DS9 rewatch(es) crossposts
Dec. 22nd, 2018 01:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaPost dates indicate that my two rewatches were in 2016-2017 (first cut) and 2017-2018 (all the others)—not as large a gap as I thought! This is easily my favorite Trek, and rewatching it when coping with my dad's terminal diagnosis was equal parts healing/cathartic/exhausting. TW for a lot of cancer-talk under various cuts.
Rewatching DS9 under fascism
The part of me that thought Deep Space 9 would make good comfort watching during These Dark Times ™ was unforgivably mistaken. Not that it's not apt! unremittingly, heartbreakingly apt!
My rewatch from a few years ago stalled out midway through season 5, so that's where I picked up; the overarching plot goes super grim around that point, so (especially in season 6) the tone is wildly inconsistent in the attempt to simultaneously engage and counterbalance the plot, Ferengi escapades bookending things like "that time travel/racism episode,"*—a weird, vaguely exhausting experience.
But I'm consistently impressed by the ongoing engagement of the occupation of Bajor; that both the Bajoran experience and the Cardassian experience are explored in such variety and depth, but with a consistent throughline: A lot is made of Dukat's moderation, but the conclusion is always that there is no acceptable way to be an oppressor, that "lesser" oppression is still oppression and, as such, unforgivable. The breadth of Bajoran experience, the almost-collaborators, the apparently unresistant, those, like Kai Winn, whose resistance didn't look like Kira Nerys's resistance, are presented differently. Nerys doesn't always see it, but the narrative grants them validity; it recognizes that each survivor protects themselves and their people in different ways, and that every experience under the occupation was a valid suffering.
Star Trek by premise is full of good intentions, but in execution is limited by its creators, by the society that produces it, by the networks that air it; it never manages to perfectly reflect its own ideals. It has a bad habit of undermining itself accidentally, of equivocation, of reiterating the status quo. There's none of that here. All oppression is unacceptable, it insists, all of it, no matter how kindly or cruel; but how the oppressed experience it, and survive, and fight back, is individual and complex. It's valuable—pointedly so, right now.
But comforting escapism it is not, I'll tell you that for free.
* 6.13 "Far Beyond the Stars" which was directed by Avery Brooks because "this was a story about racism and prejudice and we felt very strongly that it would be wrong if it came from a bunch of people who didn't necessarily know about that experience" and could you imagine directing that while starring in it, could you imagining framing your own "That future—I created it, and it's real! Don't you understand? It is real. I created it. And it's real!"—the episode is about 200% unenjoyable to watch but it is such a breathtaking, successful effort.
Rewatching DS9 during the cancer times
literally every time I watch Star Trek I go in with "ah yes, comfort rewatch!" and come away with the realization I have made a profound personal error, that they are all emotionally devastating mistakes
and I am content to fail to learn this lesson, because it's the latter bit which makes Star Trek so good
but, like, maybe don't watch DS9 4.3 "The Visitor" when your father has terminal cancer
DS9 is the boy's rewatch of choice, he puts it on to go to sleep to, and normally I hardcore ignore it (I did a complete series rewatch—like, first revisit since adolescence—in two huge chunks a number of years ago [see first cut] and it was absolutely exhausting, especially the second chunk which was just the last few seasons and was plot, war, and profound stress all the goddamn time; when I raised this issue with the boy he was like, oh, yeah, I sometimes skip some of the later seasons in my casual rewatches, and I was like, you think????)
but when I moved back here and had multiple overlapping sources of stress and then got sick, I started tuning in, in the sense of "lying on the bed as a profound lump, watching endless rows of episodes and existing only in found family alien feels land"
and then I scaled it back to ~1 ep a night that I watch when he's falling asleep, and it's literally my favorite part of the day
I love TOS/TNG/VOY/DS9 all (and haven't seen any of the other two, and don't regret that rn), and before this would probably have put Voyager at the top of my list, but tbh our joint rewatch of that didn't hold up super well? the characters and premise are superb, still probably my favorite in concept; but the episodic nature hamstrings the plot, it doesn't fulfill potential
(TOS and TNG do episodic way better, and I also love those casts)
but DS9 is sincerely a step above, insofar as its openness on overarching plot AND reliance on the occasional Star Trek traditional episodic/throwaway/standalone lets it fulfill a potential unreached by the other series while maintaining a profound, sometimes easy, watchability, notwithstanding the whole later season plot-war-stress thing
but the DS9 cast and tropes and speculative concepts—especially the speculative concepts—are so far and away my bag that I can't summarize it even in an unedited ramble that I expect no one to read. religion with a real, provable, but not inarguable basis that confronts characters with a faith that they don't want and raises uncomfortable questions about the faith they already have! symbiosis, a people who define themselves by—but do not all have access to—symbiotic relationships; how identity and loneliness operate in a symbiotic and multi-generational relationships! every ST show as that not-human character who constantly raises the question of what it means to be human, and I love them all, but Odo is the best, Rene Auberjonois's acting is above superb. I don't care a ton about Ferengi but I care a lot about actors who champion their roles, who make them more meaningful, consistent, robust than they were ever written/intended. Klingons!! I wish I were married to Keiko but she is 200% too good for me!
