"A Man Alone"

Episode #: 2

Character Focus: Odo and, uh, Keiko?

Familiarity: Barely Remember

Episode In (Very) Brief: Odo is the prime suspect in a murder investigation and, being weird looking and all, is ostracized by virtually everyone. Keiko starts a school.

Rating: ** out of ****

I got to hand it to DS9. They dedicated themselves to going against the TNG grain right away with the first regular episode of the series and, for the most part, it works. It works because unlike the TNG characters, we don't inherently trust the DS9 crew, especially the non-Federation officers. Guys like Odo are mysteries to the audience so when he is accused of murder and all you've seen of him is being a curmudgeon little grumpedy grump ... hell, he might have done it! I got to hand it to the show by not softening up Odo to make him look like an innocent man. The writers stick to their guns and to the character and allow the audience to decide if he is guilty or not. Only the tropes of episodic television will spoil any delusions you have.

I will say that dedicating major screentime to tertiary characters like Keiko O'Brien and Rom (who I believe was just named in this episode) is a bit daring too but less successful, drama-wise, then allowing Odo to be mired in a murder investigation. By episode 2 of a new series, I want to get to know my regulars. DS9 would, of course, go on to have a rich stable of non-regular characters but so early on, seeing time taken away from this new crew seemed very bizarre. Is Keiko more important than, say, Quark or Jake or even her husband Chief O'Brien? Ballsy, but narratively odd. But, surely, a sign of things to come. Just weird timing.

I didn't rank the episode that high because DS9's bread and butter was not TNG-like episodic storytelling, which they would find themselves stuck in for a lot of the first two years. Even though I enjoyed watching Odo stuck in a no-luck situation and not getting the benefit of the doubt like he would if he were on the Enterprise, the murder investigation itself is a little messy and too convenient. I don't want to say boring but ... let's just say I found myself more interested in the side quests than anything else.

I had forgotten that the writers pushed the Quark-Odo rivalry so early and often. "A Man Alone" really establishes their lovely relationship that was hinted at ever so briefly in "Emissary". The lived-in nature of their relationship, as well as with other characters like Kira knowing other folks on the station, helps keep the vitality of the station alive. Plus there is the essence that things remain in place as a feature of the show, as Rick Berman and Michael Piller intended.

So, nothing terrible but nothing great. Such is life in a first season Star Trek show!