[DS9] Lynch's Spoiler Review: "Hippocratic Oath"
Timothy W. Lynch
"Hippocratic Oath". If you dislike spoilers, then "first, do no harm"
by leaving this article alone.
In brief: Well, the weakest offering of the season so far ... but still
fairly decent.
======
Brief summary: Bashir and O'Brien are captured by renegade
Jem'Hadar soldiers looking for a cure for their addiction.
======
One of the best words I can use to describe "Hippocratic Oath" is
"competent". Much of the plot (or plots, I should say, given that there
were two) was a little uninspired, but solid; what proved interesting in
the episode was the character conflict and the various resolutions.
However, at least one of those conflicts was *so* interesting in its
execution as to bring much of the episode up with it.
That conflict, of course, was between Bashir and O'Brien as to
whether to help the Jem'Hadar who captured them. Given that one of
the first milestones in this pair's friendships came when they were
nearly killed and/or held captive in "Armageddon Game" two years
ago, it seems only fair that the first significant strain between them in a
while would come in an equally dangerous state. And the conflict,
while veering on being called predictable, was more a logical one:
based on the characters, it's not surprising that Bashir would see
things primarily in terms of his "patients" and rationalize any way he
could to justify helping them, and it's equally likely that O'Brien, who
is fiercely loyal to the Federation and its ideals, will react very badly to
any move that could jeopardize it.
Some of the details surrounding the rebellious Jem'Hadar are leaving
me a little perplexed, however. While last season's "The Abandoned"
certainly set up the "addiction" situation used here, that same episode
also made it clear that the soldiers had been programmed with an
unswerving loyalty to the Founders. As such, it strikes me as a little
odd that they'd come to view themselves as slaves at all, much less try
to actually leave the Dominion. I think some care was taken with that
-- it was carefully pointed out that none of these Jem'Hadar had ever
even seen a Founder, only the Vorta -- but it still *feels* like a conflict
to me. (My other concern is a more strategic one; when the
Jem'Hadar were searching for O'Brien towards the end, I wonder
why they didn't "fade out" to do so. That'd certainly be a help.)
The other significant problem with the Jem'Hadar side of the episode
was more of a performance problem. Quite frankly, the performances
of all the Jem'Hadar players were so uniform that I had an awful lot of
difficulty telling them apart -- and that's not good. Scott MacDonald
was a little more recognizable than the others (as well he should be,
having appeared several times in Trek materials over the past few
years), but even he was difficult to pick out from the rest until perhaps
the last twenty minutes or so. Given how programmed the soldiers
are meant to be, that may have been intentional -- but if so, I think it
was a bad move, since it served primarily to distract me from the
story.
The real issue here, however, was the conflict between Bashir's desire
to help anyone in need of it and O'Brien's worries about the larger
implications. It's interesting to point out that there really is no real
"answer" to the question that was raised here -- Bashir's hope that a
cure for the Jem'Hadar would deprive the Dominion of its army might
have been borne out, as might O'Brien's fear that an independent
Jem'Hadar would simply prove an equal or larger menace on its own.
Conflicts that aren't just black and white are generally far more
interesting to me than easily resolved "X vs. Y" issues, and this was
handled well enough that it turned out to be a beaut.
By far the most interesting part of this was the turnaround of Bashir,
the younger man who's idolized O'Brien in the past, actually asserting
his status as senior officer and *ordering* O'Brien to help Bashir in
his work. The potential for that has always existed, of course, but I
don't think Julian has ever actually given such an order in the past.
Just from looking at O'Brien suddenly freezing when it happened
certainly suggests that it didn't -- and given how well it turned out,
that's perhaps not such a bad thing. Both men were so firmly
convinced that they were right and the other was wrong that they went
to great lengths to get that point across. Quite honestly, it's that point
that made "Hippocratic Oath" interesting, not the Jem'Hadar issue
itself. Seeing O'Brien actually destroy Bashir's work -- "You can
bring me up on charges when we get back" -- and the subsequent
frosty tone their conversation took as they finally arrived back home
afterwards was where the real power of the episode lay.
My one worry is that it'll all be forgotten next week. The ending even
implied that, to some extent -- Bashir's hope that they'd be able to
recommence their darts games "in a few days" suggests to me that by
next week, it'll be water under the bridge. I'm not insisting that it
should be a festering sore by any means, but I'd be wary of seeing
any scenes of them laughing and joking away in Quark's any time
soon as well. Things as deeply rooted as what we saw here take time
to resolve, I think -- and a lack of follow-through will hurt.
