The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-12 at 2:45am:
  I enjoy any O'Brien episode, but this one is spectacular. I especially love the speech O'Brien gives Odo in the cell about his personal convictions and morality, as well as loyalty to the federation despite his own opinions. He is truly a good man, and one of my favorite characters in Star Trek. It's a damn shame he didn't get more screen time in TNG. Him and Picard would have gotten along well
• From milesmust on 2011-09-04 at 1:39am:
  This is very clearly a quintessential "O'Brien must suffer" episode (the producers intentionally put Miles through the meat grinder at at least once per season, src: http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Deep_Space_Nine).
  
  This is quite fascinating to watch, although I agree with the reviewer there is a touch of absurdity about the court proceedings.
  
  The judge is too lenient at certain times, too stubborn at other times, depending on what the plot requires. It really doesn't seem to make much sense - since the purpose and proceedings of these show trials is so well established, why wouldn't she just find Odo in contempt and have him removed, rather than put up with his attempts to defend Miles?
  
  I haven't fully thought it through, but it might make more sense in light of the revelation at the end: that this was a highly politicized ploy from the very beginning, rather than some ordinary trial. This particular show trial had an interplanetary audience as well as its usual audience, and Odo had a legal right to serve as Nestor (which was a cool twist, btw).
  
  So, pretty good episode, but whether it makes sense or not, much of the trial proceedings are kind of irritating to watch.
• From Axel on 2015-05-17 at 7:09am:
  So let's see, we have TNG: Face of the Enemy (Troi abducted), TNG: The Mind's Eye (La Forge abducted), DS9: In Purgatory's Shadow (Bashir abducted), and also this episode...O'Brien abducted. It seems to me that the Federation has a border control problem, and going anywhere on your own in a shuttlecraft is pretty risky.
  
  I also thought the Cardassian judicial system was a little too absurd. Granted, trials are often for show in dictatorships and military juntas of any kind, but in this episode it seemed to be almost comically ridiculous. It would be more apropos to have a Cardassian regime that simply makes its victims disappear, denying them the opportunity to be martyrs or visibly oppose the state. This insidious reality of totalitarian regimes is something that has been described by those who opposed both the Nazi and Soviet systems.
  
  In any case, I did enjoy a few of the plot twists and I thought it had some terrific acting.
• From Zorak on 2016-05-14 at 4:03pm:
  Episodes like this annoy me a bit. It's hard for me to take the plot seriously when it's based off of the fact (shown time and again throughout Star Trek) that any foreign government can abduct a Federation citizen for whatever reason they choose with no consequences. They kidnaped the Chief of Operations for Depp Space 9. How is that not an act of war? The excuse of the week should hardly be relevant.
• From ChristopherA on 2020-07-21 at 6:46am:
  I was amused by the Cardassian “legal system”. It is sort of a cross between two real-world concepts – show trials which look like a modern trial and pretend to determine guilt or innocence but are actually rigged by the state, and the fact that many cultures have simply given authority figures the job of deciding who is guilty and punishing them, with nothing like a modern trial at all. It was somewhat absurd, but interesting. However, not quite interesting enough to fill a whole episode, it did get somewhat repetitious and stretched.
  
  I agree that the idea the Cardassians could just abduct anyone at any time with no repercussions was disturbing and kept weighing on my mind the entire time. Another episode where I felt our heroes were insufficiently outraged by what was going on, as if the Cardassians were justified in entering Federation space, overpowering and capturing a Federation vessel, and kidnapping a Federation officer simply because they unilaterally declared that person to be a criminal (which, in Cardassian terms, means an enemy of the Cardassian state – a category which likely includes an awful lot of Federation citizens).
  
  Now, I can believe that the episode could have gone forward as shown anyway, with the Federation letting it slide. Previous episodes with the Cardassians have made clear that the Federation really wants peace and is willing to make sacrifices to get it. Starfleet Command may well be willing to sacrifice one life to avoid the devastation of a war they do not feel ready to fight. But you would at least expect more displays of outrage, saber-rattling, and heightened tensions over this act of war.
  
• From Steven Wrieden on 2023-08-26 at 8:14am:
  This was certainly inspired by Franz Kafka's The Trial.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2009-01-02 at 10:21pm:
  This is the beginning of the "real" DS9, and it's a good introduction. Thankfully, the writers didn't have Jake and Nog pull some sort of daring rescue of Sisko and Quark. The only (slight) problems I have with this episode are very minor:
  
  --It seems a little unlikely that the Jem'hadar could overlook Jake and Nog, especially when there's a shuttle orbiting the planet, but I guess that stands to reason because Sisko and Quark were meant to escape all along.
  
  -Just where is Eris beaming to at the end? How sophisticated is Dominion transporter technology?
• From BlueLabel on 2010-06-10 at 7:43am:
  The biggest problem I have with this episode, and in fact most star trek battle scenes, is how puny and frail Federation ships always seem to be during engagements like this. Seriously, watch the battle in this episode. The Jem'Hadar make one pass, firing a couple of shots at the Odyssey, then it cuts to the bridge and it's absolute chaos up there, exploding consoles and everything.
  
