Quark knew he had won from the start. There is really no honorable win scenario for any Klingon when dealing with a shrewd Ferengi. The only solution D'Gor could have saved some face (not much) would have been to let Quark kill him in battle, and even that is more shame than victory. Being killed by a Ferengi - shame and dishonor. Killing a weak, little, pathetic moneyhoarding merchant with less than zero fighting skill - more shame and dishonor than a honorable victory. Quark knew that from the start and made sure that the other Klingons realize it too. D'Gor was defeated from the moment Grillka married Quark and too stupid to realize it, he should have backed down and let the marriage destroy the House by itself. No, he had to challenge Quark... What was he thinking? He should have shamed Grillka and Quark by saying that they forged all that evidence, that they lie as Ferengi do, and play the victim, then let Quark challenge him if he had the balls, shame him if he didn't. No, the mighty D'Gor wants trial by combat with a Ferengi.
@@depressedhedonist SFdebris summed it up perfectly. Quark was trying to get Dgor to back down out of pity, but in reality, D'gor's eagerness blinded him to how dishonerable such an act would look when to the council it appears that Quark bet everything on honor.
@@depressedhedonist D'gor had an out. Acknowledge Quark's honor, and offer Quark the chance to withdraw the accusation and live. If Quark refused D'Gor could have then 'regretfully' killed Quark with his honor intact.
I have to admit, I was really impressed with Quark this episode. We all know he would never turn away an opportunity to get a massive profit. And he could of easily gotten a huge sum of money from this if he desired it. But he instead decided to help Grilka to keep her house without asking for anything in return. Except a divorce but that doesn't count as there wasn't a profit made. Goes to show that as much as Quark may deny it, him being around Humans, Bajorans and other species has rubbed off on him. He's still a greedy bastard, but I think being around his non Ferengi friends has helped him see there are limits to how far one can go to get a profit. Imagine what the Ferengi leaders would say if they found out about this.
Or helped him rediscover what a lot of Ferengi have forgotten: That not all profit is latinum. Here, he profited in friendship. He profited in honor and esteem. He profited in satisfaction. And he profited in self-respect.
@@GuukanKitsuneQuark is a rebell, just like his mother and brother, difference is he refuse to accept that part of himself, that he is fair, kind, honorable, a good person. If you watch him he just does not have the heart to be truly a evil man unlike most of his race.
In fairness, being a Ferengi the Klingons know has a sense of honour would do wonders for his trading. When they think of a Ferengi trader they know they can trust they'll go to Quark. The bigger the risk, the greater the profit fits perfectly here. Go for the short term moderate profit now, or take the massive gamble and collect the huge repeating profits later. Every great house will be talking about the little Ferengi and how shrewd he is, and how much honour he has.
Quark obviously learned from Bruce Lee the art of " fighting, without fighting." ;) And at the end I think he realized that maybe he asked for the divorce too soon 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
2:30 I only saw twice that move from the Klingon High Council, and the first one... was on someone who didn't deserve it, and only to cover the High Council's lack of honor.
Actually, you don't have to: ask any Arab about that. I was laughing for quite a while; had to stop the video before I watched the rest of it. If I'd been D'Gor, I'd be humiliated too.
@Signal 6EQUJ5 I mean, Garak did do that if memory serves. He managed to not just deceive one Romulan, but deceive a Senator, assasinate him, and then cover up his involvement altogether, meaning he had to also outdo the Tal Shiar.
Quark's reply showed what was really important to him. He could have asked for a fat settlement along with his divorce, but that wasn't why he came back to face D'Gor. All he really wanted now was the freedom to go back to his bar in peace. Because, deep down, Quark is a people person.
Even as a human with little star trek knowledge the arm cross and turn is understandable. “Never turn your back on a warrior.” He is clearly no warrior.
Even more so, they turn away. No klingon would attack you from behind. It is dishonorable to stab someone in the back, a true warrior goes at their enemy face to face. They basically displayed that D'Gor isn't worth that honor.
“The supreme art of war is being able to subdue an enemy without fighting.” Sun Tzu. Quark using the Klingon’s sense of honor to win the duel was brilliant.
Quark wasn't afraid to fight underhanded, and the Klingon sense of honor was always their Achilles heel. Traditions must be followed even when regarding outsiders, and Quark picked up on that brilliantly. He only needed to expose D'Gor's disregard for his own traditions to Gowron and the rest would tend to itself.
@@Maniac742 I agree with what you say, but take issue with your choice of words. "Achilles heel" would mean it is a weakness, but everything we learn of Klingons show it is the exact opposite. I'd even go so far as to say that Star Trek in general is display after display of how honor is the only way for a people to survive and grow strong.
@@ghanphol Except it can be a weakness when dealing with people who prefer subterfuge. We see time and time again people who get trapped in no win situations because of their honor.
@@RequiemPoete That isnt really relevant here though, is it? Gowron was not defeated by a surplus of honour, but by a lack of it. To claim honour is a weakness or an achilles heel here, where it is the only thing that saves Quark, is pretty strange. It is because the klingons are honorable that there is a way out for Quark, and no way out for Gowron.
I like that from the moment Quark threw down his weapon, Gowron's eyes never once left D'Gor. He immediately understood what was going on and the challenge Quark was really making. This scene is very well done by both Quark and Gowron's actors.
Very well put. One of the many ways that the seventh season failed for me is how they reduced Gowron to an arrogant idiot. In episodes like this, he proved to be an effective and intelligent leader. He didn't just blunder around making rash decisions, and he respected courage.
After DeGor is thrown out of the council chamber and Quark settles back on his haunches in obvious relief, Gowran walks over to Quark and, rather than standing over him, kneels down so he can look at Quark eye to eye. A very subtle but moving sign of respect.
@@MisterFoxtonyou, and 5 other people are now my favourite people on this planet, i learned to read with those books! 9 if co1cupcake and their upvoters havent upvoted yours
I think it's worse than just houseless or without honor. He said 'whatever', not 'whoever'. The implication is that he's not even the son of a klingon, or even something sentient!
I love how Gowran actually intervened, exiled D'Gor, then actually KNEELED down to Quark's level in order to show his respect to him with that line, and lifted him back up. He might've become a dishonorable dick-head at the end, but this is one of my favorite Gowran moments.
So Quark was presented with his own version of the 'Kobyashi Maru' against D'Ghor. He was faced with a no win situation, don't show up to the fight and foriet the house or face D'Ghor in combat of which Quark knew he had a 99% chance of dying in. So how does he get out of it? By pulling a Kirk and not playing the game how it was intended. By getting on his knees completely helpless, he forces D'Ghor into a no win situation. Don't kill Quark and not win the match, or kill him, thus proving to the council what a snake he is. Quark may not be inherently brave, but he sure is one sly bastard.
As SFdebris stated there was actually a way out for D'Ghor: An honorable Klingon would have looked at Quark and told him, "Retract your statement and I will let you live." If Quark refused he would have said again, "Retract your statement", to make clear he was giving Quark EVERY chance for an out. But he knew D'Ghor had no honor and thus would leap to kill him.
@@finaladvance5085 I was very disappointed to find that most of these aren't defined rules. Though I would certainly say that 62 applies. "The riskier the road, the greater the profit."
@@aldrinmilespartosa1578 There is Rule 125; "You can't make a deal if you're dead". Oh, and also Rule 15; "Dead men close no deals." They are very similar. So, technically the Ferengi realized they needed the rule. Twice.
@@jimtaylor294 He did appear in a Star Trek book; but I believe his father came to get the Dar-something (the knife) in order for his son to properly commit ritual suicide.
Ferengi or not Quark was a man 1st and he knew it , and coward or not stood his ground when most would have run, courage comes in many packages , Quark can stand with me in any battle, I know he'll do his part. Will you do you're part ???
@@1971tallica Quark strikes me as honorable for a Ferengi. He has a real sense of loyalty despite how conservative he is regarding Ferengi ideals. He says he didn't sell weapons because he's a 'people person' I think mostly it's because he didn't want to peddle death. He might not care if mercenaries kill each other, but I think he knew at some point weapons he sold would end up murdering Innocents en masse.
@@skanthavelu Again I use quotes to say 'honorable'. He's not above cheating family members or close friends for gain, but he won't sell them out. There's tons of touching moments where he tries to bribe garak to help a love interest, gave up huge profits for another, even despite hating Rom working for the station, he still had Rom's breakfast ready for him. Can you see any other Ferengi we've seen doing that other than Rom or Nog? That's the irony. Quark is shrewd as hell but is 'soft' for a Ferengi.
"Can I use my diplomacy score to intimidate?" "Uh...I don't think so, no." "Picard did it all the time last campaign, though." "Well okay, but you better roll high."
Later, Quark and Rom are at his bar, and Rom is going on how Quark was magnificent and how he has respect. Quark says respect is good but latinum is better. If I were Rom, I would say "brother, you became leader of a Klingon house, answered a challenge to combat, proved your honor to the Klingon council and had your adversary banned from the Empire. No latinum in the Galaxy can get you that".
Remember the 3rd rule of acquisition: Never spend more on an acquisition than it is worth. Quark wanted his freedom, and he was willing to pay his life to acquire it.
in this case, i'm not sure thats quite applicable. its closer to a game of rock-paper scissors. if he had overestimated their sense of honor, he loses. if his opponent refuses to strike, i imagine that's a mutual surrender, so a new fighter is brought forward. or this winning scenario occurs.
