Star Trek DS9: The Begotten (Ep 5.12)
A fairly significant episode. Kira has the O’Brien’s baby. Odo gets his shapeshifting abilities back. The Odo/Mora plot was an interesting one, especially in light of the conversation Sisko and Odo had a few weeks back regarding children, and Sisko tells him, “you don’t know what you’re missing.” This episode, we find out. Quark in typical fashion sells a pile of goop to Odo – a pile of goop which turns out to be a baby changling – and Odo is enthralled and undertakes a parental role, trying to nurture this baby changeling. Mora, watches on. This can be pretty much viewed as a grandfather-father-son relationship. Sort of how strict parenting and punishment is justified because it is for the child’s own good. Of course, no child sees the good in being whacked with a stick (or being zapped with electric charges in this case). So, Odo effectively leaves home, and when he finally gets a “child” of his own, he is determined not to bring up his child the way Mora brought up him. Odo, despite good intentions, fails. The goop stubbornly remains a pile of goop, and eventually, Odo turns to Mora for advice. An intelligent plot with an underlying issue about parenting (“you’ll understand when you’re a parent one day” – familiar, yes?). You can’t but wonder, however, if it really is the founders who are behind Odo regaining his abilities… A test? If he shunned the thing, he would never have got his powers back. And where did Quark find the changeling? The sub-story was one that had to happen. Quite amusing. I wonder if surrogate mothers experience the same feelings that Kira did?
12:20am (GMT +10.00) tomorrow 