  The reverse case hardly ever happens. Which I think sucks. I mean, this is a Galaxy class ship right? And if they could take it out so easily, why not pick off the runabouts first?
• From Wes Thompson on 2011-01-14 at 7:56pm:
  I have to gladly agree with JRPoole that this marks the beginning of the rest of DS9. Again, I agree that the rest of DS9 is GREAT! There are those episodes here and there that have their own little, self-contained stories. I like a lot of them for the way the writers examine humanity and morals. However, my favorite part of DS9 is the Dominion story. I greatly enjoy the ongoing story. For me, the ongoing saga of episodes and seasons is what makes DS9 better than TNG. Don't get me wrong; there are many great stand-alone and two-part TNG episodes. But DS9 has a much better overall story and drama. This comes from someone who grew up loving TNG and almost detesting DS9 for trying to copy what TNG had done so well. After watching DS9, I have to say that I look forward to rewatching the episodes often.
• From Krs321 on 2011-02-01 at 8:19pm:
  Why doesn't Eris pause or at least say something about or to Odo? I guess they were already aware that a shapeshifter was on DS9 and it wasn't a big deal...?
• From Bernard on 2011-11-13 at 11:54am:
  As others have said, this episode marks the start of bad ass DS9. The transition to bad ass DS9 is completed by the start of season four when all the boxes are ticked.
  Sisko with bald head and goatee - check
  DS9 has it's own warship armed to the teeth - check
  Worf has arrived - check
  
  The episode is very introductory and so I don't think it can be hailed as a masterpiece. It does a great job introducing the Jem'Hader and the idea that the Dominion is going to be a nasty adversary.
  The plot involving Sisko, Jake, Nog and Quark is a nice little addition that plays out through the episode with Quark needling Sisko but then they need to work together and appreciate each other a bit more by the end giving the episode a much needed character arc. The two play off each other very nicely, as do Nog and Jake but then we know they do from many, many other episodes.
  
  I'd give this a 7 or maybe 8 depending on my mood.
• From Spencer Miller on 2012-04-10 at 9:09pm:
  Nice episode. I love the Quark character but he was just too insufferable on the camping trip/during captivity - I know thats the obvious intention but I found it a little aggravating.
  
  I also wanted to comment on the battle with the Odyssey. In Kethinov's review he comments: "The destruction of the USS Odyssey was downright shocking; to see a galaxy class starship taken down so easily!" But with regards to this, I felt the same way as BlueLabel...the Federation starships always seem sorely underpowered to me. The space battles often seem very one sided...either the Enterprise (in TNG) can easily take out their adversaries, or else its the whole "two hits and sparks are flying everywhere and people are flying all over the place". It gets a little aggravating for me when the protagonist faction's firepower is so impotent.
• From Troy on 2013-01-27 at 8:55am:
  Usually I either get aggravated or make a running gag out of how Federation ships shields are down after taking 2 hits, but in this particular episode it made sense to me. The Odyssey was being attacked by Phased Polaron beams which I doubt the Federation has ever really dealt with, and since Polaron beams are designed to penetrate shields the sparks flying right away is mostly justified. Now it did take quite a few hits and was still able to attempt a retreat with the final blow being a suicide run, so at the very least she was able to handle an incredible pounding before finally kicking it. It was indeed shocking and really showed off how this is Star Trek with consequences. Apart from the technobabble about starships I loved this episode, it indeed is the beginning of the best arc ever in Star Trek history.
• From Captain Keogh on 2013-03-24 at 2:05pm:
  Problems
  -As the Odyssey and the runabouts are retreating, the Jem'Hadar fighter makes a suicide run at the Odyssey, but when it moves to another shot, the fighter comes in at a different angle and the Odyssey is not moving, plus there is no sign of the runabouts.
  
  Remarkable scenes
  -- Quark asking Odo to let him use the station's monitors to run commercials for Quark's bar
  -The whole camping trip scene
  -The Odyssey vs the jem'hadar [could have been longer]
  -The suicide run
  -The Odyssey getting blown to hell.
  
  "...a galaxy class starship taken down easily", no surprise there lol.
• From Zorak on 2016-05-14 at 5:01pm:
  The captain of the Odyssey seemed like a really cool character. It's too bad he made such a short appearance.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-11-21 at 4:21am:
  @BlueLabel: There were numerous times in TNG when it was obvious that the Enterprise outmatched whoever they were dealing with, but since the Federation is typically not aggressive, they usually don't get in fights with anyone they can beat easily. ("Conundrum" comes to mind.) Thus we often them battle with ships as powerful or more powerful than theirs, who started the confrontation.
  
  @Krs321 I wonder if Eris even knew who Odo was. She may have known that the Founders sent several of their own out into the galaxy, but she wouldn't know what shape they would take. Odo is not immediately obvious as a shapeshifter. When we see Founders later, they've taken on similar features to Odo, seemingly out of convenience, consistency, or affection for him.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2009-04-10 at 2:34am:
  Wow. This really ups the ante, doesn't it?
  
  I'm watching DS9 eps in order, so I don't know much about what comes next, except for a few spoilers I've read on Memory Alpha. So I'll try to keep this review from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about what's to come.
  
