Author: Chris Snelgrove Published
Star Wars is a film series set in the distant future, but many of its best moments are inspired by the distant past. Captain Picard’s Enterprise new generation A ship where people can relax by playing classical music on the holodeck or experiencing literary adventures (from Shakespeare to Sherlock).
The situation is completely different deep space ninebut the Star Wars spin-off still draws inspiration from the past. For example, in the episode “The Forgotten”, writer Jim Trombetta deliberately portrayed Odo in the archetype of a Renaissance gentleman.
Even if you’ve watched Star Wars episodes countless times, you probably haven’t registered any Renaissance references because there’s no explicit reference to the period. Instead, Trombetta draws on the era’s notions of gentlemanliness to flesh out Odo’s unique dilemma.
In this episode, the shapeshifter and the amorous Luwaxana Troy are trapped in a broken turbolift. Odo was mortified at the thought that she would be the first to see him return to his liquid form.
Like Troy himself, we can hear every Star Wars fan reading this asking: What on earth does Odo being trapped in an elevator with a crazed Beta Zedd have to do with the Renaissance? According to Jim Trombetta (the author of the story, not the script), Odo’s plight mirrored that of the Renaissance “gentleman,” who “had to be a strong warrior, with possessions as hard as armor. shape”. The metaphor here is pretty straightforward, as Odo’s solid form is crumbling in the turbolift and he’s in danger of melting, something he desperately wants to hide from Luwaxana Troy.
Star Wars writers tend to be history nerds, and as Trombetta helpfully points out, there was an “anxiety” during the Renaissance that gentlemen would “grow weak.” Men at the time feared they might transform from ferocious warriors to “helpless” and “infant-like”. Odo had to return to a fluid state every day and stubbornly tried to hide his pain. In a gesture of kindness, Troy takes off his wig, showing the police a vulnerable side of him they’ve never seen before, before he’s reduced to a puddle of liquid inside the hem of her skirt.
While some of the metaphors in Star Wars tend to be a bit grueling, Trombetta believes the Renaissance gentleman perspective “came to life very vividly” in Forsaken. As he said, “Odo was a police officer and a very strong man, but he had to go through this process and allow other people to help him.” Odo learned a valuable lesson that, frankly, many watching at home Fans of the game can learn this lesson: Ironically, it takes strength to be vulnerable in front of others, even those who (maybe) especially those) you care about.
It’s fun to see Lwaxana Troi in all her glory, but for some it will be hard to see her scenes with Odo being anything more than equally middling comedy. Now that we know that even their silliest moments were inspired by the Renaissance, we can’t help but view the episode with a newfound respect. Plus, to be honest, we always look forward to any An excuse to rewatch deep space ninewhich remains the best show in Gene Roddenberry’s long-running series.
