“Bar Association” ends up becoming a much more enjoyable episode than one might think. Generally speaking, the Ferengi episodes have not been especially strong or entertaining. There’s just something about the fawning nature of the Ferengi that often detracts from either humor or drama. And, truth be told, there is plenty of that here. Fortunately, events turn out to be much more compelling than the actual performances, thanks to a solidly paced and executed story idea. The result is an episode that is just above average.

The main conflict of the episode centers around Quark and Rom. It would seem that Quark’s greed has finally gone a step too far and has thoroughly alienated is workers (who are prominently represented by Leeta, a Dabo girl who is also dating Bashir). What unfolds is an opportunity for Rom to step out from behind his brother’s shadow. After an off-hand suggestion from Bashir, Rom decides to: form a union — a thoroughly detestable act in the eyes of the Ferengi culture. At first, Quark is bemused, but soon enough, he realizes that his brother, and the rest of the workers, are serious in their demands for such outlandish things as paid sick leave.

As a premise, the notion of Rom forming a union against Quark is middling, at best. But what makes it work is the execution. True, Rom is his usual self in his stuttering and bumbling. But, just as we saw in “Little Green Men,” Rom is beginning assert himself. And as the organizer and leader of the union, Rom discovers that not only is he proficient in fixing things, but he also has leadership abilities.

The episode wisely keeps Rom’s advancements in character within reason. We’re not talking William Wallace (or even Commander Riker) levels of inspiration and eloquence. But the truth is, Rom is an effective and inspirational leader. He keeps his union members in line, gives them reasons to fight it out, and holds the line against his brother and the more ruthless representative of the Ferengi Commerce Authority (FCA).

The interplay between Rom and Quark certainly helps sell many of these scenes — Quark’s exclamation that, while in the bar, Rom isn’t his brother is nicely turned against Quark later in the episode. But more important is the camaraderie between Rom and Leeta. It’s an understated element to the episode, but it works on a couple of levels. Not only does Leeta represent the collective feelings of the workers, but her character begins to “notice” Rom a bit more once Rom starts taking charge and expressing himself.

Not even a bribe attempt from Quark, or an extortion attempt from the FCA can deter Rom (who was inspired by a story from O’Brien’s familial history with unions). And the resolution of the dispute — that Rom will dissolve the union if Quark agrees to meet their demands — is nicely portrayed as plausible and reasonable to all parties involved. Most significantly, though, is the decision by Rom to leave Quark’s employment and join the station engineers. Rom, finally, becomes his own man — and gets to make use of his talents.

The subplot of the episode, involving Worf’s continued … reticence … at acclimating to life on DS9 is interesting, but seems ill-timed. The subplot would probably have worked a little better earlier in the season. As it is, though, we get some more interaction between Worf and Dax. There’s a nice tie-in with the main plot when Worf and O’Brien apparently have a brawl (off screen, fortunately) about unions. But otherwise, there’s little here of note.

“Bar Association” gets a great deal of credit for giving Rom a chance to actually grow and develop as a character. Despite the annoying mannerisms, his character comes across quite well in this particular installment.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine