319. The AlternateFORMULA: The Enemy Within + The Passenger + The Measure of a Man + The Icarus Factor
WHY WE LIKE IT: Meeting Odo's "father".
WHY WE DON'T: Odo was the monster?
REVIEW: Despite being an orphan, Odo joins the proud Star Trek tradition of being estranged from your parents (fathers being usually problematic - which is why I like the Siskos so much, but I digress). The much-used James Sloyan appears as the scientist who discovered Odo, Dr. Mora, and plays him as a proud father. Odo is embarrassed by this intrusion into his world and Auberjonois plays him as the child who feels slighted by the imposed curriculum and ambitions. Dr. Mora judges him kindly, but it is still an unwanted judgment. There's a complex relationship here and a rare (for DS9) reconciliation at the end.
Unfortunately, that's hijacked by the plot in which Odo is turned into a monster by alien gasses, making him "hulk out" while he sleeps and stalk Dr. Mora. Odo is so upfront about his anger that there's no real reason for a device that enables him to express his subconscious. While I do like the look of this bubbling mass, especially at the end, it boosts Odo's powers to a point where it's almost absurd that he never uses them this way consciously, and it puts him in the position to investigate himself (which has been done repeatedly on the show).
Odo's "cousin" is just a plot device here, and not really explored, though the future will show that its planet (with one of the worst matte paintings ever seen on Star Trek) was a Founder colony at some point. We'll see that obelisk again. But that's all background in The Alternate, and doesn't really pay off. Since there's a parenting theme, we do get a cute scene between Sisko and Jake about the value of studying Klingon opera.
LESSON: It's not healthy to keep things bottled in. (Applies to both feelings and alien gasses.)
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Despite my misgivings about the Jekyll and Hyde plot, the relationship between Mora and Odo is worthy of your attention. The second attempt, The Begotten in Season 5, will do it better.
Comments
I kind of liked the fact that despite Odo's misgivings about his "father," he chose to emulate him in a number of ways - like the hair style.
No idea what the title means, though. "The Alternate" to what?