In the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of Deep Space Nine, I WAS NOT FUCKING READY OH MY GOD. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.Â
THIS WAS A FUNNY EPISODE AND THEN IT WASN’T AND I HAVE BEEN DESTROYED.
Julian
As great as this episode is (IT’S SO GREAT AND POWERFUL AND UNEXPECTED AND I LOVE IT), there’s one aspect of it that confuses me. What the hell is that Tongo plot with Julian??? Was it a red herring meant to make me believe that Jadzia would suddenly become single at the end of the episode? I might have understood it more if it had a point, but Julian, urged by O’Brien to beat Quark at Tongo, is left unsatisfied and disturbed by the encounter. AS IS THE AUDIENCE. Why drag up all his feelings on Jadzia, which I thought he’d long since moved beyond, only to leave him to stew in them for… well, for all time? He gets no resolution here: he loses to Quark in Tongo after Quark deliberately distracts him with talk of how they both “lost” Jadzia to Worf. Which is a pretty gross way to talk about another person, by the way, since Jadzia is clearly quite happy with her husband.
I don’t get it, y’all. What was this side plot actually for???
Worf and Jadzia
This is, without a doubt, the best romance episode that Star Trek has given me. JUST ME, OF COURSE. Look, I’m super into how much contrast there is between Jadzia and Worf, and their relationship dynamic is EVERYTHING. Ronald D. Moore focuses heavily on the intricacies of this in the first half of the episode, and it’s a brilliant choice. We see Worf adapting to Jadzia’s sense of humor; we understand why he’s become a more accepting and easy-going person; we have all the evidence that these two people adore one another.
Why is this necessary? Because Moore needed to provide the basis for the heart-wrenching decision that was put at Worf’s feet. We could not doubt his love for Jadzia, or else this wouldn’t make sense. I’m so pleased to say that Moore succeeded. This script is strong, evocative, and believable. The mission itself is clearly important, one that may result in a definitive victory against the Dominion… as long as Worf and Jadzia rendezvous with the defecting Cardassian agent. And this mission has to be vital or else it doesn’t carry the same weight for Worf. On top of that, Moore relies on years of character development for Worf, all so that we understand what a huge fucking deal it is for him to have the titular change of heart.
And y’all, I honestly got to a point where I thought that this episode’s title was referring to Worf and Jadzia breaking up. It got rough there for a moment after Jadzia got shot, and I now realize I was supposed to begin to doubt this relationship. Worf’s sense of duty and honor has always been important, and as he pushed Jadzia harder and harder in that jungle, I thought she would break. I thought she would realize that he was too much. And when he reasoned that it made sense for him to leave her behind to go get the Cardassian spy, I worried what this would do for their marriage.
But the great twist in this episode isn’t one of cynicism, despite that Moore doesn’t make it unrealistic. No, Worf gives up his mission to save Jadzia. The cost? The spy dies, and Worf is formally reprimanded, possibly jeopardizing his career FOREVER. Worf, the man who cares about Starfleet and duty more than any single person on this show OR PERHAPS IN STAR TREK HISTORY, risked his entire reputation so he could save his wife.
And that motherfucker would do it all over again if he could. I cannot imagine anything more romantic than that. I CAN’T. Again, I love that Moore doesn’t let Worf have everything; he paid a steep price in terms of his career. No more command, probably no more promotions, and no away missions with Jadzia. BUT HE STILL CHOSE HER.
MY HEART WASN’T READY, Y’ALL. NOT READY AT ALL.
The video for “Change of Heart” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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