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Context Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS02E08NecessaryEvil

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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ds9_necevil180.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:Unusually for Trek, this is a NoirEpisode, complete with some disturbing revelations.]]
3
4-->''Security Log, Stardate: 47284.1. In this job, there is no "unfinished business". This assault on Quark reopens a five-year-old murder case that I've never, not for a moment, closed. Patience is a lost virtue to most; to me, an ally.''
5
6Quark is on Bajor talking to a wealthy Bajoran woman named Vaatrik. She hires him to recover a mysterious object on Deep Space Nine. Quark enlists Rom's help, who proves to be such a skilled thief that Quark vows to reinforce all of his security systems at the bar. They recover the object, a small box. Quark opens it, but all it contains is a list of eight Bajoran names. As Quark puzzles over the list, a Bajoran emerges from the shadows and takes the box, telling Quark that Vaatrik knew he wouldn't be able to resist opening the box. The man shoots Quark and departs. Rom returns after a few moments, discovers his brother comatose, and screams for help.
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8As Quark is rushed to the infirmary, Odo is on the case. After some GoodCopBadCop with Sisko, Odo convinces Rom to reveal the circumstances of Quark's injury. Odo realizes that the stolen box was hidden sometime during the Cardassian occupation, when the room was a chemist's shop.
9
10Odo flashes back to five years ago, when [[Characters/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineGulDukat Gul Dukat]] deputized him to become his "investigator" and look into the murder of the station's Bajoran chemist. Odo is reluctant to do the assignment but agrees to find the murderer to prevent Dukat from summarily executing a bunch of Bajorans. He questions the chemist's widow, who says that her husband was having an affair with a woman who must have killed him out of jealousy. The woman turns out to be Kira.
11
12Back in the present, Rom recalls that one of the names on the list might have been "Ches'so." Odo visits Vaatrik, but she denies knowing anything about a list or a Ches'so. Odo notes that Vaatrik is living quite opulently for having recently been in financial straits, but Vaatrik claims that she received a gift from a secret lover. Odo returns to the station and chats with Kira about how this recent crime reminds them both of the murder that first brought them together.
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14In the past, Odo interrogates Kira, who initially assumes that Odo is a john and rebuffs him. Once Odo clears up the matter, she claims that the murdered chemist was nothing but a friend, and she knows nothing about the murder. And besides, she has an alibi: Quark. Then she accuses Odo of collaborating with the Cardassians by serving as Dukat's enforcer. Odo objects, saying that he doesn't choose sides, but Kira counters that he will have choose one eventually.
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16In the present, Kira tells Odo that she's identified "Ches'so" as a Bajoran with a similar-sounding name who just yesterday died in an accident. Odo realizes that Vaatrik had the man killed after Odo gave her his name. Now that she knows Quark is still alive, she'll try to have him killed too. After more investigation, Odo discovers that Vaatrik has recently received 100,000 litas from "Ches'so" and seven other Bajorans. Odo realizes that the names on the list were Cardassian collaborators, and Vaatrik has been using the list to blackmail them. He leaves to question her again, though her assassin still lurks in the shadows.
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18In the past, Odo interrogates Quark, who initially tries to claim that he hired Kira as a prostitute, but Odo knows that Kira doesn't do that kind of thing. The Ferengi finally admits that she paid him to be her alibi. Odo confronts Kira again, and she admits that she's a member of the Bajoran Underground who is on a sabotage mission. She continues to deny committing the murder and begs Odo for mercy. Dukat arrives to receive Odo's report, forcing Odo to take a side. He covers for Kira.
19
20In the present, the assassin makes his move on Quark but gets interrupted by Rom, who screams for help. Odo and some deputies arrive and arrest the assassin. Odo congratulates Rom on saving his brother's life. Rom is pleased until he realizes that this means he won't inherit the bar, so he starts bawling again. On the table, Quark gives a slight grin.
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22With that mystery solved, Odo lets Kira know that he has finally solved the mystery from their past: Kira really ''was'' the murderer. She killed the chemist because he was the spy handler for the eight Bajoran collaborators. Kira tearfully admits that lying to Odo has been a great burden on her, but she never came clean because she thought Odo would never be able to trust her the same. Odo seems about to assuage her fears, but then drops his head, unable to say anything.