Like, I have a lot of Star Trek feels, I grew up on Star Trek, but nothing so consistently inspires that profound longing as does DS9, that sense of want to be there, of want to inhabit that
(especially the Trill)
anyway so when things went from "only bad because life is occurring to me, someone incapable of participating in the real world" to "legitimate nightmare hellscape of suffering" b/c of my dad's diagnosis, I was like, is this a good idea? 1) if I use it as comfort watching now, will I forever conflate it with The Cancer Time? 1b) will The Cancer Time also make it impossible to successfully lose myself in it, thus ruining it twofold? 2) are feelings like this healthy—I mean, "how much escapism is healthy" is a question I'm historically shit at answering, but I don't care about the answer rn; I have bigger issues to worry about—but is it catharsis or a trigger when you turn to something, aka Star Trek, which consistently turns out to be emotionally devastating? am I finding a productive outlet or just making myself more miserable? is there even any way to answer that question in this situation?
Janeway is my favorite captain because of Formative Sexual Awakening Reasons, and just because I love her, but Sisko is so important in ways I'm not best equipped to articulate: this dynamic, decisive, capable, formidable, profoundly loving Black man in a position of power. I have a complex relationship with depictions of bio/nuclear families for complex reasons re: my own family (like, you know, fucking everyone), I'm normally not really Affected by hearttugging family shit because there's a wall there, if you will (I built it myself)—so I have always loved Sisko for his presence (so much presence! what a voice!) and for the acceptance and faith he shows in his crew; his relationship with Jake I can see as important but it didn't have personal resonance.
it turns out that when your father is dying, all of the sudden stories about fathers are very easy to resonate with
the "complex reasons re: my own family" are about 95% the fact that I am a difficult family member to have because I am crazy as hell; small sins affect me hugely and I invite them by virtue of being me, so, like, family hurts, I am bad at having one, etc, etc
my father also profoundly, only, wants the best for me; hasn't always known how to conceptualize "best" or "me," but that changes nothing
I think what breaks my heart most is what I will never be able to give his memory; I won't become a writer, or scientist, or undergo profound self-realizations or self-dedications, or self-sacrifices; I am unsure what legacy he leaves with me—nothing good, really; it's the limitation of who I am. this narrative we are in together will not better me—I'm fragile, it can only hurt me
and I don't know how that balances that desire, his desire, for my happiness
The Occupation
I feel like the thing that Deep Space 9 best achieves is that the Bajorans and Cardassians are all complete people—each individual is a complicated and distinct; there are Cardassians with contradictory feelings about the Occupation, who are less guilty or have positive attributes; there are Bajorans who are profoundly unlikable, there are Bajoran factions in argument with each other, Bajorans who were (or were viewed as) complicit
but the Occupation is unequivocally and universally condemned
#Juu watches #Star Trek: Deep Space 9 #I've complained a dozen times about narratives that frame oppressor and oppressed as equally dangerous #and this is the direct solution to that #it also depicts oppression as a real & present danger as opposed to dismissable cartoonish villainy #and it gives victims a voice while overtly rejecting the myth of the perfect victim #srsly: all those common pitfalls of depicting oppression/social injustice? it not only avoids them #it confronts and denies them #it's not a perfect show (is anything) but that's a huge achievement #(w/ high stakes b/c the issue is so centralized; fucking it up would be a huge & destructive fuckup)
there's a lot of best things about DS9 4.6 "Rejoined", but one of the best things is:
the fact that reassociation is such a taboo in Trill society combined with the fact that only a fraction of the Trill population is joined means that there absolutely exist narratives created for and by non-joined Trill about the trials & tribulations, angst & hurt/comfort, of joined Trill who reassociate with previous intimates
which as is happens is precisely how it feels, as a non-Federation, 21st Century person, to watch Rejoined
