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Star Trek DS9 - Season 4 - Episode 21

Star Trek DS9 - 4x21 - The Muse

Originally Aired: 1996-4-22

Synopsis:
While Odo provides shelter for a pregnant Lwaxana Troi, Jake Sisko falls under the spell of a mysterious woman. [DVD]

My Rating - 2

Fan Rating Average - 3.82

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 31 10 15 8 7 9 3 4 4 22 3

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- This is the final Lwaxana/Odo episode.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode establishes that Cardassian architecture was largely influenced by Onaya having manipulated Tavor Kell to create his life's finest works in the short time he had with her.
- The novel Jake was working on was the same as one he was said to have written in DS9: The Visitor.

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo: "I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk." Worf: "I would." Odo: "I meant Lwaxana." This is funny on two levels. Not only was Worf's comment funny, but Odo is actually doing Quark a favor!
- Odo surprised that Lwaxana guessed that Odo's furniture was for shape shifting, and not just artwork.
- Jake: "I've never worked on paper before." I like this statement, paper is obsolete!
- Odo and Lwaxana playing hide and seek.

My Review
More of Odo avoiding Lwaxana. Poor Lwaxana. First Picard and now Odo! That woman certainly has a way with men... Onaya is certainly an interesting predatory alien. She makes you complete your life's work in a matter of days at the expense of the rest of your life force. Unfortunately, she behaves a little irrationally. I wonder what she thought would happen when she abducted Jake from the infirmary? Did she seriously believe there wouldn't be a massive search conducted in short order for Jake? He's the son of the commander of the station, after all. Her motives really are never quite clear throughout the episode other than that she gains sustenance, or at least pleasure from her activities. She leaves mysteriously with no apology, nothing is gained from her time on the show. Only Odo's experience with Lwaxana is noteworthy, and even that is a bit silly.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Fenix on 2011-01-30 at 4:51pm:
    Just wanted to point out that Captain Sisko's acting at the end of this episode was spot on. Imagine -- to read the beginning of a work that he had, in The Visitor, only heard of shortly before witnessing Jake's death as an old man. There are complex emotions in Sisko as he tells Jake that he is sure Jake will get back to writing, emotions that are very well portrayed.
  • From L on 2013-05-28 at 3:43am:
    An 'alien-energy-vampire' metaphor exploring the relationship between creativity and drug use, wrapped in the generally taboo subject of the sexual dynamics between an older woman and a younger lover. Interesting territory for Star Trek to be exploring, but not ultimately that interesting as an episode.
  • From Zorak on 2016-05-19 at 12:30pm:
    Personally, I can't get enough of the Odo/Lwaxana dynamic. I think they're great together. She seems to bring out the best in Odo. I really couldn't stand her in TNG, but in DS9 she is fantastic.

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