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chacusha · 3 years

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Anyway, all my feelings about how Odo's relationship to the Great Link is like Shinji's relationship to Human Instrumentality are inspired by that plot arc that opens season 6 (S6 E01-06). I have a lot of Thoughts about that arc especially as it relates to Odo, his uh Link addiction(??), and Quark: In some ways, I really like a lot of what that arc did and am impressed by the quality of the writing overall but at the same time, I have a list of things that either could have used more exploration or are frustrating aspects of that arc.

Thing I liked: I liked the way that Kira, Odo, and Quark end up unintentionally falling into their old roles during the previous Cardassian occupation of Bajor -- Kira becomes a resistance terrorist; Odo becomes a collaborator/employed by the occupying forces to lend legitimacy to the occupation; Quark mostly tries to stay out of stuff and just keep people entertained, while being willing to commit crimes on the side. I wish their three ways of relating to the occupation got more time to, like, bounce against and contrast with each other. Instead, however, Odo spends most of his time in a drugged up haze, which kind of means the contrast and tension between the three styles doesn't get as much play as it could.

Thing I liked: I liked the exploration of Odo and the female changeling and linking. I thought there was a lot of interesting worldbuilding here; I think Odo's characterization as largely instinct-driven especially when it comes to his people is an interesting part of his character; and I buy that Odo would do this weird thing (including having actual sex with the female changeling) and everyone else would be like "WTF???" the entire time in utter horror. That said, I also kind of think the main reason why Odo got this plotline is because they had to nerf Odo / get him out of the way somehow in order for the story here to have stakes/tension (because Odo as a character is quite OP).

Related, a thing I found frustrating: In a lot of ways, the strings on the plot were showing a bit throughout this plot arc. Odo being shuffled out of the way is one thing needed to make the plot work, as is the Defiant getting through the defensive line and somehow making it to DS9 without being blown up (I 100% buy that Dukat would have let Sisko through, but Weyoun?? Doesn't the Dominion have joint control of their military? Even if Dukat was arrogantly like "Nah it's fine it's just one ship" I don't really buy Weyoun doing anything other than immediately countermanding that decision). A lot of nerfing had to happen in order to get the situation to look bleak for Sisko and co. (only one ship making it through the defensive line) but not SO bleak in that they still do make it to the wormhole intact (that one ship absolutely HAS to make it all the way through) which is a bit contrived and unrealistic.

Another thing I found frustrating: It's not actually explained why Odo eventually snaps out of his Link addiction (unless it was and I just missed it???). I think he starts slipping out of it a bit and then the female changeling tells him that Kira is going to be killed and then (despite the fact that Odo seems to be resisting more), she doesn't link with him again or insist that he stay with her when they relocate to Ops (three major missteps that allow Odo to slip out of her control further, and I'm unsure why the female changeling would make them???). Anyway, it's never really made clear why Odo starts slipping out of it in the first place. Odo says, "The Link was paradise. But it appears I'm not ready for paradise," and I think it's implied that his attachment to Kira is what snaps him out of it but like... what actually, emotionally-speaking, was going on there? It's never actually shown why Odo, who keeps on going deeper and deeper into a state of peace and feeling like the immediate concerns of the world are less and less significant, suddenly reverses. His feelings for Kira are what drove him to the Link in the first place, and you would think they would get weaker rather than stronger over time. When he sees paradise, what makes him realize he isn't ready? The show doesn't actually give a satisfying answer on any of these points. You can come up with an explanation (for example, I think one thing keeping Odo addicted to the Link is his curiosity, and the more time he spends in the Link, the more his questions get answered and his curiosity is sated, so you would expect the pull of the Link to just naturally grow weaker over time) but the explanation you get from the show itself is unsatisfying and incomplete.