#Juu watches #Star Trek: Deep Space 9 #imagine: #soap operas about clandestine lovers; holosuite programs about taboo sexual encounters; #some historical Trill figure whose private life is hotly debated #(also hotly debated: is that political association or that close friendship equivalently taboo? why shouldn't it be?) #Rejoined engages some of the most interesting questions about the Trill specifically how identity & memory & joining #combine to create an individual; how do their memories impact their current relationship? #(to what extent can this relationship be allowed to imperil the future memories—and lives—of the symbiont?) #that conversation about the nature of a joint/multigenerational experience/identity inspires in me a FIERCE longing #for an intimacy of similar caliber #and there is the other fascinating thing about the Trill: the vast majority of its populace operates OUTSIDE that dynamic #(and some don't want it; and some benefit from not having it; and some—guardians—benefit from a different part of the system; but:) #there are absolutely unjoined Trill that share that same longing that I the viewer have—who can conceptualize but not inhabit that intimacy #I like to know that my suffering is shared in-universe
5.2 The Ship, 5.3 Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places, 5.5 The Assignment, 5.6 Trials and Tribble-ations
last night it was "The Ship" followed by "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" which is the most profound and unasked for tonal whiplash. "The Ship" is a fantastic example of its tropes, particularly the handling of Muñiz—one of the episode's primary questions is about the weight of an individual life, which means one individual life needs to be given narrative weight; choosing a PoC for that role 1) meant establishing a PoC supporting character across a few episodes and 2) made him the emotional heart of the narrative, which does a lot to subvert the normal issues with killing off a PoC character, nonetheleast because Sisko is 1) another major emotional core in that episode, particularly its central theme of worth and, critically 2) not dead!!
"Looking for par'Mach" most certainly does makes me scream "love is not a zero-sum game!" (which the boy appreciates when he's sleeping) but is also DS9: The Romantic Comedy, it is a phenomenal delight; not my favorite in the sense of "best" but perhaps my favorite episode in the sense of loving everyone with such abounding joy. it's so playful but also so charming, authentically charming, most esp. heavily pregnant Kira and the domesticity that surrounds everyone—massages and fresh laundry from the pregnancy triad, Worf who eats in the Defiant mess and sings opera on the Defiant deck. television has the unique advantage of allowing us to live with characters for a frankly ridiculous length of time, and it can stop to indulge in little domestic details that feel, in a way, like fanfic: they have an emotional, personal emphasis that could detract from plot in other formats but here ground and compliment it. they're a productive indulgence.
my point herein: this show is just such a lot, you guys
tonight (I skipped 5.4) was "The Assignment," where we realize that Rosalind Chao can act, like, can just act. so much acting. she's devastating and her voice is so mobile; and "Trials and Tribble-ations" which is approx. 200% better now that I've watched and loved TOS and which again lets Dax shine—she's playful but not frivolous, because centuries' of memories make her so engaged with the world
I need that whiplash, because these firsts would be exhausting without those seconds, but its those firsts that make the seconds endearing instead of silly. it is in many ways exactly what I need right now: profound emotional catharsis, also levity; outlet but also distraction. but it's exhausting. I think the reason I always underestimate how exhausting it will be is because it's not possible to contain that entire memory, it's barely possible to contain that entire experience, it wrings me out each time">
DS9 6.21 "The Reckoning" is absolutely top 10 best DS9 episodes
it's surprisingly ambiguous: Sisko taking the tablet from Bajor is explicitly problematic, esp. given the Occupation; Kai Winn's motives are still wrong, and neither excuses the other. Sisko's relationship with the Prophets is (consistently, and recently) hostile, but it's also true that he's accepted the role of Emissary, politically but also personally. Kai Winn's jealousy is profoundly sympathetic, in part because it's articulated by Kira, in part because it's a stand-in for the viewer experience as outsider to a relationship with the Prophets (I can't be the only one who also really really wants to be of Bajor, right?). Sisko's role as outside-savior is directly confronted, even if it's not fully untangled. even with its overarching plotline, DS9 does a fair bit of finagling to return to status quo; Kai Winn as architect of that is her moral event horizon but it also feels good—good b/c the return to status quo benefits the narrative and is familiar, therefore comforting, to the viewer. Sisko's willingness to sacrifice Jake is sincerely disturbing—an Abraham and Isaac moment which is meant to be confrontational: is faith truly admirable when it means sacrificing someone who may not consent? especially when we know the nature, limits, fallibility of these gods. Jake's reassurances that he accepts a sacrificial role pacifies those fears but is also unsettling: given his recent anxieties about his father's life, to be willing to sacrifice his own to the will of the Prophets seems like a step too far.
