The Passenger (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

Last updated
"The Passenger"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 9
Directed by Paul Lynch
Story by Morgan Gendel
Teleplay by
Featured music Dennis McCarthy
Production code409
Original air dateFebruary 22, 1993 (1993-02-22)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Dax"
Next 
"Move Along Home"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1
List of episodes

"The Passenger" is the ninth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

Contents

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on Deep Space Nine, a space station located adjacent to a stable wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy, near the planet Bajor. In this episode a sinister criminal hides in the mind of someone on Deep Space Nine.

The episode first aired in broadcast syndication on February 22, 1993. [1]

Plot

En route back to the station in a runabout, Major Kira and Dr. Bashir respond to a distress call from a Kobliad freighter and find Ty Kajada, a security guard, and her prisoner, Rao Vantika. Kajada tells them Vantika started a fire on the ship in an effort to escape. Vantika dies and Bashir and Kira take Kajada back to Deep Space Nine, where she becomes convinced that he is still alive. He has faked his death many times before and Kajada has spent most of her adult life tracking him.

Bashir and Lt. Dax come to believe that Vantika's consciousness may be hiding in Kajada's brain without her knowledge. Vantika has indeed taken on another body, and he contacts Quark, a bartender with criminal contacts, to hire mercenaries to hijack an upcoming shipment of deuridium a compound Kobliads desperately need to survive. Later, when Quark meets with the mercenaries, they are interrupted as Kajada falls from the second floor of Quark's bar while eavesdropping on them.

In the infirmary, Kajada reveals that the real Vantika pushed her. Dax finds a device under the dead Vantika's fingernails that he used to transfer his consciousness to someone else and tests Kajada for signs of the device's usage. Meanwhile, Quark and the mercenaries meet with the real Vantika, in the body of Bashir.

One step ahead of the crew's investigation, Vantika and the mercenaries manage to gain control of the freighter carrying the deuridium. The station traps the freighter in a tractor beam but Vantika threatens to destroy the freighter, along with Bashir's body. One of the mercenaries objects to such a plan, prompting Vantika to shoot him. Dax is able to disrupt Vantika's control of Bashir's body long enough for a confused Bashir to lower the freighter's shields and allow himself to be transported to the Infirmary. Once Vantika's consciousness is removed from Bashir's brain, Kajada formally takes possession of Vantika's stored consciousness and destroys it and thus rids herself of him once and for all.

Reception

In 2012, The A.V. Club categorized this episode as a "crime-horror", and were overall critical of the various plot lines and scenes. [1]

In 2016, Atlantic Classic Comics ranked "The Passenger" dead last in a ranking of all 173 episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. [2]

In 2019, ScreenRant ranked this episode one of the ten worst episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. [3]

Releases

On February 8, 1997 this episode was released on LaserDisc in Japan as part of the half-season box set 1st Season Vol. 1. [4] This included episodes from "Emissary" to "Move Along Home" with both English and Japanese audio tracks. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jadzia Dax</span> Fictional character

Jadzia Dax, played by Terry Farrell, is a fictional character from the science-fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"Melora" is the 26th episode of the American syndicated science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the sixth episode of the second season.

"The Search" is the 47th and 48th episode of the science fiction television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"Facets" is the 71st episode of the American syndicated science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 25th and penultimate episode of the third season, originally airing June 12, 1995.

"A Man Alone" is the fourth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"Babel" is the fifth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The episode aired on television on January 25, 1993.

"The Circle" is the 22nd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the second in a three-part story arc, and also the second episode of the second season.

"Invasive Procedures" is the 24th episode of the American syndicated science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the fourth episode of the second season.

"Necessary Evil" is the 28th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the eighth episode of the second season.

"Battle Lines" is the 13th episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"The Alternate" is the 32nd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the 12th episode of the second season. It premiered on January 10, 1994.

"Dramatis Personae" is the 18th episode of the first season of the American syndicated science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"Dax" is the eighth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"Move Along Home" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American syndicated science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It was originally aired on American television in syndication on March 14, 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starship Down</span> 7th episode of the 4th season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

"Starship Down" is the 79th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the sixth episode of the fourth season.

"Equilibrium" is the 50th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the fourth episode of the third season.

"Meridian" is the 54th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the eighth episode of the third season and the last episode to air before the release of Star Trek Generations.

"Fascination" is the tenth episode of season three of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 56th episode overall.

"Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" is the third episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, originally airing on October 14, 1996 in broadcast syndication. The story was written by Ronald D. Moore and directed by actor Andrew J. Robinson, who played the recurring character Garak. The episode received a Nielsen rating of 5.7 percent, a slight decrease from the previous week.

"The Jem'Hadar" is the 26th and final episode in the second season of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 46th episode overall. It introduces the Jem'Hadar and the Vorta, two species of the Dominion. It is the last episode to regularly feature the 2360s communicator badge from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

References

  1. 1 2 "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "The Passenger"/"Move Along Home"". TV Club. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  2. "I Can Live with It...Ranking the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Episodes, Part I". Atlanta Classic Comics. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  3. "Star Trek: The 10 Worst Episodes Of DS9 Ever, According To IMDb". ScreenRant. 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  4. 1 2 "LaserDisc Database - Star Trek Deep Space 9: 1st Season vol.1 [PILF-2321]". www.lddb.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.