I don't know why the other reviews were so negative. I love Lwaxana and she makes Odo happy. I'm always glad when she shows up on any of the Star Trek series.
13 Reviews
Lwaxana
brueggemanntami29 April 2020
Odo gets married
Tweekums9 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This episode has two story lines, in the main story Lwaxana Troi returns to DS9 seeking Odo's help to prevent her new husband from taking the son she is expecting. He is from a species were the sexes are segregated to such an extent that children are kept apart and aren't told there is another sex till they are sixteen. Odo offers to help her and eventually finds a way to solve her problem which will be acceptable to her husband under his species' laws... Odo will marry Lwaxana! In the second story Jake meets a strange woman who takes an interest in his writing skills. She takes him to her quarters and encourages him to start writing; the words seem to flow from his pen but whatever she is doing to him to help him write appears to be having a detrimental effect on his health.
This was a fairly average episode; neither of the two stories were that exciting and there was little real action. It is always fun to to see how Odo acts around Lwaxana at least and his suggestion of marriage came as quite a surprise.
This was a fairly average episode; neither of the two stories were that exciting and there was little real action. It is always fun to to see how Odo acts around Lwaxana at least and his suggestion of marriage came as quite a surprise.
Writers block.
thevacinstaller7 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Well, it's a unique episode. In a star trek historical first we get an episode about writers block. Who knows right? Maybe all the giants of human history had a cougar feeding brain energy from them to amplify their talents?
I am a big Luxanna fan but the writing/performance of this B-Plot just felt manufactured and lacked an authenticity for me. What I do know is that Will Riker needs to be careful if Betazoid women can get pregnant at 60+
I suppose the role of Troi is to chip away at Odo's icey exterior and it is somewhat successful in the attempt. I just did not find this episode engaging. This happens to me sometimes with A and B plots when they given equal timing. The jumping in/out of each plot element kills my immersion at times.
Since it's the first lady of star trek, I will be generous and give it a 6.
I am a big Luxanna fan but the writing/performance of this B-Plot just felt manufactured and lacked an authenticity for me. What I do know is that Will Riker needs to be careful if Betazoid women can get pregnant at 60+
I suppose the role of Troi is to chip away at Odo's icey exterior and it is somewhat successful in the attempt. I just did not find this episode engaging. This happens to me sometimes with A and B plots when they given equal timing. The jumping in/out of each plot element kills my immersion at times.
Since it's the first lady of star trek, I will be generous and give it a 6.
Could have been one of the best but became just okay
jfriesen170119 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I used to despise Lwaxana Troi. After all, as a young child growing up watching Star Trek and epic battles and such who was Lwaxana to come in and completely disrupt TNG? I hated her for it as a kid. I always skipped her episodes on rewatches.
Cut to ten years later. Lwaxana is now one of my favorite characters because she truly cares about others and breathes a life of fresh air into any episode she's in. Sure, not all her episodes are the greatest written episodes of Trek or anything. But they're almost always wild and fun, which is exactly what her character is supposed to do.
Now that said, this episode is one of my favorites for Lwaxana. I do not think it is one of her best written or acted episodes (I'm mainly thinking about her incredible performance in TNG's "Half a Life,") but this episode elevated her relationship with Odo (as well as Odo's arc) so much that I just end up loving it. The manner in which Odo is willing to sacrifice many parts of his own life just so that Lwaxana can keep her baby is beuatiful and amazing. Lwaxana's and Odo's relationship is actually my favorite in all of Star Trek and purely because of this and her first DS9 episodes. It's not romantic love between them; it's respect and admiriation. So even if they love each other they will always love them as a person first, and as a relationship second. That is the epitome of a healthy relationship to me.
The rest of the episode was just meh. Jake's whole storyline could've been interesting but ultimately nothing was added to that narrative after his first five minutes. And that dissapoints me because as a writer myself I've always really loved following Jake's writing career in an episode. But the whole aspect of the alien using Jake's mind was both unoriginal and did not advance Jake's character much. Yes, Jake made some character arc progress at the end of the episode. But that progress could have been made without spending nearly twenty minutes just watching a woman convince Jake to write more.
I do love this episode thought. It expands the characters of Lwaxana and Odo so much and solidified both of them as two of my favorite characters in all of Star Trek. However, the lazy writing of Jake's storyline, while progressing the character, did nothing to make me want to follow his story more.