23
24
25!Tropes
26
27* AgeCut: Odo realises the place Quark was breaking into used to be the chemist's shop owned by the long-deceased Vaatrik. He unlocks the door... which opens on Gul Dukat, waiting for Odo in the chemist's shop just two hours after Vaatrik's death.
28* AndAnotherThing: Odo even makes a Series/{{Columbo}}-like gesture while doing it.
29* AntiHero: Odo keeps insisting he's not on anyone's side. Kira notes that he'll have to pick one eventually.
30* ApologeticAttacker
31-->'''Trazko:''' ''(about to shoot Quark)'' I'm sorry.\
32'''Quark:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Yeah. Me too.]]
33* BadLiar: Odo accuses Kira of being one. He underestimated her.
34* BigDamnHeroes: Rom averts his brother's SickbedSlaying with some handy screaming. When he realises Quark's survival means he won't inherit the bar, he starts screaming again.
35* BigNo:
36-->'''Rom:''' ''(screaming in fear)''\
37'''Odo:''' It's over Rom! Over! You're a hero.\
38'''Rom:''' I am?\
39'''Odo:''' You saved your brother's life.\
40'''Rom:''' ''(realizes Quark's bar isn't his anymore; begins screaming again)''
41* {{Blackmail}}: This is Vaatrik's motive for acquiring the list of names. Unlike the many times that Quark has described Odo's extortion as blackmail, this really ''is'' an example.
42* BlownAcrossTheRoom: When Quark is shot, he is sent flying.
43* BodyLanguage: On first meeting Gul Dukat, Odo barely looks him in the eye until Dukat says something to annoy him.
44* BrutalHonesty: Odo has a reputation for it, which ironically helps convince Dukat that Kira is innocent. In the end of the episode, Odo seems about ready to tell the tearful Kira that their friendship will not be permanently damaged, but he can't bring himself to lie.
45* CallForward: Odo mentions walking out on the Bajoran scientist who was studying him ("The Alternate").
46* CaptainsLog: Lampshaded and spoofed in Odo's DeadpanSnarker style (despite his disdain, it eventually becomes a PrivateEyeMonologue).
47-->'''Odo:''' Commence station security log, Stardate 47282.5. At the request of Commander Sisko, I will hereafter be recording a daily log of law enforcement affairs. The reason for this exercise is beyond my comprehension, except perhaps that Humans have a compulsion to keep records and files -- so many, in fact, that they have to invent new ways to store them microscopically. Otherwise their records would overrun all known civilization. My own very adequate memory not being good enough for Starfleet, I am pleased to put my voice into this official record of this day: Everything's under control. End log.
48* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In this episode, Rom moves to being at a midpoint between his Season 1 characterization as a StupidEvil character who's out to bump off Quark and take control of the bar, and his later GeniusDitz personality. He shows off some mechanical skill when he's breaking through locks, but also clearly isn't too bothered by the prospect of Quark's death, since it'll cause him to inherit the bar -- albeit he doesn't try to finish off Quark himself, which he'd have done the previous season.
49* ConfessToALesserCrime: When she's accused of murder, Kira confesses to sabotage. Note that this would only be considered "lesser" by Odo; the Cardassians would be far more eager to execute a rebel than the murderer of a mere ''Bajoran''. In fact she did kill the man in question, though it was a defensive murder during a robbery gone south, with the victim as a Cardassian collaborator.
50* DiesWideOpen: Quark after being shot. Fortunately Bashir doesn't settle for HesDeadJim.
51* DistinctionWithoutADifference: When Gul Dukat asks Odo whether he's ever seen a dead man before, Odo replies that he has... in the Cardassians' mines. Dukat rather dismissively says "Oh, those are ''casualties''." Turns out what he was really asking Odo was whether he'd ever seen a ''murder victim'' (such as Vaatrik) before. Of course, taking his question at face value, Odo figures a dead man is a dead man, regardless of how he got that way.
52* DeadlyDelivery: The assassin carries a bunch of flowers while visiting Quark. As the Bajoran deputy is explaining that he can't have visitors, the assassin shoves the flowers into his chest to cover his knife thrust.
