Quodo in Every Episode discussion: "Sanctuary"

[chacusha]

This week we're discussing... episode 2x10 "Sanctuary"!

Episode synopsis: A new ship comes through the wormhole, bearing the refugees of a whole Gamma Quadrant civilization, the Skrreea, who are looking for their promised land of Kentanna. Conflict arises when the Skrreea decide that, given what they know, the prophesied Kentanna must be Bajor.

What The Boys are up to in this episode: Odo is in several scenes, accompanying the newcomers as they're shown around the station and commenting from time to time, and confronting Nog after he has pulled a prank on some Skrreean teens. Odo and Quark have a scene together when Quark arrives to pick Nog up from the security office and the two discuss the Skrreea's presence on the station. Quark has a scene at the beginning of the episode where he complains to Kira about the musician she asked Quark to employ in his bar, and then a scene after his conversation with Odo where he breaks up a fight between Nog and the Skrreean teen looking for revenge.

One screencap from this episode:


Transcript: http://chakoteya.net/DS9/430.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+s02e10+Sanctuary+%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:

- I feel like Varani should have been a regular act at Quark's.

- Interesting factoid that the station has a capacity of 7000 people.

- Oh, I didn't remember that the Dominion plays a role in this episode (conquered the people oppressing the Skrreea). I like how even here they're being established as the Bigger Bad / greater-scope villain.

- Lol okay, I ship Kira and Haneek.

- "Oh, you mean she wants to be a chef!" -- I am dying. NohJay friendship gets 10000 cuteness points. ♥

- Is this episode the first mention of Mardah? Looks like it is.

- Odo's ears prick up at the mention of Quark, lol.
Quark: *swans in*

- "You know how easy he loses count" -- Quark is so mean to Rom lol. Worst brother ever.

- Quark smiling when he hears what Nog is in trouble for -- lol. Terrible role model Quark.

- Why do Quark and Odo have to be flirting outrageously like this 😂

- I feel like Quark's speech to Odo here has kind of similar vibes/echoes to his speech in 7x14 "Chimera" -- kind of Quark bluntly saying the ugly thoughts that reflects the general demeanor/mood on the station but which other people are too polite to say. (Kind of interesting that that speech in "Chimera" was originally given to Sisko rather than Quark; I think it works better for Quark than it does for Sisko for sure, because Quark is the kind of person to say the ugly bit out loud (although I still think Quark's attitude here makes more sense than it does in late seasons and when he's talking to Odo ABOUT Odo).)

- "I can see the Skrreean don't bother to teach their children manners." -- Quark, you are being so hypocritical. :'D

- No earring on Varani either. Also, now having rewatched the episode, I'm just kind of wondering what they were going for with Varani at all. Like, does he play a role in the episode that Kira couldn't play, or could all of his scenes be cut, IDK. Is he supposed to demonstrate Kira's generosity / the hard work she does on behalf of Bajor? Is he meant to represent a strand of Bajoran politics? Was he meant to set up something that didn't end up going anywhere? I'm just not really sure why he's here.

- Apparently Tumak (Haneek's son) in this episode is played by Andrew Koenig, Walter Koenig (AKA Chekov)'s son. Also, Kitty Swink (Armin Shimerman's wife) plays the Bajoran Minister Rozahn, who delivers the bad news about Bajor's decision to Haneek.

Overall, I like this episode. It's one of my favorite early-season forgettable/standalone episodes (i.e. ones that ultimately have NO broader ramifications for the rest of the series), because I like the way the show explores post-colonialism in various ways, and I like the reflections on refugeeism and immigration, especially in the way that the Skrreeans inspire contempt for basically very morally-neutral/harmless reasons: in their makeup, they look plain/ugly/like they have a (benign) skin disease; they flake; they're poor/desperate; they don't immediately grok the culture of the place they're in; body odors (that aren't even their fault); etc. It did always kind of bother me that they had Haneek make the strongest argument in favor of acceptance at the end when it doesn't really matter except to give a wham/downer ending. But generally, I like this episode. I think the actor who played Haneek especially did a good job -- she manages to convey both the humility and unsureness of someone who has never in their life been important and the fierce pride of someone who understands their value as a human being. Obviously, she / this episode are holding up a mirror to Kira, being like, this is what YOU looked like once, to others in the galaxy, not so long ago. Heartbreaking.


Thoughts on Quodo potential:

- Uhhh I feel like this one is easy. They have such "secretly married" vibes in this scene. Even though neither of them is Nog's dad, somehow they've got this "Want to hear what YOUR son did today?" kind of energy in this scene.

- Aside from that, though, I don't really have any ideas. I guess you could extend their conversation with some more banter?

- Or add a scene where they're conversing in the bar about the bar's newest musical act or Bajor's decision/the future of the Skrreea. Or Quark complaining to Odo about the fight between Tumak and Nog.