#I STARTED REWATCHING DS9 GOD DAMN IT

[doctor-octiddius]

i genuinely can't believe that siddig has captivated my brain for over 7 months now and every now and again he brings in some other character into my brain that fuels the hyperfixation even more. like usually when a hyperfixation starts to fade it... it fades away...? it's gone. i need like at the very least a year to even feel like "hey maybe i could like this again" but with sid it's like "ok he's gone now... never mind he's bac- ok i got another interest- wait no, hi sid- nah, this time for real i have a new hyperfixa- GOD DAMN IT HE'S BACK ??? REALLY ???"

[peacehopeandrats]

Just wanted to say thank you for your recommendation of DS9- my son and I have been watching it and he LOVES it. It's given us something to talk about, and we really enjoy watching it together. We just started season 6. So I was wondering, what are your favorite episodes?

First off, let me WELCOME YOU TO THE DS9 FAMILY!!! You are in VERY good company.

And oh my god. There are just WAY too many favorites to count. What I'll do is give you a list of the ones that I often rewatched. This isn't all of them, I just called up the ones that most people agree with. There are way too many episodes of DS9 that have greatness in them. Even the WORST episodes of DS9 are better than most other shows at their best. The showrunners really loved this show and everyone who worked on it gave it their all. That shows. This truly is a show that stands the test of time.

By the way, if you are loving the show, I suggest you go to the 7th Rule podcast and give it a listen, especially if you decide to do a rewatch yourselves. Aron (Nog) and Cirroc (Jake) started that show years ago, before Aron died. Cirroc and Ryan continued it after he passed and Aron's wife Melissa (rhymes with Lisa) joins them for Aron's episodes. As true DS9 people do, they break down and evaluate the shows for their merits and are pure experts at it. I've always said there was something different about DS9 folks. They see things differently and do things differently because there is theater involved in almost all of their backgrounds. The podcast is an awesome companion piece to the show. They're only up to season 5, but they do a lot of other stuff and still have all of their Virtual Trek Cons up on their youtube, I believe.

Now, on to the episodes, with visuals! 

Duet - This is a no brainer. Probably one of the two best episodes of television ever filmed. Funnily enough, the other of the two best episodes of television ever filmed is also on this list!

In The Hands Of The Prophets, The Homecoming, The Circle, The Siege - This was the beginning of everything for television, wasn’t it? One of the first times when a show said fuck part one and part two, we’re going to make our characters GO on a damned journey. They AND their storylines are going to evolve through the whole damned series. When this set of shows aired I vividly remember turning to my parents and telling them. “Deep Space Nine is going to change everything. Every show is going to do this.”

The Wire - Andy Robinson at his best. Also, though DS9 had already committed to recurring supporting cast on TOP of seven amazing ensemble actors, it was around this time when you realized that the supporting characters were basically MAIN characters. Television blown up again and rerouted to a new era.

Crossover - Of all the shows to go back to one of my favorite episodes of the original Star Trek, it would be DS9. And they didn’t just steal an idea and rewrite it the way other shows did. What they did with Crossover was genius. The fact that they continued it on and returned to the alternate universe again and again just says what DS9 was. The fact that they created The Emperor’s New Cloak pisses me off, though. For that one thing I will never forgive them.

Blood Oath - Yet again DS9 takes iconic characters who were meant to be one shots and says “No, you deserve more!” This is one of the best Klingon episodes of all time. Anyone who doesn’t understand why needs to look into who Kor, Kang and Koloth are. That’s right, DS9 asked these actors to reprise their rolls from the 1960′s Star Trek and then gave them MEAT to chomp down on, not just a few leafy greens.

Second Skin - I’m biased with this one. I know behind the scenes how much time and effort this took to film for some of these folks. But then, you put amazing actors into an episode like this and struggle isn’t a part of the story except where it needs to be.

Through The Looking Glass - Yep, back to the alternate universe again. I love this one because they went back to it. Think about it, if DS9 hadn’t set this precedent, where would Discovery be now, huh?

Doctor Bashir, I Presume - Gotta have some fun ones, right? Another Andy and Sid episode. Really anything these two did together should be on this list.

Far Beyond The Stars - You do NOT have to understand Star Trek or science fiction to watch this episode. AND EVERYONE ALIVE ON THIS PLANET NEEDS TO SEE THIS ONE. Deep Space Nine was so ahead of itself and yet right in the times that it hit racial issues, homeless issues, all sorts of stuff before it was happening, while it was happening, and still hits it today. You remember when I said there were two of the best episodes of television ever filmed on this list? THIS EPISODE is all there is in the world. Really. If you never watch any other episodes of Star Trek, watch THIS ONE.

Take Me Out To The Holosuite - See the “background characters”? Yeah, I don’t either because this baseball team is made of of main characters at this point. I swear I have never seen a show with such talent for increasing their ensemble to like 20 people and letting it keep going. Oh, and I love this one for the fun of it too.

Only a Paper Moon - Notice how they took a character who was basically a background guy and then made him have the biggest story arc of the entire series? Yeah. I noticed that too. So did a shit ton of other people. Some of Aron’s best work is in this one, along with some damned fine writing that is the backbone for this entire series. Spotlight on this show forever, please.

Badda Bing, Badda Bang - Another fun one and I like it because it IS fun. This is real fun in a real way. Totally a classic old spy thing with a DS9 twist. Also, here is yet another glimpse into how they’d added every minor character as a major one by the end of the series. Two of these folks aren’t main characters, one is a main character for only the final season, and they’re all going to rescue another “secondary” character who’s been in these episodes for YEARS now.

