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walkingstackofbooks · 1 year

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DS9 2x13 Armageddon Game thoughts (rewatching, so possible future spoilers)

Julian does seem to like monologuing XD

Miles giving Julian all the credit and Julian being so reluctant to accept it - my heart, I cannot!

"I suppose another day won't kill me" ...but it almost will! Foreshadowing!

Miles saving Julian when he had been well-hidden and Julian very much wasn't!

These officials are very good at lying, I'll give them that

Callback to Miles' defence of rations earlier in the season XD

Oh, he's ever the doctor and I love how consistently that shows

And I love it how Miles' experience is coming out with him knowing that the best thing is not to move

Aw, Julian biting his lip after offering to help: knowing he's an augment, this can definitely be seen as him deciding to put a more unusual skill he shouldn't have out there, possibly rising exposure, for it be dismissed

I'm glad we're shown how upset and shaken the crew are at the news of death. Their faces in Sisko's office are just... <3

This whole conversation Julian and Miles are having about women isn't quite banter, but it would be if they were friends. I really don't know if Julian is winding Miles up on purpose to get his mind off the situation, knowing what he's doing, or if he is just an idiot.

( Though ngl, my Julian/Miles addled mind is reading this as Julian totally overcompensating to cover up his massive crush on Miles by going on about women.)

Doctor Julian is best Julian

KEIKO MY BELOVED I wish you didn't have to feel this way

I am SO curious what is in Julian's diary. I suppose even in a diary - especially presumably one on a PADD - he wouldn't even hint at his augmentations, given the risk of discovery.

"I suppose I should send them to his parents..." - No, you reallly shouldn't.

I love how proud Jadzia is whenever Quark is thoughtful. That expression definitely feels like she's showing off to Kira: "See, Ferengi are actually good too!"

Also I'm noticing far more snippets of Jadzia and Kira just hanging out and supporting each other and being friends <3 Not sure why I didn't see this ship before but it has my entire heart now.

Keiko persuading them the footage is suspicious is all so much funnier knowing she's wrong about the coffee. Although WHAT a good job she was!

Huh, initially Miles was describing the components to Julian (dark blue coil beside the green cylinder), but now he's moved fto calling them by name (subprocessor, RFoscillators). Either Julian has faked learning quickly otr let on how much he knows about electronics.

Julian really doesn't want to listen to Miles' thinking he'll die - but even less to Miles talking about Keiko...

Oh, I've just remembered why they tried to kill them!

"The T'Lani and Kellerun have finally made peace" - and boy, what a way to ensuring it survives, iirc....

Julian's complete bafflement at the lengths they were willing to go. He cannot understand killing innocent people at all!

"I'm sorry I didn't get us home, Chief." And he probably feels responsible, too, seeing that he ended up being the one to make the radio and contact the T'Lani.

"You did your best. It's been an honour serving with you." MY HEART.

Oooh, not home and dry yet, a space race!

I can't believe they'd risk a BIGGER war against the Federation to protect their peace?! They're not thinking this through very thoroughly, are they.

Idk why, but this fight scene has very TOS energy to me

Clever clever clever! Took me a second to figure out after the runabout exploded, but I got there before the T'Lani did so I'm pleased with that :P

Oh, Julian's so genuine and sweet, he just wants to be friends and have Miles like him

I can understand your time alone with him being hell seeing as you were dying, but you're definitely overexaggerating how bad Julian was, Miles

That reveal is still a favourite. What a twist XD

O'BRIEN: You know, I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee right now. KEIKO: Miles, you never drink coffee in the afternoon. O'BRIEN: Sure I do. KEIKO: You do?

I really love this episode. What a banger.

