314. Rules of AcquisitionFORMULA: The Nagus + The Outcast
WHY WE LIKE IT: "You're a woman?!?" The first mention of the Dominion.
WHY WE DON'T: Kira being sexually harassed by Zek.
REVIEW: Building on The Nagus, Rules of Acquisition fleshes out the Ferengi and their business in the Gamma Quadrant a little more. In the process, and this will become standard for Ferengi episodes, the rest of the cast gets very little to do, except for Dax, whose proclivities for alien men has annexed her to the Ferengi family. Dax's mastery of tongo (the card game that first appears here) is great fun, and adds depth to her character.
But of course, this is Quark's story, something of a Shakespearean bedroom farce with the cross-dressing Pel as our first Ferengi female. The budding feminism in Ferengi culture is introduced as an anomaly here, but really the only way a female Ferengi could play a role in a story. She's a little bit campy when playing a man, but once her cover's been blown, there's a certain nobility to her and her plight. Her talk with Dax in which she reveals herself has one of the best reactions to such a thing, ever. Though Star Trek still hasn't furnished us with a homosexual character, 24th-century evolved sensibilities (or at least Dax's) would take such a relationship as unremarkable. If there's a love triangle here, it includes Rom who keeps balancing between love and murderous intentions for his brother. The competition is fun, though the episode is hampered by the "comedy emotions" of the Ferengi cast.
Quark's mission to the Gamma Quadrant introduces the Dosi, a people who take their business very seriously. I'm sorry we never saw these guys again, because I thought they were hilarious. The tribal make-up, the rough-edged deliveries, the party with the flowing money, all very interesting. And it allowed Quark to have some nice scenes, showing uncommon courage (when it comes to business, I guess he has it in him). The importance of this story is that it leads to the mention of the Karemma and the Dominion. Not yet introduced, these will play a greater part than the Dosi ever could in events to come.
The weakest part of the episode is Grand Nagus Zek's crush on Kira. The Ferengi's lust is probably the least endearing of their attributes, and Kira is more restrained than she could ever really be in this. How does the Nagus grab her ass and live to tell about it. It's too bad, because his manipulation of events and of Quark in particular shows him to be a smart, dangerous character. He's weakened by a silly subplot like this.
LESSON: For all his liberalism when dealing with buxom aliens, Quark remains a traditionalist when it comes to Ferengi females.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium-High: Most of the time, the comedy works, and furthermore, the episode gives us some intriguing hints about the Gamma Quadrant storyline.
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