r/DeepSpaceNine • u/imgaming117 • 2d ago
I really liked "Fascination"
20 year old Star Trek fan here. I recently started watching through DS9 for the VERY FIRST time and I've been enjoying it quite a bit so far. Some of my favorite episodes include Duet, Armageddon Game, Whispers, The Search, Civil Defense…there's a lot of episodes I don't care for but now that I'm on season three the show seems to be in its groove.
Last night I watched S3E10 "Fascination" and it turns out it's ranked one of the worst?? It's one of my favorites of the season so far! I like it when Trek gets goofy and watching Odo interact with Lwaxana will never get old. Plus his reaction to Bashir and Kira in the infirmary is hilarious. I don't know, I liked it. But I also found a tad bit of enjoyment in "Move Along Home" and didn't care for "Second Skin" so maybe my taste is all messed.
13
u/CatholicGeekery 2d ago
I liked it too, you're not alone. Lwaxana Troi seems a divisive character in general but I find her hilarious. Especially in DS9 which is often a more "serious" trek.
3
u/Darth_Floridaman 2d ago
I think most of her hate comes from her time in TNG. She was SO difficult in that show.
That said, rewatching "Move Along Home" about six months ago and realized just how wonderful she could be. While I hate the game the rest of the crew must play, the scenes between Odo and Lwaxanna are so phenomenally written and acted, and it brings me to tears. Odi is SO closed off, and Lwaxanna is even moreso, in spite of never shutting up. It hurts beautifully seeing them open up to one another and maybe just for one instant - be themselves. Entirely.
3
u/CatholicGeekery 2d ago
It probably helps that I watched DS9 before TNG, in that case! When she appeared on TNG I already had all the positive associations with her character.
She is definitely an annoying character, but she's annoying in exactly the way older and opinionated relatives can be, and that endears her to me.
3
u/Darth_Floridaman 2d ago
Hahaha, so did you NOT hate the Ferengi episode with her in it from TNG? I am so glad DS9 took a second crack at Ferengi.
3
u/CatholicGeekery 2d ago
Believe it or not, I did not hate it. It was incredibly stupid but at least it was funny. The only episodes I actively hate are those that are just dull.
The Ferengi are another area where I'm glad I watched DS9 first, the TNG version is a bit too silly.
3
u/CatholicGeekery 2d ago
You're absolutely right about Lwaxanna being deceptively closed-off. She's uninhibited in her opinions moment-to-moment but doesn't often know how to express the deeper feelings beneath them. We all know people like that in real life, and it makes her character that much richer.
11
u/david-yammer-murdoch 2d ago edited 2d ago
That's fantastic! Diving into DS9 for the first time is such a thrilling adventure. Enjoy it. 32 years since it came out, January 3, 1993.
10
u/DaSaw 2d ago
I find it hilarious how Sisko's reaction to Odo's complaint is, today, a textbook example of what not to do when you get a sexual harassment complaint from a subordinate.
2
u/imgaming117 2d ago
Yeah I think that was in the first Lwaxana episode though
1
u/Darth_Floridaman 2d ago edited 2d ago
Truth. Odo and Lwaxanna's scenes in that episode are so good, in spite of my distaste for the game the crew plays, it is a must-watch episode for me.
10
u/thestatedrone 2d ago
I really enjoy this episode. It is one of my favorites. I am a die hard fan and DS9 is my favorite of the franchise. The goofy episodes are like a palate cleanser from some of the heavier episodes.
Move Along Home In the Cards Take Me Out to the Holosuite Profit and Lace Let He Who is Without Sin
You need these episodes to balance out episodes like
The Visitor In the Pale Moonlight Seige of AR 558 Duet
I am so envious of you. Getting to see these for the first time. Enjoy the ride.
5
9
u/HeyDickTracyCalled 2d ago
Your taste isn't messed up - Fascination is a great episode. Some people just don't know how to enjoy a thing for what it is.
5
u/ubelmann 2d ago
I tended to find the Odo-Lwaxana stuff pretty cringe, but if you liked it, that works for you. Have you watched all of TNG? I guess I had at least enough of Lwaxana on TNG, so even if they were going to bring Majel back to act, I'd have preferred a different character.
11
u/imgaming117 2d ago
Yeah I wrapped up watching TNG back in 2020. Never cared for the character then but seeing her bouncing off of someone like Odo (one of my favorite characters in DS9 thus far) is making me come around
3
u/3Mug 2d ago
I didn't hate her in TNG, but she wasn't my favorite. Completely love Majel (original Number One, Chaple) but I feel.she gets to do anlittle.more.on DS9 than be an annoying MIL / MWWTFJLP (Mom who wants to ... sip Earl Grey with.... Jean-Luc Picard....). She shows up I believe one more time and does an excellent job.
4
u/BigMrTea 2d ago
You had me at Duet. Might be the best DS9 episode ever, IMHO.
I thought Progress was pretty good too and nicely marked an evolution in the relationship between Sisko and Kira.
5
u/3Mug 2d ago
Duet could be the best episode of Star Trek. Not sure I'd put it there, but it's going to be on any short list I'd be looking at... the acting is superb, the story is heartbreaking, the arc for Kira is eye-opening, the willful ignorance of the other Bajoran is sobering... even the see-saw way we go from "I want to.meet a brave survivor " to "lock him up!" to "he's just a clerk" then "he's Darheel" and back.... and the pleading to allow him to face the music for the crimes of Darheel.... keeps you off your balance the whole way through...
2
u/imgaming117 2d ago
I have a doc where I'm ranking episodes as I go along and Progress is my 6th favorite/personal best of season 1
1
4
u/Hairy_Combination586 2d ago
A lot of people are very impressed with the writers ability to flesh out characters and species (Ferengis and Klingons) in a really thoughtful way.
I didn't like Lwaxana at all until DS9, and I love her episodes. S4E21 (The Muse) I disliked the A plot, but I thought the Lwaxana/Odo plot was great.
2
u/vibrantcrab 2d ago
I liked it, but I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorites. Just a nice, light-hearted comedic relief episode. Which is usually the case when Lwaxana shows up.
2
u/Twisted-Mentat- 2d ago
The premise and execution are quite bad. This definitely belongs in a "worst episodes" listing. You'll find most Lwaxana Troi episodes there. Most of us were fine having her character stay on TNG.
I enjoyed the last Hellboy movie and the saw it had a 4.8 score on IMDb so what do I know?
You're allowed to like things other people don't.
Valiiant is considered a bad episode and it is but I'll still fire it up so I can watch all those cadets die.
3
u/I_am_Daesomst Coffee, Jamaican Blend, double strong, double sweet 2d ago
He might have been a good man, but he was a bad Captain
1
u/3Mug 2d ago
It is? I've used to teach teenagers leadership (and followership, ethics, chain of command, operational risk management, and other things), and could do.it easily in a class where few were actually Star Trek knowledgeable. I thought it was well written, and had very interesting points, another "morally grey" episode where it's not easy to pin point the exact moment we crossed the line, but it's easy to tell we went too far...
1
u/I_am_Daesomst Coffee, Jamaican Blend, double strong, double sweet 2d ago
?
Don't think you meant to reply to me.
1
1
u/tandyman8360 2d ago
Back when I first saw it, the episode seemed a little like fanfic circulating around at the time. Lwaxana has an interesting relationship with Odo in her episodes. That kind of went away when the Dominion stuff took over.
1
u/MadMaxBeyondThunder 1d ago
Well, those seem to be some similar episodes. The more you watch them the less I have to.
1
18
u/pinkfrosting20 2d ago
I also enjoy this episode