Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine
Episode
Particulars: S3EP22, “Explorers”
Standalone
Thoughts: Overall, this episode has a warm, pleasant tone, with lots of
sweet moments between Sisko and Jake and a certain sense of wonder, as befits
the two of them going off on a (safe) adventure. The sequences on the solar
ship are definitely the best part of this episode, and the ending is very
sweet. It’s probably not enough to be counted among the best of the season, but
it’s still a solid effort.
That said, I have two issues with this episode, one big
and one small. The smaller one has to do with Bashir’s subplot. I don’t have a
problem with the content (though upon reflection, I’m not entirely sure what
exactly is initially causing Bashir’s angst), but I think it kind of clashes
with the aforementioned tone. I’m not sure what you could have replaced it with
that would have fit—maybe the station making a new discovery—but as it stands,
it just feels a little off.
The larger one is Sisko’s motivation for doing this. He
goes down to Bajor, sees the plans for the solar ship, and suddenly gets it
into his head to build one and try to replicate the path the ancient Bajorans
took. We’ve never seen this sort of interest from Sisko before, unless you
count his obsession with building a clock back in “Dramatis Personae”, when he
was possessed, so this enthusiasm comes out of nowhere. The writers do try to
explain this by having Dax imply that Sisko has always had this tendency, but
it got buried under his duties to Starfleet and Jennifer’s death, hence why we
haven’t seen it before. I appreciate the effort, but it’s still going to be
weird for the viewer.
I think the real problem is that, while Sisko has a
definite personality, the show hasn’t really let him let his hair down, so to
speak. We know he’s a good commander with a strong sense of morals, that he
loves his son very much, and that he enjoys cooking and baseball. But what does
he do in his spare time? We’ve gotten glimpses of almost everyone else’s’
hobbies and interests (Odo is the one exception, and even then, we’ve gotten
some hints this season), but Sisko’s kind of an enigma. Yes, he likes cooking
and baseball, but we very rarely see him doing anything with them. This may be
the first episode where he’s doing something other than being in charge or
parenting Jake, and so it feels odd to us. Having hints that Sisko likes to
build or carve might have gone a long way here; have him carving a horse while
talking to Jake, or mention to Dax that she should come over to see the new
model he painted, and this episode wouldn’t have come out of the blue.
For all that, I don’t object to this characterization of
Sisko. If this was just a one-off, I’ll scratch my head and leave it be. If it
gets incorporated into Sisko’s character, I’ll applaud the writers for doing so
and say it’s better late than never to give Sisko some hobbies. Either way,
I’ll just consider this a weird decision on the part of the writers, but not
make a huge deal out of it.
How it Relates to
the Whole: It’s all about the little things today. We get the first
appearance of Leeta (Chase Masterson), who’s going to be a recurring character,
despite her one scene here feeling like a one-off. Sisko grows the beard that
will be part of his character until the end of the series (this is also one of
the few episodes where he has both the beard and hair on his head). After
suggesting he liked writing poetry in “The Abandoned”, Jake finally starts
taking steps towards pursuing writing as a career. And while it seemed like a humorous
bit of business, Jake’s mention of a woman he thinks Sisko would like will
actually play out and become semi-relevant. Not bad for an episode that mostly
seems to exist to be a breather after the intensity of the last two episodes.
Other: *I’ve
been saying repeatedly that Dax is the one character on this show who hasn’t
gotten a lot of personality or development. Well, she’s starting to show a new
trend, and I don’t think I like it very much; namely, being a jerk under the
guise of “helping”. She first showed it in “Prophet Motive” when she put
Julian’s name up for the award without telling him, then was flippant when he
was disappointed in losing. Today, she interrupts Bashir and Leeta’s mutual
flirtation, and when Bashir literally but subtly tells her to go away, she
pauses mid-departure to drop the news about The
Lexington on him, discombobulating him and ending the flirtation anyway. You
can try to call it a prank or affectionate teasing, but it’s increasingly
coming across as mean-spirited. And while I should approve of them giving her a
flaw, I’m not entirely sure the show thinks it’s a flaw. In other words, this
either needs to be smoothed out or dropped, because if this continues, I’m going
to go from being indifferent to outright disliking her.
