I had totally forgotten that Odo ended up marrying Luwaxana Troi! And for not quite the first time, but the first time in a long time I am actually kinda sad Luwaxana didn't stick around. Her relationship with Odo seems so much more interesting and real that her supposed relationship with Picard. The DS9 writers see her as much more of a real person than the caricature we got on TNG. I remembered a bit of the subplot about the psychic vampire muse that gets Jake to finally start his big novel Anslem which was so defining to the episode The Visitor with future Jake.
In a rare variation from tradition this episode starts with the A story! Jake is standing on the upper level of the promenade taking note on passengers arriving to the station for future stories. Most of them are pretty straightforward, but then he sees a woman he can't keep his eyes off of. It isn't lust or romantic interest though, just fascination. Next we see Odo walk into his office and find an unexpected guest, Luwaxana Troi, and she is pregnant! She explains that she is having a serious problem with her husband, he wants to take her child. In his culture male children are raised only by men and female children only by women until the age of 16 and Luwaxana isn't willing to do that. Back to Jake he is having a meal at the Replimat when the woman from earlier approaches. They start talking and he is surprised to learn she knew the most influential Cardassian architect of all time. She invites him to her quarters that night for some inspiration.
That afternoon Jake is working on a story at home when his father comes in. Jake tells him he won't be going on the trip with him to Bajor, but doesn't mention why. Lwaxana meanwhile has ruined all the business in Quarks by empathically influencing everyone's mood to match her own depression. Quark asks Odo to get her out of there and he does, but she tells him her replicator isn't working and then two end up in his quarters. Odo is facinated by the kicking of the baby in her belly and she falls asleep in his arms. Jake shows up at Onaya's quarters that night and after getting him to relax a bit she gets him to start writing with a pen paper. She starts massaging his head as he writes and clouds of energy start coming out which she absorbs. A couple times he gets a nose bleed but is so into the writing that he ignores it. She eventually insists that he get some rest and he wanders on the promenade and collapses. In infirmary Bashir tells his father that something has been overstimulating his brain and that he almost died.
Back in Odo's quarters he and Luwaxana are playing hide and seek until Odo gets a call from security that her husband has arrived. He meets the guy in the security office and explains that the baby belongs to her and her husband, not the biological father and that he is going to marry her. He returns to his quarters and tells her, but she explains that if anyone at the marriage ceremony doesn't believe he really wants to marry her it won't count. Jake meanwhile is recovering a bit but Onaya suddenly appears out of thin air in the infirmary and two of them vanish. The wedding goes off well and we can see Odo really cares about Luwaxana, but she doesn't seem interested in him any more. Ben eventually finds Jake near the reactor and Onaya disappears into space before he can stop her. Luwaxana shows up at Odo's office the next day to say goodbye. He is devastated but she is ready to move on. Back in their quarters Ben tells Jake that he really liked the start of the novel but Jake doesn't think he can finish it without Onaya. Ben explains that even though she helped get it out of him it is still inside him and the episode ends showing the title page Anslem which Jake signs.
Review: Both an uplifting and kinda depressing episode, but isn't that what drama is supposed to be? The character beats are dead on and this episode makes me actually kinda like Luwaxana for a bit which I never thought I would be writing.
8 out of 10
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