  First of all, the Defiant. Awesome. A Federation war ship! What a concept! This brings to mind a concern I've long held. I don't know if this is a problem with Roddenberry's vision, or a problem he intended there to be, or what, but basically it's this: the Federation is run by a bunch of bleeding-heart wimps. Now, I usually recoil from the term "bleeding-heart," as it implies things I don't like politically, but this is the best term. This was especially true in TNG. Examples: Season 3's premiere, "Evolution." Nanites become apparently intelligent and become a threat to the ship, and instead of eliminate them (as one character tries to do), they get all weird and act as if it has some kind of right to exist, even though it's threatening everyone on the ship.
  
  Anyway. The federation is all about exploration, but they don't seem to want to be realistic about the fact that very real threats exist out there and they have to be ready. They could be like the Swiss: peaceful yet armed to the teeth. But they're not. They didn't last half an hour against the Borg, with 39 ships (granted, the borg had Picard's knowledge on their side, but still). They start work on a warship, and once the Borg threat recedes, they abandon it? They should have a fleet of a hundred Defiants at the ready!
  
  And now, we're facing the Dominion, whose teeth (the Jem-Hadar) are even more ruthless/efficient/deadly, it would seem, than the Cardassians, who have weapons and transporters that make short work of Federation shields, and have no qualms about a suicide mission to gratuitously destroy a disabled retreating ship. Nothing to sneeze at. If I were the federation, I would re-open the Defiant project, perfect it, start building a ton of them, start training Federation-equivalents of Marines en masse, reopen development on a cloaking device, put a ton of energy in to weapons and defense development, and so on. This is all stuff they should have done long ago, but for whatever reason decided to act as if real threats like the Borg or the Dominion didn't exist out there.
  
  Anyway. I don't know what comes next, so the Federation may very well grow some balls over the next few seasons. I hope they do. But it's nice to see the Defiant and what it's capable of.
  
  Of course, a major highlight of the episode is Odo finding his own kind. I already know (spoilers ahead) that the Changelings are the Founders, but for someone who doesn't know what's to come, it's still a powerful moment. I'm still aching to find out what happens: why did the Changelings form the Dominion? What happened to Sisko and the others? Why does Odo go back to the Alpha quadrant and not stay with his own? If they all seem to occupy the same "lake" on their planet (a rogue planet?), do the Changelings have individual identities the way we do or not? What would they look like if they hadn't just matched Odo's default form? Do they have a default solid form? Why and how do they have genders?
  
  Anyway, I'm looking forward to the rest of the series immensely.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-28 at 7:39pm:
  A magnificent episode that really starts the new season with a bang.
  
  One minor problem: why is it when the Defiant is boarded by the Jem'Hadar that their first instinct is to use their guns as clubs? They were all locked and loaded and could have stunned the crew in an instant.
• From MJ on 2011-08-08 at 9:01pm:
  This episode would seem to establish that the Jem'Hadar cannot instinctively recognize Changelings unless seeing them shapeshift. In DS9: THe Adversary, the Jem'Hadar only recognizes Odo as a "Founder" after passing through him. Here, we see the Jem'Hadar attack Odo with the same ferocity as they did Kira, obviously unaware who or what he is.
  
  There is a minor annoyance in this episode...as in DS9: The Way of the Warrior, I have a very hard time believing that a bunch of humans can defeat Jem'Hadar (and Klingons) in hand to hand combat. In reality, I think the Jem-Hadar, who let's not forget are genetically engineered warriors, would likely have taken over the ship in a matter of seconds, given how accustomed they are to boarding attacks.
  
  That aside, this was one of the better starts to a DS9 season. It's got plenty of action and intrigue. The Odo subplot is very well done; Odo is already very disgruntled because of Starfleet's decision to "augment" him with Eddington, and when he sees the Omarii Nebula, it becomes a singular obsession that will reveal the most stunning discovery of his life!
  
  The Romulan assistant was in character: highly mistrustful, a bit cold, and also possessing one of the most interesting Romulan traits: that is, preferring to avoid brash, direct confrontation in favor of a strategic advantage and saving the fight for a different day. This trait will frustrate Starfleet and the Klingons during the Dominion War.
  
  The Defiant's introduction is brilliant, and it's easy to see why the ship gains the affection of Sisko from the get-go.
  
  Nicely done!
• From * on 2011-09-03 at 9:55pm:
  Dax' hair looks like a spray painted cinder block in this episode. Thank you for reassuring me that it won't last.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-27 at 7:30pm:
  T'Kul was played by Martha Hackett who also plays the (somewhat) major character Seska in ST: Voyager.
  
  Fully agree with comments on the Jem'Hadar. I also noticed in the previous episode (DS9: The Jem'Hadar) that the Jem'Hadar did an astonishingly poor job of subduing Sisko and Quark after they escaped confinement. At the beginning of the altercation, one of the Jem'Hadar attacked Sisko with a phaser rifle he was using as a club, similar to the Jem'Hadar attack not the Defiant in this episode. Possible explanation in that episode was that the entire escape was designed as a ploy to allow one of the Vorta to infiltrate DS9 as a spy. Still, Sisko reasonably should have noticed that the Jem'Hadar did not simply shoot him.
  
