History Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS02E14Whispers

Assigning him to fix three pylons that have oddly broken down, O'Brien asks what Sisko was talking to Keiko about outside the school. Sisko assures him that he was simply discussing Jake's slipping grades. Reporting for his physical, O'Brien is rather peeved that it's taking an exceedingly long time and makes the leap that everyone is acting weird and the overly long physical is because he's dying. Rather than respond, Bashir quickly gives him a clean bill of health and lets him leave.

* CopiedTheMoralsToo: The replicant O'Brien is ''too'' good a copy to fulfill his intended purpose as an assassin because he has all of the original O'Briens personality. He actually spends most of his time on [=DS9=] trying to investigate why things seem off in the hopes of protecting the station.

** Quark quotes one of the Rules of Acquisition, but doesn't quite remember which one it is (he thinks it's "one of the high numbers"), even though in earlier episodes he's always remembered the exact number. This seems to support replicant O'Brien's suspicion that the people aboard Deep Space 9 have somehow been changed or replaced, but in the end it turns out to be a complete coincidence.

* YankTheDogsChain: Happens a few times to poor O'Brien, even before TheReveal of his true nature;

* {{Irony}}: The episode's premise is built on this, combined with a CruelTwistEnding: O'Brien suspects the rest of the [=DS9=] crew has been replaced or subverted by an unknown alien force ala Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers, only to find out that ''he's'' the one who was replaced.

* WholePlotReference: The episode is a combination of ''Film/TheParallaxView'' and ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers''. Also ''Imposter'' by Creator/PhilipKDick.

* WholePlotReference: The episode is a combination of ''Film/TheParallaxView'' and ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers''.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Jake and Quark are the only people to treat the replicant normally, as they are not Starfleet officers and have no reason to know that anything is wrong. Near the end of the episode, Jake is looped in to help search for the replicant.

* {{Padding}}: The HowWeGotHere device was added because the episode was running short due to never being able to cut away from O'Brien without spoiling the ending.

* {{Padding}}: The HowWeGotHere device was added because the episode was running short due to never being able to cut away from O'Brien without spoiling the ending.

* {{Filler}}: The HowWeGotHere device was added because the episode was running short due to never being able to cut away from O'Brien without spoiling the ending.

** Quark quotes one of the Rules of Acquisition, but doesn't quite remember which one it is (he thinks it's "one of the high numbers"), even on though in earlier episodes he's always remembered the exact number. This seems to support replicant O'Brien's suspicion that the people aboard Deep Space 9 have somehow been changed or replaced, but in the end it turns out to be a complete coincidence.

* WhamShot: After "O'Brien" is shot by a rebel, a door opens...revealling another O'Brien on a biobed.

* DownerEnding: Why yes, you '''can''' have your mind blown and become utterly depressed at the same time.

-->--Miles O'Brien[[spoiler:'s replicant.]]

[[RunningGag In this episode of "O'Brien Must Suffer"]], O'Brien, minus his com-badge, is piloting a runabout to the Parada system alone. Opening a personal log, he begins to recount the events of the last 52 hours. How he got here. And why he's convinced someone is out to get him.

It began when he returned from the Parada system. In preparation for a peace conference about [=DS9=], he underwent basic training for the security measures aboard the station. When he wakes up in his quarters, things are off. Molly refuses to touch him and Keiko seems nervous. It's also ''5:30 AM.'' With the excuse of several essays to read, Keiko hurries off to daycare with Molly.

Shrugging off the oddness, he heads in for duty. Only to find an Ensign named [=DeCurtis=] repairing a system O'Brien was waiting to fix until Odo returned to the station. [=DeCurtis=] informs him that he was given direct orders from Sisko to do this. Fairly annoyed at being overstepped like this, he heads off to speak with him. Only to see Sisko and Keiko having a suspicious conversation outside the school.

Assigning him to fix three pylons that have oddly broken down, O'Brien asks what Sisko was talking to Keiko about outside the school. He assures him that he was simply discussing Jake's slipping grades. Reporting for his physical, O'Brien is rather peeved that it's taking an exceedingly long time. Assuming everyone is acting weird and the overly long physical is because he's dying, Bashir quickly gives him a clean bill of health and lets him leave.

Heading back to work, he runs into Jake. Who inquires if O'Brien can help him with an upcoming science project. This little interaction turns odd when O'Brien mentions Jake's slipping grades, only for Jake to say his grades are just fine. Which means Sisko lied.

It just keeps getting weirder for him. Ensign [=DeCurtis=] opening a door he insists only Kira had access codes to. Jake suddenly falling ill and not being able to come over for help with his project. Keiko cooking his favorite meal and yet acting oddly distant.

Late that night, O'Brien pores over every conceivable scan he think of. From unknown chemical agents to telepathic activity. Coming to a dead end there, he goes through the station logs. Only to run across a suddenly restricted file that requires level 1 clearance. Which he has. And yet his security code is rejected.

Visiting Odo in his office, even ''he's'' acting weird now. And to compound things, Sisko and Kira advance on him with weapons drawn. Drawing a hidden flashbang from his sleeve, O'Brien scurries through the vents and transports himself off the station.

