Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — 5x09 — The Ascent

Aired 1996-11-26

SpaceOpera.com rating:7

Average reader rating:5.86

Synopsis

Odo and Quark are forced to cooperate when their runabout goes down on an unknown planet.

Filler rating: not filler

Nog returns to the station in this episode.

Remarkable scenes

Nog's first conversation with Sisko. Hilarious.
Odo antagonizing Quark with noises.
Quark and Odo trading insults as they scale down a mountain.
Rom and Sisko discussing Nog and Jake.
Quark and Odo coming to blows.
Quark to Odo: "Don't you get it? I'm not trying to rescue you. I'm taking you along as emergency rations. If you die, I'm going to eat you."
The scene where Odo and Quark are in the medical bay of the Defiant, telling each other that they meant it when they said they hated each other and the subsequent creepy laughing.
Morn Appearances; 1. Not show, but Quark mentions that Odo likes to watch Morn eat when they trek up the mountain.

Review

This is probably the best episode that directly deals with Odo's new humanoid form. Frankly, this kind of episode simply couldn't have been done before Odo was changed into a humanoid, which in my opinion is a good thing. It's nice to see the writers taking advantage of this instead of just pretending he's the same old Odo, which they've already had a tendency to do. This episode thrives on the complex relationship that has developed over the years between Quark and Odo. Their mutual hate is actually a sort of weird mutual friendship. When Odo is injured in this episode, Quark could have easily let him die, but Quark takes Odo with him, carrying both Odo and the transmitter up the mountain using the weak excuse that the only reason he was taking Odo with him was to use him as food when he died. In reality, Quark didn't want Odo to die.

2 reader comments

Overall, a great episode.
I was a bit bothered that Odo could simply take Quark into custody and bring him to a Grand Jury without telling him why. It seems the Federation justice system would require that; however, given the fact that it involves the Orion syndicate, the secrecy may have been necessary (although, as it turns out, unsuccessful).
The first time I saw this one, the subplot involving Jake and Nog was uninteresting, but after seeing the whole series and the many turns their friendship takes, this was actually a very nice addition. Jake and Nog are interesting characters as it is. Jake, one of the few Human characters in Star Trek not to be in Starfleet, and Nog, the first Ferengi to do so, make for a fun pair. I enjoy the Huckleberry Finn/Tom Sawyer nature of their friendship.
But this is obviously about Odo and Quark, and it doesn't disappoint. I really love when DS9 stretches Quark's character a bit. So often he provides comic relief, but in episodes like this (and Siege of AAR-558) his more serious nature kicks in, and it's very nicely written and acted.
And (spoiler alert), this episode is further proof in my mind that the writers completely fumbled the parting between Odo and Quark in the finale.
by MJ | 02/19/2011 at 7:33 pm

I just watched this last night and I'm about 90% sure Quark asks Odo if he wants to play "Fisbin", Kirk's fictional card came from "A Piece of the Action".
by krs321 | 07/14/2011 at 4:20 pm