User Reviews

Most Ferengi episodes of Deep Space Nine tend to be more humorous than other episodes and this one is no exception, that doesn't mean it isn't a good story though, it is also helped by the fact that Armin Shimerman is great in the role of Quark. One evening there is only one customer in the bar; Kozak, a drunken Klingon who doesn't have the money to pay for the drink he is demanding. When refused service he lunges at Quark with a dagger but is so drunk he falls over and lands on the blade. Sensing that it would be good for business if people believed he'd killed a Klingon he claims to have killed him in self defence. When the Klingon's brother turns up he is prepared to tell the truth but is told that if he does that he'll be killed; dying in combat is honourable for a Klingon, falling over drunk and killing yourself is not. It turns out that the brother's motives weren't honourable though. Had Kozak died in a dishonourable way his wife could have inherited his house but because it is believed he died honourably his brother has claim to everything. There is one solution for his widow Grilka; she can marry the man who killed her husband and keep his estate. Quark is shocked when she kidnaps him and takes him to the Klingon home-world and marries him and she is unimpressed when he asks to look at the financial records of her former husband as such things are beneath Klingons. She changes her mind however when she learns that Kozak's brother had been financially undermining him for years, something totally without honour. When Quark exposes the brother he is forced to face him in combat, a seemingly impossible task.

This was a great episode which showed that even a money grubbing Ferengi like Quark can have more honour than a Klingon warrior. Mary Kay Adams did well as Quark's new wife, it was nice to watch her respect for him increase as he helped her even though it meant risking his life.

I love this episode! Quark is great and Grilka is my favorite female Klingon character in the entire Star Trek 'verse. The Duras sisters are really good, but they're baddies, and Grilka is a badass but a good woman trying to take care of her House and family honor.

The subplot to me is what brings the episode down. They could have spent the entire episode on Quark and Grilka, and it would've been a great and funny episode.

The problem for me is Keiko. I've never liked this character. I thought she was crappy to Miles before they got married, threatening to call things off for no apparent reason, and she always seems to be on his case for one thing or another, very hectoring.

In this episode, Miles is trying SO hard to make her happy; he really feels badly for her that things haven't worked out with the school because of The Dominion. And I understand that. The problem is that, for most of the episode, she takes all of her unhappiness out on Miles, and although she denies being upset initially, she seems to expect him to somehow "fix" things to make her happy.

His first attempt: "I'm married to the best wife in the galaxy...." where he makes a candlelight dinner, showers her with attention, and they have a lovely night together, then he goes to leave the next morning and she plops down on the sofa looking as forlorn as possible, so he knows how unhappy she is. I guess so it'll make his day as unhappy as hers.

But she's been out of work for one whole day! She hasn't even attempted to look for a new job or think of something else she could do, nothing. Just sits around pouting and sulking. I frankly felt so bad for Miles, as I always do when she's nagging him or guilt-tripping him for some new thing she's pissed about.

He finally comes up with the idea to build an arboretum in one of the cargo bays that is seldom used, gets it approved by Sisko, and sets about designing the whole thing to get it completely ready for her.

Now this is the one thing I don't understand, if this arboretum is for Keiko, why not present the idea to her, then let her take the project and run with it? It's supposed to be for her, but Miles seems to want to control the whole thing, design and set up, then present it to her as a finished product for her to "tend to." If I were Keiko, I'd really appreciate the idea, but I'd want to design and set up the project myself.

I understand Bashir's concerns about "turning her profession into a hobby," especially considering there won't be a whole lot to do if Miles does everything. But if Keiko were to design it, get the whole project set up, then she could have volunteers tend the arboretum while she travels to Bajor and other planets, into the Gamma Quadrant, finding new species and bringing them back to study, breed, etc. It wouldn't be so much a "hobby" if it were done in that way. And it would give travelers from all over who stop in, a chance to see flowers and plants from at least two Quadrants and many different planets.

I think an arboretum would've been such a cool addition to DS9. And a much better solution than her getting a job on Bajor and taking off with Molly for months at a time. That doesn't seem feasible for a family. But then again, families make sacrifices like that all the time. Military families and more.

I just personally didn't care for the subplot. If it had been approached differently, maybe. To each his own.

I'd actually go one more and give this one an eleven! Quark is by far one of the best on DS9. The story of the Klingon dying accidentally and Quark taking credit for it was brilliant. Odo's watching Quark in the bar later on was amusing. Grilka was another to watch too and brought some fear into Quark's life!!! When she forces Quark to marry her and, without revealing too much, ultimately forces Quark to lead her house things go aplomb for poor Quark and is really enjoyable and genuinely a scream! Armin Shimmerman is at his all time best in this. Nice to see Robert O'Rielly put in a cameo as Gowran too. The conclusion is truly heart warming. Even people who are not Trek fans will definitely enjoy this one.....