Completely false. Quark wasn't there to get his freedom. He had it. He could have simply run. In fact that was the plan at first. He wasn't going to show up and just forfeit the match via absentia. He risked his life, for no profit solely to help Grilka.
The Vulcans value logic more than anything The Klingons value courage more than anything. The Ferengi value value more than anything. Quark has out-logicked a Vulcan. Quark has out-couraged a Klingon. Nobody has ever out-valued Quark.
Quark still needs to value his own value. Namely that being a benevolent boss, especially compared to the rest of his peoples, is more beneficial in the long run. Most bosses still fail to wrap their head around this today.
Klingons do not traditionally have casual hookups... Worf mentions this after he and Jadzia sleep together that a traditional Klingon couple would now marry. However, I think "I had sex with my ex-husband" still works here
@@CatGold5047 Worf is way more traditional that most Klingons, in part to compensate for his humanlike chilhood. Most Klingons do whatever they feel like, up and including whoring, drinking, dishonorable bullying, etc. Some nobles and peasants do retain traditional honor, but not the majority of Klingons.
Quark is actually FAR more honorable than we see from most Ferengi. He honors obligations he feels he has even without asking to be paid for them. He frequently volunteeers to help where his help is useful. He's even prepared to risk his life for his loved ones.
"I didn't want to believe the things he said about you yesterday..." So he did believe it all along, that's why he was ready for D'Ghor to do what he did. But he needed proof that would be admissible in a Klingon court, Gowron can't just admit in front of the High Council and an outsider, and possibly even to himself, that a Klingon used money to bring down a rival like some kind of Ferengi. But nailing him on having no honor? That would work. Quark laid the trap. Gowron figured it out and readied his famous glare on D'Ghor. Then D-Ghor made the wrong move. It was always a trial on the honor of D'Ghor, it had to be, and he never even realized it. Both Quark and Gowron did. Edit: As pointed out in other comments, Quark even looks at Gowron when saying "no honor, no glory" in his speech to emphasize what he is really doing here, but he didn't need to (except maybe as an excuse for the camera to shift to Gowron). Gowron isn't looking at Quark though, because this isn't about him, his eyes are on D'Ghor. Will he dishonor himself right there in front of everyone? Yes, apparently.
This supports my theory that Gowron easily understood Quarks financial evidence. They play the scene like a bunch of confused barbarians learning about money for the first time, but Gowron reads enough to see it checks out, and then places the charge on D’Ghor.
@@eddiekalista3222 Eh, I honestly don't think Gowron understood the evidence. I think it was more that on the balance between a foreign smuggler and criminal from a species that's seen as about as far from Klingon Honor as possible (...which Quark is), and a sketchy member of a minor house just 'happening' into fantastic luck, Gowron was leaning to his own side but not really caring all that much. This is not going to shape the future of the Klingon Empire, this is just barely important enough for Gowron to have to deal with it personally. And while Gowron is smarter and more cunning than the average Klingon, he's still a politician, not a forensic accountant, he's got people to handle that crap. And also, yeah, Gowron's definition of "honor" is fairly... flexible. If D'Ghor had put up the bare minimum of effort at looking honorable, instead reacting like he did, I don't think he'd care how D'Ghor won Grilka's land. Quark just exposed how blatantly craven and dishonorable was, and even Gowron, the man who would later send honorable warriors to certain defeat for the sake of political scheming, couldn't ignore it any longer.
@@Wraithfighter While I agree on most of what you said, just remember that Gowron got more and more paranoid over time. He didn't start as a person who would send warriors to their death for political schemes, he became that over years of high-level Klingon politics.
@@Wraithfighter Gowron was smart enough to get the point. D'Ghor is being accused of waging financial warfare on another Klingon. Simply saying out loud that a Klingon might do that to another Klingon disgusted Gowron.
If D'Ghor had a brain and turned to Gowron and said: "I'm not killing an unarmed opponent, but I still say he's a liar. So wtf do we do now?" I wonder how they'd have solved it?
Robert O'Reilly (Gowron) was such an awesome actor. Under all that makeup he managed with his eyes and head movements and other subtleties to create one of the most memorable characters in the entire canon without the ability to change most of his facial expressions. Simply grand. I love the way he jutted his jaw out as he spat the word "murder"..
You can thank one Jonathan Frakes for that. He directed one of the first episodes where he asked Robert to do "the eyes" thing, and when he saw it, He said that Frakes knew what he was doing... The eyes actually predate Star Trek; O'Reilly played a henchman to one of the bad guys in season 4 of Knight Rider. He did the eyes thing there, but he wasn't well known then, and that was a year before TNG started.
@@paule4566 Robinson called it a gift for an actor, to play from inside a creature so physically different from himself. DS9 had one of the best rosters of recurring characters in TV history.
@@danieldickson8591 Fun fact: Robinson played the psychopathic serial killer Scorpio in Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. His facial expressions there were perfect, especially with his eyes when he was wearing a ski mask.
Its enjoyable for to see Gowron go from treating this as a battle of honor, to a murder. It speaks highly of the Klingons that they do in fact see a difference. Its notable because Gowron is very specific in his choice of words, he even pauses a split second to say MURDERRRRRRRR, so that everyone knows what's being said. Because as Quark points out, this is no longer a fight, no longer the actions of a warrior killing another in battle. Even more telling that while Quark is still dealing with the shock of it all. Gowron didn't tower over him but knelt down to him and rose up with him, literally expressing honor towards Quark by making himself (as much as you can with someone half your size) equal in standing.
No to mention, Quark still being in shock? Showed that he expected to die. That it was not a manipulation. Quark was fully willing to die for his point; hense the respect for bravery.
The klingons are indeed deeper than the "proud warrior race" stereotype. They know the difference between battle and slaughter, between a duel and murder. They don't run blindly into their deaths, but are willing to die in battle, and they are honorable enough to not stab you in the back. Which means a klingon casually walking away is a sign that they respect that you are honorable enough to do the same. As Dagoth Ur would say it "come to me openly, and not by stealth"
@joseph1985 He may have been corrupt but there are some lines even a klingon wont cross when it comes to honor. Gowron was a product of his times, leader decadent and corrupt empire but he was the best of what they had. Duras would have been far worse.
The biggest issues I have with the back half of DS9 was with how drastically several of the characters were altered. They made Odo soft, Gowron treacherous, Dukat zealous, etc and those changes largely weren’t earned. They made some efforts to earn it but the changes were such complete 180s that it still felt forced
@@alyzluke801 I'd say the 180 happened with dukat with the dominion. Dude was improving as a man and learning to change. then goes crawling to people he knows doesn't care about cardassia just so he can relive his glory days
Before this moment, the Klingon High Council might have been able to claim that the least of the Klingon people was still more honorable than the greatest Ferengi. However, on this day a mere bar owner proved himself to understand honor better than the assembled Klingon High Council.
To be fair, Quark is kind of a special case. Anyone who has spent a lot of time around the federation is a special case. They even turned Borgs to their ideals.
There was more romance in this slap and kiss than all the awkward moments of writers trying to to force a romance between Chakotay and Janeway in Voyager .
I thought fans shipped them in more than the writers did. I thought they had chemistry but Janeway wasn't going to be in a relationship, first of all that's her first officer and it would be inappropriate, second of all Kate Mulgrew didn't want her character to be in a relationship.
While it's easy to assume that metal clanging was the sound of the weapons hitting the floor, it was actually the sound of Quark's massive balls of steel dropping to the deck after pulling off that move.
@@RequiemPoete also according to the Star Trek Online timeline, Grilka married someone else after Quark and before Worf. I don't remember the Klingon's name, but they had a daughter. But her 3rd husband was killed in the Dominion War.
Having a Ferangi serve in such a high position would have dishonored Gowron, the high counsel, and the Klingon empire. Klingons would be disgusted that a Ferangi held such a position of authority over them, and that he was given that position over a member of a noble Klingon house. Both Gowron and Quark would have been killed in a matter of hours after the announcement
Something that really works in the House of Quark episode is that Armin Shimerman (Quark) and Mary Kay Adams (Grilka) actually have great chemistry together. I think you could have made a spinoff based on their relationship.
Agreed I wish the characters stayed married and the writers actually explored the relationship. I would love to see rom and nog react to quark married and in a good relationship. Think of the comedy gold
2:09 I guess Gowron had just been convinced that D'Ghor was also guilty of the financial crap Quark had accused him of earlier. After all, if you're dishonorable enough to slaughter a defenseless Ferengi, underhanded financial tactics are small potatoes for someone like D'Ghor.
@@ScottyDont1945 yup, Gowron wasn't stupid, which also means he knows that that kind of financial stuff doesn't mean anything to klingons. Quark showing D'Ghor also being dishonorable in combat gave him just the right hook to throw him out.
When Gowron asked if Quark was ready, he was looking directly at the camera. All through the speech, his eyes were camera left: Watching D'Gor, and that his posture was poised to kill despite Quark being unarmed. There's a reason Gowron was able to get across the room so fast; he'd seen it coming from the moment the speech began.
Yeah, from that moment, it was a trial on D'Ghor's honour. Which he failed. I think Quark was counting on that as he looked at Gowron when saying "No honour", and would have seen then that Gowron was not giving the look of judgement to Quark.
The best part was Quark 'running away' was all part of the ruse, because word travels quick, Because #14 in the Rules of Acquisition clearly states: "Sometimes the quickest way to find profits is to let them find you." He LET her find him, and he profited in winning the combat unscathed. Then, following Rule #87: "Learn the customer's weaknesses, so that you can better take advantage of him." He knew D'gor had no honor as a Klingon, so he just followed up with the weakness. If anything, Quark followed the Rules of Acquisition to a T.
