The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-21 at 1:56am:
  It is always fun to watch this episode. The problem with Worf switching realities becomes worse and worse. You start to feel bad for him. The only drawback is that the solution was too easy. Get in your shuttle, emit this kind of field, and off you go. However, that part is long after all the cool things happen. I'll never forget the Enterprises filling space, or the Enterprise from Borg infested space, who's Captain Riker refuses to go back. This episode it a balls to the ground classic. I'm giving it a 9.
• From Wolfgang on 2006-06-29 at 8:48pm:
  The disappointing ending turns a nearly-perfect one into a superb one. I guess that a 2-part episode may have presented the room for a more dramatic final, although it could have been difficult not to frustrate the viewers, and to maintain the tension.
• From Jason on 2008-02-07 at 10:41am:
  Did you notice how in one of the timelines Data had blue eyes? Spooky!
• From Paul on 2010-08-17 at 10:13pm:
  Really enjoyed this episode, the scene with hundreds of thousands of enterprises! I also enjoyed the subtle changes that were unlaboured, like data's eyes and the picture on his wall constantly changing
• From Bronn on 2013-06-04 at 5:51am:
  Agree with others that the ending was disappointing and rushed. There were some serious changes in some of the timelines, and especially with the last one, which could have been explored more. Science Fiction fans always love to ask "What if?" This episode could have been a two parter.
  
  The first part could have ended with the revelation that Worf's shifting, and his inability to perform his duty had killed Geordi. That was a moment that was not very well explored in this episode. Deanna rather casually shows up in his quarters, lightheartedly mentioning that she'd heard he'd had some trouble on the bridge. It would have had real dramatic weight if she'd had this attitude of concern and nervousness in knowing that he'd screwed up badly enough that one of their dear friends and comrades had been seriously injured. The second of the two parts would have only had one timeshift, but it would have deal with Worf accepting some of the realities of his current universe in his attempt to get back. It's a different, and grimmer one, without Captain Picard or LaForge, and they'd end up losing Worf also (most likely, since we never see what happens in that timeframe after the shift back). The grim reality of a Deanna Troi forced to give up her husband and an Enterprise losing its first officer would have made for great drama. A second part of this episode would have been a greater contribution to Trek history than some of the later episodes in season 7, like Genesis and Sub Rosa.
• From TheAnt on 2013-11-04 at 3:33pm:
  A shuttle full of Worf's.
  
  There's a bit too many episodes with time loops and alternative timelines in Star Trek.
  
  But if we would have to remove one such, this is not one of those that would have to go. Since even though it is weird, and of course completely impossible, the idea presented here is indeed found in actual scientific discussions. That for every action with a choice - two timelines would be created.
  Even the conservation of energy in creating the new split off universes would not be violated, in case the universe is a hologram - which is part of a hypothesis that have been introduced after this episode of TNG were made.
  (Not that I even for a split second think the universe works that way, but consider it to be one interesting model only.)
  
  The telling of the story is also better than for a few other alternative episodes in Start Trek. So with good science and one enjoyable story I give this episode a solid 8.
• From pzaz on 2017-08-19 at 5:25am:
  I don't get why Troi would have to "give up her husband"... once the Worf that we know goes back to his "proper" dimension, aren't all the dimensions put back to normal--and therefore, wouldn't alternative Troi's life with her husband Worf also be put back in place?
  
  hmm... this hole in the narrative logic meant I didn't feel sad for her

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-12-11 at 1:15am:
  Isn't Malcolm McDowell's character in "Generations" another El-Aurian?
• From Paul on 2010-09-18 at 2:23pm:
  Generations came out after this episode
• From Bernard on 2011-02-15 at 12:32pm:
  I do have a soft spot for this episode, but it is fairly predictable and ultimately only serves to continue the Bashir/O'Brien friendship story that runs throughout the series.
  
  My favourite moment is when O'Brien walks into the racketball court to find Bashir squatting on the floor showing him the 'V-sign'. Probably not funny to Americans but Colm Meaney's expression has me in hysterics every time I watch it.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-19 at 12:48pm:
  Obvious perhaps, but I enjoyed the appearance of Chris Sarandon (possibly best known for his role as Prince Humperdink in the Rob Reiner film "Princess Bride" who played Martus in this episode.
• From Selador on 2013-01-21 at 11:09pm:
  The luck devices were preposterous, but not actually impossible so the episode wasn't spoilt. I'm starting to like Bashir, he's irritated by the strangest things. Saw the twist coming a mile away, strange that the conman didn't, but on the whole a solidly fun episode with good dialogue that asks the viewer to suspend just a little too much belief.
• From AW on 2015-12-01 at 7:31am:
  "Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack." I think this might might be my favorite rule.
  
• From Mike on 2017-05-20 at 2:39am:
  What I've always liked about Star Trek science fiction is that it offers some ideas that are plausible, some that are annoyingly ridiculous, and some that are implausible but entertaining or interesting. This episode falls in that last category. Sure, the devices are nonsense, but the attempt at explaining how they work, as well as the plot of the episode itself, are all just good fun. The Martius/Quark rivalry is enjoyable, as is that between O'Brien and Bashir. This episode strikes me as being more of the DS9 trademark standalone episode. The crew isn't out exploring the galaxy; instead, the galaxy's intrigue comes to them. Usually it's serious, but occasionally it's lighthearted. A well done episode, worth watching a second time.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2009-01-22 at 8:49am:
  Watching this episode, something occurred to me: I can wrap my head around the idea of a shapeshifter, but how can Odo change into objects as small, or more importantly, light as he regularly does? I mean, he could change his density, but he can't change his mass, can he? Like when he's trapped in that box in "Invasive Procedures." He not only becomes smaller, but obviously much lighter, light enough to carry. Either that, or he has hardly any mass, and when he's in a humanoid shape his density goes way down. That doesn't really fly either. What gives?
• From Miles on 2009-04-06 at 9:11pm:
  Starts out good, but it ultimately fails with odo's monster transformation, which is never brought up ever again. That cool/scary obelisk also serves no further purpose. :(
• From Bernard on 2011-02-15 at 1:51pm:
  7 or 8 for the Odo's 'dad' story, 2 or 3 for the monster story.
  
  James Sloyan is a veteran of Star Trek by now and produces a good performance as Dr. Mora. Rene Auberjonois also turns in a good performance and these largely buoy the episode up a bit.
  
  We're well and truly into the 'messy, middle bit' of DS9 season 2. Muddles plots, half thought ideas coming to the surface in the last 4 episodes. Let's hope they get back on track soon!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-05-31 at 6:38pm:
  Factoid: This episode features Terry O'Quinn, who plays the character Locke on the show "Lost"
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-19 at 3:28am:
  Problems:
  Pressman mentioned that the engineering section had been exposed to space for years, preserving everything. However, there is no way that the bodies stayed intact, since flesh explodes in a vacuum.
  
  Also, the view screen showed the inside of solid rock as the Enterprise exited the asteroid. How is it lit up? I have never stuck my head inside a rock, but I'm pretty sure it would be dark.
  
• From Rob on 2008-04-24 at 10:19pm:
  Just a note: When you said that the Klingons and Romulans never developed anything like the phased cloaking device, did you forget the Romulans did attempt it? Remember the episode where Geordi and Ro are accidentally phased. It's mentioned in the episode that it appeared the Romulan's were experimenting with a new system, which Geordi later realizes was involving a 'phased cloaking device'.
  
  It wouldn't surprise me to find the Klingons haven't experimented with this (that we know of) considering how they feel about scientists overall.
• From Evan on 2008-05-26 at 4:26pm:
  To the primary comment why the Romulan's just let the Enterprise leave, it's possible that they didn't expect to be able to do anything. If the Romulans attacked, the Enterprise could have just recloaked; its unlikely that the warbird would have been able to do enough damage before the Enterprise recloaked. At the same time, such an act would have very profound implications. I'm sure the warbird captain already knew what was going on.
  
  Orion Pimpdaddy: first, no, flesh won't explode if exposed to a vacuum. "2001: A Space Odyssey" as well as TNG: "Disaster" get this right. (Or mostly right; in Disaster, Crusher says that she and LaForge should hold their breath when exposed to the vacuum. This is the wrong thing to do.) Second, the Enterprise does have exterior lights.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-01-11 at 2:46pm:
  I realize now that flesh does NOT explode in space. My bad. Thank you for the correction.
• From Robert Koenn on 2011-07-05 at 5:15pm:
  I rates this episode and 8 mainly because I liked some of the technical parts and the conflict between Riker and Pressman. Obviously there are technical issues as with almost any episode of ST. But I found the ship imbedded in the asteroid believable, assuming the technology behind the phase cloak was viable. I found Pressman realistic as a power hungry military guy who wants to one up the enemy and was willing to do whatever to do that, Dr. Strangelove anyone? I liked the conundrum of his crew having mutinied against him and Riker finally challenging him. Now how the Federation got rooked into a treaty preventing them from using cloaking devices while their enemies can seems like another logic flaw in the plot used only to move the plot forward. Hardly a perfect episode but for me it was good nonetheless.
• From L on 2013-04-28 at 9:34am:
  A definite Star Wars moment entering the asteroid.
  The Romulan captain's politely threatening banter was great and well delivered.
  Terry O'Quinn has very pretty eyes.
• From Mike Chambers on 2013-11-20 at 9:02am:
  Love the episode. This one gets an 8 from me. However... problem:
  
  - If the interior of the asteroid rock wall is visible outside the Enterprise while they're phased/cloaked, why is it magically invisible from the interior of the ship as they pass through it? Shouldn't everything have been pitch black and everybody blind?
• From Axel on 2015-02-28 at 4:39pm:
  I love how Worf is always so surprised when a Romulan ship decloaks and hails the Enterprise. The idea that the Romulans would talk instead of fight never seems likely to him :)
  
  This episode made me curious about Starfleet's chain of command protocol and arrest procedures. When Pressman was commanding the Pegasus, the crew had to resort to mutiny to go against his treaty violation. But on the Enterprise, Picard, a junior officer to Pressman, formally charges a higher-ranking officer and takes him into custody for that. It's confusing unless Starfleet has delegated that kind of authority out to the ships; in the U.S. Navy, for example, I don't think it's possible for a junior-officer to charge and arrest a senior officer without permission from a higher authority. If you are given an unlawful order or deal with unlawful command influence, I believe you refuse to carry it out and when you have the chance, bring it to the attention of someone.
  
  In Starfleet, if you have a rogue captain or admiral like Pressman, what exactly do you do since mutiny is clearly not the proper alternative? The First Officer of the Pegasus couldn't have charged and arrested Pressman like Picard did, so it's not clear how this kind of thing gets handled.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-23 at 1:56am:
  Problem:
  
  When the one Boraalan left the holodeck and dissapeared, never to come back, why didn't any other members of his species notice he was gone? Surely he had family.
  
• From Wing Fat on 2007-10-03 at 4:22am:
  This episode has many holes. How did Nikolai have the knowledge and authorization necessary to lock the chief security officer (Worf) out of the holodeck (not to mention rigging that whole stunt in the first place)? Nikolai committed a laundry list of Starfleet violations, wouldn't Picard be bound to take him to a Starbase for some kind of hearing and punishment? Why is it one of the few remaining (and most prominent) Boraalans disappears and the others just go about their business like nothing happened? What's going to happen when Nikolai's baby is born and, because it's half human, doesn't have the same facial features as the other Boraalans? And less significantly, isn't that huge grin on Worf's face after he asks LaForge to generate a storm a bit out of character?
• From JRPoole on 2008-10-29 at 7:55pm:
  The noted problems aside, I think this episode is mostly successful. I love episodes that explore the prime directive, and this is one of the stronger ones, perhaps even better than the proto-Vulcan society episode from a few seasons ago (can't recall the title).
  
  I think Nikolai is absolutely right here. However, the best decision would have been to save as many of the Boraalans as possible and not even try to do a cover-up. They're going to die without Federation help. I don't see how saving as many of them as possible is a violation of the prime directive. Obviously, it's best not to interfere, but it's better than letting them die.
  
  The best solution would have been to beam as many of them up as possible, keep them together, explain the situation as well as possible, and find them a new place to live. Not a perfect solution, but the best one possible. That would also erase the problem of leaving Nikolai with the Boraalans. I just don't see how leaving them to die is in the spirit of the prime directive at all. It ensures non-interference in cultural affairs and societal development. Here there's going to be no development without Federation assistance, and you might even argue that not helping them violates the prime directive because it allows a culture to be destroyed rather than preserved.
• From djb on 2009-01-26 at 5:49pm:
  Atmospheric dissipation?! Are you effing kidding me?!?!! Make up as much Treknobabble as you want; you'll never convince me that a planet's atmosphere will spontaneously ... go away.
  
  That aside, this episode definitely reminded me of Who Watches the Watchers (season 3), which was actually one of my favorite episodes. Far better than this one.
  
  I do like the moral quandary it brings up. I'm surprised that Picard, who was always such a bleeding heart (second only to Crusher) took such a firm stance on this issue. After all, non-interference is kind of moot when there's nothing to interfere with.
  
  Imagine how neat it would be if they just beamed them all into the holodeck, told them "we're aliens, from another planet; your world is dying; we're taking you to another one," then beamed them down to their new planet. The story would pass down from one generation to another until it just became myth, and most people wouldn't believe it. Then, a few thousand years later, the Boraalans achieve warp, they make contact with the federation (assuming it still exists), and maybe find out from federation records that the story was true after all! That would be awesome.
  
  In addition to the issue already raised about obvious interference on Nikolai's part, this also occurred to me: what about his surgical implants? Could they last permanently? What if they became damaged? The jig would be up. I also wonder if the handful of Boraalans we saw have a large enough gene pool to repopulate a planet (the same issue brought up in Up The Long Ladder in season 1). Oh well.
  
  Interesting ideas, but poorly executed.
  
  Oh, and Worf's grin isn't out of character. He just doesn't do it very much. It adds depth to his character.
• From Tallifer on 2011-03-13 at 7:56am:
  Unbeliveably bad.
  
  1. The prime directive is made to look ridiculous here. "Is it better to save life or to kill?"
  
  2. But on the other hand, a culture which cannot survive without the same plot of land is not worth saving. The stray Boralan commits suicide because life in a universe of other cultures is unacceptable. Good riddance. Imagine if all the countless ethnic groups who have made happy lives in the Americas had thought that way.
  
  3. Worf looks stupid in his disguise, and the whole Boralan male costume is horrible. Another reason top leave them on their dying planet.
• From JB on 2020-06-07 at 12:22pm:
  Why did Worf take part of the villiage chronicle? What use could he possibly have for it? It seems incredible that he would even think to ask for it given his honorable character, especially after Vorin explained to him how important the chronicles were and then essentially gave his life trying to save one of the other scrolls. And Nikolai let him have it?! He must not have any respect for the Boraalan culture... he had just appointed himself the new chronicler and then as his first act he starts by giving the chronicles away??
  
  Sometimes I wonder WTF is wrong with the writers.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2009-01-24 at 10:28pm:
  A few comments --
  
  One is just a gripe about a rather consistent habit in Trek to make all people of a certain race have the same hairstyle. The Romulans, for example, always have black hair (except Sela), and always have it in a short bob with bangs (sometimes with a peak in the bangs). Is this realistic? It's not always like this. Probably just a budget issue, and a desire to differentiate different aliens from each other.
  
  The other is that I liked seeing Quark's generous side. Nice touch.
  
  Overall I kind of liked this episode. I liked seeing further development between Bashir and O'Brien, and the twist at the end about the coffee made me laugh out loud.
  
  Also, I liked seeing Keiko's reaction to the news of her husband's death. She was obviously distraught, but she didn't burst into tears uncontrollably. Maybe it's something to do with her Japanese heritage. Also, you could tell (great acting, Rosalind!) that she never quite believed it--call it intuition or whatever--you could see just a hint of doubt on her face when she receives the news. Anyway, another nice touch.
  
  The whole thing of killing everyone involved with the harvesters was kind of dumb. Once the jig was up, and Sisko knew of the plot, the aliens didn't really take seriously that killing two starfleet officers was an act of war that would carry serious repercussions. They're just like, "no everyone involved has to die, blah blah blah," as if there were ever a chance that even if O'Brien and Bashir knew enough about the harvesters, they would misuse that information. Pretty audacious!
• From Bernard on 2011-03-07 at 9:14pm:
  Another episode devoted to the unlikely pairing of Bashir and O'Brien. That is not such a bad thing though, as the pair have an obvious chemistry that works for both conflict and camraderie.
  
  The plot is fairly basic and uninspiring with easy solutions all around. That and the fairly slow pace drag this episode down to below average.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-19 at 5:04pm:
  Sorry, guys, but this episode makes no sense.
  
  We are told at the beginning that these "harvesters" are terrible, devastating weapons that must be wiped from the face of the galaxy. The current crop of aliens is literally willing to kill to rid the universe of this weapon.
  
  Two issues, one minor and one huge:
  
  First issue: Clearly, since O'Brien is infected with the harvesters, the last batch was not successfully destroyed. Some of it clearly remains. There are ways to deal with this, but it is never explained.
  
  Second issue (and this is the biggie): O'Brien is actually infected with the harvesters. And what happens? Does he die a horrible lingering death? Not at all! Several days later, while seriously sick, he is still strong enough to stand. And then when he makes it back to the station, Bashir fixes him up just fine!
  
  Given the fact that the Federation obviously possesses the technology to counter the harvesters, why destroy them at all? They are obsolete. Instead of destroying them, simply make the cure available!
  
  And any putative grasp at the Prime Directive would be useless: The Federation is already interfering by assisting in the destruction process. Why stop at half measures? Simply make the weapon irrelevant.
  
  This creates a logical,issue big enough to drive a truck through.
• From Abigail on 2019-09-15 at 9:51pm:
  I was mostly annoyed by how amazingly easy it was to cure O'Brien after he was infected by the harvesters. The whole episode was about how dangerous these things are, how they must be destroyed, how everyone who knows about them must be killed -- and then when O'Brien gets sick, no worries! It's no problem whatsoever to find a cure -- not even really a plot point. We'll fix him right up!
  
  Kind of ruins the premise of the episode.
• From ChristopherA on 2020-07-19 at 4:36am:
  I had no issue with the idea that the aliens wanted to kill everyone who knew anything about the harvesters, I thought it was a clever surprise. Exploring the idea of aliens who think very differently from humans is classic Star Trek. But the handling of the harvesters is terrible, I agree with previous commenters that it makes little sense for the aliens to launch their plot before the final harvesters are destroyed, and the main point of the episode is nerfed by making the harvesters be so easily cured.
• From Abigail on 2021-06-11 at 7:02pm:
  I just logged in to review this episode after watching it, only to find that I received it in 2015 and said the same thing, haha. I stand by my previous review. The fact that they could so easily cure O'Brien after being infected by these oh-so-deadly harvesters made the entire episode pointless. Why would you need to make such a big deal about destroying a biological weapon (and everyone know who knows about it) that leads to an easily curable disease??

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Wolfgang on 2008-05-20 at 10:58pm:
  Why did they make this episode? It's not even science-fiction, and certainly not Star Trek. Just a waste of time. If they wanted to put some spotlight on Crusher, why not give her a good episode...
• From Paul on 2010-08-18 at 12:43pm:
  I am Scottish so yet again I am forced to listen to the worst american versions of Scottish accents I've ever heard
  
  Also if they were trying to recreate the Scottish highlands why did they use stones from Glasgow and Edinburgh?
• From Tallifer on 2011-03-13 at 9:36am:
  I like stories where the ghosts are shown to be tricks, hallucinations, dreams, mere legends or hoaxes. That is the triumph of rationality which is fitting in a science fiction universe.
  
  I hate stories where ghosts are explained by nonsensical pseudo-science. Which is more rational? The spirits of dead people haunting the world and possessing the living, or "anaphasic" aliens using "plasma" candles as foci and inhabiting people with green energy? Neither is rational of course, and the latter is just as stupid as television psychics and alien abductions.
• From thaibites on 2013-01-05 at 2:50am:
  Another one for the ladies. I think Dr. Beverly actually had a couple orgasms during this episode, which is pretty daring for TNG.
  At least this one was better than the episode where where Dr. Beverly fell in love with a big intestinal sea cucumber.
• From L on 2013-05-02 at 2:26am:
  Beverly's performance was quite, um, erotic. It was clear what form the energy alien's 'gift' to her took. Her aura of post-coital bliss/addict with a fix was quite convincing.
  
  There was nothing particularly wrong with the relationship as it seemed quite symbiotic, it could have worked quite fine in other circumstances. It did however make Beverly act like an irrational addict and cut ties to her friends.
  But really this was just an excuse for a gothic genre episode. Worth it for Beverly's performance.
  
• From Sloganlogo on 2014-04-30 at 8:22pm:
  small trivia…In the first Scene after the titles between Troi and Beverly you can clearly see a grave stone with the name McFly…The scene ends with Beverly asking Troi to walk with her to visit a house and off the go.
  
  In the next scene Picard is chatting to a Colony local and in the background you can clearly see Troi in the background walking right to left. She ends up in the same position she was in the the last scene. I suspect they swapped the two scenes about.
  
• From rendraG on 2015-01-08 at 7:32pm:
  Great ghosty fun with lots of olde world sets. Nice to see Picards almost death for love to overcome passion and the spell Ronin had casted over Beverly and her unfortunate but clearly sexually exhausted ancestors.
  
  Ronins emotional and sexual domination of Beverly combined with the sensual acting of Gates McFadden make this the naughtiest episode in all of Star Trek. Woof.
  
  
  
• From Keefaz on 2017-02-18 at 11:45pm:
  Amazingly rotten episode. Absolute guff from start to finish. The bizarre Scottish colony which has 25th century power and weather stabilisation facilities but also candles, open fires, dusty books and so on. Weird accents. Ghost sex. The creepy revelation the ghost has been preying on every female ancestor of Beverley.
  
  A terrible episode, then, but one that is so odd and singular that it doesn't diminish the series as you couldn't even consider it a Star Trek episode.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-08 at 2:56am:
  This episode has one of the most intriguing "hook" beginnings of all of star trek. I thought the whole episode was just stupendously done, and the director(s) achieved a truly spooky feel throughout it. I was a little disappointed at the quick, cheap ending. When I looked down and saw that there was only 10 minutes left, I could feel the cheap ending coming on.
  
  I think the episode would have been REALLY cool if they had made it into a two-parter and really explored the situation with the rebels and such.
  
  -1 for the cheap ending, but all in all one of my favorite ds9 episodes. The Obrien concentration was fun.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-09-30 at 3:41am:
  A perfect 10 all the way! You get to watch O'Brien slowly lose everyone he cares about drift away in deception. Every time he finds someone to confide in, they turn against him. First it is Jake, then it is Odo, then a Starfleet commmander. All trust becomes diminished. I would not want this to happen to me.
  
  What is great is that if you are watching the episode for the first time, you will not be able to figure out the mystery, no matter how smart you are. Nor, do you notice that the clone O'Brien is constantly drinking a kind of coffee that the real O'Brien never dirnks. Fantastic!
  
  
• From djb on 2009-01-28 at 8:11am:
  I liked the buildup in this episode. At first, the way people are acting towards the fake O'Brien is subtle, yet noticeable, and it eventually becomes more and more strange and overt.
  
  I also loved the acting; yet another great performance from Rosalind Chao (and others). I especially liked the scene where they're eating, with the closeups on their faces. He knows she's up to something, but won't tell. She knows he's not really her husband. The tension is terrific.
  
  I definitely didn't guess what was going to happen, but I did get an inkling when he was told to go back by the starfleet admiral. I began to think that there was something wrong with him rather than the others, given that if there seems to be something wrong with everyone but you, chances are you're the problem!
  
  A very decent episode, worth watching twice.
• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-03-16 at 1:03pm:
  Bashir totally misjudges what has happened when, at the end, he says, "I think he was trying to be a hero." Honestly, O'brien just wanted to survive. Heroic just doesn't seem to apply here.
• From Popescu on 2010-08-10 at 2:18am:
  I feel that a lot of Star Trek is inspired by the writings of Isaac Asimov. This episode also I think was inspired by the short story "Let's get together" by the writer.
  
  Well, not the entire episode, just the ending stroke me as being very similar.
• From MJ on 2011-02-04 at 6:15pm:
  This should have been a two-parter. This episode was so gripping that it kept my attention right up until the very end. If they'd have done a "to be continued" when he arrived on the planet and then further explored the Paradas rebel plot a bit more in part two, this would have been fantastic. Instead, as with several DS9 episodes, they try to rush the ending after giving us a truly intriguing storyline. I share the webmaster's below average rating for that reason alone.
• From bernard on 2011-03-08 at 4:05pm:
  Whenever the webmaster has given a rating that is near enough 4 points below the mean then that points toward the true score of the episode being somewhere in between. I think that is true here.
  
  We have a good episode that is one of those oddities that you can get equal fascination from both first and second viewings, first from O'Briens point of view and then when rewatched from the other characters point of view.
  