  Also agree that Dax's hair in this episode (as well as part 2) was not that nice.
• From peterwolf on 2013-11-08 at 11:07pm:
  I like this episode very much, in particular Odo´s quest for his origins and his altered behaviour. However, some inconsistencies concerning his shape-shifter abilites were never really resolved: He could perfectly imitate the feathers of a bird or the fur and the ears of a rat, but not human ears!?!
  I take it that these imperfect ears are simply symbols indicating that Odo or the female shapeshifter belong to a different species.
  Also, my only other dislike in this great episode is that the Defiant was to easily defaeted by the Jem Hadar. After failure of the cloaking device the defiant should have had enough firepower to take out more than one Jem Hadar ship. Her shields and armour (I am not quite sure when the ablative armour was introduced?) should made her more resilient than we saw it. Whatsoever, we may blame it to the quite unexperienced crew, like Dr. Bashir being abused as weapons officer ...

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JJ on 2010-08-06 at 9:27pm:
  There's not really a problem in that they are able to destroy the wormhole with photons as it's not real but part of the illusion.
  
  The pillar in the background when the female shapeshifter is explaining Odo's history to him is the same as in the previous episode where the DS9 crew collects some shape shifting matter from a planet and bring is to the station!
• From John on 2011-01-09 at 2:20am:
  I enjoyed this episode a lot, with the exception of the scene where Kira is talking to the "arboretum" about her plans to send a disguised message from the runabout. She knows that the Changelings don't like or trust her, and she has no idea if one of them could be one of the forms in the garden, listening to what she's saying.
  
  She's normally a lot more cautious than that when dealing with anyone who isn't a Bajoran.
• From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-24 at 1:59pm:
  Yeah, this episode was a real downer. Here I thought they were going to get really bold with the collapsing of the wormhole (I thought they would find some Star Trek Magic way of opening it back up again, perhaps “spiritual” communication with the prophets from Bajor or something), but then it became this silly Matrix thing which took all the suspense out of it. The founders needed to see how far the federation would go to defend themselves? The fact that they lost an entire starship rescuing TWO people from the nearby planet the last time you met them didn’t convince you that they were gutsy? And then to top the whole thing off, the founders just LET THEM ALL GO. This following the dominion showing that they are willing to fly their own ships into starfleet vessels to prove their ruthlessness! This made no sense! Why let them go? So they can just go and prepare to defeat the Dominion when they finally get around to invading, which I assume is coming in the future? Kill them while you have them! Destroy what’s left of the Defiant! They kill the entire crew of the USS Odyssey (in the most edge-of-the-seat scene of the series so far – I literally shouted “WHOA!” in my living room), but then they are all, “OK! Take ’er easy! We’ll kill you… I mean see you later!” It totally reminded me of the James Bond cliché of the bad guy having Bond for dinner, giving him a comfortable room, and letting him walk freely around the moon base or whatever. I mean there’s evil arrogance and then there is plot convenience. I know that they couldn't kill off the cast of the show, but they needed some other ending that had some level of plausibility. I even thought that maybe the admiral lady and the fed security guy might have been replaced with replicants or something and perhaps Dax and Obrien also, which would explain the sudden and easy return to the station and the hidden and quick pro-Dominion result to negotiations. At least then there could have been some sort of more realistic ending in which the non-replicants fight back on the station and truly prove the tenacity of the federation-bajoran alliance, pushing the first intrusion of the dominion back into the Gamma quadrant. But, no. They were never at the station, any of the good writing during those scenes is simply gone. Reset button time. Total bummer of an ending to such a stellar season opener!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2009-01-09 at 9:25pm:
  I gave this one a ten because it's DS9 hitting its stride. Here we have a well-crafted little humor episode that actually made me laugh out loud a few times. It's a good stand-alone episode on the heels of the Dominion saga story arc, and even though this episode isn't linked to that story, the mood on the station has changed because of it.
  
  
• From onlinebroker on 2009-10-31 at 7:20am:
  I really loved this episode and gave it a 10,too. Quark is fantastic and I had to laugh out loud when the klingon kissed him and the spit it out!
  Also a very refreshing breather from the terrible overacting of bashir,sisko and dax.
• From JJ on 2010-08-07 at 6:35pm:
  I loved this! The humor is great, as is the acting by Quark!
  Quark shows that he has character. He could have walked away but didn't.
  Makes one wonder whether he was always like this or that he has become like this under the gradual influence of Odo, Kyra, Circo etc.
• From Gul Ranek on 2012-12-19 at 10:01am:
  A very strong and fun episode, I also gave it a 10.
  
  I love the way Armin Shimerman uses nuances of his voice - "I am Quark, son of Keldar! I have come to answer the challenge of D'Gor, son of... whatever."
• From Harrison on 2013-01-13 at 4:58am:
  An under-rated episode that's close to DS9 perfection. While most Ferengi-centred episodes are a chore & sometimes serve to triviliase the series, this one offers masterful, imaginative insight, generating a wealth of plausible and memorable cultural basics that help underpin the Star Trek universe. It's literature-class story-crafting, championing essential precepts like dignity and honour, and leaving the viewer with a lasting sense of what it means to be Klingon, and a grudging sense of respect for the Ferengi.
• From peterwolf on 2013-11-09 at 3:35pm:
  Although the humour in this episode is really wonderful, mainly caused by the cultural clash of Ferengi and Klingons, I see more serious themes in the story. The different versions of Kozak´s death remind me of the famous movie "Rashomon". It is nice to see that Quark is not always a greedy Ferengi, but shows some good parts of his character, too. Strange enough, he is "a brave Ferengi" as Gowron tells us. The final scene with Rom and Quark is just brilliant and proves how great the actors and writers of Deep Space 9 are.
• From Ravenlord on 2015-09-16 at 6:11am:
  I enjoyed this episode tremendously, but something always bothered me about it and I finally think I've grasped what it is. Bajor and Qo'Nos are quite a distance away from each other. From what I can gather, they're essentially on opposite sides of Federation space. Granted, Trek canon often plays fast and loose with distances for story convenience, but it would take at least three weeks of travel at high warp to get from Bajor to the Klingon homeworld. I find it unlikely they would keep Quark sedated the entire trip, and in any case the episode implies that everything takes place in a handful of days.
  
  Classic Trekkie nitpick, I admit. Ignoring that detail, this is still a very fine episode, one of my favorites in fact.
• From JB on 2020-07-16 at 7:38am:
  Great writing, great acting, great episode. Ferengi values and Klingon values in conflict, with understandable tensions and smart resolutions. Genuinely humorous while maintaining diligence to both plot and character--characters that are complex and believable! Even the side plot with O'Brien and Keiko is well done. And the wrap-up is perfect. This is Trek at its best. One of my personal favorites. 10/10

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From David on 2008-08-07 at 10:37pm:
  I was wondering the same thing about the Defiant - the first thing that came to mind was that since Trill is 36 hours away even in the Defiant (which can go quite fast if I recall correctly), maybe they figured the risk of permanently losing a key staff officer + losing 2 other key staff officers for many days (or even weeks) in a slower runabout was worth losing the Defiant for a few days.
• From JRPoole on 2009-01-10 at 10:37pm:
  This is decent. The flashbacks are genuinely creepy, the Trill trivia is cool for the most part, and it all goes down fairly easily.
  
  I don't read Star Trek novels, but it occurs to me that there's probably a DS9 novel out there that goes into all this business with the symbionts and how their relationship with the Trill evolved, which would probably be interesting. If anybody knows of such a novel, let me know.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-28 at 9:20pm:
  Total borefest. It's as if the writers realised that they had enough material for 20 minutes so added everything they could think of to pad it out.
  
  I don't agree it's even good Dax development - it doesn't depend on anything that goes before, doesn't add anything very important, and doesn't create anything new for the future. Pure padding.
• From peterwolf on 2013-11-09 at 9:34pm:
  Not a very outstanding episode, but the beginning with the cooking and party preparations shows why I like Sisko more than all the other Star Trek captains (except Kirk, because he is the first one and a totally unique character). Sisko as played by Avery Brooks appears to be a credible human being with weaknesses, true emotions, and what I like best, more humour than the other captains. The Dax conspiracy story is not too bad, I only wish that the painted Trill city, like Cardassia or Kronos capitals depictions, would be replaced by some appropriate graphics in future, augmented versions, similar to enhanced TOS.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From martin on 2007-09-26 at 8:21pm:
  I think the Defiant did not cloak because of their deal with the Romulans about not being permitted to use it outside the Gamma quadrant.
• From Pemmer Harge on 2010-06-19 at 9:51pm:
  The best episode of Deep Space Nine
• From McCoy on 2017-01-04 at 8:30pm:
  You've rated this only 5? Same as previous, boring Dax story? I really don't understand. This episode is absolute 10 for me. Intiguing mystery, solid emotions, great development of Kira-Cardassians relationships. Truly, one of best DS9 episodes!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-22 at 4:32pm:
  I agree with the problem about the Jem'Hadar's rapid growth. Bashir tells us that his cells have an extremely high metabolic rate. All that means is that his body processes almost 100% of the food it intakes and his cells divide accordingly. Metabolism should mean nothing if the body is not taking in any food. If his body was somehow altered to still maintain the high metabolic rate even when no food was consumed, he would simply die. His cells would start to break down his body's own proteins and muscle tissue in the absence of food. The only way to achieve growth like this Jem'Hadar has would be to have him on an I.V. of pure sugar water 24/7. And even then, the rate at which he grows is simply absurd. To go from an infant to a young boy in a matter of days is like watering a plant once and it blooming in two seconds. It's just absurd growth that defies the laws of nature.
  
  That's just a Biology major's point of view. I can certainly suspend my disbelief so the Dominion can be cooler! :)
• From JRPoole on 2009-01-14 at 12:21am:
  I have similar problems to the ones listed here, but they don't take away from the episode too much in the end. This is a bit of a rehash of "I, Hugh" from TNG, but it's well done, and we needed to more about the Jem Ha'dar.
• From MJ on 2011-02-08 at 6:06pm:
  Two episodes in a row that have hints of TNG in them, eh? First DS9: Second Skin (also known as TNG: Face of the Enemy) and now DS9: The Abandoned, also known as TNG: I, Borg. The writers must have been watching a TNG marathon back in October '94!
  
  I'm just ribbing, of course. There were quite a few TNG episodes (especially in Season One) with hints of TOS in them.
  
  In my review I'm kind of incorporating DS9: Chimera from Season Seven, in case anybody reads this and would prefer a spoiler alert.
  
  In both episodes, Odo fails to convince a Dominion race to accept the people around him as he has done. This Jem'Hadar (and Laas the Changeling) not only fail to share Odo's tolerance for the DS9 humanoids, they actually scorn him for the life he has chosen. I like both of these episodes, in this case because it doesn't have the "happily ever after" ending where the Jem'Hadar learns to love the Federation and settles down to a peaceful life. Also, as in DS9: Chimera, the people on DS9 do not warm up to this Dominion life form; instead, they are terrified of him, and want nothing to do with him.
  