Overall a 7/10. 9/10 for Odo and Lwaxana, 6/10 for Jake and the alien woman. So I"m averaging it to a 7 because Jake seemed to take up a lot of the episode despite Lwaxana's story being the more action-oriented.
Cut to ten years later. Lwaxana is now one of my favorite characters because she truly cares about others and breathes a life of fresh air into any episode she's in. Sure, not all her episodes are the greatest written episodes of Trek or anything. But they're almost always wild and fun, which is exactly what her character is supposed to do.
Now that said, this episode is one of my favorites for Lwaxana. I do not think it is one of her best written or acted episodes (I'm mainly thinking about her incredible performance in TNG's "Half a Life,") but this episode elevated her relationship with Odo (as well as Odo's arc) so much that I just end up loving it. The manner in which Odo is willing to sacrifice many parts of his own life just so that Lwaxana can keep her baby is beuatiful and amazing. Lwaxana's and Odo's relationship is actually my favorite in all of Star Trek and purely because of this and her first DS9 episodes. It's not romantic love between them; it's respect and admiriation. So even if they love each other they will always love them as a person first, and as a relationship second. That is the epitome of a healthy relationship to me.
The rest of the episode was just meh. Jake's whole storyline could've been interesting but ultimately nothing was added to that narrative after his first five minutes. And that dissapoints me because as a writer myself I've always really loved following Jake's writing career in an episode. But the whole aspect of the alien using Jake's mind was both unoriginal and did not advance Jake's character much. Yes, Jake made some character arc progress at the end of the episode. But that progress could have been made without spending nearly twenty minutes just watching a woman convince Jake to write more.
I do love this episode thought. It expands the characters of Lwaxana and Odo so much and solidified both of them as two of my favorite characters in all of Star Trek. However, the lazy writing of Jake's storyline, while progressing the character, did nothing to make me want to follow his story more.
Overall a 7/10. 9/10 for Odo and Lwaxana, 6/10 for Jake and the alien woman. So I"m averaging it to a 7 because Jake seemed to take up a lot of the episode despite Lwaxana's story being the more action-oriented.
Major Cringe
zombiemockingbird3 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The minute I see Lwaxana Troi I know it's going to be a bad episode. And I swear someone said she had done her last episode a couple other times; hopefully this really is the last. Isn't she a little old to be pregnant? Seems they could have found someone more believable if they really wanted to do this story (and it wasn't that great a story). What a waste of Michael Ansara. Odo, as usual, is the only thing that makes Lwaxana remotely palatable, but the whole marriage thing is cringy. Then we have Jake and the creepy cougar. The whole thing in her quarters screams seduction, with her whispering, sexy voice and fondling Jake; it's really embarrassingly disturbing. Usually if one of the plot lines is bad the other is pretty good; but both of these were stinkers.
The final Lwaxana Troi episode...and Jake meets an uber-creepy lady.
planktonrules3 January 2015
This is a station-bound episode--and generally these are among some of the weaker shows in the series.
The first plot involves Lwaxana Troi. She's come to the station for sanctuary, as her new husband (Michael Ansara) is a Tavnian and despite their agreement, he's decided that when their child is born, he'll be raised in a traditional Tavnian manner--with zero contact with females until he's 16. In other words, once Lwaxana's little bundle of joy pops out, it was be forcibly taken from her! She is not thrilled and seeks help from her old friend Odo. But what they have to do is pretty drastic! What exactly will they do?
The second plot is uber-creepy to say the least. An older alien woman (Meg Foster) is VERY interested in Jake and seduces him. While the relationship isn't exactly sexual, it sure seems creepy and wrong-- and she also seems like a succubus. While her presence as a muse does stimulate Jake to write great things, she's also killing him! How can she be stopped and will it be too late?!
This is a rather tender and sad episode. While the one involving Jake left me rather indifferent, seeing Odo professing his love for Lwaxana was very, very touching and is among the finest moments in the show. So, despite two okay plots, there are some wonderful moments in this one which make it underrated and well worth seeing.
The first plot involves Lwaxana Troi. She's come to the station for sanctuary, as her new husband (Michael Ansara) is a Tavnian and despite their agreement, he's decided that when their child is born, he'll be raised in a traditional Tavnian manner--with zero contact with females until he's 16. In other words, once Lwaxana's little bundle of joy pops out, it was be forcibly taken from her! She is not thrilled and seeks help from her old friend Odo. But what they have to do is pretty drastic! What exactly will they do?