What You Leave Behind - This one is personal. I had to watch my friends leave the family they’d had for seven years and find other things to do in their careers. It hurt. I cried, they cried. But you know what? We are more of a family now because of this show. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

[nostalgia-tblr]

DS9 rewatch: Past Prologue/A Man Alone

- Julian is a fucking creep this early on. I don't even buy that he's hiding his natural self to hide the DNA fuckery his parents did to him, he's sleazy af and also stupid. He keeps pestering Dax for a date even though she's made it clear multiple times that she's not interested. I do however think he could get Garak if he wanted to, because Garak was practically drooling on him when they met. Sadly that won't happen and they'll instead try to pretend that Garak is heterosexual. Damn. - Dax was quite likeable, as was Kira, and those are two of the characters I tend to be drawn to least so maybe I will learn to love them this time round? A minor thing that annoys me too much is how Kira's costume makes it look like her arms are pinned on at the sides and swinging about madly. - Already there is confusion about which Bajoran militants are terrorists and which were freedom fighters, probably because those are often the same thing and the name just depends on who you ask. I was thinking last night that DS9 is a bit weird on Israel-Palestine since the Bajoran gods are actually real and the Maquis should suck it up and live somewhere else in the name of peace. But that hasn't happened yet, we're still on the "simpler" thing where the Bajorans are Space Jews and the Cardassians are Space Nazis and everyone should know where they stand on that one. - Anyway Kira used to be a terrorist but it's okay she only killed Nazis and I am prepared to buy that her cell somehow never killed any civilians just military targets. (Though I think later this turns out to be not true? I can't recall.) She is "feisty" and "spunky" which are words that mean she takes no shit. I like how conflicted she is about working with the Federation, who are a militaristic empire so you can see why she wonders if they'll be as bad as the Cardassians when they get going. But as DS9 told us the Federation is like root beer -- it's horrible but you start to like them after a while. (I don't know about root beer myself, but Quark is frequently the voice of the cynical truth.) - Rom isn't Rom at this point, he's an entirely different character who has Rom's life. Luckily this Rom is a complete shit so it's good that he'll change into a completely different person later on. But Nog and Jake are already becoming friends, yay! - Sisko is great even when not bald with a cool beard. He keeps making vague threats and what makes Sisko interesting is that you're never quite sure how far he'll go. If Picard or Kirk threatened to murder you you'd be like "aye right" but Sisko just might do it. For the greater good. ("The greater good.") - I have long thought that Jadzia's problem is that 90% of her dialogue is technobabble and/or exposition, which is probably why Ezri works better for me since nobody expects a psychologist to know any facts. Whereas Jadzia's actual job is to explain things in small words to people with less technical knowledge, and it hurts her development. She was claiming to be Above That Sort Of Thing but I think she was just desperate to be rid of Julian because we all know what a shagger Dax is. But Worf isn't there yet. It's weird without Worf in it, he belonged so well on this show. - Miles and Keiko are already having marital issues, because she has nothing to do on the station other than be a housewife and Miles doesn't really have time to help her find a new focus. Luckily Sisko decided that what the station kids need is an unqualified teacher, so Keiko is doing that now. We saw Molly and it took me a moment to remember that Kirayoshi isn't born for a few seasons yet. Anyway the main problem with the O'Briens is that you only really see them when they're miserable, so it's hard to buy their loving marriage that makes them both happy. I don't know why they couldn't have let Keiko examine plants brought back from the Gamma Quadrant, at least she's qualified to do that. I suppose she is needed if you want Miles and then if there's no plants for her to study she's a bit redundant plotwise. Alas. The slashers hated her but she's fine. - Odo The Fascist was quite okay as well, even though he already said he'll break the law to be a vigilante if he thinks justice isn't being done. And he worked with the Occupation forces and sent people to prison and I think we all know that wasn't good for those people. The only really moral way to be a Cardassian cop is to let people away with almost anything, because the system will literally kill them if you don't.

[lobsters-on-their-heads]

OB Rewatch: Guillotines Decide

Pretty sure I used this shot for my first watch review, as well. It’s just too good.

You can read my first watch review, in which I wonder about Delphine’s shirt and her purpose at Rachel’s hotel, here: https://lobsters-on-their-heads.tumblr.com/post/163602794911/guillotines-decide

I loved

Cozy domestic Cophine. We need more of that.

Delphine getting a compliment from Siobhan in front of four members of clone club, including Cosima.

Both shots of Delphine in the hallway

Dude. DUDEEEEE, check it out! Delphine has the same gray shoulder bag here that she has in the elevator scene with Rachel in 2x10.

Since we know she didn’t take it to the island with her, I like to think Cosima got it from her apartment or something and saved it. There’s a ficlet idea in there somewhere.

Felix seeing Cosima again for the first time since she got her cure.

Adele - “Are you gonna get dressed?”

Sarah - “I am dressed.”  #relatable 

Speaking of Adele, I love her calling out Sarah. “She's thinking about your brother. Are you?” Because of course Sarah can't be happy for Felix for a day.

Delphine and Felix – a pairing we need to see WAY more of, as well. “I don't know Felix, maybe it's because we are up to something.” Indeed.

This shot. Look at those puppy eyes:

Felix's transition from reacting to Sarah's news about Ferdinand to shoving her into the gallery. Because he was totally right, it wasn't the time to be talking about any of that shit.

I usually hate watching people in embarrassing or cringe-worthy positions, but I LOVED seeing Ferdinand when he realized the flashdrive was empty.

Siobhan being such a mom at Felix's art opening, cheering the loudest, taking pictures or videos or both. Siobhan is the perfect example of a supportive parent of queer kids.

I did love Felix's Galaxy of Women speech. (And here’s a shameless pitch for the fic named after it: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11836590 )

Siobhan, regarding Rachel, to Ferdinand, “She just.. wasn't that into you.”

The scene at the laptop, even without knowing that Tat wasn’t supposed to cry. (also interesting to note that it’s Delphine’s laptop, not Cosima’s)

I liked

Kira's shirt has a great message for a show about clones.

Nice to have Gracie saying “after they cut out her tongue,” as Helena scraped her butter knife against the edge of the plate. It’s the little details that make this show so great.

