Day 154: DS9, Treachery, Faith and the Great River

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S7EP6, “Treachery, Faith, and the Great River”

 Summary: Odo gets a message from one of his Cardassian contacts to meet him at a rendezvous point, only to be met by Weyoun. But this isn’t a trap; Weyoun wants to defect to the Federation, and after giving up some information as a gesture of goodwill, Odo agrees to take him. It quickly comes out that this is Weyoun Six (the Weyoun we met in “Ties of Blood and Water” having died in a mysterious transporter accident), and that he’s considered defective. Weyoun Seven has already come “online” and wants his predecessor dead, sending Jem’Hadar after the runabout despite the fact that there’s a Founder onboard. Odo has to try to avoid being killed while also figuring out how to get along with someone who looks upon him as a god. Meanwhile, Sisko wants O’Brien to fix a key part of the Defiant in three days, when the part won’t be available for three weeks. Nog, however, thinks he can use his unique Ferengi knowledge of commerce to get the job done. Even if it winds up driving O’Brien to despair in the process.

Standalone Thoughts: Despite the fact that the main plot is fairly serious and the subplot is obviously humorous (any plot that involves “borrowing” a desk kind of has to be), the transitions aren’t quite as jarring as they were in “Change of Heart” or “The Sound of Her Voice”. Part of this is probably due to Jeffrey Combs’ performance as Weyoun Six and his interactions with Odo; his constant fawning over Odo plus the way Combs delivers the lines add a bit of humor to proceedings, so there isn’t as big a clash in tone when we cut back to Nog skillfully demonstrating the barter system. That being said, we still take the main plot seriously, partially because of the cutaways to Weyoun Seven and Damar discussing matters and partially because we get several action scenes that prove this is being taken seriously. Sure, it’s not as serious as it could be, but it gets the job done, especially since we get some important information this episode. As for the subplot, it’s very entertaining. Nog’s creative ways to get what he wants, mixed with the exasperation of O’Brien and the others he’s inconveniencing, is both clever and amusing. And if you’re an economist (source; someone I know who is one) it makes the whole thing even better.

If there’s one weakness to the episode, it’s that Odo wasn’t taking full advantage of the opportunity in front of him. You have one of the primary brains behind the Dominion at your disposal, one who seems to be willing to do whatever you tell him. If I were Odo, I’d have been passing the time on the runabout pumping Weyoun for as much information as possible and writing it down. Yes, there’s a strong possibility that we’re going to get blown up before we reach our destination, but there’s got to be some way to at least try to preserve that information, like putting the padd in an escape pod or feeding it to the runabouts equivalent of a black box. And it’s a good precaution anyway; what if the runabout makes it back to DS9 but Weyoun is fatally injured and dies before we get there? Then this whole trip was basically for nothing, except that one piece of information he gave me at the beginning. Think of it as having a backup in case something goes wrong. Although this may just be me showing slight traces of paranoia again…

While I wouldn’t call this a great episode, it’s a pretty good one. It advances the plot somewhat and manages to keep the tone light, so it’s easy to watch and actually feels relevant (unlike the last episode). It’s almost certainly going to be overshadowed by later episodes, but we shouldn’t let that diminish its strengths.

How it Relates to the Whole: On a small scale, Weyoun Five has been replaced with Weyoun Seven, which won’t matter much in the grand scheme of things but might allow for some different dynamics. On a much more important note, we’re told that the changelings are falling prey to a mysterious sickness, which will be very important for a variety of reasons. Although because I can’t remember all the details at the moment, there is the possibility that that entire plotline hinges on a massive continuity error. We’ll find out soon enough, though, and hopefully I will be proved wrong. I’d like to think the writers wouldn’t make a mistake of that magnitude.

Other: *Because the scene where Odo meets Weyoun Six takes place in what appears to be the same cave system where Odo met his shadowy informant in “Improbable Cause”, it’s possible that the Cardassian he was supposed to be meeting in this episode was the same one from the earlier episode, which would have been a nice callback. Sadly, I checked Memory Alpha to confirm this, and the results are inconclusive. So I’ll just pretend that’s the case and be happy.

*The scene where Weyoun Seven justifies killing Odo to himself is very well handled. Combs plays it in a way where you can tell he doesn’t quite believe the words he’s saying, and will be living with the guilt for quite awhile. One wonders, if Odo had been killed, if Weyoun Eight would have come along in short order thanks to this.

*I also like the scene where Nog is explaining the Great Material Continuum to O’Brien, not only because it’s a short and sweet summary of economics/the law of supply and demand, but also because there are times where his description sounds a little bit like Obi-Wan Kenobi describing The Force in A New Hope. Which puts amusing images in my head of an economics based Star Wars.

Best Line/Exchange: There were a few bits I liked this episode, but I think the one that makes the most impact is the very last line of the episode (don’t worry, no spoilers);

Odo: Whichever side wins, one thing is certain. I’m going to lose.

Sure, it’s a familiar line, but it’s very accurate in this case. If the Dominion wins, all the people Odo knows and cares about in the Alpha Quadrant will be subjugated at best and killed at worst. If the Alpha Quadrant wins, while they probably won’t kill off the Founders, it might become difficult if not impossible for Odo to ever see them again. And that’s without taking the sickness into account; bring that in and there’s a chance that Odo will be the last of his kind. So it may seem a bit portentous, but Odo’s character (and Auberjonois’ delivery) make this a good way to end the episode on a bittersweet note. Or, depending on your point of view, an ominous one.