Also, like everyone else, I find it a bit baffling that Odo apologizes to Kira both by saving her life and talking things out with her over a whole night, but he never apologizes or explains his behavior to Quark, who (1) believed in him and was just as upset and disturbed by his behavior during this occupation, (2) almost lost his BROTHER because of Odo's irresponsibility, and (3) ended up risking his life to fix a situation created by ODO. It is very glaring and not satisfying, this dangling plot thread!

I kind of think the above two issues could have been solved by doing a minor tweak: having it so that Quark intervenes in order to snap Odo out of his Link addiction. I'm not sure how this would work -- either Quark using his debating skills/reasoning in order to persuade Odo that he should actually care about what happens to insignificant solids, or Quark just baiting and irritating Odo so much that Odo starts to feel negative emotions again, which ground him once more in the real world. I think narratively this would be quite satisfying, because it would be his love for and fear of rejection by Kira that drives Odo to the Link, and his steadfast, extremely reliable connection to/hatred of Quark that brings him out again -- two very different relationships with different meanings to Odo but that both have sway at the most basic level over Odo's emotions. Odo's line about not being ready for paradise would also fit quite well because it would be Odo's love of arguing and being annoyed by Quark (which is honestly a petty, not very noble pastime) that would tempt him away from the Link and render him not yet worthy of paradise. So this fix would solve both of the above problems simultaneously: it would explain in detail why Odo started slipping out of the Link, and also, Quark being able to successfully pull Odo out of the Link would itself constitute Odo's apology to Quark for having fucked up earlier.

That said, thing I liked: Quark and Ziyal breaking Kira and Rom out of prison. Just everything about that scene and the character dynamics involved was great.

Thing I simultaneously liked and found frustrating: Ziyal's death. On one hand, I think it's great character work for both Dukat and Damar, and really closes the book well on Dukat's plot arc while providing an interesting starting place for Damar's plot arc. On the other hand, Ziyal was such a good character (half-Bajoran half-Cardassian optimistic artist whose father is Dukat and whose adopted mother is Kira -- all of that is so interesting!!) with so many promising aspects to contribute to DS9's post-occupation themes. It's a shame to just kill her off.

Overall, a very mixed bag! I like the writing and there's a lot of food for thought in this arc, but also I think it should have played out quite a bit differently.

#quodo #quodo meta #quark #odo #ds9 #I wrote too much YET AGAIN

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suburbantimewaster · 5 years

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Here’s the first illustration I received for a fanfic, this one being Mind Games set in the universe of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the origin of Candy Marino and Chris Patel, who can also be found in Return of the Greek Gods. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the references right for Marino the first time but I did get them right for everyone else. Anyway, this is drawn by s2ka from Deviantart.

Marino gave all of her attention to Shere Khan, feeling the vibration of his purrs. All it took was one sneeze for him to get off. She still had time before her next shift to make one call, even if it was one she dreaded. Marino took a sip from her flask, enjoying the bubbly substance going down her throat, then finally entered her room on the right with another fan set up in the middle. She set her personal computer on the desk and opened it.

"Computer, connect to T’Mara on Vulcan, Priority One connection, authorization Marino-Alpha-6359-Rose," Marino ordered, taking a seat.

It wasn't long until a caramel face female Vulcan with her raven hair tied in a long braid appeared on Marino's screen.

"Ensign Marino, I was expecting your call," T'Mara said, noticing the flask in Marino's hand with a disapproving gaze.

"Don't worry, it's just synthehol," Marino explained as she put it on her desk.

"Acceptable," T'Mara said with a nod. "I suppose you have just finished making yourself at home on Deep Space Nine."

"Actually, I haven't even started," Marino admitted with a wave of her hand. "I got caught up reading this manuscript left by the previous owner."

"What was the content of this manuscript?" T'Mara asked with clear intrigue.

"It was about looking into the mind of a Cardassian who loved torturing any Bajoran he could get his hands on," Marino explained with a smile and tone equivalent to a five-year-old girl who just tried on her first princess dress. "Rebels, collaborators, civilians, you name it." Marino's smile faded and her tone grew more condescending. "Though it does talk a bit too much about Cardassian superiority over other species. Other than that, it was like reading something written by Ramsay Snow. Only thing missing was the sigil of a flayed man."