Donnie offering Ezra a glass of champagne and then, realizing he didn't have any more, offering his bearded companion a napkin.

So, the “You own me” line. I am totally okay with it ON THE CONDITION that these two have had a long conversation prior to this scene in which any “ownership” or “belonging” is completely, 100% mutual. Like, Delphine said something about Cosima owning her or some shit like that, so it's bidirectional. Otherwise, it's terrible phrasing considering Cosima's issues with ownership at Dyad.

“I smell Neo shit!” oh, Helena

I didn’t like

I didn't need the drawn out scene of a doctor sewing up Rachel's eye. She could have just as easily collapsed in front of the elevator, then woken up bandaged. It was gore for the sake of gore, not for any kind of character development.

The opening scene lacks any sort of cliff-hangey punch to lead up into the credits.

There was a editorial or directorial slip when Felix starts off talking to Cosima about why she can't come, whichall people will be there, and then “you can totally come later if you want,” and then SARAH answers, “I do wanna come.” Sarah, no one asked you.

And Gracie's still around. It would have been better to have the scene with her and Helena first, and then show Mark on the island AFTER Gracie tells Helena that he's dead.

Don't like Siobhan brushing Sarah aside, especially since it was, I believe, JUST last episode that Siobhan was getting ready to storm Dyad with a couple of hand guns. I mean, she finally does say, “You're right, we can't stand down,” but it's very dismissive.

I don't like the line “it made me sick to work with the man who killed MK.” Just rubs me the wrong way. Not the sentiment, but the placement. Up until that point, as far as the audience was concerned, Delphine might’ve had no idea MK ever existed. And anyway, Delphine had reason to hate Ferdinand without knowing about MK (though poor MK’s situation certainly ratchets up the hatred). Plus, it’s a character stating their feelings rather than showing them.

Hell-Wizard as DJ / rapper was... fine, I guess. It didn't excite me nor upset me, but it was interesting to see a guy who's a security guard / comics shop owner and is also a DJ. But then, we just don't know Hell-Wizard very well. I do think the little rapping set was just there because someone wanted to give Calwyn Shurgold some screen time. It did not do much for me.

Felix fucking interrupting Cophine. Can these two have an on-screen conversation that doesn't get cut short, please?

I really didn't like the extended, dramatic shot of Siobhan getting the flowers ready and writing the letter. Siobhan’s death would have carried a huge emotional impact no matter how they did it, but these scenes are just ham-fisted.

Other notes

Starting shot = closing shot

I'm not sure I would recognize a kid who looked just like my mom did at 11. Not immediately like Kira does. But then, Kira had a bit of a head's up, perhaps.

It must have been really amusing for Siobhan to hang out with Charlotte, even for a moment, having known Sarah at that age. I have a feeling it would have been a trick getting Sarah into pigtails like that, though.

Look at this living space:

Three lamps 

old school radio (seriously, I think my grandparents had that radio when I was born) (no wait - actually it's a record player, and I hope it's the same one from the yurt in 4x09 and that Delphine just fucking took it with her when she went to Sardinia / Geneva)

a mysterious wall-door

swoopy bookends

candles (obvs)

fucking peacock feathers. 

But I LOVE Delphine's outfit here. I love it more than what she wears to the art opening and more than most of what EBro wears to fancy events and photo shoots.

They MUST have fucked before this scene. There's no way in hell Delphine would be this calm about Cosima's touch and proximity unless that itch got good and scratched. (Also, shameless plug for my first ever fic, Talk to Me: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11697588 , which takes place the day before this scene)

I know Cosima's looking at Delphine's mug of tea or coffee or whatever, but she is ALSO looking at Delphine's crotch, and smiling.

Hilarious, if kind of odd, that Felix addressed Sarah and Siobhan as “North American Scum.”

They have 144 doses of the inoculate ready to go in this episode. Just for, like, future reference.

Delphine's boots go over her knees. Women's fashion confuses me. Her coat is hot, though.

Adele says “We spiked our Glühwein with vodka” like that isn't something Swiss people would also totally do. Okay, they might use amaretto or something instead, but whatever.

For just a hot second I thought that was René Auberjonois from Star Trek: DS9. It isn't.

Both a like and a dislike, so here: I thought the concept of the clone swap as part of the show was clever, and very tongue-in-cheek. I have no idea how he'd replicate that anywhere else, or if it's even worth trying, which makes it strange when Ezra says it'll work in New York. Also, Alison (the first clone we see in this little line up) is super awkward, and it was hard for me to watch again.

Felix, you know damn well how Cosima feels about being shoved in front of a group of people. At least this time she doesn't have to give a speech.

Rachel thinks that Ferdinand “really loved” her. How sad is that?

Gracie didn't deserve to die, but I'm not upset about losing her. I'm more upset that Helena had to witness another murder.

I have questions

Was Sarah not informed of Felix's return? Or did she just forget? His art gallery opening must have been advertised, so it's not like anyone was keeping his presence in the city a secret.

“We bought a shit mountain of cheese.” God bless Adele. I want her in more of my fic. Let me find a way to make that happen. However, could they really bring cheese so easily through customs? Or did Adele mean that they bought it AND ate it in Switzerland?

What the hell order of nuns is Sister Irina in?

I don't know much about gallery openings, but are they usually set up, like, a few hours before the actual opening? Especially considering that Felix JUST got back, and before he left that was entirely his apartment.

When and how did Delphine learn about MK's death? For that matter, how did she learn about MK? Did Felix fill her in in Switzerland?

Where will Delphine and Cosima put that painting that Delphine bought?

Van Lier says they're no longer taking direction from Mr. Westermoreland. Which leaves the question, who is in charge? Who are they taking direction from?

