“A man’s gotta live. Sometimes living is messy.”

“The Ascent” offers some enjoyable moments tucked into an otherwise unremarkable episode. It’s not like this is a terrible installment, or that it’s fraught with mistakes or missteps. But it never really comes together into something noteworthy or praiseworthy. It’s enjoyable, as far as its runtime goes, but I doubt that it will have a whole lot of impact beyond the confines of its story. Indeed, this is the epitome of average Trek, finding some worthy character moments in a tale that never really manages to capitalize on its foundations.

The main plot follows Quark and Odo on their journey to what Odo hopes will be Quark’s final reckoning. Instead, their shuttle is sabotaged by a bomb and they’re forced to crash land on a rather inhospitable planet. They must find a way to work together — and, more importantly get along — in order to climb a mountain so as to transmit a distress signal.

Unfortunately, the story plays out more like a series of contrivances than a natural progression of plot and character moments. Who planted the bomb, and why? Why don’t the two just put aside their differences long enough to survive? Does Odo *really* have to break his leg in a petty tiff? And what about Quark succeeding in scaling the mountain at the last possible moment?

Really, the Quark-Odo relationship has been explored with much more subtlety and craft in previous episodes. And if this was, indeed, a way to look into how Odo is adapting to his “solid” form, the story is no less obvious or clumsy. As much as I like the banter between these two characters, their interactions have rarely felt so forced or melodramatic as they do in this episode.

And that’s a significant detriment. Honestly, pairing Odo and Quark should be a home run, with the bases loaded. Instead, it’s more like one foul tip after another, prolonging the at-bat until the inevitable strike out. Because for all of the setup, the resolution is empty and hollow. Oh, sure … Quark gets to demonstrate a bit of heroism — and it’s an interesting moment — but the resolution of the Odo-Quark conflict has nothing to do with the character interactions themselves. Put simply, it’s a wasted opportunity.

The subplot involving Jake and Nog is very similar in its inability to capitalize on its potential. Jake is moving out of his father’s quarters to be a roommate with Nog, who is on DS9 as part of an internship for the Academy. Watching Jake separate from his father is a solid scene, playing on the strengths of their relationship. But predictably, the reunion between Jake and Nog doesn’t go particularly well. Because of his Academy training, Nog is very much structured and orderly. Jake is more of a free spirit. And their differences lead to conflict.

Ben’s solution, to “pull rank” on both Nog and Jake is amusing and enjoyable. But the subplot just doesn’t manage a whole lot of value for the episode. True, it isn’t a detriment, but it hardly makes up for the melodrama of Quark and Odo.

“The Ascent” is an average episode. I really like the idea to pair Quark and Odo in a life-or-death situation. But the execution is severely lacking. And it does nothing to illuminate the mutual respect/rivalry the pair share with one another. And the subplot … well, it’s a nice distraction, but hardly worthwhile.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine