Introduction

“The House of Quark” is the 49th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the third episode of the third season.

Quark gets embroiled in a situation with Klingons, meanwhile Miles and Keiko O’Brien struggle to balance career and family choices.

Outline

Quark is assaulted in his bar by a drunk Klingon named Kozak, and in the scuffle Kozak accidentally stabs himself and dies. Quark pretends to have slain Kozak in self-defence so as to attract more customers with his newfound notoriety. A Klingon named D’Ghor, claiming to be Kozak’s brother, accosts Quark in private and extracts the truth, but intimidates Quark into maintaining his lie because an accidental death would embarrass the family.

Kozak’s widow, Grilka, visits Quark’s bar and abducts him. Quark awakens on the Klingon homeworld of Qo’noS, in the home of Kozak’s family. Quark sheepishly admits that Kozak’s death was an accident. Grilka’s adviser explains that Kozak was the head of House Kozak. Kozak left no male heir, leaving the House of Kozak leaderless and defunct. Women are normally forbidden from leading a House, but had Kozak’s death been ruled an accident, his wife would have been granted special dispensation to take over the family. Unfortunately, everyone believes that Kozak died in honourable combat. D’Ghor is not actually Kozak’s brother: He is from a rival House to which the House of Kozak is heavily in debt. In desperation, Grilka forcibly marries Quark, making him the new head of Kozak’s family, which legally prevents D’Ghor from seizing her property.

Quark inspects the family ledgers and discovers that for several years, D’Ghor has been using financial scams to weaken the House of Kozak’s assets. This is dishonorable conduct for a Klingon, and Quark exposes D’Ghor’s actions before Chancellor Gowron. D’Ghor, in return, reveals Quark’s lie regarding the circumstances of Kozak’s death. D’Ghor challenges Quark to a duel to the death, and to everyone’s astonishment Quark shows up for the fight. Quark throws his weapon to the ground, and denounces the duel as no better than an execution since Quark has no chance of winning. D’Ghor is happy to kill the unarmed Quark anyway, and moves in for the kill. Gowron, disgusted by D’Ghor’s conduct, aborts the duel and discommendates D’Ghor on the spot. Gowron, after complimenting Quark for showing exceptional bravery for a Ferengi, rules that there are enough “unusual circumstances” to grant Grilka special dispensation to lead her House in her dead husband’s stead. Quark asks the grateful Grilka for a divorce, which she happily and immediately grants.

In this episode’s subplot, Keiko O’Brien feels bored and useless since she closed her school due to lack of students. Her husband Miles convinces her to go on a botanical expedition to Bajor. She takes their daughter Molly with her, leaving Miles alone on the station.

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Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): Les Landau.
• Writer(s): Tom Benko.
• Release Date: 10 October 1994.
• Running Time: 45 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.