Day 169: DS9, When it Rains...

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S7EP21, “When it Rains…”

 Summary: Thanks to the devastating Breen attack in the previous episode, it’s come to light that the Klingons currently have the only ships that can withstand the Breen energy weapon, so they’re going to have to take charge. This is all well and good…until Gowron comes onto the station to give Martok a medal, then announce that he’s taking over command of fleet operations, which doesn’t sit well with either Martok or Worf. Meanwhile, in an attempt to keep the Dominion fighting an internal war as well as an external one, Sisko sends Kira, Odo, and Garak to Cardassia in order to rendezvous with Damar and teach his forces proper guerrilla tactics. But Odo may not be as helpful as they’d hoped; Bashir has discovered that he’s contracted the illness the changelings are suffering from. Naturally, Bashir starts looking for a cure, but the more he tries to investigate, the more he realizes that something suspicious is going on…

Standalone Thoughts: While there’s a lot of interesting ideas at play, this is another episode that’s all about setup. Characters are being moved into position, some in ways that make sense immediately (Kira, Garak, and Odo), others in ways that are clearly going somewhere but aren’t well-explained in this particular episode (Gowron). It juggles the plot threads fairly well, reminding us of the established ones even as they shake things up by introducing new ones, but much like “Image in the Sand”, there’s no definite payoff here. There’s enough here to make you want to see what happens next, especially in Bashir’s plot, but the episode on its own isn’t the strongest on a rewatch.

This is not helped by the revelations regarding the changeling disease, which work from a storytelling standpoint because it creates tension and gives more characters things to do, but raises some points I’m not entirely sure the writers thought through. I’m going to hold off on really digging into this until we have all the facts (which will I think be two episodes from now at the latest), but suffice it to say that while it makes sense from an overarching continuity perspective, some of the smaller details wind up muddling the issue.

If I had to sum up the individual threads seen in this episode, I guess I’d describe it as follows. The Gowron thing currently feels like it serves no purpose, though at least we can tell it’s going somewhere. The Pah-Wraith plot has thrown in a new wrinkle that seems completely pointless and was mostly added for the sake of drama, although I will admit to being wrong if it actually becomes important. The Cardassian resistance is an excellent idea, but the show hasn’t done much with it at this point. And the changeling illness is the one that has the most meat to it, but also has the most problems, as I hinted at above. It may be a necessary episode, but it’s also a hard one to talk about because it requires more context. Well, at least we’ll be getting that context soon.

How it Relates to the Whole: We’ve got three new plot threads now in addition to all the others. There’s Kira, Odo, and Garak helping the Cardassian Resistance; Bashir struggling to find a cure for the changeling disease; and Gowron taking command of the Klingon forces. None of these things necessarily seem to tie into each other, and maybe there won’t be a direct connection between all of them, but it all has to do with the war effort, and that’s what really matters.

Other: *Bashir gets a few great moments this episode, from being authoritative when necessary to delivering the line “I need to borrow a cup of goo” in a straight-faced way that nevertheless makes the viewer grin to asking “Please?” in an oddly adorable voice. Even though he’s entwined with the changeling illness plot, those little bits ensure I have no complaints about Siddig’s performance.

*Why exactly did Sisko and Admiral Ross have to cut their hands during the Klingon medal ceremony? Was everybody in the room going to have to do it, or is it because they’re Martok’s superiors and this is a way to show their respect for him? Again, one line of dialogue is all we need here. It’s interesting sometimes to see what is and isn’t considered necessary exposition.

Best Line/Exchange: Nothing really jumped out at me today. The thing that came closest, bizarrely enough, is one that’s only half about words;

(After having a snide conversation about the Bajoran occupation with some Cardassians, Kira and Odo retreat to their room, where an angry Kira starts knocking over the various boxes and barrels that are there)

Odo (mildly): Well, I’m…glad we’re in agreement.

Kira: You want to knock over some supplies, be my guest.

It’s both a fine example of deadpan humor and being true to character. Odo’s much more likely to be outwardly calm, while Kira’s temper can sometimes get the better of her. Sure, the “character trashes a room in anger” is cliché, but when it works, it works. That’s why they become clichés, after all.