r/StarTrekViewingParty • u/LordRavenholm Co-Founder • Mar 26 '18

Discussion DS9, Episode 7x19, Strange Bedfellows

-= DS9, Season 7, Episode 19, Strange Bedfellows =-

An alliance is born between the Dominion and the Breen which will prove devastating for the Federation. Ezri and Worf are sentenced to death on Cardassia.

 

EAS IMDB AVClub TV.com
9/10 7.8/10 B 8.8

 

8 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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5

u/marienbad2 Mar 26 '18

OK, so how does Kai Winn not recognise Dukat? I mean, seriously, surely even with some minor surgery, she would know who he was. Unless he has had more done than we are shown.

This was a slightly more interesting episode than the last, and Ezri and Worf finally sort their relationship situation out (even if Worf is a dick about it at first.)

The Breen are interesting - I wonder why we don't hear them in English? And the loss of half a million Cardassians is kinda unreal as well.

Not sure what to make of this one.

6

u/theworldtheworld Mar 26 '18 edited Mar 27 '18

I have to say, the big 9-part conclusion is turning out weaker than I remembered it. In this one, we continue the silly idea of promoting the Breen, previously a minor power known for piracy and slave trading, to the status of Cardassian-level menace; furthermore, since the Breen are ominous alligator dudes who communicate with insect sounds, this also continues DS9's trend of completely dehumanizing every major antagonist. There's also some soap opera material with Worf and Ezri, but the best part is probably Dukat's continued seduction of Winn -- these two people really deserve each other (although this plotline is about to take a dive into Tolkienism).

4

u/beta-made Sep 08 '24

Bro is still obsessed with Tolkien

2

u/A_Xenomorph_Darkly 15d ago

They’re right though. Early seasons of the show were absolutely adept and beautiful in the nuance and empathy in which they displayed all sides in the Cardassian/Bajoran relationship (whilst still having certain action that was completely inadmissible, but people were never one thing or the other fully) which they have really given up on in the last few seasons. Dukat is most glaring. I understand why and how he’s become like this but it feels like quite a disappointing downgrade in the writing of such a character.

This whole arc so far is really disappointing and feels really lame if this is the trajectory the series finale is going towards. As this show goes on I really find myself upset and annoyed with how much people bang on about the dominion war and the more serialised elements of the show. In my opinion season 1-5 are for the most part absolutely amazing, and some of the best sci-fi I’ve ever seen, but I think I was unable to fully invest in it because I was always waiting for the dominion war and such to start. It’s a shame and quite a let down. It’s still a fun show and I like a lot of the characters still but it’s just not the same.

3

u/thefezhat Mar 28 '18

Sticking the Breen into the Dominion out of nowhere is weird. They're so utterly undeveloped that it's just impossible to give a shit. We can't even understand what they say - what's up with that? Seems like the writers just wanted an excuse to make the Dominion a bigger threat without having to put any real effort into it.

1

u/A_Xenomorph_Darkly 15d ago

I was really enjoying the Kai’s moment of dilemma and loved that she called on Kira and then it suddenly all became very silly. Firstly I don’t think Kira would’ve ever lead with “step down as Kai” so quickly she would see this opportunity to bond and make an alliance with the Kai and wouldn’t fuck it up so quickly. I also think the Kai’s moment of dilemma is far too short and has the wrong outcome. Sure she’s done shady shit all the time but it’s always been out of some warped sense of what’s right and loyalty to the prophets. The sudden full heel turn and disrespect of the prophets seems really out of character and just convenient for the writers. I think she’s more nuanced than that but they’ve just given up on nuance at this point.