"Considering the character of Ramsay Snow, I would imagine that Roose Bolton would be more likely to write such a tale," T'Mara told her.

"No, Roose Bolton wouldn't be stupid enough to flay a collaborator. Remember what he told Ramsay?" Marino recalled and then adopted a serious stance. "'If you acquire a reputation as a mad dog, you'll be treated as a mad dog. Taken out back and slaughtered for pig feed.'"

"Logical," T'Mara acknowledged in a voice only a tiny bit away from being complete monotone. "Speaking of Game of Thrones, when we last talked, you described being assigned to Deep Space Nine as 'being sent to The Wall without having to take a vow of celibacy and no Jon Snow to make it bearable.' I am pleased to see that your opinion has changed."

"I'll say one thing," Marino said with a confident smile. "You never would've found anything like that manuscript on the Prometheus." Then she pointed to a suitcase with isolinear chips, one of them containing Game of Thrones. "Plus, I made sure to bring that gorgeous bastard with me."

"Ah yes, your last posting," T'Mara acknowledged, completely ignoring Marino's last remark. "I remember you compared the Prometheus to serving on a dollhouse in outer space."

"With everyone all sunshine and roses, you always knew who was good and who was bad and everyone went around talking about how we're so superior and have found the right way," Marino said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"To which you believe that there's no such thing as 'the right way,'" T'Mara said, raising her eyebrow at the last part.

"And anyone who believes that is deluding themselves," Marino said with a scoff. "This is turning into less of a check up and more of a counseling session."

"Considering the nature of these 'check-ups,' a counseling session is inevitable," T'Mara informed Marino. "Or are you forgetting about the incident that nearly resulted in your expulsion from Starfleet?"

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten," Marino said, taking a sip from her flask. "It's the whole reason I got assigned to this shit bowl."

"From what you've told me, I can logically assume that the assignment is a good fit for you," T'Mara told her positively.

"Great, then the conversation's over," Marino said, about to cut the connection until T'Mara raised her hand.

"Unfortunately, you and I still have some issues to discuss," T'Mara told Marino in as harsh of a tone a Vulcan could muster. "For instance, were there any temptations when you arrived on the station?"

"Just one," Marino said distastefully. "When I walked into the station, I smelled booze. I'm talking the smell of stardrifters, kanar, blood wine, Saurian brandy, and something that smelled like a citrusy wine. Even if the smell of dust and grime mostly covered it up. Not to mention the heat."

"Does the heat curb your cravings for alcohol?" T'Mara asked in a helpful manner.

"You'd think, but no," Marino said sardonically, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. "Don't get me wrong, thanks to living on Vulcan for a few months, I've gotten used to three-digit degree weather. It's Shere Khan who truly suffered." Marino's voice filled with distress as she remembered her kitten's meows and his attempts to bathe himself with his tongue repeatedly. "I had to set up fans all around my quarters to keep the poor little guy from overheating!"

"Considering Cardassian physiology and the average temperate of their home planet, this does not surprise me," T'Mara informed Marino.

"Then I hope Cardassian animals don't have fur, because that would be pure torture," Marino remarked bitterly. "But we both know I didn't call you to talk about Shere Khan's suffering."

"Yes, I can sense that you are troubled by far more than your feline's suffering," T'Mara told her. "Care to tell me what that would be?"

"I had a little run in with a blast from my past," Marino told her.

"I didn't think anyone from the Prometheus would be assigned to Deep Space Nine," T'Mara stated with confusion.

"Actually, this one isn't from the Prometheus," Marino informed her. "He goes much further back."

* * *

Patel unpacked everything and then set his computer on the desk, seeing a message from the one member of his family he could count on. It only took a few seconds for the face of a jet black haired young woman with a toffee complexion to appear on his screen.

