Odo: Who Does He Think He Is?

[Actionmage]

The civilian constable, keepin' the peace on the station.

[Actionmage]

Odo had a couple of tricks human cops didn't, but he didn't especially seem like SuperCop, imo. I liked him and felt bad about the doctor who used him/acted as a father. Yet, the Great Merge or whatever kinda bored me. As an adopted child from infancy, Odo being asked to essentially renounce the people who cared for him for decades was the height of arrogance. But that's me; MMV.

[ShadowDenizen]

I liked him and felt bad about the doctor who used him/acted as a father.

Yes, Dr. Mora factored into only a few (2 or 3?) episodes, but the arc he and Odo go through together is portrayed very well.  When we're introducded to Dr. More, he's essanetially portrayed as a ruthless scientist, but was we see him more, we realize that what he did, he did for Odo's sake, even if Odo couldn't understand/appreciate it. I like that they found a measured ending to their relationship togeter by the last time we see Dr. Mora.

IIRC, they essentially intimated that without Dr. Mora, Odo would have pursued the same course as the Baby Changeling they found, and been contant to sit in a gelatinous state and never get to know his real powers. (Which makes me questions the wisdom of the Founders; for a race that strived to be as inclusive as possible in the Great LInk, they are pretty damn heartless in ripping out a small fraction of the LInk ("Babies", essentially!!) to act as scouts for the future.

 

[blueray]

Its hard to say what would have happened to Odo. Look at Laas he was also sent out, found by some planet. And managed to learn to shape shift without a scientist studing him. Of course it never says how he learned what to do.

 

Odo is my favorite character. I love how he opens up as the show goes on and forms friendships with the other senior officers.

Edited June 12, 2014 by blueray

[Locutus]

I read some of the DS9 relaunch novels from way back when. Odo and Laas end up being THE Great Link, when all the Changlings take off for parts unknown. Does anyone know how all this ended up?

[Charlesman]

I keep having this one nitpick about Rene's performance as Odo, and maybe it's a writer thing, too... it's not explicitly stated, but, I would assume from how he is used that he can see even if he doesn't have eyes. That is, when he's the chair or the carpet or the wall or a rock or whatever, he's able to spy on people. So I assume he can "look" even without mimicing actual biological eyes, and in all directions. Total visual awareness. But that doesn't seem to be informed in how Rene performs some scenes, having to turn to look around or being blindsided from something coming from behind him, he should still be able to see out the back of his head even without shaping some eyes there.

 

Minor, I'm sure it's just me. But I can't help but think it sometimes.

[blueray]

My take on it was that odo could "see" similar to like a bat could somehow with the vibrations (when he's in his natural state or a chair). He sort of talks about this when Dr. Mora was talking about seeing Odo the first time and corrects Odo when he said he saw him with he didn't have "eyes". I assume also somehow his vision is connected to his hearing as he also has a habit of taking human form at the right cue.

 

Now when he is in human form he is probably using his "eyes" more as a habit that was developed so that he would look at someone when he was talking to them. Of course this allows him to be sneaked up on. I wish they went into more detail on what he sees though.

[The Crazed Spruce]

I recall reading a novel based on the show a while back, where Odo basically hid an aural canal and an optic nerve into a painting he was disguised as.  I lost the book in a house fire about twelve years ago, though, so I can't go back to check the details.

[Maverick]

I think it's one of those things you have to overlook as Odo's a big ball of implausibilities and contradictions.  Remember, this is the gelatinous man that was knocked out by getting hit on the "head" with a rock.

[blueray]

I think it's one of those things you have to overlook as Odo's a big ball of implausibilities and contradictions.  Remember, this is the gelatinous man that was knocked out by getting hit on the "head" with a rock.

 I forgot about that. Yeah that was improvable to say the least.

[Charlesman]

I think it's one of those things you have to overlook as Odo's a big ball of implausibilities and contradictions.  Remember, this is the gelatinous man that was knocked out by getting hit on the "head" with a rock.

 

 

Yeah, that was pretty bad. A mace flew through his head in the pilot, but then the writers forgot what he is at some point. Just don't like how it colors the enjoyment of the series.

[Meushell]

I think it's one of those things you have to overlook as Odo's a big ball of implausibilities and contradictions. Remember, this is the gelatinous man that was knocked out by getting hit on the "head" with a rock.

