‘EXTREME MEASURES’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This seventh episode of the ‘final chapter’ saga of the ‘DS9’ series takes a divergence from the main story going on in the Dominion War. It focuses on Dr. Bashir’s attempts to cure Odo from his disease.
Returning to DS9, the Changeling infection has taken its toll on Odo. Bashir estimates that he has no more than two weeks left to live. I liked the parting scene between Odo and Kira at the episode’s start. 🙂
Odo asks Kira to return to her mission with Andrew Robinson as Garak in aiding the Cardassian rebellion against Dominion rule. He doesn’t want her to stay to watch him die like with Vedek Bareil.
Kira kisses Odo goodbye, not minding how a terrible sight he seems with being infected by the disease. It does demonstrate how much Kira and Odo love each other by this point in the TV series. 🙂
Meanwhile, Bashir tells Sisko he’s falsely announced that he has discovered a cure to Odo’s disease in order to lure someone from Section 31 to the station. Sisko isn’t very happy with Bashir’s actions.
Sometime later, William Sadler as Agent Luther Sloan turns up to the station, having taken the bait! Bashir manages to capture Sloan and prepares to interrogation him with a memory-scanning device.
With O’Brien’s help, Bashir hopes to learn the cure for the Changeling disease to save Odo’s life. When Sloan sees no way to get out of Bashir’s interrogation, he commits suicide in the process here.
That doesn’t stop Bashir and O’Brien from getting inside Sloan’s dying mind as they construct a device in order to allow them to do that. They have a short amount of time to get the information. 😐
Once Sloan’s brain shuts down, Bashir and O’Brien will die with him if they’re still connected. I like how O’Brien volunteers to accompany Bashir into Sloan’s mind, despite him regretting it afterwards.
Upon entering Sloan’s mind, Bashir and O’Brien are greeted by a personification of his subconscious. We also get to see what his family looks like, since he apologises for choosing Section 31 over them.
It is peculiar that Bashir and O’Brien are walking about the DS9 station in Sloan’s mind, but still. Sloan is about to give Bashir the cure to Odo’s illness before he’s killed by a version of Sloan loyal to Section 31.
Bashir and O’Brien keep going despite this setback. They’re soon shot by a figure which defends Sloan’s secrets. Bashir and O’Brien take some time to recover and they both discuss their friendship.
I like how the two comment about how they like each other and that they spend more time together. 😀 O’Brien talks about missing his wife Keiko and Bashir admits that he’s in love with Ezri. 🙂
As they continue the search for the cure, they soon find themselves back in Bashir’s lab where their mission is a failure. But it turns out they are still inside Sloan’s mind and he’s managed to trick them.
Bashir realised this when he sat down in his quarters to read his book. It ended where he stopped reading the previous night and it starts from the beginning on the next page. Sloan was unprepared.
Both Bashir and O’Brien continue their search and they soon find themselves in a representation of his office. It’s filled with secret data about Section 31 and it contains the formula for Odo’s disease. 🙂
Sloan taunts Bashir with the information in his mind, saying that it would allow Bashir to dismantle Section 31 once and for all. Bashir is tempted with the prospect of shutting down Section 31 forever.
O’Brien tells Bashir that they must take the cure for Odo’s disease as soon as possible, realising the trap that Sloan is setting up. This is seconds before Sloan’s brain shuts down permanently and he dies.
Getting out of Sloan’s mind, Bashir manages to obtain the chemical formula for the cure to Odo’s disease. Bashir administers the drug to Odo and manages to cure him. Thank goodness that worked.
I like how the episode ends with Bashir and O’Brien in Quark’s where it’s empty and they toast to the success of their mission. It’s good how Bashir and O’Brien’s friendship is emphasised strongly. 🙂
‘Extreme Measures’ is a good instalment in the ‘final chapter’ of the ‘DS9’ series. With Odo cured, can there be hope for the Dominion War to end soon. Also, will Bashir admit his true feelings to Ezri?
‘Extreme Measures’ (DS9) rating – 8/10
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