UNCUT - The Quickening (DS9 S4E24) | Star Trek Journey 418

DS9 did a better job of creating nuanced characters than most Trek shows. I think Jadzia, like Kes, however has been relegated to a character whose focus in stories was either from their alien nature or their interactions with other characters, rather than stories focused on actual character's development. I feel like maybe there wasn't enough Trill world building that was going give us all this stuff with her. Her dialog however has been very good this season and she delivers her lines well.

im so so glad i found u guys, watching great tv with yall is so much fun, thanks for including us on your journey ❤️

This is one of the best episodes of the season. That's saying a lot since there's a lot of great episodes in this season.

I'm a little behind on the reactions here, but I've been watching you guys for so long now, I'm actually happy for you when it ends on the scene. You just love it so much. :)

On the topic of Eggslut, all i know is there's at least a couple locations in Toronto, and it's owned by that Alvin dude from The Burger Show. I'm not a big egg guy so I've never been. I guess I assumed that franchise was everywhere.

I'm not sure if this was mentioned in discussion (not digging through nearly 120 comments to check), but since you were joking about it, "quickening" is a term for when a fetus becomes vital -- when its organs start to function independent of the mother. So, it's a very fitting title for an episode that revolves around the development of a natal vaccine.

Biscoff Icecream. Gets me every time.

One small nitpick though, those were the most hilariously unconvincing chest compressions I've ever seen.

I haven't seen this episode in almost a decade. I remember it being good, like B+ or possibly A tier, and I don't know if it's newfound appreciation or I just forgot how good it was, but I'm going to upgrade that to an S. This episode hit me emotionally at quite a few points. The sheer nihilism of these people's existence, like Ekoria hoping to live just long enough to see her baby born, Trevean arguing it might be better if he were never born, the guy who gave up a peaceful death on the long shot chance Bashir can develop a cure that he himself seems to have little faith in ever seeing. All these people and moments point to the utter bleakness of this world and the lives these people live. I'm generally skeptical of assisted suicide outside of the most extreme cases. I don't think it should be available because someone is depressed of in a wheelchair or something. In this case however, once they quicken, they're 100% going to die, so I do think Trevean (seeing no path to a cure) is doing the only thing he can think of minimize suffering, no different than when Bones took his dad off life support. Better to have one last day surrounded by family and friends enjoying simple comforts than to die in agony over weeks or days. Also loved that as soon as there was genuine hope to latch onto, Trevean was more than happy to throw himself behind the vaccine, to be someone who can bring life to people instead of death for a change. And to anyone saying Siddig is still a terrible actor(he was in The Passenger and S1 in general), I think he did an incredibly good job selling how hopeless Bashir feels to fix this thing, and the guilt he felt when he accelerated the disease, and finally the relief of seeing that it wasn't all for nothing when he saw the baby was immune. And of course while many people would be satisfied that their work freed future generations from the blight, Bashir still views it as a half measure and keeps working, not allowing himself to celebrate while people are still dying. Bashir is my favourite Trek doctor for several reasons, and this episode is certainly one. Wonderful episode.

The moral issue I was talking about was euthanasia. Maybe the fact you didn’t feel it was preaching anything makes the point. The episode doesn’t tell you what to think but shows many sides and leaves you to think. Trek at its best does this very well.

Sorry for the spoiler but 30 years later an antivax movement will begin and end up undoing everything.

This episode has a happy ending that feels real

If Julian was working on an "antibody" and not an "antigen", all of those people probably would not have died.

I always remember this one as "the one where Julian is sitting by himself in a hut doing science with 19th century equipment." Then I watched it and was all in, tearing up at multiple parts.

I heard something recently - 'you don't end on the scene , you end on the emotion'

Spectacular episode! I figured this would be the type of story that the guys would love. I do too in this case. Most enjoyable reaction in a while. Just wish they enjoyed more variety. Trek tells so many different types of stories and genres while remaining grounded in the fundamentals of characterization and Trek's foundational structure, which is why I like it so much. Would be so sad if my enjoyment was limited to only a few of the types of stories Trek can tell. Lastly, yeah, the beyond excessive Jeffrey Combs glazing has been quite bizarre at this point in the series.

Alex and Josh: "What, no space battles? We're out." ... BAZINGA!

"Come to Quark's, Quark's is fun, come right now, don't walk — run!"

S. The second half is absolutely amazing. The story could have worked in pretty much any Star Trek series, but only DS9 would show the cruelty and suffering in such detail. And I think that's important—it makes you really care about finding a cure and feel the hope that it brings.

