by Chris Snelgrove
| Published
Star Trek is a film series set in the distant future, but many of its best moments are inspired by the distant past. For example, Captain Picard's Foundation The next generation It is a ship where people relax by playing classical music or living out literary adventures (from Shakespeare to Sherlock) on the holodeck.
Things were very different Deep Space Ninebut the Star Trek spinoff is still inspired by the past. For example, in the episode “The Forsaken”, writer Jim Trombetta deliberately modeled Odo on the typical idea of a Renaissance gentleman.
Even if you've watched this Star Trek episode countless times, you probably haven't registered any Renaissance references because nothing about that time period is explicitly mentioned. Instead, Trombetta drew on the idea of the gentleman of the era to embody Odo's very unique plight.
The episode features the variable stuck in a broken turbolift with the very amorous Lwaxana Troi. Odo is ashamed at the thought that she would be the first person to see him return to his liquid form.
Like Troy herself, we can hear it all Star Trek Fans reading this are wondering: What does Odo being stuck in an elevator with Renaissance-crazed Betazed have to do with? According to Jim Trombetta (who wrote the story, not the screenplay), Odo's plight mirrors that of Renaissance “gentlemen” who “had to be strong warriors with a solid form, like armor.” The metaphor here is very direct, as Odo's solid form collapses into the turbolift, and is in danger of melting, something he desperately wants to hide from Lwaxana Troi.
Star Trek writers tend to be obsessed with history, and as Trombetta helpfully points out, there was a “concern” during the Renaissance that masters would “go soft.” Men at the time worried that they might transform from fierce warriors into “helpless” and “child-like” people. Odo had to return to his liquid state every day, after stubbornly trying to hide his pain. After Troy's sweet gesture of taking off her wig and showing the policewoman a vulnerable side of herself that no one has ever seen before, he turns into a puddle of liquid inside the hem of her dress.
While some Star Trek tropes tend to be a bit tortured, Trombetta is convinced that the Renaissance gentlemen angle “works very clearly” in “The Forsaken.” As he put it, “Odo is a policeman and a very strong man, but he has to go through this process and let someone else help him.” Odo has learned a valuable lesson that, frankly, many fans watching at home could learn from: Ironically, it takes a lot of strength to be vulnerable in front of others, even those (maybe especially The ones you care about.
It's fun to see Lwaxana Troi in all her glory, but for some, it was difficult to see her scenes with Odo as anything more than middle-of-the-road comedy. Now that we know that even their silliest moments were Renaissance-inspired, we can't help but look at the episode with new respect. Plus, the real talk, we're always waiting for it any An excuse to rewatch Deep Space Ninewhich remains the best show in Gene Roddenberry's long-running series.
