Space/Off: THE PASSENGER (1.08)

Yikes! What possessed a certain actor in "The Passenger" to give us this, uh,  questionable performance that will live on forever in infamy? (Unlike the supervillain Vantika, as hard as he tries.) In their review, Lily and Cole decide that the episode may be a silly grab bag of horror tropes, but it still makes for a worthwhile ride. 

🍷 Wine pairing: Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Amphibolite from Jo Landron

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Transcript

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1.08 The Passenger

Lily: [00:00:00] and then we get the actual worst acting of the entire series. This 

Cole: is when I just feel genuinely sorry for the actor. I 

Lily: don't because he did 

Cole: it. 

Lily: He's like, I want to be a professional actor. And then he was like, yes, this is what I will now do while being filmed. [00:01:00] 

Look, it was a horror episode. At least that's what it was going for. [00:02:00] [00:03:00] 

 Neither true horror nor horrible.

 [00:04:00] [00:05:00] 

 [00:06:00] [00:07:00] [00:08:00] 

 [00:09:00] [00:10:00] Well, you know, I don't think I managed that one at all. 

Apparently.

. 

 [00:11:00] [00:12:00] [00:13:00] [00:14:00] [00:15:00] [00:16:00] [00:17:00] [00:18:00] [00:19:00] 

 And his delivery.

Cole: [00:20:00] [00:21:00] [00:22:00] was a round longer you're a Prim and [00:23:00] Fan. I just like what he brings. The only reason they brought him in was because a certain someone is still at the rager that is Keiko O'Brien's mom's 100th on Earth.

That 

Lily: party is going on forever. It is going on. And why not Keiko's mom? 

Cole: Why not? She deserves it. She's lived a good life. She does. So O'Brien's back drinking sake, so they brought in this other yellow shirt, obviously he brings in wrinkles to the storyline. Yeah. In fact, he serves a certain trope.

TV Tropes calls it Jurisdiction Friction. Oooooh! It's just, like, oh, this is FBI, no, this is local police, and it's a very common way in Cop movies and horror movies to add some human tension to people trying to solve things and add that human layer. It's just people arguing about, this is my turf, and that's exactly what Priminent is.

I've been calling 

Lily: it saucy office politics. Yeah! 

Cole: yeah, it's some spicy DS9 jurisdiction politics. It's great. It's great. Lily, I think you might have skipped over the most critical element of that entire scene in Quark's bar.

Tell me. 

[00:24:00] There was a certain figure in the background. I really thought you'd 

Cole: notice. Let's go back to the 

Lily: very beginning. Oh my god. 

Cole: You were too busy recapping. 

Lily: Alright, let me see. 

Cole: Who's that back by the the dabo wheel? Who is it? 

It's a pirate shirt, man. It's a red 

Lily: pirate shirt. It's a red pirate shirt, man. Oh my god. Like someone needs to talk to his wife. He has a gambling addiction. Or husband, 

Cole: sorry. We were lamenting last week that we were never going to get a story, but I think it's going to come out. My god. 

Lily: I am so hopeful it's an Easter egg that's been left.

Specifically for us, 

Cole: you're next. Yeah, my, working theory at the moment is that he is the partner of a Starfleet officer assigned to the station. A sort of like tragic Keiko O'Brien figure. Oh. And in his his idleness, he's turning to the dabo wheel. Yep. Every day in the same red pirate shirt.

Addiction. Gosh. 

Lily: 

I'm devastated I missed that.[00:25:00] 

Lily: So back in ops Bashir is telling Kira that everything appears hunky dory with the autopsy on Vantika.

Apparently the Kobliad people are a dying race and require Geridium to stabilize their cell structure to prolong their lifespan. Geridium is in high demand, the Federation is supplying it to the Kobliad people. Vantika was planning to hijack the shipment. They discussed how Qajarda had been chasing Vantika most of her adult life.

And it's not something that she's ready to let go of easily. It's an obsession. It is an obsession, but Sisko is skeptical that Vantika is still alive. 

Cole: Rightly so. Yeah, yeah. So, the line I liked was, 

 Dax says, Kajada has been chasing him most of her adult life. She says, In a way, they're as intimately connected as any two beings can be.

Cole: Lily, what, frenemy pairing of a cop and a criminal. Does that line also maybe sound like Odo and Quark? 

So in my effort to squeeze as much interpretation as we can, I'm choosing to [00:26:00] interpret Kajada and Vantika as a sort of dark shadow of the Odo Quark dynamic.

Lily: I love that. I love 

Cole: that. been a lot of discussion about intimacy and loneliness. You know, Quark says, we all want to be close with each other. And it's like, well, okay, how, how close do you really want to get to someone? Yeah. 

Lily: Because you know them so intimately, you know, all the worst 

Cole: parts of them.

Yeah. And then later in the episode, it becomes even more over the top, just how merged. Two people can be. It's almost this like weird foreshadowing of the horror element too. 

Lily: Yeah, sure, sure, sure. Yeah, a really dumb metaphor. Yeah, I mean great, great metaphor. So then in the saucy Office politics of who is the security officer.

Sisko calls Priman to his office about a security issue. Keira says that she'll call Odo, but Priman is all I got this, and Keira's eyes narrow and she seems offended on Otto's 

Cole: behalf. Oh yeah. She is looking out for Odo. She pounces immediately. She [00:27:00] is, yeah. 

Lily: She's got his back. So in Cisco's office, Priman starts at. condescending dialogue about how Odo doesn't know what he's doing. And Sisko explains once again, that we are not on the enterprise. This place is the flea market of the galaxy. And for God's sake, everybody gossips. So odo was probably making sure that Quark knows. We know, he knows which 

Cole: is a great line. Yeah, nice to see Sisko's adapting to the strange, quirky ways of the station, which shows you how well suited he was for this post. He's changed 

Lily: his tune about this appointment on DS9. But 

Cole: man, he really goes down poor Primmon's throat.

I mean, he does not abide fools. No, I love this scene. I thought it 

Lily: was a little harsh. No, Sisko doesn't want this guy's opinion because this guy's been condescending as fuck. He's like, oh, this isn't how we did it in the academy. What the hell can this guy know? It's like, what? He just got here. Come on, 

Cole: man.

He just, you know, it's his first flight out of Arkansas and he's just not used to culture shock. How many of this 

Lily: guy have you met? 

Cole: Like, I had a job where I was flying all over the U. [00:28:00] S. and I was literally always sitting next to this guy. He was always wearing a polo shirt. Working on his little laptop, sipping a beer.

Lily: And this is how we're different, because you have empathized and identified with this person, and I hate him. And if I'd seen more of him, I'd be like, this fucking guy. I actually think he's a good 

Cole: dude. I would drink beers with this dude. 

Lily: Look, he redeems himself. He does. but Sisko doesn't want his opinion.