@0:11. A delay at the airport? While standing in line perhaps? Total Reaction withdrawal? 'Two weeks? Two weeks! Two weeks!'

This is a Top 10 DS9 episode for me. I love that Bashir doesn't wave his hand and solve everything, but it ends on a hopeful note for that world. I'm glad you both really liked it. I had a suspicion that you would.

One of the all time best

Glad you guys had a good time in Vegas, was really great to meet you and hang out.

when I think of DS9, I often think of this episode. One of the best stories they made

Coffee and Mint Ice Cream as favorite and I get angry about dumb stuff .... Am I Alex?

Oh I am so glad you liked this one! One of my favourite Bashir episodes!

One of the most cinematic eps of the season and with a great score. Definitely one of the best of the season. (Also agree that Rene Auberjonois is the best actor on the show).

I think everything has already been said, apart from how great the score is! This has to be one of the best scores in all of Star Trek.

Shapeshifters create a "shapeshifting" virus. That makes sense.

D'at crane shot, tho'... /and the music with it!

I forgot this one starts with Quark advertisement scene. Very funny paycheck scene.

Glad you loved this episode! It's one of my favourites of the show and one of the reasons Bashir is my favourite character. I just love seeing our characters losing for a change but still choosing to continue on and not give up. Just peak Star Trek.

Also I tried In-N-Out for the first time this year too. It was indeed fine. Not a patch on Five Guys, although it was nice not having to sell my car to afford a combo meal.

I second everyone who's talking about the score in this episode. It's perfect. Predominantly sad with just a little bit of hope.

Yall are spot on about how the Dominion is great when expressed in an episode like this one as this distant but ominous presence of total oppression. MINOR THEMATIC SPOILER FOR ANDOR IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT: Andor does this well too thru its whole 2 seasons. Where in most Star Wars media the Empire/Emperor Palpatine are at least to me basically "a bad guy and his henchmen", you don't really feel the weight and vastness of its control. But Andor does a great job of expressing the Empire as this enormous fascistic force with countless people as cogs in its machine, as incomprehensibly large and unstoppable as it is malevolent.

It's a technically well made episode of the show. But overall, I find Bashir-centric episode on the same level as I did Troi-centric episodes in TNG. As in, pass. Glad you enjoyed it.

Wow I did not expect this to be one of your highlights. It is a good episode but nowhere near the top for me. But I guess it does tick off all your boxes, it sticks to its premise, there's no evil twist, it ends on the scene, etc. But I'm glad you liked it.

Alex has good taste in ice cream; coffee and mint are two of my favorites as well (with the third of my holy trinity being pistachio) .

Beautifully bleak, with a hint of hope at the end. Classic DS9. Someone's already mentioned how cinematic it feels - right down to the custom soundtrack threaded throughout the episode. And lovely to see the Jadzia / Bashir pairing again - feels like it's been so long since we saw that, and not just the old "flirty Doctor". Great shots too and that one at the end with Bashir stood, framed by the ruins was great.

Also Jadzia lowkey being the hero in this episode.

Does anyone else think this is a turning point for the character of Bashir?

"Ha ha. What a cute opening scene about Quark's shenanigans being a nuisance to the crew. I can't wait to see what light hearted tom foolery the rest of the episode is about..."

Get a load of this annoying DS9 fanboy over here everyone.

I love this episode. There’s other great Bashir episodes but Doctor Bashir doing a medical drama on a planet wide level is fantastic. I know he worked on freeing the Jem’hdar from the white but the stakes seem even higher here. Also just like Starship Down, this is another example of The Dominion is not only the villain but the anti-Federation. Here they created a genetic plague whereas Federation cures people. In starship down, they no longer allow people to do trade. Whereas Fed is pro trade. Even for the Ferengi

Bashir explains in the scene where everyone starts dying that the reason the virus mutated was because it responded to the electrical fields created by their advanced medical equipment. This is the reason Bashir says in the next scene that the Dominion designed the virus to be incurable, because the very technology that would be needed to make a cure makes the disease worse and kills off the patients. This is likely where most of the others who came to the planet to help gave up. It was clear from the start that the local "doctor" had nothing to do with those people dying because it was clearly explained exactly what caused the problem.

All right, fess up. Which one of you used your One Wish Willow to demand: “I wish Josh and Alex would love DS9 more than anything in the whole world?”

When I was younger, first watching this episode, it never really resonated with me but growing older I've come to really appreciate it, and must concede I welled up a little at the end. Great to hear you really enjoyed it, too.

