A Simple Investigation
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 31 March 1997
- ON
- First-run syndication
- STARDATE
- None given
- DIRECTED BY
- John T. Kretchmer
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 515
WRITTEN BYWritten by René Echevarria
A mysterious woman caught breaking into the station's computer catches Odo's attention, and his investigation soon becomes far more personal than he expected.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Odo arrests Arissa, a woman caught trying to break into the station's computer, who claims she is searching for a daughter she gave up. When the contact she was meeting is found murdered, she admits she has been working for the Orion Syndicate and wants to escape it. Odo hides her from the Syndicate's killers, Traidy and Sorm, and as he protects her the two fall in love. Arissa hopes to trade a datacrystal for her freedom. Then an Idanian official reveals the truth: Arissa is an undercover agent whose real memories were suppressed for her mission, and the crystal holds her true identity. After an attempt on her life is foiled, her memories are restored. She returns to the life she had forgotten, leaving Odo heartbroken.
- 01The story drew inspiration from the 1952 film The Narrow Margin, in which a police officer falls for the witness he is protecting.
- 02Echevarria's script had Arissa watch Odo regenerate, but Ira Steven Behr cut it, preferring to show Odo's intimacy in humanoid form.
- 03Dey Young had previously played Hannah Bates in The Next Generation episode “The Masterpiece Society”.