  Overall a quality outing.
• From Zaphod on 2011-04-20 at 9:36am:
  Great episode, one of the best DS9 episodes this far.
  4 points is ridiculous, as is giving no good explanation for such a low rating.
  It's not just another conspiracy episode, for Christ's sake!
  None of the conspiracy episodes in other series of the franchise was even close to be this original and well written.
  Waiting to the very end to solve the mystery was a very clever move too as it saves the suspense until the end.
  And it's no "cheap ending", quite the opposite. TNG "Conspiracy" had a cheap ending, this one here is amazing and makes you watch the episode a second time just to see it from the other's point of view.
• From James T Quark on 2015-08-16 at 1:14am:
  This is actually one of my favorite eps of DS9. I understand a lot of viewers don't like "dream" episodes, "tricked into thinking the holosuite is real" or episodes where things are conveniently reversed due to time manipulation.
  
  I get why some people don't really enjoy those type of episodes but I'm the opposite. I really enjoy the twists they exhibit and this episode is a perfect example.
  
  On my first watch, I was completely fixated and didn't see that twist coming at all.
  
  I'd give it a ten and a must watch.
  
  JTQ
• From ChristopherA on 2020-07-18 at 2:01am:
  I did not enjoy watching this episode. It sets up an intriguing mystery at the beginning, but you quickly get the idea that “something weird is going on” and after that, the mystery doesn’t develop, it just sits there until the end, when it is suddenly resolved so quickly that I only have a vague idea what happened. I felt like the middle half of the episode was just padding and the episode needed more story to add more context to what was going on.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From FH on 2009-02-04 at 9:45am:
  Sito is not a new character. She was in Wesley's team at the academy in "The First Duty".
• From askthepizzaguy on 2010-08-10 at 5:56pm:
  I thought that the actor that played Taurik went on to play a vulcan on Voyager, Vorik.
  
  Vorik is basically a Taurik clone. Similar to Tom Paris and Locarno being a clone.
• From MJ on 2011-04-25 at 10:04pm:
  This is one of the best episodes of the seventh season of TNG, and is probably one of my top 10 for the whole series.
  
  First, the concept itself is unorthodox. Not many television shows put their main casts in a side role and make the story revolve around a bunch of characters, some of which haven't been introduced before. It works, too, because the actors and actresses pull it off and we still see enough of the main cast-it's just that we see them through the eyes of junior officers. The writing is perfect because we instantly get a sense of the characters and their relationships with each other.
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, including Picard's testing of this young ensign in order to prepare her for a dangerous mission, with the added benefit of having some nice continuity from TNG: The First Duty. Worf was well written in this episode too. His bonding with Sito was both believable and a nice fit to the overall story.
  
  This one gets a 10 from me.
• From L on 2013-05-02 at 4:02am:
  Genuinely moving at the end, and great to see the view from other members of the crew. I like how we were kept in the dark as much as the characters were, which is how it must be for 98% of the crew every time a red alert or an emergency is happening.
  Incidental personnel aren't usually privilege to exposition, unless Picard does a weekly 'This week on the Enterprise' public announcement wrap-up.
  Sad to know we won't see any more of the perky Cardassian. Loved the way Whorf and the Captain helped to build her up.
  
• From L on 2013-05-02 at 6:34am:
  Oh crap. I meant 'perky Bajoran'. Embarrassed apologies.
• From Quando on 2014-01-27 at 9:55pm:
  I just watched this episode again, and I think it is my favorite of the whole TNG series. I love that we get to see a "crisis of the week" in a way that the crew would actually experience it -- learning bits and pieces here and there but never really knowing exactly what is going on, even when it is over. I also loved the somewhat parallel but different dynamics between each of the senior officers and their corresponding junior officer counterparts (Riker/Lavell, Beverly/Ogawa, Geordie/Taurik, Worf/Sito). Lavell being terrified of Riker, but trying to kiss up to him, and Riker eventually realizing that he was being too hard on Lavell, possibly because he saw some of his own young self in him. Worf personally vouching for Sito and trying to give her more confidence and an opportunity to succeed, only to see her killed and feel like it was partly his fault (note how he protectively stands next to her when she is sitting in the observation lounge meeting the Cardassian). Geordie getting over his pride and annoyance with a show-off newbie and Taurik learning a little about how to interact with humans without coming across as a jerk. Letting the senior officers interact with new characters in the crew who are somewhat more developed than the usual "redshirt" extras lets us see old, familiar characters in a new light. Also, the ending of the episode is sad but perfect. The crew has to presume that Sito is dead based on some pretty strong circumstantial evidence, but in the end nobody really knows for sure what happened - and we the viewer don't even get to see it from our usual third person omniscient point of view. We get to see no more that the crew does, and even the senior officers don't know (indeed, there are no shots outside of the ship in the whole episode). Very true to life. My only complaint is that with the exception of Ogawa (IMO the least interesting of the four), we don't get to see any of these interesting characters ever again. I would have even liked to see a whole episode about Ben, and how he ended up tending bar on a starship. But this was the last TNG season, so I guess time had kind of run out. Even so, this is a really great story about the people on the ship and how they act and react to each other, and for that reason I give it a "10" and my vote as the best episode of TNG.
• From dronkit on 2014-03-14 at 6:58am:
  Another favorite episode for me, when I saw it the first time years ago I loved it, seeing new characters developed, a civilian and lower rank officers, and I loved the new reformed Zito and her destiny was so sad.
  
  Anyway I came to say: Troi playing poker?!? She should be banned!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-08 at 4:21am:
  I will definitely agree that seeing Obrien phase Alixus would have been wondefully satisfying. However, as annoying as this episode was, I rather liked the ending. Having those two children stand there at the end was like a final statement against the lunacy of the 'community'.
  
  Never trust governments that sacrifice the rights of the individual for the good of the whole.
• From EKH on 2007-04-30 at 2:29pm:
  "No EM activity down here."
  Umm, hello? How do explain the simple fact that you can still see, then, Mr. O'Brien?
• From curt on 2010-05-12 at 2:12pm:
  The people on the planet were former starfleet members right?(Atleast I think so) If so i find it odd that they would be quick to result to torture. Even if there leader tells them to.
• From Ry-Fi on 2011-01-27 at 9:46am:
  Problem? Why did the Orinoco have to lasso the Rio Grande out of warp? Hasn't Trek established ages ago that their starships are remote controllable, provided one knows the ship-specific security command code? I was expecting Kira and Dax to simply remote to it and tell it to drop to impulse.
  
  Naturally I'd just assume that each of the runabouts could remote any of the others, cause well, why the hell not, for obvious tactical and safety reasons! My assumption must be wrong, otherwise this is a glaring moment of writer's oversight...
• From Bernard on 2011-03-14 at 8:54pm:
  Hmm...
  
  What to say about this one!
  
  Very ordinary. The part where Sisko goes and locks himself back in the box is played out to be a really important moment of the episode... but all it achieves is to make him look stupid.
  
  The characters on the planet are fairly well fleshed our though, shame the plot never really got the most out of them.
• From Zaphod on 2011-04-20 at 10:36am:
  Um...
  So for 10 years she exploited us like laboratory rats for her own little social experiment?
  Well, I'm okay with it, no hard feelings, let's keep that "community", I like it...
  
  I'm speechless, didn't expect that ending, that was really really really bad, mind-boggling, abysmal, WOW!
  
• From Bronn on 2011-10-22 at 5:32pm:
  Zaphod's got the right of this. I have no freaking idea how "Whispers," a beautifully executed episode with an exciting premise, rates a 4, while this episode, with a freaking terrible premise and an ending that defies any rationalization, rates a 5.
  
  This is probably my least favorite episode of DS9 ever. I'm insulted that they attempted to write this character off as sympathetic. For one, Star Trek is a horrible venue for a "Technology is Evil," Aesop, when technology has solved ALL of Earth's problems. Clean, safe, renewable energy, along with groundbreaking medicine and the ability to easily feed every starving person everywhere. Yeah, damned technology.
  
  And Alixus deserved to be tried for murder. Yeah, trap people on a planet without their consent, force them to suffer and die from snakebites and harsh conditions because SHE rejects modern medicine-that sounds like a heinous crime to me. But the ending makes it seem like we should agree with the crap she's peddling. This episode was a ridiculous mess. DS9 can do so much better, and they know it. What bugs me the most is Ira Steven Behr wondering how she failed to be sympathetic. Yeah, shoving Sisko in a box because O'Brien "hurt the community," through his "selfishly wasted time," trying to contact the runabout so that he could get some medical assistance for the dying girl. How snobbishly selfish of him to agree to the rules of a society where he was stranded in two days ago, and for hoping that he might someday see his child again.
  
  It's insulting that the writers and producers wanted her to be likable.
• From Drac on 2013-02-02 at 1:32am:
  I totally agree with the review. I would personally make up whatever to get them off the planet, because 10 y of brainwashing clearly affecting their judgment. They don't even have enough people.
• From Domi on 2014-08-17 at 5:32am:
  I didn't think they could make a more unlikable character than Haneek from Sanctuary but they did it. I wanted to smother Alixus with a pillow until she suffocated.
• From Axel on 2015-06-23 at 5:07am:
  I share the desire to have seen Alixus on the business end of Miles' phaser. She certainly had a hold on these people Branch Davidian style. And it was also disappointing to see the ending where her unwitting pawns basically accept their role in her little social experiment.
  
  I do agree with Pete Miller that the very ending scene was nice, and I think it redeems the episode a bit. Sure, the writers give Alixus a chance to get on her soapbox and preach her nonsense, but in the end, the community's children are already questioning things. Who knows, maybe down the road they escape that planet while the rest of the community finds themselves suddenly under Dominion occupation :)
  
• From ChristopherA on 2020-07-19 at 9:31pm:
  The episode was generally interesting but I found Sisko excessively passive. They made very clear that the leader was a charismatic evil cult leader with a mesmerizing hold over the colony, and Sisko just doesn’t do much about it. They desperately needed Kirk or Picard to come give some dramatic speeches telling off the colonists for following that psycho, both in the middle (instead of just passively going into the box) and at the end (instead of just abandoning the brainwashed colonists).

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-20 at 1:50am:
  This a cleverly written episode. The pro-science arguements are woven into the plot seamlessly. Each scene is intriging and fun to watch. The things that happen are unusual, such as Data getting inpaled, Troi taking a test on the holodeck, people handling radioactive metal. What a great episode! My only complaint is that the protagonist blacksmith was a one dimensional character. If it wasn't for that I'd give it a 10, instead I'll give it a 9. I am surprised that people don't talk about this episode more.
• From Wing Fat on 2007-10-12 at 3:01am:
  You list no problems with this episode, but I think the fact that Data can (after a brief recovery period) speak high-level English but doesn't know what the word "radioactive" means could be considered a problem. Regardless, I loved this episode and consider it one of the best from Season 7.
• From JRPoole on 2008-10-30 at 2:42pm:
  This is a personal favorite. I absolutely love the scientist/teacher lady, especially her insistence on empirical knowledge, even if her "empirical" knowledge is dubious.
  
  As for Wing Fat's comment above, I don't think this is much of an issue. I see it as a universal translator thing. I think it's meant that Data is conversing with the natives in their own language, partially via the UT and partially via his own innate ability to learn and decipher languages. The fact the the magistrate calls the English language something like "these symbols" seems to indicate this. Then again, you have to sort of suspend disbelief with UT issues anyway, and this episode is far from the worst offender in that category.
• From djb on 2009-01-30 at 8:59pm:
  Neat episode!
  
  As Kethonov pointed out, it's good to see Crusher in command; I'd say it's good to see more women in command in general (this reminds me of what a shame it was to lose Yar in season 1).
  
  I also like seeing Troi's more "professional" side; the producers finally wised up in season 6 and had her start wearing a regular uniform. I think the writers have done a disservice to Troi throughout the series (up until season 6 and 7) in keeping her character and dialogue relatively confined to her "counselor" role, where in fact she is also a lieutenant commander, a rank which is no small feat to obtain.
  
  I like the continuity with Season 5's "Disaster," wherein she found herself in command and was definitely in over her head-- and that she wants to become a more capable officer.
  
  The only reservation I have about this is that this highlights one of the necessarily unrealistic things about this show-- that everyone continues to get promoted but the senior staff/crew stays the same. In real life, people would get transferred (and killed) more often.
  
  Now, of the seven main characters, we have one captain, two lieutenant commanders, one lieutenant, and three commanders! Also interesting how both Crusher and Troi outrank Data, who is technically third in command. How does that work?
  
  As for the other plot, it's great to see Data be Data even without knowing who or what he is-- all by himself he discovers radiation and a cure for radiation poisoning, which no other character could have done. This whole section was very well written!
  
