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You know the phrase ‘O’Brien Must Suffer’ by now right? Okay, just making sure. Originally airing on February 25, 1998 this is Honor Among Thieves.
The Episode:
Station log Stardate Undetermined: Honor Among Thieves.
Working undercover, Mile’s O’Brien finds himself in too deep when he infiltrates the Orion Syndicate and begins to make friends.
The Breakdown:
We find O’Brien in a seedy bar on Farius Prime where he listens in on a conversation waiting for the right moment to introduce himself. Just as the criminals he is eavesdropping on begin to hack a terminal, O’Brien activates a hack that spikes the criminal allowing him a chance to step in and help. After making a deal, O’Brien leaves and meets up with a mysterious stranger named Chadwick who is part of Starfleet intelligence. O’Brien is asked to discover who the Orion Syndicate has as a contact in Star Fleet and then his mission is over. He is warned, however, if his target learns that O’Brien is in Star Fleet, he may not get a chance to return home alive.
Returning to the bar the next day, O’Brien impresses Bilby and his crew. Bilby escorts O’Brien (under the name of Connelly) to Bilby’s home where the criminal indicates that he has work for him. He has Klingon disruptors that need to be fixed and he thinks that Connelly is the man for the job. In fact, Bilby wants to invite O’Brien to join the Orion Syndicate as they need people like ‘Connelly’.
Bring back the needed parts, obtained from his contact, O’Brien/Connely is questioned as to where he got the parts. Connelly further impresses Bilby when he indicates he doesn’t want to implicate the man in a crime. Soon the person who sold Bilby the disruptors arrives and is shocked when Bilby demands his money back. O’Brien finds himself witness to the death of Yint, the weapons dealer, and can only stand by as it occurs.
Later Bilby confides with Connelly that he has someone in Star Fleet but quickly changes the subject. Soon Connelly asks how they got their contact which raises Bilby’s suspicions a bit. As they discuss the contact Bilby is summoned by Raimus, a senior member of the Orion Syndicate. Returning to the bar, O’Brien/Connelly is shocked when Raimus introduces them to a Vorta who appears to have some serious dealings with the Orion Syndicate. The Vorta soon informs Bilby that they have a job for him, one that is of vital importance. Later, O’Brien informs his contact who the Star Fleet mole is. However, when O’Brien informs Chadwick about the Vorta, O’Brien finds his mission has been extended.
After robbing the Bank of Bolius together, Bilby celebrates their win by presenting Connelly with a present in the form of a young call girl. Connelly/O’Brien respectfully declines indicating he has a girlfriend and sends her away. Bilby asks Connelly about the girl he is dating and the Chief tells Bilby about an imaginary girlfriend. That night O’Brien’s contact meets with him and informs O’Brien that they need to set Bilby up to fall so that the Federation can take him down. It is clear that O’Brien/Connelly is having second thoughts.
The crew is shocked when Raimus and the Vorta are waiting for them at the bar. It seems that they are there for a traitor and begin inspecting Bilby’s crew. Just as it seems that O’Brien has been outed, one of the other crew is indicated as a traitor and executed. After executing the traitor, Raimus asks Bilby to kill the local Klingon Ambassador. That night, O’Brien is upset when he is informed that the Klingon’s will be warned and Bilby will be walking into a death trap. Not willing to let Bilby die, O’Brien knocks out Chadwick and heads off to warn Bilby of the trap. Bilby is upset when he learns the truth realizing that, because he ‘witnessed’ for Connelly, his life and the life of his family is now forfeit. Bilby, determined to protect his family, willingly goes into the trap much to O’Brien’s dismay. His last request, for O’Brien to look after his cat.
After returning to DS9, O’Brien informs Julian of what he went through. O’Brien is having a difficult time dealing with the death of Bilby. In the end, O’Brien pets Bilby’s pet cat that the Chief has now inherited.
Is this a ‘Good’ Episode:
For a stand alone entry, this one is pretty solid. Colm Meany is wonderful as usual and once again shows us that he is perfectly capable in carrying an episode on his own. Not only do we finally see O’Brien on a mission of his own, with no real setup but sure, we get a great episode that is sure to have ramifications in the future. We have the Orion Syndicate, a frightening connection between them and the Dominion and we have O’Brien in clandestine missions for Star Fleet Intelligence. This has to end up going somewhere right?!
WRONG! Even though the events of the episode seem to be setting up a pretty significant arc for the series, literally nothing comes out of this episode with the exception of Chester the Cat who does reappear in future episodes. Okay, that’s not entirely true, we do get another ‘sequel’ episode where O’Brein goes after Bilby’s wife but of all of the threads to follow, this seems like a pretty weak one. What about that union between the Orion Syndicate and the Dominion? Hey guys, this MIGHT be important to follow up on…just sayin…
All in all it is really a solid episode, just don’t expect anything to really come out of it. Again, much like the last episode, it feels like the writers this season blew their collective talent on the first half of the season. Don’t worry, it gets better…sorta.
Gleanings and Cool Bits:
- O’Brien get’s a cat. That’s really about it. He get’s a cat. All this for a cat. I guess it’s better than a tee shirt.
Thanks for reading the Retro TV Review, I look forward to discussing the rest of the series with you, one episode at a time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Next Review: Ferengi Love Songs
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Late To The Game 3/5/2022 (Originally published 1/8/2020)
Special Thanks to Memory Alpha as they are one of the best sources for details on Star Trek information available. Although I have a pretty deep knowledge on the subject, they have proven invaluable as a regular resource.
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