#ds9 #andi watches ds9 #ds9 2x13 #ds9 armageddon game #julian bashir #miles obrien #jiles #WSB

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vaguely-concerned · 2 months

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sisko is of course always stunning but he especially looks so fucking good in all of visionary somehow. they'll be chatting away about romulans and klingons and meanwhile sisko is sitting there like a wholeass renaissance painting

#it might be a lighting thing maybe?#there's a scene in ops where he's standing right by one of those light panels and it outlines the side of his face SO perfectly #ds9 has really interesting lighting in general honestly it's such a cool part of how the show looks #thank u ds9 for letting me look at his face it is a precious gift #star trek #star trek ds9 #ds9 #benjamin sisko #this is his version of that scene in armageddon game where bashir's face is perfectly tenderly caressed by golden light I guess lol #his lil smile when odo's earnestly like '...I always investigate quark!' fhdskja

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stopthatbluecat · 9 months

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Remember when Julian was obsessed with Jadzia so he gave her his diaries and Jadzia was like, "I'm not reading all that" because I do and I love it lmao it's just so them

#julian bashir #jadzia dax #ds9 #deep space nine #armageddon game

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sutekinaoneesan · 5 months

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Just something that recently crossed my mind when thinking about Julian and his relationship with his parents.

Do you remember season 1 all-eager-to-please-puppy-Julian? Just imagine what an argument between Richard and season 1 Julian would have looked like. They did have a lot of differences in the past ever since Julian found out about his enhancements at the age of 15. But somehow I cant‘t really picture season 1 Julian opposing his father in more than a teenager kind of way. He might argue with his father over something but in the end he complies with whatever his parents tell him because he‘s so desperate to measure up to everyone’s expectations because he thinks that it’s the only way to earn their love.

Then take season 5 all-mature-and-grown-up Julian who knows exactly how to step up for himself and defend himself. He’s no longer willing to do as his father tells him. You can see in Sisko‘s office how much he‘s uncomfortable with his parents showing their affection for him. While season 1 Julian would have quietly endured the whole thing, probably feeling even guilty for not being the perfect son, season 5 Julian is ready to defend his newly made home against his parent’s intrusion.

And I just wonder when exactly that change in Julian’s attitude toward his parents might have happened. I mean, of course he grows up a lot during his time on DS9 but I can‘t help but wonder if there was something, a particular event that caused it.

If we take Julian’s statement in Dr. Bashir, I presume? where he says that he hasn‘t been home for three years that would mean that the last time he visited home must have been somewhere around season 2. It’s only my guess but Armageddon Game is set in season 2 where Julian is believed dead and Sisko passes on the news of Julian’s death to his parents. Most likely Julian visited his parents after the events. My guess is that that was the turning point in their relationship.

Richard: We thought you were dead. I’m so glad you’re here. Just imagine, all that talent gone for good. All that knowledge and all those skills.

Julian: We’re talking about my life! I nearly DIED. And all you’re concerned about is that my talent could have been wasted?

Again, it’s only my guess but it would make sense…

#Julian Bashir #Armageddon Game #DS9 #father son relationship #Richard Bashir #Amsha Bashir #Dr. Bashir #Dr. Bashir I presume #poor Julian

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writergeekrhw · 1 year

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You probably can't answer this one but over the course of TNG through Enterprise there are multiple allusions to a foot fetish. From Bashir in season 1 or 2 saying a former girlfriend had "exquisite feet" to the foot massage scene in TNG "The Price" and at least a dozen others. Are you aware of it or is it news to you? If you can say, which I don't think you can for reasons of professional courtesy, can you tell us about this? In my opinion the only suspect for it is Rick Berman since it can trace from TNG season 2 to Enterprise season 3 and no one else was around that long who wrote.

No clue.

Sec.

/quickly googles Bashir quote/

Oh, that scene. I have some vague memory doing a polish on "Armageddon Game" with Ira and getting to that bit. We're both married to ex-dancers, so we had a good laugh about people's perceptions of dancers' feet vs the reality.

Then we left it in because we thought it was funny.

I can't speak to any of the other scenes about feet, and I wasn't aware it's a "thing," but here at IPunchedQInTheFaceCoIncLtdGmbH, we do not kink shame. You be you!

#star trek ds9 #ds9 #star trek deep space 9 #deep space 9 #star trek deep space nine #deep space nine #ask me stuff #ask me anything #yep anything #tv writing #tvwriting #star trek #bashir #armageddon game

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dragontamerno3 · 20 days

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DS9 S2E13 - Armageddon Game

This episode made me cry. Overall it was another mixed bag episode for me but it was pretty good all the same.

