I’m rewatching it now, it’s so well written that it almost stands out from the rest of the episode. It comes off like something from David Mamet or The West Wing. It’s not Far Beyond The Stars or In The Pale Moonlight, the stakes of the episode are too low. But the material it gave all the actors to work with, the incredibly realistic way it weaves together different conversations going on between a large group, that the (really really good) acting abilities of the cast just get pushed over the top. It’s all in one room, no effects, no cost except for the appearance of Bareil, but it’s riveting, you can’t stop paying attention. It’s kind of a master class in writing. And it’s buried after the opening credits in the second episode of season 2.
Then Frank freaking Langella pops up, parts way through the same unbelievable episode, to chew the scenery like a boss. And, in an absolute power move, he drops that shit and goes completely uncredited and unpaid for doing it. He says he did it for his kids, I think he did it because he’s just that talented, and humility can be a boss move when you’re that good.
Could you be more specific? Episode name? Scene or episode synopsis? I watched it very recently but I need a little more to go on.
DS9 S02E02, The Circle. I believe the scene OP is talking about is in Kira’s quarters starting around six minutes in, just after the opening credits. Odo, Dax, Bashir, O’Brien, Quark, and finally Vedek Bareil all come in for an increasingly chaotic conversation. Odo is pissed, Dax is the supportive friend, Bashir is a himbo (as always), O’Brien is the concerned colleague, Quark is trying to slide into her DMs, and Bareil comes in to be the one good Vedek on Bajor and calm things down.
That’s the one!
I believe the scene OP is talking about is in Kira’s quarters
Ah I knew the scene by this description.
Later in this ep is one of my fav moments of all DS9. Kira in the creek moving rocks. Bareil comes to lay some charm but then the dark shadow of Winn on the bridge… so polite. So politiq.
“You can stay here as long as you need… Even a week!” or smthg like this.
Cut to the final eps of her a Dukat…
And then in the next episode Winn spots the perfect moment to doublecross Jaro and keep her good image
She is so evil she should be on Scandal.
⭐
Had to pull it up but recognised it immediately.
“A party, oh!” - Quark
But for real, you’re totally on the mark on how each of them pivot from each other, how Kira hits eats of them
“these ar- these are my friends” - Kira
Really shows how sh’es grown. I love the double take, and pause when she first is about to blurt it out, then says it more sincerly to Bareil. Thanks for pointing this out and reminding me of how awesome #DS9 is.
She grew against her own will. Not uncommon but very difficult to portray. And it never would have worked if Nana Visitor hadn’t had the chops to pull it off, and the writers had the writing talent to write it. We really lucked out with DS9, they hit it out of the park so many times and in so many different ways, week after week for years.
Characters going through unwanted growth reminds me of Quark and Garak too.
I had to go look it up so thanks for reminding me about that scene! I only recently got into star trek and the thing that surprised me the most about it was stuff like this. I had this idea that it was always high-concept sci-fi, but scenes like this are really what makes it special. With ds9 especially every character is so fleshed out and interesting, and it really makes me want to just watch them be together.
How dare you compare the perfection that is DS9 to Sorkin’s drivel
Not unfair. I guess I do dare. Fortune favors the bold. ;)