This is one of my personal favorite DS9 episodes, and I think it's one of the funniest episodes that Star Trek has made. The O'Brien/Keiko plot is ho-hum (hence the 9/10 instead of 10/10) but the main Quark storyline is engaging and hilarious - a little bit of a fish-out-of-water story with Quark having to adapt to political maneuvering on the Klingon homeworld, also a funny lie-gone-wrong story and a loving spoof of Star Trek tropes too. The scene where Quark is explaining financial spreadsheets to the Klingon High Council - comedic gold-pressed latinum. I also love how the solution to the main problem of the episode was true to Quark's character as a skilled orator and social tactician. The resolution was clever and earned, and there are some good moments of pathos within Quark's story, as well as in the lesser O'Brien/Keiko side-plot.

Just the idea of a Ferengi being the leader of a Klingon house is hilarious when put on paper but when put into live action the hilarity really comes to life. I can always remember the look of confusion in Gowran's eyes when Quark is trying to explain the intricacy's of economic subterfuge employed by D'Gor.

The general goal of the episode to my eyes is to affirm that the Ferengi (and Quark in particular) can be an honorable species who are not completely ruled by profit motive.

With the B-Plot we find that Miles O'Brien is putting up points in the husband of the year race by celebrating 'I'm married to the most beautiful women in the galaxy day..." and on top of that he is able to procure an empty shuttle bay that could be turned into an a botanical garden to allow Keiko to flex her job skills. Bashir then informs O'Brien that he can totally clinch 'husband of the year' by pointing out a botanist's dream job on Bajor is currently available for her. Man, what a guy! And a big fist bump to Ben Sisko for being completely okay with using the shuttle bay as a botanical garden to keep one of his crew happy.

Of all the DS9 episodes featuring Quark, this is one of the best.

After an extremely drunk Klingon accidentally kills himself by falling on his own dagger, Quark (Armin Shimerman) siezes the opportunity to save his business by claiming to have killed the Klingon in self-defense. Unfortunately, his bragging not only brings customers, it also brings revenge-seeking Klingons!

First, he is accosted by a Klingon named D'Ghor (Carlos Carrasco), who claims to be the brother of the drunk Klingon named Kozak. Scares him into maintaining his lie by threatening to kill the Ferengi if he reveals that Kozak had died in an accident.

But the real action starts rolling when Grilka (Mary Kay Adams), the widow of Kozak, arrives and demands Quark tell the truth. After Quark tells her the true death of Kozak, Grilka abducts him and forces him to marry her, in an effort to save her husband's house from falling into the hands of D'Ghor, who is actually her late husband's nemesis - thus making the increasingly bewildered Quark the head of her family (an outrageously humorous perdicament for both sides).

While bursting with schtick, this episode has its share of drama. The most notable dramatic scenes besides the incident at the bar in the very beginning, is the climax where Quark, challenged by D'Ghor to fight to the death, shows up to the fight. Quark proves himself to the Science fiction underdog when he disarms himself and bravely (if foolishly) coaxes D'Ghor into killing him, using reverse psychology to convince the Klingon Council that having him fight the taller, stronger Klingon is nothing more than an execution. D'Ghor is more than happy to kill the unarmed Ferengi. But Klingon Chancellor Gowran (portrayed by Robert O'Reilly), amazed by Quark's surprising amount of courage and disgusted by D'Ghor's willingness to kill an unarmed opponent, stops the belligerent Klingon from harming Quark.

Recalling the "Odd Couple" formula, Quark and Grilka's relationship is one of the main highlights of this episode, with Grilka as the strong-willed Klingon female and Quark being the greedy, yet shrewd Ferengi businessman/lawyer-type. Much like the Odd Couple, Quark and Grilka do not particularly like each other ( Quark doesn't like Grilka for her secretive, yet intimidating personality and Grilka doesn't like Quark because of her own preconception of Ferengis being cowardly schemers). But as the two work together to settle the financial dispute between Kozak and D'Ghor, Quark and Grilka come to respect one another. The change in attitude is really shown in Grilka, who begins to see the honroable side of Quark . In the end, Quark and Grilka divorce, but it is apparent that while their marriage is over, their respect and attraction to one another is far from over.

This action-packed, humor-loaded episode featuring Star Trek's favorite Ferengi bartender is really worth watching.