Quodo in Every Episode discussion: "Dax"

[chacusha]

This week we're discussing... episode 1x08 "Dax"!

Episode synopsis: Charges are brought against Jadzia Dax for treason and murder on Klaestron IV, supposedly committed by her previous host Curzon Dax while he was serving as a Federation mediator there. To Sisko's frustration, who knew Curzon well, Jadzia refuses to protest Curzon's innocence, forcing Sisko to argue that Jadzia can't be held responsible for Curzon's crime.

What The Boys are up to in this episode: Odo actually gets quite a few scenes here despite not being the focus of the episode -- he responds to Dax's initial kidnapping attempt and is sent to Klaestron IV to investigate the murder and treason charges being brought against Curzon Dax. Quark's main appearance in this episode is in a scene with Odo where Odo bullies him into allowing Dax's hearing to be held in his bar. Quark also later appears briefly at the start of the hearing, observing the proceedings along with the other bar staff and regulars.

One screencap from this episode:


Transcript: http://chakoteya.net/DS9/408.htm

Quodo fics tagged with this episode: None (https://archiveofourown.org/works?work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=revised_at&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=Episode%3A+s01e08+Dax&work_search%5Bexcluded_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_from%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_to%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_from%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_to%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&commit=Sort+and+Filter&tag_id=Star+Trek%3A+Deep+Space+Nine)

Tell us:
- What did you think about this episode?
- Have you written a fic set during/after this episode?
- Do you know of any other fics set in or that build off this episode that weren't linked above?
- What do you see as the Quodo potential for this episode?

Anonymous comments are on, so feel free to chime in even if you don't have a Dreamwidth account! If you prefer, we are also available on Discord:
https://discord.gg/VaCnMYvKu6 (18+ proship Quodo Discord - there is a dedicated channel for this event)
https://discord.gg/Htz4crCdCt (general Quodo Discord)

Comments

[chacusha]

Random thoughts:

- Omg at poor Bashir's attempts to engage Dax in informal conversation. XD Also, I like how he kind of goes charging in like a hero during Dax's kidnapping, but doesn't quite manage to save the day here -- with fighting, at least. It turns out he does help a lot just by passing on helpful information to others.

- This is... a VERY elaborate extradition operation, when they could have just asked. XD I do like the competence porn, though, and how calm Dax is throughout the whole thing.

- We get a glimpse of Jadzia's quarters in this episode.

- Oh gosh, I love early season 1 loose cannon Kira. XD Her good-cop/bad-cop schtick with Sisko is so fun here.

- This episode is quite good for Quodo screencaps (see: my icon). XD They are leaning into each other to a ridiculous degree here, and Odo is doing that thing where he talks to Quark without looking at him, which somehow has the effect of creating sexual tension between them. And when you add Odo fishing for whether Quark would shut down his bar as a favor to Dax... yeah, it definitely feels like Odo is interested in Quark. XD (Odo and Sisko do love twisting Quark's arm, lol.)

- This episode is also good for Odo screencaps. He's got a lot of scenes here, and he's filmed well.

- I LOVE the arbiter in this episode. She is so cranky.

- I like Bashir testifying in this episode. He looks so excited to be testifying, and the look he exchanges with Jadzia, like, "Look, I'm helping!" is adorable. And you can tell he's a bit intimidated to be cross-examined but also cocky enough to think he can handle himself. Just some really nice acting on Sid's part.

- I feel like this is actually DS9's first "joined-Trill gay pining" episode, before there was "Rejoined"!

- I like all the costumes in this episode. We get to see a lot and they're quite fun!

Overall, I think this is a good early exploration of the Trill joining mechanic, in a trial episode much more in line with TNG's style than with what will be DS9's style. Some of the best moments in the episode, including a summary of Jadzia's complicated identity, are delivered by the arbiter, IMO.


Quodo potential:

- I feel like there's a lot of ways to easily make Odo and Quark's scene here just a bit more explicitly shippy:
-- For those people who like to read Quark and Odo as exes, I feel like their scene here works pretty well for that read.
-- I also like it for the read where Odo is interested in/has a crush on Quark but doesn't really know how to express that.
-- Or even established relationship where Odo's whole "you have to give up profit or I'll come down hard on you legally; I've been very nice to you and have been letting you get away with a lot but I don't have to be that way" thing is, like, uh... foreplay...

- If you want to add another scene to the episode, maybe writing something where Quark gets Odo back for that bit of arm-twisting? I don't know.