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Vic Fontaine encounters some trouble in “Badda-Bing Badda-Bang”, and Bashir encounters some trouble in “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges”. Plus! We meet a cartographer.
Trekabout Episode 231: Badda-Bing Badda-Bang/Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges
Mindy
-I don’t think Ross or Sloan are saying that Cretak is acting in bad faith. What they are saying is that they have researched her career and personality and realized that she is a “patriot”. They purposefully use that word. Her primary focus is on what will help Romulus. When the war is over her priorities may not align with Federation values. While Koval is bought by the Federation.
Whether this is correct or not, who knows? Maybe they would have done this to *any* Romulan who was in competition for the spot Koval was up for. If it were just Sloan, I’d dismiss it out of hand as Ross’s lunatic fantasy. With Ross involved I give a bit more weight to the idea. Maybe they know stuff Bashir just doesn’t know. Who the hell knows? If you make the argument that Sloan is talking BS when he says the Federation doesn’t oversee Section 31, and that it is really more akin to the NSA or MI6, then it seems reasonable that Fed Intel has a spy on Romulus and an opportunity to elevate him to a position of real power, and they are going to act on it.
So…. I guess I buy it. I just have to basically ignore most of what Sloan says and focus on what is actually happening.
Norman Buchwald
-Your comment that Sloan is wearing black leather deliberately to appeal to Bashir (because why else would he wear something that all would notice out of place so obviously?). This was a continuation of a two hundred tradition almost to its founding days where someone donned similar get up just to appeal and gain the successful recruitment of a Malcolm Reed (by the way I pretend Season Two of Discovery’s depiction of Section 31 never happened š ). Clearly Sloan and others’ intelligence of noticing Bashir’s appeal of Bond/spy fantasies and that and other battle fantasies with O’Brien (I mean Bashir just loved O’Brien playing that henchman) and the fact this is an intelligence agency that probably knows their subjects better than themselves. In Inquisition after the ruse was dropped who was with Sloan but two young good looking/handsome but tough looking guys (not even a woman who was one of his assistants in the simulation) . . . coincidence? I think not. They know Bashir’s unique moral/ethic code, his sense of adventure, and his definite interest of a certain type of man (I mean it only took Garak a few minutes at best when he first met Bashir). Not trying to sound too slash, but when it comes to Bashir there was something there (of which in What We Left Behind, Ira Behr seems to at least admit they should have gotten Bashir and Garak together). Now maybe where they succeeded with Reed once upon a time, they may have overdone it with Bashir. Maybe he’s not as much a leather fetishist type. š
Now seriously, this IS the pinnacle Section 31 episode, including questioning its actual existence. It is as secretive as it should, finally demonstrated that in the admiral seat even Ross can become dubious, and is such a well written spy intrigue script. Again, let’s pretend the Section 31 of Discovery Season Two never happened . . .