perhaps the only uncontroversial thing is the dynamic between Kira and Odo: Kira, who we know possesses a profound faith and the ability and desire to consent to the will of the Prophets; Odo, who works as her advocate, irrespective of his own beliefs, because he knows, trusts, and will speak for her, regardless of political/personal gain. their relationship is really good and I love them.
(but even Kira's consent is ambiguous. possessed Kira is unsettling and reminds us that what we know from 6.6 "Sacrifice of Angels" still stands: the Prophets are of Bajor, but they don't comprehend, feel, or act in recognizable ways; they are dangerous, they endanger Kira)
I love a lot of things about DS9 but the thing I love best is Bajor and the thoughtfulness, subtlety, and complexity of its depiction—in all aspects: the Occupation, the religion. this episode is about what it means to have a relationship with a divine which is a provable, evidenced, but still incomprehensible; about the limits and risks of faith; about intersection of faith, culture, politics, assimilation. it reminds me of Le Guin, which is no small praise: her speculative premises are big and engaging, but what makes them remarkable is that they inform not just the worldbuilding but the way that characters conceptualize and interact with the world, and it's through this lived experience that the world is fully explored and, more importantly, interrogated. her worlds define their inhabitants; those inhabitants change the world. that's something that a more episodic show couldn't attain, and it's one of the things that sets DS9 apart from the other series.
#I wish I had actually kept a top 10 best episode list on this rewatch! doing one retroactively is def. more spoons than I have rn
I also love 6.24 "Time's Orphan," not in a "best of" sense but it's one of my favorite stand-alone one-off episodes just because I feel like it capitalizes on the reset to status quo to explore a what-if without disastrous consequences.
and it's a great what-if! which doesn't hold up especially well to scrutiny (the good intentions are there, but I don't know that "I am not equipped to live on a space station" is the same thing as "therefore I should be sent back to complete, permanent isolation with nothing but a single bag of supplies." but it's a great premise, a good vehicle for exploring the show's family dynamics, Michelle Krusiec is great, and I secretly appreciate all the moments which intimate that Starfleet is not a utopia; rather that is bureaucracy is larger than, and sometimes harmful to, its individual citizens. it's unsettling and feels like a betrayal, but it's so productive.
I also think it's a strong return to status quo. there's no particular reason to believe that adult Molly could predict the consequences of her actions, but that she had agency and no one masterminded the event makes it feel more organic and less expedient, while still serving that tried-and-true narrative function. and it is a useful trope! but it's also frequently just so fucky in Star Trek (does anyone remember when Harry Kim died in Voyager and was replaced by his spacial scission-created duplicate and it was never mentioned again except in the audience's profound fridge horror?? because that was weird). so seeing it done well is a relief and welcome justification of the trope.
I've been watching DS9 every night for the last two months and I think there literally has not been a single evening when I have not cried at least once
#they're good cries—accessible cathartic non-headyache little cries; probably the exact emotional outlet I need rn #with some exceptions (cough 'The Vistor' cough ugly crying cough) #(and I still haven't been able to make myself watch 'Ties of Blood and Water'—I think I need to; I just can't) #but every time I go to wash my face after I get that wave of 'is this too much; what's the line between wallowing and processing #between triggers and catharsis?' #and what do I do when I finish this season and run out of episodes? what escape/outlet is there then?
Jadziea spoilers
also hey let us be clear:
Worf her husband could have needed closure, her friends may have needed closure, certainly the audience needed closure (because, while broadcasted, her end is very sudden)
but Jadziea, who was at the time in command of Deep Space 9 and who died at the hands of a god, got into Sto'Vo'Kor by her own damn self
#if there's anything we know from 'In Purgatory's Shadow' (and 'The Ship') #it's that Klingon definitions of honor and honorable death and honorable action #have potential to be flexible: to face your greatest enemy is honorable be that enemy psychological or physical #and a Klingon can equivocate death in combat—if the death need not be immediate then need the combat be literal? #there's still in-character justifications for the events in 'Shadows and Symbols' but it has more to do with grief than Klingon logic #she died in combat. she died a brave warrior. thnx.