"Hey, Chris," she said with a smile. "By the time you view this, you're probably settling down in your new posting. You know, the rundown Cardassian station you were dreading. Well, I kind of envy you right now. I'm still interning on Andoria," Cathy said, pouring herself a drink. "Which makes New Jersey winters look like Gujarat."

Patel looked at the alcohol with a disapproving glance.

"I know, you don't like your baby sister drinking," Cathy said, rolling her eyes. "But cut me some slack, I'm living on a giant ice cube."

Patel drew back with a jolt. It was scary how well Cathy knew him.

"All right, the internship's not all bad. I got to watch Redbats nesting in a cave!" Cathy said excitedly, putting her hands on her chest. "Though one of them freaked out and nearly crawled through my brain."

Patel found himself peering at the top of Cathy's head, at least as much as he could see, for signs of scratches.

"Thankfully, Areliv helped me get it out," Cathy said with a dreamy smile. "He even offered to take me out to dinner."

And Cathy's got a new boyfriend, Patel thought with both pride and worry. Though I don't think Mom and Dad will like their daughter dating an Andorian.

"I know what you're thinking and Areliv is not my boyfriend!" Cathy insisted, though her bright red face told another story. "He's just a friend! A very handsome and charming friend!" She laughed. "All right, I'm kind of hoping that it will turn into something more." Cathy smiled brightly. "Who knows? Maybe Areliv and I can double date with you and Ian."

Patel's face fell.

"Anyway, I've got to go. I'm meeting my boss in a few minutes," Cathy told him. "Try to make the best of your assignment and, remember, our summers on Gujarat prepared you for Cardassian heat, even if it made Andorian cold almost intolerable."

Cathy closed the connection, leaving Patel staring at a black screen.

* * *

"His name's Chris Patel," Marino answered.

"Ah, yes," T'Mara said with a nod of her head. "The childhood friend who you separated from in high school."

"We both fell into different crowds," Marino explained bitterly. "He belonged to the hotshot squad and I belonged to the social outcasts."

"I recall you saying this during your time at the monastery," T'Mara noted. "However, I do not recall you ever telling me that Chris did anything to personally attack you."

"Oh, he didn't," Marino stated, hoping she wouldn't have to clarify.

"Then I fail to see the problem," T'Mara said, shrugging her eyebrows.

"The problem is that I'm trying to make a new life for myself and I don't need some childhood friend telling everyone about the 'sweet little girl' I used to be," Marino said crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"Again, I fail to see how a childhood friend would cause you personal strife at your new duty position," T'Mara told her.

It was at that moment Shere Khan chose to jump on the desk.

"Is that the transient feline you found outside the monastary?" T'Mara asked, her brown eyes following Shere Khan. "The one you retrieved the fans for?"

"You mean the one who was abandoned on Vulcan?" Marino said, her eyes narrowing as she remembered seeing him panting on the hot desert of her former retreat. "He didn't really have anyone else who could take him in."

"So, you chose to make him your pet," T'Mara recalled.

"What was I supposed to do?" Marino said defensively as she took Shere Khan off of her desk and held him in her arms. "Help the poor kitty and then abandon him to the shelter?"

"You always did have a compassion for animals," T'Mara told her, raising an eyebrow. "People are another matter."

"Yeah, animals rock, people suck," Marino said, setting Shere Khan down on the floor, meowing loudly as he rubbed against Marino's legs. "Sorry, wittle boy, but your mama's in the middle of something."

T'Mara raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm one of those nutsos who treats their pets like their children," Marino said, folding her arms. "Can we get back to the matter at hand?"

T'Mara raised her right eyebrow.

"Perhaps Mr. Patel will not divulge sensitive information without your approval," T'Mara told her helpfully.

"You might be right about that," Marino conceded hesitantly. "But he might get defensive when people insult me." She recalled his apology before contacting T'Mara. "Plus, Chris would still have questions that I really don't want to answer."

