A Man Alone (1993) User Reviews (10)

A proper introduction for Odo

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 5 February 2010]

When Ibudan, an old enemy of Odo's, turns up on DS9 it isn't long before the two of them exchange harsh words and Odo demands that Ibudan leaves the station within twenty six hours, Sisko refuses to back Odo though as Ibudan has committed no crime since being released from goal. Not long afterwards Ibudan is killed in one of the Holosuites and evidence suggests that nobody else entered or left... through the door, it would have been possible for a shape-shifter to get in though leading to Odo being the chief suspect. He is suspended from duty while Kira, Jadzia and Dr Bashir continue to sift through the evidence, they finally realise who committed the crime as a mob has converged on Odo's office. While all this is going on Chief O'Brien's wife Keiko isn't happy with life on the station and is looking for something to do, when she sees Jake and Nog misbehaving she has the idea of starting a school; with so many different cultures on DS9 that might be harder than it sounds.

This episode was a nice introduction to Odo, the shape-shifting constable with a strong sense of justice, Rene Auberjonois does a fine job in the roll despite make up which hides most facial expression. The identity of the murderer also came as quite a surprise.

And no apology was forthcoming

[Paularoc · 7/10 · 1 October 2012]

A bit of a letdown after just watching the pilot episode but still a good watch. Odo recognizes a nasty Bajoran smuggler and wants him thrown off DS9. Sisko won't do it since the Bajoran has not committed any crimes since being released from jail. When the Bajoran is murdered it appears that only a shape shifter could have gotten into the holo-suite and killed the Bajoran. This is a great spin on the classic "locked room" mystery story and the solution is certainly unique. But the best part of the show was the depiction of the development of a mob. The mob is after Odo and smash the windows to his room and start a near riot. Showing some force, Sisko gets them to disperse. The side story has Keiko opening a school for the children living on DS9 and hoping that she'll get more than just Sisko's son for a student. This is a nice snippet on the daily life on the DS9. Sisko has a summary narration at the end where he says, among other things "And no apology to Odo was forthcoming." Mob members certainly are courageous.

More character development ---

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 8 March 2020]

I like a good mystery episode but perhaps this one was a bit too early to have that massive impact as the characters have not yet been fully established.

What works for me: The character of Odo gets development in terms of his adherence to a code of Justice and we get a great scene of unspoken bromance love between Quark/Odo, Jake/Nog being disruptive teenagers and bonding, establishing the Bajoran people as being layered with good/bad/neutral people, Keiko busting miles balls in the 2nd episode of the show is HILARIOUS ---- come on Keiko ---- the man is trying to keep the lights on for the love of Sisko, Molly might just be the most adorable child in star trek history.

There's some good stuff here. I enjoy how DS9 gets to work on establishing it's characters right away ---- the payoff doesn't come for quite a while but damn is it delicious when it does.

I let out a belly laugh at the ending when Odo pulled off the Bajoran's mask like he was exposing a Scooby Doo villain.

DS9 begins to Show its True Colors (though weakly) in this Soapy Detective Story

[mstomaso · 6/10 · 2 February 2008]

Keiko, Miles O'brien's spouse, is having a difficult time adjusting to life on DS9, and Constable Odo appears to be having a difficult time adjusting to Federation hegemony. A merciless Bajoran smuggler who Odo tries to kick off the station turns up murdered in a room which has been locked from the inside and, understandably, Odo is the prime suspect. The episode is crucial to understanding Odo's relationships with Kira, Sisko, and Quark and introduces the show's standard approach to story arc multitasking which will be greatly elaborated in the later seasons. Odo - who really is a man alone - must learn to trust others to help him figure this one out and clear him of suspicion.

The two-story approach was not very well perfected in this episode, and some of the important developmental aspects of this episode (Keiko, Jake and Nog's parts) come across as a slightly annoying distraction from the more intense and interesting mystery story.

As usual, the cinematography and writing are all good.

A proper Odo introduction

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 22 November 2021]

A Bajoran is killed on DS9 and it causes civil unrest.

This is an enjoyable episode, but for me does not work as a murder mystery (if it was intended that way), and the baddie is very one-note. However, I did quite like the sci-fi concept used in the explanation even though it's not a particularly cinematic reveal. What it does well is establish characters further and set up the dynamics for what is to come on the show.

Odo mostly takes centre stage and he is portrayed as strong minded and firm principled character. To me he is like a cross between Bones and Spock, as he has the outsider's perspective on humanity, but also a passionate and somewhat grouchy persona. His ideas about justice is presented strongly and the concept of him serving the same role during both Cardassian and Federation control of DS9 makes the character more compelling.

His love-hate dynamic with Quark is nicely set up by Quark's contribution to the story and a good exchange of dialogue between them. Also the connection he has with Kira is subtly introduced by her attitude towards him here.

Other side-plots and moments are reasonably good but offer little except small amounts of character establishment. I like the idea of both Keiko and DS9 needing the school, but the behavioural issues of Jake and Nog feels forced. Dr Bashir's sex-pest pursuit of Dax is fairly tiresome already.

Rene Auberjonois is excellent in all his scenes and leads this episode well. Nana Visitor has some good moments along with Avery Brooks.

DS9's first murder mystery

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 11 October 2019]

The integrity of Rene Auberjonois is called into question when he wants to throw off the station a Bajoran smuggler with whom he has history. But later the man is found murdered in one of the holosuites at Quark's. The only DNA found in the locked suite is the deceased. Odo the shapeshifter is the suspect.

It's Alexander Siddig who figures it out. Dr. Bashir with a bit of futuristic forensics is our hero here.

