Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — 3x10 — Fascination

Aired 1994-11-28

SpaceOpera.com rating:4

Average reader rating:3.9

Synopsis

A Bajoran celebration on the station serves as the backdrop for an epidemic of inexplicable romantic attractions among the crew.

Filler rating: partial filler

This episode furthers several smaller arcs on DS9. Lwaxana's relationship with Odo evolves, Odo's love for Kira is more firmly established, O'Brien's relationship with Keiko evolves, and this is the last time we see Bareil before his untimely death. None of this is essential though unless you watched DS9: The Forsaken and you want to continue the Lwaxana/Odo arc.

Remarkable scenes

Keiko, having not had a good time on her trip back because of Lwaxana. :)
Keiko and O'Brien arguing.
Jake trying to seduce Kira!
Bareil trying to seduce Dax.
Jealous O'Brien.
Quark: "You hew-mons, you never learn. You let your women go out in public, hold jobs, wear clothing, and you wonder why your marriages fall apart!"
Jadzia seducing Sisko.
Kira and Bashir falling for each other.
The staff figuring out what's going on.
Bareil attacking Sisko and Sisko's response.
Quark trying to seduce Keiko.
Lwaxana seeing through Odo, noticing he's attracted to Kira.
Morn appearances; 1. Talking to Jadzia about his problems. (Never actually says anything onscreen.) 2. Seen behind a juggler while Quark is selling festival items at the promenade.

Review

This is a successful humor episode, but in many ways comes across as far too silly. The issues between O'Brien and Keiko are only barely convincing. The story itself is acceptable, but the humor in the episode makes the whole endeavor between Keiko and O'Brien seem more silly than it should have been. I'm fond of the ending, where everything is "fixed" and made to be serious again, but personally, I would have preferred O'Brien and Keiko's meetup to be under completely different circumstances.

8 reader comments

Completely agree about Keiko and O'Brien's problems.
About the telepathic influence affecting only the senior staff… At the party there were other personnel who were kissing and/or hugging in the background… Were they also senior officers? If they were, shouldn't we know something about them?
With all the bunch of characters in DS9, it's quite hard in an episode like this to focus on more non-essential ones, maybe just showing them in the background is enough. Also, Bareil is not an senior officer, neither is Jake or Quark :)
I don't think this is a problem… The episode just focuses on the most important characters, many of them being part of the senior staff.
by Popescu | 08/22/2010 at 2:45 pm

Great episode. I LOVE the directing/cinematography of this one! Way to go, Avery Brooks! There are so many long, moving shots, and the DS9 set is really shown off far better than in any other episode that's come before. This one must've been a hoot to make, and I'm sure somewhat challenging for the actors.
As always, Majel Barrett is a pleasure to see (I love that woman, and her portrayal of Lwaxana is divine).
Finally, this episode really adds credence to the fact that Keiko O'Brien can be a real bitch. Her way of talking with Miles and resolving issues sure rubs me the wrong way. I'm not entirely fond of her, and sure don't understand what Miles sees in her. Their relationship does come across as fairly realistic - it's just too bad it doesn't seem like a great one…
by Ry-Fi | 02/06/2011 at 6:08 am

I guess this is DS9's version of The Naked Time/The Naked Now, although a bit more fun. When I read the recap, I thought it was going to be a disaster, but turned out not to be all that bad. The only problem for me is the almost-cartoonish scene when Bareil punched Sisko who responded by blocking his subsequent punches like Neo in the Matrix, after which Dax knocked Bareil out. As for the question why only the senior staff was affected, I guess it could be argued that Lwaxana had her outbursts only when she was present around them.
P.S. How come you stopped doing the filler count halfway through the second season? This episode, for example, could be marked as the starting point for the Kira/Odo romance.
by Gul Ranek | 12/23/2012 at 9:58 pm

I'm currently doing a DS9 rewatch and slowly altering my reviews to tweak things and add the filler quotients. You'll see more added in the coming months. I expect the project to be completed by June.
by Eric Newport | 12/24/2012 at 3:27 am

Respectfully, I disagree completely with Gul Ranek. The "fight" between Sisko and Bareil was my favorite part! It was indeed slapstick, but it also makes sense: Bareil could never go toe-to-toe with Sisko. And it's a silly episode, so they should have gotten silly in the final scene. If anything, the problem is there wasn't more ridiculousness.
Does anybody have a gif of Sisko's reaction to Bareil's punches?
by tigertooth | 09/27/2016 at 4:15 am

Avery Brooks' acting when Dax is seducing Sikso is so perfectly genuine. I enjoy this one overall.
by C | 04/19/2017 at 2:19 am

A fun romp in the vein of The Naked Time/The Naked Now. Works better than the TNG variant because it comes along after the characters and relationships are established.
by Gaius Gracchua | 08/16/2021 at 9:04 pm

I could have done without O'Brien being a jealous jerk to his wife… again. They really get lazy with O'Brien sometimes. They just make him suffer and/or super moody. I was completely with Keiko in this one (as I usually am). It was touching he was willing to resign for her, though perhaps a bit over-the-top. At least he came around. (And apparently he's a pretty good lay.)
I would have been more sold if the "love vibes" affected different people differently, depending on their self-awareness and maturity. One redeeming aspect of The Naked Now was that some of the more "serious" officers were more in control than the others.
I feel Dax has been sloppily written recently. She falls in love with a stranger in Meridian and is ready to throw her life away for him. Then two episodes later she's under this amorous influence toward Sisko seemingly without any self-awareness or sense that something is amiss. But normally she should be one of the most self-aware and self-controlled people on the station, what with eight lifetimes' worth of memories. It also seems Bareil, who is supposedly a contemplative holy dude, completely loses himself. I did like how Kira and Bashir, though they couldn't stop making out, kept saying they needed to stop, but couldn't stop!
Agreed with the commenter above who said the bit with Sisko deflecting Bareil's blows was their favorite scene. Mine too. Bariel is not a fighting man! Sisko didn't even get mad, he just got exasperated.
by Azalea Jane | 11/29/2021 at 10:13 am