DS9 Flashback: Favor the Bold

The six-episode arc that opened season six of Deep Space Nine was at one point during the planning a five-episode arc. But the intended conclusion, featuring the battle to retake the station, proved in the writing to be too much for 44 minutes. It was expanded into the one explicit "To Be Continued..." cliffhanger of the group, beginning with "Favor the Bold."

At Dominion-occupied Terok Nor, the mine field blocking the wormhole will soon be coming down. The secret resistance aboard the station must get word out to the Federation to send their fleet before it's too late. All looks grim: the Klingons have committed no ships to the effort, Rom sits in a holding cell awaiting execution, and Odo seems lost completely to the influence of the Changeling Leader.

Plot-wise, this episode doesn't cover too much ground. Much of the episode either restates themes of the previous one (Odo's gone bad, Rom's been arrested), or sets up for things we won't see until next (the battle for the station). Still, there are nice character vignettes throughout that make this installment worthwhile.

We see examples of how our heroes have adjusted to the reality of war. The Defiant and the Rotarran have developed a method for baiting Jem'Hadar ships and luring them in for the slaughter. Quark can now play Damar like a fiddle, extracting intel from him over drinks. Nog has so come into his element that he receives a field promotion to ensign.

But it's also true that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Sisko and Dax still tell it straight to each other, no matter what. Garak still trusts no one, least of all the Starfleet "interrogators" he thinks have bugged his head. Ziyal is once again on the outs with her father Dukat, and Kira is sanguine about the cyclical pattern of their relationship. O'Brien still banters with Nog even after the latter's promotion.

This episode certainly doubles down on the behavior of the villains. The not-so-subtle aspects of sexuality and control in the Changeling Leader's treatment of Odo are expanded. They try intimacy "as solids experience it." She's more explicitly molding his thinking, saying he soon won't find Kira important anymore. She sweet talks him, saying that in her isolation from the Great Link, she now has a sense of how alone he must have felt all his life. And whenever it seems Odo might slip away from the cult of Founder, she links with him again to reassert her influence. But we see how toxic that influence is; when Odo expresses even a little sympathy for the limited perspective of solids, she replies with a fascist pledge to "break them."

Dukat and Damar become even more intense versions of themselves. Dukat won't lift a finger to help an "enemy of the state," even at his daughter's request. Damar and Kira clash more than ever before, first verbally over her attitude, and then physically when he tries to manhandle Ziyal. And to each other, Dukat and Damar express their xenophobia, and how much they secretly hate working with the Dominion.

There's some fun fleshing out of Weyoun as well. We learn that Vorta have no sense of aesthetics, and that they have "weak eyes" but "good ears." Weyoun behaves like a loyal dog when it comes to the Founder, reacting with rancor when Kira insults them, and cowering when disciplined (even mildly) by the Changeling Leader herself. Through it all, it seems like Weyoun takes real joy in his work. It's all just a game: the consequences of executing Rom don't reach him at all, and he's actually thrilled to hear of Sisko's promotion.

The episode is carefully nudging Quark closer to open resistance himself. He tries a lot of approaches to getting his brother out of jail that are clearly going to cost him favors and latinum: reaching out to the Grand Nagus, trying to visit Odo, and hiring some Nausicaan thugs. (Still, he reverts to form when he smells a deal -- he's ready to negotiate when Leeta offers to work for free for his help.)

In another important seeding of information for the next episode, much is made of Sisko's growing fondness of Bajor. He's less concerned over the possibility of a Dominion attack on Earth than he is with the threat to Bajor. He reveals his plans to build a house there some day (in the most explicit plant for the next episode).

Other observations:

• I'm not necessarily a believer in the idea that every last detail of a story needs to be mapped out before the writing begins. (Even less so in television.) Still, it feels really clear by this episode that there wasn't really a plan for Jake Sisko in this story arc. He feels quite shoehorned in here.

• It's a fun insight into Klingon diplomacy that Martok believes Gowron will be most persuaded to take action when both an ally (Martok himself) and an enemy (Worf) argue for the same thing.

• There's a conspicuous panning shot in Quark's bar that features two random Cardassians, a Ferengi waiter, and an unknown Bajoran all in one take. It's like they're all contest winners for a walk-on silent role or something.

• The image of the huge Federation fleet leaving the station is incredibly impressive, especially for the time. And when we're told the Dominion ships still outnumber them two-to-one, it certainly sets up for an amazing finale.

This is a classic "all set-up" part one of a two-part episode, but there are enough moments in it for me to generally enjoy it. I give "Favor the Bold" a B.