Where is Siobhan's backup? Where's Benjamin? Why doesn't she call in some people to help her deal with Ferdinand? Hell, why not tell Art? I can understand her not telling Sarah. Did she call Delphine to give HER a head's up? I mean, I guess Ferdinand doesn't know about the Rabbit Hole? But still, I feel like Ferdinand would be pretty keen on fucking up Delphine's shit, too.

I don't know much about gun shot wounds to the chest (left ventricle, specifically), but... can people really hold conversations after being shot that close range in the heart?

I would’ve liked to have seen

Everything I wrote in Talk to Me - Cophine talking about everything that happened. I want to see them talking afterwards, too, about everything. They love each other, let’s fucking show it.

Ferdinand and Delphine left the hotel room together. How did THAT little hallway trip go?

I need to know how the hell Felix and Colin got back in contact. They are NOT over things, and their last meeting certainly ended on a sour (and slippery) note.

MAJOR missed opportunity not showing us Delphine watching Cosima dance. She wouldn't have needed to be in the main shot – she could have just been off to the side, looking all happy and puppyish.

[chronotopes]

book log: a stitch in time by andrew robinson

you guys i’m going to go bullet point by bullet point through all of my ibooks annotations so buckle in if you dare 

first of all that first chapter owns my ass. “indulge me if you will i need you as a witness”?? that’s the most. that’s the absolute most. that said, the concept that they Grew Apart after our man bashir, while ... certainly canon compliant.... is a piece of canon i refuse to accept. i have my own canon timeline for these kinds of things

i fucking LOVE pythas lok? i lived for that relationship. in fact the fact that this book is just garak cycling through his exes and the way they were all instrumental to events unfolding on cardassia? in fact i begin now to suspect that gul dukat is the only cardassian from garak’s past whom garak hasn’t fucked AND isn’t related to 

i whooped victoriously when garak said he was attracted to pythas. small victories. and then again when garak criticized odo’s uniform. 

love that the bamarren parts of the book that don’t involve palandine read like some kind of fucking... edwardian all boys school shit. like am i reading an a.e. housman poem? am i rewatching maurice (1987) dir. james ivory? no i am reading a beta canon epistolary novel about a gay lizard 

on that note garak being genuinely into women is something ajr and i disagree on but that’s just like to each his own 

garak’s famed volcano dick made me laugh. this book is such a fanfic at times. and then palandine teaches him that IT’S ALL TRUE, ESPECIALLY THE LIES. in fact like ... i didn’t even consider this now but in the garak/palandine stuff at bamarren reads in certain cases like early seasons garashir? but we’ll get to the more concrete parts of alla that later 

anyway .... “but i’m also a doctor, garak. and i know which group of people suffers the most. i really won’t take up any more of your time.” he extended his hand, which he rarely did, and i took it. “thank you for the tea.” he turned and went out the door.  i stood there for a long moment, deeply upset. i felt trapped within myself, knowing what i had to do to get out but unable even to begin. yes, doctor, it does sound familiar.” WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS!! (what the fuck was that whole scene!!!)

SPEAKING of doctors, dr parmak is really something. sorry i know a lot of you love him but i hope you realize he’s a rebound of a mighty order. self care is dating an older lizard flavored carbon copy of your ex bf. 

this was like finding out that in ds9 beta canon ro laren becomes SECURITY OFFICER and dates QUARK is a similar experience to this. ro laren and kelas parmak: the only thing they have in common is being quark and garak’s doctor and security officer rebounds. 

that said ro is her own person! parmak is a fig leaf. a plot device. andrew robinson winking at you from seventeen years ago. a mirror. god! 

anyway then two of garak’s three school crushes hook up, and he’s left with pythas who is the best one anyway.

and there’s the fucking insane sequence where garak goes on lots of hikes with a Privileged Federation Twink whom he’s totally dtf as his first spy mission. and at one point, even though garak does hate his guts along with being dtf he thinks he’s “so concerned, so caring. i took another long breath. [...] i looked hans in the eyes and resisted being swallowed by their immeasurable blue depths.” like i’m not saying garak has a type but garak has a type! 

i forgot about this but aside from pythas and that bitchy cousin of lukar, among garak’s classmates turn out to be the asshole from the casablanca episode and a relative of tekeny ghemor. it’s some 19th century lit bullshit and i LOVED it! as if this weren’t enough, there are four lights guy is also in this. 

we also briefly meet remara, a totally deadly ex gf of kira’s. idk what garak was trying to do with their relationship but i’m totally interested in fanfic about remara being an asshole ex gf of kira’s. 

garak’s battles of conscience are great. again very 19th c . i love how miserable he is throughout this book. 

OH AND THEN HE AND PYTHAS LIVE IN THE WOODS FOR A MONTH OR SO AND FEEL LIKE.. COMFORTABLE FOR ONCE IN THEIR LIVES... AND PROBABLY HAVE SEX! 

ooh and then we get a rlly spooky sequence where we see the wire IN ACTION

the assassin cover professions we’ve seen in this book and in this show are either Lesbian Professions (gardeners, park rangers) or Gay Professions (the fashion industry). what is it with covert operations and the lgbt community. 

i SCREAMED about chapter 19 earlier today. but just to go over it once more 

garak has a spooky dream about julian burying him alive ! so he hits him up at six in the fucking morning 

“doctor forgive me but i need to see you,” i said as calmly as i could.  “garak?”  “i do apologize but it’s important.” 

and then garak hears “another voice in the background. ezri dax. a muffled conversation. the doctor cleared his throat again. “i’ll be right over” he said.” I LOVE THAT EZRI AND JULIAN AREN’T EVEN FUCKING AT THIS POINT BUT AJR COULDN’T RESIST HIGHLIGHTING THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THEM?!

and then julian said “there are more things in heaven and earth horatio than are dreamt of in your philosophy” and i died on the spot. they’re IN LOVE?! ajr i thought you wrote garashir as unrequited but what kind of man quotes hamlet talking 2 horatio at his platonic dude friend while he’s run over to his quarters in the middle of the night after said platonic dudefriend has a nightmare? 

