TNG - The Emissary

[Rocketboy1313]

I don't know, maybe it's because I was a kid at the time, when TNG came around, but I watch the show and don't have as many problems with it, as y'all do.
Gotta say, if they would've used Deannas and Datas potential to the fullest, they would've been the ultimate overpowered characters, which would've made for little to no suspense and character drama.

I watched the hell out of TNG as a kid.
My mom's friend's husband would tape them off of marathons and so I watched them all out of order from borrowing tapes from them.

The characters being unbalanced doesn't strike me as that much of a problem. I mean, Spock was so OP compared to the rest of the crew, but was still held back by his own hangups, alien physiology, and his inability to trust his intuition or guile (hence why Kirk was such a good administrator for him as he was able to use Spock's abilities to their fullest).

You can write Troi as effective without her being busted if you just give her some personality flaws that hold her back. Early TNG had zero team dynamic, the crew was overwhelmingly bland good guys.

[Durandal_1707]

And then there's Odo, where the writers are super careful to nerf his abilities at every possible opportunity in the early seasons, whether it makes sense or not (exactly why was he able to get knocked out in "Vortex"? ), and then at some point they change their mind and start running the other direction until it seems that changelings can do pretty much anything by Season 5 or so.

[McAvoy]

And then there's Odo, where the writers are super careful to nerf his abilities at every possible opportunity in the early seasons, whether it makes sense or not (exactly why was he able to get knocked out in "Vortex"? ), and then at some point they change their mind and start running the other direction until it seems that changelings can do pretty much anything by Season 5 or so.

Odo want really nerfed. He was just inconsistent. Mirro Odo blew up in a single hit from a weapon. Changing Martok took a dozen hits before bring killed. Just for example.

[RobbyB1982]

And then there's Odo, where the writers are super careful to nerf his abilities at every possible opportunity in the early seasons, whether it makes sense or not (exactly why was he able to get knocked out in "Vortex"? ), and then at some point they change their mind and start running the other direction until it seems that changelings can do pretty much anything by Season 5 or so.

The main culprit is CGI got cheaper as the show went along.

They had to nerf Oda because they literally couldn't afford for him to do what he was capable of doing.

[Durandal_1707]

And then there's Odo, where the writers are super careful to nerf his abilities at every possible opportunity in the early seasons, whether it makes sense or not (exactly why was he able to get knocked out in "Vortex"? ), and then at some point they change their mind and start running the other direction until it seems that changelings can do pretty much anything by Season 5 or so.

The main culprit is CGI got cheaper as the show went along.

They had to nerf Oda because they literally couldn't afford for him to do what he was capable of doing.

I don't think that's quite right; it's admittedly been a while, but my recollection is that Season 1 used his morphing effects fairly often, but that it was usually to come out of stealth mode to bust Quark's latest scheme or something. Meanwhile, he's fairly useless in a fight outside of "Emissary"—I think outside of (somehow) being able to be conked out via a blow to the head, the most telling thing is the promenade battle in "Captive Pursuit", in which Odo's contribution goes: 1) get immediately punched out Worf-style, 2) hiding behind Sisko while looking terrified, and 3) hiding behind Kira while looking terrified. The writers were clearly trying to keep Odo from being OP.

In contrast, Season 5 was probably cheaper in terms of Odo CGI, since it literally took away Odo's powers for the first half of the season. But you can't deny that the changelings are far more powerful then than they seemed at the beginning.

[Rocketboy1313]

And then there's Odo, where the writers are super careful to nerf his abilities at every possible opportunity in the early seasons, whether it makes sense or not (exactly why was he able to get knocked out in "Vortex"? ), and then at some point they change their mind and start running the other direction until it seems that changelings can do pretty much anything by Season 5 or so.

Odo want really nerfed. He was just inconsistent. Mirro Odo blew up in a single hit from a weapon. Changing Martok took a dozen hits before bring killed. Just for example.

It is pretty clear that Odo being a self loathing outsider who really did not understand or appreciate his abilities to their fullest until much later was not the best example for how capable or durable a changeling could be. Especially those changelings that had training and the religious conviction to conquer the galaxy.

Odo is the Galaxy's best Mall Cop.

[Ghilz]

Whats funny is Odo is bad at being a changeling even compared to fellow changelings who never met his kind. Lass from the same batch as him is there doing FTL travel in space unaided.

[Beastro]

Whats funny is Odo is bad at being a changeling even compared to fellow changelings who never met his kind. Lass from the same batch as him is there doing FTL travel in space unaided.

That makes a point of the Founders, that Odo's love of Solids limited his conceptions of the world and kept him living more as one with special powers than as a true Changling.

That could have interesting repercussions for the Founders. It isn't simple prejudice that keeps them wary of Solids but also the limited contexts through which they see the world can be perceived as a threat which would explain their view that conflict with Solids is inevitable.

[Beelzquill]

Wasn't Laas discovered and thus aware a century before Odo was? Effectively still making him a much older and experienced Changeling and thus better at shapeshifting and such.

[clearspira]

I just watched this review again and something occurs to me about the scene between Troi and K'ehler bonding over being half human and half alien - the two are not comparable situations.

Troi 1) looks both completely human and completely Betazoid so she is able to pass in any room 2) there is no disadvantage to being half Betazoid besides cool superpowers and 3) her culture is matriarchal, so being a woman she has advantages of both the equal Federation and the woman-focused Betazed.

K'ehler on the other hand 1) like Torres, doesn't look human or Klingon enough to avoid racism, 2) she gains nothing from this situation except for a bad temper and 3) her culture is so patriarchal that she is barred from high office.

This reminds me of X-Men the Last Stand where Storm poo poo's the idea of a mutant cure to a blue Bigfoot and a girl who cannot touch another human being. Yeah, Storm. Being mutant is awesome FOR YOU.