Day 101: DS9, The Assignment

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S5EP5, “The Assignment”

Note: Yet another example where episodes got swapped around. However, given how much the DS9 Companion has been going on about how much work they put into tomorrow’s episode, I think I can guess the reason why for once.

 Summary: Keiko returns from a trip to Bajor a changed woman, literally; she announces to O’Brien that she is an entity (we find out later that it’s called a Pah-Wraith) that has possessed Keiko and will kill her unless O’Brien does as she says. O’Brien naturally agrees while trying to figure out how to rescue his wife, but the possessed Keiko is very clever and keeps finding ways to prevent him from getting help. While O’Brien has to pretend that nothing is wrong, he’s given a lot of little engineering fixes to make and told he has a limited amount of time to get it done. Fortunately, while he doesn’t have emotional backup, he has an unlikely ally in the form of Rom, whose skill with engineering is what O’Brien needs to get the job done in time. Plus, he has other skills that may wind up coming in handy as well.

Standalone Thoughts: This is an episode where your reaction to it will probably vary wildly depending on how you view Keiko. If you like her (or are indifferent to her), you’ll probably think this is a pretty tense episode, where you worry about both her and O’Brien. If you’re like me and don’t like her very much, you’ll still be able to appreciate the tension, but the concern about the O’Brien’s will be decidedly one-sided. In fact, Rosalind Chao seems to be putting forward her best acting yet, giving all of possessed Keiko’s lines a sarcastic, nasty edge that really sell the concept that she’s a different person. I’m not saying I want possessed Keiko to stick around, but at least her personality is a lot more clear cut this way.

As for the rest of the episode…well, it’s great on atmosphere, but not so great on plot. The music and the acting from both Chao and Meaney did successfully keep me on edge, especially since possessed Keiko was extremely good at finding ways to prevent O’Brien from getting help (including one moment that’s clearly poking fun at the standard technobabble solutions for these kinds of things). In fact, everything is going along fairly well until the start of the third act, when it kind of falls apart. First, the way O’Brien’s actions are discovered is just way too convenient. At around three in the morning, Dax, who couldn’t sleep, decided to do some work because “she finds anomalies soothing”, and started noticing discrepancies. It’s just so much of a coincidence that I actually thought the Pah-Wraith who had possessed Keiko had possessed Dax just to check on O’Brien. Instead, it’s a Deus ex Machina (or perhaps more appropriately, a Dax ex Machina). Then a little later, Rom and O’Brien are discussing things, and Rom winds up laying out the Pah-Wraith’s entire plan. It’s not that he knows that Keiko has been possessed by a Pah-Wraith, it’s just that he was able to figure out exactly what all the little engineering tweaks were adding up to (which is reasonable) and that he knows enough about Bajoran legends from Leeta that O’Brien is able to put all the pieces together (which smacks of contrivance). And the worst part is, both of these have easy fixes. For the first, don’t specify that it’s three in the morning and have Dax just looking at anomalies because it’s her job, and for the second, have Rom only talk about the engineering aspect, and then have O’Brien go back and ask the computer for stories about the Pah-Wraiths so he can get the information he needs. This would tie in well with an earlier scene where he asked the computer for information about Pah-Wraiths, but would have had six thousand items to sift through. That would have given the episode some good structure; instead, we’re left with a weak final act. It’s salvaged slightly by the very ending of the episode, but there’s still no question that they could have made this episode stronger than it actually turned out to be.

How it Relates to the Whole: We learn about the Pah-Wraiths and some of their history, and while they disappear for awhile after this episode, they ultimately come back into play near the end of the show. Given this, I must assume the writers originally intended for them to be one-offs, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned while doing this project and reading the DS9 Companion, you can never be certain.

Other: *Just one today, and it’s an example of possibly forgetting continuity. In the opening scene, Quark grouses about the fact that Rom is now a low-level engineer instead of working in the bar. He could just be venting or trying to make his brother feel bad, but according to what we heard in “Body Parts”, Rom shouldn’t be allowed to work for Quark anymore. Which is precisely why I said in that episode that that particular plot development went nowhere.

Best Line/Exchange: I’m giving this one to Rom, on the grounds that most of the Keiko bits make me feel uncomfortable (in a good way, I suppose), and a lot of that has to do with tone anyway;

(Rom has amazed O’Brien by finishing his work in record time)

O’Brien: How did you finish so quickly?

Rom: I just did the work. I didn’t allow myself to get caught up in any of the distracting discussions the other workers engaged in. (points to himself proudly) Ferengi can be very focused…especially when no one bothers to talk to them.

O’Brien (stares at him in amazement): I see.

Rom: Not that I mind! I’m used to being ignored. (O’Brien continues to stare at him) Is something wrong, Chief? I can work slower if you want me to.

This scene really kind of sums Rom up; in six lines, he shows that he’s got a good work ethic, that he’s eager to please, and that he’s self-aware of his limitations despite his reputation as an idiot. After spending years being the comic relief, it’s nice to see the writers treating him more seriously (even if he can’t move away from playing that role entirely). Plus, he gets to be one of the heroes of the piece, which is always nice to see.

After the Fact Update: As I suspected, the Pah-Wraith’s weren’t intended to become a recurring thing when they were first introduced. The DS9 Companion also made me snort derisively when it reported that Rosalind Chao liked playing Keiko as evil because it allowed her to “play against the sweetness and light that they normally write for Keiko.” Those definitely aren’t words that I associate with that character, and if that was the intent, then something very much got lost in translation.