*While I do like the fact that the story acknowledges
Sisko’s beard instead of just having it show up and have no one comment on it,
I think it might have been more interesting if we’d seen it grow in ourselves.
Sisko took at least two weeks to build the ship, and a few days sailing on it;
having the beard gradually grow in over that time and have him look in the
mirror and decide to keep it might have been a nice bit of business. Then
again, it probably would have been hell on the makeup department, so I
understand why they didn’t do it. It’s fun to imagine what might have been,
though.
*I kept an eye out, and Kira’s back to the softer
hairstyle today. I’m not sure what was going on behind the scenes, but as it’s
only slightly distracting, I’m going to note it but not discuss it, unless the
characters themselves address it sometime in the future or the hairstyle
undergoes a major change (pun not intended).
*I really love the look of the Bajoran ship, especially
the interior (as seen above). It’s got a very steampunk feel to it, all bright metals
and elegant curves. Even the tools Sisko uses have that aesthetic. I wish that
set still existed, because I’d love to see it in person.
*There’s a drunken conversation between Bashir and
O’Brien that is incredibly easy to read in a romantic way. Honestly, this,
combined with the “I’m a poor substitute for your wife” line from
“Fascination”, makes a Bashir/O’Brien relationship feel a lot more plausible
than the Garak/Bashir pairing, which I know is the fandom juggernaut but I’ve
never really been able to see. I don’t ship it, I’m just saying I can buy it.
The only question is, were the writers doing it on purpose, or were they
oblivious to the implications?
*At one point, Sisko and Jake unroll a hammock to rest
on, and Sisko declares “hammock time!” which Jake responds to with a “Yo!” I’m
not saying this is some sort of
reference to M.C. Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” and the infamous “Stop! Hammer
Time.” line, but it’s just so jarring coming out of their mouths that I feel
like something was going on.
Best
Line/Exchange: Tempted as I was to go with the meta-moment where O’Brien
states that Bashir’s personality is one that people either love or hate, I
decided to go with something I can relate to on a very personal level;
(After waiting
impatiently for Sisko to finish reading his story, Jake finally sees Sisko nod
and look over.)
Jake: So, what
do you think?
Sisko: (Considers
for a moment) I liked it.
Jake: You’re
not just saying that?
Sisko: No no
no. It’s good.
(Jake hurries to
sit down across from him)
Jake: What do
you think about the part where Jared thinks he’s been betrayed?
Sisko: I don’t
think that he would confront him with it. Not right away.
Jake: Yeah…I
guess he could wait until he gets back from the Demilitarized Zone.
Sisko: Yeah,
that would make it more believable.
Jake: (nods) So
you really think it was good, huh?
Sisko: I think
it shows a lot of promise.
(He gets up to
check their course. Jake stares after him in disbelief)
Jake: What? (follows after Sisko) Promise?
Sisko: In a few
places you’re writing about things you haven’t actually experienced. Or at
least I hope you haven’t experienced.
I have been in Jake’s position before, and pretty much
experienced every single moment that happens in this scene. Nervously showing a
story to a parent; waiting impatiently for them to finish so I can hear their
opinion; delighted when they say they like it; asking for advice on certain
sections; the mild twinge of sadness when they offer constructive criticism. I’m
now young enough to remember that, and old enough to agree with Sisko; you
might be a good writer in your mid-teens, but you haven’t had either the
experience or the training to be really good.
The fact that I can relate to both sides of this tells me that either the
writers were speaking from their own personal experience, or that they’re just
very good at making it believable (aided and abetted by the actors). Either
way, I approve, from one (semi) writer to another.
After the Fact
Update: The summary in the DS9
Companion explains that Bashir’s conflicted feelings about Dr. Lense has to
do with feeling like he’s second-best, since she was the valedictorian. Since
he also has repeatedly stated that he wanted the DS9 post, however, I’m still
not entirely sure I get it. But I think that’s more of a personal thing than a
bad writing thing.
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