53* DoubleEntendre: When Pallra spells out the job she has for Quark, she promises to pay him in both latinum and her "personal gratitude". Quark gently strokes his lobe at this. Considering lobes are highly erogenous parts of Ferengi anatomy...
54* DramaticThunder: Throughout Quark's meeting with Pallra, providing some noir ambiance and reminding the viewer that they're not on the station.
55* EvenEvilHasStandards: Gul Dukat tells Odo that he would rather find who is actually responsible for the murder instead of randomly executing ten Bajorans, as the government would ''like'' him to do. Only after the case is solved in the present does Odo realize that Dukat [[SubvertedTrope actually cared about keeping his network of Bajoran collaborators intact and undiscovered.]]
56* EveryoneHasStandards: Grousing on several Bajorans collaborating with the Cardassians, Odo growls that "even a Ferengi wouldn't stoop that low."
57* ExactWords: Used twice.
58** When Dukat presses about Kira, Odo tells her she's not the killer. When Dukat warns him of lying, Odo fires back "if you knew me as well as you say you do, you'd know I don't lie." And he didn't; he just neglected to add that Kira, in clearing herself of the murder, had also identified herself as a member of the Resistance.
59** In the present, Odo tells Kira "you were a better liar than I thought" for hiding how she was the killer. Kira defends herself on how her job was never to assassinate the shopkeeper, just steal his list of collaborators, and he caught her in the act.
60* FaceDeathWithDignity: Upon realizing Trazko is going to kill him for Pallra, Quark chooses to make a sarcastic quip rather than beg for his life.
61* FemmeFatale: Pallra oozes this trope as a high-class sex bomb who has people blackmailed and killed. However, it's a RedHerring for the real murderer. The real FemmeFatale is Kira--manipulative, ruthless, but the sympathetic motive kind whom the investigator falls for.
62* GoodCopBadCop: Sisko and Odo, respectively, when grilling Rom about why Quark was shot. Odo plays on the "fraternal inheritance" motive angle along with the usual PerpSweating, while Sisko uses the family friend connection between his and Rom's sons to "rein in" Odo.
63* HeKnowsTooMuch: Pallra sends a guy to shoot Quark after he uncovers the list, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep himself from looking.
64* HyperAwareness: Odo notes that Vaatrik Pallra hasn't been crying as she claims since her eyes aren't swollen, and that Kira's hands are too smooth for her to have worked in the mines.
65* ItsWhatIDo: In the present, Kira tries to thank Odo for clearing her of the murder charges in the past. Odo shrugs it off, stating matter-of-factly, "You were innocent of the crime I was investigating." In an ironic twist, we later find out that she in fact wasn't.
66* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: Kira tells Odo she was looking for a job at Quark's when the murder happened. Odo goes to check this out.
67-->'''Quark:''' She was showing me her, er, initiative.\
68'''Odo:''' Is that some sort of sexual reference?\
69'''Quark:''' These jobs are hard to come by. Her credentials were very... impressive.
70** In exchange for getting the list, Pallra promises Quark five bars of latinum and her 'personal gratitude', whereupon Quark leers and rubs his ear in an obvious reference to oo-mox.
71* LeftHanging: In the end, Kira asks Odo if he can trust her in the same way ever again. He silently starts to gaze downward as the episode fades to black.
72* LesCollaborateurs: The murder victim in the past turns out to have been a mole for Gul Dukat, hence Dukat's desire to appear hands-off in the investigation, Pallra's comfortable lifestyle, and the mystery surrounding [[MacGuffin the list of names]] -- they're all Bajoran informants.
73* LiteralMetaphor: Quark offers Odo a drink on the house, to which he replies "I don't drink." When Quark suggests a soft drink, Odo repeats the statement (meaning that he literally does not drink, not merely that he abstains from alcohol).
74* MacGuffin: The list of names is a list of Bajorans who worked as informers for the Cardassians, whom Pallra intends to {{Blackmail}}. Her late husband Vaatrik was the contact between them and Dukat.
75* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Odo lets slip to Pallra that Quark has survived the attempt on his life, plus the name of one of the people on the list he was trying to steal. When the latter turns up dead, Odo realises what happened and puts a round-the-clock guard on Quark.
