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Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Rejoined

Review by An Honest Fangirl

"You know that woman?"
"I know her. She used to be my wife."

This was a very sweet, very heartbreaking episode. I was not expecting that when I turned on my TV.

Negatives first, because there's only a few of them and I want to get them out of the way. There's not really a traditional plot or tension going through the episode, which can make it lag a bit in places. I kept waiting for one of the scientists to turn out to be evil or be sabotaging something, but that might be my inner, distrustful cynic talking. I was screaming at Dax to not let them upload anything into the main computer.

Most of the cast was also basically nonexistent. I missed some of them, but it also let the focus be essentially solely on Dax. As it should have been. This was truly her episode, and I'm glad that there weren't any side plots to distract from that.

I really loved the relationship between Dax and Lenara. I bought into it from their first interaction at the party. It was just the right mix of awkward, hopeful, and flirty that I wanted them to make it. I wanted them to succeed, regardless of the Trill laws against reassociation, regardless of the fact that Lenara was very obviously a one-off character. That's a combination of writing and really excellent acting from both Terry Farrell and Susanna Thompson.

I bought that they loved each other, and that that love could persist across time and bodies and death. Which is just a really lovely thought. Who doesn't want to find a love that can last like that? Despite being apparently very different people from when they were married, they still loved each other and found each other again.

Which made their eventual, inevitable parting all the more heartbreaking. I'm honestly surprised that Lenara survived the episode. As soon as there was the explosion, I was certain that she was dead. It would have been a very neat and easy solution to the problem that Dax was facing. Instead, Lenara chose to do the proper thing and left Dax behind.

I'll admit that that part of their relationship felt rushed and forced to me. They went from one scene with Lenara saving that she couldn't lose Dax again to her ending their relationship in the very next scene. That gave me a bit of whiplash.

Of course, I can't review this episode without talking about the fact that it was a landmark episode for LGBT Trek fans. Not only does it contain one of the first onscreen lesbian kisses on US television, but there's also zero mention made of the fact that both Dax and Lenara are currently women. That's not the issue here, and is implied to be fairly normal and no big deal. It's a huge episode, and I'm glad that it's also one of pretty high quality.

Random Thoughts

Does reassociation not count for friends then? It feels like it would fall under the same category as family members and lovers, but I guess not.

The episode was directed by Avery Brooks, who, of course, plays Sisko.

Bashir is a very, very good friend.

Sisko is also a very good friend. He gave sound, reasonable advice but was still willing to back Dax no matter what her decision was. I really enjoy their friendship.

Alright, be honest. Who else thought that we were going into a "Space Seed" or Wrath of Khan situation when Sisko first said Lenara's last name?

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An Honest Fangirl loves superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, and really bad horror movies.

4 comments:

  1. This is making me feel a bit old, but in a good way -- because I remember when this episode initially aired, it was a big effing deal for fans who had been waiting forever for any acknowledgement that gay people existed in the Star Trek universe. And now, it's just a sweet story. We've made some progress.

    I remember thinking that Terry Farrell and Susannah Thompson did a great job with this episode. They *felt* like they'd been married.

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  2. I remember the preacher's sermon about this episode. It's why Star Trek was banned in our house. I could watch it at Grandma's though. My grandfather was an old aviation mechanic. He loved it.

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  3. I, too, remember the fuss that was made about the episode, how Farrell and Thompson were given privacy for what was actually a very tame scene compared to so much of what we see these days.

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  4. I was under the imrpession that in accordance with Roddenberry s vision
    That in the 24 th century we dont need to do any sicj thing s sich as make sure we keep show the gay relationship by then relationship himanity should long be accepted them as a part of it jist like they should as any ither alien.
    Os im not racist I mi muslim and accoridn ti my god allah .. it was not a normal thing but if people think it is rhey ll.have to face and jidged bu the creator not govt not oubli and not me bye

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