A suspicious Star Trek character modeled after a Renaissance gentleman

According to Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 second ago

Star Trek is a series set in the distant future, but many of its best moments were inspired by the distant past. For example, Captain Picard’s Enterprise A new generation is a ship where people relax by playing classical music or experiencing literary adventures (from Shakespeare to Sherlock) in a simulator.

Things were very different Deep Space Ninebut this Star Trek spinoff still took inspiration from the past. For example, in the episode “The Forsaken”, writer Jim Trombetta intentionally modeled Odo after the archetypal idea of ​​the Renaissance gentleman.

Even if you’ve watched this episode of Star Trek countless times, you probably didn’t notice any Renaissance references because nothing about this time period is specifically mentioned. Instead, Trombetta drew on the contemporary notion of a gentleman to flesh out Odo’s very unique situation.

In the episode, a shapeshifter is stuck in a broken turbolift with a very infatuated Lwaxana Troi. Odo is embarrassed at the thought of being the first person to see him revert back to his liquid form.

Like Troi herself, we can hear what everything Star Trek Fans reading this are wondering: What the hell does this have to do with Odo being stuck in an elevator with a crazy Betazed? According to Jim Trombetta (who wrote the story but not the screenplay), Odo’s situation mirrors that of Renaissance “gentlemen” who “had to be tough warriors with a hard shape like armor”. The metaphor here is very direct, as Odin’s solid form is disintegrating in the turbolift and is in danger of melting, something he is desperate to hide from Lwaxana Troi.

Star Trek writers tend to be history buffs, and as Trombetta helpfully points out, there was a “fear” during the Renaissance that gentlemen would “go soft”. Men at the time feared that they might turn from fierce warriors into someone who was “powerless” and “childlike”. Odo had to return to his liquid state every day and after stubbornly trying to hide his pain. After a kind gesture from Troi as she took off her wig and showed the constable a vulnerable side of herself that no one else had ever seen, he turned into a puddle of liquid held inside the hem of her dress.

While some of the Star Trek metaphors tend to be a little tortured, Trombetta believes the Renaissance gentleman angle “works very vividly” in “The Forsaken.” As he said: “Odo is a constable and a very tough guy, but he has to go through this process and allow someone else to help him.” Odo learned a valuable lesson that, frankly, many fans watching at home could bear to learn: that, ironically, it takes a lot of strength to be vulnerable in front of others, even those (maybe especially those) that you care about.

It’s fun to see Lwaxana Troi in all her glory, but it was hard for some to see her scenes with Odo as much more than equally middling comedy. Now that we know that even their silliest moments were inspired by the Renaissance, we can’t help but look at the episode with a newfound respect. Plus, real talk, we’re always at the bottom no sorry to watch Deep Space Ninewhich remains the best show in Gene Roddenberry’s long-running franchise.