History shows both sides to blame

Matt’s Take on Episode 4: “Babel”

Let’s Get This Out of the Way:

Geez, this is another episode that just hits too close to home these days! With the COVID situation still unresolved, it’s tough not to read parallels from our current pandemic into this situation on DS9. I’m not going to spend my entire review talking about this, but I wanted to acknowledge it at the top. 

And the freighter captain, Jaheel, who is always badgering Sisko throughout the episode about his cargo and needing to leave the station immediately (and who ultimately almost blows up the docking area with his selfishness and stupidity) is clearly an anti-masker in our current timeline. 

I can’t stand that guy.

I’ve Got a Fever, and the Only Prescription is more Julian:

I think it’s unfortunate that the writers didn’t give Julian the satisfaction of being the one to cure the aphasia. He soldiers on admirably throughout the episode, but he ultimately falls victim to it and plays no part in the eventual vaccine creation. While I could see that they wanted to add in the extra drama regarding Kira’s mission to hunt down a culpable Surmak Ren, it feels like Julian gets shorted here as the ship’s doctor. It might have helped audiences connect with the character more if he had heroically developed and distributed the vaccine himself.

Odo, Quark, and Kira Make this Episode:

We get to see so many fun moments that play out between everyone’s favorite odd couple. The initial scene in the bar where Odo saves Quark from a disgruntled patron, Asoth, and being force-fed his own soup comes around full-circle as Quark helps to save Odo and the station at the end of the episode. Of course Quark demands “hazard pay” for his heroics, which I would say that he clearly deserves! Odo’s expression of pure rage at this request made my day. The relationship that develops between these two really makes this episode a lot more enjoyable than it really would be otherwise. It isn’t a bad episode, but not that much really happens throughout; it is carried on the strength of the actors. Kira also does a nice job of being a badass and forcing Surmak Ren to help by infecting him. The morals on this might be dubious, but I’m going to back her up on this one.

Fine People on Both Sides?

As a final note, I find it interesting that the writers chose to make this aphasia the fault of the Bajorans rather than the Cardassians. It is a good reminder that in times of war, atrocities are committed on both sides. That isn’t to say that it is all equal, as I would posit that those who are being invaded and are on the defensive against an imperialist power hold the moral high ground, overall. But it’s important to keep in mind that not all Cardassians are evil, and that not all Bajorans are angels. There’s plenty of hatred to go around for everyone. Ultimately it comes down to the question, “Do the ends justify the means?”

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