  What this does is add dimension to the Odo character. In both episodes, Odo is really the only one who sympathizes with the visiting alien. Also, in both episodes, we actually see Odo is willing to leave his life on DS9 for them. In Chimera, it's to find the rest of the Hundred and link with them. Here, it's to reform a Jem'Hadar and prevent him from rejoining the ranks of the others. These episodes show that Odo is not firmly in the Federation camp. He has grown to love Kira and admire several of the humanoids, but he is not so invested in his life on DS9 that he doesn't consider leaving if a suitable alternative presents itself. DS9 almost loses Odo several times, and it shows how torn Odo must feel, and how isolated. He seems desperate for someone else from the Dominion to choose, and therefore, perhaps, to validate, the same life he has chosen. Not only is he isolated and torn, he is unsure. He is in a state of disorder, the ultimately unacceptable feeling for a Changeling.
  
  On another note, how mad must Admiral Nechayev be after this episode? First, Picard helps a young Borg become healthy and then leave, and now Sisko does the same for a Jem'Hadar. After this, I'm sure Nechayev made a new rule that any abandoned kids from Federation enemies are to be turned over to her pronto!
  
  The subplot had potential but didn't really take up enough screen time to get interesting. It was really overshadowed by the much more fascinating issue of having a Jem'Hadar on board. Still, Jake would seem to have a thing for Bajoran women!
• From zex on 2011-09-07 at 2:43pm:
  I actually thought this was quite a poor episode, largely because the Jem'Hadar "child" was portrayed unconvincingly. I think if that role could've been written, cast and performed a lot better.
  
  There were other problems too... The idea of a rapidly developing humanoid could've been interesting... But this was never really explored. Instead the boy's mind just somehow matured "without external stimulus," which makes about zero sense, advanced genetic engineering or no advanced genetic engineering.
  
  Another missed opportunity was the weird cloaking capability they seem to have. It would've been interesting to get into that.
  
  Instead of anything really intriguing, we get some lame, lazily choreographed fight scene in a holosuite.
  
  The "enzyme addiction" thing is kind of interesting, but doesn't really make too much sense. I could see how genetically engineering a species to be dependent on a unique substance could be useful, but not so much in the way it's portrayed here. How would making your well-honed killing machine irritable, anxious, and with an elevated heart beat help you control it? Wouldn't that just make it desperate, angry, and even more violent than usual? That's just about what we see here when "the child" starts going into withdrawal. Really doesn't make much sense.
  
  Here's another thing that doesn't make sense: DS9 security can't apprehend a lone Jem'Hadar without killing him? I understand that Sisko was under pressure from Odo and his own conscience, but that conflict and its resolution just wasn't portrayed very well. He comes out with a team, his phaser ready, then suddenly does an about face and agrees with Odo that they have to let him go in order to avoid bloodshed. Isn't that what the stun settings are for? Again, I get that he probably didn't really want to apprehend the guy, but that part wasn't really conveyed very well on screen.
  
  So, this wasn't much of an episode, IMHO. Mostly because the Jem'Hadar child just wasn't a very convincing or sympathetic character. That topped by some problems with the plot.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Shernand on 2006-11-24 at 7:20pm:
  One of the best DS9 episodes, watched it 3 times and it's still fun to see dukat showing up and the computer replicating phasers and firing ;)
• From szycag on 2008-07-28 at 6:40am:
  This feels like it should be a season one episode... I thought it was kind of predictable. I knew Dukat would find out what was going on, just like I knew they'd find some way to get him stuck on the station afterwards. I thought they'd redeem it with a subplot about Kira coming to grips with her prejudice of cardassians like with Duet or Second Skin, but it was just going through the motions really. I just can't believe they'd be having problems like this after three years on the ship. Feels like a TOS plot, even has red shirts getting fried.
• From djb on 2009-04-27 at 8:10pm:
  Neat episode! A Cardassian easter egg, if you will. No doubt Dukat planned it from the beginning. "I just happened to be taking a stroll around the demilitarized zone, when, imagine my surprise..."
  
  Reminds me of TNG: Disaster. Controls and systems disabled, people stuck in different parts of the ship/station attempting to get a hold on their situation, and a collaborative effort eventually (and barely) saving everyone.
  
  I also like how when Dax's hands get burned, and she can't get them treated right away, she continues to be extremely useful, offering one idea after another.
  