“i was also convinced that it was all a dream, and i kept asking myself what you were doing there” like what the actual fuck? anyway they talk the wire and it’s a lot. and of course “you not only saved my life you made it possible for me to live it.” 

AND THEN OF COURSE “this is my last trip to cardassia. i’m not returning. you were in the dream for a very specific reason. once again, you helped me remember. thank you, julian.” JULIAN! JULIAN!! i’m DYING OF CARDIAC ARREST! (also this scene finally solidified my headcanons for when they break up for the second time.) 

anyway then the palandine shit goes down and garak kills his OTHER old school crush (the one that turned out to be a dick) 

one of my notes on here, verbatim: “have garak and quark had sex” i asked myself and then immediately wanted to die

the second time garak said that kelas parmak was “so much like you, doctor” i damn near screamed in frustration. don’t try me like this elim!! 

and then we get the last julian mirror who’s that sad federation woman who spills her soul to elim and the line “CAREFUL, ELIM. YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL THAT THE SUREST WAY TO YOUR HEART IS THROUGH CONVERSATION”

okay and THEN he meets pythas who’s been Permanently Marked By The Horrors Of War and he’s got a gf who saved his life even though he didn’t want to be saved at first.... so like pythas is special because he’s a garak mirror AND a garak boyfriend at the same time!

and pythas was in the grounds trying to warn garak before all the shit went down with palandine. i’m dying scoob

the fact that the epilogue starts with the line “it’s just garak. plain simple garak.” the flashback timeline ends at the point garak meets julian! i hate this it’s so fucking romantic

and then YOU’RE ALWAYS WELCOME DOCTOR..... like idk about the canon status of a lot of these things but i totally buy this novel as a thing that exists that garak sent. which of course is a great jumping off point for post canon cardassia fic. justice is so sweet. 

[weerd1]

Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1905.01: Missions Reviewed, “Babel,”  and “Captive Pursuit.”

Everything’s broken on Deep Space Nine, and like a real Chief, O’Brien is working his ass off to get it all going again.  During repairs though he accidentally triggers an old Bajoran bioweapon that attacks how the brain processes information, scrambling speech centers. Given time though, it will kill the infected as well. 

 When Quark starts stealing from the command replicators to feed his clients, the virus quickly spreads to the whole station. To solve the problem, Major Kira breaks quarantine, kidnaps a Bajoran doctor who may or may not have helped design the original weapon (luckily, he did) and forces infection on him so he’ll help fix it all.

(Also, Kira might shove this up his wormhole.)

This episode almost begins the tradition of each season having a “screw with O’Brien” episode, but I think he gets it a lot worse later on.  They do start to build the frenemies relationship between Odo and Quark, particularly when they are the last two uninfected people on the station and have to work together to stop an malfunctioning ship from taking out the docking ring. Interesting here that they at least talk about Rom, but don’t mention him specifically as Quark’s brother. They also talk about how technically inept he is, which will of course be disproven later when he actually becomes one of O’Brien’s techs in later seasons.  Big thumbs up for Kira who gives no fraks about your rules and does what needs to be done to fix this mess, though it does take her a little while to admit Bajorans might be responsible when it would be easy to blame the Cardassians. A bit of commentary between Kira and Dax about how women are treated differently than men leans a little too close to saying women should enjoy that attention, but catches itself before it falls off the misogyny cliff.  Ah, the 90s. Interesting to note the teleplay was co-written by Naren Shankar, who will later go on to be the showrunner for “The Expanse” (which is awesome).

In “Captive Pursuit” we again find Chief getting screwed with as he befriends the first alien to come FROM the Gamma Quadrant, a lizardy fellow in a damaged ship called “Tosk.” Tosk won’t say where he’s from but soon after a ship comes looking for him. Turns out “Tosk” is the name for a prey species, hunted for sport as a normal part of the Hunters culture.

 Due to Tosk’s being on DS9, the Hunters have very dishonorably captured him, and will now return him to his homeworld where he will be mocked as a failure forever.  O’Brien decides to Kirk the Prime Directive and helps Tosk escape.  Sisko decides to double down on the Kirking when he advises Odo to “take his time” in pursuing the Chief and Tosk in the access ways.  O’Brien gets Tosk onto his ship and the hunt starts anew.  Though, given this is how Starfleet deals with Gamma Quadrant aliens, it’s not really a surprise that they’ll be at war with the entire damn thing in a few seasons.  It would have been nice to get some little hint at the Dominion here, but I would imagine the writers weren’t quite to a point of formulating them yet. Still, it would be fun to imagine how different Starfleet officers, in particular Picard, would have handled this situation.  

Next Voyage: the so Omnipotent he’s oblivious Q returns, and speaking if Picard, he’s got Jean-Luc’s ex with him. To face facts, I’m really into this one to watch Sisko punch a god in the face.

[lj-writes]

I need to get more into Star Trek fandom, specifically DS9 because it was the only ST I watched from start to finish. Star Wars fandom is a fucking nightmare; I never dreamed I would ever run into as much abuse apologism, fascist stanning, racism, and just plain viciousness as I did in this fandom. Even fans on my “side” can on occasion be exhausting, though I know they’re reacting from their own exhaustion some of which is a sort I have never experienced and cannot imagine.

I was getting discouraged about the franchise anyway with the literal erasure of Finn and rumors of K. Kennedy shenanigans, and the new trailer didn’t do much to get my spirits up with Finn and Poe barely there and this prattle about “balance” that, if it goes the way I dread it will, could hollow out the core of the Original Trilogy. I hope to be pleasantly surprised, but it’s not good for me to brood about something I can’t control and I should leave room for other interests.