He says they're the guests of the Bajorans, and he could actually learn a thing or 

 

Lily: two from Odo, which is true. then he uses some very short, sharp Consonants. Claire! Is 

Cole: that Claire? Is that 

Lily: Claire? And he's pissed. And Sisko says that Primin and Odo have to work together 

you're right, Sisko, he is mad that this has even come up. And you know what? This guy doesn't even match the frames of the office doors. He does not like it. Look at that face. 

Cole: Rage. He literally doesn't blend in here. 

Lily: No. So Primin, who is suitably chastised apologizes to Odo.

And Odo brushes off this apology. 

Cole: It's quite a thorough apology. It's good! [00:29:00] yeah. This is, this ain't no no 

Lily: tap. It's maybe an over apology. This is real. Yeah. And then I have a question. What is a bailiwick? It's my new 

Cole: favorite word. Yes! I googled it. Great. It's sphere of influence.

Or your area of, influence. Alright, Primmon. 

Lily: Yeah. Coming 

Cole: in with the bailiwicks. You thought he was just some guy working for a, sign manufacturer in rural Missouri. His name's John. Is John working at some aluminum plant. But he knows the word bailiwick. He likes talking 

Lily: about the missus.

Cole: I know he talks about The Misses so much. Yeah. Yeah. I'd have a lot of business meetings with Primmon, and they would always want to know how many kids I had, and then they'd want to talk sports. Sure. 

 I would be like, 

none and 

go 

Cole: Broncos, and then like, let's move on. Because I challenge all men in polo shirts out there to find a third thing to 

Lily: talk about. Yeah, or like connect with someone on any other topic.

Any other level. Yeah, look, it's all they have in their toolkit. We've got to feel bad for them. Poor old Primmon. So they shake [00:30:00] hands. Odo says that he can explain what he's doing. the middle of Odo explaining that he's taken every precaution and doesn't need help, it appears that everything in the computer's active memory has been accessed and perched which kind of takes the wind out of Odo's sails that he's got everything under control.

And Odo explains that this is impossible, and Kajada, who presumably has been waiting outside just for her entrance at the perfect moment for this one liner, appears and said, Oh, it's possible. 

Cole: Just waiting for her cue to be as 

Unnerving. 

as 

possible. 

Lily: Yeah And 

Cole: just to think of every horror movie where there's like one lone survivor. And right when things start to get bad, they're just like, he is coming, you know? 

Lily: Yeah, it's true. And no one will listen. Yeah. But you know what? Vantika has pulled this before.

That's how she knows. 

Cole: this dude who just can't seem to die. I mean, how many characters can we list? It gave me Voldemort. It's very Hannibal Lecter. It's every Jason from Friday [00:31:00] the 13th, Part 17.

Freddy. yeah it's every single sequel of a horror movie. . Yeah. 

Lily: So anyway, back in Ops, Kajada is again trying to convince The brains trust that Vantika must be alive and on board trying to get to the Geridium shipment.

Cole: She says, I've learned to think like he thinks. Like she's in his 

Lily: mind. Yeah. Yeah. And she kind of is. Is she? Bishir denies this, then says it's not possible. Primmin agrees, and says it doesn't make any sense that this guy would go after just one file. And Odo practically rolls his eyes, I think he does.

And then blah blah blah, it'd be obvious to take one single file, but taking everything is a vulnerability for the ship's system. They will find how they did it in an unauthorized use of the system and blah, blah, blah, blah. I don't care. 

Cole: I bizarrely followed all the techno babble in this episode, but it's complete bunk.

It's bat shit, like there's logic. There's a logic 

Lily: to it, but it's bat shit, 

Cole: but it's complete bunk. 

Lily: Yeah. Yeah. AnD then Sisko [00:32:00] patronizes Kjaerda. Yeah. And Kjaerda is very mad about this, and 

Cole: rightly so. just thought they were all playing the sceptical protagonists, the scullies of the piece.

But they're patronizing. They are. Yeah. Which, understandably, like, this dude is lying dead in the morgue, and she's like, He's not dead! 

Lily: Yeah, and I think Sisko's like, Maybe it's his ghost. And it's like, come on, Sisko. Yeah. Like, this is a sci fi show. Sci fi shit happens. It's like Hermione in Harry Potter.

She's like, that doesn't make sense, and they're like, but 

Cole: it's magic! What?! But the DS9 characters don't realize they're in a bad horror movie. They're dealing with like EPS conduits and Cardassian treaties on a daily basis , and she's like, you are living a horror movie, and I'm trying to tell you about Freddy Krueger.

And they're like, no, we just had a courtroom episode last week. Get out of our genre. Like, wrong genre. 

Lily: She also drops a little tidbit that he sort of worked in medicine. 

Cole: Yes. Like he's a mad scientist. Yeah. You've got this guy who's, who's trying to beat death , the, even the [00:33:00] pursuit to cheat death. a trope. TV Tropes calls it, immortality, Immorality. Oh! These villains are just driven. I know, it's so good. Which is Voldemort's reason for being the first few books, right? He'll suck that unicorn blood. That's delicious.

 All the, all the witches who are trying to sacrifice children to retain their youth. 

Lily: Yeah, the pursuit of eternal youth. Yeah, 

Cole: What will you do? Yeah. Society. 

Lily: Yeah, again, I think I was talking about this last week. You were. That current billionaire who's like taking his son's blood to try and be 21 or whatever.

Cole: Yeah. I I, that's exactly what I thought. You were just talking about it last week and , these actual vampires who are injecting the blood of their own children. Yeah. Here I made a blood bag. Yeah Give me a cell I guess you you'd know more about this than me, but all these new fangled ways Billionaires are trying to cheat death.

Like, I guess cryogenics has been around, but downloading your brain into a computer [00:34:00] or Did you 

Lily: say I would know more about this than 

Cole: you? You brought it up last week as if it was like a thing we should all know. 

Lily: I feel like I've just seen it on TikTok, but like I'm not in pursuit of eternal youth, 

 so.

Plasma 

Cole: transfusions, cryogenics, biohacking, cellular rejuvenation. It's very timely for this. Biohacking is very in. yeah. What is biohacking? Well, it's just 

Lily: One of those dumb terms that doesn't 

Cole: mean anything. It's a dumb Silicon Valley term for like, cheating the 

Lily: human body. Or just like, knowing things about the human body, and then doing things based on that.

Yeah. 

Cole: It's dumb. Like, injecting yourself with your teenage son's blood. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. 

Lily: Yeah. Sure. 

Cole: Apparently it's kind of working. He's got like the heart of a 30 year old and he's 45. 

Lily: But at what cost? And Hubris, also. Ugh, 

Cole: Hubris. 

Lily: So eventually Sisko relents and says that they'll operate under the assumption that Vantika is alive.

But he's clearly sort of trying to placate Kajada, but he really does come around. He does look, to be fair, he he does it. He he throws her 

Cole: a bone. 

