2x07 Rules of Acquisition

[7.4/10] I don’t care much about the machinations of Ferengi potentates. After the cartoony Coppola imitation of “The Nagus”, I don’t need to see much more of Quark groveling to Zek, or “high stakes” negotiations over fruit wine, or in-fighting over the latest chance for more of those precious precious profits. There’s some comedy to be had, and commentary on the worst parts of humanity through our well-lobed abstractions, but suffice it to say, their schemes and ploys rarely wow me when it comes to plot.

At the same time, it can be downright unpleasant to watch them in action. While Quark is one of Deep Space Nine’s best characters, when the show brings in more of his species, it tends to turn up the volume on their worst, most caricatured qualities. Greed, misogyny, mercenary betrayals are the order of the day. I don’t need to see more of Zek sexually harassing Kira, or Quark being willing to sell his brother for a song, or whatever buffet of lechery and avarice follows.

Candidly, I was practically incensed to hear none other than Dax defend them. Early on in DS9, there’s an unfortunate streak of Jadzia excusing shitty behavior, from a very “cool girl” posture, and it doesn’t sit well given behind-the-scenes stories from this era of Trek. But there’s a specific character point to it here. Dax says it. Zek says it. Kira laments it: the Ferengi are predictable. Sure they’re sexist and profit-seeking, but once you know and expect it of them, you can work with them, politically or socially.

That seems to extend to Quark’s new waiter, Pel, who has the lobes for business, can quote the titular Rules of Acquisition with the best of them, and knows not only how to rise through the ranks of Ferengi society, but make his boss look good in the process. There’s only one fly in the ointment for Pel -- she’s secretly a woman.

That’s right, we’re doing a Yentl! And it’s my favorite part of the episode. This is the episode where we learn the depths of the Ferengis’ sexism -- that women are legally required to be naked, homebound, and far removed from the pursuit of profit. If there’s a tonic to the rampant gender bias on display here, it’s that Pel illustrates how foolish and backward those restrictions are.

She’s better at coming up with good business ideas and negotiation strategies than any other Ferengi we see. She sniffs out Zek’s plan and how to bend it to their advantage faster than anyone else. And she can work the room like nobody’s business. As regressive as the Ferengi are, and as much as “Rules of Acquisition” seems to want to excuse or at least accommodate that in place, it also recognizes how wrong they are to restrict the opportunities and freedom of talented, pioneering Ferengis like Pel. This episode is a mixed bag as far as feminism is concerned, but it puts its lobes in the right place.

But there’s another layer to the social commentary and exploration through metaphor here -- Pel has a crush on Zek. Again, to some extent, this is just Yentl again, and a hoary trope of cross-dressing characters harboring crushes on forbidden colleagues. (The frequent Star Trek spoofer Futurama went to that well too.) There’s inevitably intrigue and tension when two people have a connection, but one cannot be upfront about who they are.

But there’s a subtext to that forbidden attraction. You can read it as an analogy for a homosexual attraction, someone drawn to a member of the same sex who fears expressing their affections out of a fear of not only rejection, but the magnified negative response that comes when society itself rejects your love. The fact that Pel presents as a male when bonding with Quark certainly lends itself to that reading, and adds an interesting dimension to the forbidden nature of Pel’s attraction.

On the other hand, this being Deep Space Nine, there’s also a compelling trans reading of Pel’s attraction to Quark here. After all, she presents as one gender while her true self is another, and fears that however much Quark seems to at least appreciate her in the guise she puts on for the world, he might not accept her if he knew her real gender, and how it differs from the way she presents herself in public for reasons of safety and opportunity.

And look, I’m a straight, cisgender dude, so I’m in no position to speak to how well Deep Space Nine dramatizes the reality of these experiences and the struggle of whether and how to come out to someone you care for. But I can say that it adds depth and meaning to what could otherwise be a standard cornucopia of Ferengi misogyny and rent-seeking, and that whatever interpretation you want to apply, the episode treats Pel, her psychology, and her dilemmas, with seriousness and sincerity.

That’s why Quark’s reaction once he finds out the truth -- first about Pel’s affections, then about her gender -- is so disheartening. The way he acts like Pel’s kiss never happened is discouraging, and full of pathos for Pel, but reasonable if he doesn’t feel that way about Pel. (There’s a similar scene in Mad Men that’s sad on much the same terms.) But it’s his response to finding out she’s a woman -- his disgust at her lifestyle, his sense of being wronged, his rejection of her for not living in a traditional Ferengi female role -- that makes him truly reprehensible and almost unlikable here. He’s practically cruel to Pel, treating her as disposable, lesser, a source of embarrassment, despite her proving a worthy confidante and vital partner who figured out the trick to Zek’s mission.

(SPOILERS FOR LATER IN THE SERIES: It’s wild to me that the first mention of The Dominion is in an interesting but still pretty loopy Ferengi episode. I didn’t remember when they were introduced, but it’s neat to hear them mentioned and teased this early in the show’s run.)

But then, a funny thing happens. For all his jackassery, when push comes to shove, Quark stands up for Pel even after she reveals her true gender to Zek. He challenges the Grand Nagus to preserve her safety and freedom. And most notably for him, he gives up his twenty percent stake of profits from the Gamma Quadrant in exchange for Zek agreeing to keep this quiet and not bring the force of law down on her head.

Quark’s still kind of a shit. There’s a truth in that. Even decent, open-minded people struggle with the biases they’re socialized into. It would feel like too much if Quark was instantly accepting of all of this. It can still be disappointing. It can still be another side of the character that makes him difficult to like and root for. (See also: the way he sells out the DS9 crew in “Invasive Procedures”.)

But he defies Dax’s and Zek’s own descriptions of the Ferengi. For all his devotion to the sexist societal norms of the Ferengi, he fights, in his own way, for Pel’s chance at liberation. And for all the Ferengis’ single-minded pursuit of profit, he gives his up to ensure her freedom. Quark isn’t perfect by any stretch, but that’s pretty darn progressive for a Ferengi.

That’s the best part of Ferengi episodes. Their wheeling and dealing gets tiresome fast, and often devolves into broad comedy. Yet, they’re also a chance to view our own society through a funhouse mirror, and see how characters like Pel and Quark break through their cultural limitations in the way that we still try to break through ours. It’s not always easy, to do or to watch, but there’s more behind those lobes than fans and onlookers, in-inverse and out, give Ferengi stories credit for.