LogFAQs > #973085263

Episode 17: Dramatis Personae

The Naked then?

Sisko's getting to know Kira quite well and can predict an incoming rant. Decent enough to reprimand her in private and act like they're on the same page to an audience. Very annoyed by her insistence and becomes quite menacing when the effect takes over. Bored as fuck and talking like he's about to fall asleep. Far too giddy over his clock. Brooks must have had loads of fun going from hammy, angry barking to haunting whispers. Loads of lovely facial twitches when he's got the assassin. When cornered he falls into absolutely glorious insanity.

Odo gets Quark talking and gives a little smirk to himself when it seems to be working. Effortlessly threatening with every word and makes sure to patronise his informant. The prosthetics help, but that scream and gaping mouth are surprisingly horrifying. Perturbed when he wakes up and has to inspect his body. Weirded out by Bashir. Sees right through Kira and makes sure to emphasise certain words to indicate it. Takes Quark's complaint seriously and tries to be reasonable with the rest of the staff. Clever of him to play to Bashir's vanity. Doesn't miss a beat. Hardly enjoys it, but manages to play both sides expertly.

Bashir has little ability to actually heal Odo. Becomes quite the smug shit stirrer and thinks he's more manipulative than he actually is. Has a dark, flippant sense of humour and is very enthralled with the idea of being a kingmaker.

Seeing Dax zone out and then enter a distracted giggle fit is quite unnerving. Tries to take O'Brien's weirdness in her stride, but is clearly bummed out by her story getting interrupted. Very nostalgic and apparently slightly demented. Doesn't seem like she's fully processing anything. Probably fell onto Kira's side by default. Lovely moment of building clarity when the energy is driven out of her.

O'Brien's counting his blessings at missing the field trip. Dubious over the apparent glory of so mundane a task. No patience with Dax's loitering. Becomes very zealous and paranoid in his loyalty, and a little bit racist, too. Even his log is paranoid. Gives a smile to Odo that is the precise opposite of reassuring. Retains some lucidity and pragmatism and is prepared for almost everything.

Quark goes on a rant, but cottons on quick and gives one hell of a dramatic turn when he does. Seething as he delivers every word of information. Cares enough to call out for Bashir. Tries to flirt, again, and is a little offended when told to bugger off. Very insistent on pressing charges.

Kira has an understandable reaction to the Valerians. Pissed off to the point of abusing technology by their prescence. Still bristles under Sisko's orders. A little bit flirty with how she tries to get Odo on her side. A range of cloyingly sweet smiles when it fails. Flirty to Dax, too, even as the old man tries her patience. I'm not too thrilled with her suddenly showing a trace of bisexuality as soon as shes a little bit evil. I absolutely love the look she gives Quark when she grabs him. Unquestioning faith in Odo. Lightly amused by Sisko's insane boasting. Decent enough to apologise.

The explosion was quite sudden. Quick pan to O'Brien for extra urgency. The failing transporter looks really pixilated, like an actual glitch. Odo's agony, particularly how his shape-shifting effects sort of snaps, really is quite horrifying to watch. The music has a tendency to pick up whenever it gets particularly obvious that someone's acting off. Quark in a neck brace is hilarious. O'Brien in Sisko's chair is obviously very wrong. Kira in Odo's with her feet up is even worse. What an abstract monstrosity that clock is.

Must be a rule of first seasons that at some point we're going to get an actor showcase. It's not quite the alcohol virus, but it accomplishes a similar effect of allowing the actors to show their skills, whilst also defining their characters by their effective absence. Unlike the drunkenness of previous shows, the characters here are sort of possessed by the essence of long dead individuals who simply wear a few traits of their personalities and affectations. Since the two most obvious criticisms of the naked duology is that, firstly, alcohol doesn't work that way and, secondly, its hard to imagine our characters actually acting even close to that when drunk, making it explicitly part of the story that this lot aren't actually the people we're used to at all is a refreshingly honest look at how inventing and then showcasing hidden traits all too often leads to someone being outright out of character, rather than just revealing a already existent facet of them. That this lot are all fighting against each other for very tenuous reasons that presumably vaguely follow the actual disaster the aliens went through feels like a similarly honest admission that whatever plot you create in an episode like this is going to be just as contrived as the characters themselves. It's self aware fakery all the way down.

Odo and Quark are a little bit interesting because they are the only ones who are mostly unaffected. I feel that this reflects both that they are outsiders and the strength of their character. They may both work alongside the factions, but they are neither Starfleet nor Bajoran and, so, wouldn't have a horse in this race (beyond keeping the station from blowing up and being decent to their friends). More importantly, they are both rigid characters. Odo may have changed a lot already in his own episodes, but whenever not the focus, he's likely to default to grumpy, but fair and the other characters all speak to his incorruptability and both sides want him. His will is so ironclad that the episode itself recognises that revealing his depths through a compromised mind is an out of character step too far. Equally, Quark wears who he is on his sleeve and barely notices when called out. He's unlikely to be suppressing much from the start and intoxication would do very little to a man without inhibitions, so, whereas Odo is a wild card who plays both sides through a bit of acting of his own, he's mostly kept out of the conflict as an irrelevance.

More intelligent than its older siblings, but it's still mostly just a fun romp.

I'll sing my song about Duet, next.