  As for the antagonist blacksmith... some people just are one-dimensional. The guy was a jerk!
• From Drake on 2010-11-29 at 7:11pm:
  This was the very first episode i ever saw
• From Mike on 2017-03-28 at 1:17am:
  Solid episode, and good continuity for the Troi character with TNG: Disaster. I agree that it's nice when the series puts different characters in command positions, like Data in Redemption and Gambit, Crusher here and in Descent, etc.
  
  Regarding the promotion issue: Starfleet is written like a loose combination of a futuristic organization based on Federation principles, old Earth naval traditions, and a space exploration agency like NASA. I don't think promotion needs to be shown happening at the pace it would in, say, the U.S. Navy (which is very fast in comparison). Promotion in Starfleet seems to be as much about a person's desire to go into the next rank as it is about whether Starfleet is ready to promote the person. Take Riker passing up numerous promotion opportunities. A person's career is more in their own hands. Plus, even in the modern U.S. Navy, medical personnel may hold a certain rank, but aren't typically placed in command situations (the same goes for lawyers, chaplains, etc). It makes sense that Starfleet would allow you specialize in medicine, science, engineering or security, and only go for the command rank when you want to.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Bernard on 2011-03-17 at 9:13pm:
  Really dull I'm afraid, there is no real chance of discovering Odo's background in this episode and no real chance for his character to develop. As a result nobody really cares what is going on.
  
  The B plot might be well handled but it could have been done during any episode and in a way that actually complimented an A plot.
  
  Thankfully bigger and better things are just around the corner....
• From Tallifer on 2011-03-19 at 9:34am:
  10 points for Noley Thornton and Odo. The stories were pretty good too. (I found out that Thornton is now a university student studying to become a director.)
• From Dstyle on 2013-09-12 at 3:51pm:
  Why are Dax and Odo so surprised to learn that one of the people in the valley is not a hologram? Doesn't it seem obvious that this must be someone's personal planetary holodeck? Why else would it exist?
• From peterwolf on 2013-11-04 at 9:59pm:
  A rather emotional episode, which lacks action, but is just very nice. Besides the Yadera holograms with the Odo-Taya friendship and the Sisko-Jake plot, the third story of Quark´s diversion was overlooked in the comment. He managed that Vedek Bareil came to DS9 and met Kira. This encounter is certainly the start of their relationship (already predicted by the orb of prophecy). Since this development is very important for the DS9 story arc, I suggest a reduction of the filler quotient.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-25 at 6:24pm:
  This is what happens when the writing staff takes LSD before creating the script. This is an absolute off the wall episode that differs from anything that has ever been produced in the Trek universe. Usually, having an off the wall episode brings vitality to a show, but Masks fails on many levels.
  
  It is hard to believe that while the ship is being converted to an alien landscape, that no vital systems would disappear, causing destruction. By the way, where was the rest of the crew in this episode. Did they send everyone to their quarters?
  
  On top of all that, this episode is just boring. The plot develops at a snail's pace as the crew tries to discover what the solution is. It feels like a bad three-hour movie. The dialog between Picard, Worf, Riker, and Troi is drab. There are attempts at humor ("the observation lounge is a swamp"), but nobody is laughing as they watch this episode.
  
  The shameful thing is, the idea behind this episode is fantastic. It probably would have worked if the alien device did not possess Data. I would have rather seen the actual aliens appearing on the ship. The episode does not fail in the art department, however. It seems like they spent a lot of time and money to produce the set pieces.
  
  I would give this episode a 0, but I'll give it a 1 because of its artistic quality.
• From David Murray on 2011-04-01 at 7:48pm:
  I recently aquired the entire series of TNG and decided to watch them all from beginning to end. I was very pleased to discover that there were about 4 episodes that somehow I had never seen on TV before and so it was cool to get to watch "new" episodes of TNG. However, the last of these "new" episodes for me was Masks. I must admit I could barely make it through this episodes. I was cringing constantly at how horrible it was. Not only was it down right dumb, but it was also boring. Take the TOS episode "Spock's Brain" which people say is really bad. Well, it is bad. But despite out dumb it is, it is actually fun to watch. Masks is not entertaining in the least. In fact I'd probably have fallen asleep except for the cringing of bad scenes keeping me awake. I would probably rate this as the worst episode of all time.
• From MJ on 2011-04-26 at 6:10pm:
  I guess I'm one of the few who didn't find this one so bad. Average, yes, but not horrible.
  
  The main problem I have is how long it takes the crew to recognize that Korgano is the moon. Picard should have figured that out almost immediately. Instead, they stretch the problem out beyond believability. This is what makes a potentially solid episode average, in my view.
  
  As for vital ship systems not falling victim to transformation, I suppose it could be explained that this archive is so advanced and sophisticated that it could recognize which aspects of the ship are safe to transform...after all, this thing apparently interfaced with Data and uploaded thousands of personalities into his system. Clearly the technology is beyond that of the Federation in some regards.
  
  It does seem strange that such an advanced culture would be so superstitious as to believe in sun-goddesses and moon-gods. However, it could be that the creators of this archive were actually showcasing their own ancient history, rather than the way their culture was at the time the archive was built.
  
  So I think some loose ends can be tied up here but I agree it's very dull at some points. With Spiner's acting, the set design, and at least a somewhat plausible story, I give it a 5.
• From Bronn on 2011-10-05 at 9:02pm:
  I have to agree with the above commenter. It's by no means a classic episode, and the premise is silly, with a lot of nonsense science. But Spiner and Stewart are excellent actors who really want to make this high-concept (shudder whenever Brennan Braga ever uses that phrase) story work. What I love about Brent Spiner is that he really commits-they ask him to play a series of different mythological personalities that are taking over Data's programming, and he absolutely runs with it. Watching him provides the only moments when this episode is not completely absurd. I'd give it a 4, just based on how much I like Brent Spiner.
• From Arbit on 2012-05-01 at 9:03pm:
  Just awful. Some "highlights":
  
  - Picard getting impatient and deciding to just melt the comet (!??!?)
  - Ancient civilization capable of creating a gigantic space temple many times the size of the enterprise living in fear of a sun god
  - The crew struggling to identify the crescent-shaped companion symbol of the sun symbol (perhaps... they are antlers?)
  - Alien communication device accidentally transmutes spaceship parts into crappy looking concrete blocks and random jungle foliage (I can see it causing power surges and other weird phenomenon, but what sort of communications tech screws up so bad it starts transmuting matter? Maybe I'll try to plug a USB flashdrive into an old PS2 port and see if my computer will transmute my couch into gold bricks)
  - Picard literally talking the sun god to sleep
  - Etc etc
  
  Maybe the worst part about this episode is it was a waste of a totally awesome premise. An ancient 87+ million year old comet/temple, traveling in deep space to nowhere, starts to interfere with the ship's systems, projecting strange runes on readouts and materializing strange totems everywhere! What sort of Cthulian interdimensional horror have the crew uncovered? The crew, belonging to an intergalactic hippie empire, immediately assume it's an ancient repository of information. "Yeah right" you think. "And the creators chucked into deep space where no one had any reasonable chance of finding it? Set course for INSANITY, warp ten billion!!!"
  
  No, it's really just an archive and it accidentally started projecting its boring sun/moon god mythology onto the ship.
• From L on 2013-05-04 at 9:36am:
  A proto-Egyptian/Sumerian civilisation's equivalent of the afterlife; they've somehow recorded the personalities and experiences of key citizens, stuck that record in a starship, inside a comet, and they replay themselves through any available medium once activated, ie, Data and the Enterprise's computer system.
  Interesting and silly at the same time. What was so important about this scenario that a civilisation developed technology that only rational minds could produce, to replay something that only irrational superstition could produce?
  An ironic public service announcement?
  I like the idea of exploring the intersection between myth and high-tech ability, but was not convinced.
  
• From Daniel on 2014-01-25 at 8:01am:
  My biggest complaint about this episode is that Picard - despite his extensive studies of mythology and ancient cultures - could not figure out that the crescent moon symbol he kept seeing was the moon. As many cultures use similar symbols, and he already knew the other symbol was the sun, it was an obvious correlation.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-10 at 1:50am:
  Yeah I still don't understand what they did with the universe. Did they beam it back into space in the gamma quadrant? If so, wouldn't it just destroy the area? And they tried so hard to make the episode really epic, with sisko's comments about the Borg "stepping on" other races.
  
  Just a very crappy episode
• From Remco on 2008-10-06 at 9:27pm:
  According to Jadzia, Runabouts are 14 meters wide, not 17. The tight passage was 17 meters wide.
  
  Arjin: I don't see it! I don't see it!
  Arjin: I see it! It's less than 17 meters across.
  Jadzia: This ship is only 14 meters wide. That gives you over 2 meters to work with.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-27 at 9:51pm:
  Another problem. When flying into the wormhole towards the end, the shuttle accelerates to "50 kilometers per hour" and then we're told that it'll take 17 seconds to enter the wormhole. Is the station really just 236 meters from the wormhole?
  
  The universe size "problem" isn't a problem. Read some Iain M. Banks for ways around it. Otherwise, this is a decent episode that adds a lot of back-story.
• From Bernard on 2011-03-27 at 8:52am:
  With this episode marks a big change for the series dynamic. The reason for that is the complete turn around in the writing of Jadzia Dax. Gone is the aloof, ageless, purely scientific young woman. In comes the raunchy, loud, aggressive Curzon... Sorry, I meant new Jadzia. This is the first big shift towards a more action orientated series (the later changes are the dominion, the defiant, bad-ass Sisko and finally the introduction of Worf).
  
  I don't complain about the change in the Jadzia character, but you have to ask why not change the host? You have the only species in the Star Trek universe that allows you to completely change actors legitimately and instead they decide that Jadzia will be written completely differently to before.
  
  This episode is okay but it does contain loads of interesting tidbits of Trill info that will be built upon later in episodes like 'Equilibrium' and 'Facets'.
  
  I don't care about bad science in the slightest... when the story is good enough to make you suspend disbelief. Here it isn't, and I found myself scratching my head just as some of you have commented.
  
  So, poor outing, but the first steps toward making DS9 into the best of the Star Trek series' have been taken.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Dave on 2006-10-14 at 1:24am:
  Wasn't the reason they jumped into the warp core is that the dead guy was buried nearby in a bulkhead? They didn't experience the urge to jump until they were on the deck overlooking the core.
• From Rob on 2008-04-24 at 10:50pm:
  I have to say that your review kind of missed the point. This wasn't about Worf and Troi in the conventional sense... their whole courtship was part of a delusion suffered by Troi (except for Worf's first tentative exploration of starting a relationship with Riker). They never actually got together. And Troi wanted to follow Kwan into the plasma stream because that's where the "empathic echo" was located due to Pierce having committed suicide there after killing the two lovers.
• From 7 Of 14 on 2008-10-09 at 1:47pm:
  To me this episode is a mess; the distinction between reality and the hallucinations was incredibly badly handled and kills the story. I had to read a detailed episode synopsis online to clear the confusion in my mind, a sign the episode fails to work coherently.
  
  The whole issue of the bones found in the bulkhead doesn’t make any sense as it was all a hallucination anyway. Why would Troi hallucinate such irrelevant details? What a mess; "Sub Rosa" is a thousand times better.
  
• From Dave on 2009-01-22 at 2:03am:
  Bit of a geeky thing this - but hey. I paused this on Lt Kwan's crew record to read what it said. It appears he was posted to the Enterprise and two other starships on the same stardate - not to mention making Lieuteneant on the same date. It also makes no reference to when he served at Utopia Planitia - which Troi says it does. If they're going to go to the effort of creating the computer screen detail, they might as well make it right. Still, digital TV and live pause weren't around at the time....
• From ElGuapo on 2011-12-12 at 9:22pm:
  If the only reason Troi tried to commit suicide was because her empathic abilities tied into the empathic echo, why did Kwan commit suicide? He wasn't telepathic, so the empathic echo shouldn't have affected him.
  
  A poorly executed plot line that should have had more focus on Troi and Worf. 3/10
• From Marvin on 2012-09-08 at 1:48pm:
  Plot holes you could fly a starship through.
  As mentioned by Dave, utterly inconsistent data on Lt Kwan.
  
  Troi makes a big deal of "not seeing these" (pointing to a solar cell!) during her experience, yet they are all over the place during her vision.
  
  And then we learn that Troi and Worf's liaison, the only piece of real content in the whole episode, takes place during her mind-trip?
  
  Feeble!
• From Axel on 2018-05-31 at 4:32am:
  ElGuapo, Troi mentioned earlier in the episode that Kwan is half Napean, apparently a species with some emphatic ability.
  