Rewatching DS9 under fascism
The part of me that thought Deep Space 9 would make good comfort watching during These Dark Times ™ was unforgivably mistaken. Not that it's not apt! unremittingly, heartbreakingly apt!
My rewatch from a few years ago stalled out midway through season 5, so that's where I picked up; the overarching plot goes super grim around that point, so (especially in season 6) the tone is wildly inconsistent in the attempt to simultaneously engage and counterbalance the plot, Ferengi escapades bookending things like "that time travel/racism episode,"*—a weird, vaguely exhausting experience.
But I'm consistently impressed by the ongoing engagement of the occupation of Bajor; that both the Bajoran experience and the Cardassian experience are explored in such variety and depth, but with a consistent throughline: A lot is made of Dukat's moderation, but the conclusion is always that there is no acceptable way to be an oppressor, that "lesser" oppression is still oppression and, as such, unforgivable. The breadth of Bajoran experience, the almost-collaborators, the apparently unresistant, those, like Kai Winn, whose resistance didn't look like Kira Nerys's resistance, are presented differently. Nerys doesn't always see it, but the narrative grants them validity; it recognizes that each survivor protects themselves and their people in different ways, and that every experience under the occupation was a valid suffering.
Star Trek by premise is full of good intentions, but in execution is limited by its creators, by the society that produces it, by the networks that air it; it never manages to perfectly reflect its own ideals. It has a bad habit of undermining itself accidentally, of equivocation, of reiterating the status quo. There's none of that here. All oppression is unacceptable, it insists, all of it, no matter how kindly or cruel; but how the oppressed experience it, and survive, and fight back, is individual and complex. It's valuable—pointedly so, right now.
But comforting escapism it is not, I'll tell you that for free.
* 6.13 "Far Beyond the Stars" which was directed by Avery Brooks because "this was a story about racism and prejudice and we felt very strongly that it would be wrong if it came from a bunch of people who didn't necessarily know about that experience" and could you imagine directing that while starring in it, could you imagining framing your own "That future—I created it, and it's real! Don't you understand? It is real. I created it. And it's real!"—the episode is about 200% unenjoyable to watch but it is such a breathtaking, successful effort.
Rewatching DS9 during the cancer times
literally every time I watch Star Trek I go in with "ah yes, comfort rewatch!" and come away with the realization I have made a profound personal error, that they are all emotionally devastating mistakes
and I am content to fail to learn this lesson, because it's the latter bit which makes Star Trek so good
but, like, maybe don't watch DS9 4.3 "The Visitor" when your father has terminal cancer
DS9 is the boy's rewatch of choice, he puts it on to go to sleep to, and normally I hardcore ignore it (I did a complete series rewatch—like, first revisit since adolescence—in two huge chunks a number of years ago [see first cut] and it was absolutely exhausting, especially the second chunk which was just the last few seasons and was plot, war, and profound stress all the goddamn time; when I raised this issue with the boy he was like, oh, yeah, I sometimes skip some of the later seasons in my casual rewatches, and I was like, you think????)
but when I moved back here and had multiple overlapping sources of stress and then got sick, I started tuning in, in the sense of "lying on the bed as a profound lump, watching endless rows of episodes and existing only in found family alien feels land"
and then I scaled it back to ~1 ep a night that I watch when he's falling asleep, and it's literally my favorite part of the day
I love TOS/TNG/VOY/DS9 all (and haven't seen any of the other two, and don't regret that rn), and before this would probably have put Voyager at the top of my list, but tbh our joint rewatch of that didn't hold up super well? the characters and premise are superb, still probably my favorite in concept; but the episodic nature hamstrings the plot, it doesn't fulfill potential
(TOS and TNG do episodic way better, and I also love those casts)
but DS9 is sincerely a step above, insofar as its openness on overarching plot AND reliance on the occasional Star Trek traditional episodic/throwaway/standalone lets it fulfill a potential unreached by the other series while maintaining a profound, sometimes easy, watchability, notwithstanding the whole later season plot-war-stress thing
but the DS9 cast and tropes and speculative concepts—especially the speculative concepts—are so far and away my bag that I can't summarize it even in an unedited ramble that I expect no one to read. religion with a real, provable, but not inarguable basis that confronts characters with a faith that they don't want and raises uncomfortable questions about the faith they already have! symbiosis, a people who define themselves by—but do not all have access to—symbiotic relationships; how identity and loneliness operate in a symbiotic and multi-generational relationships! every ST show as that not-human character who constantly raises the question of what it means to be human, and I love them all, but Odo is the best, Rene Auberjonois's acting is above superb. I don't care a ton about Ferengi but I care a lot about actors who champion their roles, who make them more meaningful, consistent, robust than they were ever written/intended. Klingons!! I wish I were married to Keiko but she is 200% too good for me!
