Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: You Are Cordially Invited Rewatch
July 25, 2016 6:48 AM - Season 6, Episode 7 - Subscribe
ma'wIJ! ma'wIJ iS watlh b'wInghs uS tuH'e'ver to'Day!
By the power vested in me by Memory Alpha, I now pronounce this thread open:
- Ronald D. Moore saw this as an episode which would allow him to correct an inaccurate impression of Klingon society which he himself had created. After The Next Generation, Moore felt that he had (unintentionally) shoved Klingon women into the background, promoting the view that they were unimportant to the proper functioning of society. This dates back to The Next Generation episode "Redemption" in which it is revealed that women cannot sit on the Klingon High Council. In subsequent Klingon episodes, women had virtually no role, and the whole society ended up appearing to be completely male dominated, almost like Ferengi society. This was something Moore was keen to rectify in this episode, and as such, he determined that if men rule the Council, then women rule the Houses, and that the mistress of a great House wields unchallenged power in terms of the functioning of that house, thus restoring a degree of balance to Klingon gender roles.
- A question that does not seem to be addressed in this episode is where either the crew of the USS Enterprise or Worf's foster family are during Worf's wedding. The absence of the Enterprise crew would indeed be unusual considering the eight years Worf served with them and the personal connections they established. However, one possible explanation is that the Enterprise was too busy with a war-related task, and it may not have been safe enough for the Rozhenkos to travel to DS9 at such a volatile time. The wedding had also been abruptly rescheduled, giving potential guests only seven days notice. In reality, the producers had wanted the Enterprise crew to appear (albeit in non-speaking roles), but only LeVar Burton and Jonathan Frakes could be secured, mainly due to their having offices on the Paramount lot, and it was decided that it had to be all or nothing, so the plan was scrapped.
- In this episode, the captain of the Sutherland is named as Captain Shelby. About this reference, Ronald D. Moore stated: "My intent when I wrote the line was that this was indeed the same Shelby from BOBW. I thought it was a cool reference to throw in for the fans, but I had completely forgotten that John Ordover and Co. [of Pocket Books] had very specifically and very politely asked us if we had any intention of ever using this character again and we (including me) had said, "No way – do what you want with her." This very salient fact was pointed out to me after the show had aired and I had a rather sheepish conversation with Paula Block over in licensing and with John via e-mail explaining what had happened. Since I only used Shelby's last name in the episode, you're free to look at this either way – it's really her or it's someone else with the same last name (it's a big fleet, after all)."
- A scene in the script, but not in the final episode, involved the Starfleet members clearing out their quarters, which had been occupied by various members of the Dominion. Doctor Bashir's quarters were occupied by Weyoun who was apparently fond of collecting various items and studying them in his quarters. The items included shoes, coasters, bits of string, broken bottles, power cells, picture frames, and chair legs. Nog's quarters were in an even worse state and had been occupied by Jake Sisko.
- Of the party scene in general, David Livingston comments, "The party scene I think everybody was afraid of, because it was so daunting, and I went into it saying, 'This is a great challenge.' Traditionally, party sequences on Star Trek end up not being very interesting; it's just people ending up standing around talking. But the writers infused it in the writing with a certain amount of energy by having a fire dancer, and I said to myself, 'I've got to bring that same kind of visual energy and excitement that they put on the page, otherwise it's going to be like a lot of the other Star Trek parties that aren't compelling and don't have any energy to them."
- Neither Nana Visitor nor Rene Auberjonois were happy with how the resolution between Kira and Odo was presented, i.e. off-screen. Ira Steven Behr was also unhappy with it and he has admitted, "that was a bad mistake." The reason the scene was written that way was because of a last minute rewrite and no time to come up with anything else. As Ronald D. Moore explains, "We had originally planned that in this episode we were going to start having Odo lock himself away, refusing to mingle with anyone else on the station. The events of "Behind the Lines" and "Favor the Bold" had really shaken him and made him wonder, 'What am I doing, where do I belong, look at what I almost did.' So he was going to show up at the wedding and make an unexpected announcement. He would say, 'I've decided I can't be friends with any of you anymore, because clearly you can't trust me, so I need to go my own way. I'll do my job but that's it and that's all that's ever going to be.' And then he would walk out again. And the people there were going to go 'Whoa, what does this mean?' Then we were going to play Odo completely different for the rest of the season." At the last minute however, Behr, Hans Beimler and Auberjonois came to Moore to inquire where the character was ultimately going to end up. Auberjonois in particular felt strongly about this new development, feeling that Odo was being alienated, and they wondered what Moore's ultimate plan was, how was he going to get Odo back into the fold. Unfortunately, he didn't have one, he hadn't thought that far ahead, so the plan was dropped at the last minute. As Moore says, "It felt wrong to take him out of the mix and alienate him from everybody without a clear idea in our heads about why we were doing it." This change in plans however, left no time for Moore to write a deep scene of resolution between Odo and Kira. He does acknowledge however, that his off-screen solution wasn't entirely successful; "I know Nana and Rene don't like it, and some of the fans don't like it, and I don't like it. It's just one of those things that we had to do because we were out of time, and I felt that I had to do something so that it didn't seem as if we hadn't even touched on it."