Getting in contact with Admiral Rollman, she orders him to give up and return to [=DS9=]. With even the highest ranks of Starfleet apparently corrupted, O'Brien can do nothing but seeks answers on Parada II.

Behind the door is Bashir...and ''[[WhamShot O'Brien]]''. The ''real'' O'Brien. The protagonist of the episode was a replicant designed to assassinate someone at the peace conference. But he was designed too well. The copy believed he was the ''real'' O'Brien and continued with O'Brien's normal life while awaiting activation. Dying on the cavern floor, the replicant reaches for O'Brien and asks one thing.

-->'''Fake!O'Brien:''' Keiko...tell her I love...

[[DownerEnding Roll credits.]]

* CallBack: When visiting Quarks, he recalls the cancelled racquetball match from [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS02E11Rivals "Rivals"]].

* DramaticIrony: The episode's premise is built on this, combined with a CruelTwistEnding: O'Brien suspects the rest of the [=DS9=] crew has been replaced or subverted by an unknown alien force ala Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers, only to find out that ''he's'' the one who was replaced.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When O'Brien is checking station logs, there's an entry by Sisko mentioning Cardassian movements along the border, and complaints from Federation colonies in the Demilitarized Zone. This is actually the franchise's first mention of the DMZ, which will go on to have major long-term ramifications for the Trek universe.[[labelnote:*]] Assuming that the timeframe was roughly the same as for the TNG episodes that were airing at the same time as [=DS9=], then the treaty responsible for the zone hasn't actually gone into force at this point, but presumably the terms have already been agreed. Meaning that a lot of colonists along the border will just have learned that their homes will be Cardassian territory in a few months.[[/labelnote]]

** Possibly some FridgeBrilliance to this. Why did the clone behave just like O'Brien? Because O'Brien isn't a soldier, operative or diplomat who might have to make moral decisions and pick sides - he's just a maintenance tech with a wife and child. He just wants to get through the day and in the end go home to his family. It is when his family behaves oddly toward him that he suspects something - because he is a maintenance man who fixes broken things.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: In perhaps one of the most subtly depressing uses of this trope ever, the already suspicious O'Brien replicant seems to really realize something is truly wrong when Keiko is kind and considerate to him after a long off-station assignment.
** Well, more accurately, he becomes suspicious because Keiko is unusually cold and antsy around him- not communicating with him, not reciprocating his physical affection, and acting jumpy and uneasy around him. True, the icing on the cake for his paranoia was when she cooked him a meal she knew he liked (that she didn’t) but he was pleased by this until she picked a salad for herself, making him think the food was poisoned.

* RedHerring: Quark quotes one of the Rules of Acquisition, but doesn't quite remember which one it is (he thinks it's "one of the high numbers"), even on though in earlier episodes he's always remembered the exact number. This seems to support replicant O'Brien's suspicion that the people aboard Deep Space 9 have somehow been changed or replaced, but in the end it turns out to be a complete coincidence.

* RewatchBonus: Watching the episode knowing TheReveal properly contextualizes the behaviors of the other characters -- Keiko is initially dodgy around "O'Brien" and gets herself and Molly away from him as quick as she can, but after a talk with Sisko she acts normal around him but is still on edge. The crew is probably not fully aware of what "O'Brien" is capable of and how he might react if confronted, and they're not even sure if he's a replicant or not, so they don't take direct action against him and keep him occupied with other tasks while keeping him out of the loop about conference security. When they do take action, they try to take him alive, likely to interrogate him and find out what his mission was.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: A Paradan rebel shoots Replicant!O'Brien right before TheReveal, eventually killing him.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Whatever the replicant's purpose was, it was never revealed. Assassination is suggested as a likely possibility.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When O'Brien is checking station logs, there's an entry by Sisko mentioning Cardassian movements along the border, and complaints from Federation colonies in the Demilitarized Zone. This is actually the franchise's first mention of the DMZ, which will go on to have major long-term ramifications for the Trek universe.[[labelnote:*]] The treaty responsible for the zone hasn't actually gone into force at this point, but presumably the terms have already been agreed. Meaning that a lot of colonists along the border will just have learned that their homes will be Cardassian territory in a few months.[[/labelnote]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When O'Brien is checking station logs, there's an entry by Sisko mentioning Cardassian movements along the border, and complaints from Federation colonies in the Demilitarized Zone. This is actually the franchise's first mention of the DMZ, which will go on to have major long-term ramifications for the Trek universe.

-->--Miles O'Brien's replicant.

* DramaticIrony: The episode's premise is built on this, combined with a CruelTwistEnding: O'Brien suspects the rest of the [=DS9=] crew has been replaced or subverted by an unknown alien force ala Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers, only to find out that ''he's'' the imposter.

* HowWeGotHere: The episode opens with the replicant O'Brien fleeing the station, convinced that something's wrong with the rest of the station crew. Everything leading up to that point is told by flashback as the replicant records a personal log.
* LaResistance: The Paradan rebels, who O'Brien thinks are the bad guys, are actually the ones who rescued the ''real'' O'Brien and tipped off the crew of [=DS9=] about the replicant O'Brien.

!!Tropes

* The47Society: Parada '''IV''' has '''seven''' moons.