This was one of the best scenes in DS9. Yeah, Sisko's monologue in "In the Pale Moonlight", "The Visitor", "Duet", all those we've all talked about at length. This scene never gets the same justice, but it ranks right up there with them.
the Benny Russell breakdown in Far Beyond the Stars gets a lot of points for me, too. Absolutely electric acting, especially considering Avery Brooks also directed that episode at the same time.
I really think that was to prime D'Ghor into doing the foolish thing D'Ghor ultimately did. By insulting his ancestry D'Ghor now really, really wants to kill Quark, and he falls for the bait.
The three way between Quark "forgetting" D'Ghor's father's name, D'Ghor being enraged, and Gowron calling him to stay calm (with a simple hand gesture) Gowron was basically saying "I get it, he forgot it. That is very dishonorable. But he is an outsider, he doesn't know our traditions. He at least tries. Just wait a moment and you'll get your chance to fight him and prove your honor" And it was obvious that Quark misplaced the name on purpose. He applies rule of acquisition 18 "Never make fun of a Ferengi's mother." Just adopted to the klingon focus on paternal ancestry. Followed by rule 194: "It's always good business to know about new customers before they walk in your door." He would obviously gather information on D'Ghor. Quark would know that as a klingon the father's name is important. And that overlooking the father is disgraceful and would manipulate his opponent. With that he applies rule 98: "Every man has his price." And he just reduced D'Ghor's price. But he also applies rule 62: "The riskier the road, the greater the profit." and rule 125: "You can't make a deal if you're dead." He was risking his life, but following rule 194 he knew what would happen and that he would survive the situation. As rule 9 "Opportunity plus instinct equals profit." and rule 3 "Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to." say. He had the instinct to maneuver the situation and manipulate those around him reducing the price for his acquisition. Which in this case was to get out of that whole klingon dilemma.
Probably my favorite Gowron moment. Had he not grown paranoid near the end of the series and tried to indirectly kill or dishonor Martok so the latter would not become Chancellor (which he had no interest in doing anyway), he probably would have gone down in history as a great leader of the Klingon Empire. Probably also my favorite Quark moment. I've always believed that it takes more strength, courage, and honor to back down from a fight than to join one, and Quark proved it here. He knew he didn't stand a chance, so he did the only logical thing and refused to fight.
agreed. Power corrupts but keep in mind back in the Next Generation he wasn't exactly always the perfect honorable Klingon. There was a time when he threatened ambassador K'lyar
Gowron was shown to be a manuevering politician from the beginning. Being an underdog outsider, he cleverly knew how to read others in what they wanted, and what threat they posed to him. He knew immediately the cloned Emperor was just a ploy to take his power away by his critics. With Martok, he knew the general was getting too popular and needed a way to soften that down because it was damn dangerous for him to show he was becoming irrelevant. What he did was the Klingon way - what he didn't expect was how Worf was going to put an end to it.
If there is one thing Klingons can respect of Ferengi, it's that they know how to find Honor without the spilling of blood. For the wounds they can leave can last forever.
Quark is one of the most redeemable Ferengi that has ever lived. He really grew as a character and then his nephew Nog became the first Ferengi in Starfleet and a damn good one at that.
I personally think he just took a risky gamble and came out on top. I think he knew Gowron wanted to rule in his favour, but just didn't have the authority to do so. Honestly Gowron showed how much of a shrewd politician he was by picking up on Quark's hidden message.
@@censorduck What do you call bravery if not the willingness to do something incredibly risk in spite of the personal risk? Quark could have just walked away and left the Klingons to their own designs. But he choose to put his neck on the line as both a personal point of pride and as a favor to a woman who all but kidnapped him.
@@censorduck I think what Quark counted on was D'gor taking pity, or at least not seeing honor in killing Quark, but what Quark didn't count on Gowron's interpretation of his act. To Gowron it seemed that Quark bet everything on honor.
When my children do something wrong, I cross my arms and turn my back like in this scene. They must then earn their place back into the Empire. They are going to put me in a very bad nursing home one day. Of that I am sure, but I will have the final laugh because there is no inheritance. Bwahahahaha!
You must show honor to gain my respect and you get none of my acquisitions! How very Klingon and Ferengi of you. Truly you are teaching them good values. There's no joke here people!
I love D'gor's face. *He turns* Gowron: "Look, you're already gonna kill him dead...you want wait five mintues for him to finish speaking Quark: "I'm gonna ruin this man's WHOLE FAMILY LINE"
I’m a family attorney (not always happy one, mind you). Man, I’d love to see Klingon prenups, marital settlement agreements and custody schedules. “Then it is settled, the child shall spend 30 percent and weekends with K’tang, son of Asshole! At least, according to his recently former wife...”
Interesting. In the german voice over he does not say "I wish i could say thats comforting" to grilka but he say something like "I take him down the ferengi way." Never seen the translation made so wildly different. The original creates tension by giving the impression that quark might die. But in the german translation the idea is placed in you head that quark will take him down but you are being made curious on HOW he will do it which creates another kind of curious tension in you. Both ways actually work and have their merrits. But still i find the choice to translate it differently interesting.
I'm never surprised by a bad translation. I thought English translations of Japanese were bad, then I learned the language and discovered how terrible Japanese translations of English are. Now nothing surprises me.
This was one of those rare magical moments in a TV show. Where the character development was so powerful, that if you didn't like him before. You did now.
That and the scene where he talks to Odo when Odo went nuts when he lost Kira and he trashed his apartment. That moment where you know they don't like each other as friends, but respect each other enough to care.
"well I'm not gonna make it so easy on you" then gowrons eyes widen just a bit and his head comes up just a bit, I can see the thought "o shit he got us" 😂
@@joshuahadams Quark's action was fundamentally selfless and incredibly risky. Those are features Rom isn't used to seeing from his brother's plans. ;-)
So many tiny moments of clever acting: When D'Gor glances at Gowron at 1:05 - a clear indication he's no idea what to now Grilka at 1:20 as she realises that holy fuck this is gonna work The fact that Quark spends as much time adressing Gowron as anyone else - it's Gowron's honor he's really appealing to. And most of all, the fact that Gowron is still and tense at 1:22 AND 1:41 waiting for D'Gor to move all that time
In beta canon there's the fantastic story of K'plok, a warrior who sneezed during a bat'leth demo and managed to behead himself. He was later renamed K'ploP and became the vey first klingon comic. Posthumously.
@@hagamapama well, in that case, I just Tzu back :) "In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity" (you know, that could quite as well be a Rule of Aquisition)
I kinda feel bad for D'Gor. I mean, what is he supposed to do in this situation? If he tries to kill Quark, what you see here is the result. If he doesn't kill Quark, then Quark retains his house. Sure, he could try and undermine it again, but he was relying on Kozak's ignorance to pull off his scheme, and now the house has one of the galaxy's best financial advisors leading it, making what he was doing before almost impossible. Basically, Quark pulled a pro gamer move and made it impossible for D'Gor to win.
"Ferengi. You indeed have honor and I respect that. But my honor must be defended. Withdraw your accusation against me, and I swear this battle ends now, amicably." If Quark refused. "I offer one last chance. You have satisfied your honor and house. Withdraw your accusation and live. Refuse, and force me to kill a man I respect to clear my name." That's how D'Gor had an out. Acknowledge Quark's honor and give Quark an option. Instead D'Gor was blinded by greed and his near victory, that he didn't consider how it would look to the council.
@@RequiemPoete this one is still my favorite mainly because the fashion was a very clear warning, but this, this was a bitchslap and a half. This ferengi ran circles around the Klingon and gave him enough rope to hang himself.
Giving the Vulcan Maquis a lesson in logic. The conversation with Sisko about how humans hate Ferengi because they remind them of their past. The "it's a figure of speech" conversation with Sisko. It goes on. The "too close to call" for me is whether Quark or Garak is the best DS9 character. They're just both SO consistently awesome, despite both being outsiders.
Both of them know how to say things, without saying it. Another of these moments is when Sisko asks Garak to take new measurements while discussing important political details regarding the upcoming klingon invasion with his staff. He totally knows that Garak will send that information to Cardassia. And Garak knows that Sisko knows. Sisko even asks if Garak has everything he needs.
This is one of my favorite moments in all of DS9, period. That, and the scene before it with Quark of D'Gor being accused of using MONEY! to overthrow a great house.
Ranked! Quark just set this tiny Klingons heart ablaze with lusty feelings after his display of honor bashing towards D'gore. I'm not surprised Grilka kissed him afterwords.
When D'Gor moved to kill Quark and said the word Ferengi, he said it with a lot of hatred behind it like he hated Quark and regarded him as his blood enemy or something.
the dude not only won a duel against a klingon by DROPPING his weapon, but he also managed to part ways with his wife on friendly terms. He has skill xD
Quark has: Proven himself more honorable than a Klingon... Out-logiced a Vulcan... Out-maneuvered multiple Changelings... Legally gotten out of paying the Ferengi IRS (on multiple occasions)... Killed Jem'Hadar in battle... He's even made Cardassians and Vorta want to leave conversations! In short: Quark has mastered the ability to max out rep in all factions... He's a better diplomat than most of the Federation leadership!
