Audience rewarded with tantalizing details about Odo

Rhonda’s Take on Episode 11: “Vortex”

After “The Nagus” gave us a closer look at Quark and the Ferengi, “Vortex” rewards us with tantalizing details about Odo. Not answers, mind you, but tantalizing details to pique our curiosity further.

The opening sequence between Quark and Odo fulfills what has become an expectation from DS9 episodes: light banter between these fan favorites with commentary about the station.

Quark: “Starfleet could learn a thing or two from the Ferengi about hospitality.”

Odo: “Paranoia must run in your species.”

The camera always helps tell the story and here it shows us a fifth glass on the tray Rom is preparing so that we know Odo is going to be eavesdropping on Quark’s meeting with the Miradorn twins. The makeup and costuming is also a hallmark for Trek and this episode features several new makeups with the Miradorn and Rahkarian. While slightly reminiscent of the “spoonhead” of the Cardassians, both designs are distinctive. The Miradorn crew that shows up outside Odo’s security office look like they walked out of a late 1980s punk video, which is delightful.

The dialogue repeats several ideas about belonging, being an outsider, and what defines “home.”

The dialogue throughout this episode repeats several ideas about belonging, being an outsider, and what defines “home.” Ah-Kels’s posture shows true pain as he tells Sisko the loss of his twin brother, Ro-Kel, makes him incomplete. Croden tells a sob story about his family being killed as punishment for his disagreement with his government. Croden tries to connect to Odo several times with arguments about them being similarly “alone…isolated.” While Odo, and therefore those around him in the Alpha Quadrant, have called him a “shapeshifter,” Croden is the first person to give Odo’s species a name. He says, “A Changeling, like you,” and says that his kind are “harsh in their judgement.” Croden gives Odo more details about the Changelings being persecuted and driven out from Rakhar. Odo doesn’t believe Croden because he knows the criminal is trying to find escape. He is not, however, above falling for Croden’s temptation with a locket that contains a small substance that mirrors his “goo” state and can form into a small geometric shape. He drops the forcefield on Croden’s cell to take it, which seems symbolic of dropping his personal force field that keeps him emotionally uninvolved. Bashir helps Odo examine the substance and determines that it could be a “distance cousin” to our shapeshifter. He returns the bauble to Croden, but makes it clear that this is not enough for him to help Croden escape. Odo, however, has to face the temptation when Sisko tasks him with returning Croden to Rakhar. Conveniently, the vortex where Croden claims he met a colony of Changelings is a shortcut to Rakhar. Odo resists until they need to hide from Ah-Kel, who is determined to exact his vengeance on Croden.

Croden has lied about the colony, but he didn’t lie about his family. The Changeling “key” unlocks a stasis chamber containing his daughter who verifies that Croden was only trying to protect them and, therefore, should not return to his planet to face punishment.

Throughout the episode, we’ve heard how “honorable” Odo is and how he is married to the letter of the law. Both Quark and Odo himself say that Odo would never give up his prisoner. Odo makes a decision here that is “above the law,” but definitely the ethical choice: When a passing Vulcan ship offers them assistance, Odo asks that they take the father and daughter to Vulcan. He doesn’t worry about dissembling to Sisko or the leaders on Rakhar that Croden died in the vortex at the Miradorn’s hands.

Croden’s last comments to Odo summarize the difference of his situation, “I know my home and might some day return.”

The episode ends on Odo: “Home! Where is it?” He closes the locket Croden has given him and adds, “Someday we’ll know, cousin.” 

While we don’t know how, the audience definitely believes we will see that day.

Some questions not addressed about Odo and probably not even considered by the writers and directors at this point:

1. When Odo is mimicking the glass and it shatters, the shards immediately reform into his humanoid form, but why would he shatter to begin with?
2. Can Odo be knocked out? If he is knocked out in his humanoid form, shouldn’t he return to his bucket goo? Hasn’t it been made clear that Odo has to focus on holding the various forms so if he is knocked unconscious he wouldn’t be able to? [Editor’s note: See Jim’s theory for a possible explanation of this discrepancy.]

I continue to be impressed by how DS9 never forgets that it is an ensemble show. In this episode as in previous episodes, we get small character moments with each of our primary cast and, even some for our minor, recurring characters, such as the joke about Morn running “his big mouth,” which Morn starts to open, but fails to get a word out. Dax reacts to the situation with them not knowing Croden’s race, “Homicide to open negotiations? Not the way they teach it at the Academy,” while Kira sensibly says Croden’s planet probably will rejoice in his return because he is surely guilty of crimes there. Sisko gets to show his diplomatic skills when he lets Ah-Kel return to his ship and his dedication to justice by reassuring the remaining twin that “the law will deal” with Croden.

Return to Jim’s Take: “Auberjonois adds subtle layers to Odo”

Continue to Ray’s Take: “Intriguing characters developed logically and quickly”

Skip to Matt’s Take: “Seminal episode establishes Odo’s desire”

Return to Episode 11 Guide or Episode Logs