Like, I have a lot of Star Trek feels, I grew up on Star Trek, but nothing so consistently inspires that profound longing as does DS9, that sense of want to be there, of want to inhabit that
(especially the Trill)
anyway so when things went from "only bad because life is occurring to me, someone incapable of participating in the real world" to "legitimate nightmare hellscape of suffering" b/c of my dad's diagnosis, I was like, is this a good idea? 1) if I use it as comfort watching now, will I forever conflate it with The Cancer Time? 1b) will The Cancer Time also make it impossible to successfully lose myself in it, thus ruining it twofold? 2) are feelings like this healthy—I mean, "how much escapism is healthy" is a question I'm historically shit at answering, but I don't care about the answer rn; I have bigger issues to worry about—but is it catharsis or a trigger when you turn to something, aka Star Trek, which consistently turns out to be emotionally devastating? am I finding a productive outlet or just making myself more miserable? is there even any way to answer that question in this situation?
Janeway is my favorite captain because of Formative Sexual Awakening Reasons, and just because I love her, but Sisko is so important in ways I'm not best equipped to articulate: this dynamic, decisive, capable, formidable, profoundly loving Black man in a position of power. I have a complex relationship with depictions of bio/nuclear families for complex reasons re: my own family (like, you know, fucking everyone), I'm normally not really Affected by hearttugging family shit because there's a wall there, if you will (I built it myself)—so I have always loved Sisko for his presence (so much presence! what a voice!) and for the acceptance and faith he shows in his crew; his relationship with Jake I can see as important but it didn't have personal resonance.
it turns out that when your father is dying, all of the sudden stories about fathers are very easy to resonate with
the "complex reasons re: my own family" are about 95% the fact that I am a difficult family member to have because I am crazy as hell; small sins affect me hugely and I invite them by virtue of being me, so, like, family hurts, I am bad at having one, etc, etc
my father also profoundly, only, wants the best for me; hasn't always known how to conceptualize "best" or "me," but that changes nothing
I think what breaks my heart most is what I will never be able to give his memory; I won't become a writer, or scientist, or undergo profound self-realizations or self-dedications, or self-sacrifices; I am unsure what legacy he leaves with me—nothing good, really; it's the limitation of who I am. this narrative we are in together will not better me—I'm fragile, it can only hurt me
and I don't know how that balances that desire, his desire, for my happiness
The Occupation
I feel like the thing that Deep Space 9 best achieves is that the Bajorans and Cardassians are all complete people—each individual is a complicated and distinct; there are Cardassians with contradictory feelings about the Occupation, who are less guilty or have positive attributes; there are Bajorans who are profoundly unlikable, there are Bajoran factions in argument with each other, Bajorans who were (or were viewed as) complicit
but the Occupation is unequivocally and universally condemned
#Juu watches #Star Trek: Deep Space 9 #I've complained a dozen times about narratives that frame oppressor and oppressed as equally dangerous #and this is the direct solution to that #it also depicts oppression as a real & present danger as opposed to dismissable cartoonish villainy #and it gives victims a voice while overtly rejecting the myth of the perfect victim #srsly: all those common pitfalls of depicting oppression/social injustice? it not only avoids them #it confronts and denies them #it's not a perfect show (is anything) but that's a huge achievement #(w/ high stakes b/c the issue is so centralized; fucking it up would be a huge & destructive fuckup)
there's a lot of best things about DS9 4.6 "Rejoined", but one of the best things is:
the fact that reassociation is such a taboo in Trill society combined with the fact that only a fraction of the Trill population is joined means that there absolutely exist narratives created for and by non-joined Trill about the trials & tribulations, angst & hurt/comfort, of joined Trill who reassociate with previous intimates
which as is happens is precisely how it feels, as a non-Federation, 21st Century person, to watch Rejoined
#Juu watches #Star Trek: Deep Space 9 #imagine: #soap operas about clandestine lovers; holosuite programs about taboo sexual encounters; #some historical Trill figure whose private life is hotly debated #(also hotly debated: is that political association or that close friendship equivalently taboo? why shouldn't it be?) #Rejoined engages some of the most interesting questions about the Trill specifically how identity & memory & joining #combine to create an individual; how do their memories impact their current relationship? #(to what extent can this relationship be allowed to imperil the future memories—and lives—of the symbiont?) #that conversation about the nature of a joint/multigenerational experience/identity inspires in me a FIERCE longing #for an intimacy of similar caliber #and there is the other fascinating thing about the Trill: the vast majority of its populace operates OUTSIDE that dynamic #(and some don't want it; and some benefit from not having it; and some—guardians—benefit from a different part of the system; but:) #there are absolutely unjoined Trill that share that same longing that I the viewer have—who can conceptualize but not inhabit that intimacy #I like to know that my suffering is shared in-universe