I know we have to get through the rougher patches of two people getting to know each other before we can get to true friendship so some of this is just quibbles rather than full issues with it, but the awkwardness between Miles and Bashir did lend to the hot/coldness of this episode. I will say I enjoy tend to enjoy it when the show puts these two together.

I wasn't a fan of how the only thing Miles and Bashir seemed to talk about was women but I was happy when Miles pointed out just how much Bashir obsesses over them. (Also side note, I *really* appreciate the "I'm married not blind" part of the conversation. Just because someone is married doesn't mean people can't still be attractive, it just matters what happens with that person)

Watching how each person reacted to the news of their "deaths was touching" but it was Keiko and Quark that pushed me to tears. Quark's was clearly not necessarily the best but it was clearly an attempt on his part. Keiko's reaction, though, how she could just

tell by Sisko's body language and expression and then how she was clearly shattered but didn't shed a tear? She knew this day was possible, she had worried and stressed about it, enough that when it finally happened she had gone through it enough times to hold herself together. Even for a few minutes.

And Sisko just believing the grieving wife that a late hour cup of coffee was too out of character that there had to be something wrong? I love his trust in his crew or at the very least, her.

Another side note, I actually laughed out loud at the end when Miles asks for coffee and she's baffled that he drinks coffee that late.

I was surprised by the twist that they were all in on the terrorism rather than just one said. They hid it well and made one side super suspicious and the other seem like they were in the dark. I'm not one to be generally thrown for a loop like this (I over analyze, think, and break things down from a writers POV and it can ruin things sometimes for me lol) but this one did take me by surprise.

Also the "when two people nearly die together" convo made me see why some folks are in on the polyam fam bus for Bashir/Miles. lol

7/10 - this one was hard to score cause I legit couldn't care less about Bashir's love life cause he's really gross about woman and I wanted to score it less for that reason but tbh the rest of the episode is pretty solid.

#armageddon game #deep space nine #star trek #star trek ds9 #watchalong #star trek deep space nine #miles x bashir

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hawkp · 6 months

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Miles making fun of Julian’s accent was so cute help

#bestie energy #miles o'brien #Julian Bashir #ari watches ds9 #2x13 armageddon game #ds9 2x13 #deep space 9 #deep space nine #ds9 #Star Trek

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waterme-stories · 3 months

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Whyyyyyy did they put three Miles whump episodes in a row. I actually really like "Paradise" (it's stuck with me since childhood), but I cannot watch that rectangle man go through it for one more minute

#star trek #ds9 #maybe I'll come back to it after I watch someone else get kicked around for a while #like. as an author. WHO THOUGHT that was good pacing.#miles o'brien #armageddon game #whispers #paradise

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data2364 · 1 year

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via Trekcore.com

Nana Visitor (Kira Nerys) with Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) and Rosalind Chao (Keiko O’Brien) 1994 in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine "Armageddon Game“

https://data2364.wordpress.com/2021/01/11/daily-star-trek-11-januar-2021/

#Star Trek #Star Trek DS9 #Nana Visitor #Kira Nerys #Terry Farrell #Jadzia Dax #Rosalind Chao #Keiko O’Brien #Armageddon Game #Das Harvester-Desaster

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stra-tek · 7 months

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Kzinti and Star Trek

You don't see many Kzinti in Star Trek, and there's a very good reason for that: They're not actually Star Trek aliens, but a borrow from Larry Niven's Known Space series of books. And so Paramount don't actually own them. "The Slaver Weapon" episode of The Animated Series is an adaptation of Larry's "The Soft Weapon"

TAS' "Slaver Weapon" brought lots of Known Space lore into Trek. 4 Man-Kzin Wars were fought prior to the invention of faster-than-light travel, which really doesn't work in Trek where First Contact established, well, first contact and it was between humans and Vulcans after the first warp flight.

We also saw a Slaver, which have a rich backstory in Known Space where they're known as the Thrint and once ruled over the galaxy with their telepathy.

Some of Niven's backstory fits into Trek but other parts don't.

