{"id":5886,"date":"2016-10-11T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T20:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5886"},"modified":"2016-10-03T10:45:51","modified_gmt":"2016-10-03T17:45:51","slug":"mark-watches-deep-space-nine-s05e20-ferengi-love-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/10\/mark-watches-deep-space-nine-s05e20-ferengi-love-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Deep Space Nine’: S05E20 – Ferengi Love Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twentieth episode of the fifth season of\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine,\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>this was cute. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For misogyny<\/b><\/p>\n

So, I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve figured out another reason why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve not been a huge fan of the Ferengi episodes: they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the slowest-moving serialized plot in the whole series. While stories involving the Dominion, Cardassia, all of the main characters, and even smaller side plots have all come, gone, advanced, or jettisoned into a higher plane of existence known as NOT OKAY, the Ferengi story has\u00c2\u00a0barely<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0progressed beyond the obvious. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a hint here that Quark is finally realizing he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t cling to Ferengi ideals, but in the end, Ferengi society is still just as virulently misogynist as it was in the beginning.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only in Rom that we get something approaching real growth, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll admit that even as short as his plot is in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ferengi Love Songs,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d it packs a bigger punch. Yeah, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty saccharine, but at least we get a character willing to grow beyond what he was taught. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like this is the first or second season of the show; we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re nearly on season six, and Quark is only\u00c2\u00a0now<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0acknowledging his conscience. Which is a good thing! But the lack of growth leads to a lot of repetition, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the main flaw I see here. This felt like most of the other Ferengi-based episodes, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m at a point where I need something different.<\/p>\n

There was the\u00c2\u00a0hope<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0of that. I wondered if Ishka\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s secret romance with Zek would provide him with the motivation to change how Ferengi society operates. In hindsight, maybe that was a lot to expect of him and a lot to expect of an episode that is only forty-five minutes long. In one sense, you could instead read this as a commentary on how often women are the true power behind a political force. And maybe there will come a day when this show will move beyond this! But as Rom moves far beyond all the other Ferengi in terms of romance and sacrifice, the rest of the characters just inch forward. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the disparity between these stories that makes the lack of growth more glaring.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not necessarily referring to Ishka here, since she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the most dynamic of the characters in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ferengi Love Songs.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s working within a system that actively discriminates against her, yet she still recognizes how she can help someone else. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sad to think of how quickly Zek turned against her because she would\u00c2\u00a0never<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0do the same to him. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why this kind of bigotry can last so long; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to rely on it any time there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doubt or fear. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s precisely what Zek does. He\u00c2\u00a0knows<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0that his memory is failing, and yet he still torments the very person helping him. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s way simpler for him to believe that Ishka is in it for her own gain. I mean, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the Ferengi way, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it??? SOME PROJECTION GOING ON THERE, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL.<\/p>\n

I guess I want Ishka to be vindicated on a personal level, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also exhausted by seeing this culture\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s misogyny on display\u00c2\u00a0all<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0the time. Yes, the show portrays it negatively (especially since Leeta is not forced to sign that ridiculous document), but at the same time, I need something new.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ferengi Love Songs\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. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b>
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 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":"