This falls a little short for me despite being pretty good fun. I can't help but feel like the writers came up with the clever title first and then needed to form an episode around it.
It also feels like we've had a lot of comedic Quark episodes recently, so maybe there's some fatigue setting in. I'd be pretty down on this episode if it wasn't for the great cast and performances. Armin Shimmerman and Rene Auberjonois are their usual excellent selves, but all of the guest cast make a great impression. The two brothers are particularly delightful to watch and manage to evoke a sense of skilled incompetence.
But the general silliness and lack of competent criminals is sort of what lowers the episode's quality a bit. This also represents Quark in a mixed light - is he genuinely sad at the loss of his best customer/a friend? Is he really as greedy as shown here, given how so many episodes have established that he's a good guy who will place friendship over profit?
But mostly, I'm just happy that Morn isn't really dead.
[7.8/10] “Who Mourns for Morn?” is one of the more iconic episodes of Deep Space Nine and rightfully so. The episode is, first and foremost, a clever piece of writing. It has the structure of a farce, with Quark pursuing some shining treasure, running into more and more grifters and gangsters who want to relieve him of it, while things spin out further and further before coming together in one ludicrous culmination. There is a nice sense of steady escalation and complication, with the fast-talking Quark having to maneuver his way around all these manipulators and intimidators to get the prize he treasures so much.
Part of what makes this televised yarn work so well is the tone. Most humor-focused Quark episodes embrace a sense of big, broad comedy that plays to the cheap seats. The Ferengi are often clownish figures to begin with, and the show likes to lean into that.
“Who Mourns for Morn?” is a welcome departure. Don’t get it wrong, the episode is quite funny. But it largely plays this vaguely crime noir-esque tale straight, letting the laughs seep in from a subtly arch sensibility that seeps into the background, and occasional sly or wry remarks from Quark himself. The humor comes more from the situation and the characters, rather than big gag work, and it makes it easier to be along for the ride in this one.
Apart from the scene-by-scene craft, there’s something inherently funny about how all of this craziness centers on, well, anonymous Morn. There’s an inherent humor to the fact that this eternally mute, walking Halloween costume of a man is not only secretly at the center of the web of relationships aboard the station, but also at the center of some international intrigue as well. The disparity between Morn being a silent, if stalwart extra around the Promenade, and his grandiose position in the hearts of his comrades and the machinations of his former conspirators makes this whole thing the right kind of ludicrous from the jump. (The fact that Quark welcomes the actor who plays Morn, finally free of his rubber mask, to sit in Morn’s old spot adds that much more amusing irony to the situation.)
One of the tributes to the quality of the episode is how well it works even when you know the twist. I’ll confess to remembering this one well, if not quite beat-for-beat, from watching as a child, so I knew about the setup going in. Thankfully, that only helps you appreciate how well the episode is constructed, from big structural choices like the introductions of the various accomplices, to smaller details that make a big difference.
In a conversation at Morn’s wake about gifts of food and drink left for the deceased according to Lumerian custom, Quark organically establishes that Morn has two stomachs. When playing Tongo with Dax, Quark waxes rhapsodic about liquid latinum, puzzling why anyone would bother to press it in worthless gold. (Candidly, I’m not sure I really understood what latinum was until this episode, so it’s a nice bit of education for the viewer too!) These throwaway lines are clever bits of setup.
Considering that Quark spends almost the entire episode wheeling and dealing his way toward a jackpot of latinum, it would be easy for the reveal that Morn had it in his gut the whole time to feel like a cheap out. Instead, the writers diligently set up the details, to where Quark’s crumbling latinum-free gold bars and his subsequent discovery of Morn’s stash (and his hair loss) feels unexpectedly earned.
That's the funny thing about “Who Mourns for Morn?” -- it’s a good little mystery! Quark trying to locate Morn’s treasure fuels the episode nicely. It introduces him to plenty of charming and challenging figures. And it ends with a twist that is both surprising and satisfying. None of that is easy!
Granted, those characters are all pretty archetypal, but they’re well performed and engaging if only for their different approaches to Quark and the treasure. Larell is a standard manipulative femme fatale type, but her tet-a-tet with Quark as an interested lover but a skeptical businessman, and Larell as a crafty customer and able pickpocket, makes their interactions work. Kritt and Nahsk work well as mob enforcer types, a nice contrast to Larell, offering Quark the stick rather than the carrot (so to speak), with a chuckle-worthy dynamic between the sharp brother and the slow brother. And Hain is a solid con artist, with a good Nigerian Prince-esque cover story, and the air of authority to sell it.
