Like Major Kira, Odo has history tracing back to the Occupation, but unlike Kira who has taken an aggressive stance against the Cardassians, Odo is that rare animal who is respected by both Cardassians and Bajor. He was security chief then and even up to now in a Deep Space Nine under Bajoran/Federation control.
And one of the people he put away, a Bajoran named Ibudan, came back to the station to get revenge.
Here are the 3 notable moments in the episode.
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| Commander Sisko had to fire off a phaser to calm the crowd |
Trust or not to Trust the Different
I like this lynch mob scene outside Odo’s office. It was a community volcano primed up and set to blow by Ibudan, who had suggested that he fears Odo will kill him. Also you will never see mobs on the Enterprise. This is new.
When Ibudan did end up dead, the community hung on to what is now prophetic last words and went after the assumed killer. They rationalize the accusation with a host of irrelevant arguments like how Odo was different.
They also bring up that he was the last security chief under the Occupation. But if we go here, it brings up inconsistencies with the Bajoran's need for retribution. Why is Garak alive and unmolested?
Perhaps to emphasize the point on how wrong the situation is Odo himself spelled it out. Sisko was merely assuring his staff officer that he doesn’t believe the accusations, to which the skeptical security chief answered:
Really? Now how can that be true? You don't know me. You have no reason to believe that I wouldn't kill Ibudan if it suited my fancy. So don't tell me there isn't some doubt inside of you, some question about whether or not I murdered the man.
Odo is detail obsessed creature, an outsider like Data, who studied all there is to be human but never could be one. It is a trait that makes him a good police officer so to speak.
So at the very least he could have argued the law; that there’s no physical evidence of him in the crime scene, no one can say he made a death threat. Instead what Odo emphasized is that when under threat people will cling on to the fear of those who are different.
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| Nothing says brother more than being caught together for mischief |
Interesting that Odo’s situation juxtaposed with Jake and Nog playing practical jokes, you will see that distrust of the different is not always so, up to a certain age. Despite the insistence of Sisko for Jake not to see Nog, the boy will make up his own mind.
It can also be argued that Jake and Odo’s situation as a case of apples and oranges, the irrational fear of the community is not the same as a boy sticking up to a potential friend. However, from my real life 21st century point of view, knowing the children can be cruel in how they tease those who are different, Jake reaching out to a big eared Ferengi with bad teeth symbolically means a lot.
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| O'Brien argues with Keiko from the point of view of Odo seated below |
Marriage Problems
Even before, I never bought into the Enterprise having families aboard, instead have always relegated it as a story opportunity which gave the opening for Wesley Crusher to come in at the first instance.
Why put families into starships when there’s the possibility of hostilities? In the same breath, how long can you put a starship crew out into space before the need to go home to their families? Those two issues can’t be reconciled. Homesick crew can be a problem as much as a crew that's worried for families who can die with them, in their own ship.
Case in point, I don’t know what Jennifer Sisko does; is she the equivalent of a housewife on the USS Saratoga? Did whole families die on that ship when they could have had chances of escaping if they were on a Colony or on a Starbase? And people don’t talk about it, why families have to die on starships.
O’Brien and Keiko represent the first time spouses ever argued about Starfleet assignments. It is as real as any real life military posting.
How do you make a life when a spouse gets transferred light years away regardless if it’s a station or a starship? At least now it's a conversation, or is it an argument?
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| Commander and Chief Medical Officer talking about women |
Gossip at Quark’s
Quark’s bar set the entire episode in motion it seems. At the beginning it was where Odo noticed Ibudan, but prior to that he was taking note at the variety of customers it attracted all because of the wormhole. It was also at the bar husband and wife O’brien and Keiko were seen fighting, thus spurring what could be called gossip between Quark and Odo.
Somewhere at the midpoint Sisko and Dr. Bashir had an informal dinner, talking about girls. The doctor was under the impression that his boss was a rival for Jadzia’s heart. And while they were talking they saw a taste of the station community’s hostility towards Odo.
Could you imagine an endearing conversation happening in Captain Picard’s Ready Room? I don't think you can ever forget Picard is the Captain, Sisko and Bashir look just like friends.
You can imagine stories of glory and discovery aboard any starship, but just watching Quark’s, the people and aliens that go through, makes Deep Space Nine tangible, as if it was my own local bar just at the corner. It is the soul of the community. Now that I’ve seen it Ten Forward feels just like a bar scene, especially if Guinan doesn’t have a scene.
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