Lily: Oh, but then Odo She does 

Cole: have a great line.

It's a [00:35:00] mistake to ignore me. 

Lily: It's a mistake to ignore 

Cole: me. Guys, let's turn this into a musical. Make it even more fun.

Lily: So then, in the middle of this scene, Odo has a bone to pick with Sisko. And it's time for more Office Politics. What do you call it? Jurisdictional, jurisdiction Friction. Jurisdiction Friction. And this is my favorite scene of the episode. It is. 

Cole: It's 

Lily: an amazing scene. Particularly in contrast with the Primmin scene.

Yes. So Odo threatens to quit again because he's a dramatic guy. So dramatic. And he's like, you asked me to stay, not the other way around. Which is 

Cole: funny. Oh, he's throwing, a little tantrum. Total 

Lily: tantrum. Total tantrum. Sisko is ready to implicate him and calls him constable. And he's like, huh, constable.

Very cute. Don't condescend. And Sisko's like, it's an expression of affection. Major Kira was the first to use it. And Odo's like, I don't need anyone's affection. I need clearer jurisdiction [00:36:00] or I am out. And it's a very different interaction to the one with Primmin because Sisko is giving him a lot of grace.

Cole: I, like, I love Sisko's leadership here. I love Avery's acting. Yeah, me too. He knows to treat fire with water. Yes. He knows to fight fire with water. Yes. Odo's like, I don't need your affection. And then Sisko just says, I like you, 

Lily: Odo. I like you. Like, I don't need that from you. And then he literally gives him affection.

Yeah. And he says it with such a loving smile. And that he, I need you here. Yeah, I need you, I know where you stand. But Starfleet was always going to send someone to its interests and you just have to learn to get along with him.

And Odo's all like, well, tell him that! Brr! Tell Primmon! And Sisko's like, I did, and Primmon's fine with it. Odo still wants to know who's in charge, and apparently it's him. In joint operations between the two. And this is acceptable to Odo. And Sisko watches him go and smiles. And he's just, he's so happy to see a security officer who matches the interior design.

Cole: Yeah, like, 

I want my security officers [00:37:00] blending in with the 

Lily: doors. This is how it's meant to be. You are caught at this place, literally. 

Cole: Odo, he's like a teenager who isn't really , in control of his emotions. He lashes out and overreacts when he feels threatened.

And Sisko's just there to receive it all. 

Lily: He's the, Kind, confident parent. He's 

Cole: like the parent of a teenager himself, who's ready for this. , 

Lily: yeah, he's done it. Oh, yeah, look, I love Sisko in this scene. Yeah. 

Cole: of good character stuff in this silly episode. Yes, agreed, 

Lily: agreed.

This was my favourite scene. Meanwhile, someone has tried to break into the cargo bay looking for a Listerine strip. Nope! It's a map of a brain and it's really gold and shiny. And that's what they've found. then we have a scene where we Quark's micromanagement style.

Cole: This scene actually made me deeply uncomfortable. Tell me. So it's after hours and Quark is literally crawling on the floor looking for coins. And, I don't know, the Ferengi are already a very, thinly veiled, [00:38:00] problematic, anti Semitic trope. He's literally money grubbing. I mean, all the Ferengi are played by Jewish actors even.

And he's literally crawling on the floor looking for coins. It's just ick. 

Lily: know. It sits badly. And you know what I don't like about it? I hadn't really looked at the design of Quarks but they've got these like long sort of tubular pillars that run up the staircases and they're sort of gold and they're spiraling in different ways and all the Ferengi have to wipe them.

There's all these Ferengi working there. They have to wipe them and I'm like, that is Such a shit job. And as someone who has like done shit jobs like that, like imagine if that were your job. And there's Quark just looking for coins. Yeah. I mean, it's uncomfortable. 

Cole: I thought this whole scene was too contrived of a setup.

 The screenwriter said that he wrote a little ditty for Quark to sing about profit. And I'm certain that it was meant to be for this scene. Sure. Like this little like a hobbit singing about 

Lily: profit. Do you think that would have made it better if he were. crawling on the ground singing his little 

Cole: song.

 Oh no. 

Lily: [00:39:00] But on top of that, he's also micromanaging because he's like, you guys didn't even find these coins. And if you can't do it, I'll just do it myself, which is terrible management. 

 And I recommend never doing that if you're a manager. 

Cole: Tips from the traitors. But 

Lily: look, you heard it here first. Don't be Quark. But then suddenly, a scary person in black evening gloves grabs Quark from behind. Oh, the horror! I don't know how I missed it!

Terrifying! It's Vantika, I guess. He wants to know if Quark is still going to organize everything to help him, like was promised. So they've been in 

Cole: cahoots, apparently. Quark had been conspiring with this guy 

Lily: to steal the Geridium. He was the accomplice that Sisko was worried about. Yep. But Quark thought this guy was dead, and he says, Almost, but not quite.

And then he disappears. Now did you Who could it 

Cole: be? Did you recognize the voice? I did. , I thought the voice was really recognisable. And apparently the producers were also furious about [00:40:00] this scene because there is a split second where you even see him. You see his face.

Did you see it? Yeah. 

Lily: Yeah, yeah. I mean, you would have to stop it. Yeah. And pause it. 

Cole: But even the voice alone, it's like, okay. Terrible. Are they evening gloves or are they like ski gloves? Sort of like felt? 

Lily: Look, they seemed a silly choice. 

Cole: look, if you're a villain, you're going to wear black gloves.

That's just what you do. I guess. Yeah. 

Lily: Yeah. Right out of the villain handbook. Exactly. All right, meanwhile, in a completely unrelated scene, kujata has been asked by Bishir to meet her in the infirmary. And Bashir is showing off some of his killer bedside manner to prove he knows how to 

Cole: speak to people.

This chap who Bashir is treating.

Cole: who maybe pulled his back lifting something, with us all seven years. No. His name is Lieutenant Jones. Jones. Jones. No. So just , if you enjoy looking at the background denizens of DS9, get to know Lieutenant Jones. 

Lily: Oh my god, let me, let me commit his face to memory. Yeah. It's not very memorable.

Cole: they let him talk exactly three times over seven seasons, and it must have felt, it must have meant so [00:41:00] much for this actor. 

Lily: I feel like, if he ever listens to this, please. Yeah, 

Cole: like we see you Lieutenant 

Lily: Jones. And we will continue to see you. Yeah. Yeah. Great. 

Cole: And remember to always lift with your legs, just like Bashir says.

Lily: Bashir has the scans back that were requested and it's definitely Rayo Vantika, who is dead in stasis. Not a clone. Hey, remember that clone, Bashir? Throwback! 

Cole: Isn't that nice? They actually did 

Lily: throw back to the clone.

Like, clones are a thing? Okay, bye. Yeah. 

Cole: , also, Kajada for no seeming reason at all. It talks about how little she slept last night.