One of the many aspects of DS9 I love is that pretty much all main characters - and even most secondary ones - are three dimensional. Quark is often the comic relief, but he is actually so much more than that. For one, he is brilliant when it comes to business savvy, strategy, and thinking on your feet. The way he used Klingon honor here to his advantage is one example of that. Another one is how he dismantled the faulty logic behind the Maquis' plans and presented a far superior and reasonable alternative. And in this instance, the Maquis in question was a freakin' *Vulcan*!
2:59 They are equals now. He got down on Quark's level, and made sure they both rose at the same time. Bravery is what brings the Klingons honor, not death, nor physical strength.
In some way the klingons understand rule of acquisition 62 "The riskier the road, the greater the profit." and rule 125 "You can't make a deal if you're dead." They are honorable warriors, but they aren't stupid.
Quark may have thrown down his batleth, but his "I have come to answer the challenge D'Gor son of... whatever" cut deeper than any sword could.
Quark knew he had won from the start. There is really no honorable win scenario for any Klingon when dealing with a shrewd Ferengi. The only solution D'Gor could have saved some face (not much) would have been to let Quark kill him in battle, and even that is more shame than victory. Being killed by a Ferengi - shame and dishonor. Killing a weak, little, pathetic moneyhoarding merchant with less than zero fighting skill - more shame and dishonor than a honorable victory. Quark knew that from the start and made sure that the other Klingons realize it too. D'Gor was defeated from the moment Grillka married Quark and too stupid to realize it, he should have backed down and let the marriage destroy the House by itself. No, he had to challenge Quark... What was he thinking? He should have shamed Grillka and Quark by saying that they forged all that evidence, that they lie as Ferengi do, and play the victim, then let Quark challenge him if he had the balls, shame him if he didn't. No, the mighty D'Gor wants trial by combat with a Ferengi.
That's basically the heaviest shade you can throw on a Klingon.
@@depressedhedonist SFdebris summed it up perfectly. Quark was trying to get Dgor to back down out of pity, but in reality, D'gor's eagerness blinded him to how dishonerable such an act would look when to the council it appears that Quark bet everything on honor.
ESPECIALLY considering family honor is the be-all, end-all, of Klingons.
@@depressedhedonist D'gor had an out. Acknowledge Quark's honor, and offer Quark the chance to withdraw the accusation and live. If Quark refused D'Gor could have then 'regretfully' killed Quark with his honor intact.
The Ferengi's most badass scene.
No, his most badass scene was hitting up Grilka in front of Worf the next time she stopped by the station.
But my good man, have you forgotten The Magnificent Ferengi? Now THAT episode was the Ferengi oozing true badassery.
@@TreesInTheDark And had the best scene during the botched rescue practise.
@@RequiemPoete
"Ferengie"
"I know, you hate us."
I have to admit, I was really impressed with Quark this episode. We all know he would never turn away an opportunity to get a massive profit. And he could of easily gotten a huge sum of money from this if he desired it. But he instead decided to help Grilka to keep her house without asking for anything in return. Except a divorce but that doesn't count as there wasn't a profit made. Goes to show that as much as Quark may deny it, him being around Humans, Bajorans and other species has rubbed off on him. He's still a greedy bastard, but I think being around his non Ferengi friends has helped him see there are limits to how far one can go to get a profit.
Imagine what the Ferengi leaders would say if they found out about this.
And then he turned around later and courted her. My head canon is that they actually got married again because they really fit
Or helped him rediscover what a lot of Ferengi have forgotten:
That not all profit is latinum.
Here, he profited in friendship. He profited in honor and esteem. He profited in satisfaction. And he profited in self-respect.
@@GuukanKitsuneQuark is a rebell, just like his mother and brother, difference is he refuse to accept that part of himself, that he is fair, kind, honorable, a good person. If you watch him he just does not have the heart to be truly a evil man unlike most of his race.
Hey, Quark takes being called a greedy bastard as a compliment I am sure.
In fairness, being a Ferengi the Klingons know has a sense of honour would do wonders for his trading. When they think of a Ferengi trader they know they can trust they'll go to Quark. The bigger the risk, the greater the profit fits perfectly here. Go for the short term moderate profit now, or take the massive gamble and collect the huge repeating profits later. Every great house will be talking about the little Ferengi and how shrewd he is, and how much honour he has.
Quark obviously learned from Bruce Lee the art of " fighting, without fighting." ;)
And at the end I think he realized that maybe he asked for the divorce too soon 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Best scene ever
D’ghor’s face when everyone turns away from him is just glorious. Awesome job Quark
Best sci-fy race ever.
2:30 I only saw twice that move from the Klingon High Council, and the first one... was on someone who didn't deserve it, and only to cover the High Council's lack of honor.
Fun fact, the actress who played Quarks Klingon wife is Mary Kay Addams. She is a direct decendent of the second president of the U.S.
That’s probably the most romantic scene I’ve ever viewed in Star Trek history.
They will sing songs about D’Gor forever after
I love the Klingon cold shoulder move. Klingons rule!
Klingon Fucking Guile just showed up in this random ass Ferengi. God, I love Quark.
Quark demonstrated having a set of Ferengi balls larger than his lobes and heavier than a stack of gold-pressed latinum bars...
"Son of ... whatever."
We as humans can only imagine the pain.
Actually, you don't have to: ask any Arab about that.
I was laughing for quite a while; had to stop the video before I watched the rest of it. If I'd been D'Gor, I'd be humiliated too.
D'Gor: Has severe heart attack from lack of vital honor
@@Albukhshi To Quark, D'ghor was the son of a slug. 😂😂
@@meteorstorm415 Damn!! 😂😂
As Celso would say, BURN!!
From watching DS9 clips, all I’ve learned is that Quark can out logic a Vulcan and out Honour a Klingon
MasterM
37th Rule of Acquisition: knowledge is power
Yes, but who can out gouge a Ferengi?
The Crystal Entity, lol.
But still can't out subtly threat a Cardassiean. Lol.
@Signal 6EQUJ5 I mean, Garak did do that if memory serves. He managed to not just deceive one Romulan, but deceive a Senator, assasinate him, and then cover up his involvement altogether, meaning he had to also outdo the Tal Shiar.
@@sentinel7672 I mean he was essentially being groomed to lead the Obsidian Order. He's essentially a Cardassiean James Bond.
"How can I repay you?"
Dangerous question for a noble of any race to ask a Ferengi...
Quark's reply showed what was really important to him. He could have asked for a fat settlement along with his divorce, but that wasn't why he came back to face D'Gor. All he really wanted now was the freedom to go back to his bar in peace. Because, deep down, Quark is a people person.
and he would later go on to bang her.
@@maxacorn Huh? When did Quark make out with Grillka?
@@skanthavelu The same episode that Dax and Worf became an item... and porked.
@@jimtaylor294 I see. What is the title of that episode?
Even as a human with little star trek knowledge the arm cross and turn is understandable.
“Never turn your back on a warrior.”
He is clearly no warrior.
It has kind of a mafia/family/circle of friends feel to it also:
You are cast out, we do not know you, and you are not worthy of being seen.
I like the idea that this is the men’s version of the silent treatment.
Even more so, they turn away. No klingon would attack you from behind. It is dishonorable to stab someone in the back, a true warrior goes at their enemy face to face.
They basically displayed that D'Gor isn't worth that honor.
“The supreme art of war is being able to subdue an enemy without fighting.” Sun Tzu.
Quark using the Klingon’s sense of honor to win the duel was brilliant.
Quark wasn't afraid to fight underhanded, and the Klingon sense of honor was always their Achilles heel. Traditions must be followed even when regarding outsiders, and Quark picked up on that brilliantly. He only needed to expose D'Gor's disregard for his own traditions to Gowron and the rest would tend to itself.
@@Maniac742 I agree with what you say, but take issue with your choice of words. "Achilles heel" would mean it is a weakness, but everything we learn of Klingons show it is the exact opposite.
I'd even go so far as to say that Star Trek in general is display after display of how honor is the only way for a people to survive and grow strong.
@@Maniac742 Thing is, by tradition and law, wouldn't Quark still have counted as a Klingon noble in a dispute with another noble?
@@ghanphol Except it can be a weakness when dealing with people who prefer subterfuge. We see time and time again people who get trapped in no win situations because of their honor.
@@RequiemPoete That isnt really relevant here though, is it?
Gowron was not defeated by a surplus of honour, but by a lack of it.
To claim honour is a weakness or an achilles heel here, where it is the only thing that saves Quark, is pretty strange.
It is because the klingons are honorable that there is a way out for Quark, and no way out for Gowron.
I like that from the moment Quark threw down his weapon, Gowron's eyes never once left D'Gor. He immediately understood what was going on and the challenge Quark was really making. This scene is very well done by both Quark and Gowron's actors.
Very well put.
One of the many ways that the seventh season failed for me is how they reduced Gowron to an arrogant idiot. In episodes like this, he proved to be an effective and intelligent leader. He didn't just blunder around making rash decisions, and he respected courage.
After DeGor is thrown out of the council chamber and Quark settles back on his haunches in obvious relief, Gowran walks over to Quark and, rather than standing over him, kneels down so he can look at Quark eye to eye. A very subtle but moving sign of respect.
A Brave Ferengi who would have thought
It was probably the only moment in the whole Trek history, when Gowron looked kind.
@@CzechMirco Never thought a Klingon would show a Ferengi a sign of respect.
When a person faces death in the face and death is the first to blink, no matter the species, they deserve all the respect they can get.
For all his flaws Gowron still had honor. His character was brilliantly written. He was a sleezy politician and a klingon warrior at the same time.