5.2 The Ship, 5.3 Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places, 5.5 The Assignment, 5.6 Trials and Tribble-ations
last night it was "The Ship" followed by "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" which is the most profound and unasked for tonal whiplash. "The Ship" is a fantastic example of its tropes, particularly the handling of Muñiz—one of the episode's primary questions is about the weight of an individual life, which means one individual life needs to be given narrative weight; choosing a PoC for that role 1) meant establishing a PoC supporting character across a few episodes and 2) made him the emotional heart of the narrative, which does a lot to subvert the normal issues with killing off a PoC character, nonetheleast because Sisko is 1) another major emotional core in that episode, particularly its central theme of worth and, critically 2) not dead!!
"Looking for par'Mach" most certainly does makes me scream "love is not a zero-sum game!" (which the boy appreciates when he's sleeping) but is also DS9: The Romantic Comedy, it is a phenomenal delight; not my favorite in the sense of "best" but perhaps my favorite episode in the sense of loving everyone with such abounding joy. it's so playful but also so charming, authentically charming, most esp. heavily pregnant Kira and the domesticity that surrounds everyone—massages and fresh laundry from the pregnancy triad, Worf who eats in the Defiant mess and sings opera on the Defiant deck. television has the unique advantage of allowing us to live with characters for a frankly ridiculous length of time, and it can stop to indulge in little domestic details that feel, in a way, like fanfic: they have an emotional, personal emphasis that could detract from plot in other formats but here ground and compliment it. they're a productive indulgence.
my point herein: this show is just such a lot, you guys
tonight (I skipped 5.4) was "The Assignment," where we realize that Rosalind Chao can act, like, can just act. so much acting. she's devastating and her voice is so mobile; and "Trials and Tribble-ations" which is approx. 200% better now that I've watched and loved TOS and which again lets Dax shine—she's playful but not frivolous, because centuries' of memories make her so engaged with the world
I need that whiplash, because these firsts would be exhausting without those seconds, but its those firsts that make the seconds endearing instead of silly. it is in many ways exactly what I need right now: profound emotional catharsis, also levity; outlet but also distraction. but it's exhausting. I think the reason I always underestimate how exhausting it will be is because it's not possible to contain that entire memory, it's barely possible to contain that entire experience, it wrings me out each time">
DS9 6.21 "The Reckoning" is absolutely top 10 best DS9 episodes
it's surprisingly ambiguous: Sisko taking the tablet from Bajor is explicitly problematic, esp. given the Occupation; Kai Winn's motives are still wrong, and neither excuses the other. Sisko's relationship with the Prophets is (consistently, and recently) hostile, but it's also true that he's accepted the role of Emissary, politically but also personally. Kai Winn's jealousy is profoundly sympathetic, in part because it's articulated by Kira, in part because it's a stand-in for the viewer experience as outsider to a relationship with the Prophets (I can't be the only one who also really really wants to be of Bajor, right?). Sisko's role as outside-savior is directly confronted, even if it's not fully untangled. even with its overarching plotline, DS9 does a fair bit of finagling to return to status quo; Kai Winn as architect of that is her moral event horizon but it also feels good—good b/c the return to status quo benefits the narrative and is familiar, therefore comforting, to the viewer. Sisko's willingness to sacrifice Jake is sincerely disturbing—an Abraham and Isaac moment which is meant to be confrontational: is faith truly admirable when it means sacrificing someone who may not consent? especially when we know the nature, limits, fallibility of these gods. Jake's reassurances that he accepts a sacrificial role pacifies those fears but is also unsettling: given his recent anxieties about his father's life, to be willing to sacrifice his own to the will of the Prophets seems like a step too far.
perhaps the only uncontroversial thing is the dynamic between Kira and Odo: Kira, who we know possesses a profound faith and the ability and desire to consent to the will of the Prophets; Odo, who works as her advocate, irrespective of his own beliefs, because he knows, trusts, and will speak for her, regardless of political/personal gain. their relationship is really good and I love them.