"Handsome young man... he must get his looks from his mother's side."
- Quark, musing to Worf and Jadzia about Alexander Rozhenko
"Sirella is a woman of strong convictions. She believes that by bringing aliens into our families we risk losing our identity as Klingons."
"That is a prejudiced, xenophobic view."
"We are Klingons, Worf. We don't embrace other cultures, we conquer them."
- Martok and Worf, about Worf's marriage to Jadzia
"Miles... it's working. I've had a vision, about the future. I can see it so clearly."
"What is it?"
"I'm gonna kill Worf. I'm gonna kill Worf. That's what I'm gonna do. I can see it clearly now, I'm going to kill... him..."
"Kill Worf."
"Kill Worf."
"Kill Worf... Kill Worf."
- Bashir and O'Brien, on the path to Kal'Hyah
"We are not accorded the luxury of choosing the women we fall in love with. Do you think Sirella is anything like the woman I thought that I'd marry? She is a prideful, arrogant, mercurial woman who shares my bed far too infrequently for my taste. And yet... I love her deeply. We Klingons often tout our prowess in battle, our desire for glory and honor above all else... but how hollow is the sound of victory without someone to share it with? Honor gives little comfort to a man alone in his home... and in his heart."
- Martok, to Worf discussing marriage
By the power vested in me by Memory Alpha, I now pronounce this thread open:
- Ronald D. Moore saw this as an episode which would allow him to correct an inaccurate impression of Klingon society which he himself had created. After The Next Generation, Moore felt that he had (unintentionally) shoved Klingon women into the background, promoting the view that they were unimportant to the proper functioning of society. This dates back to The Next Generation episode "Redemption" in which it is revealed that women cannot sit on the Klingon High Council. In subsequent Klingon episodes, women had virtually no role, and the whole society ended up appearing to be completely male dominated, almost like Ferengi society. This was something Moore was keen to rectify in this episode, and as such, he determined that if men rule the Council, then women rule the Houses, and that the mistress of a great House wields unchallenged power in terms of the functioning of that house, thus restoring a degree of balance to Klingon gender roles.
- A question that does not seem to be addressed in this episode is where either the crew of the USS Enterprise or Worf's foster family are during Worf's wedding. The absence of the Enterprise crew would indeed be unusual considering the eight years Worf served with them and the personal connections they established. However, one possible explanation is that the Enterprise was too busy with a war-related task, and it may not have been safe enough for the Rozhenkos to travel to DS9 at such a volatile time. The wedding had also been abruptly rescheduled, giving potential guests only seven days notice. In reality, the producers had wanted the Enterprise crew to appear (albeit in non-speaking roles), but only LeVar Burton and Jonathan Frakes could be secured, mainly due to their having offices on the Paramount lot, and it was decided that it had to be all or nothing, so the plan was scrapped.
- In this episode, the captain of the Sutherland is named as Captain Shelby. About this reference, Ronald D. Moore stated: "My intent when I wrote the line was that this was indeed the same Shelby from BOBW. I thought it was a cool reference to throw in for the fans, but I had completely forgotten that John Ordover and Co. [of Pocket Books] had very specifically and very politely asked us if we had any intention of ever using this character again and we (including me) had said, "No way – do what you want with her." This very salient fact was pointed out to me after the show had aired and I had a rather sheepish conversation with Paula Block over in licensing and with John via e-mail explaining what had happened. Since I only used Shelby's last name in the episode, you're free to look at this either way – it's really her or it's someone else with the same last name (it's a big fleet, after all)."
- A scene in the script, but not in the final episode, involved the Starfleet members clearing out their quarters, which had been occupied by various members of the Dominion. Doctor Bashir's quarters were occupied by Weyoun who was apparently fond of collecting various items and studying them in his quarters. The items included shoes, coasters, bits of string, broken bottles, power cells, picture frames, and chair legs. Nog's quarters were in an even worse state and had been occupied by Jake Sisko.
- Of the party scene in general, David Livingston comments, "The party scene I think everybody was afraid of, because it was so daunting, and I went into it saying, 'This is a great challenge.' Traditionally, party sequences on Star Trek end up not being very interesting; it's just people ending up standing around talking. But the writers infused it in the writing with a certain amount of energy by having a fire dancer, and I said to myself, 'I've got to bring that same kind of visual energy and excitement that they put on the page, otherwise it's going to be like a lot of the other Star Trek parties that aren't compelling and don't have any energy to them."