In all fairness “Quark, son of Keldar” sounds pretty cool on its own.
Given how much respect Quark has for his father he says it with an appropriate, near Klingon, level of pride.
it helps that Keldar seems to be atypical to the usual Ferengi naming scheme
I think it is a reference to David Eddings' the Belgariad series.
@@cp1cupcakeQuark, son of Silk sounds pretty sweet too.
@@MisterFoxtonyou, and 5 other people are now my favourite people on this planet, i learned to read with those books!
9 if co1cupcake and their upvoters havent upvoted yours
A Ferengi just schooled the Klingon High Council on honor.
That same Ferengi schooled a Vulcan on logic. Quark is the most dangerous being in the Alpha Quadrant
@@quaternarytetrad4039 the Ferengis are hiding their power level
@Superfly Toad Quark would school Q on what to do about his boredom. He's above Q.
Quark had teeth. I loved how he told Sisko off in a later episode. That was a powerful scene as this one.
Move over Keiko, Quark is the REAL teacher on DS9
Calling a Klingon 'Son/Daughter of whatever' is I can only imagine calling them a houseless and without honour. A true Klingon insult
And then D'Ghor went on to prove him right
I think it's worse than just houseless or without honor. He said 'whatever', not 'whoever'. The implication is that he's not even the son of a klingon, or even something sentient!
@@tanall5959 Indeed.
@@tanall5959 Or that D'Ghor's family isn't important enough to learn.
I mean... that became very true a few minutes later.
I love how Gowran actually intervened, exiled D'Gor, then actually KNEELED down to Quark's level in order to show his respect to him with that line, and lifted him back up. He might've become a dishonorable dick-head at the end, but this is one of my favorite Gowran moments.
I really hated the direction they took gowron, I love martok but I wish they would have killed him off in battle or something to that effect.
I really hated the direction they took gowron, I love martok but I wish they would have killed him off in battle or something to that effect.
It shows how much respect he has for bravery
@Berryb yeah. Writing quality took a nose dive past season 5. Gowron, like Dukat, lost all complexity and became another moustache twirling villain.
Yeah, one major black mark on DS9 for me, though it’s a show I really enjoy.
So Quark was presented with his own version of the 'Kobyashi Maru' against D'Ghor. He was faced with a no win situation, don't show up to the fight and foriet the house or face D'Ghor in combat of which Quark knew he had a 99% chance of dying in. So how does he get out of it? By pulling a Kirk and not playing the game how it was intended.
By getting on his knees completely helpless, he forces D'Ghor into a no win situation. Don't kill Quark and not win the match, or kill him, thus proving to the council what a snake he is.
Quark may not be inherently brave, but he sure is one sly bastard.
As SFdebris stated there was actually a way out for D'Ghor: An honorable Klingon would have looked at Quark and told him, "Retract your statement and I will let you live." If Quark refused he would have said again, "Retract your statement", to make clear he was giving Quark EVERY chance for an out.
But he knew D'Ghor had no honor and thus would leap to kill him.
Quark was diligently following rules of acquisition 3, 5, 9, 31, 62, 69, 74, 87, 192, 235, 267, and 284
@@finaladvance5085 I was very disappointed to find that most of these aren't defined rules. Though I would certainly say that 62 applies. "The riskier the road, the greater the profit."
@@NorninTGK there should be a rule 63: there is no greater profit than your own life.
@@aldrinmilespartosa1578 There is Rule 125; "You can't make a deal if you're dead". Oh, and also Rule 15; "Dead men close no deals." They are very similar. So, technically the Ferengi realized they needed the rule. Twice.
When he won in this manner, he didn't just beat him legally, he broke that man.
Indeed; just like when Worf bitch slapped Martok's son, Drex, out of existence XD.
(he literally never appears again nor is even mentioned in any way)
@@jimtaylor294 He did appear in a Star Trek book; but I believe his father came to get the Dar-something (the knife) in order for his son to properly commit ritual suicide.
@@nayleennoquath8354 That Martok was the changeling doppelganger, though.
He busted him up!
@@nayleennoquath8354 d'k'tagh I believe.
He came to a fight he had no chance of winning and bet his life on honor. That is one brave Ferengi.
According to hooman ethics. Another ferengi would just say stupid.
Ferengi or not Quark was a man 1st and he knew it , and coward or not stood his ground when most would have run, courage comes in many packages , Quark can stand with me in any battle, I know he'll do his part. Will you do you're part ???
@@1971tallica Quark strikes me as honorable for a Ferengi. He has a real sense of loyalty despite how conservative he is regarding Ferengi ideals. He says he didn't sell weapons because he's a 'people person' I think mostly it's because he didn't want to peddle death. He might not care if mercenaries kill each other, but I think he knew at some point weapons he sold would end up murdering Innocents en masse.
@@RequiemPoete I agree. Quark was very smart in not selling weapons which potentially could have been used to kill innocents.
@@skanthavelu Again I use quotes to say 'honorable'. He's not above cheating family members or close friends for gain, but he won't sell them out. There's tons of touching moments where he tries to bribe garak to help a love interest, gave up huge profits for another, even despite hating Rom working for the station, he still had Rom's breakfast ready for him. Can you see any other Ferengi we've seen doing that other than Rom or Nog? That's the irony. Quark is shrewd as hell but is 'soft' for a Ferengi.
Still less painful than an actual divorce...
The sting doesn't last nearly as long either.
And given what we hear of Ferengi marriage contracts, it's probably less painful than what Quark was expecting, too.
Yes it is!
"I have come to challenge D'Gor son of... whatever" Isn't though.
That’s what I was thinking. I’ll take a hard slap and getting spit on any day over alimony.
"Can I use my diplomacy score to intimidate?"
"Uh...I don't think so, no."
"Picard did it all the time last campaign, though."
"Well okay, but you better roll high."
Quark: "Gowron....you have my gratitude."
Quark: "Natural 20"
@@KosstAmojanDM cries in hands
Yea that was a nat 20 for sure
Later, Quark and Rom are at his bar, and Rom is going on how Quark was magnificent and how he has respect. Quark says respect is good but latinum is better. If I were Rom, I would say "brother, you became leader of a Klingon house, answered a challenge to combat, proved your honor to the Klingon council and had your adversary banned from the Empire. No latinum in the Galaxy can get you that".
Quark: "Quite right Rom...but Latinum is better!"
Certainly earned gowrons respect and that is no easy thing to do for a Klingon let alone a ferengi,later he would earn martoks respect to
Quark would probably then go on a 3 episode journey to prove he can do just that with Latinum... and succeed.
It probably did open some ventures for Quark in the Klingon Empire though, trading to supply the noble houses.
Qapla'!
Remember the 3rd rule of acquisition: Never spend more on an acquisition than it is worth. Quark wanted his freedom, and he was willing to pay his life to acquire it.
No, the rule is "Don't spend more on an acquisition than you have to."
@@richardferguson9663 that's the exact same thing though so his paraphrasing is true to the context
in this case, i'm not sure thats quite applicable. its closer to a game of rock-paper scissors. if he had overestimated their sense of honor, he loses. if his opponent refuses to strike, i imagine that's a mutual surrender, so a new fighter is brought forward. or this winning scenario occurs.
@@xw33b36 It's not, though. Something may be worth a thousand times what you pay for it, if the seller is ignorant of it's worth.
Completely false. Quark wasn't there to get his freedom. He had it. He could have simply run. In fact that was the plan at first. He wasn't going to show up and just forfeit the match via absentia. He risked his life, for no profit solely to help Grilka.
If nothing else, it's nice to see someone other than Worf get the old "we cross our arms & turn our backs" treatment.
Discommendation.
@@jamealjordon1376 The example of Worf allows us as audience to understand how serious a rejection that gesture signifies.
Discomendation never looked so good.
choreographed not talking with you
It's the Klingon version of doing The Wave.
The Vulcans value logic more than anything
The Klingons value courage more than anything.
The Ferengi value value more than anything.
Quark has out-logicked a Vulcan.
Quark has out-couraged a Klingon.
Nobody has ever out-valued Quark.
Quark still needs to value his own value. Namely that being a benevolent boss, especially compared to the rest of his peoples, is more beneficial in the long run.
Most bosses still fail to wrap their head around this today.
But... Quark's cousin, he owns a moon!
*Knocks*
Brunt, FCA
I have come for my merchandise
Quark's mom out-valued Quark when she hooked up with the Grand Nagus and then convinced him (and Quark) that women's rights were worth having.
@@blast_processing6577 Yea, you're right about that one. But also remember that Zek was influenced by the Prophets!
Quark might be divorced but don’t think casual hook ups are out of the deal.
Given how they do hook up in a later episode this is true.
Episode "Looking for Par'Mach in all the Wrong Places"
Klingons do not traditionally have casual hookups... Worf mentions this after he and Jadzia sleep together that a traditional Klingon couple would now marry. However, I think "I had sex with my ex-husband" still works here
@@CatGold5047 Worf is way more traditional that most Klingons, in part to compensate for his humanlike chilhood. Most Klingons do whatever they feel like, up and including whoring, drinking, dishonorable bullying, etc. Some nobles and peasants do retain traditional honor, but not the majority of Klingons.
Quark is actually FAR more honorable than we see from most Ferengi. He honors obligations he feels he has even without asking to be paid for them. He frequently volunteeers to help where his help is useful. He's even prepared to risk his life for his loved ones.
"I didn't want to believe the things he said about you yesterday..."
