Mark Watches ‘Deep Space Nine’- S01E09 – The Passenger

In the ninth episode of the first season of Deep Space Nine, well, that was messed up. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.

Trigger Warning: For talk of consent.

This was a decent episode that I found to be creepy and fun, but it’s probably the first episode this season that didn’t feel spectacular to me. In one sense, this is very much like a traditional plot set in the Star Trek universe, one that’s quite familiar to anyone who had seen the other shows prior to this. I do think there a few scenes that break from our expectations, but otherwise, it’s a standard episode for this show.

First of all, I do want to say that it was a lot of fun to see Siddig el Fadil play a character so unlike his own in this episode. And yes, I completely did not get that he had Vantika within his mind until it was spelled out to me. I thought the scene where Kajada admitted that she had trouble sleeping was the clue! I FELL FOR IT! I AM NOT ASHAMED. Thus, I got to experience the creepiness that was Vantika within Dr. Bashir. It’s super disturbing! I think it also presented a bizarre moral precedent for the team. What do they do about Bashir if his actions are not the result of his own self? Thankfully, I think the episode was explicitly clear on the consent issues at hand, especially since multiple characters state out loud that Julian was not responsible for what Vantika did when he overtook his mind.

The show gives us a one-note, aggressive villain in Vantika, one who would not hesitate at all to steal someone’s mind the way he did to Julian here, and I think it’s one of a few things here that stand out in “The Passenger.” This is a gritty mystery because it focuses on such an unrepentant monster, a man who uses people for experiments, who kills without hesitation, and who will do absolutely anything in order to get what he wants. Even if the world of Deep Space Nine is a lot more morally ambiguous than most Star Trek universes, someone like Vantika still stands in contrast to everything else. Hell, within this very episode, Quark works behind everyone’s back to help facilitate Vantika’s crime. He’s not even punished for it. And yet, Vantika is still a million times worse as an antagonist. He’s terrifying! Look how quickly he kills his accomplice once the man wants to stay alive. He values his own life above all else, in every possible sense, all of the time.

So how do you take down someone like that? How do you stop someone who’s willing to do practically anything to stay alive? I think that this question gave birth to the more interesting aspects of “The Passenger.” There’s a thrilling scene between Sisko and Odo in the midst of this mystery that I think is the key to understanding the atmosphere within Deep Space Nine and the complicated politics therein. Throughout these nine episodes, we’ve seen how easily Sisko has trusted Odo with security, deferring to him repeatedly whenever he needed him. I’ve never questioned this relationship or Sisko’s dependency on Odo. Hell, I think it’s been a wonderful relationship so far. At the same time, “The Passenger” reminds us that Odo is not a part of the Federation, and when Federation interests clash with his own, it’s going to be awkward as hell. Again, I think one of the best things about the construction of this show is the fact that non-Federation characters are part of the cast. It allows friction – like the argument between Odo and Sisko – to exist on a level that we’ve never seen before.

I really enjoy it. Otherwise, I think this episode is fairly standard for a Star Trek show. Which is okay! I suppose that Deep Space Nine is not quite the serialized show I thought it was, so I do want to make sure I’m not expecting something that isn’t part of the framework of the narrative. Still, I had a good time, so I don’t want this review to sound like I was bored or anything by this episode! I loved it! I want to squish Julian Bashir’s face!!!

The video for “The Passenger” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

I am now on Patreon!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME.
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About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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