Quodo in Every Episode discussion: "Babel"

[chacusha]

This week we're discussing... episode 1x05 "Babel"!

Episode synopsis: An aphasia virus dating from the construction of Terok Nor is activated and begins to infect the whole station, rendering people unable to communicate.

What The Boys are up to in this episode: Oh, this is a very Quodo episode -- almost all of their scenes are together, and it is a plot point that, since they're one of the few people not affected by the virus, they end up needing to work together to save the day. Various scenes: (1) Odo notices business is slow (Quark's replicators are broken) and rescues Quark from an angry customer. (2) After Quark finds a solution to his replicator problem, he invites Kira and Dax to eat at his bar. (3) Odo confronts Quark about keeping his bar open during quarantine. (4) Odo catches Quark accessing crew quarters without authorization. (5) Quark tries to recoup money from sick customers. (6) Odo discusses the virus with the senior officers. (7) Odo visits Quark in his now-empty bar and warns him not to steal anything on the Promenade as he will be busy assisting Sisko in Ops. (8) Quark assists Odo in getting to the docking ring to avert an explosion and pretends not to be worried about him after the explosion goes off.

One screencap from this episode:

(Energizing! ♫)

Transcript: http://chakoteya.net/DS9/405.htm

Quodo fics tagged with this episode: There's one fic in the tag that references the customer scene in this episode (not sure if it counts):
https://archiveofourown.org/works/44863990

Tell us:
- What did you think about this episode?
- Have you written a fic set during/after this episode?
- Have you read any of the fics linked above? Let us know if they fit! 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:

- Lol, poor O'Brien.

- Bickering is Quark and Odo's love language. XD

- Lol at Kira's tough guy walk down the Promenade and the way she vs. Dax respond to male attention. It's kind of fascinating that Dax here says she's unused to being female and hasn't been one for 80 years. I guess this is Dax talking more than Jadzia, because surely Jadzia is used to people reacting to her as a young woman. It's very strange -- maybe a sign of early series writing where they hadn't quite figured out how Trills are supposed to work and were treating Jadzia Dax as "Curzon Dax transplanted into a new body" rather than someone who has both Jadzia's memories and Curzon + all other hosts' memories as well. Also, lol at the way Kira vs. Dax react to Quark.

- I wonder if it was fun or hard for the actors to deliver their nonsense lines in this episode. It's so funny seeing someone start saying random words and then they look horror-stricken and foreboding music starts playing. XD

- It amuses me how Odo suspects Quark is lying about his replicators because he claims Rom fixed them but "Rom's an idiot. He couldn't fix a straw if it was bent." -- which is of course contradicted in later episodes. Also, I feel like Quark has a way of speaking in this episode that is more old Ferengi-like than how he talks in later episodes. Some more early series weirdness. Also, "Unauthorized access to crew quarters is a crime, Quark." -- once again, Odo is allowing Quark to get away with crimes...

- I also love the early series dynamic of impulsive, loose-cannon Kira, by-the-book Sisko, and Odo just being like, "Yeah... trust me, you're better off just letting her do her thing..."

- Ben and Jake's relationship is so tender. I love how Ben keeps talking and saying reassuring things to Jake even knowing Jake can't understand what he's saying. He just trusts the sentiment will get through anyway, or maybe Sisko just thinks it's important for him to say it out loud, even if he knows he won't be understood.

- Lol, I love Odo just staring befuddled at the Ops control panel. He's never done this before. XD

- I'm sorry, I'm laughing so much at the part where Quark shows up in Ops -- the framing and music and Odo staring at him in awe just makes this feel like such a big "rescue" moment. 🤣 I remembered in this episode that Odo comes to Quark's rescue when he's dealing with an angry customer, but I forgot that Quark does the same to him at the end. And then Quark is trolling him. They need to get a room.


Quodo potential:

This episode is already so shippy I'm not sure what else to do, but some suggestions:

- You could have a little coda where Quark teaches Odo how to play dabo after the station has finally calmed down.

- Quark approaches Odo asking for payment for the services he provided. 😏

I'm not sure if the fic linked above counts. It's definitely working off the episode, but there's a lot of other elements there too, and it's unclear how long after the episode it's set.

[tribble_of_tarth]

Super stoked for this episode as it's the one I first remember thinking, "...I think I could possibly ship these two?" I wasn't all in on Quodo yet, but this is the episode that got the ball rolling for sure.

Random thoughts while watching:

I love how Odo and Quark are just chilling together in their first scene. They're talking smack, because of course they are, but the vibe is very much 'hanging out with my work bestie worstie while things are slow,' which is so great. (As a former long-time restaurant employee, this bit feels so real to me, and I love it.)

ODO: I said, that's enough. Leave him alone.

Why is Odo saying, "Leave him alone," so cute! 🥹 And then his smartass remark of, "Well, another satisfied customer," immediately after. Ded lol. 😆

Poor O'Brien. That man can't ever catch a break.

I love how Quark's role in all this is essentially stealing from the Command level refrigerator and getting everyone sick from the contaminated food. Such shenanigans lol.

ODO: I suppose the Bajoran underground could have smuggled it aboard during construction. Before I took over as Head of Security.