So he did believe it all along, that's why he was ready for D'Ghor to do what he did. But he needed proof that would be admissible in a Klingon court, Gowron can't just admit in front of the High Council and an outsider, and possibly even to himself, that a Klingon used money to bring down a rival like some kind of Ferengi. But nailing him on having no honor? That would work. Quark laid the trap. Gowron figured it out and readied his famous glare on D'Ghor. Then D-Ghor made the wrong move. It was always a trial on the honor of D'Ghor, it had to be, and he never even realized it. Both Quark and Gowron did.
Edit: As pointed out in other comments, Quark even looks at Gowron when saying "no honor, no glory" in his speech to emphasize what he is really doing here, but he didn't need to (except maybe as an excuse for the camera to shift to Gowron). Gowron isn't looking at Quark though, because this isn't about him, his eyes are on D'Ghor. Will he dishonor himself right there in front of everyone? Yes, apparently.
This supports my theory that Gowron easily understood Quarks financial evidence. They play the scene like a bunch of confused barbarians learning about money for the first time, but Gowron reads enough to see it checks out, and then places the charge on D’Ghor.
@@eddiekalista3222 Eh, I honestly don't think Gowron understood the evidence. I think it was more that on the balance between a foreign smuggler and criminal from a species that's seen as about as far from Klingon Honor as possible (...which Quark is), and a sketchy member of a minor house just 'happening' into fantastic luck, Gowron was leaning to his own side but not really caring all that much. This is not going to shape the future of the Klingon Empire, this is just barely important enough for Gowron to have to deal with it personally. And while Gowron is smarter and more cunning than the average Klingon, he's still a politician, not a forensic accountant, he's got people to handle that crap.
And also, yeah, Gowron's definition of "honor" is fairly... flexible. If D'Ghor had put up the bare minimum of effort at looking honorable, instead reacting like he did, I don't think he'd care how D'Ghor won Grilka's land. Quark just exposed how blatantly craven and dishonorable was, and even Gowron, the man who would later send honorable warriors to certain defeat for the sake of political scheming, couldn't ignore it any longer.
@@Wraithfighter While I agree on most of what you said, just remember that Gowron got more and more paranoid over time. He didn't start as a person who would send warriors to their death for political schemes, he became that over years of high-level Klingon politics.
@@Wraithfighter Gowron was smart enough to get the point. D'Ghor is being accused of waging financial warfare on another Klingon. Simply saying out loud that a Klingon might do that to another Klingon disgusted Gowron.
If D'Ghor had a brain and turned to Gowron and said: "I'm not killing an unarmed opponent, but I still say he's a liar. So wtf do we do now?" I wonder how they'd have solved it?
Robert O'Reilly (Gowron) was such an awesome actor. Under all that makeup he managed with his eyes and head movements and other subtleties to create one of the most memorable characters in the entire canon without the ability to change most of his facial expressions. Simply grand. I love the way he jutted his jaw out as he spat the word "murder"..
You can thank one Jonathan Frakes for that. He directed one of the first episodes where he asked Robert to do "the eyes" thing, and when he saw it, He said that Frakes knew what he was doing...
The eyes actually predate Star Trek; O'Reilly played a henchman to one of the bad guys in season 4 of Knight Rider. He did the eyes thing there, but he wasn't well known then, and that was a year before TNG started.
Chancellor Crazy Eyes is the best lol
Garak’s actor, Andrew Robinson is likewise a master at using his eyes to convey meaning underneath the facial prosthetics.
@@paule4566 Robinson called it a gift for an actor, to play from inside a creature so physically different from himself.
DS9 had one of the best rosters of recurring characters in TV history.
@@danieldickson8591 Fun fact: Robinson played the psychopathic serial killer Scorpio in Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. His facial expressions there were perfect, especially with his eyes when he was wearing a ski mask.
Its enjoyable for to see Gowron go from treating this as a battle of honor, to a murder. It speaks highly of the Klingons that they do in fact see a difference. Its notable because Gowron is very specific in his choice of words, he even pauses a split second to say MURDERRRRRRRR, so that everyone knows what's being said. Because as Quark points out, this is no longer a fight, no longer the actions of a warrior killing another in battle. Even more telling that while Quark is still dealing with the shock of it all. Gowron didn't tower over him but knelt down to him and rose up with him, literally expressing honor towards Quark by making himself (as much as you can with someone half your size) equal in standing.
No to mention, Quark still being in shock? Showed that he expected to die. That it was not a manipulation. Quark was fully willing to die for his point; hense the respect for bravery.
@@theeatherlash69 That's why Grilka came back for him later on- Too bad we didn't see more of her & Quark after that!
The klingons are indeed deeper than the "proud warrior race" stereotype.
They know the difference between battle and slaughter, between a duel and murder. They don't run blindly into their deaths, but are willing to die in battle, and they are honorable enough to not stab you in the back. Which means a klingon casually walking away is a sign that they respect that you are honorable enough to do the same.
As Dagoth Ur would say it "come to me openly, and not by stealth"
It’s a shame Gowron went from being this thoughtful and honorable to almost destroying the empire.
@joseph1985 He may have been corrupt but there are some lines even a klingon wont cross when it comes to honor. Gowron was a product of his times, leader decadent and corrupt empire but he was the best of what they had. Duras would have been far worse.
@@luminaire4946 He's a feudalist, but an honest one...
The biggest issues I have with the back half of DS9 was with how drastically several of the characters were altered. They made Odo soft, Gowron treacherous, Dukat zealous, etc and those changes largely weren’t earned. They made some efforts to earn it but the changes were such complete 180s that it still felt forced
@@DemonofLight80it's been a while; odo fell in love, dust lost his daughter
@@alyzluke801 I'd say the 180 happened with dukat with the dominion. Dude was improving as a man and learning to change.
then goes crawling to people he knows doesn't care about cardassia just so he can relive his glory days
Before this moment, the Klingon High Council might have been able to claim that the least of the Klingon people was still more honorable than the greatest Ferengi. However, on this day a mere bar owner proved himself to understand honor better than the assembled Klingon High Council.
To be fair, Quark is kind of a special case.
Anyone who has spent a lot of time around the federation is a special case. They even turned Borgs to their ideals.
There was more romance in this slap and kiss than all the awkward moments of writers trying to to force a romance between Chakotay and Janeway in Voyager .
There was more love between her and Tuvok then Chakotey.
That's why he went with seven at the end of the... Seven jear journey.
😅😂
Good thing they were on Qos'nos or Julian was likely to get another lesson in not asking questions. lol
Every single romantic subplot in VOY felt forced, honestly.
I thought fans shipped them in more than the writers did. I thought they had chemistry but Janeway wasn't going to be in a relationship, first of all that's her first officer and it would be inappropriate, second of all Kate Mulgrew didn't want her character to be in a relationship.
''Son of.. whatever''.
Talking about insulting a Klingon! Spitting on his ancestors honor! Their name! Well done, Quark!
Reading 1: the name of his father isn't worth remembering.
Reading 2: too many candidates.
@@Tounushi oof, I never thought about 2
@@Tounushi "whatever" not 'whoever'.
Reading 3: D'gor's mother fornicated with animals or worse, Romulans.
@@RequiemPoete how about "son of veQ (Klingon for garbage)"?
@@BrotherDerrick3X When I played WoW I named a mage Gospodar which is Croatian for worthless.
While it's easy to assume that metal clanging was the sound of the weapons hitting the floor, it was actually the sound of Quark's massive balls of steel dropping to the deck after pulling off that move.
Agreed.
*CLANG*
Latinum plated.
Nah, those would have made a much louder clang, than that flimsy batleth.
Latinum. Latinum lobes. Gold pressed latinum at that.
I like how Grilka backhands the shit out of Quark and then kisses him when he complains. I think these two kept seeing each other after this, lol.
They did, worf got jelous of their relationship xD
He got together with Jadzia in the same one
You'll want to look up "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places" (S5E3). It is the horniest Trek episode.
@@Marguns21 in the Star Trek Online timeline, Worf did get with Grilka, and she gave him another son.
@@BrotherDerrick3X This annoys me. He's Quark's woman.
@@RequiemPoete also according to the Star Trek Online timeline, Grilka married someone else after Quark and before Worf. I don't remember the Klingon's name, but they had a daughter. But her 3rd husband was killed in the Dominion War.
“But if you can murder this pathetic little man” - that was great.
Make your weakness your strength.
Hey, if all the Klingon women at least he was married to an attractive one.
One of the durass sisters were hot.
@@RequiemPoete
B'ETOR
GWYNETH WALSH
@@andrewblanchard2398 And now both of them are after that torpedo turned them into plasma!
From a human point of view. For a klingon she probably was too human-like :D (and for a ferengi wearing too much clothes)
The one from Voyager was gorgeous. Harry was an idiot.
Gowron should’ve rewarded Quark by making him Minister of Finance to the Klingon Empire
such a bad idea tho lol
Having a Ferangi serve in such a high position would have dishonored Gowron, the high counsel, and the Klingon empire. Klingons would be disgusted that a Ferangi held such a position of authority over them, and that he was given that position over a member of a noble Klingon house. Both Gowron and Quark would have been killed in a matter of hours after the announcement
Hell yeah :D lol
Yeah imagine that! Quark, Son of Keldar, Conqueror of Debt!
"You have honoured your house.. *Gowron's wide eyed stare of surprise*...and the Klingon Economy" 😅😅
Something that really works in the House of Quark episode is that Armin Shimerman (Quark) and Mary Kay Adams (Grilka) actually have great chemistry together. I think you could have made a spinoff based on their relationship.
