually makes the title relate to the events of the episode. There was a punster on the DS9 writing staff, and I salute them.

Best Line/Exchange: While there are plenty of funny moments scattered throughout the episode, the one that got the biggest laugh out of me came at the very end. Therefore, while it’s not too spoilery, I’m still going to warn for SPOILERS just in case. Those who want to see it for themselves should probably just close the tab now.

Rom: I don’t believe it, brother. After all you did for the Nagus, he never even thanked you.

Quark: He doesn’t have to thank me. He’s the Nagus. (Quark and Rom start to walk down the hall) There’s only one thing that bothers me. Don’t get me wrong, I was honored to help the Nagus, but it would have been nice if I’d been able to make a little profit for all my troubles.

Rom: That’s all right. I made enough profit for the both of us.

Quark (looking at him in confusion): What are you talking about?

Rom: I’m talking about the Ferengi Benevolent Association. Did you know it was funded with Zek’s personal fortune? (Grins) I was the Senior Administrator, brother.

Quark (astounded): You embezzled money from the Nagus?!

Rom: …Surpriise.

Quark (grinning broadly): Father would be proud!

What really sells this is the delivery of the last three lines in particular. It’s predictable if you’re familiar with Ferengi tactics, but it’s still funny, and gives the story a pleasant note to end on. And for a comedy episode, that’s all you can ask for.