“Rejoined’ is probably the most controversial DS9 episode because it featured a lipstick lesbian kiss…sort of. The reality of it is the kiss was a cheap stunt in order to attract attention. Neither Dax, nor Khan were lesbians. You would be hard pressed to glean a pro-homosexual rights message out of the episode even though cast ad crew have subsequently inconsistently assured fans there is one. Much like in TNG’s “The Outcast,” either someone got cold feet about pulling the trigger or the message got lost in the collaborative nature of television production.
I am being generous here. The highly controlled nature of the trek office at Paramount was legendary for painting a smiley face on every story while keeping any negatives hidden. Wod has it Rick Berman put the kibosh on an AIDS allegory story written by David Gerrold for TNG years prior and also watered down the homosexual elements of “The Outcast.” I am not goig to accuse him of homophobia. I do not know the guy well enough to say anything about it. Maybe he was just trying to please the studio and/or affiliates. But homosexuality was verboten on Trek when he was attached to it., so can any notion acceptance of sexual orientation was at the heart of “Rejoined.”
Let us face realty. Deep Space Nine’s fourth season stands out awkwardly among the other seasons because there was an order from the powers that be to shake things up. The shows ratings were good, but not great. There was hope it might break out into icon status the way TNG had with the “Best of Both Worlds” cliffhanger. No such luck. As much as I had enjoyed the Cardassia/Bajor dynamic that dominated much of the first three seasons, most fans did not. The Defiant was added to make the series more space faring. The Dominion were introduced as major villains. Finally, it was ecided to go old school and reintroduce the Klingons as Federation enemies.
None of that really worked, so they tried the next best thing--a cheap, attention grabbing stunt. They took two attractive women and made them kiss onscreen for the amusemet of the fourteen year old boys in the audience.
Does it work? Not really. This kiss is not as famous as the Kirk/Uhura smooch from ‘Plato’s Stepchildren” even though some affiliates did edit the scene out before airing. The scene is about as unerotic and devoid of passion as can be. I do not know if that is the result of Berman toning it down or director Avery Brooks socially conscious desire to not cheapen the alleged message of homosexual acceptance, but it was a dud either way. How many fans really even remember this episode, much less consider ita milestone?
The plot itself requires roadmap to understand. The Dax and Kahn symbionts were once hosts to a husband and wife. Now that they meet again in same sex hosts, they are still attracted to each other, but Trill rules forbids past host romances. So after much drama, the two part, presumably neer to see each other again.
The whole story is about forbidden love, but one cannot readily see homosexual overtones in it. Maybe I am a cold fish or I just despise Dax too much, but it did not tug at my heartstrings regardless. Personally, I think the Trill prohibition on continued romance I new hosts is a fantastic and necessary idea, even if it may cause a rare heartache, as it does here. Completely new lives ought to be completely new lives. So “Rejoined” does not resonate with me.
Rating: * (out of 5)