So Julian did surgery on a tecdy bear when he was 5……and his mom said to throw the broken thing away 🤔

QUARK, inventing YouTube Ad Breaks... 250 years from now

"The Dominion are maximally cruel to anyone but themselves"- well... they are pretty cruel to the jem'hadar even though they are cruel. I would say the Founders are cruel to all humanoids but value other changelings

With Errand of Mercy there were Federation interests as the Federation was involved in a cold war with the Klingons and Kirk hated Klingons (that was actually pretty consistent from TOS) and felt the people didnt understnd what conquest by the Klingons meant but of course the point of the episode was that these people were so advanced and beyond the "petty" conflicts of the federation and klingon empire that at the end both Kirk and (Kor?) were getting angry that the Organians were preventing them from going to war. Of course that was also the introduction to the Klingons who worked for that episode but they were established as major rival of the Federation, analagous to the cold war so they were reused as an enemy that was comparable in tech and interstellar influence to the Federation. Some people say the romulans and klingons were reversed from TOs, as the Romulans were shown as the somewhat noble warriors and thr Klingons the authoritarian russia equivalent, and that kind of got reversed though there were hints of the late klingon culture in their depiction... (have a lot to say on this one, its been awhile)

I thought the pregant women had some depth interms of looking forward to death and then being motivated to want to live because of her child and someone who had some hope. If it wasnt for her, bashir wouldnt have been motivated to stay, and her faith in him makes everything both bitter because of the misplaced faith then speaks to the redemption when she gets to see her child live without the blight just before she dies and what she endures to see him through and maintaining her faith in Bashir. This ties into a part of DS9 TA hasn't really gotten, the whole "it takes more then just science to make utopia, it takes hope" which is a whole part of the two part past epiosde they missed and the ongoing development of Sisko as the emissry. these themes are interconnected with the broade themes of the show, what it takes when utopia is under threat, the compromises and failures and the hard path of faith. This is a problem with taking episodes indiviudally, sometimes the deeper themes and their connective tissue is missed which in my view makes them kind of miss what those episodes aee going for. I feel this becomes more explicit as the show goes on, but these themes are a major recurring one throughout the show, the story of Bajor, sisko's starting point and gradually embracing his "pah", the relationship between cardassian and bajor, the threat of the dominion and what it represents vs the federation, the enigmatic nature of the prophets and the dangers of belief as well as the benefits of faith. I feel like DS( works better when seen as sort of a long form work with all these threads working together and tying together as the show goes on with all the characters facing their own version of this dilemma and the growth of who they and the challenges of what they want to be which is definitely a theme here with bashir and this planet. i think TA tends to see these differnt things as separate and isnt making the themeatic connections. To be fair, I've seen this show many times whereas they are going it through it quickly for the first time, and its one of those shows where after youve seen it, you pick up on themes and threads when rewtaching that you may have missed before. I think with understading of those themes, it enhances the experience. The "it's easy to be a saint in paradise" is sort of a theme statement, where the federation is deconstructed in many ways. Its not "oh this isnt really a utopia" but its the difference between taking characters who sort of are born of that utopia and represent its ideals like in TNG to a crew of people who for various reasons dont quite fit in and are on at first the frontier, and later in a central place where they have to make the realistic and tough choices to defend those ideals, it's the trek optimism but more showing it in away for people who dont live in that and what it takes spiritually to try to acheive that and how perilous the road is. One of my favorite lines from Past tense- ""If push comes to shove, if something disastrous happens to the Federation… if we are frightened enough, or desperate enough… how would we react?" - Bashir "it's easy to be a saint in paradise"- Sisko "The problem is Earth"- Sisko. All of this speaks to the deep themese running throughout the show. I know you guys love voyager, but to me, DS9 is ABOUT SOMETHING. The drama isnt just "big plot for big plots sake" yes it helps if youre into the federation and the fictional universe. But I do wonder if they ever rewatch some of those episode after theyve seen the whole show if they come off differently. This episode is a great example- bashir thinks solving the problem will be so easy.. but this isnt a natural virus. They're facing somethign that is a real threat to the federation in a way the Klingons and Romulans never really seemed, at least not on that scale. They wer potent enemies, but you never got th sense that the Federation itself was truly in danger. The Dominion represents something alien and powerful that is sort o the opposite of the federation. Instead of seeing humanoids as full of potential, the founders see them as a plague, like an infestation that spreads and dominates to be controlled or eradicated. From their perspective it kind of makes sense. They see humanoids dominate and destroy ecosystems with little regard for wht thry see as "lower life forms" To the founders humanoids are a lower life form, they see dealing with them the same way we would see dealing with a cockraoch infestation. facing off against that, you have our heroes who all are not the perfect Enterprise crew but flawed comple people who grow and try to show why their vision of humanity is worth maintaining. I'm glad TA loved this episode, but I feel like with the ones they dont like, a lot of times its that they dont quite get the thematic elements that are threaded through and make it such a rich tapestry and a truly epic story which is only possible with all the world building the previous treks have already done. Thats why I feel like DS9 is the peak of the franchise. I mean with Voyager, you can have random sci fi stories, but compared to the other treks, what it is really about>? What new ground is it exoploring? Even though its set in the delta quadrant, it feels sort of like TNG 2.0 with better effects and not as good characters. It could have chosen to be about something, and nominally its about getting home, and yes they have to "deal with being isolated from starfleet" but to me, not really in a meaningful way because the ship just seems so advanced an it seems like they dont have any practical issues with being so far away from everything because everu charactrer is a genius scientist. Looking back at it with TA, i do think the earlier seasons were a little better in terms of not being as bad with the things Voyager became known for,. the technobabble solutions and character inconsistencies,. but i still feel like.. I guess what TA loves as they said is that evry episode is just "anything goes". But it doesnt feel like it's really ABOUT anything on a deeper level. Likel there could have been something about starfleet and the maguis having to compromise and learn from each other to survive. Or about... something. But besides being occasionally referenced, the maquis just fit in like starfleet officers. We dont have any plots involving the federation which is supposed gto be one of the appeals, it got to be its own thing... But I still feel like Voyager isnt really about anything wheres the other treks each had their own sort of unique take. I mean Voyager has its own take sure, and i actually remember liking the first couple season alright... But like while the gusy love Janeway, my perception of the character is more "Janeway is a strong women because we say so." Like a lot of it feels "tell, not showing" My aim isnt to keep bashing voyager, I really want to highlight how much I love DS9. And I think, if youre not as invested in the world of the federation and just like "turn off your brain sci fi adventures" Voyager is fine. But I feel like as shows they are totally different, and here TA talks about what they expected from DS9. I feel like with DS9 i can go back to any episode and really appreciate all the themes and character choices, even from the early season where these are characters who are still developing and findinf their way as part of the tapestry of what comes later. They once said something I dont get, that TNG more then other shows felt like each season was differnet. I dnt really see that, because for me, any episode from seasn 3 to 7 seems like to could have eben from any other season which is fine. I saw the stuff before season 7 out of order and that worked as an episodic show with a bit of continuity sprinkled in. DS9 is one where things progress and change as the show goes on where you can easily place what season you are in do to the changing dynamics of the situation and the characters. Anyway, rant over.

