6x20 His Way

[7.6/10] I like Vic Fontaine. I like Odo and Kira. I don’t necessarily love them all together.

I like Vic Fontaine because he’s tons of fun. Not everybody’s a big fan. In a period fo the show centered on war and moral compromises, he is a walking larf, bringing with him low stakes stories, levity, and a break from the usual Deep Space Nine atmosphere. Some fans, understandably, bristle at that.

But to quote another show that Renee Auberjonois appears in, “This is the kind of wacky time-wasting nonsense I've been missing.” James Darren is a treat in the role, singing classic American standards with panache, playing the charming emcee who schmoozes our heroes in the holosuite, and bringing the Rat Pack flair without the baggage. I get that not everyone is going to appreciate the 1960s throwback or the extended musical interludes or the concept of another self-aware hologram added to the mix, but ring-a-ding-ding, I enjoy the hell out of it as a bit of lightness and charm in one of the show’s darkest stretches.

I like Odo and Kira because the show has slow-cooked and developed their relationship to perfection. Their opposing sides of the Cardassian Occupation, their no-nonsense styles, the mutual support and understanding between them even before the prospect of romance bubbles up, the sense of longing and belonging that exists between them, all result in what is, for my money, not just the best romance in Deep Space Nine, but the best one in all of Star Trek.

Despite my affection for both elements of the show, their combination isn’t necessarily a “You got chocolate in my peanut butter!” triumph. Odo and Kira have one of the most down-to-earth, lived in dynamics in the whole series, one that’s seemed achingly real and heartbreakingly sincere in many places. Vic’s presence comes with a certain heightened reality, a kind of throwback, romcom-y vibe that, while entertaining enough on its own, doesn’t necessarily fit the Constable and the Major.

Charitably, that’s part of the point here. A big aspect of the premise is that there’s something between Kira and Odo, but that our resident Changeling is too stiff, too timid, too stolid to act on it and let their spark turn into a fire. One of the key ideas here is that Fontaine, with his swingin’ style and easy charm, can bring out a different side of Odo through the “training grounds” of Dr. Bashir’s 1960s nightclub holoprogram.

I’m of two minds about that tack. Less generously, I’m wary of the “Pretend to be someone you’re not,” or worse yet, “Change who you are in order to get the girl” tropes that this episode traffics in. Yes, Odo is not the most expressive person in the world, and definitely not a schmoozer. But that’s okay! Part of what makes Odo and Kira such a compelling pairing is that they have a good rapport, an easy connection, based on who they are, in a way they don’t necessarily have with just anyone. The idea that Odo should play to a particular archetype, change his affect or temperament to win her heart is an implicit rejection of that idea, and I don’t love it.

More generously, the charitable reading of it is that there’s nothing wrong with who Odo is, but that there’s a side of him, a good and worthwhile side, that he keeps hidden away because he’s too afraid what would happen if he let it out. As someone who enjoys playing the piano and believes in the courage and catharsis of putting yourself out there, I’m sympathetic to the idea of using performance as a way to draw someone out of their shell. You can fairly read Vic as not trying to change Odo, but trying to help be his best self: someone who’s more confident, more open, more willing to embrace the parts of him that have always been there, but that he’s been guarded and reticent over for ages.

That’s a much warmer read! And in support of it, Vic and Odo are a lot of fun together. Their vibe is of a piece with Data trying to learn comedy from Joe Piscopo in TNG’s “The Outrageous Okona”, with the same kind of awkwardness easing into some pushing of one’s limits achieving some level of comfort. We rarely get to see Auberjonois ham it up, but the way Odo pretends to tickle the ivories on a player piano, and gradually figures out how to play it up for the crowd, turns him into an adorable dork. Watching him bob his head along like a pro, flummox his way through charming his date, and share an impromptu duet with Captain Sisko is entertaining and endearing as hell.

From there, though, the episode takes a turn that I have similarly mixed feelings about. When Odo frets over the difference between playing suave in the holodeck versus feeling tongue-tied with Kira on the station, Vic decides to “train” Odo with a sultry chanteuse modeled on Kira’s Eastern Bloc counterpart from Julian’s James Bond program.

Again, there’s reason to take this charitably. Odo is nervous. Vic is trying to give him a safe space to get comfortable. The conceit gives the show an excuse to let Nana Visitor get in on the fun with a performance of “Fever” and continue the charm offensive.