(but even Kira's consent is ambiguous. possessed Kira is unsettling and reminds us that what we know from 6.6 "Sacrifice of Angels" still stands: the Prophets are of Bajor, but they don't comprehend, feel, or act in recognizable ways; they are dangerous, they endanger Kira)
I love a lot of things about DS9 but the thing I love best is Bajor and the thoughtfulness, subtlety, and complexity of its depiction—in all aspects: the Occupation, the religion. this episode is about what it means to have a relationship with a divine which is a provable, evidenced, but still incomprehensible; about the limits and risks of faith; about intersection of faith, culture, politics, assimilation. it reminds me of Le Guin, which is no small praise: her speculative premises are big and engaging, but what makes them remarkable is that they inform not just the worldbuilding but the way that characters conceptualize and interact with the world, and it's through this lived experience that the world is fully explored and, more importantly, interrogated. her worlds define their inhabitants; those inhabitants change the world. that's something that a more episodic show couldn't attain, and it's one of the things that sets DS9 apart from the other series.
#I wish I had actually kept a top 10 best episode list on this rewatch! doing one retroactively is def. more spoons than I have rn
I also love 6.24 "Time's Orphan," not in a "best of" sense but it's one of my favorite stand-alone one-off episodes just because I feel like it capitalizes on the reset to status quo to explore a what-if without disastrous consequences.
and it's a great what-if! which doesn't hold up especially well to scrutiny (the good intentions are there, but I don't know that "I am not equipped to live on a space station" is the same thing as "therefore I should be sent back to complete, permanent isolation with nothing but a single bag of supplies." but it's a great premise, a good vehicle for exploring the show's family dynamics, Michelle Krusiec is great, and I secretly appreciate all the moments which intimate that Starfleet is not a utopia; rather that is bureaucracy is larger than, and sometimes harmful to, its individual citizens. it's unsettling and feels like a betrayal, but it's so productive.
I also think it's a strong return to status quo. there's no particular reason to believe that adult Molly could predict the consequences of her actions, but that she had agency and no one masterminded the event makes it feel more organic and less expedient, while still serving that tried-and-true narrative function. and it is a useful trope! but it's also frequently just so fucky in Star Trek (does anyone remember when Harry Kim died in Voyager and was replaced by his spacial scission-created duplicate and it was never mentioned again except in the audience's profound fridge horror?? because that was weird). so seeing it done well is a relief and welcome justification of the trope.
I've been watching DS9 every night for the last two months and I think there literally has not been a single evening when I have not cried at least once
#they're good cries—accessible cathartic non-headyache little cries; probably the exact emotional outlet I need rn #with some exceptions (cough 'The Vistor' cough ugly crying cough) #(and I still haven't been able to make myself watch 'Ties of Blood and Water'—I think I need to; I just can't) #but every time I go to wash my face after I get that wave of 'is this too much; what's the line between wallowing and processing #between triggers and catharsis?' #and what do I do when I finish this season and run out of episodes? what escape/outlet is there then?
Jadziea spoilers
also hey let us be clear:
Worf her husband could have needed closure, her friends may have needed closure, certainly the audience needed closure (because, while broadcasted, her end is very sudden)
but Jadziea, who was at the time in command of Deep Space 9 and who died at the hands of a god, got into Sto'Vo'Kor by her own damn self
#if there's anything we know from 'In Purgatory's Shadow' (and 'The Ship') #it's that Klingon definitions of honor and honorable death and honorable action #have potential to be flexible: to face your greatest enemy is honorable be that enemy psychological or physical #and a Klingon can equivocate death in combat—if the death need not be immediate then need the combat be literal? #there's still in-character justifications for the events in 'Shadows and Symbols' but it has more to do with grief than Klingon logic #she died in combat. she died a brave warrior. thnx.