Agreed I wish the characters stayed married and the writers actually explored the relationship. I would love to see rom and nog react to quark married and in a good relationship. Think of the comedy gold
A brave Ferengi...who would have thought?
2:09 I guess Gowron had just been convinced that D'Ghor was also guilty of the financial crap Quark had accused him of earlier.
After all, if you're dishonorable enough to slaughter a defenseless Ferengi, underhanded financial tactics are small potatoes for someone like D'Ghor.
I think gowron knew exactly what quark was telling him when he saw the financial records infront of him and believed him from the beginning.
@@ScottyDont1945 yup, Gowron wasn't stupid, which also means he knows that that kind of financial stuff doesn't mean anything to klingons. Quark showing D'Ghor also being dishonorable in combat gave him just the right hook to throw him out.
When Gowron asked if Quark was ready, he was looking directly at the camera. All through the speech, his eyes were camera left: Watching D'Gor, and that his posture was poised to kill despite Quark being unarmed. There's a reason Gowron was able to get across the room so fast; he'd seen it coming from the moment the speech began.
Yup, and his eyes were clearly saying, "You better fucking not, D'Gor"
Yeah, from that moment, it was a trial on D'Ghor's honour. Which he failed.
I think Quark was counting on that as he looked at Gowron when saying "No honour", and would have seen then that Gowron was not giving the look of judgement to Quark.
Yeah. I think at 1:39 you see Gowron realize D'Gor would do it. That is when he made up his mind about him.
The best part was Quark 'running away' was all part of the ruse, because word travels quick, Because #14 in the Rules of Acquisition clearly states: "Sometimes the quickest way to find profits is to let them find you."
He LET her find him, and he profited in winning the combat unscathed. Then, following Rule #87: "Learn the customer's weaknesses, so that you can better take advantage of him." He knew D'gor had no honor as a Klingon, so he just followed up with the weakness.
If anything, Quark followed the Rules of Acquisition to a T.
No. Quark really ran away and changed his mind.
@@RequiemPoete All part of the plan
A true Ferengi
He acquisition his life a little longer...lol
@@quinnbaygo2112this is literally a rule, can't profit if you're dead.
This was one of the best scenes in DS9. Yeah, Sisko's monologue in "In the Pale Moonlight", "The Visitor", "Duet", all those we've all talked about at length. This scene never gets the same justice, but it ranks right up there with them.
Came here to write exactly the same thing
Probably my second favorite scene in the show, after the confrontation between Garak and Sisko in ITPM.
the Benny Russell breakdown in Far Beyond the Stars gets a lot of points for me, too. Absolutely electric acting, especially considering Avery Brooks also directed that episode at the same time.
"'I'm Quark, son of Keldar and I have come to challenge DeGor, son of whatever"...and that is how to stand up to bullies....
I really think that was to prime D'Ghor into doing the foolish thing D'Ghor ultimately did. By insulting his ancestry D'Ghor now really, really wants to kill Quark, and he falls for the bait.
The three way between Quark "forgetting" D'Ghor's father's name, D'Ghor being enraged, and Gowron calling him to stay calm (with a simple hand gesture)
Gowron was basically saying "I get it, he forgot it. That is very dishonorable. But he is an outsider, he doesn't know our traditions. He at least tries. Just wait a moment and you'll get your chance to fight him and prove your honor"
And it was obvious that Quark misplaced the name on purpose.
He applies rule of acquisition 18 "Never make fun of a Ferengi's mother." Just adopted to the klingon focus on paternal ancestry.
Followed by rule 194: "It's always good business to know about new customers before they walk in your door."
He would obviously gather information on D'Ghor. Quark would know that as a klingon the father's name is important. And that overlooking the father is disgraceful and would manipulate his opponent.
With that he applies rule 98: "Every man has his price." And he just reduced D'Ghor's price.
But he also applies rule 62: "The riskier the road, the greater the profit." and rule 125: "You can't make a deal if you're dead."
He was risking his life, but following rule 194 he knew what would happen and that he would survive the situation.
As rule 9 "Opportunity plus instinct equals profit." and rule 3 "Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to." say. He had the instinct to maneuver the situation and manipulate those around him reducing the price for his acquisition. Which in this case was to get out of that whole klingon dilemma.
I love of Gowron knealt down to Quark instead of speaking over him. That showed that Quark proved to be honorable and had earned his respect.
Probably my favorite Gowron moment. Had he not grown paranoid near the end of the series and tried to indirectly kill or dishonor Martok so the latter would not become Chancellor (which he had no interest in doing anyway), he probably would have gone down in history as a great leader of the Klingon Empire.
Probably also my favorite Quark moment. I've always believed that it takes more strength, courage, and honor to back down from a fight than to join one, and Quark proved it here. He knew he didn't stand a chance, so he did the only logical thing and refused to fight.
agreed. Power corrupts but keep in mind back in the Next Generation he wasn't exactly always the perfect honorable Klingon. There was a time when he threatened ambassador K'lyar
Gowron was shown to be a manuevering politician from the beginning. Being an underdog outsider, he cleverly knew how to read others in what they wanted, and what threat they posed to him. He knew immediately the cloned Emperor was just a ploy to take his power away by his critics. With Martok, he knew the general was getting too popular and needed a way to soften that down because it was damn dangerous for him to show he was becoming irrelevant. What he did was the Klingon way - what he didn't expect was how Worf was going to put an end to it.
If there is one thing Klingons can respect of Ferengi, it's that they know how to find Honor without the spilling of blood. For the wounds they can leave can last forever.
Or in this case, seven generations lol, Discommendation in Klingon culture is a horrifying sentence.
Quark is one of the most redeemable Ferengi that has ever lived. He really grew as a character and then his nephew Nog became the first Ferengi in Starfleet and a damn good one at that.
As someone who played Star Trek Online, he would later become Captain of the USS Chimera.
0:14 Quark enters the room and within seconds he *lands the first blow!!* XDD
The day a Ferengi showed more courage than a room full of "warriors"
I personally think he just took a risky gamble and came out on top. I think he knew Gowron wanted to rule in his favour, but just didn't have the authority to do so. Honestly Gowron showed how much of a shrewd politician he was by picking up on Quark's hidden message.
@@censorduck What do you call bravery if not the willingness to do something incredibly risk in spite of the personal risk? Quark could have just walked away and left the Klingons to their own designs. But he choose to put his neck on the line as both a personal point of pride and as a favor to a woman who all but kidnapped him.
@@censorduck I think what Quark counted on was D'gor taking pity, or at least not seeing honor in killing Quark, but what Quark didn't count on Gowron's interpretation of his act. To Gowron it seemed that Quark bet everything on honor.
@@RequiemPoete I dunno, I think that Quark read Gowron's behaviour . Also Gowron is a bit of a cunning maneuverer too.
If there was anyone in the world who thought that Qwark had no intelligence has never seen this episode
Anyone who has that thought has never seen the show period.
Quark might not have allot of academic knowledge, but it definitely takes allot of intelligence to navigate people the way he does.
I'm legit convinced at this point that Quark is a Ferengi Thomas Aquinas or Augustine of Hippo
When my children do something wrong, I cross my arms and turn my back like in this scene. They must then earn their place back into the Empire.
They are going to put me in a very bad nursing home one day. Of that I am sure, but I will have the final laugh because there is no inheritance. Bwahahahaha!
@Andrew25367 You have to get your jollies where you can in life.
Always fun to ask your kid, "Do you accept discommendation?"
@@marsneedstowels lol
You must show honor to gain my respect and you get none of my acquisitions! How very Klingon and Ferengi of you. Truly you are teaching them good values. There's no joke here people!
@@d-man3589 lol
I love D'gor's face. *He turns*
Gowron: "Look, you're already gonna kill him dead...you want wait five mintues for him to finish speaking
Quark: "I'm gonna ruin this man's WHOLE FAMILY LINE"
I’m a family attorney (not always happy one, mind you). Man, I’d love to see Klingon prenups, marital settlement agreements and custody schedules.
“Then it is settled, the child shall spend 30 percent and weekends with K’tang, son of Asshole! At least, according to his recently former wife...”
I lost on the second paragraph, especially, 'K'tang, son of Asshole!" 😂😂😂
Interesting. In the german voice over he does not say "I wish i could say thats comforting" to grilka but he say something like "I take him down the ferengi way." Never seen the translation made so wildly different. The original creates tension by giving the impression that quark might die. But in the german translation the idea is placed in you head that quark will take him down but you are being made curious on HOW he will do it which creates another kind of curious tension in you. Both ways actually work and have their merrits. But still i find the choice to translate it differently interesting.
Didnt know that
Thanks
I'm never surprised by a bad translation.
I thought English translations of Japanese were bad, then I learned the language and discovered how terrible Japanese translations of English are.
Now nothing surprises me.
@@awkwardcultism To be fair, both languages are wildly different. A good translation is very hard.
Probably because German and Klingonese are the same language?
This was one of those rare magical moments in a TV show.
Where the character development was so powerful, that if you didn't like him before.
You did now.
Yep, I definitely respected or liked Quark a lot more after this episode.
Quark was the star of ds9
That and the scene where he talks to Odo when Odo went nuts when he lost Kira and he trashed his apartment. That moment where you know they don't like each other as friends, but respect each other enough to care.
Quark was a powerhouse from day 1.
Quark may be greedy at times, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.