And one of them will be answered when the CMO arrives with my medical file, Marino thought sardonically. That'll be fun.

"I'm sure if Mr. Patel respects your privacy, then he will not force you to share information that you are uncomfortable divulging," T'Mara told her reassuringly.

"You've got a point there," Marino agreed with a reluctant nod.

"Is that all that concerns you?" T'Mara asked.

"Actually, there's one more thing..." Marino asked hesitantly, holding up her right index finger.

"Ensign Marino, Vulcans do not 'change their mind.' You are still not permitted to imbibe any alcohol," T'Mara told her firmly.

"Wow, am I really that predictable?" Marino asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes." T'Mara answered in her usual matter of fact tone.

She has me there, she thought. When she spoke again, her voice was a little more relaxed. "Though, you have to admit, it's going to be hard for me to 'curb my cravings' when I'm assigned to a place that smells like booze."

"Your argument is illogical since the synthehol and blitz should curb your cravings," T'Mara told her sympathetically. "Additionally, consider the manuscript you found. It may be logical to conclude that Deep Space Nine could give you the mental stimulation the Prometheus could not."

"Yeah, but even Deep Space Nine can't keep my brain entertained all the time," Marino concluded with her arms crossed and her head tilted to the side. "So I might need a little pick-me-up on those slow days."

"As your sponsor, I must advise against that," T'Mara told her firmly.

"Fongool," Marino said angrily, putting her arms to her side. "Chat with you more, but I need to unpack."

"Very well," T'Mara said with a nod. "Remember to contact me if you feel any urges."

"Sure thing," Marino said as T'Mara held up her right hand in the traditional Vulcan greeting.

"Live long and prosper," T'Mara told her.

"I can try for the latter, but I'm not making any promises about the former," Marino told her honestly.

"Ensign Marino..." T'Mara told her in a slight warning tone.

"All right," Marino said, putting her hand up in the Vulcan salute. "Peace and long life, Counselor."

Marino cut off the connection and looked around her quarters. It seemed pretty standard with a desk, the typical Cardassian mattress, her bags near the door and silhouettes of paintings owned by their former occupier. Like everyone else on the station, he left in a hurry. She unzipped one of her bags and pulled out a few isolinear chips that contained recordings of all of her favorite songs, some of them having their own playlists. She used her personal console and installed them all in her quarters, instructing the computer to play one at random.

"Journey," Marino exclaimed with a bright smile as the music started playing. "Awesome!" Emptying the contents from the rest of her luggage, she lazily threw them in the correct places in her quarters, singing along to "Don't Stop Believing," relishing in the antiquated style.

* * *

Patel turned on the connection, ready to record his outgoing message.

"Hey, Cathy," he greeted. "Really liked hearing your message and glad to hear you're doing well, in spite of the freezing cold. Though I might have to check this Areliv out to see if he's good enough for my sister." He smiled to let Cathy know that he wasn't serious. Well, not entirely. "Things on Deep Space Nine aren't too bad and trust me when I say the heat's the least of my worries."

The doctor's smile disappeared. "The whole place looks like a shipwrecked ghost town and knowing the history of this station doesn't help. Let me put it this way, Candy found a manuscript of the Gul who used to live here and, by the way she talked about him, things didn't sound pleasant." Patel's smile returned, imagining the look on Cathy's face. "Yeah, you heard that right, Candy's my roommate. Though, she's a little different from how we remember. As for how, let's just say that she finally got that backbone you always said she needed to grow."

Patel's face fell. "Also, there's something I need to tell you. Ian and I broke up. I know you liked him and you're sad to see him go, but it's better this way. Our careers were taking us in different directions and we both felt that it would be better to, in archaic terms, rip the band aid off rather than leave it on until it naturally falls. Anyway, I have to go. Plenty of unpacking to do and I need to get the Infirmary set up for when the CMO arrives."