The Man-Kzin Wars don't. That being said, there have been attempts to bring Kzin back into Trek and several references to them. The Next Gen novel "The Captain's Honor" features the M'dok in the B-plot, a feline species who fought 2 wars with humanity one before the founding of the Federation and one after... sound vaguely familiar? They were originally the Kzin, and had name and details changed to avoid potential legal issues.

The Kzin exist in the Star Fleet Battles tabletop gaming universe (which is like a Trek splinter universe, licensed from TOS, TAS and the Star Fleet Technical Manual but nothing else), but they lack the distinctive bat ears.

Starfleet Command, the videogame adaptation of Star Fleet Battles swaps the Kzinti for the Mirak, again to avoid copyright issues.

But then came Star Trek Picard, where in season one Riker talks about an issue with the Kzinti (apparently permission was sought from Larry Niven and given for the mention) and then Lower Decks gave us Taylor, who is clearly Kzinti but likely will just never have anyone say it out loud just to be on the safe side

Oh, and the 1980 Star Trek Maps were cheeky and called them the K'zinti and hoped the apostrophe would make everything okay.

There have been attempts to bring the Kzinti back to Trek, like a planned Enterprise season 5 episode called "Kilkenny Cats" which was almost resurrected as a New Voyages fan film project. Here's the poster, where they'd replaced the Kzinti with the Kytharri (another Kzin-expy from the DS9 "Prophecy and Change" anthology

The "Kilkenny Cats" story read somewhat like a retread of DS9's "Armageddon Game". There were also attempts to get an animated Star Trek movie made called Lions of the Night, involving Sulu and the Enterprise-B dealing with a Kzinti invasion.

Oh oh, and read Ringworld. It's fantastic. And makes one wonder what the Kzin world is like in the Trek world... because they're unable to stop themselves launching violent wars on neighbours which they have no hope of winning, their world is essentially occupied by humans and that's very un-Trek (which of course makes it 10x more fascinating) indeed. How would Starfleet and the Federation deal with such a threat?

#star trek #known space #larry niven #kzinti #lower decks #star trek enterprise #ringworld #the animated series #star trek tas #deep lore #deep dive #star trek novels #star trek novelverse

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lady-sci-fi · 1 year

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I find it interesting how TNG and DS9 did the same plot with Data/Geordi and Miles/Keiko in “TNG: The Most Toys” and “DS9: Armageddon Game”.

Data and Miles “die” at the start of the episodes with very good evidence that they are dead. Data’s shuttle explosion with his components in the right proportions in the debris. The video recording of Miles being disintegrated in a radiation burst.

Geordi and Keiko have an initially kind of stoic reaction to it, which I read as disbelief. They then both seem to accept it for a little while, although we only see Geordi going through Data’s things and not Keiko doing the same.

Geordi and Keiko get it into their minds that Data and Miles are not dead, because of one tiny thing they believe was off about their behavior before they died. Data not saying the piloting protocol word-for-word on his last trip. Miles drinking coffee in the afternoon.

This leads Geordi and Keiko to think that they aren’t dead, and they’re both very set in this idea. They manage to convince the others, and Data and Miles are rescued.

But there are two differences.

One is that there’s much more emphasis on Geordi’s experience of Data’s death and his denial of it. Keiko doesn’t get to show the same for Miles.

Two is that Geordi was completely right about the slight offness of Data’s behavior. Keiko was wrong, because Miles does regularly drink coffee in the afternoon.

I’m not quite sure what to make of this.

Except maybe the vague notion of Geordi’s attention to Data being played completely seriously, while Keiko’s attention to Miles being played as a bit of a joke?

#tng #ds9 #data #geordi laforge #daforge #miles o'brien #keiko o'brien #star trek : the next generation #Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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walkingstackofbooks · 11 months

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Season 2 Observations - What the DS9 crew call each other

I'm back with my spreadsheet and armed with new facts. Let's go! (For Season 1 Observations, see here.)

This is a bit longer and there was still more I wanted to include - if you want to check out the raw data yourself, you can view the spreadsheet here!

Sisko

Is slightly more likely to introduce himself as "Benjamin Sisko" (6x) than "Commander Benjamin Sisko" (5x) - though this is often followed in both cases by "of the United Federation of Planets" or something similar.