As for the "B" plot of the episode, Worf's approach to security
contrasted with Odo's ... well, I'm leaning pretty neutral on that
score. The differing approaches are appreciated, and it certainly
makes sense that Worf would feel like getting involved in his old field
of security (as well as that he would goof up substantially without
knowing the territory), but this plot really *did* feel done by the
numbers. I'm not sure there was a single scene I didn't call in
advance (except for the order -- I had Worf barging in and blowing
Odo's painstaking work a scene or two earlier than he did), and
without being exquisitely done that sort of predictability tends to pall.
The best moment in this side of the episode came when Sisko was
talking to him at the end, because Sisko got in a great "meta-line":
"Let's just say that DS9 has more shades of grey." That could be
applied as well to DS9 as a series (when done properly) as to the
situation he was describing, and the double meaning there was greatly
appreciated.
A few other, shorter points:
-- Bashir's and O'Brien's conversation in the runabout in the teaser
was amusing. I particularly liked the way it ended: "so you wish
Keiko ... were a man?" "I wish I was on this trip with someone else,
that's what I wish." While the exchange was humorous, I also like
the fact that it wasn't done in a sniggering, "ooh-icky" schoolboy
fashion.
-- The scenes with O'Brien on the run didn't strike me as a particularly
big deal, but I did like Miles managing to escape right out from under
his guard's nose in the runabout. We've been told before that he's a
good engineer, but this is one of the more vivid times that was
*shown* to good emphasis.
-- Unless my eyes were deceiving me, Sisko was working on the
same clock we've seen in past episodes while he talked to Worf in the
final minutes of the episode. I wonder what he sees in that thing. :-)
(It certainly broke up the scene, though, which I'm sure was the
intent.)
That more or less covers things, I think. I wouldn't call "Hippocratic
Oath" a standout by any means, but it was certainly watchable,
particularly in the second half. So, wrapping up:
Writing: The story was pretty basic, but the character work with
Bashir and O'Brien was quite strong.
Directing: I'm just glad Rene Auberjonois got to direct something
besides a Ferengi show. :-) It seemed fine.
Acting: The Jem'Hadar were uninspired, but most everyone else was
fine.
OVERALL: Hmm ... I think I'll call this a 6.5. Decent and
watchable, but nothing earth-shattering.
NEXT WEEK:
The daughter of Dukat?
Tim Lynch (Harvard-Westlake School, Science Dept.)
tly...@alumni.caltech.edu
"You are a soldier?" "I have been." "Then you explain."
--
Copyright 1995, Timothy W. Lynch. All rights reserved, but feel free to ask...
This article is explicitly prohibited from being used in any off-net
compilation without due attribution and *express written consent of the
author*. Walnut Creek and other CD-ROM distributors, take note.
Ted McCoy
Timothy W. Lynch <tly...@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote:
>WARNING: This article contains spoiler information for DS9's
>"Hippocratic Oath". If you dislike spoilers, then "first, do no harm"
>by leaving this article alone.
>me a little perplexed, however. While last season's "The Abandoned"
>certainly set up the "addiction" situation used here, that same episode
>also made it clear that the soldiers had been programmed with an
>unswerving loyalty to the Founders. As such, it strikes me as a little
>odd that they'd come to view themselves as slaves at all, much less try
>to actually leave the Dominion.
I'm not completely certain, but it looked like the Dominion programming was
more or less intact in all of the Jem'Hadar who were still addicted to the
drug. The episode raised a few questions about the Jem'Hadar's dependence
on the drug and the Dominion programming, but it offerred no real answers.
I'll be disappointed if Bashir doesn't at least try to pursue this matter in
future episodes.
>The other significant problem with the Jem'Hadar side of the episode
>was more of a performance problem. Quite frankly, the performances
>of all the Jem'Hadar players were so uniform that I had an awful lot of
>difficulty telling them apart -- and that's not good. Scott MacDonald
>was a little more recognizable than the others (as well he should be,
>having appeared several times in Trek materials over the past few
>years), but even he was difficult to pick out from the rest until perhaps
>the last twenty minutes or so. Given how programmed the soldiers
>are meant to be, that may have been intentional -- but if so, I think it
>was a bad move, since it served primarily to distract me from the
>story.
Agreed -- which is especially disappointing when one remembers that chilling
Jem'Hadar performance when they first appeared (in the season two finale).
Stronger acting from the Jem'Hadar would've helped this episode a *lot*.
>My one worry is that it'll all be forgotten next week. The ending even
>implied that, to some extent -- Bashir's hope that they'd be able to
>recommence their darts games "in a few days" suggests to me that by
>next week, it'll be water under the bridge. I'm not insisting that it
>should be a festering sore by any means, but I'd be wary of seeing
>any scenes of them laughing and joking away in Quark's any time
>soon as well. Things as deeply rooted as what we saw here take time
>to resolve, I think -- and a lack of follow-through will hurt.
