In the fourth episode of the fourth season of\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine<\/i>, EVERYTHING IS UNCOMFORTABLE. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For discussion of addiction<\/b><\/p>\n
I really do enjoy that this show is so willing to push the boundaries of stories that they tell. BLESS\u00c2\u00a0DEEP SPACE NINE<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Worf<\/b><\/p>\n
While I will certainly excuse “The Visitor” for being Worf-lite because it needed to be, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m pleased that his presence on this show is addressed immediately. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great chance to remind everyone just how\u00c2\u00a0different<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0everything is on this station. The morality and protocol that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s developed here is unlike what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen on both iterations of the\u00c2\u00a0Enterprise<\/i>, which means that Worf sticks out like a sore thumb. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s used to a very direct and strict form of rule as a security officer.<\/p>\n
But here? Well, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll say that Odo is far more adventurous and creative compared to what Worf is used to. So I understand why this is so frustrating for him! He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s used to surveilling, arresting, and imprisoning people, in that order, with very little thought to anything larger than that. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that Worf lacks scope or the inability to look at the bigger portrait. I think his interactions with the Klingons show he can certainly do that. But he used to be the Chief of Security, and now, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in an entirely different position that requires different skills from him. On top of that, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now in a command position that\u00c2\u00a0doesn<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0intersect with security, which challenges him. He has to go out of his way not to interfere with Odo, which is WAY EASIER SAID THAN DONE.<\/p>\n
Bless, Worf. He tried, but he also messed up.\u00c2\u00a0Badly<\/i>. He forces Odo to blow his cover and catch a middleman instead of a smuggling ring, and Worf learns the hard way that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got a whole new culture to adapt to.<\/p>\n
The Hippocratic Oath<\/b><\/p>\n
Which is why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so perfect that the main story in this episode centers on the kind of grey morality that Sisko speaks of here. Sisko has adapted in his own way, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also why O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Brien and Julian clash so fiercely over the Jem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hadar. First, let me just say that this episode contains both a fascinating moral issue AND a strangely satisfying ending. I know that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird to say because the resolution is designed to be deliberately upsetting. How can that be satisfying?<\/p>\n
Because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s honest. This script respects the characterization of Julian and O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Brien SO MUCH. I believed that Julian would defer to the medical needs of any living being because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0shown<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0us that over the course of the past three seasons. I believed that O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Brien would remain steadfast in his refusal to help the Jem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hadar because we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve\u00c2\u00a0seen<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0how he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the most stubborn, close-minded member of the crew. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s irrational to be afraid of the Jem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hadar or to value one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s self-preservation. The situation is much more complicated than that! However, once Julian makes it clear that he believes Goran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Agar, O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Brien digs deeper into the sand.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s frustrating to watch because, like Julian, I wanted the best of these characters. If the Jem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hadar could truly break from their addiction to ketracel-white, then it was moral and just to pursue that. Julian knew that! He knew these men would suffer horribly through their withdrawal symptoms, and there was a high chance that all of them, aside from Goran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Agar, would die. Like Odo on DS9, he thought in the long-term. What if curing the Jem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hadar of their addiction freed them from the control the Founders exhibited over them? What if that swept the Founders\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 army right out from under them? Yes, Julian is optimistic, and he takes Goran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Agar under good faith throughout this episode.<\/p>\n
But O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Brien can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. He can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t risk his life under a group of people genetically designed to kill others. His experiences with the Jem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hadar inform his reaction to them! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fair that he feels forced into this choice because he\u00c2\u00a0was<\/i>. This episode liberally uses the trope of a force kidnapping or capturing their enemy in order to get medical help. So I get it! Both characters truly believe they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right. And while I think Julian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s argument was stronger, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore what a complicated nightmare this whole thing is. Because many of the Jem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hadar that Goran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Agar brought to this planet DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T ACTUALLY WANT TO GET RID OF THEIR ADDICTION BECAUSE THEY THINK IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122LL MAKE THEM WEAK LIKE HUMANS.<\/p>\n
In the end, O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Brien betrays Julian, destroys his work, and guarantees that they all get home safely. Yet that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s precisely why the ending is so haunting. The writers don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have these two characters shake hands and merrily go about their way. Julian is\u00c2\u00a0very<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0clear that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s furious that O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Brien disobeyed a direct order; O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Brien is desperate to prove that he did everything to save Julian. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not enough, though, and I suspect that this might be the start of the fracturing of their friendship. Neither of them seem eager to pick up where they left off.<\/p>\n
I guess I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just have to see.<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hippocratic Oath\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b> In the fourth episode of the fourth season of\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine, EVERYTHING IS UNCOMFORTABLE. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[640,614],"tags":[615],"class_list":["post-5647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deep-space-nine","category-star-trek","tag-mark-watches-star-trek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5647\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"