Rosalind Chao also has some difficulties establishing a school on the space station, but persist she does. She has a great scene with Max Grodenchik who says no female can teach a Ferengi.

Good main and subplot.

Cop procedural in space

[Nominahorn · 6/10 · 10 September 2018]

1.03 "A Man Alone"

A Bajoran that Odo put away for murder years earlier appears on the station and has a confrontation with the constable. Shortly after that he is found dead, and all the evidence points to Odo having done it. A search for truth ensues.

This is episode is very much whatever the station equivalent of a ship-in-a-bottle episode would be (Stationary terrarium? I got nothing). The entire episode takes place on DS9, and as a result it feels rather low stakes and unexciting. That is unfortunately a trend of the early seasons. The wormhole is a gold mine for fascinating and creative storytelling, but for whatever reason (probably budgetary), much of the first few seasons are spent solely in the Bajoran system and the setting gets extremely claustrophobic as a result.

That said, this isn't a bad episode, just an inconsequential one. The mystery and its resolution are cleverly done, and the plot threads all weave together in a very tidy way that I appreciate as a writer. But the conflict between Odo's sense of justice and Starfleet rules will be done much better in later episodes, and the suspense is very minimal because nobody will really believe that Odo is the murderer. Overall, a mediocre episode by DS9 and ST standards.

THE GOOD

-Cleverly-written mystery with a neat resolution

-Some interesting glimpses of Odo's philosophy and into Dax's history and her Trill nature.

-All of the main characters get involved and play an active role in the story (well, O'Brien is active in the B plot). When you only have 42 minutes to work with, it's impressive that they are able to do that.

-Jadzia is really the highlight of this ep. Terry Farrell has said in interviews that she felt lost and overwhelmed as a 28 year old woman trying to portray a 300 year old being who has lived eight lives, and some of her unease does show through a bit, but overall I think she does a wonderful job. It helps that she is built like a legit Amazonian, because her attempts to project nobility are enhanced by the fact that she towers over many of the other actors.

THE BAD

-Nothing is overly bad, but the episode lacks suspense and doesn't explore much in the way of interesting sci-fi, and the story in inconsequential. It is essentially a cop procedural set on a space station, and that is of little interest to me.

THE UGLY

-Bashir retcon watch (WARNING: this section contains major spoilers for a future story arc) -- Does he allow the bubble in the holosuite to burst on purpose? I think that with the way his mental abilities are portrayed post-genetic-engineering reveal, he definitely could have controlled it better than that if he wanted.

-Rom is totally different from future eps. He talks different, is way too confident, and doesn't have that awkward bent-over shuffling walk.

-Hulk Kira count: 1 -- This is the first of many times we see Kira beat up a much larger dude (during the riot scene). It looks utterly ridiculous for a tiny woman like Nana Visitor to be literally tossing around dudes twice her size and yet we are forcefed it throughout the entire series. When Jadzia beats people up it's believable because she is built like a warrior, but Visitor is so petite that it's impossible to buy when she does it.

Odo and the Mob

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 22 September 2018]

A lot goes on in this episode, but the primary focus is on our resident shape shifter, Odo, who performs a significant function on the station. The wormhole has brought a good deal of business as well as some undesirables. When an evil character is murdered, Odo receives the blame, exacerbated by a man who riles up the natives against him. Fortunately, the Doctor and Dax are able to do some quick thinking. A decent episode.

I thought this was a big improvement over the premier.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 9 December 2014]

I have no idea if this is the second or third episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space 9". Netflix lists this as the second and IMDb says it's the third. Regardless, it's a big improvement over the premier episode.

I love Star Trek shows, but I also am critical of the program when it deserves it. In other words, while I like it I also realize that some of the shows were exceptional and some of them sucked...and the premier of "Star Trek: Deep Space 9" really sucked. While the premier SHOULD have built excitement for the series, it was full of artsy crap in the last 1/3 and had way too much clumsy exposition. Because of this, "Past Prologue" was a very welcome relief. It was not jam-packed with folks describing their backstory in a very clumsy and unnatural way nor was it filled with the artsy stuff--it was just very good.

When the show begins, Keiko is depressed. While her husband, Miles, is at home on the new station, she has nothing to do and is worried about her future on the station. Then, she comes up with the idea of starting a school on the station.

The major plot involves a scum-bag, Ibudan. This Bajoran is a very unsavory character and convicted murderer--so why is he now on the station? Odo is clearly angry to see this man--especially since he was the one who caught him years ago for the murder. But, with the man being paroled by the new Bajoran government, Odo can do little but bluster and threaten Ibudan. However, when Ibudan is murdered, many folks on the station assume that Odo took the law into his own hands. What happened and what is REALLY going on here?

This is a very solid and enjoyable episode. While it's not one you'd remember years later (I know I didn't), it is a conventionally entertaining and worthy show with a nice twist at the end. Well done.

Too Many Plot Lines to Focus on Odo

[Samuel-Shovel · 5/10 · 30 June 2020]

In "A Man Alone" an enemy of Odo's is murdered on DS9 and all the clues point to Odo being the only being capable of pulling off the killing of the Bajoran parolee.

This episode is very dense with a plot... a little too dense. There are just too many disparate plot lines occuring: the murder mystery, the O'Brien marriage issues, Jake & Rom's forbidden friendship, Bashir hitting on Dax, Sisko adjusting his friendship with Dax. There's just too much going on here for any of it to be fully fleshed out. As a result, the episode feels a bit flat. The camera pan to the cloaked figure also completely ruins any suspense in the murder mystery. String your audience on a bit first, director!