{"id":5792,"date":"2016-09-09T13:00:29","date_gmt":"2016-09-09T20:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5792"},"modified":"2016-09-05T00:47:55","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T07:47:55","slug":"mark-watches-deep-space-nine-s05e09-the-ascent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/09\/mark-watches-deep-space-nine-s05e09-the-ascent\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Deep Space Nine’: S05E09 – The Ascent"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the ninth episode of the fifth season of\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine<\/i>, Odo and Quark go angry camping while Jake and Nog become angry roommates. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Well, that was a weird one. I recognize that the plot is surreal and that the conflict is entirely pointless, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a part of me that enjoys just how pointless this episode is, as if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a means to get Odo and Quark into a situation in which they can endlessly insult one another. Which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fine. It really is, and I was entertained by that. I wonder, though, if that was the point, and if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the case, I question the\u00c2\u00a0way<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0this was pulled off. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a way to make dialogue exciting and thrilling, and\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0has executed that many times. But there are long stretches here where very little is happening and where the conversation fizzles out, too. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a jarring thing to watch because the life-or-death component of the story doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t show up until Odo breaks his leg.<\/p>\n

And even I can admit that\u00c2\u00a0that<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0specific moment is actually a really fascinating thing. Odo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a Changeling his whole life, so having him get truly injured was a big deal. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s never broken a bone before! HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NEVER\u00c2\u00a0HAD<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0BONES BEFORE. Plus, the dynamic of the rescue shifts; now, Quark must save the day. The laziest character, the one most determined to cut corners at any cost, the one person more selfish than anyone else on this show, has to do something grueling, terrifying, and painful. AND HE DOES IT. HE ACTUALLY SAVES ODO. Would Odo have survived if Quark had not made a splint and a stretcher to carry him as far as he did?<\/p>\n

PROBABLY NOT. And beautifully, Quark and Odo insult each other until the very last frame. While I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this was the greatest plot, I appreciated the commitment to this idea.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a satisfying B-plot about the return of Nog to DS9. It fits well within the story since Nog and Jake spend most of the episode insulting one another, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a great way to address the fact that Nog has changed so much since going through Starfleet. That was inevitable, and given how Rom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s adapted to working with Starfleet, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t surprised that Nog adapted in a similar way. Not\u00c2\u00a0exactly<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0the same, of course; Nog is far less flexible than his father, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s precisely why he butts heads with Jake.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Jake is a human personification of The Worst Roommate, and y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BE THIS PERSON. PLEASE. I have had a number of Worst Roommmates over the years, like the guy who secretly ran up my phone bill hundreds of dollars and when confronted with it, disappeared. Like, moved out, never spoke to me again, and the next time I saw him was on an MTV reality show. I SWEAR TO YOU, THAT IS TRUE. Dude ruined my credit for nearly ten years. Or there were the roommates I had over a decade ago who left dishes in the sink for nearly six weeks and instead of cleaning them,\u00c2\u00a0bought new ones and then left those next to the sink.<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0Ah, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m now remembering the alcoholic roommate I had who would hide bottles of liquor about the apartment and who one day brought a guy back to the place and proceeded to have sex with them on the couch.<\/p>\n

It was a loft. A studio loft. NO WALLS SEPARATING US.<\/p>\n

So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad these two realized they had to compromise in order to live together. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a challenging thing to figure out\u00c2\u00a0anyway<\/i>, and as someone who has co-habited for most of their life, I deeply understand this struggle. JAKE. PICK UP YOUR CLOTHES, OH MY GOD.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Ascent\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>
\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\u00a0 Mark 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":"