401. A Simple InvestigationFORMULA: ½ The Muse + ¼ Our Man Bashir + In Theory + Second Sight
WHY WE LIKE IT: Arissa is a real hottie.
WHY WE DON'T: Some overwrought dialogue.
REVIEW: A love affair for Odo might seem odd after he's regained his shapeshifting abilities, but if Dey Young is going to play the femme fatale like that, you won't hear me complaining. She's quite gorgeous and seductive here, nothing like her Hannah Bates from The Masterpiece Society. All in the way you carry yourself, I suppose. The romance starts after an investigation does, and from some of the unnatural dialogue, this seems to have been written to be film noir, but it hasn't been directed that way.
Certainly, Arissa has some dangerous secrets, and even more dangerous men coming after her. The bumbling assassin brothers are of a type you'd also find in Odo's choice of literature. As a counterpoint, a small subplot shows Bashir playing 007 again. Not much to it, but there's a cute scene in a limo in which Odo asks for romantic advice. One of the things I like about the DS9 cast is that the characters gently tease each other and indulge in gossip about one another, just like real people do in any workplace. The whole "bedroom eyes" things is very amusing, as is Dax calling Worf out to her girl talk. Kira, for her part, seems ambivalent, as they play up her own feelings for Odo (she's every pathetic boy's worst nightmare - a "friend" who wants nothing more, but doesn't want you with another).
Something IS happening between Odo and Arissa, and he'll wind up losing his virginity to her. It may begin with the farthest lean into a kiss ever, but the post coital scene has a beauty to it. It's not just Odo's "first time", it's also his first requited love. So of course, it all has to fall apart, and in a Philip K. Dick kind of way. It probably would have been better for him if she died, but existing and yet not is maddening. No happiness for you!!
This episode is the second to mention the Orion Syndicate, and this this we see some of its operatives and learn about non-Federation worlds where the Syndicate is based. Interesting stuff. The cyberpunk technology fits uneasily in the Trek universe, however.
LESSON: If you want your role-playing session to go smoothly, make sure to explain the entire plot to your players beforehand.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium-High: It's nice to see Odo in this kind of plot even if it's not terribly important in the overall scheme of things, and ever more willing to explore humanoid existence ("being the cloud" as it were). Dey Young burns up the screen too.
Comments
And well, they CAN play a part in intercourse.
...but I've said too much.