  I get a little annoyed by the last few minutes of an episode being just a bunch of exposition that explains everything you've been watching for the other 40 minutes. But, I've never had the challenge of writing a script for a show that will be watched by millions of people. The empathic echo is a bit silly even by sci-fi standards, but not even close to the silliest thing we've seen in Season 7 so far (I reserve that honor for Sub Rosa).
  
  It was nice to see Worf as something other than the stoic, grumpy warrior he usually is. I give this episode a rating of "meh" which puts it in the 3-5 range.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2009-02-28 at 3:31am:
  This episode was supremely well-written and well-acted. Garak is a great character; it's good to learn more about him. Also great to get some more depth to Quark's character. Also, this episode seemed to go on much longer than 42 minutes, in a good way. I love it when I get so interested and involved with a story that I lose proper sense of time!
  
  I give it a 9.
• From Mark McC on 2009-04-27 at 3:45am:
  I really disliked this one. It's yet another case of "let's write an episode where x falls in love". Trek handles romance so much better when it does it low-key and over a longer time, such as the mostly unspoken romance between Picard and Crusher, or even Odo's feelings for Kira.
  
  Even episodes that do have characters falling head-over-heels in love with the alien of the week usually aren't as full of painfully overlong embraces and clichéd pulp fiction dialogue as this one. Much as I like Quark as a character and think Armin Shimerman does a great job playing him, I just didn't get a sense of any real spark between him and the Cardassian guest star.
  
  As with a lot of episodes in this season the presence of Garak makes up for the failings of the main story.
• From Bernard on 2011-03-29 at 12:39pm:
  I really enjoyed this episode and that's no small thanks to the talents of Armin Shimerman and Andrew J. Robinson plus the writing of their respective characters.
  
  In the hosts review the finger is pointed at how acceptable it is for Quark to forget about profit.. well there are many examples of this over the series. That is the beauty of the character, that if you burrow down deep enough beneath the surface there is quite an un-ferengi like person. Take his actions during the occupation for example, not mercenary but almost charitable. He does it again during the dominion occupation of the station in season six. what I'm trying to say is that he is complex and it is no more ridiculous than any 'lover of the week' storyline that Trek gives us.
• From Abigail on 2019-09-25 at 9:34pm:
  I found it odd that Garak killed someone at the end, and we just all rolled along without worrying about it. It's okay to just kill someone??? Am I supposed to assume that no one knows that happened? Wouldn't an alarm go off with him having fired a phaser on kill? Or, if nothing else, the Cardassians would notice that one of their officers was missing, never to be seen again?
  
  I also felt like Garak had a pretty abrupt change of heart from wanting to do whatever it took to be removed from exile to wanting to do what's best for Cardassia because Cardassia is his "true love". It wasn't the most believable shift.
  
  Besides that, I really liked the episode. Good storyline, great character development for Garak and Quark both.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-06-28 at 4:39pm:
  Whether you believe in evolution or not, you'll probably agree that the science in this episode is really bad. This is so in the initial transformations, where cats turn to lizards and humans turn to spiders, but also in the part where everyone returns to normal. How can a brain, like Riker's, shrink in size and then return to its original size while keeping all of the original memories intact? I also question how half the crew did not end up dying from the wild animals running around. Perhaps it was because they were all huddled together in certain areas of the ships, as Data specifies, but I have to believe that a large number still would have died.
  
  If you can get past the bad science of the episode, you may find the rest entertaining enough to watch, deserving of a 5.
• From JRPoole on 2008-11-03 at 3:15pm:
  Usually episodes that feature truly bad science annoy me to no end, but I'm willing to let it go with this one simple because it's so much fun.
  
  As the person above noted, the science isn't all that bad with some suspension of disbelief. If we all evolved from a common ancestor in the form of a unicellular organism, you can posit that there are reptilian and even insect DNA fragments lying domant in our genetic codes. Human embryos have gills and tails, for instance. Sure it's a stretch, but the visual effects and makeup were all done well and it's great fun if you don't take it too seriously.
  
  What I do have a problem with is the idea noted above about everyone returning to normal. It's ridiculous to think that the structual properties of the new bodies and the memories encoded in the now physically changed brains would remain intact. Still, I enjoyed this one throroughly. I'd probably hide this episode if I was introducing someone to TNG, as it is pretty goofy, but it's action-packed and entertaining, so I gave it a 5. They can't all be classics, and all I ask of filler episodes is to be entertaining, and this one definitely delivers.
  
• From SS on 2009-01-17 at 3:49am:
  The science could have been a lot worse. "Introns" really are sections of the genome that do not code for anything and certain sections have indeed been identified as leftovers of our evolutionary past.
  
  Mammals evolved from reptiles, which evolved from amphibians, so Troi's change works. Ogawa made a good australopithecine, and Riker made a good erectine (although Data identified him as australopithecine, he was much too large to be anything other than Homo). The spider is much harder to justify, as arachnids are not part of humans' evolutionary past, but it made for a good scare.
  
  There are obviously some major problems that others have identified, but it's all in good fun. This isn't one of my favorite episodes, but for season 7 it's well above average.
• From Albert on 2009-07-08 at 7:53pm:
  Another rare bad episode in my opinion, I agree with another reviewer that it's mainly the bad science that makes it insulting. Sorry to repeat another comment almost word-for-word, but Riker's brain shrinking seems like it would do permanent damage. Unless they are trying to say something unkind about Riker in this episode.
  
  Every crew member surely would have suffered permanent brain damage and physical deformities from this illness.
  
  The primordial version of Worf is the best part of this episode, it makes me wonder if in a first draft he was to be the only on affected, and started to hunt through the ship like the alien in Alien. I would have liked a version like this better.
• From Keith on 2013-02-03 at 3:54am:
  Continuity Error
  
  Troi is in Sick Bay after Worf's attack, then in her quarters when Picard and Data reenter the ship, then back in sSick Bay when Worf is intent on mating with her. Surely Picard and Data did not bring her back to Sick Bay.
• From TheAnt on 2013-11-05 at 3:38pm:
  Biology violated
  
  This is one questionable episode indeed, but it made in a way that almost make me think that the authors of the script told themselves that 'We've violated physics so many times, and the internal ideas of Star Trek, so we better violate Biology bigtime now in the last part of the series as well."
  
  When I did see the episode the first time, U initially thought it were some sort of anti-genetic engineering propaganda piece. But the solution which indeed utilized genetic engineering contradicted that idea.
  (So that was one idea I got when still watching this.)
  
  SS is indeed correct about the introns, but those loose segments left over from our earlier stages of evolution would not combine to make other complete organisms.
  Even so with the extremely bad science the story might still have been able to fly, if they had made a few details more believable.
  
  Sadly that's not the case, and with one completely deflating ending, that the shot Crusher gave Backlay had started all this. I can only give this episode a weak 4, and those points given only for the horror action elements and SFX such as Barclay as a spider and Neanderthal Riker.
  
• From Axel on 2015-03-07 at 3:45am:
  The science problems don't really bother me as much as some people. If someone watches this episode and thinks, "Wow, I had no idea humans evolved from spiders!" I think that speaks more to the failure of public education than it does Star Trek's handling of evolutionary biology. Besides, most of the transformations are believable, such as Riker, Ogawa and Picard himself. And as mentioned before, it's not as if Star Trek hasn't sometimes fumbled other scientific concepts.
  
  The acting is what I enjoyed most about this episode. It gave the cast a chance to try some new things, and for the most part I think it was very entertaining. Dorn's performance was a lot of fun; Frakes did a great job playing the smaller-brained devolving hominid; and Schultz got to play Barclay on steroids, which was pretty enjoyable.
  
  As opposed to DS9 with its story arcs, TNG's 7th season feels like it was just wrapping things up as it went along while also pushing the sci-fi envelope a bit. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. This episode wasn't memorable, but it was fun enough. I'd give it a 6.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From MJ on 2011-02-10 at 6:46pm:
  I'm not a fan of most DS9's Klingon episodes from the first four seasons. It got better with "Soldiers of the Empire" and "Once More Unto the Breach", and I do really like what they did later with Martok's character. But this one was pretty good.
  
  The personality differences between the three Klingons reminded me a bit of the Three Musketeers. You have the lover of life, women, and drink, you have the ambitious, arrogant one, and the quiet, secretive leader of the group. They are also old friends seeking one final adventure together. Dax is d'Artagnan, the one who wants to join the group and is seen with affection by them, but not quite one of their own until later.
  
  There are some nice moments in this episode, such as the conversation between Kang and Jadzia about their friendship, about the blood oath, and the Klingon glory days. Overall this was very well written.
  
  I also mark it down somewhat because Jadzia just isn't as convincing as a Klingon warrior as I'd like her to be, and because I would expect a bit more in the way of consequences for her actions. Remember how in TNG: Reunion that Worf was reprimanded formally for his vengeance killing of Duras, despite Picard's sympathies. It would've been nice to see some kind of consquence for Dax, but instead this would seem to reinforce the privileged relationship she enjoys with Sisko simply because of Curzon.
• From Bernard on 2011-03-29 at 2:40pm:
  So, here we go again with the new Jadzia who's decided that she's Curzon.
  
  I love the use of the three TOS Klingons although I find it an interesting 'device' to make all the other races long-lived... Romulans, Vulcans and now Klingons all live well into their hundreds.
  
  The episode itself is good enough and I would give it a solid 7. Just wait for Worfs arrival for plenty more where this episode came from. This episode marks the start of a run of high quality toward the seasons end.
• From int on 2011-08-29 at 7:41pm:
  This was a great episode. The three Klingons are exceptionally interesting, unique characters. They make for a very believable team of old warrior friends. The final raid on "the Albino" has a bit of a Three Musketeers (+ 1 Dax) quality to it, and also a bit of a Tom Clancy quality to it... the premise and execution of this episode is almost feature film material.
  
  There were some good subtleties around Jadzia's uncertainty, which at times reached almost palpable levels. As Dax with her 7 lifetimes she is an experienced warrior, no stranger to battle, hand-to-hand combat, and death. As Jadzia, she is a fairly delicate, innocent creature who's never personally killed anyone in her life. As Jadzia Dax, about to enact an ancient vendetta, she's, well, visibly uncertain, torn, unsure of herself. It's interesting to watch her resolve these things, put on some armor and pull her own weight in battle, but stop short of personally executing the albino herself. Interesting how the Klingon interprets this too, as saving the deathblow for himself.
  
  This is a fun episode, and also an interesting exploration of what some less compatible elements of Dax, and specifically Curzon Dax, mean now, for Jadzia...
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-25 at 12:13pm:
  Kor is played by John Colicos, who among other roles played Count Baltar, the principle villain in the original Battlestar Galactica series. He also played Kor in DS9: The Sword of Kahless and DS9: Once More Unto the Breach. His first appearance as Kor was in TOS: Errand of Mercy way back in 1967, 27 years before this episode. Colicos was thus one of the longest running guest stars on Star Trek ever. (It would be an interesting study to find out who holds that record.) According to Memory Alpha, it seems that Colicos was also the first major character to appear on screen in a Star Trek episode playing a Klingon. Thus, Colicos defined the initial look of the Klingons.
• From Harrison on 2013-01-10 at 9:18am:
  A solid story line with some very unconvincing performances from Dax (Terry Farrell, who conveys nothing of the great Curzon, but chews through her lines in the most stilted, smarmy way) and William Campbell, who is hopelesslu mis-cast as Koloth. He exudes about as much noble Klingon aggression as a retired suburban Jr high school teacher. Kang's character is adequately stolid, but it is Kor (John Colicos) who salvage the episode with more believable & impassioned delivery.
• From Scott on 2018-05-18 at 1:11am:
  I know I'm responding to what is now a very old set of comments, but I think you're being (were being?) unfair to Terry Farrell. I think she possesses an outstanding ability to convey emotion with her expressions, and think she did so here.
  
  Of course Jadzia's not Curzon. She's a 27-28 year old woman. But she feels what he felt and I think Farrell did a good job conveying that dichotomy.
  
  One of my favorite DS9 episodes.
• From ChristopherA on 2020-07-22 at 3:21pm:
  I thought it was really neat getting all 3 of the Klingon commanders from the original series, with their original actors, into the same episode. And I really liked the “Klingon-ness” of the episode’s resolution, it feels like a look into part of Klingon culture. Instead of Dax acting like a proper Federation officer and finding some clever way to ethically deal with the problem, she just goes along with them killing everyone they see so they can flat out murder the guy to gain vengeance. I guess she really does make a good Klingon!
  