Speaking of which, DS9 is being updated to Netflix in my neck of the woods (God is real, says this atheist) and I should finish my second rewatch with the husband who never entirely understood my Star Wars obsession anyway. We were deep in Season 6 when my thesis and childbirth intervened and I don’t know, they say Season 3 is the best season but I always loved the big, messy, beautiful devastation of Seasons 6 and especially 7. I guess it’s that susceptibility to grand drama that also got me into Star Wars, because the heartrending destruction in DS9 S7 is known as Yet Another Movie in the SW franchise.

(If I may be Trek trash for a moment, I think DS9 makes the genocidal events more... awful? At the time A New Hope came out we didn’t know anyone who had died on Alderaan. Same with the Tuanul massacre and Hosnian system, except mayyyyybe Korr Sella if you’ve been following the tie-ins and deleted scene. She deserved better, damn it. With the destruction of mmmmfff in DS9 on the other hand--though the show is 20 years old and no spoiler jury in the world would convict me--we have an entire civilization that was developed in the course of seven seasons and most of the main and recurring cast bound up in it somehow, including multiple members of that civilization from different perspectives. We also get to be in the thick of things with characters we’ve loved and hated because the events are not as quick as Space Nukes wiping everything out in one go, and we also see a little of the aftermath. It’s powerful, deeply affecting stuff and I almost dread going into it a second time.)

So I guess I’ll dip a toe in and test out whether David Brin’s assertion that Trek is better than Star Wars pans out in fandom. With my luck though I’ll butt heads with Cardassia and Dominion stans and Dukat/Kira shippers, eh?

[sleepymarmot]

DS9 season 5 liveblog

[Season index: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PS]

Apocalypse Rising

This is the worst device prototype... :D

Sisko makes a very handsome Klingon!

"But don't forget, this is still your fault." I knew they'd have to make a joke about this... :D

The Klingon practive! :D

Dukat does a Renegade interrupt... :D "It was either that or trust in Mister Worf's ability to lie. And frankly, I have more faith in my weapons"

How does nobody recognize Worf?!

Okay, so when Odo "got sick" he was actually poisoned by the Founders to bring him to them for judgement except it was to implant him with false information so that they would assassinate Gowron for them, except if they managed to kill Gowron it would have been obvious he was a Klingon, and if they caught Martok in the field his identity would have been exposed, so maybe they just intended them to be caught and be a reason for escalation, but none of this is addressed...

What was the official reason for invading Cardassia anyway, I don't remember after marathoning so fast?

The Ship

I like O'Brien and Muniz

of course a female Vorta wears a bright colored dress with giant cleavage, heavy makeup, and earrings

oh god, did the boy actually die? :O

I freaking knew it was a changeling aboard

god, so many people died because of miscommunication?!

(This trope is pretty much my worst nightmare aaa) 

this is one of the most upsetting stories so far :( I don't think even Hard Time made me cry for so long...

Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places

Julian...

Worf has good taste!

"What house is she from" Boy you have a surprise waiting for you! :D

grow up, Julian, seriously... :D

poor Worf, what an embarrasment

what a happy poly family!

someone's jealous, Odo!

aw everyone, stop making their lovely arrangement awkward

oh Worf, when will you see it :D

aww just accept that the three of you are married now

that's what you get for being nosy at the beginning of the episode, Julian :D 

congrats on the sex, everyone! :D I didn't expect Quark to actually get lucky with Grilka... And I'm so happy that Worf finally got laid properly -- it was so sad to watch his human-like advances on Deanna and that one half-Romulan in TNG.

this episode watered my crops, cleared my skin etc. it's been an hour and I'm still in a great mood

...Nor the Battle to the Strong

Bashir's unstoppable monologue claims another victim

I really like this dynamic -- young Jake who didn't know what he was getting into and feels very out of place, and the mature and experienced Bashir seen from his perspective

oh god, Bashir is so happy and relieved to see Jake and even apologies while Jake is about to be crushed by his guilt, I'm going to cry :(

Bashir is such a kind person :(

The Assignment

Yikes, you two really messed up! "I have to be in surgery, operating." "On who?" "I'll find someone."

Wow, Rom's really a genius

I hope this was *the* O'Brien suffering episode of the season and he'll be free for the rest of it! It was pretty tame, especially compared to last year...

Trials and Tribble-ations

I've been looking forward to this episode for years! And I just rewatched The Trouble with Tribbles for preparation.

What did Bashir do to his hair?!

"I'm a doctor, not an historian"

omg Odo in the same frame as Uhura and Chekov!

damn, they're really good at pasting new characters into the archive footage :D

Dax repeating Spock's line :D

going back to the greyness of the DS9 ops after all these bright colors...

This is really a perfect example of an anniversary/tribute/crossover episode! All of those disappointing cameos in TNG look even weaker now. And the visuals are incredible. I expected them to just but back and forth between old and new footage, not to actually edit TOS scenes -- and so cleanly!

Let He Who is Without Sin...

Poor introverted Worf...

I still don't want to see Julian/Leeta but at least they came here to break up

Worf I'm pretty sure this is illegal not to mention tremendously stupid

welp this was bad

Things Past

yikes Garak, no the Bajorans don't appreciate you playing devil's advocate

poor Dax "ran out of speculation" trying to justify standard filming conventions :D

y i k e s @Dukat

Garak: "I never knew we were such messy conquerors. I remember the occupation being a little more tidy than this." Sisko: "Everything's tidy when someone else is doing the cleaning." Garak: "The Bajorans were much more suited for this sort of thing than we were. Servile work is in their nature." also yikes

Dax is hyper-competent this time. like we’ve seen in “Past Tense”, she has a talent for impersonating someone from the past

"When your people resort to terrorism and violence, they're fighting against order, against stability, against the rule of law, and this must be stopped" this is all about trying to convince Odo that the Founders are right, isn't it

A reversal of "Necessary Evil" -- this time it's Odo who didn't magically spend years enforcing order for the occupants and still remain innocent. Odo as a "former Cardassian oppressor" is a story that was waiting to be told (even if this episode is weaker than Necessary Evil). The further I go, the more I become convinced that Odo is the best character and the heart and thematical center of the entire story. 