Sure. The same night that Yes. Black gloves person was, monstering Cork or whatever. 

But it is a very clear claxon. she's a suspect. Mm-Hmm. She's looking fishy. 

Lily: Oh, you were sleeping, were you? Great alibi. So Dax has some information, and it's possible that Vantika's body is dead, but his brain lives on in another person! Uh, And Bashir immediately points the finger to Kajada, and [00:42:00] Dax agrees. Wow. 

Cole: . 

And they use this notion that a humanoid a human only uses like 10 percent of their brain, which is one of the most infamous pieces of bunk science.

Sure. I mean, did you see the movie Lucy with Scarlett Johansson? No, I didn't. They make an entire film out of it and she taps into the other 90 percent and by the end she's like levitating stuff, because that's what you can do, and it's not, it's based on absolutely nothing. Sure. Like, you might just not be using.

all of your brain at once, but you're using all your brain. Sure. So it's like, come on Star Trek, this is complete nonsense. Maybe this is 

Lily: where we were in the early 

Cole: 90s. Sure. But all right, so maybe Vantika is hiding in someone else's brain and the person doesn't realize it.

Yeah. Great. Speaking of callbacks, they do a crazy callback to Star Trek 3, the movie. Oh! When they say , but only Vulcans have been known to transfer their, consciousnesses.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because Spock transferred his to McCoy. So they're just like, we remember the movies. Oh yeah, we've seen 

Lily: those. Yep. We're the writers. 

Cole: [00:43:00] Well, and then, 

so they, they immediately suspect Kajada. Yeah. And they say, well, what better place to hide than in the mind of your worst enemy? And so it's like the ultimate melding of these two lives that have already been intertwined for 20 

Lily: about that. So I suppose if you didn't already know it was Bashir. You'd be like, gooby kajada.

Right. 

Cole: Yeah. the original pitch for this episode was based on this premise of like, if a cop who's been chasing a criminal for decades ends up getting fused with their mind? That was the nugget that inspired this thing. All right. 

Lily: So I did, actually have one intertextual link.

Ready. And I'm just going to say the name of the film and I don't want any follow up questions. 

Face off. 

Cole: So I, I've never seen it. Oh my god, have you never seen Face Off? And actually know nothing about it, but at one point this week I was like, maybe that's what Face Off's about. It is. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah. 

Lily: my god, we should absolutely watch that. Should we do like a special episode?

Just reviewing 

Cole: Face Off? Reviewing Face Off. I think that should be our, our [00:44:00] new podcast, is actually reviewing really campy movies. Great. 

Lily: Alright, this is in the bin. Sorry everyone, last episode. Who is it? Nicholas Cage and John Travolta. 

Cole: The two best actors of our time. Swap faces. It sounds amazing.

And 

Lily: face off. 

Cole: And they face off. Double meaning. The title itself is brilliant. It's great. It's 

Lily: such a good movie. I'm ready. 

Cole: My body is ready. Take me face off. 

Lily: You're not ready. Um, 

so Dax and Bashir are in agreement, but Sisko doesn't think it's Kajada. . He says it doesn't make sense. Why would she be so eager to insist on Vantika's being alive?

Cole: Cuts from Dax and Bashir hatching this hack theory, it cuts right to Sisko saying, It doesn't make sense! Which, like, preach, Sisko. 

Lily: I think I wrote, Yeah, no duh. Like a 90s teenager. Because he's like, why would she be so eager to insist that Vantika's alive?

Like, that doesn't make any sense. But Dax and Bashir claim that she might not even know. that he's the metaphor of having [00:45:00] a stowaway on board without realizing. A passenger. 

Cole: Perhaps. 

Lily: So this is where I get to what I've named this episode. Why does this episode have so many scenes with half a dozen people?

Just standing around in a room. Like, could this not have been an email? Or like, done over Skype? What is the point? 

Cole: It's like you forgot that Vantika hacked into the computer system several scenes ago. They can't use the computers to communicate. He's on the computer system! I have forgotten. So much for a close reading, Lily.

Lily: Wow. That put me in my place. 

Cole: It's actually so funny because, again, in this jurisdiction friction, Odo wants to deploy his teams for security, and Primn wants to use The computer to track Vanka and, and so Prims like this can all be on computers. Now's like, not in my station. Yeah. So I guess you and Priman really would get along.

Lily: Wow. You guys like efficiency that hurts Cole. He in New Tech to be more efficient. [00:46:00] Did you hear how long you spent describing what the character of Priman is like? 

Cole: And do you remember me also saying that these, these guys are good people? Yeah. 

Lily: Do you know me? Have we met? 

Cole: You could maybe maintain like Two minutes of polite conversation with a primmon?

I feel like you don't know me 

Lily: at all. 

Cole: you would probably like,, break a glass of beer over his head within five 

Lily: minutes. I think I'd be more guilty of rolling my eyes and then ignoring him. There would be so much eye rolling. Yeah. I'm less of a break something over someone's head and more of a no, I'm done.

You're like a 

Cole: master eye roller. I am. Yeah, you are, 

Lily: you are. . 

Odo insists that kajara be left out of all security plans. And when she figures this out, she can just be sent straight to him. 

Cole: Yeah. . hE's like, she can deal 

Lily: with me. She can just come to me when she works out.

We've left her out of everything. And then she's figured it out and then instantly the 

Cole: next thing she is figured it out. She's figured it out. I mean, she she's great. She, she doesn't abide fools either. Yeah. 

Lily: she's a Sigourney, alright. She asks Odo, What kind of fool are you? To which he [00:47:00] replies, My own special variety.

Which is whimsical and fun for him. 

Cole: is Odo my favourite character? Absolutely. 

Lily: Yeah. He's the best character. And I've worked out, apparently, in some instances, I would smash. 

Cole: Yeah, when he's being particularly 

Lily: efficient. When he's really, and to be fair, he's not, like, I would not smash in this episode.

Cole: No, he actually messes 

Lily: up over and over again. He messes up, he has tantrums. Yeah. Not my thing. Yeah. 

So she doesn't care for this at all, but Odo has restricted access to himself, Primin, Kira, and Sisko. Kajada asks about Quark, and Odo seems surprised to which she replies that he's exactly the kind of accomplice Vantika would use. And then she tries to storm out. It has to wait for Odo to open the doors to his office.

And is this the only room on the station without automatic doors? Um, And Odo is a bit of a despot. 

Cole: I bet it's a setting and Odo's a despot. That's, I love that, like, very, very small character observation, whether intentional or not. And he waits. 

Lily: Yeah. He waits. She's trying to storm out, he has to pause. 

Cole: So I love [00:48:00] that she's being shot out of the hunt for Vantika.

