DS9 Flashback: Facets

Even though Deep Space Nine was more character-driven than the Star Trek series before it (and I think it remains the most character driven of the Trek shows to this day), most of its episodes still turned on some external sci-fi premise. Still, every now and then, there would come an episode born solely of the characters. One such episode was "Facets."

Jadzia Dax enlists her friends to help her in a Trill ritual. Each of them will telepathically assume the identity of one of Dax's past hosts, allowing Jadzia to meet and interact with the disparate parts of her personality. Meanwhile, Nog takes his entrance exam for Starfleet Academy.

The inspiration for this episode came from a 1970s TV movie titled Sybil, which starred Sally Field as a woman with severe multiple personality disorder. Show runner Ira Steven Behr thought this would be an interesting lens through which to examine Dax. But staff writer René Echevarria struggled to develop the idea at first, as the idea of a traumatic event unlocking Dax's past memories had been done earlier in the season with "Equilibrium." His solution was to invent the Trill ritual that would bring past hosts forth... and yet the story still wasn't coming together. It would give actress Terry Farrell some meaty roles to play, but there wouldn't be much drama in it. Dax needed to interact with her past hosts to get at anything interesting. At last, he hit on the idea to have the other members of the cast play Dax's past hosts.

It's a nice gimmick, and the results are fun to watch. Sure, there are a few issues with it. It doesn't make sense that Jadzia doesn't already know the answers to the questions she wants to ask of Curzon -- they're her memories, after all. It's also a bit extreme (but necessary) that this form of telepathy works seamlessly on non-Trills.

And then there's the fact that there weren't enough female characters in the main cast to embody Dax's three female hosts. Quark is thus roped into playing Audrid, in a not-entirely successful comedic bit. (Don't blame Armin Shimerman; it's just that the sequence seems to be more about shaming Quark that helping Jadzia.) For Emony, Echevarria wanted to use Keiko O'Brien, but when actress Rosalind Chao was unavailable, he had to scramble for a plan B. A ham-fisted line of dialogue implying a friendship between Dax and recently introduced dabo girl Leeta was stuck in, and Chase Masterson got to appear on the series for a second time.

Those aspects of the writing might be a bit bumpy, but they're easily forgiven to get to the fun of seeing all the regular actors briefly take on other roles. Nana Visitor gets to play a doddering old woman with pearls of wisdom to drop, Colm Meaney gets to play a buttoned-up bundle of nerves, and Alexander Siddig gets to turn up the swagger to maximum. All their scenes were reportedly longer and trimmed for time, but the montage-like presentation is still fun.

The episode ramps up when Avery Brooks appears as the psychopath Joran Dax. This sequence was apparently filmed twice, after the producers reviewed the first day's footage and found Brooks too creepy for the generally light episode. What made it into the episode is still a fun channeling of The Silence of the Lambs with Sisko as Lecter and Jadzia as Clarice.

Things escalates again when Rene Auberjonois gets to take on the role of a Curzon who blends consciousness with Odo. It's a gregarious performance that's assisted by wonderfully subtle makeup and great costuming. It's nice to see a version of the man Benjamin Sisko called friend, and to have them interact. It's also nice to see Jadzia stand up to Curzon for washing her out of the Trill initiate program... though the truth behind that turns out to be icky. Curzon chose to cover up a sexual impropriety by punishing a powerless young woman... and then Jadzia actually forgives him for it. It might have been more interesting for her not to forgive, and for Dax to hereafter be at odds with this part of herself. Still, there is some nice character growth here, with Dax gaining the memory of shapeshifting from Odo, and Odo gaining appreciation for human indulgences from Dax.

There's even more character growth happening in the B plot of the episode. Nog fulfills his dream of being accepted to Starfleet, but his father Rom grows even more. He stands up to Quark on behalf of his son, paving the way for episodes in the near future where he would stand up for himself. It's great to see how far all three Ferengi characters will go in this episode: Nog to reach his goal, Quark to try to thwart it, and Rom to support it. It's a sweet and engaging side story.

Other notes:

• Oo-mox was always good for a laugh when these episodes were new, but it plays gross every time in this day and age. Want to get something out of a Ferengi? Molest him!

• A much neater bit of gender politics occurs in the scene where Lela (inhabiting Kira) explains how to be a successful female politician in a male-dominated landscape.

• There's a fun bit of old Star Trek continuity when Curzon/Odo orders a tranya at Quark's. He even gets a drink that looks similar to the one shown in the original series episode "The Corbomite Maneuver."

• Nog's cadet uniform has pockets! Garak does do good work.

• This marks the first mention of root beer as a distinctly "hew-mon" drink -- a reference that would pay off wonderfully in a couple more episodes. 

• I guess Verad wasn't joined with Dax long enough to make it into this ritual.

This episode does take a little while to get going, and does stumble a couple of times. But the second half is really great, and the pleasure of seeing the actors in different roles is fun throughout. I give "Facets" a B+.