Quodo in Every Episode discussion: "Past Prologue"

[chacusha]

This week we're discussing... episode 1x03 "Past Prologue"!

Episode synopsis: In the second episode of the series, a former terrorist and acquaintance of Kira's seeks asylum on DS9 at the same time that the Klingon Duras sisters also come aboard the station. The enigmatic tailor and sole Cardassian on the station chooses Bashir to pass information to, and Kira has to choose whether her loyalties lie with Bajoran freedom fighters who haven't laid their arms down or with the Bajoran provisional government that has staked Bajor's future on the wormhole.

What The Boys are up to in this episode: Quark isn't in this episode, but Odo is doing a lot: confronting the Duras sisters when they arrive and tailing them as a mouse, reporting his findings about suspicious schemes on the station to Sisko, giving Kira advice, and arresting Tahna at the end.

One screencap from this episode:


Transcript: http://chakoteya.net/DS9/404.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+s01e03+Past+Prologue+%28Star+Trek%3A+Deep+Space+Nine%29&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:
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https://discord.gg/Htz4crCdCt (general Quodo Discord)
Event info & rules
Fic masterlist

Comments

[chacusha]

Random thoughts:

- Oh man, the "Buh-JOR" pronunciation is back XD I also notice in these earlier episodes they have this effect where the viewscreens are empty space when there's no signal showing. I don't remember seeing this effect in later episodes -- is it just more subtle/less noticeable, or did they give up on doing it because it was an expensive effect?

- Tahna keeps on interrupting Kira and it's kind of bothering me. XD I mean, I know it's because he is a sketchy person and intentionally trying to manipulate her, but it's grating.

- I can't hear this exchange between the security guard, Odo, and the Duras sisters without thinking of the Duras Sisters Podcast nowadays. The delivery is so strange!! Love Lursa and Betor's boob windows, though. Given that Klingon women don't generally wear dresses like that, I feel like it's really character-establishing for them. With the security officer holding two Klingon disruptors and the Duras sisters' holsters and stuff, this interaction really does feel like a Western, haha.

- Great dynamic between Bashir and Garak in this one, obviously -- iconic. I love their second conversation and Bashir's baffled reactions as he tries to understand what Garak is trying to convey to him.

- Some really weird camera angles in this one!

- Garak's campy hand waggles. XD

- Kira feels really young in this episode. I mean, I know it's the beginning of the series so everyone is younger, but also she feels less experienced with command here too, and less secure about herself, which is fascinating to me. Relatedly, maybe kind of a controversial thing to say, but watching this episode, I also kind of feel like Odo works better for Kira as a kind of gruff dad figure? IDK.

- I like how the Duras sisters beam onto the runabout facing different directions. I like when people do, like... "defensive beaming". I wonder if this actually makes a difference, though? It always seems to me like if you beam somewhere, because you're frozen for like a second, and don't seem to be aware of your surroundings in that time, you're pretty much at a disadvantage because if people happen to be there, they can react to you and aim before you can react to them and aim. Nevertheless, I still think the defensive beaming formation is neat.

- Quark isn't in this one, but Odo has some interesting characterization moments here, like when he waxes a bit nostalgic for Cardassian procedure, and the way he gives advice to Kira, and his "outsider perspective" in this episode.


Quodo potential:

- Hm. Honestly, it's a bit hard to think of a way to fit Quark into this episode that actually builds on the events or scenes in the episode, rather than would be a very generic early-series Quodo scene that could be slotted into any episode. My best attempt would be to add Quark to a scene that Odo has in this episode. So like, maybe Quark gossips with Odo about what the Duras sisters are doing on the station, or runs across Odo while he's sneaking around in mouse form. Or adapt Odo's conversation with Sisko where he shades Quark's food to be a conversation he has with Quark instead?