DS9 Flashback: Chimera

By the middle of Deep Space Nine's final season, the writers knew they would be ending the show on a long, multi-episode story arc. And they knew enough of the major "bullet points" of that arc that they wanted to prepare for that with some one-off stories. One of these was "Chimera."

Odo encounters another changeling like himself: Laas is not a Founder, but rather was sent away from the Great Link as an infant. He proposes that he and Odo team up to search the galaxy for other cast-off changelings like themselves. Odo is torn between his love for Kira and this possible connection with his own people that comes without the baggage of the Dominion.

One of the first things the writers settled on for the series finale was that (ahem -- decades-old SPOILER here) Odo would return to his own people. But they felt that to "earn" that ending, the audience needed to see that not all changelings were "bad guys." I'm not sure they quite make their case with Laas, however, who in the course of this episode reveals much of the same bigotry and disdain for "monoforms" as the Founders. Laas doesn't necessarily see himself as a superior race in the way the Founders do. Still, I think the episode doesn't present as sharp a contrast (or as much a dilemma for Odo) as may have been intended.

Of course, it's not like Laas is exactly in the wrong. His comments about the way human life disrupts the natural order is spot on. The main characters can't muster much of a defense for their reactions to shapeshifters beyond "but Odo is different." Quark even has a well-written speech arguing that intolerance might just be genetic. I don't think any of it really sets the stage for the finale, but I do find it thought-provoking.

If Laas is compelling, it's a testament to the performer. The credited "Garman Hertzler" is actually J.G. Hertzler, better known for playing Martok. The producers apparently tried casting for the part normally and found no one they thought who could stand opposite Rene Auberjonois as Odo. They then decided to go with an actor they already knew, reportedly considering Jeffrey Combs (who already had two recurring characters) and Andrew Robinson (who they felt too many people would recognize as Garak) before settling on Hertzler. He used the different name of Garman to force a bit of separation from the character of Martok, of whom he was fiercely protective -- particularly since Laas would actually kill a Klingon in the course of this story.

Though Hertzler's distinct voice does peek through in moments, the higher register and halting speech he adopts are a fairly effective disguise. The makeup completes the transformation, of course, with Laas getting an interesting "smooth-faced" treatment of some unseen alien race just as Odo is a smooth-faced Bajoran. There are fun CG assists throughout too, from the space squid they first encounter, to the fiery and foggy forms Laas adopts, to the T-1000 style stabbing he inflicts on a Klingon would-be bully.

But the best acting in the episode (as is so often the case) comes from Nana Visitor. Kira reacts to Odo's relationship not with jealousy, but with love. It's clear that his bond with Laas is not a threat to her as much as it's a source of sorrow -- it's not that she can't relate to Odo as closely as Laas can, but that she can't relate to him as closely as she wishes she could. It's actually a bit wild that Kira isn't threatened, since linking with the Changeling Leader is exactly what caused the troubles with Odo during the "re-occupation." But it's clear Kira is all in on this relationship; she wants happiness for Odo more than she wants it for herself. In the end she gets both, which Nana Visitor sells the hell out of in the final scene where Kira is joyfully surrounded by light.

Other observations:

• Laas says Odo would be back with his people except for Kira, and you could argue he would know, having linked with Odo. But his interpretation, given his own views on "monomorphs," feels suspect. I don't buy that "but for love of Kira," Odo would be all in on fascism.

• This can be seen as a pretty progressive episode for its time, depending on how sexually you interpret the act of linking. (I mean, it was fairly explicitly so when it was Odo and the female Changeling Leader.) Odo might be the first significant bisexual representation on Star Trek.
  

• More big SPOILER talk here on coming events in the final season. Later, we'll learn that Odo does in fact carry the same disease the Founders have. This is a detail the writers had not landed on yet when writing this episode, and the ramifications that Odo would have infected Laas did weigh on them. They apparently tried to wedge in bringing back Laas at some point during the final run to tie up that loose end, but they just couldn't make it work. (I hear the tie-in novels set after DS9's final episode did.)
  

"Chimera" has some good moments, but I don't think I see it being quite as necessary as the writers do in setting up Odo's final story arc. I give it a B-.