Review: DS9 – Fascination

by Gayle Stever

I recently rewatched this episode after a hiatus of some years. It’s funny the things you see when you go back and watch something after such a long interlude. I know that many fans did not like this episode. I wasn’t one of them…I thought it was hysterical! But then I like Lwaxana Troi. Lwaxana is the perfect foil for Odo…where he is rigid, she is fluid; where he is contained, she is expressive; where he likes order, she prefers a bit of chaos. And yet in spite of their differences, she really touches Odo in ways that others, up ’til that point, have not been able to. One of the things I love about this episode is that while Odo clearly is not interested in Lwaxana, he is very careful not to hurt her feelings. He shows a remarkable sensitivity in his desire not to reject her. He does things that make him uncomfortable in spite of the fact that he really is not enjoying himself. I think in this episode we also see a hint of his growing interest in Kira? I don’t recall exactly where this one falls in that arc, but there are a few Odo/Kira moments in this one that foreshadow some things to come.

As for the other characters, poor ol’ Jake with his crush on Kira is classic. I am glad they did this at least once…it’s an obvious thing to have happen on a station of this size. And poor Bareil! He really makes a fool of himself over Dax, as Dax does over Sisko. Yes it’s silliness, but it’s fun silliness and if you know, going in, not to take it too seriously, it’s a fun way to revisit DS9 after some years of absence. I highly recommend it!

Screen capture from TrekCore.com