"A Man Alone"
So much for "strictly by airdate". My default mode is normally "strictly by production order", and I put this one on first without even thinking. Sorry about that. Luckily, Babylon 5 hasn't started airing yet, if we're pretending this is 1993, so no big deal.
The murder mystery where Ibudan kills his own clone serves the story but that's as far as it goes. What's really interesting here is how the people living on Deep Space Nine perceive Odo when he's accused of the murder. Some, like several of the Bajorans, use that as an excuse to harass Odo since he used to work for the Cardassians. "Why is he still Chief of Security?" I'm glad they addressed this question early on.
Odo was originally written to be a Clint Eastwood type. I'm not a huge western fan, even though I've seen the Fistful of Dollars Trilogy, so when I think of Clint Eastwood, I think of Dirty Harry, and I can definitely see Odo as Harry Callahan. "Laws may change [...] but justice is justice" and then calling Sisko out on his bullshit when he said, "I personally don't think you're responsible." Odo asks, "How do you know?" When Odo grills Sisko on that, it reminds me of Dirty Harry grilling others, particularly in The Enforcer. But back to DS9.
For the B-story, all I can say is: I'm so glad I don't have kids. That would annoy the crap out of me. To those of you who are parents, I don't know how you do it. Keiko wants to start up a school as a way to feel useful and help give the kids structure and keep them out of trouble. This storyline also does what it sets out to do and no more. Although it does remind me of a 24th Century version of the school on Little House on the Prairie. I haven't seen Little House since I was a kid, but I remember the school with kids of different ages and grade levels all in the same classroom. I feel like I want to say Dr. Quinn might've had the same type of thing too, but I don't remember.
I wish this episode had actually been the first one to air after "Emissary" not only because of addressing the questions about Odo, but also because it gets around to further establishing the character dynamics that "Emissary" didn't have time for. The episode makes clear Sisko and Dax are just friends. It reinforces the idea that Bashir is interested in Dax. Thankfully Bashir's attraction to Dax only goes in one direction. Bashir and Jadzia Dax wouldn't make a good couple. We see the beginning of the Jake/Nog friendship, with neither of their fathers approving. And, of course, the family dynamic between the O'Briens.
All fine, and it really does feel like a Space Western, with DS9 feeling like a station out on the frontier, but none of it exactly shakes the world. I'll give it a 7.
So much for "strictly by airdate". My default mode is normally "strictly by production order", and I put this one on first without even thinking. Sorry about that. Luckily, Babylon 5 hasn't started airing yet, if we're pretending this is 1993, so no big deal.
The murder mystery where Ibudan kills his own clone serves the story but that's as far as it goes. What's really interesting here is how the people living on Deep Space Nine perceive Odo when he's accused of the murder. Some, like several of the Bajorans, use that as an excuse to harass Odo since he used to work for the Cardassians. "Why is he still Chief of Security?" I'm glad they addressed this question early on.
Odo was originally written to be a Clint Eastwood type. I'm not a huge western fan, even though I've seen the Fistful of Dollars Trilogy, so when I think of Clint Eastwood, I think of Dirty Harry, and I can definitely see Odo as Harry Callahan. "Laws may change [...] but justice is justice" and then calling Sisko out on his bullshit when he said, "I personally don't think you're responsible." Odo asks, "How do you know?" When Odo grills Sisko on that, it reminds me of Dirty Harry grilling others, particularly in The Enforcer. But back to DS9.
For the B-story, all I can say is: I'm so glad I don't have kids. That would annoy the crap out of me. To those of you who are parents, I don't know how you do it. Keiko wants to start up a school as a way to feel useful and help give the kids structure and keep them out of trouble. This storyline also does what it sets out to do and no more. Although it does remind me of a 24th Century version of the school on Little House on the Prairie. I haven't seen Little House since I was a kid, but I remember the school with kids of different ages and grade levels all in the same classroom. I feel like I want to say Dr. Quinn might've had the same type of thing too, but I don't remember.
I wish this episode had actually been the first one to air after "Emissary" not only because of addressing the questions about Odo, but also because it gets around to further establishing the character dynamics that "Emissary" didn't have time for. The episode makes clear Sisko and Dax are just friends. It reinforces the idea that Bashir is interested in Dax. Thankfully Bashir's attraction to Dax only goes in one direction. Bashir and Jadzia Dax wouldn't make a good couple. We see the beginning of the Jake/Nog friendship, with neither of their fathers approving. And, of course, the family dynamic between the O'Briens.
All fine, and it really does feel like a Space Western, with DS9 feeling like a station out on the frontier, but none of it exactly shakes the world. I'll give it a 7.
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