Day 62: DS9, Visionary

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S3EP17, “Visionary”

 Summary: O’Brien suffers a workplace accident and is told to take it easy for a few days, right around the time some Romulans arrive on the station to get more information about the Dominion, as per the agreement made when they gave the Defiant a cloaking device. Tensions start to mount as they make more and more demands, but O’Brien’s got a different set of problems. Every so often, he’s propelled about five hours into the future, where he sees himself in increasingly dire situations. Fortunately, everybody takes it seriously, and investigations are made into what’s causing this, how to stop it, and how to prevent those situations from happening. But given the situations future O’Brien keeps getting into, perhaps the universe has it out for him.

Standalone Thoughts: This is a decent episode, and one that could probably inspire a lot of discussions if you were so inclined. If you really dig into the episode, it brings up questions about time paradoxes, fate vs. free will, and other such deep matters. However, I’m here to mostly discuss the plot and character content, so I’ll just say it’s very interesting stuff and leave it at that.

So yes, plot. While a lot of the story revolves around technobabble, we can easily follow along with what’s happening, and the actors sell it. Meany, naturally, has to carry most of the weight, and he does a good job conveying his confusion and determination, which is probably why most of the episode works. On another note, I also appreciate that O’Brien’s plot and the Romulan plot actually relate to each other, instead of being totally separate stories like a lot of these episodes have been to date. Basically, the whole episode is a nice mixture of tension, mystery, political intrigue (in a different context, the Romulan plot probably could have carried its own episode), and humor, and while it’s never going to be on any top ten lists, it’s good material and very few people will have complaints about it. Just the sort of thing you want from an hour of television.

How it Relates to the Whole: There’s not really a lot of follow-up to this, although it may have a slight impact on future Federation-Romulan relations. Nor does O’Brien suffer any long-term consequences. But at least it’s making an effort to show that the Alpha Quadrant is concerned about the Dominion, even if the show isn’t fully exploring it yet. Baby steps, I guess.

Other: *Only in sci-fi will someone get a diagnosis of “mild case of radiation poisoning” and have it be spoken in the tone one would use to describe an upset stomach from overeating. This amuses me for some reason, though it may have something to do with this. Maybe this is a “British people understate matters” thing.

*At one point, O’Brien has a conversation with a future Bashir about future O’Brien’s death. Bashir has just finished an autopsy of O’Brien, and is now confronted with his friend alive and well. Yet he remains remarkably calm about it. Sure, he knows about the time travel, and maybe he was hoping this would happen, but if I was in his position, I’d still probably be some mix of startled and relieved, and it would probably show in my face and body language. And if Bashir was feeling all that…maybe he should switch from darts to cards. He’s got one hell of a poker face.

Best Line/Exchange: We’ve got a bunch of fun little one-liners today, so it’s hard to choose between them. I guess I’ll go with the one that most got my attention;

(Odo is explaining to Sisko how he figured out where a strange device came from and who put it there. It’s a very long, convoluted explanation)

Sisko (interrupting): Odo…cut to the chase.

Odo: The three Klingons now on the station are part of a covert strike force that reports directly to the Klingon High Council.

Sisko: Why didn’t you just say so?
Odo: Well, sometimes, I have to remind you just how good I am.

On the one hand, it seems a little out of character for Odo to brag about his skill like this. But it’s still funny, and it can actually be explained to a certain extent. With the Romulans on the station questioning everybody about the Dominion and making thinly-veiled accusations about Odo and his loyalties, Odo’s probably feeling a little sensitive right now. Doing something like this reminds both Sisko and himself where his loyalties lie, and it’s the ego boost he needs to confirm that he is good at his job. Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I like the theory nevertheless.