  Dukat is a great character, and it's great to a) see him come aboard all cocky, and b) change his attitude once he realizes he's as hosed as everyone else! Apparently he didn't count on someone laying a trap for him.
• From Popescu on 2010-08-22 at 1:19pm:
  djb, I think you are wrong when saying that Dukat planned this. The program was triggered by accident when working in the ore processing section.
• From peterwolf on 2013-11-10 at 2:30am:
  Not a bad episode, but I vote for 6 points, mainly because the final sequence is incomplete. We see Garak, Kira and Dukat fighting against the self-destruct program while the clock is ticking and then the focus is only on Sisko preventing the fusion reactor to explode. The people in OPS are forgotten ... Dax is injured (she needs some bandages on her hands), Garak, Kira and Dukat are in the middle of a fight that is not resolved, aso. So the two story lines never really fit together, only the third one provides a nice, appropriate ending on the promenade, when Odo suggests to Quark, which Ferengis might be more devious than him ...
  I like how Garak criticized Gul Dukat for his attempts to get involved with Kira (although it is not too obvious). In later episodes Dukat´s speeches addressing Kira with the same intention get extremely annoying and are a horrible waste of time. If the writers had been wise, they would have taken Garak´s advice and never tried to let Dukat go on with that rubbish.
• From dronkit on 2014-03-28 at 5:42pm:
  Oh, O'Brien, every engineer should know these rules:
  
  1- when you buy used electronics, first thing you do is full memory wipe
  
  2- if it ain't broke, don't fix it

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Matt on 2008-03-19 at 11:14pm:
  This episode is a tribute to the musical "Brigadoon". Which might help to explain the way Dax acts. Much of the main plot points are similar. Also, like the original play, it kinda sucks.
• From JRPoole on 2009-01-14 at 2:33am:
  The A plot love story is one of the most embarrassingly bad moments in all of Trek, and that's saying something. The dialogue is lame,and Jadzia's decision is ridiculous and way out of character, as is Sisko's reaction, though Avery Brooks acts it well.
  
  The B plot is uproariously funny, if a bit cheap. It's the only thing this episode has going for it, so I gave it a 1 just for that.
• From djb on 2009-05-01 at 6:31am:
  I agree, Dax's behavior in this episode is way out of character. After 7 lifetimes, anyone is going to be smart enough not to confuse infatuation with love. All Jadzia and her new boyfriend have is infatuation; they know practically nothing about each other, what to speak of them being different species. And she's ready to leave everything and everyone she knows behind on a whim? Silly.
  
  I like it when different plots in a single episode somehow tie together or are related; unfortunately plot A and plot B had nothing to do with each other, even though plot b was indeed rather humorous.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-29 at 9:38am:
  This episode is so crammed with technobabble it's almost leaking at the seams. Intersecting dimensions, singularities in the quantum matrix.... give me strength! It didn't help that I kept thinking of Deral as the bible-thumping Vice-Presidential candidate from the West Wing.
  
  The B-plot is funny, though, and the end scene just priceless!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JemHadar359 on 2007-06-27 at 5:22pm:
  The battle between the Enterprise-D and the Duras sisters' Bird Of Prey is in my opinion the best technical battle in Star Trek's history.
  
  However, it does have one flaw. Why didn't Riker order the Enterprise's shield nutation rotated after the Bird Of Prey hit them with the first photon torpedo?
  
  Of course, Riker's not doing this makes for a much more exciting sequence.
  
  I love the close-up on Riker when he says simply, "Fire."
• From Heldt on 2010-04-07 at 8:04pm:
  The mystical uniform change was intended. You may have noticed a slow starfleed uniform change in DS9 too.
  Of course not all starfleet members get new uniforms at once.
  
  My problems with the movie are:
  - Earth. Center of Starfleet. Ships are being built here. A few years ago they even tested Transwarp technology in one of the stations. And now no ship is near enough to this... Nexus-thingy? It's in the sol-system! There have to be at least three dozen ships full with cadets.
  - Why is this deflector control Kirk goes to about 100 m off the deflector? Why is he even going there? There must be people in the machine room specially trained for working with these controls. Or at least better trained as a old retired captain...
  - What the hell is Tuvok doing there? And where are his pointy ears?
  
  And that's only 10 Minutes...
• From curt on 2010-04-22 at 6:26am:
  This might be a dumb question, people were talking, and I didnt get to pay as much attention as I wanted to. But when kirk goes back time to meet that girl, it wasnt real, so why is it real when they go back to fight scene with Soran's missle launch? I'm sorry if the movie already addressed this, like I said i didnt get to pay total attention to it.
• From Deepblue on 2010-07-08 at 7:11pm:
  Definitely a thinking person's movie about loss and living past you're perceived usefulness. Kirk's death was foreshadowed in V, that he felt safe w/ Bones and Spock because he always believed he'd die alone, meaning without his comrades. I'm sure a fair amt. of fans woulda preferred fearless Kirk to go out guns blazing in battle but that would've seemed out of place for him in his older age having outlived his dangerous younger years.
  
  The mixed bag of uniforms is realistic to today like the previous commenter noted. Currently in US military, many military personnel in the same branch (if not in an active combat infantry role) have various color uniforms depending on how long they've been in. Newer personnel are issued the latest uniform, individuals with more seniority are given a choice of keeping older uniforms and/or adopting newer ones.
• From MJ on 2011-02-25 at 11:50pm:
  In my opinion, not a single one of the four TNG movies has a premise that makes sense. But, as TNG's movies go, this is probably the best.
  
  My problem with the premise here is that it's very hard to tell (as one review pointed out) what is part of the Nexus and what is not. The Nexus is explained to be a gateway to another dimension in which a person's thoughts and desires become reality. Picard fast forwards to the family life he never had, no doubt inspired by his brother and nephew's recent death reminding him of the importance of family. And Kirk finds himself reliving moments in his past with the opportunity to change their outcome. All of this is very interesting, but both captains recognize that what they experience is not real. When they go back to Veridian 3, do they actually leave the Nexus? They would have to for their actions to have real world consequences, but this is never made clear. This is a fundamental problem in the movie because it calls into question whether Picard and Kirk's actions were simply a part of their Nexus fantasy. Consider that, according to Riker, the mission shown at the film’s beginning is the real world incident in which James Kirk was killed. This would mean that there’s a serious problem in the timeline. And by the way, if Picard can request Kirk's help, what's stopping him from recruiting anybody else he wants? He could bring all kinds people to Veridian to help stop Soren, but for the story purpose it stops at Kirk.
  