  Issues: It was somewhat jarring having a comedy Klingon from a comedy episode (Koloth) along with the two serious Klingons from serious episodes, I tend to think the character would have been better utilized in a less serious story. Jadzia never suffers any consequences from doing far worse than Worf ever did when he was reprimanded for seeking vengeance. The idea of disabling all high-tech equipment is necessary for the episode to work but hard to take seriously; if this were possible, everyone would be disabling everyone else’s equipment all the time.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Goblin on 2009-01-29 at 1:44pm:
  I thought this episode was really boring actually. I don't think that this deserves anwhere near as high as an 8.
• From schn on 2010-11-12 at 11:49pm:
  I get that this episode was meant to show someone walking away from Starfleet, but that is very easy to do when you have super powers.
• From MJ on 2011-01-05 at 5:37pm:
  I hated this episode.
  
  What bothers me is the politically correct, New Agey brand of spirituality the episode gives the Native Americans. While trying to make them look like the good guys here, this “magical, mystical Indian” portrayal is just as racist, and just as inaccurate, as the “barbarian-savage” portrayal you got from early white sources in the Americas. The American Indian belief systems varied widely from tribe to tribe, and also the way the Indians interacted with nature was just as varied across the Americas. The notion that they were like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the white man’s arrival is patently ridiculous. And, now enter one of TNG’s strangest characters, the Traveler, and his vague explanations for how he taps into the raw energy of the universe to do what he does, all of which is apparently on par with what the Indians believe, and all as part of some journey of self-discovery for Wesley? Where is the usual TNG in all of this?
  
  Well, it’s there, actually. It’s just interwoven with all this PC stuff. It could be a really good episode that tackles a meaningful, real-world problem: whether it’s right for a government to force people from their homes for the “greater good” of a peace settlement. But that takes a backseat to the Wesley plot. I thought "The Ensigns of Command" did a much better job with this problem.
  
  I can appreciate what the episode was trying to do. It’s the Seventh Season, and TNG needs to tie up all the loose ends. Last we saw of Wesley, he had gotten in trouble at Starfleet Academy for participating an illegal dare-devil stunt, and was subsequently held back a year. Not exactly a good finale for a character who played a major role in several seasons of the show. And, I do like how Wesley has a bit of a chip on his shoulder here, not bouncing back all fresh and perky after a miserable year at the Academy being shunned by his classmates. I even like the idea of him becoming disillusioned with Starfleet and wanting something different. It just didn’t seem this was a good sendoff for the character.
  
  Maybe what bothers me the most is that Wesley will actually be exploring the Galaxy in a far more significant way than Picard and crew, which takes something away from their mission and storyline. Their ship, with all its technology and its highly trained crew, won’t get nearly as far as this boy wonder hopping around higher existence with the Traveler and possibly some Indians. It’s ultimately unsettling because at the end of “All Good Things” we’re told that amazing new discoveries are what await Picard; seems Wesley’s the one actually having all the fun. I never liked the Traveler to begin with. As superior life forms go, the Q Continuum was TNG’s stroke of genius. This Traveler just gets in the way of the whole plot and adds a “feel-good” element that TNG would be better off leaving alone. Science fiction is not science, but one of the things I’ve always appreciated about TNG is that at least they have plausible explanations for some of what goes on.
• From Trekstar on 2011-01-31 at 5:31am:
  This episode makes me cringe. I never actually hated Wesley Crusher, but every so often he would say or do something so lame and so cheesy. I think the character wasn't fully developed because the writers didn't know what the hell they wanted from him. Not only do they give him the dumbest lines in this ep., but they give everyone else dumb lines when they are around him. Like the eye rolling crap that Data says when he sees Wesley for the first time. I personally wish they would have made Wes angrier and angrier in each ep he did, then have him(with the help of his time traveler friend) become a Darth Vader type bad guy. Sweet lil Anakin becomes Darth Vader; sweet nerdy Wesley Crusher becomes...something! Oh well, they instead wrote this masterpiece. One last thing, the traveler really bugs me. I guess they are going for a mystical feel to this guy, but to me he seems too creepy, like a pedophile who's been lurking in the shadows, watching Wesley grow into a man so they can skip off into other realities together. The point: I hate this episode, and I hate the way they said good bye to Wesley Crusher!!!
• From John on 2011-02-06 at 11:30pm:
  I have to agree with others that this episode definitely exploits a stereotype to tell its story. One thing I hate about this episode (and this extends to Voyager episodes about Chakotay) is the cheesy flute music. Why has this one musical form been used as a meme for all Native Americans? Are we supposed to believe that all the people who first populated the Americas listened to one style of crappy music? It's utter nonsense, and basely false.
  
  Another thing for which the writers ought to be ashamed is referring to the settlers as "Indians". This happens repeatedly, and each time it makes me cringe. This is the 24th century -- by all other indications, humanity has moved beyond these dated and racist terms. Why not just call them "settlers"? That is, after all, what they are.
  
  I really don't like this episode. The only thing that redeems it at all for me is that Wesley finally goes away.
• From Dorvan on 2013-08-12 at 12:59am:
  This episode was written as my 13th birthday present by Ron Moore. Most of it was based on a conversation my mother had with him about Star Trek failure to include Native American characters. For the most part I liked it and it was a good send-off for Wesley...However I did have a huge problem with the cliche Native American stereotype. Picking on Picard because of something his ancestor did. I am sure that with any good research you can link anyone to a bloodthirsty ancestor. Dumb. That flute is annoying…vision quest is the answer to everything…we speak to the bear...all they need was a catch phrase like Hackuchimoya…
  
  This episode would have been better off with some actual research into Native culture.
• From Keefaz on 2017-02-21 at 10:15am:
  A pretty feeble episode. Amazingly ham-fisted treatment of Native American culture. I thought we'd agreed not to refer to them as 'Indians' decades ago, so how this slipped into the script is beyond me. And the episode works on two different levels of bullsht in that the quasi-Native American rubbish about spirit animals (incidentally, how could a Klingon or Vulcan be a spirit animal, no different to a parrot, as claimed here?) turns out to be a fabrication by The Traveller.
  
  Best scene: a fight breaks out which could, potentially, reignite a Federation-Cardassia war and Wes and The Traveller just stroll off, beatifically, into the sunset.
• From Mike on 2017-07-29 at 11:08pm:
  After Nechayev's first meeting with Picard, she walks out of the observation lounge, stops, and thanks Picard for making her feel welcome. I was kind of hoping she'd slink back to the table, grab some Valarian canopies, say, "just going to take a few of these for the road" and then leave. I mean she didn't eat a single one after Picard went to all that trouble!
  
  Wesley's douchebaggery is a little hard to stomach in this episode because at times it felt very overdone. But, it's fitting for his character after we last saw him get reprimanded for a daredevil stunt at the Academy. The scenes with him and the Traveler were also a little tough to get through, and the one where they casually stroll away from the battle in the village was just awkward. As mentioned above, it feels like the Enterprise's experiences will pale in comparison to Wesley and the Traveler.
  
  That aside, the rest of this episode was well done and explored a relevant issue. In the 1990's, with the production of "Dances With Wolves", mainstream U.S. society was starting to take a look at the country's history of dealings with American Indians. The historical undertones of this episode reflect that effort and give us yet another example of Star Trek's forward thinking on these issues.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Tallifer on 2011-03-20 at 1:18am:
  This is a terrific beginning for an epic story in two parts. There is not a single false note in this.
  
  Of course, being an historian and a lover of classic literature, I always appreciate the more grandiose episodes of Star Trek.
• From Bernard on 2011-04-03 at 11:19am:
  Strong episode. Nicely paced, explains the back story for the Maquis perfectly. This had to be solid of course as it sets up Voyager.
  
  Love the Sisko/Dukat partnership which at the time I thought was to become something akin to O'Brien/Bashir but thankfully the creators made sure that their relationship stayed more like Picard/Q.
  
  The point is the writers are using the 'unlikely pairing' angle again and it works so well.
  
  Shame we hadn't seen Hudson prior to this episode to make it more wrenching and less predictable when his revelation comes to light but that sort of continuity and almost serialisation is to come later in the series.
  
  Overall a good outting, shame about part two.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-25 at 1:05pm:
  Cal Hudson was played by Bernie Casey, a very well known TV and movie actor who has many credits to his name, among them Roots, Murder She Wrote, Babylon Five, and the James Bond movie Never Say Never Again. Bernie Casey also played football for two NFL teams: The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. So far as I know Bernie Casey is the only actor to appear on any Star Trek episode or feature film who also played football for the NFL. Another interesting study.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Daniel on 2014-01-26 at 12:17am:
  I really like this episode for many reasons. I am partial to any Klingon story episodes. A nice feature of this episode is when K'Mtar is teaching Alexander how to fight on the holodeck. It gives us a glimpse into Klingon hand-to-hand combat strategy. Interesting factoid; James Sloyan, who played K'Mtar in this episode, also played Setal/Admiral Jarok in the STTNG episode, The Defector.
• From englanddg on 2014-08-02 at 6:00am:
  This is one of my favorite episodes of season 7.
  
  They knew the end was coming, and the writers were certainly tying up loose ends this season, and their dealing with Alexander (even though they brought him back in DS9) was masterful.
  
  When it first aired, I just thought it was an interesting show, but every few years I do a re-watch of all the Star Trek series (that's what I'm doing now)
  
  Oddly, I find that they help me center myself, as I grow older. I find that each time I watch them, as I progress through the stages of life, I find something different that I never found before (probably why ST has touched so many, especially TNG)...
  
  As a father now, decades later, rewatching this show just tonight, I think it touches on many of the feelings, challenges and fears I've faces as my daughter turns into a young woman.
  
  Rearing a child is the scariest thing I've done in my life, for all of the reasons indicated in this episode.
  
  I think that aspect alone, deserves praise. I would rate this episode an 8 out of 10, for those reasons.
• From Mike on 2017-04-23 at 6:41pm:
  Until this episode, I wasn’t a huge fan of Alexander. I found Wesley Crusher a lot more tolerable. But they finally came up with a great plot involving Alexander. The messages about children wishing in hindsight that they’d been more receptive to their parents’ teachings, and parents learning to let their children find their own destinies resonated powerfully. And I like the reappearance of the Duras sisters. It portrays these Klingon feuds as potentially lasting generations.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-12-26 at 6:05pm:
  This two-parter is perhaps the best DS9 offering to this point. Good stuff.
• From JJ on 2010-08-03 at 6:20pm:
  There is a problem here: the Zeppelite ship canrun at warp 9,8.
• From John on 2011-01-08 at 6:54am:
  I love Sisko's speech: "The Problem is Earth..." I love what he says, and I love the way he makes Kira shut up. Kira needs to shut up more often in my opinion.
  
  Here we see the emergence of Sisko as a total badass -- fantastic.
• From Bernard on 2011-04-05 at 2:58pm:
  Solid episode that finishes off the set up from the first part nicely. Unfortunately it doesn't do much more than that.
  
  I too enjoy Sisko's 'the problem with Earth' speech, I also enjoy Dukat who has been a joy throughout both parts.
  
  "What's that phrase? 'Shoot to kill'?"
  
  The Maquis, are an excellent addition to the Star Trek universe and stories will make very good use of them over the next few seasons.
• From Hugo on 2011-11-12 at 10:35pm:
  Not too fond of Avery Brooks' acting in this two-parter, and he is totally outplayed by Dukat. Sisko just comes out as a whiny, grumpy tight-ass.
• From Hugo on 2011-11-12 at 11:10pm:
  I also like that Dukat comes out as not only a villain, and it nuances the image of the Cardassians. On the space battle - it was ok, but felt a bit like a computer game at times...
• From Matt on 2012-06-10 at 8:00am:
  Did anyone catch Hudson's Shatner-esque delivery of the heading towards the end of the episode?
• From Bronn on 2013-07-05 at 6:01pm:
  This was an excellent two part episode and represents the very best of DS9-there's a very complicated issue here and you can sympathize with all sides, even with what Dukat is trying to accomplish. But the Maquis storyline always bugged me because if you're setting up something complicated, it deserves a good resolution.
  
  Obviously you can't resolve the Maquis storyline here because it's still setting up Voyager. But it fails to reach a real resolution at any point. After taking direct action here to stop the Maquis, blowing up some of their ships, Sisko and the DS9 crew are largely going to ignore the Maquis for the next few years, save for a couple of episodes per season. They're more concerned with the Dominion. In the end the Maquis is going to be gobsmacked completely off screen by the Dominion. It's this loose thread that's dangling for a long time that never was completely pulled into place, so it got lopped off when they ran out of stories to do with it.
  