The second plot is uber-creepy to say the least. An older alien woman (Meg Foster) is VERY interested in Jake and seduces him. While the relationship isn't exactly sexual, it sure seems creepy and wrong-- and she also seems like a succubus. While her presence as a muse does stimulate Jake to write great things, she's also killing him! How can she be stopped and will it be too late?!
This is a rather tender and sad episode. While the one involving Jake left me rather indifferent, seeing Odo professing his love for Lwaxana was very, very touching and is among the finest moments in the show. So, despite two okay plots, there are some wonderful moments in this one which make it underrated and well worth seeing.
Grammar
paratim18 January 2022
I created an account purely to answer @TheEmptyNoggin. It is not a case of 'would of' or 'would've', grammatically it is 'would have'. Just saying. :-)
That said, what a thoroughly inept episode, but they creep in every now and then. Writers have hangovers like the rest of us.......................................................................................................................................
Weak writing but strong performances
snoozejonc27 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Lwaxana Troi arrives at DS9 pregnant and looking for help.
This is a forgettable episode with nothing particularly interesting going on for the characters.
It's not really worth picking it apart because after reading the production history you learn the filmmakers were not happy with how it turned out and that for me says enough.
I think it's biggest crime is wasting the talent of Meg Foster with its b-plot. If ever there is an actress destined for a great Star Trek role it is her, but unfortunately they cast her in this unintentionally ironic writer's fantasy. She still does an excellent job with the material and has fantastic presence as always.
The Lwaxana plot is more eventful, but the idea of the fake marriage to Odo was not one of DS9's best. There are many ways her situation could have been resolved but this feels very weak and out of character for all those involved.
I find it hard to rate because I want to put it amongst the worst that Trek produced, but Meg Foster, Rene Auberjonois, and Majel Barrett do good work and there are two quite cool references to other Trek episodes that save it from those depths.
This is a forgettable episode with nothing particularly interesting going on for the characters.
It's not really worth picking it apart because after reading the production history you learn the filmmakers were not happy with how it turned out and that for me says enough.
I think it's biggest crime is wasting the talent of Meg Foster with its b-plot. If ever there is an actress destined for a great Star Trek role it is her, but unfortunately they cast her in this unintentionally ironic writer's fantasy. She still does an excellent job with the material and has fantastic presence as always.
The Lwaxana plot is more eventful, but the idea of the fake marriage to Odo was not one of DS9's best. There are many ways her situation could have been resolved but this feels very weak and out of character for all those involved.
I find it hard to rate because I want to put it amongst the worst that Trek produced, but Meg Foster, Rene Auberjonois, and Majel Barrett do good work and there are two quite cool references to other Trek episodes that save it from those depths.
To My Two Least Favorite Characters....
Hitchcoc24 October 2018
This is such a dumb episode, I don't know where to begin. First of all Lwaxana Troi shows up and she is pregnant, fleeing from her jerk husband, who, like Rumplestiltskin, is there for her soon to be born son. Then Jake (whom we've been seeing way too much of) hooks up with a woman who invades his brain and gets him to write. But the solution for Lwaxana is beyond belief. Forget this one.
Beautiful Episode
vukaroo13 April 2021
There are moments in Trek that are so touching and human, that episodes like "The Muse" validate the beauty and ever-present relevance of the various series. I suppose that Majel Barrett's (the first lady of Trek) involvement in the writing of this episode had to do with it's touching nature. There were moments between she and Odo that had me reeling. Then there's the whole bit about Jake and his writing Muse which is also so poetic. This is one really heartfelt episode.
Written by Luwaxana?!
XweAponX5 July 2022
Haha!
In all of the years that I have been watching this show and paying attention to trivium, this is one trivium that completely missed me... Majel Lee Hudec Barrett Roddenberry wrote it! Or part of it, The portion that involved her conundrum.
At some point after "Fascination", she apparently had gotten married to a man named Jeyal (Michael "Kang" Ansara), a Tavnian.
Who had promised wonderful things despite his race's history of separating the sexes until the age "of ascension". A promise that he instantly reneged upon after he "took possession" of her, which is about the best way you can describe Tavnian marriages. Not unlike certain marriages on Earth. In fact the concept of "the wife as property" was only discarded recently in our history, and at that, not completely. There are still some cultures that adhere to this concept.
Meanwhile, Jake Sisko Is standing in his regular spot which he used to share with Nog, "Musing" over story ideas when he notices a very alien and enticing Meg Foster step onto the promenade... they share a brief eye contact, which tells us a lot about what is going to happen.