I've enjoyed watching the Bashir-O'Brien friendship evolve since season one,
and I'd hate to see this episode signal and end to that friendship...but I'd
also hate to see the consequences of this episode ignored altogether. In real
life, working past these sorts of confrontations and differences sometimes
lead to the strongest friendships (each side learning to respect the other,
even in matters of disagreement), and I wouldn't mind seeing this happen
between Bashir and O'Brien. Either way, it needs a follow-up.
>That more or less covers things, I think. I wouldn't call "Hippocratic
>Oath" a standout by any means, but it was certainly watchable,
>particularly in the second half. So, wrapping up:
>
>Writing: The story was pretty basic, but the character work with
> Bashir and O'Brien was quite strong.
>Directing: I'm just glad Rene Auberjonois got to direct something
> besides a Ferengi show. :-) It seemed fine.
>Acting: The Jem'Hadar were uninspired, but most everyone else was
> fine.
>
>OVERALL: Hmm ... I think I'll call this a 6.5. Decent and
>watchable, but nothing earth-shattering.
Sort of scary how good this episode looks in comparison with recent Voyager
episodes, don't you think?
Ted
R. Tang
>>watchable, but nothing earth-shattering.
>
>episodes, don't you think?
Actually, what's scary is that if you plopped this down in the
early part of season three or season 7 of TNG, it'd probably get an 8 or 8.5.
I thought it was a very solid, enjoyable effort; damn near anything would
pale compare to the first two shows....
--
Roger Tang, gwan...@u.washington.edu, Artistic Director PC Theatre
STILL just another theatre geek....
The most unAmerican thing you can say is "He/she makes too much money."
Andy Pearlman
>also made it clear that the soldiers had been programmed with an
>unswerving loyalty to the Founders. As such, it strikes me as a little
>odd that they'd come to view themselves as slaves at all, much less try
>to actually leave the Dominion. I think some care was taken with that
Remember this is also from the point of view of someone who is addicted to a
drug and knows the gods may be walking beside you. I'd be a little paranoid
about making my feelings clear in such a situation. This soldier on the
other hand is no longer addicted and in the middle of nowhere.
>to me. (My other concern is a more strategic one; when the
>Jem'Hadar were searching for O'Brien towards the end, I wonder
>why they didn't "fade out" to do so. That'd certainly be a help.)
He's unarmed and probably fading out makes it more difficult to communicate
with each other(which in a search pattern doesn't work too well...)
>Conflicts that aren't just black and white are generally far more
>interesting to me than easily resolved "X vs. Y" issues, and this was
>handled well enough that it turned out to be a beaut.
This one made a lot of sense in all areas. I so clearly fell on Bashir's
side that I was furious at O'Brien momentarily for destroying Bashir's work.
Which is good :-)
>My one worry is that it'll all be forgotten next week. The ending even
>implied that, to some extent -- Bashir's hope that they'd be able to
>recommence their darts games "in a few days" suggests to me that by
>next week, it'll be water under the bridge. I'm not insisting that it
That actually felt natural - Bashir choosing to try to mend their friendship,
but feeling very uneasy and uncertain - O'Brien being pragmatic and angry.
>makes sense that Worf would feel like getting involved in his old field
>of security (as well as that he would goof up substantially without
>knowing the territory), but this plot really *did* feel done by the
>numbers. I'm not sure there was a single scene I didn't call in
>advance (except for the order -- I had Worf barging in and blowing
>Odo's painstaking work a scene or two earlier than he did), and
I didn't appreciate the B plot at all. I mean really, Worf has been in
security for as long as he has and he acted like a total idiot. Do they
only train security officers in the context of a starship?
>-- The scenes with O'Brien on the run didn't strike me as a particularly
>big deal, but I did like Miles managing to escape right out from under
>his guard's nose in the runabout. We've been told before that he's a
>good engineer, but this is one of the more vivid times that was
>*shown* to good emphasis.
Don't forget the tree log he set up :-)
Andy
--
Andy Pearlman - artwork at http://tsb.weschke.com/iiw/gallery/pearlman_a.html
apea...@panix.com
Deus Ex Machina found to be Gerbil in a Wheel.
Georgiana Gates
R. Tang <gwan...@u.washington.edu> wrote:
>In article <46bnqp$h...@math.mps.ohio-state.edu>,
>Ted McCoy <mc...@math.ohio-state.edu> wrote:
>>Timothy W. Lynch <tly...@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote:
>
>>>watchable, but nothing earth-shattering.
>>
>>episodes, don't you think?
>
> Actually, what's scary is that if you plopped this down in the
>early part of season three or season 7 of TNG, it'd probably get an 8 or 8.5.
>I thought it was a very solid, enjoyable effort; damn near anything would
>pale compare to the first two shows....
>--
>Roger Tang, gwan...@u.washington.edu, Artistic Director PC Theatre
>STILL just another theatre geek....
