Day 121: DS9, "In the Cards"

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S5EP25, “In the Cards”

 Summary: Everyone on the station has been in a dour mood lately, a mood that’s not helped by the news that Kai Winn will be talking with Weyoun about the possibility of signing a non-aggression pact between Bajor and the Dominion. In the midst of all this, Jake and Nog learn about an auction taking place in Quark’s, where one of the items up for sale is a Willie Mays baseball card. Jake thinks getting that card will cheer his father up, but is outbid by a Dr. Giger (Brian Markinson). Giger is willing to trade them the card, but only if they help him gather equipment he needs to create what can only be described as an immortality machine. In order to do that, Jake and Nog make some trades of their own, getting the senior staff things they want in exchange for the parts they need. It’s basically an elaborate form of the barter system, but nobody’s complaining. Except Weyoun, that is.

Standalone Thoughts: While I had fond memories of this episode going into it, the reality is that it’s a lot more serious and subdued in tone than I remembered it. All of the main actors are playing their characters on a muted register, and the scenes that don’t involve Jake and Nog have a gloomy atmosphere. That was obviously intentional—both the characters and the writers could sense what was on the horizon—but it is a bit of a shock if you go in expecting a more lighthearted story like I did. Once you get past that, though, the episode is still pretty good. The situations Jake and Nog find themselves in are funny, there are some good lines, and the ending is sweet. Plus, the episode advances the main plot way more than I expected (see next section) and allows some hints of character development for Kai Winn. So all in all, I still like the episode. I just don’t like it as much as I used to.

How it Relates to the Whole: I honestly think this episode is gearing up for the big multi-episode push. While most people will remember the Jake and Nog plot, the rest of the episode sets up Bajor trying to decide where its loyalties lie, which will be coming into play very, very soon. In fact, I think we’re going to see the end results of it tomorrow…

Other: *The episode opens with Sisko giving a dinner party for his senior staff, which is supposed to show us how depressed everyone’s feeling. It succeeds at its intent, but what I can’t help but notice is that Worf spends the entirely of the scene standing up and staring at a carving on the wall. The implication is that he doesn’t really want to interact with anybody, but his positioning in the scene is a bit of an odd choice.

*I do like that the writers call attention to the fact that the Federation doesn’t use money, while subtly indicating that there’s no good explanation for why they do so. DS9 comes through in gently mocking its forbearers once again.

*While it wasn’t important enough to mention in the “How it relates to the whole” section, this episode also connects to the rest of the show by actually showing us Kukalaka, the teddy bear Bashir mentioned in “The Quickening”. He’ll make at least one more appearance before the show’s end, so I thought it was worth bringing up. What’s also worth bringing up is the circumstances surrounding Kukalaka’s appearance. Bashir is willing to trade Jake and Nog an item they need if they can get Kukalaka back from Leeta, who “borrowed” him and wouldn’t give him back. While it’s an amusing bit, it does make Leeta seem kind of mean. If she and Bashir broke up amicably, wouldn’t the nice thing to do be to return his stuff? And if she borrowed the bear after the breakup, then that just makes the relationship dynamic even weirder. Bashir’s stance on relationships gets more complicated by the day, apparently.

*There’s a Wizard of Oz reference that comes out of nowhere, but is still amusing, perhaps because you don’t see the joke coming. I guess that puts it on par with puns, but I happen to love puns, so…

Best Line/Exchange: While it’s not as quotable as other DS9 scenes that were burned into my memory the first time around, I still knew which section I was going to choose. That being said, beware of SPOILERS;

(Jake is attempting to explain to Weyoun why they’ve been acting so suspiciously after he didn’t believe the truth)

Jake: We’re working for Starfleet Intelligence.

Nog (quietly): Oh no…

Jake: Forget about it, Nog! We have to tell him. (sighs) We’re investigating the man whose picture is in your hand right now. (Weyoun looks at the baseball card) Until yesterday, that man, one Willie Mays, did not exist in any historical documents. Then, in the blink of an eye, that card appeared on the station, and at that same moment a bust of Willie Mays appeared at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. There’s only one explanation. We suspect that this man…is from the future.

Weyoun: A time traveller?

Jake: That’s right. And so far, that card is the only link we have to him. We must find out what he’s planning to do in the past, or what he may have done already. We need that card! The entire future of the galaxy may depend on us tracking down Willie Mays and stopping him.

(He sits down. Nog gives him a sideways “I can’t believe you” look. Weyoun considers them for a moment)

Weyoun: I believe you.

Jake and Nog simultaneously: You do?

Weyoun: Yes. That is, I believe your first story.

The ending is what really sells it, but there’s some fun to be had in the desperate story Jake’s weaving. Sure, it’s ridiculous, but Jake’s showing a lot of grace under fire, which is a good trait to have. Either that, or you can compliment him on his creativity; no wonder he’s a writer if he managed to make that up so quickly. It’s not his best work, but again, given the circumstances…

After the Fact Update: It turns out that Wizard of Oz joke was put in late in the game, and pretty much everybody tried to talk the writer, Ron Moore, out of it, even though he thought it was one of the greatest jokes he’d ever done. It’s ok, Mr. Moore, I thought it was funny.