In many ways, “The Nagus” has a very traditional Star Trek spirit.

It’s yet another episode that posits the idea that peace, love, and understanding actually is possible between people from fundamentally different cultures. All it takes is a little trust, a pinch of stubbornness, and the optimism of children who haven’t yet quite caught on that they’re not supposed to have anything in common, let alone forge an unshakeable friendship that will profoundly affect both of them in ways their 14-year-old selves can’t possibly imagine.

Yet, as traditional as the sentiments expressed in the episode are, it does so in a way that’s completely unique to the Star Trek universe. In episodes past, it was Federation adults teaching this lesson to non-Federation adults. In this episode, it’s the Federation adults who’ve got to re-learn the lesson, and discover that sometimes “boldly going where no one has gone before” without ever leaving your home is the hardest thing you can ever do, especially if you're hobbled by a touch of prejudice and enough experience that reinforces that prejudice.

This episode…this one right here…is the one that made me fall madly in love with one of DS9’s unique signatures: Jake’s and Nog’s unsinkable and enduring friendship and how that friendship makes these two characters grow in surprising, yet completely logical, ways over the course of the series.

( Episode 10: The Nagus )

While I’m not usually fond of stories where the adults are all wrong and the kids are all right (‘tis the stuff that treacle-y family sitcoms are made of), in this case the version of that story hits all the right notes. The adults are wrong for all the right reasons, and the kids are right for all the wrong ones.

Certainly, the adults in the B-story have every right to be concerned, given past history and the traditional tension between Ferengi cultural values vs. Federation cultural values, and that makes their wrongness both forgivable and understandable.

And the kids, with their limited experience of the universe, have no idea just how wrong things can go and how severe the consequences can be if their judgment is in error. For that reason, you end up with a very satisfying B story that simply makes you happy to watch it unfold and leaves you with a stupid grin on your face.