He closed the connection and unzipped one of his bags. He meticulously placed everything where they belonged and realized he could hear Marino's music from across his quarters. He had to admit that the ensign had a beautiful singing voice, but he had a hunch that he'd be listening to it way more often than he wanted to. * * *

#star trek #star trek deep space nine #fanfiction #Fanart #commission #candy marino #chris patel #mind games #deviantart

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emubop · 6 years

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Adding on to my post from yesterday, I’m just gonna list all the issues I have with Disco (a separate list of the things I love soon to come!)

Under a cut for length and for spoilers. Seriously. Major spoilers ahead. And tw for discussions of character death, if that bothers you.

With that in mind, let’s get to it! (This is in no particular order, btw.)

Starting with the last two episodes, since they’re pretty fresh in my mind - they felt very rushed. I’ve seen some people say that the season should have ended right when they got back from the mirrorverse, and I completely agree. The final arc felt like it needed at least two more episodes to be fleshed out. I wanted to see more of the characters actually dealing with what happened in the mirrorverse, and having time for development; and while we got a little bit of that between Michael and Ash, it wasn’t very much. And like, I get why. When you’ve only got two episodes to get the plot where you need it to go, of course character development is going to be sacrificed for time. Which is why I think they should have either a) added more episodes to the end of season one, or b) ended the season with the mirror arc, so that they’d have more time to explore the Klingon war thing at the beginning of season 2. Disco has some very wonderful characters who are very deserving of development and growth, and it’s unfortunate that they didn’t get it.

Culber’s death... This is the main point where I’m like “yeah, I don’t blame you for not liking the show anymore,” because I came very close to that too. In the end, I do still think I like the rest of the show overall, but this part... I just about stopped watching. In short - the way the show treated Dr. Culber was absolutely shitty. Sure, I’m like 99% certain they’ll end up bringing him back in season 2, but in the meantime, he’s still very much dead. And NOT ONLY did they use the “bury your gays” trope, but out of only TWO gay characters, they buried the man of color. Like... that’s just... what the fuck.

I’m expanding this into multiple points, bc it’s the biggest point I have. Culber’s death is legitimately the worst thing Disco has done. Not only just the fact that they killed him, but how they did it. His death was violent, sudden, and meaningless. The main characters barely even get to react to it before moving on. His killer doesn’t face trial or repercussions. (Note - I personally see Voq as being entirely the murderer and not Tyler, since Tyler had no agency in the killing and was if anything just a tool, but either way, no justice is served.) And then we, the audience, have to see the brutal killing scene AGAIN in the “previously on” section of the next episode or two, which makes it seem like they’re using this horrific event as mere shock value. I literally felt sick to my stomach watching it. What happened was disgusting, and I can’t blame anyone for not wanting to watch the show anymore because of it.

I trust Wilson Cruz. I trust Anthony Rapp. I trust them when they say that there’s a plan, that Culber will come back, that this will work out at some point. Their reassurances do help me personally to make some measure of peace with the situation. I don’t want to think that two openly gay actors would sign onto the script if this is how it ends between their characters. But right now, Culber is still dead, for no good reason that I can see, and it still stings. This is justifiably upsetting. And until I see him come back with my own two eyes, yeah, I’m not gonna be happy about it.

Aaaaand speaking of death, let’s talk about Georgiou. I just... that’s not a good way to start your show off, ngl. You take a very strong and deep character, played by Michelle Yeoh no less, and then just kill her? It’s bad writing. They could have easily had Michael transferred off the Shenzhou and arrested and kept Captain Georgiou alive. They could have even kept the whole “tragic backstory” thing in play, with Michael and Philippa no longer on speaking terms, and Michael mourning the loss of what was once such a close relationship. (I do appreciate that they brought her back as her mirror counterpart - and boy howdy the Emperor is a good character - so that does take a little bit of the sting out, but still. Not the best way to open the show.)