76* NoirEpisode: The episode follows a detective examining a murder, portrays almost all the characters as morally ambiguous, and employs a {{chiaroscuro}} visual style previously unseen in the series. It even has as a version of PrivateEyeMonologue in the form of Odo's [[CaptainsLog log entries]], used for the first time here.
77* NoodleIncident: Odo doing the 'Cardassian neck trick,' which apparently left the entire Central Command in stitches for weeks.
78* OhCrap: Rom, when he realizes that by saving his brother's life, he gave up his claim to the bar.
79* OriginsEpisode: Specifically, shows how Odo came to be a security officer on the station, and met Kira and Quark.
80* PrivateEyeMonologue: As mentioned above, Odo's {{Captains Log}}s turn into this gradually over the course of the episode. By the fifth act, "Security log, supplemental" isn't even mentioned.
81* ProfessionalKiller: Vaatrik has one on the station who tries to kill Quark twice.
82* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: During the Occupation, Odo was regarded as a fair, neutral observer whom the Bajorans came to when they needed to settle disputes.
83* RevealingCoverup: Granted, Quark likely would've tried to do something unscrupulous with the information he got from peeking at the list, but trying to have him assassinated put [[HardBoiledDetective Odo]] on the case.
84* RightBehindMe: Odo is interrogating Quark.
85-->'''Odo:''' She paid you for an alibi? I wonder how Gul Dukat will react when I tell him about that?\
86'''Quark:''' ''(looking over Odo's shoulder)'' I'm sure it'll cost me a case of Cardassian ale.\
87'''Dukat:''' [[WalkInChimeIn Two cases at the very least]].
88* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Jeez, Rom, get it together.
89* SherlockScan: Odo can tell Vaatrik's 'grieving' widow hasn't been crying as the skin around her tear ducts isn't swollen, and knows Kira is lying about working in the mines because her hands are too smooth.
90* ShipTease: While doing his PrivateEyeMonologue, Odo says that justice is meant to be blind; that there's no room for loyalty... or friendship... or love. Cut to Odo interrogating Kira.
91* SmarterThanYouLook: During the theft, Rom demonstrates several techniques that leave Quark stunned (largely because Rom previously used them to get into the bar's storeroom and vault). On the other hand, while getting grilled:
92-->'''Odo:''' You're not as stupid as you look.\
93'''Rom:''' I am too!
94* StandardFemaleGrabArea:
95** Dukat grabs Kira this way in one of the flashbacks and she submits to it silently. Considering that he was in a position to have her executed with a word, he probably could just as easily have restrained her with a finger.
96** Kira then grabs Pallra this way when hauling her into a cell. She yanks her arm away angrily, but Kira just lays an even firmer hold on her.
97* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Odo's dilemma in the flashback: trying to keep "order" while the lawful authority is a brutal occupation. While he chooses not to expose Kira's resistance ties to Dukat, that's only because he's convinced she didn't commit the murder.
98-->'''Odo:''' If you're innocent, you'll go free. If you're not, I'll turn you over to Cardassian authorities. That's the only choice here.
99* TwistedEchoCut:
100** Quark and Dukat are sharing an EvilLaugh when the scene {{Age Cut}}s to a group of customers laughing in contemporary Quark's.
101** This also happens in reverse when a present-day scene of children laughing as they run through the Promenade cuts to children watching sadly through the perimeter fence as they wait for the Cardassians to allow their father through.
102* VillainRespect: Dukat is satisfied that he picked the right investigator when Odo says he won't give him a name until he's sure it's right, even under pressure from Dukat himself.
103* VorpalPillow: Attempted on Quark, even though the knife the assassin used on the guard would have been quicker. It seems he planned to have Quark [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident die of "natural causes" quietly]] and [[StupidEvil didn't change this plan]] even though he'd already blown the whole point of this subterfuge by stabbing the guard.
104* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: The ever-pragmatic Dukat told Odo he was hiring him to investigate in preference to the recommendation of his superiors, who told him he should just round up and execute ten Bajorans at random in retaliation for the murder. Odo failed to find his culprit, however, which leaves us to wonder whether Dukat decided to carry out those executions.
105* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Much of this story takes place during the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor.

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