Kira, Odo and Quark mostly call him "Commander", and rarely "Sir" - all are extremely consistent with season 1. (37:8, 16:2 and 11:0 as compared to in s1 35:8. 15:2 and 9:0)

Miles and Julian are more likely to call him "Sir", but use "Commander" often as well. How often has changed for them both since Season 1: > Julian has moved from using both equally, to using "Sir" twice as often. > Miles has moved from using "Sir" three times as much to almost using both equally (40:35)

Dax still uses Benjamin almost exclusively (24x), although she will use "Commander" on occasion (2x).

Is most often referred to as "Commander Sisko (22x), followed by Sisko (12x) - O'Brien is the only one to use "Sisko" more frequently.

Kira

Most often calls herself "Major Kira Nerys" (4x).

Everyone, apart from Dax, almost always calls her "Major".

Dax exclusively calls her Kira (2x) - Bashir and Sisko have both also called her this (2x and 1x respectively).

Is most often referred to as "Kira" (13x), followed by "Major Kira" (6x) - a change from Season 1 where the "Kira: Major Kira" ratio was 5:18 > Odo bucks this trend: as in season 1, he refers to her as "Major Kira" 2 times and "Kira" only once.

Odo

Introduces himself as "Chief of Security Odo" (2x).

Is called "Odo" by everybody; Kira (7x), Dax (7x), O'Brien (4x) and Quark (24x!!!!) will use this most often.

Sisko and Bashir are more likely to call him "Constable" - 13:8 and 2:1 respectively. > Kira and Dax never call him "Constable" > Miles uses it almost just as much as "Odo" (3:4) > Quark calls him it twice

Is almost exclusively referred to as Odo by everyone - Kira referred to him as "Constable Odo" once, and O'Brien as "the constable" once.

Trends are consistent with Season 1, apart from Kira stopping using Constable entirely, and Bashir, Dax and O'Brien actually speaking about/ talking to him more than two times this season!

Julian

Refers to himself most often as "Julian" or "Julian Bashir".

Sisko, Kira, Odo and Quark exclusively call him "Doctor" - apart from Kira calling him "Julian" once, on his request!

Dax and O'Brien more often call him "Julian" (9:1 and 12:5 respectively) > After Armageddon Game, O'Brien only calls him Julian.

He is still referred to as "Doctor Bashir" most often by Sisko, Kira and Odo

Jadzia still refers to him mostly as "Julian".

O'Brien now refers to him mostly as "the doctor" or "Bashir" (2x each), as opposed to "Dr Bashir" in S1 (2x) > Quark similarly uses "Bashir" most (3x), followed by "the doctor" (2x)

Jadzia

Refers to herself as "Jadzia" most often (5x), but 4 of those times are in the episode Playing God where she is talking in the third person about herself. > She also calls herself "Dax" (2x), "Jadzia Dax" (2x) and when talking to Klingons in Blood Oath, "I who was Curzon Dax" and "You knew me as Curzon Dax".

Sisko and Kira call her "Dax" most often, followed by "Lieutenant" (22:11 and 7:5 respectively). > No change from S1 for Sisko, but Kira only began to call her Dax this season. > Kira also first calls her Jadzia - unprompted! - in Blood Oath. > Sisko only calls her "Old Man" once.

Odo, O'Brien and Quark exclusively call her "Lieutenant".

Julian exclusively calls her Jadzia, but only twice.

Sisko, Kira and O'Brien usually refer to her as "Dax" - the latter two exclusively. > Sisko uses "Jadzia" just as much (6x), but only in the episode Invasive Procedures, when talking about her as opposed to Verad Dax who has stolen her symbiont. > Once again, this is same as S1 for Sisko, but a change from exclusively "Lieutenant Dax" (1x) for Kira.

Julian most often refers to her as "Jadzia" (4x), followed by Dax (2x).

Miles

Calls himself "O'Brien" most often (4x) - "Miles O'Brien" (6x) is skewed because of his repetition of it (4x) under torture in Tribunal.

Everyone most often calls him "Chief". > For Odo, this is equal with "Mister O'Brien" (2x each), and for Quark this is equal with "O'Brien" (1x each).