And then Landry dies in both universes?? I can accept mirror!Landry dying because of the whole “Lorca’s second hand” thing, but like... god, this show has got to stop killing off poc. Especially woc. I can understand that they’re trying to do a “raceblind” thing, and I understand their reasoning - the whole “it’s a utopian future and everyone is treated the same!” thing - but it doesn’t really work like that irl for the audience. Unless someone is actually literally colorblind and sees everything in greyscale, no one has any business saying they “don’t see color.” And no one should be casting with that mindset. The situation could certainly be a lot worse - they’ve got Michael, at least, and she’s fucking amazing - but it could also be better.

And yeah, it’s a warzone, and people are going to die. I get that. But just... do some critical thinking about who you’re killing, why, and if it can be avoided. If for no other reason, it makes the story a lot stronger in the long run.

It’s the year of our lord twenty-gayteen, can we stop having the makeup on white people playing Kingons being so hmmm questionable maybe?

(With regards to several of the above points, I’m white, so please let me know if I’m overstepping my bounds here. And like the point about Culber - I wouldn’t blame anyone for disliking/not supporting the show because of these reasons, and I’m not ever going to try to convince anyone that these things are okay. Because they aren’t. Just because I like certain elements enough to give the show a second chance with season two, doesn’t mean that anyone else will or should do the same. Continuing.)

Why the fuck is this show so obsessed with eating people? Stop it. Get some help.

The only explicitly bisexual/pansexual person we see is the Emperor, who sleeps with both a man and a woman and seems very satisfied with both parties afterwards. Which, okay, cool, except she was also trying to get information out of them, so whether or not she was even attracted to either one is debatable. I personally think she was - thanks to Michelle Yeoh’s acting, which is a goddamn gift - but that still leaves us with the only representation of bi/pan people being a murderous emperor from the mirror universe. And the “relationship” is entirely sex-based, as well as being with multiple people at once, which only furthers the stereotype of bi/pan being promiscuous, being only bi for a threesome, being untrustworthy. And to be clear, there’s nothing wrong with one night stands or poly relationships! Those things are perfectly fine! But when that’s all that bi/pan people are shown as, it can play into really damaging stereotypes - and as a bi/pan person, I’m frankly getting a little fucking sick of it.

(I mean, it’s better than DS9′s “mirrorverse=gay/bi/pan” thing, I’ll give it that, but I’m not going to give any show brownie points for reinforcing harmful stereotypes. You’ve improved slightly, Trek, but not nearly as much as you should have.)

I’m just making another point here for Dr. Culber’s death because seriously. Fucking seriously. What the fuck.

I would’ve liked to have seen more one-off episodes, like “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad.” That was a fucking awesome episode. It’s fun! It’s got character development! I wanna see more of that!

The portrayal of Klingon culture is a bit inconsistent. And okay, to be entirely truthful, I’m really not that into Klingons in general? So having a plot centered around them wouldn’t be my first choice anyway. But if you’re going to do it, please do it right. It felt like the writers sometimes “forgot” important elements of Klingon culture for the sake of the plot, and just... come on. The Klingons are brutal warriors, yes. They’ve killed innocent civilians in the course of battle, sure. But they have a whole honor code, and going out of their way to murder thousands of helpless, defenseless people? Correct me if I’m wrong, but it just doesn’t quite seem to fit.

I really, really wanna see more of the bridge crew! I wanna get to know them! They seem so cool who are they please Disco I’m begging you

This is a very dumb, very tiny thing, but I was kinda hoping I’d see some Cardassian makeup in the crowd while we were in the Seedy Black Market on Qo’noS. Did appreciate the Trill lady tho!

I dunno, the ending almost felt... too neat? If that makes sense? I would have liked things more ambiguous, a few more loose ends. It felt like they threw in a happy ending out of nowhere; it didn’t really match the tone of the rest of the show.