Part of what makes this one interesting is the collection of players all vying for the same prize. That wouldn’t work if they didn’t feel like formidable, and distinctive challengers for Quark’s quest. Thankfully, the writers and performers have it covered.
My only major complaint is that this one can be a little slow at times. There’s a pleasant and entertaining energy to this one, so even when individual scenes drag, it’s not a bad time to just hang out with these characters and watch Quark scheme and squirm. But the pace is more deliberate, especially for an episode centered around a more outsized character like Quark.
Still, watching the various schemes from the various operators crash into one another, uncovering truths about who they are and how Morn got the money, and seeing everyone’s plans fall to ruin makes for a satisfying watch.
So does the silly but enjoyable fact that Morn set the whole thing up. Again, the very idea that an unspeaking extra is secretly not only a chatterbox, but a crafty criminal mastermind, tickles the funny bone on the concept alone. (Though if I recall correctly, we first met him helping Nog commit a robbery, so the seeds were planted a long time ago!) The fact that it was all a setup, with Morn faking his death after the statute of limitations ran out on his crime and trusting that Quark would take care of the competition, is a wonderful bow to tie on the story. (Replete with a finders fee for Quark for his troubles, naturally.)
That's a big reason why this one lives on in the memory of the fans. Yes, there is something inherently amusing about elevating Morn to this level of conniving intrigue. But this is also a classic yarn, with colorful characters, smart storytelling, and a surprising but satisfying ending. Deep Space Nine thrives on moral gray areas, complicated characters, extended arcs, and big themes. But sometimes a sound story, well told, is all you really need.
This was good fun and a welcome comedic break from the Dominion/Dukat seriousness. What's especially funny is knowing the first chair warmer at Morns memorial service is none other than Morn himself, well, the actor who plays Morn anyway. Mark Allen Shepherd has made that character an integral part of the DS9 experience with just his eyes alone. My man Morn, it's all in the eyes (and that second stomach).
Strange to have two lighthearted comedy episodes (this one is more like a screwball comedy) almost in a row. That's perhaps bad scheduling but I don't mind. Most lighter DS9 episodes are quite entertaining.
Like this one. This is not the most elaborate plot. It's not even the most hilarious one. There's not much of a serious philosophical core to it. But it's very entertaining and really humanizes (if that's the right term given that many of them are not humans) these people like in no other show of the franchise. Take Dax for example: her quips, her liveliness, her banter, her youth, her joy really comes to life in this episode (and since, it's a re-watch that makes me sad since we all know how it will end).
Plus, of course, it's great because it's about Morn. Morn has a special place in my heart. I'm just like his friends who attend his "remembrance/farewell party". The great thing about him is that all he does and all what he seems to be is totally hidden from the audience. We never saw him being loquacious. We never saw Dax having a crush on him. We never saw him rejecting Dax. That's all hearsay to us. We learn even more: he's a lover, husband, a ladies' man, a thief, wealthy man, con-artist and whatnot. Luckily, some didn't know either and that's part of the fun: Quark and the others are just as surprised about some details as we are. And quite honest, it's the most entertaining thought, to imagine how Morn did all this. And that's the magic: we don't need to watch him being loquacious, an excellent companion, how exactly he looks under this puffy vest or - as matter of fact - how he became a thief. It's much more fun to imagine all this. Likewise, this episode is about him but he's only a couple of seconds in this episode. Not all the fun is imaginary though: the guy Quark placed on Morn's bar stool is actually Morn himself. That is that counter-intuitive to all what I said before about Morn's qualities and how this episode is structured, that most wouldn't even notice.
PS: still don't understand whether there's a connection TOS's Who Mourns for Adonais? or whether the titles are just a coincidence.
And still.. Not a word. Lol
Shout by kanootchaBlockedParent2019-03-26T07:50:00Z
With Morn gone I will find little reason to maintain my interest in this show. Sad. :cry: He was the best actor on the show too! Maybe they could no longer afford his contract. Oh, thank goodness I kept watching till the end.