"Mister O'Brien" is still used at a similar rate by Sisko, being used about four times less frequently than "Chief" in both seasons. Kira only uses it once, in early s2, compared to "Chief" 14x - she used both equally in S1.

Sisko, Bashir and Dax most often refer to him as "Chief O'Brien", a change for all of them from S1. > For Sisko, this is followed by "Mister O'Brien", his most common use in S1. > For Bashir this is followed equally by "O'Brien", his most common in S1, and by "the chief".

Kira and Quark refer to him as "O'Brien" more often.

Odo uses both "Chief O'Brien" and "O'Brien" equally (2x each)

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Thanks for your interest in this, it's definitely encouraged me to keep going! Not sure if this is the correct tag etiquette, but I thought I'd tag those of you who seemed keen to look at more data - let me know if you don't want this to happen in the future! (Or indeed if you want to be added to the update list!) But 100% thank you so much for your kind comments about this project - I'm glad to see it's not just me who likes to nerd out over cold, hard data! (Also feel free to talk about stuff in the comments, there were so many tag comments I wanted to reply to aha 😅)

@joelleity @elainemorisi @istherewifiinhell @dumbnerd13-42 @yourea--stubborn--man @writteninsilences @worfianism @mickstart @ilovefredjones @tomthefanboy @ds9official @ussdefiant @autisticburnham @daforged @loudfederationscreeching @deepacenine @thethirdromana @tocautiouslygo @transhologram

#andi's spreadsheet project #ds9 #ds9 meta #benjamin sisko #kira nerys #odo #julian bashir #jadzia dax #miles o'brien #WSB

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elemental-queen-writes · 1 year

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So this hit me recently when I was writing a fanfic, but, uh, has anyone else realised that when Julian Bashir arrived on DS9 he was somewhat newly single?

In Armageddon Game, he mentions he was previously engaged to a woman, and that he chose Starfleet over her.

DS9 was his first posting out of the Academy. He got his Doctor License in Starfleet.

If he'd taken her father's offer, it would have been after he graduated, and therefore, he'd have had to leave Starfleet after graduation, but before his posting on DS9.

We can then infer that he was newly single when he arrived on DS9.

Which... means that him pursuing Jadzia, was quite possibly him on the rebound.

It kinda explains a lot (to me anyway).

#julian bashir #dr bashir #was he on the rebound #trying to pick up the hot chick he just met #while that really nice Cardassian looks on #'am i a joke to you?'

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stopthatbluecat · 9 months

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Siskoshir Armageddon Game

#julian bashir #benjamin sisko #siskoshir #ds9 #deep space nine #armageddon game

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sshbpodcast · 7 days

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Character Spotlight: Keiko O’Brien

By Ames

Ring ring ring. Take your seats. The first period school bell just rang, and that means we’ve got to talk about Star Trek’s botanist-turned-school-marm: Keiko Ishikawa O’Brien. She’s another character that bridges both TNG and DS9, the former cementing her mostly in the role of Miles’s wife and the latter taking every opportunity to give her the week off. Keiko never really gets a fair shake on either show, which is a shame because she has so much potential. So A Star to Steer Her By is going to give her some time in the sun this week to see how she grows! Like a plant… because she’s a botanist… Moving on.

Amusingly, even though last week we joked that all of Garak’s moments should go on BOTH his Best and Worst Moments lists, it’s actually Keiko for whom we’re seeing the most simultaneously good and bad arguments! So grab your pruning shears and ring your school bell with us as you read on below and listen to us argue with Miles on the promenade on this week’s podcast episode (jump to 59:28), or else you’ll have to stay late for detention!

Best moments

Try to touch the cup Introduced halfway through The Next Generation, Keiko mostly seems to be around to support other characters. So in “Violations,” she’s there to help with the investigation into the mind-probing Ullians. She doesn’t do much, but she’s there. And we’ve got to admit that her scene remembering her childhood with her grandmother is rather sweet.

I would die to save the life of my child Keiko shows some badassery in “Power Play” when Miles is possessed by a being who seems to relish the idea of tormenting its host’s significant other, really twisting the knife and making things personal. Keiko bravely demands that the being let baby Molly go and even expresses she would rather die than let this thing survive. This all to the face of the man she loves!