These two stories dance around each other, not really touching.
But in a way the stories are similar. Jake was simply looking for ideas, Luwaxana was looking for shelter. Onaya (Ms Foster) attaches herself to Jake with almost unwarranted interest, promising fulfillment of his writers block issue, while Luwaxana seeks comfort in Odo. But there are also things that Onaya wants from Jake, while Odo has actually found within himself a little bit of actual affection for Luwaxana. But we know that this has always been the case ever since "The Forsaken", where Luwaxana promises to give him something that he will appreciate.
Onaya turns out to be connected to the histories of several Federation worlds, including Earth, in remarkable ways. She needs something from Jake, but she actually provides Jake something that is very difficult for a writer or other content creator to obtain: inspiration. But the cost of obtaining this is way too high.
This very short interlude between Jake and Onaya tells us a lot about Jake that we never really knew. Mainly, that he is in fact a very talented writer. Which was the last thing to expect especially after watching the first season of the show, where he is just a kid, flicking Sand Peas with Nog upon unsuspecting aliens, or dousing couples at the replimat with "Garanian bolites".
In order to extract Luwaxana from an unfortunate alliance, Odo has to form one with her himself. But that is not the end of it, he must provide convincing reasons why he actually wants this.
And this is something that he does in a very remarkable speech. This is despite the fact that we know that he loves Kira, which Luwaxana knew even before he knew it.
Unfortunately this is the last that we will see of Luwaxana in any Trek. As far as Onaya in concerned, she turns out to be not what she appeared to be, and also leaves the vicinity. She leaves an almost tangible scar on Jake, while Luwaxana does the same for Odo.
Neither Jake or Odo are quite the same after these encounters.
In all of the years that I have been watching this show and paying attention to trivium, this is one trivium that completely missed me... Majel Lee Hudec Barrett Roddenberry wrote it! Or part of it, The portion that involved her conundrum.
At some point after "Fascination", she apparently had gotten married to a man named Jeyal (Michael "Kang" Ansara), a Tavnian.
Who had promised wonderful things despite his race's history of separating the sexes until the age "of ascension". A promise that he instantly reneged upon after he "took possession" of her, which is about the best way you can describe Tavnian marriages. Not unlike certain marriages on Earth. In fact the concept of "the wife as property" was only discarded recently in our history, and at that, not completely. There are still some cultures that adhere to this concept.
Meanwhile, Jake Sisko Is standing in his regular spot which he used to share with Nog, "Musing" over story ideas when he notices a very alien and enticing Meg Foster step onto the promenade... they share a brief eye contact, which tells us a lot about what is going to happen.
These two stories dance around each other, not really touching.
But in a way the stories are similar. Jake was simply looking for ideas, Luwaxana was looking for shelter. Onaya (Ms Foster) attaches herself to Jake with almost unwarranted interest, promising fulfillment of his writers block issue, while Luwaxana seeks comfort in Odo. But there are also things that Onaya wants from Jake, while Odo has actually found within himself a little bit of actual affection for Luwaxana. But we know that this has always been the case ever since "The Forsaken", where Luwaxana promises to give him something that he will appreciate.
Onaya turns out to be connected to the histories of several Federation worlds, including Earth, in remarkable ways. She needs something from Jake, but she actually provides Jake something that is very difficult for a writer or other content creator to obtain: inspiration. But the cost of obtaining this is way too high.
This very short interlude between Jake and Onaya tells us a lot about Jake that we never really knew. Mainly, that he is in fact a very talented writer. Which was the last thing to expect especially after watching the first season of the show, where he is just a kid, flicking Sand Peas with Nog upon unsuspecting aliens, or dousing couples at the replimat with "Garanian bolites".
In order to extract Luwaxana from an unfortunate alliance, Odo has to form one with her himself. But that is not the end of it, he must provide convincing reasons why he actually wants this.
And this is something that he does in a very remarkable speech. This is despite the fact that we know that he loves Kira, which Luwaxana knew even before he knew it.
Unfortunately this is the last that we will see of Luwaxana in any Trek. As far as Onaya in concerned, she turns out to be not what she appeared to be, and also leaves the vicinity. She leaves an almost tangible scar on Jake, while Luwaxana does the same for Odo.
Neither Jake or Odo are quite the same after these encounters.
Another Goof
mrs983825 August 2020
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