DS9 Flashback: Treachery, Faith and the Great River

Before the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, show runner Ira Steven Behr was determined to have an episode pairing Odo and Weyoun. The result was "Treachery, Faith and the Great River." (Their choice to omit the serial comma, not mine.)

Weyoun arranges contact with Odo, and arrives with a stunning announcement: he intends to defect from the Dominion. And while that does prove to be true despite Odo's initial doubts, there are secrets the Vorta is hiding. Meanwhile, at the station, Chief O'Brien needs a part to repair the Defiant, and Nog brings his Ferengi world view to bear on the problem, arranging an elaborate series of trades.

This story was first pitched as Weyoun deceiving Sisko into destroying a lab where he claimed a new, more dangerous replacement for the Jem'Hadar were being developed. (In the end, it turned out that the replacements were actually for the Vorta, and Weyoun was scheming to save his own skin.) With a couple of tweaks, though, this became the Weyoun/Odo story that Behr was looking for.

It's easy to see why he wanted it. Rene Auberjonois and Jeffrey Combs are both phenomenal at their characters, and very thoughtful actors. Pairing them together could hardly go wrong. And indeed, this story line runs quite an emotional gamut, even though nearly all of their interactions take place on one set: the runabout cockpit. Weyoun earns Odo's trust, conveys his awe, tells a great fable about the origins of the Vorta, and ultimately makes a sacrifice you actually do care about. At the same time, Odo is hit with the shocking revelation of the sickness among his people, a major plot point for the remainder of the series. Odo has gone from fearing he was alone in the universe, to finding his people and rejecting them, to now facing the possibility that soon he might indeed be alone in the universe. Both of them bond over knowing what it is like to turn their backs on their people. Combs and Auberjonois are great through it all.

Jeffrey Combs has the added challenge of having to play two versions of Weyoun in this episode, and making each be a distinct version of the same character. Weyoun 6 is more different from what Combs has been playing on the show, and I've already noted the high points. But Weyoun 7 is notable for being dragged into deception by Damar -- he lies by omission to Jem'Hadar and to a Founder (!), and is spinning quite the web of lies to himself to justify it. Plus, he's on his guard the entire time he's doing it, suspecting Damar of having assassinated his predecessor. This second performance is interesting too.

If that's all that was going on in this episode, it might well be one of my favorites of the series. But there's a B plot here that gets nearly as much weight as the A plot. It's not that it's bad; it isn't. It's not that the lighter tone clashes; this episode juggles the comedy and the drama better than many past episode have managed. There's even some resonance between the two stories, both ultimately dealing with issues of religion and spirituality.

No, my issue is that we've basically seen this story. Twice. Jake and Nog have twice gone on bartering adventures, in season one's "Progress" and season five's "In the Cards." For me, "not bad" is not enough for a third trip through largely the same material. Bringing in O'Brien instead of Jake isn't enough of a change -- particularly when O'Brien is made to look so foolish in the process. (At some point, does he not consider changing the authorization code he gave to Nog?)

It is a strong Nog episode, though, with him coming off far more confident than in those two previous episodes. He's working all the angles, including working O'Brien himself, to get the job done. He even drums up some business for his cousin at the same time! (And he has a great response when O'Brien warns him "don't do anything I wouldn't do," countering "I can't operate under those restrictions.")

Other observations:

• The massages would seem to be a huge up side to a romantic relationship with a changeling.

• The idea of someone wanting pictures behind famous captains' desks is fun, as are the mentions of Captains DeSoto and Picard. Somewhere in the Star Trek universe, there's a Star Trek fan!

• ...and a Star Wars fan? Nog's decription of the Great Material Continuum as a force that binds the universe together does feel like an Obi-Wan Kenobi / Yoda speech for just a moment or two.

• Jeffrey Combs has a brief but great little bit of business, as Weyoun tries to use chopsticks to eat a slice of pizza.

• In the final two seasons, the visuals continue to stun. This time, the comets of the Kuiper Belt, and the battle weaving through them, are a feast for the eyes.
  

• Wouldn't it be great if more people of faith were like Kira? She has actual proof that her gods are actually real, yet she still has respect for the other religious beliefs of a people she's actually at war with.
  

I almost want to say this is an A- episode. But the re-recycled Nog story line, however well done, knocks it down just a bit to a B+ for me. Still, this is a big episode both for good performances and for the final story arc of the series.