So easy a child could do it I shit on “Rascals” a lot (and rightly so), but one thing it actually succeeds in is giving Keiko something to do. Even if it is the child form of Keiko, and not that great a child actor to boot. But she does get to help foil the Ferengi takeover of the ship, which somehow the adults on the ship are unable to do. So, uh, low bar but she and the other kid-crew leap over that sucker.

Children are the future By the time Miles and Keiko have moved over to Deep Space Nine, the little missus is looking for some way to contribute now that her botanying is basically on pause, and she leaps feet first into taking on the education of all the children on the station in “A Man Alone.” It’s a commendable endeavor since, even in the future, teaching is drastically underappreciated.

Separation of religion and station We also have to stand up and applaud Keiko for standing up to Vedek Winn in “In the Hands of the Prophets” when the Bajoran leader wants her to stop teaching the science of the wormhole and instead enforce their backwards religion. Keiko’s spot-on response “I don't teach Bajoran spiritual beliefs; that's your job” is the secular philosophy Star Trek is all about.

You know, that was a very ugly thing you just said We give Miles shit for his anti-Cardassian racism, so it’s refreshing to see Keiko do the same and call him in on his dog whistling in “Cardassians.” Miles tries to insinuate that Cardassians had gentleness bred out of them, and Keiko won’t hear it. She lets Rugal stay with them, she encourages him to play with Molly, and she even tries (and fails) to feed him like she would any kid.

It keeps him up all night! Keiko later foils the Kelleruns’ plan in “Armageddon Game” when she sees through their doctored recording of the harvester-deactivation team getting wiped out by some failsafe or other. The whole thing, of course, is a lie. Without Keiko insisting that the thing is a forgery because Miles wouldn’t be drinking coffee ends up saving the lives of Bashir and O’Brien.

We call it Voight-Kampff for short Viewers at home don’t even realize it until the end, but Keiko does a great job not rumbling the game for Miles’s replicant in “Whispers.” The twist at the end reveals that she’s been hiding from him that everyone on the station knows he’s not the real Miles, but she manages to keep him from fulfilling whatever his directive and treats him like the actual deal as much as she can.

I have no intention of testifying against my husband Even while cemented into the limiting role of “Miles’s wife,” Keiko gets some moments to shine. Ostensibly, she attends Miles’s trial in “Tribunal” just to be the face of the defendant’s family (and to give Miles the chance to blame domestic abuse if he wants), but Keiko never gives the corrupt judiciaries what they want, pushing back against their legal system the whole time.

Be the best damned botanist in the galaxy When Keiko is forced to close down the school when the Bajoran kiddos leave the station in “The House of Quark,” she’s back to where she started in the premiere. So it’s great to have her go back to her roots and agree to join the agrobiology expedition on Bajor rather than wallow in despair. Was it just to write her out of episodes? A little, but at least it’s in character.

Cheer him up a little This one probably belongs on Miles’s Worst Moments list, so let’s cover it now. Miles spends “Accession” moping that he can’t hang out with Bashir anymore now that Keiko’s back from her botany assignment, even though she never once gives him any indication he can’t still have fun. So she tricks him into going to play with his friend like setting up a toddler playdate.

You’re family now More on this in the Worst Moments section, but first let’s praise Keiko for how she treats Kira, who is surrogating Yoshi after the events of “Body Parts.” The O’Briens have Kira move in with them during the pregnancy, and Keiko is super progressive during “Looking for par’Mach in All the Wrong Places” about how Miles takes care of the Major. It’s sweet, right? Right…?

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Worst moments

Runabout Bride I griped about this in both Data’s and Miles’s spotlight posts as well, but really Keiko is the one who started it! In her series debut “Data’s Day,” she continuously tries to call off her own wedding on the day. And even worse than that: she makes poor Data (of all people!) do it for her! The franchise really starts off this character as demonstrably unlikeable. But don’t worry, there’s more!

