“Favor the Bold”is the penultimate chapter of the six part Dominion occupation of DS9 story. Personally, it is about the best tightening of the screws a Trek story has done since ’The Best of Both Worlds, Part I.” like that famous TNG episode, the tactical aspects of impending doom at the hands of a superior alien force take a backseat to character development. At least this time around, nothing drags the episode down like Riker’s reluctance to be promoted while everyone else is fearful of the coming Borg apocalypse.Let me go ahead and get the big one out of the way.--I hate, hate, hate Odo here. The writers are spoiling my favorite character in such horrible, mind-boggling ways. When we first see him, he and the Female Changeling are in bed, basking in the afterglow of having sex the solid way. They have locked themselves in Odo’s room for three days with guards posted outside. Lord only knows the things those poor guys have heard coming from that room over the long weekend.
The Female Changeling expresses disappointment in the tab A into slot B sex the solids have. Now, this is a family friendly blog for the most part, but I have to say--these two are shape shifters. They can alter the size and shape of their bodies at will. Obviously, if the sex is boring, it is a lack of imagination, not friction, that is the problem. I am just saying.
She also needles Odo a bit when she thinks he regrets never having slept with Kira. The first thought as who would not regret missing out on sleeping with Kira? It occurs to me I should get off this subject immediately.
Another interesting development is the change in Quark. Over the last five episodes, he has gone from tolerating the occupation, to frustration with it, and no, because his condemned brother asks him to sabotage the effort to bring down the minefield, a willing collaborator. Quark is compelled to become the reluctant hero of the Alpha Quadrant because he thinks it is his brother’s dying request.
Kira and Ziyal appeal to the powrrs that be to spare Rom’s life. Both wind up losing intimate relationships as result of what happened to Rom. Kira says she will never forgive Odo and Ziyal turns against Dukat because his refusal to save Rom is motivated by the idea he will become a hero for being the one to bring in the troops from the gamma Quadrant. The latter’s relationship will never recover. The former…well, we will talk about that later.
The catalyst propelling the entire story arc along is Sisko’s plan to retake DS0, which gets a boost when Kira and the resistance cell get the word out Damar will have the minefield down in a week. Whether the Federation can retake Ds9 or not, they have to destroy the deflector array exposing the mines or all will be lost.
Nog is promoted to ensign. The promotion is designed to show how desperate Starfleet now is because of heavy losses, but Nog’s status as an officer will play in big when it puts him in a tragic situation long before he is truly able to cope with it during the final season.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