  I feel that Federation leadership takes a bit of unjust blame here. There's degrees to which I can understand them being out of touch, but they're dealt a rough hand. First they finally managed to sign the peace treaty with the Cardassians and setting up a DMZ. This was apparently a fair enough deal with both sides having to concede colonies. They tried to relocate their citizens, but those people refused to move and said they're rather live under Cardassian rule than give up their land. So they leave them...and then they blame the Federation when the Cardassians treat them like crap in attempt to make them give up their lands. Then the Federation is stuck in a position where they either have to go to war, or attempt to police their citizens who start their own shooting war. The Federation breaking a peace treaty with the Cardassians would open a whole new can of worms for them because of their treaties with the Romulans and whatever tenuous agreements they had with the Tholians.
  
  What I wanted to come out of this, at some point, was Starfleet policy to retain some clarity. Either they would go to war to protect their citizens, or they would disavow responsibility for them completely and tell the Cardassians to use their own discretion in dealing with the Maquis. We never got a real resolution to the Maquis situation on Voyager either, since the fact that there were Maquis crew members there mattered for maybe 4 episodes.
• From bodner on 2014-02-14 at 5:59pm:
  @John
  I thought Kira's speech to Sisko was way more brave, to school her superior officer about Cardassians like that.
  Siskos speech to her was most cowardly, he should have said that to the admiral not someone who agrees anyway.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-10-30 at 7:03pm:
  Ughh. Ferengi are almost always terribly executed on TNG. Ughh. Picard's son turns out not to be. Ughh. How the hell did Bok a) find out about a two-week affair of Picard's from a quarter century ago, b) find the kid, c) manipulate his genes without his knowing about it, and d) know the Enterprise would be near Caymore in the first place. On top of all this, we have an interesting idea for a planet--a colony in collapse following the Cardassian war--and we never even set foot on it.
  
  Science alert: if you change someone's genes, the cells will be different when they reproduce. In a few cell cycles, you'd have a completely different person.
  
  This is terrible. Utterly, utterly, unwatchably terrible. The son is a complete douche, and not in an interesting way. His acting is terrible, he's badly written, and his reaction to being transported unexpectedly is completely unbelievable. The first episode with Bok wasn't that great in the first place, so it's not the best episode to return to here. I can't believe this is one of the pentultimate TNG episodes. I vaguely remembered it from the first run, and I figured it was lost in the middle of the series somewhere, not featured prominently at the end.
• From John Smith on 2011-10-23 at 4:28pm:
  Not a very good episode by any means but it does contain one of my favorite scenes in all of TNG: someone finally telling the ever presumptuous Troi to buzz off. She has never met this person before but she, unsolicited, takes it upon herself to see if he wants to open up her about his whole life. His response was quite appropriate and refreshing in that the always sanctimonious Troi was put in her place.
• From Shani on 2014-12-16 at 9:47am:
  From memory alpha: "Sagan noted that the original premise ("Fugue") was a lot darker than the aired episode. "The idea was that Bok had genetically engineered this kid from birth and advanced his growth and had been giving him memories of Picard abandoning him on the Stargazer. Then Bok was using one of the mind balls to give Picard these vague flashes of false memories, making him think that it was possible he had this sort of fugue-like experience where he basically abandoned his son on the Stargazer and blocked it out of his mind. I don't know if it would have ever worked or not, but it was kind of a really interesting, dark aspect and it gave you a sense of abandonment and trying to recapture this sense of a son he never had. Then it turns out that it's not that at all." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)"
  
  Why did they not make that episode? That would have actually been brilliant and interesting to watch. I can see them trying to argue that it would be too dark for TNG but it would have been brilliant
• From tigertooth on 2017-02-11 at 3:04am:
  The first question Picard would have asked was "Why is Bok warning me about the fact that he's going after my son? Why wouldn't he get my son first?" The warning was the obvious signal that this was Bok's trap. Completely ridiculous that Picard and crew fell for it.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-10-21 at 3:00am:
  I gave it a 4. There is just not much here. Garak is a fascinating character, but most of the airtime here is spent on scenes with him physically suffering and acting out of character. There are better "Garak's past" episodes than this.
• From Mr. Lincoln on 2007-11-29 at 7:45am:
  This is a very enjoyable episode, and a good introduction to Garak's past (although what we actually learn is up for questions at this point).
  
  For the record, the Morn appearance is immediately after the scene with Bashir and Jadzia when they are discussing her plant. Immediately before the scene where Quark meets with Garak. I enjoy how Morn is looking sad after he realizes Quark's is closed.
• From djb on 2009-04-06 at 5:36am:
  I liked this episode a lot. I'm coming to really like Garak's character.
  
  I think the episode title may be a reference to Larry Niven's "Ringworld" series, wherein the main character, Louis Wu, is an ex-"wirehead," i.e. he used to have some kind of "wire" implanted in his brain that directly stimulated his endorphin receptors. Just a thought.
• From Bernard on 2011-05-06 at 8:40pm:
  This is a very difficult one to judge. I think Robinsons performance is fairly good but not all that others have made of it. The performance however does not necessarily make the episode and in this case it does not quite do it.
  
  There just isn't any payoff here. It just sets up Garak for more stories... and that's great! It just makes this episode fall into the 'above average' bracket.
  
  I'd give it a 6 or 7 but at least it's good enough to keep up this late-season surge of good episodes.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From RichD on 2006-05-03 at 9:23pm:
  What an atrocious, abysmal episode. Lazy writing, uninspired acting, and erratic pacing. The Enterprise gives birth? What is going on? At this point in time in the series, in the 7th season, we should have never, ever been subjected to such a complete waste of time. My goodness. I can only think of one other episode that was worse, Shades of Gray.
• From -ezm- on 2010-06-02 at 7:25pm:
  Absolutely terrible episode. Bottom 5 for sure. To think that All Good Things would only be 3 episodes later.
• From Paul on 2010-08-19 at 2:40pm:
  I felt violently sick while watching this episode. Not sure if that was related to its intense badness.
  
  Also interesting to note is the guy that plays the train conductor is also Jeffery Lebowski in 'The Big Lebowski'. I recognised his voice and couldn't work it out for ages ^^
• From ElGuapo on 2011-12-14 at 7:14pm:
  Another computer turned intelligent episode... At least this one wasn't as bad as the one with the little repair robots that turned self-aware. Still, an awful episode. The only saving grace is the.. wait... I can't think of anything.
  
  Oh wait.. I know.. maybe the new lifeform will look cool when TNG hi-def comes out in 2012! Right now it looks like the pipe screensaver from Windows 95.
  
  
• From L on 2013-05-09 at 6:27am:
  Very irritating.
  
  Using a mixed historical holodeck scenario to explore the ship's 'mind' seemed like cheating and cheap production values. I guess they made it justifiable, but it was pretty cheesy as a metaphor.
  
  Picard saying they have a responsibility to respect the ship as any other living being is just stupid.
  It's a highly crucial tool and a mobile environment that supports the crew's life; its developing intelligence is a serious problem as its desire for individual freedom is in immediate conflict with a desire to keep your environment supporting you and your crew's life. It demonstrated it was willing to kill them all when it started to use life support energy to reach the second star.
  This is no time to be a hippie, an immediate lobotomy is called for!
  
  I did like how in the end he said that the Enterprise's consciousness was the sum of their experiences and adventures over the years, so in a sense the crew was also the parent of the new life-form. A nice way to think about it.
  But it was still a pretty unrealistic reaction to a ridiculous situation.
  
  Good parts -
  The analysis of Prospero and Shakespeare in the first scene.
  Data out of the holodeck still with crazy hair and moustache.
  Introducing the concept of consciousness as an emergent function of complexity. If only they had explored it in a better plot.
  
  I'm sure there's been some ridiculous lines in seven years of The Next Generation, but Troi's
  "I think we should follow that man, that brick might be an important clue.",
  has to be one of the greatest.
• From Emily on 2014-02-10 at 11:50pm:
  I think for you to truly understand this episode it would be beneficial to have a deeper understanding of The Tempest.
  
  In some ways I think that the ship’s intelligence, trying to break away from the confines of the ship in to a higher state of being is in many ways comparable to Ariel in The Tempest, a spirit who we are told is imprisoned within a tree (a thing of the earth in which a spirit of the air does not belong).
  
  Ariel is freed from this chamber by Prospero and in return he obeys him as a servant. Prospero uses Ariel to control the forces of nature (it is worth noting here that the term ‘magick’ in Shakespeare’s time could be used to mean wisdom about natural forces/elements) in order to complete his mission of diplomacy. This is undeniably similar to the relationship between Captain Picard and The Enterprise.
  
  As the play progresses, Ariel itches more and more for complete freedom from his earthly tasks. Prospero is a man of his word, and eventually releases Ariel once he has done everything Prospero has asked of him.
  
  Another interesting thing to note about this episode, is that it is very close to the end of TNG. The Tempest was Shakespeare’s last (and arguably best) solo work and a lot of the play parallels Prospero’s magic art to Shakespeare’s art as a play write. At the end of the play (this is the scene shown at the beginning of the episode) Prospero says goodbye to his magic, and indeed the epilogue to the play can be interpreted as Shakespeare’s heart-warming goodbye to the theatre. Perhaps the use of this play is a nod to the fact that the writers would shortly be saying goodbye to TNG.
  
  I could probably continue to research and write for days about the symbolism in this episode, the use of opposites, the exploration of the psyche, the ‘Brave new world’ and how this all relates to The Tempest and further to humanity.
  
  However as this is and old article on an old webpage I’m guessing my efforts would amount to very little. I think what I’m saying is that this episode has a lot more to it than what you have taken prima facie and if anyone reading this has decided to just take a look at this episode and The Tempest in maybe a little more depth they will be greatly rewarded by what they find, and furthermore what I have written would have been worthwhile.
• From Daniel Antil on 2014-08-31 at 9:18am:
  I agree this is one of the worst episodes. It's almost a guarantee that any episode which relies on the holo deck for its storyline is generally insubstantial. There are so many things wrong with this episode:
  1. The holo deck becomes the vehicle for the ship's computer to take over the ship??? It just can't happen!
  2. Data, despite his strength, cannot stop a car from moving forward if he is merely squatting on the ground - it is simple physics - he would need proper leverage and weight balance.
  3. The man who takes the gold brick and puts it into an empty slot in a wall... What does it mean??? There is obviously something symbolic about it, but they don't explain it at all!
  4. The ship creates a life form in the cargo bay??? So many things wrong with that!
  5. When the life form is complete, it simply passes through the ship's hull and flies off into space... Why? Where did it go? And why the heck doesn't the Enterprise follow it??? That should be the primary mission - investigate and keep tabs on a life form the ship created!
  6. After the holo deck turns off, Data, Troy and Worf are still holding drinks in their hands... Drinks they got from the holo deck train.
  
  That's just a basic list... There are dozens of other flaws in this episode. It's a stinker!
• From Carolyn on 2015-08-28 at 5:45pm:
  This is one of my favorite episodes. Very creative, funny and thoughtful. I can't believe the reviews I am reading here!
• From GVT on 2016-08-02 at 7:28am:
  I found Emily's comment very helpful in understanding this episode...thank you Emily. This episode does require a more metaphorical interpretation since, as L mentioned, having starships running around becoming self-aware and doing whatever they choose would spell disaster for the crews of those vessels. I find entertainment in the absurd so I rate this episode a 6...but with insight gained from Emily's post a 7.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-12 at 1:04am:
  I absolutely despise mirror universe episodes. I couldn't hardly stand to watch this one. It's almost painful to watch.
• From EKH on 2007-05-02 at 8:30pm:
  The mirror universe episode are my own personal favourites, as they always give fascinating insight into the hidden depths of a character, and this one is no exceptions. It is interesting to see how the main cast would have turned out had things been different, and thus episode features some convincing writing and acting for these possible personalities. In particular Sisko is well acted, striking true as being the same character. I also enjoyed seeing how Kira would have ended up had her life been the opposite of what it was. Still a complete mess, but in quite a different way!
  Also, a big plus for showing Terok Nor orbiting Bajor.
  
  I give it a 10.
• From Remco on 2008-10-23 at 3:00pm:
  At the end, when Sisko asks Bashir and Kira where they have been, Kira replies: "Through the looking-glass". It's unlikely that a former Bajoran slave-turned-terrorist knows about such an ancient Earth book.
• From JRPoole on 2008-12-26 at 9:50pm:
  I must agree with Pete Miller above; I despise mirror episodes. This one is entertaining, though.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-28 at 2:48pm:
  The problem with the Mirror universe episodes is that the writers tend to spend more time coming up with clever "opposites" for the characters than writing a decent story. This one is no exception.
  
