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| We were told you had games..take us to Quark's |
Commander Benjamin Sisko finally gets the formal first contact meeting he has desired since the episode Captive Pursuit. He has brought out his dress uniform, imagined himself doing all the expected diplomatic ceremony, and was quite irritated that Doctor Bashir does not share the same enthusiasm.
My take, and I think Sisko’s too, is that Bashir only has a trivial
appreciation of formal diplomatic events. If it was any good the Doctor would have remembered packing his dress uniform. Unfortunately for Sisko, it seems
the Wadi doesn't care for ceremony too.
Upon their arrival they immediately cut all the formality, in fact all the dialogue now that I think of it, and went straight for Quark’s to gamble. Ultimately I think Chief O’Brien with all his informality dealing with Tosk went farther in meeting new races than this episode ever did with the Wadi.
Here are the 3 things worth nothing in Move Along Home.
Talking to Jake Sisko about Girls
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| You know, Dad, a lot of Bajoran girls come up to the station with their families... |
Can you remember Doctor Beverly Crusher just being a parent like Commander Sisko in this episode?
There’s joy in seeing children playing with the big boys like Wesley Crusher did on the Enterprise. And then there is Jake Sisko: the joy of just growing up, making friends, appreciating the world at a child’s pace.
Commander Sisko was disappointed that his young son has taken interest in girls when it was only toys sometime ago. At the same time he was excited that his young son has taken interest in girls because there will be more interesting things to talk about, or is it.
Commander Sisko is also jealous of Nog, Jake’s best friend, and is wary that that relationship is a bad influence. Maybe somewhere in there is the thought of spending more time with Jake instead of at work.
Did Doctor Crusher ever have this natural parenting moment?
To cap it off is Jake smiling after being called out by Odo who’s like a stern Uncle giving a gentle tap, ‘I know what you’re doing but go on, enjoy’. It’s just like bringing your child to the office feel.
Not that Wesley and being a prodigy is a bad character, it’s just that Jake’s is more relatable hence the beauty of his story in this episode.
Chula and Allamaraine
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| Double their peril. Double your winnings. |
Chula is a game that symbolizes life. The game analogy merely highlights the risk because every day decisions, mundane though they may be, will always have a bit of risk.
When you go out these days you can get covid-19, but you have to buy grocery or report to work. Even before covid, my everyday commute on a bus faces the danger of a reckless driver or a mugging. Cars have accidents and if they don't, a turtle could just pop out of nowhere. Talking to that pretty girl can break your heart.
I've spent my life figuring the odds of all sorts of games... now, I'm just learning this one, that's true but I know this is the right move...More than that... look at the board... the shortcut skips a whole level... I've learned there's a risk with every roll of the dice... this way, they can advance all the way home with just one roll... - QUARK
Quark’s defense for the shortcut is that life in general is about taking risks. It’s just that you have to be aware of the risk reward-ratio after collecting as much data as you can (“look at the board”).
To him it is the choice of winning it all which is a big fast risk, or if the DS9 crew goes each level slowly, he could still lose everyone slowly.
Two other arguments support the life analogy. The first is only children are allowed at the beginner’s level, but the second and also the kicker is that the rules of Chula are learned only through experience.
QUARK: Roll! Roll? But you haven't even told me the rules yet!
FALOW: You are required to learn them as you play. Roll.
The famous allamaraine scene and
also the cocktail party scene are the learning experiences. You learn the rules of
life through observing others. Sure there are written laws but only lawyers read many of those texts. Everyday is a matter of following who came before you and noticing what works.
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| Don't drink or eat anything |
Sisko, Kira, Dax, and Bashir despite their pleas and angry protests were never acknowledged by the Wadi in the game. When the DS9 senior officers managed to infer the next move through observation of the Wadi and do it themselves, only then were they acknowledged in a remark that could equate to saying, ‘good job’.
You do sacrifice People in Life
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| If I were your superior officer, I'd court-martial both of you |
Leaving a person to die like Dax who was injured does not happen every day, but people do get sacrificed in the game called life.
If La La Land was in Chula, then the Thialo or the sacrifice would have been: to advance to the next level the partnership must separate and exit on two doors; force the issue and come out together in one would paralyze one player.
Sebastian and Mia accepted the sacrifice and separated which is what made the story beautiful, that ending song encapsulated it. The song meant they have never stopped loving each other but at the same time it also meant they would have never had success together.
Sisko didn’t want a life knowing he had left Dax behind to die, and Kira despite a rough beginning with Sisko agreed with the sentiment. It didn’t matter if they all lost, it was the team or nothing.
But yes Dax was also right, it was a bad command decision. They have been trained. They all know that one day, in the service of Starfleet, they would have to leave a person behind.
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