Plankton loaf du jour Chris put this on our Miles list as well, but it bears repeating. In “The Wounded,” immediately after their marriage, Keiko makes them breakfast of kelp buds, plankton loaf, and sea berries, which to my Western palette sounds awful. And then turns up her nose at Miles’s food culture. Did you two never eat together before this or did you go straight to the “I do”s with a stranger?

Is our marriage over? So Keiko and the kids outsmarting the Ferengi in “Rascals” made the good list, but the rest of her behavior while a child is just WEIRD. As a twelve-year-old, she tries to act like her relationship with Miles should remain the same. Excuse me? It’s one thing for him to be supportive of you in a crisis, but your life is entirely upended. Do not put this man in this position.

This garden transplant didn’t take Another element of the Keiko character that we brought up before in the Miles post comes when they transfer together to DS9 and Keiko effectively loses her job as botanist. How this wasn’t a conversation between the two of them is beyond me, as they spend all of “A Man Alone” publicly fighting at Quark’s and on the promenade about their terrible life choices.

School is now in session The writers strangely decide to make Keiko a school teacher in “A Man Alone” just to keep her character relevant to the new show. It’s a good thing for someone to do, as we mentioned in our Best Moments list, but frankly it feels like a disservice to her character, who already had a life before this. It just didn’t fit the Frontier Station™ setting, so Keiko gets a personality overwrite.

No more pencils, no more books Standing up to Vedek Winn in “In the Hands of the Prophets,” it turns out, is a terrible idea, as Keiko essentially stirs up racial tensions all across the station, resulting in most of the students pulling out of school, which ends up getting blown up. Coincidence? Oh definitely not. And shame on the writers for not giving Keiko another line after the destruction. Boo.

The best part of waking up… We’re still not sure what we think of the reveal that Miles does indeed drink coffee whenever the hell he pleases in “Armageddon Game,” as it negates the insight that Keiko had earlier brought to the episode (and to this blogpost!) when she saves the day. It feels like the writers are saying “nyah nyah!” because it turns out Keiko doesn’t know her husband as well as she thinks.

I don’t even want to sit at the same table with you More fighting in public with Miles. We loved Keiko getting back to her botany roots, but springing on her husband in “Fascination” that her survey expedition was going to take seven months longer than planned is an argument that should not have been happening at Quark’s in the Gratitude Festival. The writers made any excuse they could to not have her on the show!

So you wish Keiko was a man? Keiko is upset at Miles at the top of “Hippocratic Oath” for putting a workshop in the bedroom during one of the myriad times she’s away, and clearly there was another argument about it in which Keiko accuses him of living like a bachelor again. Bitch, you’re not even there 90% of the time. No wonder Miles admits to Julian he wishes she were more like a man.

I think she’s actually enjoying it, Miles We talked in both Kira’s and Miles’s posts about how ridiculous their B-plot was in “Looking for par’Mach in All the Wrong Places,” but Keiko is so naive that she keeps forcing them together by accident. What’s even worse: this whole surrogacy plot was a fabulous opportunity to have Keiko and Kira bond instead, as two women who rarely have scenes together. What a ripoff.

Where’re Baloo and Bagheera when you need them? I will never stop giving Miles and Keiko (and to some extent Odo!) grief about how they send feral Molly back into her cave in “Time’s Orphan.” How anyone can neglect their child this blatantly and then be rewarded for it by the episode’s intent is just terrible. Keiko doesn’t even resist the idea when Miles shares it, but is onboard immediately to give up on their child rather than get her actual help.

But the cat came back the very next day A smaller detail in “Time’s Orphan” hints at how Keiko doesn’t like Chester, the cat that O’Brien takes in after he absolutely gets Bilby killed in “Honor Among Thieves.” Keiko strongly insinuates that she’d be happy if Chester ran away, never to return, if they brought him on their picnic. How this woman cannot love this poor orphaned cat is beyond me and deserves some hate.

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Aaaaand we’re all suspended for setting off stink bombs on the promenade. We’ll be back next week though to highlight Keiko’s arch nemesis. No, not Miles. Kai Winn Adami! Look forward to that, keep up with our trip through the Delphic Expance with us on our Enterprise watchalong on SoundCloud (and the other podcast places), pass notes in class to us on Facebook and Twitter, and no fighting on the promenade!

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