{"id":2155,"date":"2021-04-02T17:00:02","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T22:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/assend.net\/?p=2155"},"modified":"2021-03-19T19:27:04","modified_gmt":"2021-03-20T00:27:04","slug":"deep-space-9-watchparty-phil-season-1-episode-9-move-along-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/2021\/04\/02\/deep-space-9-watchparty-phil-season-1-episode-9-move-along-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Deep Space 9 WatchParty (Phil) – Season 1, Episode 9 \u2013 Move Along Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We continue our DS9 collaborative review and watch party with episode nine, \u201cMove Along Home.\u201d The title is a reference to a non-sensical board game played by the crew during the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like most of the episodes we\u2019ve watched this season, this one has some severe ups and downs. Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This episode opens with a really nice discussion between Sisko and his son, Jake. He\u2019s being an interested father and paying attention to what his son is involved in. He learns Jake has been checking out Bajoran girls and keeping up on Bajoran styles of dress, and decides he needs to keep closer contact with Jake and also have a more in-depth discussion about life and responsibilities with him. It is a nice moment, and I wish we got more of these. It really humanizes Sisko, adds a lot of depth and complexity to his character, and makes me really like him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sisko skeptical about his son, Jake.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Primary Plot<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The main plot of this episode revolves around a first contact with a group of aliens from the Gamma Quadrant. They have popped through the wormhole to say hello. Sisko had advanced word of their immanent arrival via a passing Vulcan ship, and he\u2019s turned out the gang in their dress-A uniforms to meet them.  Well, all except the doctor, who can\u2019t find his. He\u2019s sure he packed it when he came to DS9, but he hasn\u2019t been able to locate it. It isn\u2019t really a big deal, though. The difference between the standard uniform and the dress-A uniforms appears to be a single panel of fabric lined with some metallic foil stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dress-A vs standard field uniform<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Why Dress-A uniforms at all, though? I guess I\u2019m not perfectly clear on what exactly Starfleet is, or what their role is. They aren\u2019t supposed to be the military, are they? I thought they were more like the State Department, and their exploration and science ships could perform combat duties if necessary. I don\u2019t think that any of the characters on any of the shows have ever considered their careers with Starfleet to be of a military nature. So why do they adapt or retain so many little things from former (historical, from the 24th<\/sup> century perspective) military service?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, the first contact goes poorly. The aliens don\u2019t give two figs for protocol and have no interest in a bunch of talk. They aren\u2019t a diplomatic envoy at all. They are just a bunch of folk looking for a good time, and have heard there is gambling, \u201cgames,\u201d onboard DS9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where the episode really shines. Sisko is put out of his element and stymied, and he doesn\u2019t handle it well. Quark, on the other hand, as purveyor of the \u201cgames,\u201d is now in his element. He\u2019s in demand, it gives him a certain amount of authority, and it irritates Sisko and Odo to no end. Quark revels in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Quark also rightly points out that he\u2019s a host, and he aims to keep these newcomers happy as long as possible. It is how he makes his profit. He does do a seemingly good job, trading gems from them for his hospitality and services, and Sisko has nothing to do for hours but to watch Quark thrive in his element. Eventually Sisko gives up and goes to bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Quark convincing Sisko he’ll wine and dine them.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The aliens are apparently quite capable at calculating odds and mastering games of chance, and Quark soon finds himself on the short end of the transaction. Rather than accept the loss of any money that he desires, he has the casino staff start cheating to prevent the aliens winning. That is, of course, when the episode jumps the shark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aliens retaliate by physically confronting and intimidating Quark. They give him the opportunity to play an honest game, and then they somehow transport Sisko, Kira the Needlessly Defiant, Dax, and Bashir into some dimension inside the game. They are playing pieces, and must play the game that Quark directs, risking life and limb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quark, being Quark, gets sucked in by the stakes of the game. He can prevent his own loss of wealth, he can gain more wealth if he wins, and it is a game of chance. His lust overpowers his cowardice, and he plays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Odo does the masculine thing when he finds out the command crew are all missing. He tracks a strange signature reading on the sensors to the alien ship, and he charges right in. A Starfleet underling tries to get him to not take decisive action, and Odo belittles and mocks Starfleet and Starfleet policy (and justifiably so). He takes matters into his own hands to force the issue and a confrontation, and of course discovers Quark up to his eyeballs in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Odo about to charge in a manly fashion, against Starfleet regulations.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is another great scene. Odo wants immediate recourse to an undisclosed stratagem, but it is almost certainly armed conflict. Quark has a lovely moment where he convinces Odo to let him play this out. He\u2019s studied games of chance his whole life, and he knows he can make the right move and win the game, rescuing everyone and hurting no one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odo conceded. Quark rolls and loses the life of one of the command crew. Which one is up to him, but Quark is now paralyzed with indecision. He can\u2019t decide who he should let live or sentence to die. He\u2019s in an existential quandary, and his cowardice is now on full display again. He can\u2019t make that decision, so the aliens let the choice be made by random chance. To preserve drama and prevent spoilers, I will not reveal that outcome here.  ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The eyes tell the tale.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The episode closes with the reveal that no one was ever in any danger. The aliens gave their version of \u201crelax, man, it\u2019s just a game.\u201d The command crew is restored, but not before Odo learns that the whole thing came about because of Quarks cheating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
It was just a game.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This one was a decent episode and could have been a lot better had the \u201cgame\u201d portion with the command crew been trimmed down. Those sequences were generally lame to terrible. They weren\u2019t believable; they weren\u2019t mysterious. They were just speed bumps to a resolution that tried to up the fake drama but failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where the episode really shines is with Quark and Odo. Quark gets the bigger role here, but Odo earns some serious kudos too. Both did a fantastic job and really show they have a lot of character to give. It is clear that they are my two favorites on this show, and not by a little bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is truly amazing how much Quark conveys when he\u2019s on camera. His prosthetics are huge and ungainly. He also has a mouth full of these sharp, pointy teeth that get in the way of everything he\u2019s trying to say. To have any emotion or expression come through his eyes at all, he has to basically do the \u201ccrazy eyes\u201d with the full whites of the sclera showing completely around his irises, and yet he does it. It comes across perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serious kudos to the actor that played Quark, and to the actor who plays Odo too. They really do great work on DS9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Grade:  C+<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This one was almost a B. Almost. Too much lame Star Trek \u201cweirdness\u201d and fake drama with the game and the command crew and then letting all of it deflate by finding out that there was no risk after all really cheapens it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was watching it, I actually found myself thinking, \u201cnot back to the command crew, dang it, let\u2019s get back to the real action with Odo and Quark.\u201d I feel like the writers needed to be reminded that not every character needs a ton of screen time every episode. Roll with your strengths and follow the natural arc of the story. Different folk will shine at different times. Don\u2019t try to shoe-horn everyone in there. It didn’t help that the random \u201cgame\u201d elements were pretty bad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We continue our DS9 collaborative review and watch party with episode nine, \u201cMove Along Home.\u201d The title is a reference to a non-sensical board game played by the crew during the game….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26017,"featured_media":1946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,2,21,33,20],"tags":[28,27,24,29,32,31,30],"class_list":["post-2155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deep-space-9","category-reviews","category-sci-fi","category-star-trek","category-tv","tag-deep-space-9","tag-ds9","tag-reviews","tag-sci-fi","tag-star-trek","tag-television","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26017"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2155"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2208,"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions\/2208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assend.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}