Something that I noticed right from the start of Star Trek: Voyager is the very diverse aliens introduced with DS9. While TNG had already gone some wild ways, Voyager and DS9 take it to a whole new level.
Physical characteristics are shaped, for example, by various environmental conditions or developments. In humans, this is noticeable in the decreasing frequency of wisdom teeth, as they are no longer needed from an evolutionary standpoint since we no longer need to grind food with our teeth.
Let’s look at the Klingons. They have an exoskeleton, multiple hearts, and an anatomy suitable for a warrior race. Their bodies must endure a lot and thus protect themselves accordingly.
However, with other races, it’s not so easy to understand why their anatomy, mostly in the face or on the head, has developed as we see it. Yes, some of this is cosmetic, especially when it comes to hair or various ornaments in the hair. Often, this also symbolizes belonging to a social class or caste.
Species 8472 from Voyager is also a very good example, as they communicate telepathically and have no communication based on sound like we do. This is partly because they live in a fluid space where sound wouldn’t really have a chance to propagate accordingly.
This is just a thought or something that goes through my mind when I see other races and what conditions might exist that make them look the way they do.
Back to DS9, as the fourth season leaves us with a big bang. Odo suffers from an illness and must enter the Great Link for healing. However, this is associated with a terrible judgment, as Odo has done the unforgivable and killed another Changeling. The punishment for such an act is truly gruesome, at least for him, as he is left by the Great Link as a human (Solid). Bashir confirms with a tricorder scan that he has a heart, lungs, and a digestive system. The Female Changeling confirms that they gave him what he always wanted, to be human.
But it’s not over yet, as Odo learned in the Great Link that Chancellor Gowron is not himself, but a Changeling. This was previously overshadowed by further conflicts around the Klingon and Cardassian empires.
Right at the beginning of the fifth season, we’re offered an extraordinarily unusual sight. We see Sisko as a Klingon. I always find such “transformations” very interesting, as they not only mean a lot of work behind the scenes but also show how far technology has already advanced in Star Trek. This was also seen when Kira suddenly became a Cardassian. But it’s not just Sisko, we also see O’Brien as a Klingon.
At the end of this episode, which is full of twists, events, and developments, it turns out that it’s not Gowron who is the Changeling, but Martok.
At the beginning of the fifth season, episode S5E06, my favorite episode “Trials and Tribble-ations” is coming up. The DS9 crew travels to the time of TOS and must join the original crew aboard the Enterprise. But not only that, the ever-popular Tribbles also make an appearance, as it’s not just any episode, but the Tribble episode from the TOS series.
Technically, this episode is simply a feast for the eyes when you consider how well it was integrated into the original TOS episode, as if the episode had always been that way. We also meet two agents for temporal investigations with the melodious names Lucsly and Dulmur. Do these names sound familiar? Do they perhaps remind you of Scully and Mulder? They are anagrams of the names of the two popular FBI agents. Oh yes, an X-Files rewatch would also be something. We’re digressing!
What also changes with the fifth season are the new uniforms. My favorite uniforms in Star Trek, and there’s a very special moment later that I don’t want to reveal just yet. More on that later!
A secret is also revealed, with another connection to TOS! Thanks to the events surrounding Khan, genetic modifications (enhancements) in humans are forbidden. But Bashir has been genetically modified and is visited on DS9 by his parents (invited by Dr. Zimmerman), who ensure, more or less, that the secret is revealed. Dr. Zimmerman is also on the station and wants to use Julian as a template for a holographic medical emergency program.
In the same episode, Rom and Leeta finally get together, which I find to be a very nice occurrence and also shows that they don’t just have characters running on the side, but that they are also taken care of.
The question of what happened to the real Martok and whether there are more Changelings in the Alpha Quadrant is also addressed. In a Jem’Hadar internment camp, there are some who have been held captive for some time. Among them are Martok, a Romulan woman, a Breen, the Cardassian Tain, and Julian Bashir (this episode is before the Bashir episode mentioned above).
The war also continues to progress and shows its ugly face. But more on that next time, even though I don’t really want to elaborate on the topic, as you might have noticed a bit here already. The world out there is gruesome enough, so maybe we don’t need to dwell on it here. We’ll see, I’ll give it some thought until next time.
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