Synopsis: Lwaxana Troi and three other ambassadors visit Deep Space Nine and experience attitude shifting situations.
In this episode in a scene between Odo and Lwaxana Troi, viewers are allowed to experience through them what it means when two individuals remove their projections from each other and in return are able to see each other for who they are.
In “The Forsaken” after Odo retrieves Troi’s valuable hair brooch, she becomes infatuated with him and fascinated by his being a shapeshifter. Troi pursues Odo telling him: “All the men I’ve known have needed to be shaped, and molded, and manipulated and finally, I’ve met a man who knows how to do it himself” (Dunaway, et al., 1993). Here she is projecting upon Odo traits of her ideal inner mate. Odo is uncomfortable with this but finds himself trapped in a turbolift with Troi for hours when power goes out in certain systems all over the station. Odo, as a shapeshifter, needs to turn into his natural gelatinous liquid state every sixteen hours, “a private matter” (Dunaway, et al., 1993) and one that he does not want to share with another individual, particularly one that he barely knows and that has him feeling uncomfortable because of her aggressive sexual overtures towards him. Because he must change form, Troi tries to put him at ease by taking off her wig, leaving herself much plainer than she normally appears, a state that she does not let others see her in, particularly those that she is projecting romantic feelings onto. Troi tells Odo that it is okay for him to be himself, to “let go. I’ll take care of you” (Dunaway, et al., 1993), and when he liquifies, she uses her skirt as a vessel to contain him. After they are finally able to leave the turbolift, Odo tells Troi that he knew this was not what she expected and that he appreciated her sensitivity and discretion.
What happened between Odo and Troi is analogous to what happens when individuals in a romantic relationship drop the projections that they have been holding of the other individual’s inner ideal mate and are seen as who they really are. By seeing the individual underneath the projection that has been hoisted upon them is the way that a relationship can be strengthened, and one can truly know the beloved.
Reference:
Dunaway, D. C. (Writer), Piller, M. (Writer), & Landan, L. (Director). (1993, May 23). The forsaken (Season 1, Episode 17) [TV series episode]. In M. Piller & R. Berman (Executive Producers), Star trek: Deep space nine. Paramount Television.
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