But as with Geordi’s romance with a holographic Leah Brahms, and Barclay playing out his fantasies with a holographic Deanna Troi, I have ethical qualms about using someone’s likeness without their consent to test out your romantic longings. The episode never really addresses that, and when Odo backs away from planting a smooch on the holographic major, it’s not because he realizes it’s a violation of the real Kira’s privacy; it’s simply because he knows the real thing is different.

That’s not the only thing “His Way” fails to address. Odo turning on the Federation in general, and Kira in particular, back in “Behind the Lines” was a big deal! Yes, he eventually changes his mind and takes steps to rectify the situation, even saving Nerys in the process. But I have a hard time believing that Kira would just forgive or compartmentalize that and let their relationship automatically return to normal. I am 100% Team Kira/Odo, and I’m rooting for them to get together here. But without doing the work to repair their relationship after something so drastic, the coupling doesn’t feel entirely earned.

The third strike is that the pair’s first date, and the admission of their affections, come out through trickery, rather than through sincerity. In the defense of co-writers Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler, that plays like an homage to the kind of romantic comedies that were the rage in the era Vic Fontaine represents. If you watch a classic film like White Christmas, the romantic relationships are convincing and compelling, but they’re also steeped in skullduggery, deception, wacky misunderstandings, and other somewhat uncomfortable forms of social engineering to get two people together.

I don’t mind that approach in general, especially for the time. You can have a good time with mixed up couples cutting through the nonsense and finding the true affections buried underneath. But this is too big of a deal for it. Odo and Kira coming together is something Deep Space Nine has been building for ages. Reducing their heartfelt expressions of true feelings to something only offered because Vic told Kira that Odo wanted her to come to dinner, while making Odo think he was romancing a holographic version of the major, feels cheap, especially for something momentous.

And yet, once again, taking these events with the most generous interpretation, you could argue that Vic recognizes the true feelings residing within Odo and Kira, and he’s simply giving both of them the nudge they need to lower their defenses and admit those feelings. It’s not perfect, but there’s a wholesome take on it worth countenancing.

Even with some discomfort at the route to get there, that first dinner with Odo and Kira is downright stirring. In an episode with a lot of flash, director Allan Kroker smartly underplays it. There’s no score, no big camera moves, no over-the-top elements. Instead, it’s just two nervous but loving people letting their guards down with one another in a way they never have before.

Kira laughing about she never imagined this is how their first date would go, Odo confessing that he loves his work but has let it get in the way of the rest of his life, the heartwarming surprise of a dance between the two of them, all sell that however bumpy the path, the remains something potent between them, that’s winning and earnest, and helps make up for the questionable parts of the episode. This, kids, is romance.

Of course, it’s also a T.V. show. So Vic spills the beans once the happy couple start to catch on to his ruse. Both of them are rightly offended. Odo is mortified and runs off. The sweetness of this unplanned first date turns sour, in a way that makes you think this might be another of the series’ many missed connections between them.

Instead, Kira talks to Dax about a moment of total clarity, the rarity of knowing exactly what you want in a cosmic sense, and the way that fear and doubt can cloud your judgment and prevent you from acting on something so precious. In an episode that focuses on Odo, I’m glad we have a moment like this to explore Kira’s perspective. Odo’s played the pining, socially-stunted nerd for most of this arc. Putting the shoe on the other foot, delving into what a romance with Odo would mean to Kira, and having her take charge to go get something she wants as much of his, helps balance out the scales and give time to her in all of this.

So, as she is wont to do, Kira acts swiftly and directly. She tells Odo she doesn’t want to forget it; she doesn’t want to put off talking about it; she wants to discuss it on a second date, one that’s founded on truth rather than someone else’s lies. And in a bit of banter fit for Tracy and Hepburn, she and Odo play out the possibilities, decide to cut out the middleman, and give us the lip lock a certain set of fans (read: me) had been waiting for for six years.

I’m not made of stone. The build to this moment in “His Way” may not be perfect, but Deep Space Nine has been slowly but steadily working toward it in a hundred ways big and small. That momentous kiss is not the result of one lounge singer’s machinations; it’s the culmination of six seasons’ worth of longing, of deepening their rapport, and reaching a crescendo where even closed off Odo and reluctant Kira can deny the tidal wave of feelings between them no longer.

Vic Fontaine will have great and less-great outings to come. Odo and Kira will have their ups and downs, the way any two partners do. The mix between them falls short at times and in places. But “His Way” gets it right when it counts. Kira and Odo coming together after half a dozen seasons’ worth of tension and teases is cathartic as hell. It is beautiful. It is moving. It is love.