Speaking of tone - it felt to me like Disco was trying to mix the upbeat, thoughtful, philosophical tone of classic Trek with the grittier, more critical, more heavy tone of DS9. I love both classic Trek and DS9, but they don’t exactly mix very well. Disco’s tone felt a bit confused and convoluted. And like, here’s the thing - classic Trek doesn’t preclude heavy subjects (”Conscience of the King” from TOS is a great example), and shows like DS9 don’t preclude fun and optimism (there’s episodes like “Explorers” that are uplifting, and “Take Me Out to the Holosuite” is a fucking delight). Star Trek at its best should always tackle difficult issues, should always have determination, should always have hope. DS9 had a more morally gray outlook, yes, and certainly questioned the idea that the Federation is utopian, but it was still underpinned by the main characters wanting to do good. Wanting to improve the world around them. It managed to do a very good job of adapting Trek’s message to its darker tone - whereas Disco feels like it’s flip-flopping between having a darker tone and trying to be like TOS. Like, buddy, just pick one. You just gotta pick one.

The more times Sarek shows up in Disco, the more he looks like a complete dick to Spock in TOS. This isn’t necessarily a complaint, because Sarek being a dick is certainly in character for him, but I’d like to see that disparity in how he treats his children addressed. By his wife. Specifically by his wife. Amanda is a national treasure and I need her to call her husband out.

idk I think there’s more but like, I’ve been working on this for hours - WAIT HANG ON

This has been bugging me since the beginning of the show, because while Michael’s mutiny was certainly a bad idea, she technically... didn’t really do much of anything before being taken to the brig? She almost has the ship fire on a Klingon vessel, but Georgiou shows up and stops her. Helm locked phasers on the vessel on Michael’s orders, yes, but earlier they locked phase cannons on the vessel for a short time, which Georgiou agreed to. Her actions during the mutiny didn’t really change their situation at all. So why does everyone blame her for starting the war?

“But she killed that Klingon during her spacewalk!” Yeah, she did, because he came charging at her with a bat’leth with the intention to kill. In that scenario, her actions were self-defense. She attempted to talk to him, he then proceeded to try to kill her, so she fought back to save her own life and ended up killing him in the process. And all this happened while she was investigating a foreign object in Federation territory. So while I can see why she was charged with mutiny and assaulting a fellow officer, I don’t think it’s fair to say that she started the war. The Klingons on the ship of the dead were planning to start shit before anyone even got there.

I can understand why Starfleet would have thought Michael started it, at least at first, because unlike the audience, they couldn’t see the Klingons planning beforehand. That’s fair. But then Ash Tyler shows up, and he’s revealed to be Voq - who was there! he knows what happened on that ship! - and eventually, he loses Voq’s consciousness but retains the guy’s memories. So Ash knows how the war started. Ash knows, or should know, that the Klingons on that ship were the instigators. Why wouldn’t he tell Starfleet before fucking off with L’Rell? He says he loves Michael, so why wouldn’t he want to set the record straight? And most importantly, why wasn’t Michael told any of this?! She’s been blaming herself for this whole war, she’s been suffering needlessly for it, let her fucking rest! Yeah, she was exonerated and accepted back into Starfleet, which is great, but it came across as “welp you basically cleaned up the mess of a war you started and saved Earth from annihilation, so I guess we’ll clear the slate for you.” It should have been more like “well given what we know now, we can say that you’re innocent of starting interstellar war; and as for the rest, stopping the destruction of Earth is a hell of a community service, so you know what? Welcome back.”

My point is, Michael Burnham has done nothing wrong, ever, in her life

Alright, at this point I think that about sums it up, and I’m tired of looking at this anyways because it’s been hours now, so uh, yeah. Thanks for coming to my ted talk

#star trek disco #star trek discovery #caps lock #death mention #violence mention #star trek discovery spoilers #star trek disco spoilers #long post #(like. really fucking long. this is not a drill)#anyway welcome to 'i love star trek - now let me tell you how i hate it'#a novel by me #star trek #i mean i guess this counts as #star trek discourse #sort of? idk man its more of a ramble than anything else #but i needed a place to put my complaints so here it is

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