Nitpicker's Guide has suggested that he pretended to be knocked out, and he was just testing the guy.

Of course it was an oops the the writers part, but that theory amuses me. That would explain why he didn't turn to goo when he was "knocked out."

[jenkait]

"Odo... THEY'LL PUT YOU IN THE ZOO!"

I can't remember who said that or why, but it still makes me giggle 20 years later.

[friendperidot]

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, ok the 1990s in a different state, when The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine started, I was married, lived in a state north of where I am now. My husband like all things Star Trek and was excited about the new shows. I was never a big fan, but I watched them with him for a while, but grew bored and quit watching them. Recently, H&I began running all the shows from the beginning. I refused to participate, but after a couple of months, I got bored. I have been having to walk across the room to change channels for several months as the wires to the remote sensor were sliced by the interior metal frame in the television set. A couple of months ago, bought a control box, but about 2 weeks ago, the stupid puppy destroyed the remote. I bought a universal remote and was attempting to program it when the sound on the tv went out. Switched to an older tv, the remote is missing, puppy probably got it too, just haven't found the pieces yet. So back to walking across the room to change channels. This leads to lazy tv watching. I put it on a channel and leave it because it's entirely too much work to walk 3 steps to change the channel. I had turned Netflix off because without the remote sensor working, there was no use. So I've been forced to watch whatever I could get on antenna tv. 

This is why I am watching any Star Trek, because I am bored with everything else and I'm too lazy to channel surf. Now to the problem with Deep Space Nine's Odo. Back in the last millennium when I watched those first few episodes with my husband, I seem to remember a storyline that Odo was the last of his kind, there were no others like him, he was alone. A few weeks ago there was an episode about Neryse and Odo getting through the worm hole and him being drawn to go to a planet that turned out to be his home. He met others of his kind, decided against staying with them and went back to the station. Since then, there has been an episode where he found there was another changling on board who was trying to sabatoge the station or a ship he was on or something - I don't pay close attention - and he ended up killing the adversary, becoming the first changling to harm another of his own kind. Now there's a problem with a changling setting off a bomb and killing people at an important meeting on earth, so Sisko and Odo going to earth to find ways to oust the changlings to protect earth from the Jem'Hadaar.

When and how did his storyline change? I am probably never going to go through all of this series again. I'm just not that big of a fan and I am getting a new tv today and will be turning Netflix back on in the next day or so. So can anyone explain this to me?

[SVNBob]

1 hour ago, friendperidot said:

I seem to remember a storyline that Odo was the last of his kind, there were no others like him, he was alone.

1 hour ago, friendperidot said:

When and how did his storyline change?

It didn't actually change; you just mis-remembered a little of it.

While Odo was the only one of his kind on Bajor, and indeed in the Alpha Quadrant, he didn't know that for sure.  All he knew was that he was the only shapeshifter like him.  He speculated he could have been the last of his kind, or just a lost member of his species.  But he was basically alone.  One of a kind.

After the wormhole was found, he began to speculate that his people might be on the other side in the Gamma Quadrant and looked for evidence to either confirm or refute that theory.  A couple of episodes featured people in the Gamma Quadrant name-dropping "changelings" and their rumored ability to shapeshift, which gave Odo some hope.

Meanwhile, the other main thread was the reveal of a powerful organization in the Gamma Quadrant called "The Dominion".  Much like the Federation, it was composed of many different species on many different planets.  But the leaders of the Dominion ruled with an iron fist; conquering planets and peoples or destroying those that opposed them by sending in their warriors, the Jem'Hadar.

When Odo found his people, he learned that they were the Founders of the Dominion.  And they had kidnapped the crew of DS9 and ran a simulation with them to see how likely an armed confrontation between the Federation and the Dominion was.  (Very likely, given how the Dominion operates).  But having grown up away from them, Odo's ideals were not theirs.  That's why he chose not to stay with them (well, one reason). 

[friendperidot]

Thank you, as you know the original showing of Deep Space Nine was about a zillion years ago and I wasn't terribly interested so I didn't pay a lot of attention.

I much prefer cop prcedurals/who-dun-its and true crime over science fiction, so I drifted away quickly and only watch now due to antenna tv lack of choices that suit me. I am hoping that new tv will be here soon so I can get Netflix back this weekend, just waiting for the delivery truck.