A Surprising Gem

Matt’s Take on Episode 16: “The Forsaken”

Ambassadors of Unhappiness

Man, this first scene with Julian is tough to watch! Not because there is anything wrong with it, but because I just feel so bad for him! I am not a person who enjoys social situations, and I think that this assignment would have probably killed me if I were in Julian’s shoes. Actually, I know it would have, as he ends up having to heroically save all of these miserable ambassadors at the end of the episode, and I doubt that I would have been up to it! I am glad, however, that Julian finally got to be a hero; it seems like in a lot of the previous episodes he was the victim of something or being foiled in some way.

Odo + Lwaxana = Dramedy 

I love the pairing of these two. Lwaxana, who can be a rather overwhelming figure, really shows many shades of her personality in this episode. I have to give a lot of credit to Majel Barrett for her emotional range, and the same compliment goes out to Rene Auberjonois. By the end, I really wished that they had become a couple. The sentient non-biological life form that creates all of the mayhem on the station is really just a plot invention to force Odo and Lwaxana into a turbolift together. To be clear, this is not a criticism. I’m just pointing out that the episode isn’t really about any kind of plot; it’s about the character development. I feel like I write that quite a lot in these reviews, but the characters really are the best part of DS9. 

The whole back and forth with Odo wanting to be silent and Lwaxana being completely unable to do so is excellent and also something that I can empathize with as an introvert. Of course, once Odo does start talking, we find out a lot about his background “growing up” in a laboratory. It puts a lot in perspective for viewers that are watching Odo’s journey for the first time!

One thing that threw me off a little was that Odo ended up hanging out in Lwaxana’s dress when he returned to liquid rather than in her wig. One would think that since she just took off her wig, that it would have made a pretty good container for Odo … perhaps it was too small!

Finally, this line from Laxana “I’ve always wanted to see an upper pylon” had me genuinely in fits of laughter. It was just something about the delivery and the sultry look in her eyes. I’m so glad that they chose her to be the one to chase after Odo. Nobody could do it like she does.

That’s Such a Good Sentient Non-Biological Life Form!

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the similes and metaphors in this episode that likened the lifeform to a dog. From Kira suggesting that it was like a puppy that attached itself to O’Brien, to his revelation that he needed to “build a dog house” for it, I loved it all. 

There is a sad lack of dogs in Star Trek until the Enterprise series, so it was nice to get a little recognition for man’s best friend here! I especially empathized with O’Brien’s story about how he had a puppy and that they don’t like to be locked up. Dogs need all of the attention all of the time, and I’m okay with that!

A Surprising Gem

I didn’t remember this episode as being as good as it was. Maybe it gains something when you know Odo’s character a little better? There is something to be said for these episodes that give a lot of time and attention to just one or two characters. Odo and Julian both benefited from their storylines here. So far, this is one of my favorite episodes from the season, and we are coming up on the end rather quickly!

Return to Jim’s Take: “Lwaxana Troi is…Grateful!”

Return to Rhonda’s Take: “Three strands entwine to develop how we long for connection”

Return to Ray’s Take: “Karens and Love in an Elevator”

Return to Episode Logs or Episode 16 Guide