3:51 Klingon style divorce, I am dead.
I remember this episode and I was so stunned and awed by the solution. One of the more intriguing episodes.
"well I'm not gonna make it so easy on you" then gowrons eyes widen just a bit and his head comes up just a bit, I can see the thought "o shit he got us" 😂
Not sure how much wider Gowron's eyes can get, but yeah, he was like, "This Ferengi still has courage."
How could Gowron's eyes get WIDER?
I love how Rom just stands there with his mouth open all the way through like he's thinking WTF just happened?
You’d think Ron would be used to Quark’s crazy plans, eh?
@@joshuahadams Quark's action was fundamentally selfless and incredibly risky. Those are features Rom isn't used to seeing from his brother's plans. ;-)
Here is the real question. Did Quark realize just how badly he insulted D'Gor or did he just not know his father's name?
I'll guess both.
Memory Alpha doesn’t seem to know D’Ghor’s father’s name.
0:17 - That moment D’Gor does the Klingon equivalent of clutching his pearls
Jimmies were rustled.
Well I never!
😂
"Oh my heavens to Betsy!" *faints on couch*
I love how Gowron is like I'll allow it 🤣
This really shows how sharp Quark is. The way he took advantage of Klingon performative honor is brilliant.
So many tiny moments of clever acting:
When D'Gor glances at Gowron at 1:05 - a clear indication he's no idea what to now
Grilka at 1:20 as she realises that holy fuck this is gonna work
The fact that Quark spends as much time adressing Gowron as anyone else - it's Gowron's honor he's really appealing to.
And most of all, the fact that Gowron is still and tense at 1:22 AND 1:41 waiting for D'Gor to move all that time
Let's not forget that look and little gasp at 0:17 that just screams "Did you hear what that guy just said about me?"
Gowron never took his eyes off D’Gor the entire time during Quark’s delivery
Quark. The man who can out-logic a Vulcan and defeat a Klingon just by using their sense of honor against them.
"The Bat'leth is a shit weapon"
The Bat'leth is a _defensive_ weapon. Designed to make duels last a long time, which encourages caution and endurance.
No. It's an ergonomic nightmare designed only because it looks kewl.
And if it is hit just right it can shatter.... Leaving the pieces of to be picked up by a son of mogh' to kill the chancellor.
See what I did there?
In beta canon there's the fantastic story of K'plok, a warrior who sneezed during a bat'leth demo and managed to behead himself. He was later renamed K'ploP and became the vey first klingon comic. Posthumously.
to be fair, the ergonomics are meant for aliens, so we don't know if they find human weapons to be unwieldy.
@@deathpyre42 But the Klingon structure is similar to a human's, plus we do see them use more traditional looking swords.
Honestly, a far less painful method of divorce than most
i mean, it beats a moclan divorce...
I knew Quark was greedy but damn... He took everything from that guy lol
"The art of fighting without fighting."
--Bruce Lee, Enter the Dragon
A battle avoided is a battle won. -- Quintus Fabius Maximus
@@hagamapama “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
@@momokochama1844 You Sun Tzu me, I'll Sun Tzu you right back.
"Every battle is won before it is fought."
@@hagamapama well, in that case, I just Tzu back :)
"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity"
(you know, that could quite as well be a Rule of Aquisition)
I kinda feel bad for D'Gor. I mean, what is he supposed to do in this situation? If he tries to kill Quark, what you see here is the result. If he doesn't kill Quark, then Quark retains his house. Sure, he could try and undermine it again, but he was relying on Kozak's ignorance to pull off his scheme, and now the house has one of the galaxy's best financial advisors leading it, making what he was doing before almost impossible.
Basically, Quark pulled a pro gamer move and made it impossible for D'Gor to win.
"Ferengi. You indeed have honor and I respect that. But my honor must be defended. Withdraw your accusation against me, and I swear this battle ends now, amicably." If Quark refused. "I offer one last chance. You have satisfied your honor and house. Withdraw your accusation and live. Refuse, and force me to kill a man I respect to clear my name."
That's how D'Gor had an out. Acknowledge Quark's honor and give Quark an option. Instead D'Gor was blinded by greed and his near victory, that he didn't consider how it would look to the council.
The only thing he could have done is to tell Quark "remove your claim of my dishonor and we can all move on from this" or something to that effect.
@@RequiemPoete True, But if he was someone like that, he probably wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place
The moment a Ferengi was brought into the dispute his plans were over.
@@CountDVB Yep. D'gor probably thought "All I gotta do is kill this idiot Ferengi and that bitch's lands are FINALLY mine? BLAAAAARGH!!!!!!"
"Son of whatever. I care so little about your ancestors that I can't be bothered to remember their names."
Quark and Garak's "rootbeer" discussion had been my favorite Quark scene. Forgot about this one. To close to call.
What about their debate about 'fashion' and politics?
@@RequiemPoete this one is still my favorite mainly because the fashion was a very clear warning, but this, this was a bitchslap and a half. This ferengi ran circles around the Klingon and gave him enough rope to hang himself.
Giving the Vulcan Maquis a lesson in logic.
The conversation with Sisko about how humans hate Ferengi because they remind them of their past.
The "it's a figure of speech" conversation with Sisko.
It goes on.
The "too close to call" for me is whether Quark or Garak is the best DS9 character. They're just both SO consistently awesome, despite both being outsiders.
@@R2Parmly Which is better? 'Yes.'
Both of them know how to say things, without saying it.
Another of these moments is when Sisko asks Garak to take new measurements while discussing important political details regarding the upcoming klingon invasion with his staff. He totally knows that Garak will send that information to Cardassia. And Garak knows that Sisko knows. Sisko even asks if Garak has everything he needs.
I can't be the only one who thought, "YEAH BOY! Get you some!" When she went in for that kiss. Quark is the fucking man.
There is another episode later when the two meet again and he gets himself A LOT more :)
@@CzechMirco I love how Worf is smitten by her and tries to persue her for half the episode.
This is one of my favorite moments in all of DS9, period. That, and the scene before it with Quark of D'Gor being accused of using MONEY! to overthrow a great house.
Ranked! Quark just set this tiny Klingons heart ablaze with lusty feelings after his display of honor bashing towards D'gore. I'm not surprised Grilka kissed him afterwords.
Probably the first and only time a Klingon got hot and bothered by someone refusing to fight.
When D'Gor moved to kill Quark and said the word Ferengi, he said it with a lot of hatred behind it like he hated Quark and regarded him as his blood enemy or something.
We're just gonna ignore the fact that she kept quarks cloak/cape thingy? 🧐🧐
She is saving that for later I bet.
@@tharengore7215 no doubt. That cape is, in technical terms, pimpin 🎩
Quark may not have become Nagus, but there are those in the Klingon Empire who will sing of "The Ferengi's Duel" forever.
the dude not only won a duel against a klingon by DROPPING his weapon, but he also managed to part ways with his wife on friendly terms. He has skill xD
Well, it was an economical marriage and the reason they got married got resolved.
Quark has:
Proven himself more honorable than a Klingon...
Out-logiced a Vulcan...
Out-maneuvered multiple Changelings...
Legally gotten out of paying the Ferengi IRS (on multiple occasions)...
Killed Jem'Hadar in battle...
He's even made Cardassians and Vorta want to leave conversations!
In short: Quark has mastered the ability to max out rep in all factions... He's a better diplomat than most of the Federation leadership!
And he's happiest running a bar.
Quark defeated a Klingon with Tax law he was impressive as hell and had balls of steel
Also told off a Starfleet captain.
It just dawned on me that Robert O'Reilly NEVER seems to blink.
Guy probably had the best eyes for any Klingon character ever.
Quark is Star Trek's Tyrion Lannister. He survives not by fighting, but by thinking and charisma.
"That's what I do. I think and sell things."
@@RJALEXANDER777 "What was it you called me Sisko? A lust-filled, drunken beast."
I would love to see a conversation between the two. Or Tyrion and Garak, or all three of them together.
And Garak is Varys.
At the end, Rom looks like he shat himself LMAO!!!!!
One of the many aspects of DS9 I love is that pretty much all main characters - and even most secondary ones - are three dimensional. Quark is often the comic relief, but he is actually so much more than that. For one, he is brilliant when it comes to business savvy, strategy, and thinking on your feet. The way he used Klingon honor here to his advantage is one example of that. Another one is how he dismantled the faulty logic behind the Maquis' plans and presented a far superior and reasonable alternative. And in this instance, the Maquis in question was a freakin' *Vulcan*!
Quark is the most Consistent Hero on the Show
2:59 They are equals now. He got down on Quark's level, and made sure they both rose at the same time.
Bravery is what brings the Klingons honor, not death, nor physical strength.
If only Gowron didn't get so paranoid and nutty.
In some way the klingons understand rule of acquisition 62 "The riskier the road, the greater the profit." and rule 125 "You can't make a deal if you're dead."
They are honorable warriors, but they aren't stupid.
Quark just unleashed the *sickest* burn one could inflict on a Klingon on poor D'Gor there.
I like the small gasp D'Gor does.
Quark faced down a Klingon armed with nothing but words and shame. My boy's got lobes of tritanium.
If i was in Quarks position i would have done the same. So i could see the look on his face as he is dragged away with Dishonour.
Who the f*** gave a dislike and why??
xavvijay the downvote was from some lowlife relative of DeGor
Must have been Alex Kurtzman. You know how he is with Klingons.
Being married to Grilka would be far from the worst of fates. Unquestionably.