Federation ethos challenged

Matt’s Take on Episode 5: “Captive Pursuit”

O’Brien All the Way:

My initial impression about this episode is that it’s really all about O’Brien. As he says himself, Tosk is a natural straight-man, and O’Brien shines playing against him. The conceit of the episode reminds me of “The Most Dangerous Game” to an extent, but I don’t actually find the hunt to be that compelling. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the episode, but as I come back to write about it now, I can’t think of much insight to offer regarding the actual plot.

There is a bit to be said about the inherent right to life that sentient beings deserve. I was a little surprised, especially as a vegetarian, to hear Sisko refer to the fact that some people on Earth were still practicing hunting. With replicator technology and such, it is extremely irresponsible and immoral that anyone on Earth would still be killing animals for food. It seems to go against the Star Trek ethos. It reminds me of an Enterprise episode where T’Pol bristles at Captain Archer for eating meat; it’s all a bit depressing!

Quark’s Pleasure Palace:

I love how Quark considers that the Tosk claims not to have any vices as a challenge. He proceeds to tempt him with the holosuite’s allure, but to no avail. The Tosk says he “lives the greatest adventure that one could ever desire” and that he has no need for fantasy. I would like to challenge his assertion here; his reality of being hunted to the death seems like a pretty terrible adventure! I assume that his response is intended to show his differing cultural values and how, for him, his current existence is the fulfillment of his purpose in life. I’m just saying that I could think of a lot of other adventures that I would prefer!

O’Brien Saves the Day:

O’Brien shows how crafty and gutsy he can be when he executes his master plan to free the Tosk from his fate. I was really impressed with how emboldened he was and that this mild-mannered engineer was willing to put so much on the line for the Tosk. When the Tosk asks O’Brien to go with him, but he demurs because of his wife and daughter, I couldn’t help but think that a part of O’Brien wishes he could just rush off into the stars and leave his responsibilities behind. Especially since his marriage to Keiko is clearly so unfulfilling!

Dressing Down:

There is, of course, the obligatory final scene where Sisko gives O’Brien a sort of fake dressing-down for the recklessness of his actions. You know that Sisko approved of O’Brien’s actions, and I always hate these scenes where the superior officer has to feign displeasure. It just all feels so uncomfortable to me; I want these characters to be able to communicate more honestly. I know the nature of the command situation, but I don’t do well with authorities, and I don’t like seeing O’Brien being scolded, even if it is a slap on the wrist type of situation. The one element of Star Trek that I would not do well with is the military culture; it can be overly hierarchical at times. I wonder if real space exploration will follow a similar command structure?

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