- Neither Nana Visitor nor Rene Auberjonois were happy with how the resolution between Kira and Odo was presented, i.e. off-screen. Ira Steven Behr was also unhappy with it and he has admitted, "that was a bad mistake." The reason the scene was written that way was because of a last minute rewrite and no time to come up with anything else. As Ronald D. Moore explains, "We had originally planned that in this episode we were going to start having Odo lock himself away, refusing to mingle with anyone else on the station. The events of "Behind the Lines" and "Favor the Bold" had really shaken him and made him wonder, 'What am I doing, where do I belong, look at what I almost did.' So he was going to show up at the wedding and make an unexpected announcement. He would say, 'I've decided I can't be friends with any of you anymore, because clearly you can't trust me, so I need to go my own way. I'll do my job but that's it and that's all that's ever going to be.' And then he would walk out again. And the people there were going to go 'Whoa, what does this mean?' Then we were going to play Odo completely different for the rest of the season." At the last minute however, Behr, Hans Beimler and Auberjonois came to Moore to inquire where the character was ultimately going to end up. Auberjonois in particular felt strongly about this new development, feeling that Odo was being alienated, and they wondered what Moore's ultimate plan was, how was he going to get Odo back into the fold. Unfortunately, he didn't have one, he hadn't thought that far ahead, so the plan was dropped at the last minute. As Moore says, "It felt wrong to take him out of the mix and alienate him from everybody without a clear idea in our heads about why we were doing it." This change in plans however, left no time for Moore to write a deep scene of resolution between Odo and Kira. He does acknowledge however, that his off-screen solution wasn't entirely successful; "I know Nana and Rene don't like it, and some of the fans don't like it, and I don't like it. It's just one of those things that we had to do because we were out of time, and I felt that I had to do something so that it didn't seem as if we hadn't even touched on it."
"Handsome young man... he must get his looks from his mother's side."
- Quark, musing to Worf and Jadzia about Alexander Rozhenko
"Sirella is a woman of strong convictions. She believes that by bringing aliens into our families we risk losing our identity as Klingons."
"That is a prejudiced, xenophobic view."
"We are Klingons, Worf. We don't embrace other cultures, we conquer them."
- Martok and Worf, about Worf's marriage to Jadzia
"Miles... it's working. I've had a vision, about the future. I can see it so clearly."
"What is it?"
"I'm gonna kill Worf. I'm gonna kill Worf. That's what I'm gonna do. I can see it clearly now, I'm going to kill... him..."
"Kill Worf."
"Kill Worf."
"Kill Worf... Kill Worf."
- Bashir and O'Brien, on the path to Kal'Hyah
"We are not accorded the luxury of choosing the women we fall in love with. Do you think Sirella is anything like the woman I thought that I'd marry? She is a prideful, arrogant, mercurial woman who shares my bed far too infrequently for my taste. And yet... I love her deeply. We Klingons often tout our prowess in battle, our desire for glory and honor above all else... but how hollow is the sound of victory without someone to share it with? Honor gives little comfort to a man alone in his home... and in his heart."
- Martok, to Worf discussing marriage
What's funny is that, until I read that behind-the-scenes stuff about the Kira/Odo scene, I fully believed that how they handled that was exactly how they wanted to. The whole "two people with history sequestering themselves for an hours-long Talk in the midst of a raucous party" thing just felt real to me—particularly for those two characters.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:11 AM on July 26, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:11 AM on July 26, 2016 [6 favorites]
Of course, it's all very bittersweet, this being a rewatch and knowing what we know, but I still love it. I'm pretty OK with the "missing" bits; I can imagine Odo spending a lot of time trying to explain to Kira what the link is like and so forth, and similarly I'd imagine Jadzia just barely getting started on her apology to Sirella and Sirella cutting her off and saying that what mattered was her intentions, and that she wouldn't be a suitable "daughter-in-law" if she hadn't had the spirit to stand up to her. Eh, it's my head canon. The important thing is, we got Ensign Firedancer and Nog's cat dance, and what more does anyone need? Well, except for at least a few of the E-D crew. Sheesh.
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:54 PM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:54 PM on July 28, 2016 [2 favorites]
When this episode aired, I was in the middle of planning my wedding, and had a future-mother-in-law much like Sirella. I laughed so hard I cried. Then I rewound the tape and made my fiancé watch the episode with me.
(I did not change my wedding dress to a Klingon wedding dress, despite my fiancé's pleas)
posted by culfinglin at 3:23 PM on January 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
(I did not change my wedding dress to a Klingon wedding dress, despite my fiancé's pleas)
posted by culfinglin at 3:23 PM on January 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
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And yeah the off screen resolution between Kira and Odo was too easy.
posted by pseudodionysus at 5:47 AM on July 26, 2016