Star Trek 450: Chimera

450. Chimera

FORMULA: The Search + The Abandoned + The Begotten

WHY WE LIKE IT: The love story. Changeling tricks.

WHY WE DON'T: The Link still creeps me out. Odo's paranoia.

REVIEW: When Odo meets Laas, one of the other 100 infant changelings sent out into the universe, he perhaps sees himself in a 150 years' time. Laas - ably played by H.G. Hertzler of Martok fame - is more a more experienced/powerful changeling, able to turn himself into gasses, fire, and warp-capable creatures. He's also more jaded than Odo when it comes to humanoids. His experience seems much closer to that of the Founders, having encountered mistrust, grown bored and learned to appreciate other types of life form. He also thinks changelings are better than "monoforms". Odo's experiences have perhaps been different, but Laas still went through those motions once. And yet, Odo's destiny lies elsewhere... though not that far from the notion of starting a new, healthy Great Link with the other 100.

Of course, throwing a new changeling into the mix means Odo's gonna link sooner or later. And I so hate that. I'm with Quark on this. He gets a wonderful speech about how evolution has made us xenophobic and though he's right, Star Trek's message has always been that we can further evolve, socially if not genetically. Something this episode bears out eventually, though Odo has a massive chip on his shoulder regarding how changelings are viewed. I actually find it annoying how he suddenly looks at his friends as if they were racists all of a sudden. Such is the poison that is the Link, I suppose.

Kira is right to be jealous too. The Link IS intimate, and where we've seen Odo with a female changeling before (if they truly have gender), Laas is male, bringing a homoerotic vibe to the proceedings (fear of making people uncomfortable, changeling pride demonstrations, etc.). In light of this, I'm not quite sure what the episode is trying to say because it's an allegory that falls apart under scrutiny. If Odo is a gay man not allowed to "be himself", his choice of staying, effectively choosing to live as a "heterosexual" is all wrong, as is the representation of the "self-accepting gay man" (Laas) as essentially asocial.

Thankfully, there's a strong emotional core to the story, so you can (and should) ignore the veiled references to homosexuality. An Odo story must now also be a Kira story, and in the end, despite her being hurt by his existential crisis, she lets him go out of love. And when Odo is actually given that freedom, he still chooses to remain with her. All the previous indecision, the "what might have been", is gone, and his zen-like resolution is evident. Odo only ever makes that expression either after the Link, or in relation to Kira. The last scene is a gem, with her letting him be who/what he is, and getting to see what it must be like inside the Link. Quite beautiful.

LESSON: Love trumps primeval slime.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium-High: Despite its failed allegorical premise, Chimera is still a beautiful love story as well as a showcase for the changelings' potential.