The leader of the Ferengi, Grand Nagus Zek, shows up on DS9 and holds a conference for exploring business opportunities in the Gamma Quadrant. But at the conference he suddenly retires and names Quark his successor—much to the consternation of his son and the Ferengi merchant lords—and then shortly afterwards dies unexpectedly. Now Quark must navigate the treacherous waters of Ferengi governance while dealing with attempts on his life by those jealous of his new prestige and power.
This is technically a terrarium episode, but you almost don't notice because of the sweeping galactic implications of it. Episodes like this really fulfill the core promise of DS9 as a show; no longer do we watch a crew going from place to place exploring the unknown, having adventures, and then leaving behind the mess for somebody else to clean up. Now we follow a crew that has the unknown come to them, and the consequences of those encounters are real and must be dealt with. This is more challenging to write because it's more restrictive, but restrictions breed creativity, and while the DS9 writers don't always adequately step up to the challenge, in this episode they definitely did.
This is a fascinating episode because prior to this, Star Trek had always glossed over how Ferengi society works; this is the first in what would become a long line of Ferengi-centered eps on the show. The Ferengi are essentially the exact opposite of the Federation. The Federation has abandoned all market-based activities, including commerce, acquisition of assets, and even money itself; while Ferengi society is entirely based around those things.
If you think about it, neither society is realistic. Both are extreme to the point where it's impossible that they could function as portrayed. The Federation's system implies several dark realities, most notably a denial of people's right to self-determination. If your society needs janitors to function and nobody wants to be a janitor, what happens? Since you can't pay people to be janitors, the only other option is coercing them into being ones. In essence, the Federation's marketless system implies that they resort to nothing less than slavery.
The Ferengi, meanwhile, have no values other than the acquisition of wealth. They treat contracts with the utmost reverence, but seem to have no laws outside of strict adherence to contracts. They treat charity with disgust and view government-run social programs as the ultimate evil. Who takes care of the sick, poor, old, and/or disabled? The implication is that millions of vulnerable Ferengi must be dying in the streets every day. For that matter, according to Ferengi values, why should a parent even feed their own child? There's no profit in it. Unless they are engaging in child slave labor. Shall I go on? Needless to say, no society could function like this. It's impossible; it would be virtual anarchy and inevitably result in the collapse of their civilization.
That all said, there is a deep and rich potential for storytelling when two such opposing societies (however unrealistic they may be) come into contact with each other. TNG never delivered on that potential, but DS9 does here, and will continue to do so in a big (though occasionally disappointing) ways through seven seasons.
THE GOOD
- Wallace Shawn is great as Zek. He was born to play a Ferengi. As I've noted before, the recurring guest stars are the best part of DS9, and episodes that feature them like this one are almost always very good.
- O'brien is back! I missed him but didn't realize just how much I missed him until he walked into that classroom. The show is significantly weaker without him, as the run of three mediocre episodes in his absence proved.
THE BAD
- The B plot is boring and has some bad acting from Cirroc Lofton and Aron Eisenberg. But they're kid actors so that's moderately understandable and expected. A better B plot or a more fleshed-out A plot and no B plot could have pushed this to a 9 or 10 rating.
THE UGLY
- This episode is the first time the Rules of Acquisition are mentioned. Rules quoted count: 2 (the 1st and 6th), 2 total for the series
- Rom's voice and mannerisms are much different from his first appearance and match his character for the remainder of the show's run.
- Rom trying to kill Quark was shocking. I forgot he did that and it shows how much his character changed/grew over the years.
- What happens to Zek's son after this? He never appears or is mentioned again, despite many more Zek-centric episodes.
- Odo Shapeshift count: 1 (turns into goo to pass through a locked door), 6 total for the series
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