Yes, Odo, please make sure everyone knows that never could have happened under your watch. XD

Odo's so anxious about helping to run Ops, and it's adorable.

SISKO: Bread...

This line is seared in my mind, and I think it's because of a combination of a best of Sisko moments compilation video I saw and a Tumblr post.

Quark is trying to play it so cool as he sidles into Ops and offers to help Odo. (But not volunteer!) His nemesis crush needs his help, and he's going to milk it for all it's worth while generally being a pain in the ass (*cough* flirting *cough*).

Energizing! 👋👋👋😀😀😀

QUARK: Thirty seconds. Hurry!
ODO: I know, I know.

The lives of everyone on the station is in Odo's hands at the moment, and these two sound like they're having a disagreement they've had every day for the last ten years. Such married/divorced vibes.

Quark's panicked grabbing of his head/ears is so so funny to me. XD

QUARK: Odo? Quark to Odo. You still with us?

He's still trying to play it cool, but he's concerned and you can tell. 🥹

Odo gets so upset when Quark brings up hazard pay. Why do you let him get to you like that, Odo? 😆

Quodo Potential:

An AU where Quark is affected by the virus, and Odo visits and comforts him in the makeshift sickbay.

This idea isn't really linked to the episode as much as it's inspired by the scene where Quark pushes cart-Odo around, apparently not knowing it's Odo. I'm imagining some sort of situation where Quark suspects some object may be Odo, but he isn't sure how to check for certain, and it's driving him bonkers because is this Odo or not?! It'd be even funnier if Odo's actually some other object watching this whole thing go down and getting such a kick out of it.

[chacusha]

Yes, Odo, please make sure everyone knows that never could have happened under your watch. XD
Odo is so petty and I love it.

This line is seared in my mind, and I think it's because of a combination of a best of Sisko moments compilation video I saw and a Tumblr post.
Oh, I don't actually know about these!

The lives of everyone on the station is in Odo's hands at the moment, and these two sound like they're having a disagreement they've had every day for the last ten years. Such married/divorced vibes.
It's so true. XD

Quark and Odo really are being so cute with their flirting in this one. XD And Quark's physical comedy in this episode is really great, from sending Odo off with a cheeky wave, to his brace posture, to the way he awkwardly leans on a passed-out Sisko. It's great.

These are cute ideas! Speaking of cart!Odo, I forgot to mention how funny it is to me that Quark's first reaction to seeing Odo change from the cart back into his usual form is just to say, "I thought the front wheels were sticking a bit." Now I'm just imagining Odo impishly making the cart harder to maneuver than usual, just to mess with Quark a bit. XD

[firebatvillain]

ok, just finished this one! Wow, this one is packed with Quodo scenes and I really like it. You can tell they're trying to establish the characters here and also the fact that although these two have a rivalry, it's a friendly rivalry.

Some observations:
- Poor O'Brien lol.
- It's great when Odo rescues Quark from the angry customer, and the snarky back and forth in that scene is great.
- My partner commented partway through that it's amazing to see people dealing with an airborne disease all walking around in enclosed spaces without putting on masks. They'd probably do the costuming differently if they shot this episode these days!
- One thing that's interesting is Kira and Dax talking about unwanted male attention, but it seems clear that Quark is primarily interested in their business, or alternatively in them making the party more interesting, rather than hitting on them, which is pretty funny.
- I wonder if this is some early installment weirdness with Rom being a bad mechanic, or alternatively, the fact that Quark doesn't explicitly call Rom his brother - writers still trying to figure that out maybe.
- Quark trolling Odo a bit when transporting him down to the docking ring is very funny. I think it's not clear the degree to which the writers intended for us to think Quark doesn't know what he's doing. We don't see Quark fumbling the controls or being confused, so I think he's just joking with Odo here.
- Quark is definitely worried about Odo at the end there!

Definitely one of my S1 favs and one of the shippier quodo episodes with great potential. I think this is one of the episodes that definitely opened me up to the prospect of the Quodo ship, and it holds up on the rewatch too.

[chacusha]

Yeah, I think this one is a pretty strong early episode, and part of that is the work done in establishing a fun dynamic between Quark and Odo.

Also, yeah, watching this episode after COVID sure does hit different!

One thing that's interesting is Kira and Dax talking about unwanted male attention, but it seems clear that Quark is primarily interested in their business, or alternatively in them making the party more interesting, rather than hitting on them, which is pretty funny.
Ha yeah, that is interesting, Quark definitely comes off as showing interest in them as women, but he's being pretty low-key/subtle about it here, speaking more like a party host wanting to liven up a party (or even like a bar owner who wants to pull in more women using ladies' nights discounts or whatever!) than someone who is directly hitting on them. He's got some charisma and knows how to dial back the flirting, especially compared to a typical Ferengi.

Quark trolling Odo a bit when transporting him down to the docking ring is very funny. I think it's not clear the degree to which the writers intended for us to think Quark doesn't know what he's doing. We don't see Quark fumbling the controls or being confused, so I think he's just joking with Odo here.
Yeah, you don't really know for sure how much experience Quark has, but I'm guessing he actually does know how to operate transporters, he's just trying to scare Odo. XD

Quark is definitely worried about Odo at the end there!
He is XD