Day 105: DS9, The Ascent

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S5EP9, “The Ascent”

 Summary: Nog has returned to DS9 to do a year of “on the job” training, and to continue the theme of growing up, he and Jake will be sharing a room. Naturally, their lifestyles start clashing immediately. In much more serious news, Odo is accompanying Quark to a Federation trial, but their normal bickering is interrupted when the runabout is severely damaged by a bomb (planted by something called the Orion Syndicate, which is related to Quark’s trial). They crash land on a barely habitable planet, and their only hope is to take what few supplies they have and lug a transmitter all the way to the top of a mountain so that the distress signal can penetrate the atmosphere. Although one also has to hope that they don’t wind up killing each other before they get there.

Standalone Thoughts: Chalk up another episode in the “nothing special” column. I appreciate the fact that the main plot is doing something different (and have some spectacular shots like the one above to aid and abet that), but when push comes to shove, the execution feels somewhat lacking. Sure, the makeup does an excellent job of showing how banged up Odo and Quark are getting as they continue, and the dialogue and acting is fine, but somehow, I never really felt a sense of stakes, nor that they were really struggling to climb the mountain (although I’ll be more than willing to believe that the actors were genuinely out of breath). Maybe it’s that sense of unreality that makes it not work for me, but whatever the cause, it just leaves things feeling bland.

The Jake and Nog subplot is a little better in that department, but has its own share of problems. On the positive side, it does successfully convey the difficulties of living with someone, especially when you’re a young adult and trying to find your place in the world, and also makes it very clear that you should tread carefully when you decide to become roommates with your friends. On the negative side, not only might that bring up painful memories of your personal experiences and make it awkward to watch (it wasn’t that bad for me, but I can see how it could be), but the conflict is resolved way too quickly. This seems like something that ends with a tentative compromise in this episode, and then we see it gradually improve over the course of the season. But I get the feeling that we’re supposed to just consider the matter settled, and that just doesn’t work. It’s unrealistic, and while DS9 hasn’t gone full bore on the interconnected episodes yet, it’s developed far enough that easy resolutions like this don’t work quite as well anymore. It’s more a stumble than a step back, but it does mean that this episode ranks lower for me than most of its peers this season.

How it Relates to the Whole: It’s hard to say how much this one’s going to tie into later episodes. I’m not sure how much the show’s going to focus on Jake and Nog living together (though I think that does partially lead to one of the last episodes of this season), nor do I know if Quark’s dealings with the Orion Syndicate will become a plot point. I am, however, fairly certain that none of the events of the episode have a tremendous impact on things going forward, so we’ll just have to classify this as a character-building piece more than a plot-building piece.

Other: *One bit of business between Nog and Jake has Nog looking over a story Jake’s left out, and correcting the spelling and grammar instead of paying attention to the plot. While I can kind of understand Jake’s annoyance here, what really jumped out at me was that Jake had titled this story “Past Prologue”, which you may remember was the name of the second episode of the series. Not the sort of recycling I expected to see on this show.

*When Nog complains about the mess in their shared quarters, I’m on his side, mostly because I cannot fathom what exactly Jake was doing in the room that led to most of his clothes being spread out across both his bedroom and the shared living space, including having a shirt in the replicator. I know it’s just supposed to be visual shorthand, but I think we needed a slightly more realistic visual shorthand. One of the downsides of setting this show in a future where dishes can easily be disposed of and paper isn’t as common, I guess.

Best Line/Exchange: This is one of those exchanges that puts a different, but no less accurate, spin on the characters;

(Odo is trying to figure out why Quark isn’t a member of the Orion Syndicate)

Odo: Now, if I remember correctly, the Orion Syndicate has a membership fee, quite a substantial one. And the Ferengi Commerce Authority did seize all your assets. (chuckles darkly) Oh, it’s even worse than that, isn’t it? You never could afford to join, could you? All those years of scheming and lying and cheating, and you’re still too small-time for the Orions (chuckles again) Well, I guess you’re not as successful a businessman as you think you are.

Quark: Which means you spent the last ten years of your life trying to catch a nobody. With little success, I might add. So you tell me; which one of us is the bigger failure?

I like this because it shows a sense of self-awareness on Quark’s part, while also being a good example of how the banter between Odo and Quark can very easily turn nasty in different circumstances (this same scene could easily be played for humor if it was taking place on the station). Plus, both sides raise good points, so it’s one of those cases where people who know each other the best are the ones who can deal the most damage. It doesn’t ring quite as true to me as the stuff with Jake and Nog, but it’s still believable, and that’s what really counts.