And instantly, when she realizes that, she shifts to Quark. And it just sort of reinforces my little notion that the Kajada Vantika thing is like shadow of Odo Quark. Like she instantly spots the Quark on the station. AnD then she's like, what about Quark? And Odo says, I always keep an eye on him, which just again, sounds like rom com.

I thought like, can't take my eyes off of you. Yeah. Here's looking at you. Yeah. Like Odo's connection to Quark is deep. I only have eyes to you. Yeah. 

Lily: 

At Quark's, this is a very funny scene, the mercenaries in Quark are just sitting around throwing barbs about previous jobs they've worked on together, things they owe each other, and the mercenaries, most importantly, are bringing some fashion.

Oh my gosh, so 

Cole: much, like, they're the only ones bringing it this 

Lily: episode. Yes, aside from red pirate shirt True, true. So there's a bearded Dragon, Buffy Demon Mercenary, whose name turns out to be Derg, and he's [00:49:00] in purple and a spangled vest outfit. It's very loud. It's loud. It screams, I'm a mercenary!

Cole: Like for someone who's trying to sneak into ships and do crimes, he's wearing the loudest, snappiest, purple, shimmering suit. 

Lily: If his, like, crazy face didn't give him away, then that 

Cole: outfit will. No, no, don't be racist against Derg's people. I'm 

Lily: sorry. But he does have really spiky shin and a huge head.

He 

Cole: looks like a villain. He probably has to put up with that his whole life, Lily. And thus, his villain arc. Why do you think he turned to villainy? Because no one would hire him for a legitimate job. I'm part of the problem. But speaking of racism. 

Lily: tHere's another mercenary that kind of looks like an extra from an Aladdin musical.

Cole: Are you talking about the dude in a do rag? Cuz that is straight up racist. 

The duerag says, I'm a criminal. Yeah. Also there's nothing less intimidating than this Bajoran in a duerag. No. Like it's 

Lily: laughable. They're a motley crew.[00:50:00] Space them out. They're like the pirates of Penzance. 

Cole: Like, I want to be friends with them, I know. 

Lily: Maybe they should get into some amateur theatre. They like dressing up. They 

Cole: could do some 

Lily: But Kajada is in the shadows doing some sneaking.

But apparently not sneaky enough. Because suddenly she is hanging from the balustrade, and she falls and injures herself pretty badly. Yikes. 

Cole: I mean, she's actually doing a better job listening in on Quark's plans than Odo. Sure. She knows exactly who to be spying on, but unfortunately, wrong place, wrong time, Kajada.

Exactly. 

Lily: And then next scene she's in the Quark called for help when that happened. So he's not a total villain. He's not. Because she heard the plans, so he could have killed her, got the mercenaries to do it. Yeah, that's a really good point actually. he's just villain lite, you know?

Yeah. He's no Vantika. 

Cole: totally. 

Lily: Kajada claims that she was pushed by Vantika. says that he can't keep Kajada conscious any longer, which is convenient. And it's a very crowded infirmary. Sisko, Odo, and Quark are all there.[00:51:00] claims that he was on his own and that he only saw her fall.

And then Odo sort of disputes this, and there's a very good line where Quark, you know, doesn't like the inference, and Odo says, it's not an inference, it's a direct suspicion. It's a very good 

Cole: bit of dialogue. Oh, Odo loves picking on 

Lily: Quark. He loves it. It is what he lives for. They both love it!

Yeah, yeah, it works. Like, all those scenes, are they gonna 

Cole: kiss? 

I mean, it's Odo's way to stave off the loneliness that he is in denial about. 

Lily: Yeah, it's a beautiful connection. 

Sisko questions whether this could have been a suicide attempt. And Bashir doesn't know. 

Cole: to me that was almost a callback to The Exorcist. where there's a priest who hurls himself out of a window to kill the demon inside him. Wow. Yeah, 

Lily: yeah. You went 

Cole: deep. I mean, I just love some horrific intertextuality.

Yeah. Or again, this was a potpourri of tropes, and I was all for it. I wasn't terrified at all, but it was just a grab bag of tropes. A potpourri of, veritable potpourri. Mmm.

Lily: That was some dried rose petals. 

Cole: What else is in [00:52:00] there? I have no idea. 

Lily: yEah, so Bashir has no idea because he doesn't know anything.

But he says that he won't conduct any brain scans until he's sorted out the other injuries. And this gets a huge eye roll from Sisko. I see you! 

Cole: Oh my gosh, he does. 

He 

Lily: just hates Bushier, as 

Cole: do we all we, we all do. I think it's a huge shame that Kajada is out of commission for the rest of the episode, because even if she is a pretty two-dimensional character, the whole potential for her dynamic with Vantika and.

Her mission just disappears. 

Lily: But I think if we're following your logic the role she plays as a trope, she's given the dire warnings and then she's taken out of action and then the hapless victims are just left to be like, what's 

Cole: going on? Yeah, it could have been a stronger episode, but instead she's relegated to serving a function, serving a role. 

Lily: that's fair. And we're in the stasis room, the morgue. Dax is checking out something beneath [00:53:00] Vantika's nails. And then, blah blah blah, he was sending his brain through his fingernails to someone else. And also, what? He had a microscopic generator under his nails and that's how he did it. Well 

Cole: done, Jadzia, you're a brilliant 

Lily: scientist, and you You weren't who would have thought to check under the nails, for the You look at his glial 

Cole: cells.

For the glial cells, and Which are real. glial cells. Oh, sorry. It's they actually exist. It's all real science, really. Oh, 

Lily: yeah. Look, all I heard was brain under his fingernails, and a tiny generator. Yeah. Also. Which is totally batshit. But Dax is pretty confident that now they know what they're looking for.

And it should show up in a scan. Because now she's an expert on tiny fingernail generators. She's good. And then at the end of the scene, Dax keeps fondling the dead hand of Vantika. 

Cole: And Sisko compliments her, and she just beams, Oh yeah! It's really nice. You really see just how much of a nerd Jadzia is.

You do! She gets really excited about carving [00:54:00] nails. She does. 

Lily: And I think we're also reminded she's a 28 year old woman who has all these degrees. Yeah, he was like, look at me, I'm using my degrees! And she's like, haha, I did it, science! There's 

Cole: a lot of that in this episode for her. she's the hero in a lot of ways.

She is, she is. Yeah, yeah. 

Lily: Yep, she's given more than she's 

Cole: ever been given. 

Lily: But just, can you just watch how she keeps, she's just holding this guy's hand. And then Sisko leaves and she's like, Mmm, yes. 

Cole: Back to these beautiful dead man's fingers.

Lily: Um, mEanwhile Kira is doing some micromanaging of her own. 

Getting security ready for the Duridium to arrive.

Lily: But Odo wants this to be the final checks. And then they both suddenly realize they don't know the whereabouts of Primin. 

Cole: Is 

Lily: he a potential suspect?

This guy that's just appeared? O'Brien shaped, but not O'Brien. Yeah, that's how he is, O'Brien shaped.

