149. The Sound of Her Voice

Summary

On their way home from a long mission, the tired and grumpy Defiant crew intercept a distress call from Captain Lisa Cusack, stranded on an L-class planet with a barely breatheable atmosphere. It will take them six days to reach her. On route, they establish a two-way commlink with her and Sisko arranges for the crew to take turns manning the channel. During their conversations, she helps Sisko realize some home truths about his love life with Kasidy Yates, chides Julian about his inattention, and discusses with Miles his feelings of isolation from the war. When she runs out of medication prematurely and begins to feel the effects of carbon dioxide poisoning, the Defiant takes some chances to reach her more quickly and when they arrive, they are stymied by the same energy barrier that caused Lisa's ship to crash. Sisko, Bashir and O'Brien penetrate it with a shuttle but find Lisa dead...for over 3 years. Her signals were time-shifted as they went through the barrier and their replies were time-shifted in the opposite direction going back. They take her body back with them for a proper burial and wake.

Meanwhile, on the station, Quark sees a business opportunity in the way Odo gets distracted whenever Kira's around and decides to maneuver the Constable into planning an elaborate evening in a holosuite to celebrate their one-month anniversary...of course Quark's ulterior motive is to get Odo out of the way so he can sell some black-market crystals. Odo inadvertently foils the plan by deciding to celebrate not the anniversary of their first date (the day on which Quark planned his transaction) but the next day, the anniversary of their first kiss. Quark, believing his plans to be ruined, moans to Jake about how he was there for Odo during his long years of heartache and how it's gotten him nothing. Odo of course overhears and decides to let Quark win this one, and reschedules his evening with Kira.

Analysis

In contemplating exactly why this episode's A plot fails so miserably with such an interesting premise, I hit upon a number of factors: first and foremost, I didn't care at all for the way Lisa Cusack was either written or portrayed. She was sarcastic and obnoxious, and the actress was terrible...she sounded like a community-theater reject. I failed to see any reason why the crew would become so attached to her. The trick she plays on Julian is downright mean...not to mention the world's worst cheap commercial-break cliffhanger. Second, I didn't buy the crew's out-of-the-blue depression and world-weariness either. They've seemed fine all season to me. Just a few episodes ago they were bopping at Vic's club. Their malaise, not to mention the Chief's alienation, are contrived for this episode alone and are oh so hollow and false. The one thing that did have some precedence was Sisko's uneasiness with Kasidy, but I've never cared for that pairing (though I do like Kasidy...she is an especially welcome presence in this episode) so it was scant comfort. Third, the so-called "twist" ending was seen coming a mile away, and it was the worst kind of technobabble tripe...it didn't make sense even in the suspension-of-disbelief world of Trek science. Awful. Fourth, there's a huge gaping plot hole...the first thing they would do, upon hearing the name of Lisa's ship, would be to look it up in the computer, which would have immediately alerted them to the time difference. I usually forgive these kinds of logistical errors but not when they're as huge as this. Lastly...and this really bothers me...the final scene, a wake for Lisa, is supposed to be a big warm gathering of the crew and (cough cough) not-so-subtle foreshadowing for Dax's death in the upcoming episode. It really really bothered me that Kira and Odo were nowhere to be seen. Here everyone is talking about their circle of friends and their growing apart...surely that is not purely a Starfleet sentiment! Every time I think about it, it bothers me more. We should have gotten that scene as one final opportunity for the entire DS9 crew to be together as a group. Grrrrrrr. This premise...the crew talking to a stranded woman they can't reach...could have been used sooooo much better.

But it isn't all bad. The B plot is good. It's been awhile since we got a good Odo/Quark interaction, and this was it. Their relationship is quite multifaceted, and in this episode we saw the sort of big/little brother thing...the little brother whining that he never gets to win at chess, so the big brother...perhaps remembering the time little brother washed his car for him...lets him win one game, but in a way that little brother thinks he won it himself. I liked the whole Jake element...it sort of mirrors Nog being Sisko's apprentice. Anyway, it still sheds some light on Odo's inexperience with this whole relationship thing...the fact that he sort of did need Quark to tell him what to do for an anniversary tells you something. I just wish we'd gotten to see the date in Paris.

Rating: 1.0 (A plot), 8.0 (B plot)...I guess that means an average of 4.5

Memorable Quote:

"One of these days we're going to wake up and find that someone is missing from this circle, and then we're going to mourn...but we shouldn't have to mourn alone." --Chief O'Brien, aka Nostradamus

Classic Scene:

Hmm...let's see...I guess I'll have to pick Odo and Kira's grand entrance into Quark's in their 1920's regalia...I think the best part is Quark's deer-in-the-headlights expression gradually turning to disbelief as he realizes he's going to get away with it.

Sexually Slanted Line 'O the Episode:

"We need more speed!" --Julian...well, you're genetically enhanced, let's have it...

The O/K Status Report

Well, they're still together. :-) The teaser, which finds Odo transforming from Constable-mode to boyfriend-mode literally in mid-sentence as Kira enters the bar and calls to him, is rather cute. I find it reassuring that Jake comments, as they leave the bar with arms around each other, "they're in love." Throughout the episode they're referred to as being in love or having found true love...well, duh. The decision to let Quark off the hook was clearly a joint decision, evidenced by her comments as they climb the stairs to the holosuite. Kira is clearly charmed by Odo's romantic plans...she comments with a smile that he keeps surprising her. Probably best that she doesn't know it was Quark's idea.

Special Alerts

1