The Muse (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

"The Muse" is the 93rd episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 21st episode of the fourth season. While Odo assists a pregnant Lwaxana Troi, Jake falls under the spell of a mysterious woman.

Not to be confused with Muse (Star Trek: Voyager).
"The Muse"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 21
Directed byDavid Livingston
Story byRené Echevarria
Majel Barrett
Teleplay byRené Echevarria
Featured musicPaul Baillargeon
Production code493
Original air dateApril 29, 1996 (1996-04-29)
Guest appearance(s)

It marks the final appearance of the character Lwaxana Troi. It also marks the final appearance of Majel Barrett Roddenberry in the Star Trek franchise, though she would continue to provide voiceover work for the franchise until her death in 2008. Majel Barrett first acted in the Star Trek pilot "The Cage" and is the voice of many Starship computers in the franchise, and was the wife of Star Trek visionary and writer Gene Roddenberry.

Plot

Lwaxana Troi returns to the station seeking Odo's protection. She is pregnant with a son and on the run from her Tavnian husband, Jeyal. He wants to take the baby, upon birth, away from Lwaxana to be raised in an all-male environment. Lwaxana does not want to be separated from her child.

Meanwhile, Jake Sisko spots an alluring woman arriving on the station. She finds him and invites him to her quarters. Jake backs out of a 3-day trip with his father and Kasidy in order to stay on the station and meet with the woman, Onaya. That evening, Jake meets with her and she helps him write by stimulating certain areas of his brain. However, it appears she is also taking something away from Jake, though the plot does not reveal what is taken.

Jake meets with her several times working on an ambitious novel. Captain Sisko returns to the station and eventually finds Jake with Onaya and prevents her from killing his son. The muse, an alien version of a Leanan Sidhe, justifies her actions by saying that she allows artists to "live forever" through their brilliant work which she helped produce, while she is nourished by the artists' brain energy.

Odo discovers that according to Tavnian law the son belongs to the mother's husband, not necessarily the actual father. He proposes that Lwaxana divorce Jeyal and marry him (Odo), so that Jeyal cannot claim her child. This scheme is complicated when Jeyal invites himself to the marriage ceremony. The Tavnian marriage ceremony requires that all present be convinced of the legitimacy of the feelings of the couple for the marriage to be legitimate meaning that Odo will have to convince Jeyal that he is truly in love with Lwaxana. The plan works, Odo and Lwaxana are married and Jeyal leaves the station.

In the final scene, we see Jake recovering. Captain Sisko has read the pages that Jake had written and tells him that he thinks Jake has the beginnings of a good novel. Jake tells his father that he does not feel that the words were his own. Benjamin assures him that Onaya had only helped him draw out what was already there. In the final shot, we see the novel's title: Anslem. This was the title of Jake's novel in the alternate history episode "The Visitor."

Arc significance

Reception

This episode was noted for being "so bad it's good", noting it as a waste of Majel Barrett's acting and having a disappointing plot with Jake and a mysterious woman.[1]

A 2015 binge-watching guide for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine by W.I.R.E.D. recommended skipping this episode.[2]

References
  1. "Star Trek: 20 Episodes So Bad They Must Be Seen". CBR. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2019-06-08.
  2. McMillan, Graeme (2015-05-13). "WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
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