I... don't really understand Garak's part in this episode. Dax is better than him as a secret agent, Odo is better both at being a Cardassian oppressor and at reflecting on it. It's not like I expected Garak to go "omg I learned my lesson" at the end, but I was waiting for something. He comes off kind of naive and incompetent about the whole thing. And Odo of all people saying "Interesting that a simple tailor should just happen to have a high-level security code" is out of season or out of character and either way has no place here. Which kind of makes me lose faith that the rest of Garak’s behavior -- why is he so eager to parrot anti-Bajoran propaganda? -- is a part of some long pre-planned arc. By now I kinda have a feeling that the writers just throw out random lines and hope the actor’s skill will save them.

The Ascent

Odo is Cassandra Pentaghast :D

How did they survive in these conditions without food and water? Sometimes I don't know if I'm too weak & spoiled or the writers are exaggerating the hardships their characters go through...

Jake-Nog subplot got solved too fast

Rapture

What, they just change uniforms overnight in the middle of the season?!

"Those of you who were in the Resistance, you're all the same. You think you're the only ones who fought the Cardassians, that you saved Bajor singlehandedly. Perhaps you forget, Major, the Cardassians arrested any Bajoran they found teaching the word of the Prophets. I was in a Cardassian prison camp for five years and I can remember each and every beating I suffered. And while you had your weapons to protect you, all I had was my faith and my courage."

Look, I can understand why Sisko is choosing his visions over everything, and maybe I would have done the same, but this still squicks me and I don't want to watch it

Let me guess, all this religious propaganda will be justified because Sisko's vision will reveal something super important about the Dominion's moves

can we not go back to Bajoran spirituality any time soon please

(Why did the visions start, anyway? He was zapped by the holosuite computer, so what?)

Btw, if, judging from the uniforms, First Contact happened between the previous episode and this one, I'd like a reference to it? Worf, you were there! Sisko, that was the Borg! Hello?

The Darkness and the Light

ouch D:

if he was just a servant, how does he have the skills and knowledge for precize and difficult attacks like these?

"He wanted to protect the innocent and separate the darkness from the light. But he didn't realise the light only shines in the dark and sometimes innocence is just an excuse for the guilty" why is Kira talking like this... what kind of OOC bullshit...

maybe it's just because I caught Bryan Fuller's name in the credits, but this just felt like an episode of Hannibal... A string of brutal and overcomplicated murders, a grotesque villain with poetic speech, focus on misogynistic violence... I sure hope Discovery is nothing like this! I'm so angry Kira's friends died for this nonsense

the only good part was Kira’s unrepentant speech

The Begotten

Baby changeling! Odo gets "The Offspring" of his own! Let's hope this one has a happier ending...

is it just me or is Bashir prettier than usual in this episode?

Odo don't put the baby in a cup!!! what if someone drinks it?! D:

oh god, he's making Odo do these things himself D:

what a magical moment!!! aaaa

oh no Odo was so happy I just knew they'd kill his baby

he's holding it in his hands :((

I had a feeling they'd be able to link!! Even the conclusion is like "The Offspring" -- the father absorbs his child. I expected the story to end with Odo having to give it to the Founders because only they can save its life/raise it for some reason

Odo and Kira bonding over losing their babies :(

finally, a great episode again!

For the Uniform

Loving the manual departure scene! But how exactly is Nog relaying communications to the engine room?

I continue to understand nothing about the Maquis situation. What's a "Maquis colony"? I thought only the terrorists themselves used that name, not the civilians they protected? 

Eddington's use of chemical weapons against civilians is presented as moral event horizon, but Sisko's retaliation in kind is postfactum approved by Starfleet? I thought he was bluffing, and I assume his crew thought he knew what he was doing which is why they didn't object, but Eddington expected him to act like a villain and he literally did?? He used weapons of mass destruction against an entire planet populated by humans who may or may not be Federation citizens (or, alternatively, Cardassian citizens, which might be even worse politically). But that's fine, because the entire population of that planet managed to evacuate before the poison killed them. I don't know how to go on watching the show after this.

In Purgatory's Shadow / By Inferno’s Light

Bashir is great :D

Aw, Bashir isn't going with him? :(

hate to agree with Dukat, but yeah, this is inappropriate

"The man is a heartless, cold-blooded killer" "Like I said, he's a Cardassian"

w h a t

damn, just as I thought Julian was being unusually cool at the beginning of the episode, he turned out to be a changeling

okay, I knew about Dukat and the Dominion and had been waiting for it. but I'm stuck on Changeling Bashir. How long? Since before the uniform change? I feel betrayed. I want to believe it was the real Bashir in The Begotten! Not only because I love that episode -- the presence of a Founder would have changed the plot completely!

I thought I could spend one episode without gushing about how Dukat is written, but apparently not, so here it goes. This plot twist makes perfect sense on so many levels! Sisko has commented before on how quick Dukat was to join the winning side after the fall of the Obsidian Order. Dukat himself made a big speech about missing the good old times when Cardassia was feared (and as a viewer, I kind of miss that too...). Cardassia is the main antagonist of the show's past and the Dominion -- of present/future, and their autoritarian nature is pretty similar. As far as I remember, Dukat hasn't met the Founders before and is probably unaware of their deep hatred of solids, plus his usual overconfidence makes him underestimate the Dominion’s power, so I can see how he would treat this like any other alliance. I hope this means we'll see more Cardassians again, not just Jem'Hadar exploiting their territory and resources. 

I wish Ziyal were a bit more conflicted over the entire thing -- she spent her entire life idealizing her father and trying to justify his actions, and taking off the rose-tinted glasses should be more difficult and traumatic than "Oh I guess all of you were right and my dad is a bad guy after all".

Doctor Bashir, I Presume

Leeta, just ask him out yourself!

lol, Bashir should have told them about the hologram...

