Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9)
Episode: 1:12 Vortex (04/19/1993)
Rating: 3/5
Redshirt Status: 0/1
Notable Guest Stars:
Cliff DeYoung (Croden) – He has appeared on West Wing and JAG. He also appeared in one of my favorite war movies, Glory (1989)
Randy Oglesby (Ah-Kel/Ro-Kel) –Ogleby will be reappearing in many Star Trek episodes, including a recurring role in Enterprise as Degra.
Gordon Clapp (Hadran)– His most well known role is Det. Greg Medavoy on NYPD Blue.
Kathleen Garrett (Vulcan Captain) – Garrett has appeared on several TV shows, including Law and Order SVU.
Review:
This is one of those episodes where Its very important to the overall arc of the series, but otherwise is largely forgettable. This episode delves into Odo’s sense of self, and his desire to learn more about the people that he belongs to.
The episode starts with Odo being suspicious of Quark, as he does, and Quark trying to dissuade him, poorly, of being suspicious. Croden, an alien from the Gamma Quadrant also sends Odo’s criminal radar off.
He pretends to be a glass when Quark, as Odo suspected, meets with the Miradorn party to negotiate on a stolen item. Quark, also suspicious of the Miradorn is not keen, but in the end all hell breaks loose as Croden jumps in to steal the artifact and ends up murdering one of the Miradorns.
He ends up piquing Odo’s curiosity as he mentions that he’s different from other Changelings. One of Odo’s main character arcs is his desire to find out where he comes from, and adjust to being a part of a found family. His interactions with other Changelings will be a large part of his story for the rest of the series.
Croden’s story isn’t as important, and he’s pretty uncompelling to me, even if his character should be compelling.
Interesting Notes:
- Directed by Winrich Kolbe
- Written by Sam Rolfe. Rolfe also worked on The Man from U.N.C.L.E and the film the Naked Spur. He also wrote the screenplay for “THe Vengeance Factor” from TNG. He died only a few months after this episode aired.
- Morn is finally given a name in this episode. He is a reference to Cheers. This also includes the first mention of the ongoing DS9 joke that he talks too much, though he is never seen talking on screen.
- This is the first mention of “Changelings”, Odo’s species. They will become a major part of the DS9 Story arc, and will leak slightly into TNG, as we will see in the next episode.
Pros
- Odo development
Cons:
- The plot about Croden is a little flat.
Screencap via CygnusX1.net
Sokorra Lewis 