Cole: So Odo tears off to hunt down Primmin, the new 

Lily: suspect. his real villain in this episode is [00:55:00] Primmin. 

Cole: 

Thank you. 

Lily: Quark, Derg, off brand Aladdin, and that other mercenary are strolling 

Cole: through the corridors. And you get a nice look at just how beautiful Aladdin's robes are.

He looks like he's ready for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Yeah! 

Lily: So they're all strolling through the corridors, and they're discussing how Quark managed to get his hands on a runabout somehow but Quark can't take the credit, Vantika Security access somehow. And then we have the big reveal.

The big 

Cole: reveal! That we all saw coming. Who's waiting for them? It's 

Lily: Dr. Bashir! And what's he doing there? He's Vantica. And he's, he's just, it's the most terrible delivery 

Cole: appliance. And then for the rest of the episode, we're just stuck with Possessed Bashir. Okay, in defense of 

Lily: Oh god, no, defense. What is the 

Cole: defense?

All right, I'm defending the actor Siddig [00:56:00] El Fadil. He was clearly humiliated by this episode. Was he? So he, he says Post hoc, though. Well, he says that he was only given the script the day before, and so he had less than a day to figure out how to act possessed. I don't know if 

Lily: you can hear this, but I am rolling my eyes.

You are rolling your eyes. 

Cole: I mean, I think he's a human, and if he watched this episode, he saw how incredibly hokey and campy it is. I just feel like 

Lily: He made some very particular choices that no one should 

Cole: make. Here's the even crazier thing. He originally filmed it with an even worse voice. It was even more cringe.

And they made him go back and dub over all of his lines. No! Because originally it was even worse. This is dub? And this was the second take voice. Oh my gosh! This was the best they could do. And at least Siddig knows. This is just awful. 

Lily: I just, I hope he takes responsibility. Like, blame who you want, that is you.

That is you doing that. And then, that was so bad that then [00:57:00] you redubbed it so you had a chance to do something else and then this is what you did. . 

Cole: Do you do you know about Siddig el Fadil's pedigree, Lily? A minor digression. Shakespeare? No.

So, his lineage, his maternal uncle is Malcolm McDowell, who was a star of Clockwork Orange and the villain in Star Trek Generations, and his paternal uncle was the Prime Minister of Sudan. Right. So, know, someone who is much like Bashir, was given the world of opportunity, and this was one of his first big acting roles, and is probably the most Bashir we've gotten all of the season, and 

he just chokes hard. 

Lily: Like I just wonder what was the director saying? What were the producers saying? 

Cole: act possessed So TV Tropes has an amazing name They call this performance cold ham. Oh we're like It's super hammy, so over the top and emotive, but it's delivered in this monotone. [00:58:00] And so many villains have this monotone, over the topness.

And Bashir's hard for the cold hamminess. But 

Lily: they do it, and he is not 

Cole: doing it. He's not pulling it off, the cold ham. Yeah. Oh, God. 

Lily: right. Then we have a few quick scenes. 

finds Primmon doing some sneaky scans and Primmon Then does some brown nosing. And he says he took a cue from Odo about Vantika avoiding the single file but attacking the whole system.

And then the glitch in the security threat is in the WASTE RECLAMATION SYSTEM. And it's a subspace shunt. And I wasn't really paying attention when they explained that. But look at you, you 

Cole: jotted it all down for the recap. There we go. Do you know what the Waste Reclamation System is? 

Lily: Is that the toilet?

It's like the sewers, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure. I mean, they say that that's not a Non essential! Non essential! I think that's very essential! Pretty essential, guys! Completely agree. 

Cole: I thought it was sort of nice that Primin was taking a page from Odo's book, but no, he's just brown [00:59:00] nosing, isn't he?

I'm such a fool. He's totally brown nosing. 

Lily: I'm so naive. He's poppin his, Polo shirt, Polo. And it's all 

Cole: like, hey boss, look at what 

He spares. 

Cole: uh, the station from a complete shutdown, so he actually saves the day. That's it. Go 

Lily: Polo Primmon. It would have shut down for an hour, and then Vantica could have escaped with the shipment.

Cole: you're a Polo shirted 

Lily: hero. Yeah, Primmon. Then we're back in Ops, and the wormhole has opened with the ship that's carrying the Deridium shipment. And Odo actually gives credit 

Cole: to Primmon. In the most begrudging way. He says, your lieutenant Primmon there, spotted something. It's like, okay, way to show gratitude, 

Lily: Odo.

But he says that this guy saved everyone a lot of trouble. 

Cole: Well done, Odo. Maybe learn to do it with a smile next time. He doesn't, 

Lily: he can't smile! No, he can't. Wow! Sorry. 

But then what? A runabout has been deployed. What runabout? And everyone is so slow to confirm that it's Bashir.

And it's Bashir! And you know what? Odo is shook. He did not see it [01:00:00] coming. 

Cole: everyone screwed up. Bad. 

Lily: So then we're on board the freight ship.

And the workers have really silly suits that have a bit of a Millennium Falcon design. 

Cole: I think they're just supposed to be like, we're just plain simple miners. We are some 

Lily: grunts. and we're miners. We've been mining some duridium. The mercenaries beam aboard and have the lamest gunfight of all time.

They're just like, I'm gonna stand here and not move, and pew. pew. 

Cole: I mean, Durag dude, , he does it just with a dead face. 

Lily: An unnamed mercenary, he's like, are we done? Oh no. Raise the gun. No, and no, we're done. It's done. All right. Terrible. Can I get paid?

Everyone going? These are, these are corks 

Cole: dudes. These are the people Cork managed. Toras up. , 

Lily: Oh, Bashir slash Vantika beams aboard. And his line delivery is as painful as ever. And this is just a terrible look on Bashir and it's embarrassing for everyone, including us watching this right now. It's like.

I feel embarrassed sitting here 

Cole: watching it. Okay, so not only is possession body snatching [01:01:00] big horror trope, but it pops up all the time on Star Trek. 

And not only on the horror themed episodes.

Cole: Characters are possessed all the time. And I guess I, was going to ask you why do you think Star Trek is so obsessed with possession?

Because it's not based in 

Any sort of science at all.. 

Cole: It's never going to be a good character driven episode because the character's not even there. Like, their body's been stolen. But I think literally every single main character on Star Trek has been possessed at one time or another. And tend to be most of my least favorite episodes. 

Lily: I mean, I think it has a, a long history in the theater

Cole: apparently Stealing goes back all the way to like an H. G. Wells short story from 1896. It's called The Story of the Late Mr. Elvisham, where an old man tricks a young man into swapping bodies with him. Is that the beginning of the In modern storytelling, I've traced it to H. G. Wells. 

Lily: Surely there's some ancient 

Cole: or Yeah, so maybe, a sci fi trope, they credit H. G. Wells.

