“Rivals” develops characters

Rhonda’s Take on Episode 2.11: “Rivals”

“Beware the Gansian wine” should be a warning for visitors to Deep Space Nine. That’s what Alsia blames for her confessing her secret plans for investment to Martus. Yet, it is Martus who will be hoodwinked. But, wait, I’m getting to the end and that’s the least interesting aspect of this episode.

The most interesting aspect, of course, is how Quark deals with competition. Newcomer to the station Martus comes across a “luck device” that he quickly turns toward his favor. He starts a gaming establishment, Club Martus, directly across from Quark’s Bar on the Promenade.

At first, Quark tries to take the bureaucratic route with arguments to Sisko that he has an exclusive contract (Sisko says bribes to Cardassians are not a binding contract) and then that he stayed as a favor to Sisko (Sisko reminds him that he blackmailed Quark into staying). Then, Quark finagles Bashir and O’Brien into a competition to rival the excitement of a gamble and win his customers back from Martus.

One is left to wonder how all of the competitions in this episode would’ve played out without the “luck virus” influencing events. In the end, Quark wins, but was it his lobes for business or simply that Martus’s luck had run out?

The rivalry between Bashir and O’Brien cannot be ignored in this episode. Chief O’Brien has made it no secret that he has little tolerance for the young doctor’s arrogance, which he must face head on in this episode. Bashir admires Miles, but fears for the older man’s health! Our ingenious engineer has recreated a racquetball court and Bashir is the first competitor to show up. Of course, Bashir was the captain of his team at medical school and, of course, the team won intergalactic championships. O’Brien’s pride won’t let Bashir leave while he’s winning so Bashir has to have his medical assistant call him out on an emergency. Still, O’Brien demands rematches, which, eventually, culminate in the battle Quark tricks them into. Unfortunately, the rematch is influenced by the luck virus so that Bashir can’t score and O’Brien can’t miss. It’s nice to see that O’Brien realizes something is wrong and, instead of taking advantage of the situation to notch a win, he calls Dax to find the cause.

Armin Shimmerman is always delightful as Quark and he gets delicious banter throughout this episode.

Sample Dialogue:

Quark: “My benevolence is known far and wide!”

Martus: “It seems overconfidence comes in small packages around here.” 

Martus’s charm is a charming foil for Quark’s. Martus charms by listening. Quark can listen, or so he says, but as we see him formulate his new business slogan while listening to O’Brien’s trials with Bashir, we realize he listens, but not without his own goals in mind.

Also, I’ve bemoaned Quark’s misogynistic attitudes, yet Martus rivals him in this department too. Martus falsely romances the shop owner, who, rightfully, kicks him out when she catches him cuddling into the breasts of a Dabo girl. (It’s such a treat to see Rom put out his arm for her to take when he quits and they return to Quark’s together!) 

As icing on the Ferengi cake, we learn two more Rules of Acquisition: #49: “Don’t trust a man with a better suit than you” and #109: “Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack.” 

The B-story involving Bashir and O’Brien provides excellent development of these characters. Whether it’s Bashir’s constant preening as he prepares for the matches or O’Brien sweating himself to death to save his pride, our images of them are reinforced. However, the care each takes toward the other during the rivalry, especially when their luck shifts, hints at the friendship they will eventually develop. A brief side note: This is one of the few appearances of Keiko O’Brien that doesn’t make me cringe. She’s in it so briefly and she is actually supportive of Miles through her sympathetic reassurances that he shouldn’t be ashamed that he is slower now and her gift to him of a head scarf, as if he is her knight going off to battle. Much like the foils of Quark and Martus help develop Quark, pitting these two against each other also develops their individual characters.

Now, let’s return to the Gansian wine: In the end, we learn that a con man can be conned as Martus has lost his fortune to Alsia when Odo jails her right next to him. 

This is a lovely episode that is self-contained while developing our characters for the future. I’m not sure what order these were filmed in or originally planned to air, but Martus has given us a perfect lead into our next episode when he says to Odo, “Everyone has to be from somewhere. Where are you from Odo?”