Playing God

DVD, DS9 S2 (Playing God)

I identified with Arjin, as someone who doesn't really have a lot of ambition, but sort of finds himself on the path to symbiosis, without clear goals. I wish we could have found out whether he was accepted by the Symbiosis Commission, or whether he chose to do something else, as the story leaves it wide open, with only the fact that Jadzia is going to recommend him, a certainty. This was certainly a Dax episode, even if it was also another of the rare 3-strand episodes, a strange decision coming right after another of those. It's close, but I think this one works marginally better, as the different storylines segue into each other instead of being completely disconnected.

Certainly a lot happens, even though it is mostly talk and very little action. The humour quotient is higher - Quark's inadvertent ear torture; Sisko hearing about Jake's interest in a Dabo girl; Kira and O'Brien's backsides being introduced as the First Officer and Chief Engineer since they're both engaged in a vole hunt.... Going on a vole hunt, going on a vole hunt, we're not scared...

Actually the episode could have turned into another monster rampage, in the vein of Odo's in 'The Alternate'. Both stories have in common the use of the science lab, seen here in all it's glory, and when those voles were skittering around the protouniverse you could have been forgiven for thinking one might have gone into hyper-change mode and become a huge vole hybrid that has the sentience of the inhabitants of the miniature universe, and foully does their bidding, trying to stop the humans from moving the phenomenon. But they never went down that route. The voles were kind of ugly, how you might imagine Ferengi babies could look, but it was good to see them up close, and they appeared much more realistic than the spider things at the beginning of the season!

A lot of references are made, almost too many to keep track of. The Trek universe is reinforced by such details as these, and it can become a bit of a game to try and keep track: Dax' love of little-known composers includes a Romulan, though his music isn't as distinct as the Vulcan artist she played before; she plays Tongo again; Sisko struggles over his decision about whether to leave the protouniverse to destroy the station, or try to destroy it, and wonders if they would be taking the same actions as the Borg took when they tried to wipe out humanity (they'll be back in three years, Ben, so watch out!); and the huge Klingon chef makes his second, and final appearance, after singing with Jadzia at his restaurant.

There seem to be a couple of mistakes that slipped through the continuity police. Jadzia says something about Curzon knowing a Ferengi bartender either a hundred years ago, or for a hundred years, which would be well before Federation first contact with the species. It could have been that Curzon went to places the Federation didn't, but since he was an ambassador for them, why didn't he tell them about the Ferengi? Maybe he did, or maybe he had promised this bartender he'd never tell anyone about his species? Who knows. One thing I do know is that there seems to be an extra Runabout pad. O'Brien mentions pad D, when surely there are only A, B and C pads, unless I'm missing something...

Again, there's the feeling that packing too much into an episode makes the stuffing spill out the sides, so the impact is lost, but we do get to hear a fair bit about some character's pasts - Jadzia's battle with Curzon over initiation, and Quark's nefarious reason for leaving his profitable career. I did like the way a normally benign component that they usually fly through - the Wormhole's verteron nodes - became a danger thanks to the protouniverse, and the effects with the lone Runabout trying to steer round these huge objects were great, but that sequence could have done with a bit more 'Star Wars' pizazz as it could have been a lot more exciting.

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