Lily: Yeah. I think it is a chance in a weekly show to give the actors [01:02:00] something to do that isn't being their weekly character. Yeah. It's maybe a 

Cole: gift to the actors. 

Lily: Yeah. Uh, 

Cole: it's just weird. Then that nine times outta 10, the way they play it is this cold ham.

Yeah. Like, Troi was possessed at least twice, and every time she was like, we have taken this body. Captain, we will release the body. And it's just, no one enjoys it. And I hate possession episodes. Yeah, 

Lily: but I don't hate this episode, I've gotta say. It's just so 

Cole: much fun. 

Lily: It's really fun.

And so silly. 

Cole: although this is really rough watching 

Lily: this, this scene in particular is probably the worst thing that happens. The station tries to track to beam them and it works because they stole the shunt. 

Cole: Yeah, we caught that shunt. We caught that 

Lily: subspace shunt in the pre factory. 

Cole: Is subspace shunt a good name for a heavy metal rock band?

We are subspace shunt. Yeah, 

Lily: Or like an indie band from 2006. [01:03:00] Um, And Bashir slash Vantika says, Butch. That's. Not. Possible. 

Cole: Hailing. Us? Hailing. 

Lily: Us? And it's very, like, anime villain ish? Yeah. So, like, too it's so bad. That's rough. Then he hails Sisko, and he literally does the fingertips pressed together villain thing as he's hailing Sisko.

Cole: Mmm, A fine trope catch. Yes, thank you. Yeah, did 

Lily: you have 

Cole: that? No, I missed 

Lily: that one. Great, ah, cool. Sisko wants to know if Bashir is okay, and Vantika replies that as humans say, his buddy is. Fit as a fiddle, looks rather good on me, don't you 

Cole: think? And ironically, maybe Vantika doesn't even know how arrogant and conceited Bashir is.

He just gets it because, I guess Maybe part of 

Lily: the brain in the fingernail scrapey, it's all melded. I don't 

Cole: [01:04:00] know. And does he know fit as a fiddle from Life is Vantico or Bashir's Brain. We're thinking way too much about this. Look, it's a I hate myself 

Lily: for it. No, but it's a weird choice, the whole thing.

It's all so weird. So many weird choices. And he's also doing lots of, like, the big O's in his pronunciation, and the word doctor in particular is, it's very like Doctor Who. Doc 

Cole: tor. And keep in mind, this was the actor's second attempt at this voice. 

Lily: I've kept it in mind since you told me. May we never forget.

But basically he's using Bashir's body as a bargaining chip because he's saying, I'll blow, I'll blow us all up. 

Cole: we're about to find out just how much everyone really cares about Bashir. And they're like, 

Lily: we'll do it, whatever. Please take him off our hands. And then there's the trope of you have one minute or you have, you know, arbitrary amount of time to decide.

Cole: You have one 

Lily: minute. Austin Powers. Yeah, exactly. Or So then Dax has a brainwave and she uses the old fingernail tiny [01:05:00] generator technology to disrupt the brain pattern that's in Bashir of Vantika. Is that correct? 

Cole: again, tech actually made sense, logically, but it was complete nonsense at the same time.

Lily: Yes. And she does it in a minute, I guess. So they try to, they try to stall Vantika. And then Dax just throws this all together because she's a genius, I guess. Yeah. But you know what? Durg, he doesn't want to borrow this crazy suicide plan. Poor Durg. Because Vantika's all like, I'll blow us all up.

And Durg's like, what? 

Cole: Durg has, another TV trope Are you crazy? Are you insane? Right when the villain's really getting , over the top. And then, of course, Vantika turns around and poor Durg. Yeah, and he's had a rough life, Durg, and that's how it ends. We don't know Durg's life.

Maybe it was great. Well, he spent the whole time people assuming he's a criminal because of his, like, bearded, buffy demon face. But he was a criminal. Well, maybe he had to turn to that because he was misunderstood and he couldn't get a real job. Wow. Poor Derg. Look, 

Lily: at least he Pour one out [01:06:00] for Derg. At least he had his waistcoats.

They 

Cole: were good. his funeral is gonna be a snazzy affair. 

Lily: But it's pretty funny because when Vantika Bashir turns around to shoot Derg, it's like a full on this is a Zoolander reference, like Blue Steel moment, he like pouts. It's really good. 

Cole: Yeah, he's giving Blue Steel as Vantika.

It's amazing. 

Lily: They then send through the beam, and then we get the actual worst acting of the entire series. This 

Cole: is when I just feel genuinely sorry for the actor. I 

Lily: don't because he did 

Cole: it. But he had to. He was contracted. No, but 

Lily: he could 

Cole: have done it better. Could he? Maybe. Alright, fine. Talk us through 

Lily: it. I don't, I do not feel bad for him. He did it. He acted this. He's like, I want to be a professional actor. And then he was like, yes, this is what I will now do while being filmed. 

Cole: Yeah, I guess this is what you get for, signing up to be on a sci fi show. I guess I just think it was horribly written, but maybe it was also horribly 

Lily: acted.

[01:07:00] But think about what other, think about what Patrick Stewart could have done with that scene. 

Cole: Oof, alright, you got me there. I, I'm not, No, you got me there, 

Lily: yeah. But instead, Bashir, he gets his little brain shooties, and he looks like he's got a really bad case of the nits, life.

Cole: Yeah, yeah, yeah. wHen the Avantika is being blasted out of him. When he's getting the Yeah, he like, claws at lice in his head. 

Yeah, so he gets blasted with Dax's electroshock wave, and he scratches at the lice in his scalp. And 

Lily: it's a choice. And it's a terrible choice. when you've got psoriasis, you're not supposed to scratch it, Bashir. 

Cole: And then Bashir comes back to himself for a second.

And he sort of plays the dumb, clueless Bashir for a moment. He's back! But 

Lily: wait! And he goes to lower the shields, because they tell him to do that.

But then Vantika's sort of taking control of him. No! 

Cole: Vantika is fighting for control! 

Lily: But then you think you've seen some really bad acting. But then they beam Bashir aboard. [01:08:00] And he pretends the actor, what's his name again? Sidiq Al Fadl Al Fadl, is pretending to be Vantika, pretending to be Bashir.

Yes. And no part of any of that do I believe. Yes, it's not compelling. And nor does anyone else. Sisko just phases him and the crowd goes 

Cole: wild. Yeah, it's, you know, it's actually one of my favorite horror tropes is that like you think you killed him, but. Yeah. By like the sort of last gasp. Yeah. And wouldn't have minded like one last lunge, but Sisko's like.

No, you're clearly Vantika and I'm shooting you. You're a terrible actor.

Lily: so to round things up, Dax moves the Vantika brain patterns to a little discman. And then they wake up Bashir who says, I have the worst headache, and Dax and Sisko find this hilarious for some reason. 