Having not seen this one in many years, anyone else caught off guard by how cinematic it was? Script, sets, makeup, lighting, direction ... it all felt like a mini movie.

the "i'm not there to translate for you" refer to how bashir was talking in medical terminology which went over the pregnant women's head and she kept "translating" what he was saying into more "common sense" language the women could understand. "He means x" "yes, that's a good thing" It was a "light" joke, appropriate given the somberness of the situation

Dax is the science officer. Like Spock in TOS.

Dax's position is Chief Science Officer, though it's understandable if you forgot and thought she was the Chief Klingon Officer.

guys, trevean didnt do it. bashir said it was the em fields from their equioment thay caused the virus to mutate

Let me just slowly zoom in as I watch this reaction.

"how would they infect the entire population?" remember they are masters of genetic manipulation.

interesting note, the effects of the disease arent just makeup, they use a new cgi technique with makeup to create the effect

we had an on planet set last episode, the battle

It's been a long ride from The Passenger to here

Low key one of my favorite episodes.

That guy is Skarsgardy!

It’s great! Not one of my favorite episodes but this one definitely sticks with you for a long time

As a character who started out as a complete and utter doofus in season 1, Bashir's undoofening is coming along very nicely

Yeah this is the most consistent season of Trek. Though not many bangers despite leading off with 2 biggest bangers of all time.

Has anyone mentioned that Cirroc Lofton is the nephew of Guardians/Indians legend (and hopefully future hall of famer) Kenny Lofton? Would explain why he's so darn tall.

Coming back from the Star Trek event to be graced by this glorious treasure of an episode, well, talk about an experience you won't soon forget...

Maybe the darkest Star Trek episode

Fantastic Bashir episode- at this point in the broadcasts he was my favorite Star Trek doctor...

This appears to be some sort of comment on some sort of reaction video to some sort of old TV show.