In the twenty-sixth and final episode of the fourth season of\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine<\/i>, well, the end is here. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think there are better finales in previous seasons, but \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Broken Link\u00e2\u20ac\u009d works as a great bridge to the story that will probably occupy a lot of season 5. (HOW HAVE I MADE IT THROUGH FOUR SEASONS ALREADY.) I expected some sort of big, grand affair, but the writers chose something far more insidious and personal for a finale, at least until the final moments.<\/p>\n
But I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to discount the story of Odo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reckoning because it\u00c2\u00a0is<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0an important chapter for his character. This episode calls back to a\u00c2\u00a0lot<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0of his past. From his affection for Kira to him killing a Changeling to protect his friends to the continued threat of war with the Dominion\u00c2\u00a0and<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0the Klingon empire, this is\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0at its most serialized. (So far, that is. I ASSUME IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GOING TO GET EVEN MORE COMPLEX.) Odo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quest for humanity is given a tragic, ironic twist, though. But\u00c2\u00a0how?<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have many questions concerning the logistics of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Broken Link\u00e2\u20ac\u009d aside from the main impetus: How exactly did the Changelings infect Odo in the first place? Is that even going to be addressed? I suppose that the point might be that the Changelings can get anywhere at any time to do whatever they want, and that does vibe with the twist at the end. But that seems like a strange thing to ignore in terms of storytelling, you know?<\/p>\n
However, I could easily look past it because the story was strong enough that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00c2\u00a0need\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>it. I like a good slow burn, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Broken Link\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is not nearly as action-packed as this season (or previous finales) has been. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay, though. Odo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s steady decline and decay is an unnerving image, both literally and metaphorically. By the end of this episode, his identity as a Changeling has changed as much as his physical body has. What does it mean to belong to a people who reject you so summarily, who torment your friends, who offer companionship and culture and meaning, only to do such horrible things to you? There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no sympathy offered to Odo by the head Changeling or the Great Link, unless you count mercy as sympathy. Over the course of this episode, we learn that these people infected Odo in the first place, not out of love and concern, but to manipulate him into facing his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153trial.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
I guess what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most sad about this is that Odo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own moral sense is so goddamn\u00c2\u00a0pure<\/i>, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. He could have justifiably avoided this whole affair, but he willingly chooses to have himself judged. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only fair in his mind that as a man who wields justice on DS9, he must be held to the same standards he holds others. And what does he get? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s turned into a human, though the Founders leave him with his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Changeling\u00e2\u20ac\u009d face. This is how Odo finally gets something he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quietly desired all along. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no joy in it; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tragedy, a cruelty offered as justice, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the more disturbing things in a season FULL OF DISTURBING THINGS.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the sole bit of friction in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Broken Link.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I was fascinated by Garak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s role, especially when it became clear that he wanted justice of his own, though entirely at the expense of other people. It was a\u00c2\u00a0very<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0Garak decision because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a calculating character. While I think it would have been great to have Kira part of the action, I do appreciate that the writers acknowledged the implications of their story in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Body Parts.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d So, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that Keiko\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s child will be born next season?<\/p>\n
Ah, no predictions now. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll come next. Though I feel safe saying here that season five is going to be\u00c2\u00a0fucked up<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0because GOWRON IS A CHANGELING. For how long??? Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, what if he was a Changeling since the start of the season? What if the Klingon aggression was the Changelings all along? Oh my god, THEY LITERALLY WARNED US THAT THEY WERE EVERYWHERE AND I STILL DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T LISTEN.<\/p>\n
I need the next episode\u00c2\u00a0now<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Broken Link\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 twenty-sixth and final episode of the fourth season of\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine, well, the end is here. 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-5757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deep-space-nine","category-star-trek","tag-mark-watches-star-trek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5757\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5757"}],"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":"