Cole: It's just as cringe as Bashir's whole acting.

I 

Lily: prefer to think they're just laughing at his pain. 

Cole: yeah, 

Lily: , I feel like Sisko and Dax 

like, we nailed this. Like, Dax was a genius. And I was a great [01:09:00] manager. I'm Sisko in this. Retailing. Obviously. You can be Dax. I get Sorry, I just saw your posture completely change as you 

Cole: Inherited the lives of seven brilliant 

Lily: trills before me. But also an actress who was a model with impeccable posture.

Thank you. It's 

Cole: good to know you. It's like I just got possessed. Yeah. This is how you do it, Sid. They call him Sid. 

Lily: Do they? Yeah. That's nice. 

And then we have the closing scene. And we have Bashir admitting to Kajada that they should have listened to her. You know what, she's pretty gracious about the whole thing. She accepts that. 

Cole: Yeah, it's graciousness all around. it's like the professionalism of any crime show.

Like, we did it, we caught the bad guy, good work. Yeah, 

Lily: Quark team, 

Cole: and I respect you. But don't 

Lily: get on my turf again. Yeah, exactly. Bashir says that he can't remember it, and he's quite humiliated by this whole thing. And I am also embarrassed 

Cole: for him. We're all so embarrassed for Bashir Sid.

Lily: And then Kajada asks if she can take control of the prisoner, [01:10:00] whose brain is inside this discman. anD she just shoots it, destroys it. Yeah. And no one seems to care anything about that, and that's the end of the episode. 

Cole: What did you think of that almost anticlimactic suddenness? 

Lily: I mean, in the logic of the episode, sure.

Silly is 

Cole: as silly does. It was very abrupt, but it was actually maybe the one Like flouting of a horror trope because normally you keep it you keep the especially like a supervillain like Vantika You let him get away for him to come back for a sequel and they're like now he's dead Yeah, part of it was kind of sad.

 He's a supervillain who cheats death. He's finally met his end I 

Lily: don't know. I loved this For every Ellen Ripley out there who just wanted an alien to die People kept bringing Alien 

Cole: back. No, we're happy for her. 

Lily: The end, I guess. What a ride! 

Cole: What a hoot! sO yes, Silly, I've got some final thoughts. [01:11:00] Yes, please. okay, whoops. So, excuse me. Man, I'm a mess.

So just one last effort to give this episode as much credit as possible. I think it could have been salvaged. If they had changed some things in the end. So hear me out. Okay. Skeptical. Okay, so Vantika is being chased by Kajada, and two of them are like this weird shadow parallel of Odo and Quark.

Mm hmm. Quark, in the episode, teams up with Vantika. But, actually seems out of character for Quark to be part of such a heinous, murderous plot. Like, I think Quark is a low level criminal. Yeah. And I think he was in over his head. Yeah. So, what if, once he realizes that he's in over his head, he and Odo team up, have a meeting of the minds, if you will.

And then I think Vantika actually should have possessed Kajada, because then the two of them would have had this merging too. And so then Odo and Quark could have tricked Kajada. And this sort of like, lighter, warmer [01:12:00] version of the cop and criminal outsmarted this, this deathly I'd watch the heck out of that. Right? And that would have been interesting for like all four characters. 

Lily: You know what? I feel like Star Trek, it really shies away from its both homo social and homo sexual relationships. Men, they actually can't be too close unless they're doing something manly, which is very weird.

Yeah. And they, yeah, they just can't have too close a relationship. Would Odoo and 

Cole: Quark working together once be a step too far? Yes. Even for these people who clearly think the world of each other. I think so. Yeah. Yeah. I think it could have worked because Quark there's times when he has been over his head on the series and he doesn't want to be an accomplice to, to murder, for example.

And I think he could have like run to Odoo and been like, help, , I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I was just trying to make a buck. But you're right, it maybe would have been too homosocial. I mean, Bashir O'Brien, Kim and Paris. 

Lily: But what the two do is very heteronormative. They get together and they [01:13:00] play out fantasies.

They roast each other. So , they're basically Watching sports. Yeah. Like sitting in a bar. That's it. Yeah. Or they, you know, they go to the Holly Suites or the holiday deck and they play out their hetero fantasies of being cowboys and Indians or whatever. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's so true. That's pretty much the 

Cole: friendships that exists.

That's let's pretend. Whereas macho as 

Lily: possible, they're on a fantasy football team together. Actually, both 

Cole: of those pairings just live these fantasy lives in the holiday together. Lily, you're good. 

Lily: Thanks. Sometimes when I've, uh. muscadade, about? 

Cole: a good time, and the wine definitely helped. Yeah, 

Lily: I feel like The crispsness sort of cut through the 

Cole: silliness. The complete silliness. Yeah. 

 Should we Watch some fashion sweet 

Cole: fashion watch. I was really hoping you'd sing it again.

Thank you. 'cause it was Chef's Kiss last time. Thank you. Yeah. Did you have a fave? 

Lily: I mean, it's the d of it all, isn't it? It's dur [01:14:00] and, and 

Cole: his, his Aladdin buddy minus the Durag Look. 

Lily: I dunno if Aladdin buddy makes the cut 

Cole: for me. But Dork was just, splendid. He was, he was splendid. 

Lily: He was shout out to Kajada 

for rocking that strong outfit. Knowing her colors. rethinking that color. I'm gonna say it's 

Cole: plum. Sure. Yeah. I'm so glad you corrected it for the record. Sorry 

Lily: everybody. 

Cole: Wow. And I guess may Pirate Shirt live on. Because that, red, pluffy. with some matching grey, grey harem, red fluffy shirt, grey harem pants.

It's a look for the ages. 

Lily: And uh, I'm excited to see where this gambling addiction leads and what kind of Havoc it wreaks on his personal 

Cole: life as he descends further into gambling addiction. I just hope he never changes his costume 

Lily: only time will tell Any fashion don'ts I was thinking we could do that.

Cole: do rags unless you're a black man In the 20th or maybe like someone else's [01:15:00] body, I don't think you should wear that Yeah, unethical. I think it's just 

Lily: rude. You might be fit as a 

Cole: fiddle.

Fit as a fiddle. But you know what? Doesn't look good on you. Doesn't look good on you. Never a good look. Oh! 

Lily: Shout out to the portable medikit. Yeah. As an accessory that I do 

Cole: want. Let me see if I can track one down for you. 

Lily: Oh no, Dibs on the, on the purple mugs first. Okay. If you're finding me. Yeah. If 

Cole: So, yeah. Next week is what many consider the worst Deep Space Nine episode of all time. I'm so 

Lily: excited that you're recapping this and I'm so excited that I'm doing my heart takes. such 

Cole: fun. Such fun. Always.

All right, everyone weigh in with your own hot takes at Deep Space Wine underscore podcast. And we'll see you all next week. Thanks, guys. Bye. Bye.[01:16:00]