>
> The most unAmerican thing you can say is "He/she makes too much money."
I'm hoping that it remains the worst show of the year.
Omar Latiri
: In article <46bnqp$h...@math.mps.ohio-state.edu>,
: Ted McCoy <mc...@math.ohio-state.edu> wrote:
: >Timothy W. Lynch <tly...@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote:
: >>watchable, but nothing earth-shattering.
Whoa! Way too harsh of a rating. Everything that I saw was
consistent with everything else shown in DS9.
: >Sort of scary how good this episode looks in comparison with recent Voyager
: >episodes, don't you think?
: Actually, what's scary is that if you plopped this down in the
: early part of season three or season 7 of TNG, it'd probably get an 8 or 8.5.
: I thought it was a very solid, enjoyable effort; damn near anything would
: pale compare to the first two shows....
Thank you, Roger. To call this show the weakest of the season may
be true, but that'd be like my father saying that I'm his least favorite
son -- I'm his *only* son.
Anything compared to the first two episodes of this season would
have seemed to come up short. If "Necessary Evil" was shown instead of
"Hippocratic Oath," it might have gotten a 6 or a 7.
I rate this an 8. Solid in both plots, but a little weak in the
Jem'Hadar actors with exception to the actor who played Garanaga.
--
****************************************************************************
* In many people's attempts to be different, they wind up doing the exact *
* same thing as everyone else... *
* "There are no *
* atheists in the "De gustibus non est Omar Latiri *
* foxholes." disputandum." o41...@acs.bu.edu *
* -- William Thomas Cummings "Peace be with you." *
* *
*For the Latin-impaired, the above means "There's no accounting for taste."*
****************************************************************************
Eric West
>
>My one worry is that it'll all be forgotten next week. The ending even
>implied that, to some extent -- Bashir's hope that they'd be able to
>recommence their darts games "in a few days" suggests to me that by
>next week, it'll be water under the bridge. I'm not insisting that it
>should be a festering sore by any means, but I'd be wary of seeing
>any scenes of them laughing and joking away in Quark's any time
>soon as well. Things as deeply rooted as what we saw here take time
>to resolve, I think -- and a lack of follow-through will hurt.
I doubt they'll follow through, any more than they followed through
with the endings of "Necessary Evil," or "Blood Oath," or "Meridian" --
unless Odo's lack of a response to Kira's "Will you ever be able to
trust me the same way again?" was supposed to signify, "No, I'll fall
in love with you instead," or unless the angry stares between
Sisko/Kira/Dax after the battle with the 3 Klingons was supposed to
mean "Let's all be friends again," or unless Dax's "twenty years'
worth" was referring to *Trill* years, which is apparently about one
week in human time. Bashir's throwaway "in a few days" line -- where
he could have simply said nothing -- sounded exactly like a "Don't
expect any ramifications" note from the writers. Well, I'm not
expecting any, just like I'm not expecting a post-"Visitor" Sisko to
act in any way differently toward Jake, who will still disappear for
weeks at a time, especially when anything truly dangerous happens.
One ramification that I *do* fear will take place, however, has to do
with O'Brien's continual arguments with Keiko, both on-screen and off.
These common references, combined with the fact that Rosalind Chao is
apparently not thrilled with appearing on DS9, seem to indicate that
their marriage will probably not last much longer. Since I like
Keiko, I hope this doesn't happen, but if they can kill off Bareil...
Richard Carlson
[spoilers follow...]
> Some of the details surrounding the rebellious Jem'Hadar are leaving
> me a little perplexed, however. While last season's "The Abandoned"
> certainly set up the "addiction" situation used here, that same episode
> also made it clear that the soldiers had been programmed with an
> unswerving loyalty to the Founders. As such, it strikes me as a little
> odd that they'd come to view themselves as slaves at all, much less try
> to actually leave the Dominion. I think some care was taken with that
> -- it was carefully pointed out that none of these Jem'Hadar had ever
> even seen a Founder, only the Vorta -- but it still *feels* like a conflict
I don't know -- I've written a lot of programs, and coded them to have an
unswerving duty to give me a correct answer; and even though they're a lot
less complex than living beings, they still surprise me now and then. :-)
But the main reason I believed this story, was that the Jem'Hadar leader
seemed "different" from the rest -- different down to the core of his
being, as if the Dominion messed up a little when they programmed him.
Perhaps Julian couldn't come up with a cure because there really wasn't
one; remember, there is no indication that his final experiment would
have been a success. Perhaps the rest of the Jem'Hadar were simply
following their leader, not subscribing to his ideas -- I'll bet they
were programmed with a strong sense of order and obedience, in addition
to their loyalty to the Founders.
Just some thoughts from someone who *thoroughly* enjoyed the episode....
-- Richard