  It's worth mentioning that Quark's line "I don't stick my neck out for anybody" when asked if he has been helping Terrans escape is a reference to the famous Bogart line in Casablanca, "I don't stick my neck out for nobody" when Rick is asked something similar.
• From Bernard on 2011-07-16 at 8:12am:
  Rules for watching the mirror universe episodes:
  
  1. Suspend your disbelief completely. If you think about it for even a millisecond you realise that in an alternate universe if so much was changed (terrans being all conquering and then becoming benign for example) then none of the characters we know and love would even have been born... and even if they were they would likely not end up in the same place!
  
  2. Enjoy watching the actors having fun
  
  3. Check your brains in on the way in, don't expect any thought provoking sci-fi or heart wrenching drama.
  
  
  I really like this episode for reasons I can't explain it works very well. The actors have a blast, especially Avery Brooks. I love his performance too, you can see his talent is playing off the wall characters.
  
  The problem is that we revisit this universe in the future! I can't hold this episode responsible for that though and would give it a strong 8.
• From Spencer Miller on 2012-04-10 at 5:18pm:
  Loved Bizarro-world rogue Sisko in this episode! I was disappointed that Garak wasnt given an "altered" character aside from rank, as I was watching I was thinking how cool it would be if he behaved more like a Gul Dukat in the alternate reality.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-04 at 10:34pm:
  Wow! Having Ro Laren on the cast of Voyager would have made that show WAY better. I bet it would have been much more popular, too.
• From JRPoole on 2008-11-05 at 3:26pm:
  This has always been one of my favorite episodes because it looks at the Federation from an outside perspective. The Federation has always been presented as somewhat infallible; the politics of the show are rarely in disagreement with those of the Federation itself. This is a little different.
  
  I think that everyone was right here. The Federation was acting in its best interest in the treaty with Cardassia. The Maquis certainly have a valid point, and their militancy, especially for the Bajorans among them, is understandable. Ro made the right moral decision by joining them, and Picard's insistence on duty is also understandable. All this also sets the tone not only for Voyager, but for what DS 9 becomes as well. I give it an 8.
• From Paul on 2010-08-19 at 3:14pm:
  Bajoran Hasperat = a fajita
• From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-19 at 9:45pm:
  It seemed to me that Picard had very deep feelings for her - sort of like a daughter to him. I felt like he was more upset that he wouldn't be able to continue in occasional relationship with her on federation terms than he would have been about her simply defecting. It was a very moving episode for me. Although I felt the Ro character was a bit overwritten, I sympathized with her a great deal.
• From Axel on 2015-03-29 at 3:23am:
  The Maquis got more attention in DS9, but this is one of the few episodes in TNG where there is a valid alternative position on an issue to the one the Federation takes. This time, the moral dilemma is not Picard's but Ro's. I think it's a great way to tie up the character given her past issues with Starfleet.
  
  It was pretty obvious from the beginning that Macias was going to sway Ro to the Maquis side, so maybe they could've used a more morally ambiguous character. Still, this episode had a lot of great continuity and a really good plot.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From carsonist on 2009-01-24 at 11:44pm:
  I'm amazed this only got a 4. Some good drama, and the election of a new Space-Pope is hardly "zero plot development". In hindsight, it may seem obvious that Kai Winn will be elected, but it's an enormous change for those watching the episodes in order.
  
  The episode had me believing that Bareil had been a collaborator, in the sense of sacrificing the few for the benefit of the many. The double turnaround made for some good emotional responses from Kira.
• From Tallifer on 2011-03-20 at 10:06am:
  10/10
  
  The religious politics combine with the social repercussions and aftermath of an occupation. This story was consistently exciting through every minute.
  
  Plus we get to see some more hotness from Keera Narees.
• From Bernard on 2011-10-22 at 6:43pm:
  Another strong outing involving Bajoran politics!
  
  This is a well constructed episode with good performances from Kira, Winn and Bareil.
  
  I'd give it an 8.
• From Discordius on 2011-11-09 at 7:28am:
  In context of the political development of Bajor the plot develops not zero but close to 100%! Also, the recent history of Bajor is well integrated with a very tough decision: is it justified to let a small number of people die so that much more can live? Indeed, it could be expected that Vedek Winn eventually prevails in the Kai competition. However, it was a surprise that Kai Opaka was the "collaborator" and not Bareil. His relationship with Kira: her doubts and inner conflict are well acted. A really good episode, deserving rating 8.
• From ChristopherA on 2020-07-20 at 11:51pm:
  I could see how you might find this slow but I found it full of tension and felt that the plot developed at an adequate pace the whole way through, making it a solid episode. Not the most thrilling, but it raised a good moral question and developed some interesting religious politics on Bajor.

No fan commentary yet.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-07-09 at 1:16am:
  I give All Good Things a 10 overall. I did not rate Part 1 and Part 2, since I watch it on DVD and have no idea where the halfway point is.
  
  The episode itself is actually better than all the TNG movies. Everything about it is genius. Having the episode take place in three time periods is genius. Having the episode be a sequel to the very first episode is genius. I always look forward to watching it again.
• From Tony on 2008-09-09 at 4:23am:
  The whole idea of working among diferent time periods and Picard in that "one moment" open to new posibilities and things to explore is great, but there is one problem: the movies and series set after this episode in time seem to show that humanity didn't expand in ways predicted in this episode and just settled back into their old ways. Admittedly, our current minds are not highly evolved enough to comprehend such endevers, but it does seem odd that both humanity doesn't advance (except maybe in VOY: Relativity dealing with an even farther future) and that the Q doesn't seem to care. This is not a strike against this episode, but a strike against future episodes relating to this episode.
• From JRPoole on 2008-11-05 at 8:09pm:
  I just finished the entire TNG series, so this is a review of the series as a whole as well as a comment on this episode.
  
  "All Good Things" is phenomenal. It's intelligently written, fleshes out the characters well, and filled with fanboy fun stuff that doesn't get in the way of a good episode. I gave it a 10.
  
  TNG overall was also solid. Like the original series, it had its lame moments, but it was able to take the original concept and turn it into a sleek, intelligent show that took itself seriously but was still still fun. The best moments of TNG ("Measure of a Man," "The Inner Light," the Klingon saga episodes, the Borg invasion, Wesley's continuing journey to higher astral planes, et al) get at the heart of what Trek was really about. Now I'm looking forward to seeing DS9. I've seen a good bit of it, but a lot of it will be new to me.
• From djb on 2009-04-03 at 8:20am:
  I loved the 3D space battle scene. Unfortunately throughout most of Trek, the potential allowed by the three dimensions of space is wasted and most everything is in two dimensions, as if they were in a ship on the ocean. The brief battle scene here with the Enterprise arriving from a totally different angle and orientation was brilliant, and I wish we could have seen more battle scenes like that.
• From Ali on 2009-04-12 at 4:21pm:
  I love this episode too, but I think the science is a little bit iffy.
  
  Since Picard establishes that changes in timelines don't affect each other (i.e. Deanna doesn't recall him ordering a red alert on his first mission), then the fact that the first amino acid doesn't bond in the past shouldn't affect their known future or present...
  
  Multiple Universe Theories generally say that if an event is changed in the past, it will not alter the present; rather, create a new alternate Universe with that decision. And since there are infinite universes that exist where life did not end up occurring on earth, it wouldn't be that amazing. Life would have continued as normal to their perspective...
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2011-10-01 at 1:49pm:
  If it's a 10, why isn't a candidate for your "Best TNG Episode" award?
• From Kethinov on 2011-10-07 at 6:49am:
  Both parts of the episode would have had to be rated 10 for it to be considered.
• From Vlad on 2012-02-13 at 3:49pm:
  This is one of my favourite episodes in all of Star Trek, but one little problem kills the magic for me...
  
  An early draft of the script, which was discarded for budget reasons, had the future crew stealing the Enterprise from a museum. Which meant that they started the search for the anomaly in the Enterprise and not the Pasteur.
  
  In the final version of the script they were on the Pasteur.
  
  Later, present-day Data says that the resonance pulses (or whatever they were called) inside the anomaly were identical "as if all three originated from the Enterprise".
  
  But they didn't!
  
  Anyway, aside from this little nitpick I have with the episode it's a fantastic send-off for TNG.
• From michael on 2012-08-07 at 10:03pm:
  If the anti-time reaction in the future goes backwards in time - how were they able to see it in the future? From the point of origin it travels backwards. From the perspective of linear time it would be impossible for anyone perceiving the forwards movement of time to see a reaction that moves precisely in the opposite direction?
• From Captain Keogh on 2013-03-17 at 10:38am:
  I loved this episode, just saw it on 26.12.2012 and thought it was brilliant, I gave it a 10.
• From thaibites on 2013-04-16 at 11:41pm:
  This is a great send-off for TNG. It's obvious a lot of thought was put into this episode. For example, I love the shot of Baby-face Riker they lifted from the 1st season. It was ingenious how they had new audio from Frakes while the shot shows Picard looking at the monitor, and then cuts back to Riker actually saying something from the season 1 footage. It was seamless and shows a lot of attention to detail.
  But the bigger aspect here is that All Good Things is what Star Trek is all about - pushing frontiers and going where no one (man) has gone before. Plus there's a lot at stake here - the existence of humanity (and the existence of every species between Earth and the Neutral Zone). This is awesome science fiction and TNG at its best!
• From L on 2013-05-09 at 12:32pm:
  This definitely was a great finale, epic and exciting. But a little frustrating too.
  
  Why do the Q continuum continue to torture Picard? They create some nonsensical dilemma and accuse Picard of being the cause when it was solely due to them that the crisis existed in the first place, just so they can force him to make some grand act they approve of.
  I thought the dilemma and its solution was totally irrational and may as well have been a dream, but it is implied that to evolve humanity must stop exploring real world science and technology and devote more time to this sort of thing. It seems they want to hold them back more than anything.
  I was annoyed at Q seeming to revert back to his earlier character after all they'd been through together, but felt better when it turns out he was acting under orders and did try to help after all.
  
  It was awesome seeing how irritable Picard was as an old man, and seeing Troi in a mini-skirt. It was a shame Guinan didn't make an appearance for the last episode.
  The last scene was perfect and uplifting.
• From Dstyle on 2013-09-23 at 3:03pm:
  This episode first aired when I was in middle school, and I remember being very annoyed at the fact that the anomaly, which is supposed to be moving backwards in time, was somehow moving forward in time after it was created. It was the first time I ever noticed any logical inconsistencies in my favorite show (which is kind of funny now, looking back on all the various logical inconsistencies throughout TNG's run), and it still hinders my enjoyment of this episode. But I guess it would have taken too much screen time for the future crew to create the static warp bubble in the past by slingshotting around a sun or something.
  
  I've always wondered why star ships always seem to be on the same plane when they run into each other, so it was good to see the future Enterprise approach and attack perpendicular to the Klingon Birds of Prey. Shame future Star Trek's didn't continue with this.
  
  Everyone thinks future Picard is crazy, but they inexplicably (or perhaps touchingly) humor him because he is Jean-Luc Picard. He refuses a brain scan at Cambridge, insisting instead that they immediately get a ship to the neutral zone. The "present day" crew, on the other hand, believe Picard completely, in part because Beverley was able to show (via two brain scans) that he had accrued two days worth of memories in a matter of hours. Why didn't future Picard immediately insist on the same brain scans? Wouldn't it have been much, much easier to get everyone on board with him (and to avoid being sedated) by easily providing evidence that what he was saying was true?
  
  Future Geordi is married to a woman named Leah. Leah Brahms, perhaps?
• From Jai Parker on 2014-07-10 at 2:11am:
  After a generally disappointing Season 7 TNG ends with a massive bang! Easily the best finale of any Trek series and 20 years on this is still one of the best grand finale's of any TV series IMO.
  
  I just wish they'd left the story here, rather than trying to reinvent TNG as a series of half baked sci-fi action films with a horribly out-of-character Picard at the helm.
  
  As with the Star Wars prequels I pretend the TNG films didn't happen and it ended with "the sky's the limit!"
• From englanddg on 2014-08-02 at 8:40am:
  The only thing I'll add is that the previous episodes were all setting up for this, outside of summing up loose characters (as fan service).
  
  Many of the derided episodes (when taken on their own) are in fact building the audience to this climax...
  
  Where Picard finally loses his mind.
  
  It was a quite brilliant story arch, across episodes, while still paying fan service to characters in interesting ways as they writers knew the show was dead after this season.
  
  Extremely well done.
• From Mike Chambers on 2016-08-25 at 2:55pm:
  This has already been mentioned by another commenter, but I want to reiterate. The one thing that always bothered me about this otherwise amazing finale is, if the anomaly only grows backwards through time then how the heck were they able to go back several hours into the future and see it??
  
  It's been a while since I've watched this, so maybe I'm forgetting something but I don't recall any explanation for it. Seems like a pretty massive oversight.