Notes on - Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Extreme Measures

 

Extreme Measures notes

 

Bashir gets the opening log. 

Odo is still super sick with the changeling sickness.  Good to establish the stakes right away

Odo wants to know exactly how much time he has left.

Odo is being all noble in character and wanting Kiri to go fight the rebellion without him

Nice that he admits that he just doesn’t want her to watch him die.  And a little selfless of him.  Also, nice callback to Barreil

Odo:  I don’t want the last thing I see to be pain in your eyes.

This is skirting melodrama in a sappy way, but they get away with it

The Breen weapon is still a thing going on in the background

Way to play subtle, Julian.

Genocide is an extreme measure

Miles has decided to come clean with their plan to dupe section 31 to come to them and that the federation created the disease

They’re filling the audience in on the whole lure section 31 plot already set up and bringing everybody up to speed so that they can get on with the story they’re interested in telling

****“Well,  Setting aside all the legal and ethical issues involved…”

William Sadler!!

So do all the officers have access to quarks… oh, they just answered my question

So miles and Julian are getting antsy.

Clever seeding of the book that would clue Julian in that he was still in the dreaming later

Why do they always go with Dickens or Melville

William Sadler just looks so cool

His mild concern is well done.  He’s playing ‘covering being wrong footed’ very well

It’s cute how disappointed William Sadler is with himself for falling for Bashir’s bait

He keeps underestimating Bashir

Miles being worried by the implied threat to his family.  Nicely done

Bashir:  I’m disappointed in you Sloan.  You don’t normally wield such a blunt instrument.”

Romulan Mind Probes

Bashir:  Remember these?  Romulan Mind Probes.  They’re not the most pleasant of devices.  But they’re very efficient.

Sloan:  They’re also illegal in the Federation

Bashir:  Oh, I hope you can appreciate the irony in that statement.

Sloan’s self justification is interesting

Poison tooth capsule!!  I love a poison tooth capsule!

Technically Sloan can’t possibly be the only one who knows the cure, but it does set up the stakes nicely.

And there’s the ticking clock – his brain will shut down within the hour

Technobabble to justify ‘going into his mind’!

Miles is being very obtuse regarding ‘projecting into his mind’  It’s a common trope, Miles

And a convenient excuse for how Bashir can get out ‘It’s an augment thing, don’t worry about it.’

Sweet that O’Brien is determined to go with him

And what a convenient cost saving device – all of Sloan’s thoughts take the form of existing standing sets.  That’s handy

Time for one last buddy comedy romp with Miles and Julian

This must be Sloan’s better nature.  That’s unexpected and sweet

Nice Sloan definitely seems genuinely nice

Nucleotide marking sequence.  That sounds legit

So nice Sloan is being scrambled and held back by the darker parts of his mind.

Why does nice Sloan want them to come to the ward room.  Is that the only way he can get there?

Sloan’s priority is to apologize for the people he hurt by devoting himself to sector 31.  That’s really touching

He had a wife and children?

Sloan:  In death I can finally step out of the shadows and prove to myself that I existed.  That I lived.

His name is Luther.  Did we know that?

I’m loving the unexpected gift of ‘Sloan’s better nature’

Makes it so sad when his darker nature kills the nice one

The flips out to the real world need to be established so that we can be fooled about whether or not they’re out there later.

Guard:  You’re in a restricted area.

Miles:  I thought we were in the cerebellum.

And now they’re both psychic shot

Oops, now Julian can’t get them out.  Stakes raised

Keiko thinks Miles likes Julian more than her.  You always like the best friend more.

Julian seems genuinely upset that Miles doesn’t like him more than Keiko

OK, that was a shoehorned way to get Julian to admit that he loves Ezri.

This is clearly the ‘not really in the real world’ fakeout

Still pretty well done though.

They’re padding the ‘fake reality’ a little, but it pays off with the revelation about Julian’s book

Julian’s being tempted by unrelated information.

And now Julian’s being tempted to stay too long to get information to take down section 31

Sloan’s last throw is to get Julian to stay too long and die

Odo’s makeup is amazing

Julian:  This is older than I am.

Miles:  I’m drinking with a child.

Aww.  Miles does like Julian better.