I knew the big spoiler, but assumed the genetic enhancement was prenatal, so the actual story about parental ableism still came as a surprise. I hope this will be discussed again in the following episodes! 

The story about a son who has good reasons to resent the father but forgives him in the end is a bit to similar to The Begotten, but I don't mind that much.

Miles is such a good friend :')

All of the A-plot was great, but the B-plot slightly spoiled the impression.

The resolution of the problem is what should have happened in the first place. Julian is in no way responsible for what was done to him as a child!

So if we didn't take this perfect opportunity to talk about changeling!Bashir now, I guess that won't be discussed ever?

A Simple Investigation

"I've done things in my life I'm not proud of, too. You worked for Draim, I worked for the Cardassians. I never had the courage to walk away. You did. I admire that"

Bashir and O'Brien's larping :D

I thought Odo wasn't capable of enjoying this kind of thing?

"Once, on my homeworld, I had an experience that you might consider sexual" uh... did I miss something? 

remember season 1 when Odo was adamantly aroace? good times...

wait what did he do with her hand?

the plot was so boring I had to force my self to focus on screen. and why make Odo fall in love (again) and have sex? that's stupid, leave him alone

Business as Usual

How come Quark is shunned by absolutely everyone? And the general disapproval is represented by Kira (who herself admits that weapon trade saved Bajor), Sisko (who used WMD only a few episodes ago) and Dax (a big fan of a certain culture built around violence).

Ties of Blood and Water

Just as I was thinking that this season has a lot stories with daddy issues, and that Kira doesn't have a father -- this guy shows up! Aww, Kira is so happy to see him"! I hope this doesn't mean he'll be dead by the end of the episode...

"I'm dying" of fucking course........

SHE JUST THREW A CUP RIGHT AT HIS FACE this is incredible

(Kira is literally too tired to deal with his shit. And it's beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen anything like her body language, expressions and voice in this scene. She doesn't even dignify his "sick little games" with a single shifting of pose before that one sharp movement to throw the cup.)

(at first I thought the cup broke as it hit his face, which was a completely delightful image, but sadly not what happened)

Kira, he was a member of the Central Command, what did you expect?

Weyoun is great :D

Kira, have you finished questioning him or not? If not, you shoud continue, regardless of your personal relationship.

I really enjoyed this episode, though there are some things that don't let me be truly impressed by it. It was pretty predictable; Kira's anger seemed naive and immature, and the revelation at the end did not completely disperse that impression.

From reactions of Odo and Bashir, who say nothing like "It's your duty to continue asking him questions" it seems like their interviews were over, but the montage and Dukat's poisoning attempt suggest the opposite. All of that is a shame, because this episode is my favourite kind of DS9 episode.

Ferengi Love Songs

Why is the Nagus of all people completely fine with her wearing clothes?

It's disappointing to go back to status quo. I thought the new life without a Ferengi business license would mean character development, but apparently not. And Ishka is weaker here than in Family Business.

Soldiers of the Empire

Always love a good Klingon episode! Honor! Fighting spirit! Jadzia and Worf being awesome!

Also I'm greatly amused that Julian was assigned to be an intelligence officer of all things.

Children of Time

O'Brien is the only one who reacts normally to this creepy situation...

The premise of the entire story doesn't work for me because apparently we're supposed to think that being stuck on an isolated planet with little technology is idyllic instead of horrifying??? I'd do a lot of things just to prevent that. Imagine all the inbreeding that must happen with only 48 ancestors, eww.

Oh boo fucking hoo, you won't have descendants on the planet, well you'll have about as many in the real world in 200 years, plus your absense at DS9 won't deal a strategic blow to the security of the Alpha Quadrant -- why isn't anyone talking about that?

And as usual with time loop stories, it's hard to take the entire thing seriously because -- what happened the first time? Did Jadzia fail to check the logs? Did they not meet their future descendants at all, sat for two days on the empty planet repairing the ship and just happened to stumble upon the anomaly on their way out? By interacting with the crew, the colonists are already changing the timeline, so there's no reason to believe that going back in time will preserve their history instead of making a new version of it.

Blaze of Glory

Eddington is like people who complain about products that have too many 'chemicals'

The writers didn't know what to do with the Maquis so they wiped them out offscreen and tried to wrap up the story with another team-up of rivals, but Eddington is no Dukat and the story itself is not strong enough. RIP Maquis storyline, you were a mess.

Empok Nor

Ouch, Garak, don't so casually bring up O'Brien's greatest traumas!

I have a bad feeling about all of these young nameless officers...

That doesn't look like a great environment for someone with claustrophobia

Cardassian faces always look so great in chiaroscuro! Since season 2 I've wanted to see Garak in this lighting, and the show finally delivers.

"You're right. I'm an engineer" :D

Very cheesy episode, but I enjoyed it more than any of the Mirror ones...

In the Cards

The scene with the crazy doctor and bargaining with Bashir are really hilarious...

"It is enough to know that you and I have found so many common interests. I feel that we are very much alike. :))))" "*grabs his ear* No. We are nothing alike. Nothing at all. :))))))"

What a wonderful episode!!! (But where was Dax?)

Call to Arms

"We're losing the peace, which means a war could be our only hope"

THIS IS SO EPIC!!! And finally, Sisko's prophecy in "Rapture" comes true.

General impressions:

Dax was reinvigorated! -- by the romance or not, but she seemed more vibrant than ever this season. Bashir got more character development! O'Brien suffered a little less than in the previous years! Dukat got to be openly antagonistic!

As usual, my favorite part is the main epic plot. There were three great comedy episodes this time: Par'Mach, Tribbles and Cards. Other favorites: Nor the Battle to the Strong; Things Past; The Begotten; Doctor Bashir, I Presume; Ties of Blood and Water.

Once again, Klingons are allies, Cardassians are enemies, and Quark is not an outcast. Must we cling so hard to the status quo?