i’m watching our man bashir for the second time and god this episode is just everything
- the fact that garak doesn’t stop applauding until julian comes over to him
- how garak complains that julian spends every free hour on the holoprogram which he’d only know if he was watching him constantly
- garak’s constant smile and how he’s obviously both amused and delighted by everything
- how said smile drops the moment julian’s valet touches him
- nana visitor is gorgeous
- i assume colonel komananov is just a thicc dark-haired barrelchested short guy who is super sexxxy and very ~mysterious in the original - in fact lbr ALL the love-interests are just iterations of garak in the original
- when julian says ‘he knows nothing’ and garak looks so downcast and you can tell that’s the moment it stops being fun and that julian is punishing him
- julian is just so so handsome it’s ridiculous
- garak willing to kill miles just to prove a point (and definitely not because he’s mad o'brien was caressing his boyfriend with his gun)
- duchamp is always played by a worf clone bc he’s hot as fuck in a white tux. also he and dr noah are always dating
- JULIAN DOESN’T EVEN BOTHER GIVING GARAK AN ALIAS
- garak has no idea what human money means but watching julian haggle with worf!duchamp is something he’s going to remember next time the good doctor tries to demur on price
- garak’s little wobble as he goes down when he gets knocked out
- when sisko rants and garak just stares at him like god damn is this really the kind of people your species came up with? like how did you people make it this far?? and why aren’t you just assassinating him like a good spy would?
- garak getting up when sisko calls julian mr bashir like honey, honey no i’ve been in this situation before this is where they try to kill you honey time to go
- “is that your play?” THE GREATEST LINE IN GARASHIR HISTORY
- lbr that whole scene is the biggest argument for garashir ever like no way you’re willing to act out that embarrassing attempt at seduction in front of a man you’re not having sex with
- the whole argument underground it breaks my heart every time. the fact that garak is always testing, testing, testing the bounds of their friendship, that he has clearly had this unspoken belief this whole time that it will be up to him to make the hard choice and save them both when the time comes and he’s just been holding off to see what julian will do until then, and that combined with julian’s clear frustration that comes less from garak’s threatening everyone’s life than from the fact that garak won’t believe in him to know what he’s doing and to do the right thing. and you can see it from how he says ‘it’s my fantasy, trust me!’ so sincerely, to even the moment when he finally shoots garak with such precision and gives him that disgruntled look after, all to let garak know that he, julian, knows what he’s doing and is more than capable of doing it. he just wants garak to believe in him
- WHEN HE TOUCHES GARAK’S CHIN AND TELLS HIM IT’S A FLESH WOUND THEY’RE BOTH SO CASUALLY PHYSICAL WITH EACH OTHER I DIE
- how julian’s nose crinkles whenever he gets intense in his final showdown with sisko (and there are definitely iterations of the holoprogram where he and noah hatefuck for sure)
- garak was straight up going to snap sisko’s neck if he tried to shoot julian
- IT ENDS WITH GARAK INVITING HIMSELF BACK TO JULIAN’S PORN PROGRAM IT’S AMAZING
also bonus: garak’s hair being Down and Out and Loose all episode like damn boy you saw the tux and decided to be as fancy as possible? it just swings around freely like you wanna just toss it over your shoulder and stalk off to julian’s hideously decorated holo-bedroom like you’re daring him to follow
in short, good ep