  Putting all that aside, the movie has strong mythical overtones, is brilliantly shot and acted, filled with superb dialogue and character developments (particularly Data and his handling of emotion chip), and has visual effects that, when I first saw this movie, left me in awe of what Star Trek could be like with the transition from TV to film. I like how the movie gives us more details on Guinan's past; we've known for a long time now that the Borg destroyed her planet, and now we see the immediate aftermath, which makes for awesome continuity. I'm sure it was fun for Brent Spiner to change things up in this film, adding to the already enormous popularity of Data. I did think Picard's time with Kirk came at the expense of the rest of the TNG crew...most of them had fairly minor roles, certainly not what we're used to seeing from them.
  
  Overall, a nice start to the TNG film series. Unfortunately, each movie got progressively worse.
• From Bernard on 2011-02-27 at 1:48pm:
  First things first. The whole climax to the film is created by Dr. Soran firing a missile at a star that will change the gravitational whatever of that part of space... This means that the planet will be destroyed. But lets get this straight. The Nexus is missing the planet, unless the star is destroyed to divert the course of the Nexus. So to divert the course of the Nexus surely the shockwave would ALREADY have had to have passed by killing our heroes and Dr. Soran before he can even get into the Nexus.
  
  The film is filled with this kind of flawed logic, don't even get me started on the Nexus itself. It's an absolute mess. You could forgive these problems if the film was good enough, but sadly it isn't.
  
  Unfortunately, although this is a bad film, it is fairly consistant to Star Trek themes unlike the three sequels that follow so I'll give it some credit.
  
  There are so many good things in this film, it just feels like they've all been thrown in without any real thought. Another note to film directors and script writers, stop throwing cringeworthy attempts at humour into dark films (check out revenge of the sith for more of this). I love Brent Spiner as Data but this exploration of his humanity has been done to death during the series and has no place in the feature films. Unfortunately as the Next Gen films progress we continue to be fed Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner's personal ego trips.
  
  One thing that I read a lot of Trek fans bitching about is the way that Kirk's send of is carried out in this film. I don't have a problem with that at all. It's not an issue for me.
  
  Overall this film is a load of good stuff lumped together with no real thought. It has a decent premise, good acting (Malcolm Mcdowell is as good as any villain a Star Trek film has had), great sequences that they could not afford to do on the series, but too much clutter and crap. I'd give it a 6.
  
  
• From Seriously? on 2011-04-11 at 6:55pm:
  U gotta be kidding me! This is by far the worst Star Trek movie ever made! How can you defend this piece of crap?
  
  Here's a review worth its name, which treats the movie the way it deserves:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azSh47-oRPI&feature=related
  
  But even they didnt notice the biggest scientific mistake in this bad rip-off of a Star Trek movie. The gravitational effects of a star explosion would need at least a couple of minutes to even reach the nexus. In the movie that stupid space ribbon changes its course instantly.
  Even better, there would be no instant gravitational effects of that explosion, because no matter if the sun explodes or not, the matter is still there until it gets spread by the shockwave. As long as that shockwave didnt pass the planet, the only consequence is the light going off.
• From EvanT on 2011-06-25 at 12:12am:
  The three things that REALLY bugged me in this movie:
  
  1)Riker and Worf during the battle scene. Why didn't they rotate the shield harmonics? And on top of that, all they did was to fire a single phaser shot at the Bird of Prey. C'mon! How much punishment can that thing take? They seemed pretty fragile in DS9. And the Enterprise took a direct torpedo hit and it barely dented the hull (but a disruptor hit at the stardrive brings down half the bridge?). Riddle it with torpedoes and phaser shots. That oughta do it! They would've destroyed it before they had finished their diatribe on antique klingon cloak generator plasma coils. Yeesh.
  
  I'll agree that the crashing on the planet was cool though. How about using a stronger klingon ship then? A Vor'cha might be more of a challenge for a Galaxy class starship without shields! Who wrote that damn scene? And why are Lursa and Betor still alive? Shouldn't someone have tracked them down and killed them for causing a civil war by now?
  
  2) They reused the exploding Bird of Prey from the previous movie. Laaaame! I mean, how cheap can you get? Blow up a CG Bird of Prey! You've already blown up a planet, the stardrive, two stars and a science facility... how much modeling and rendering time would it take? This is just sloppy presentation.
  
  3)I didn't mind how Kirk died, but I did find it distasteful how he was buried. Here's a legendary captain that just gave his life in order to save a planet of millions. How can we possibly honour him?
  
  Let's bury him on a backwater planet under rocks, so the wild animals can easily feast on his rotting carcass. It's not like we could take a corpse back with us when we get evacuated from the planet. That would be just gross! ("Farragut, one person and a cadaver to beam up" <--see? distasteful!)
  
  The greatest captain of the 23rd century, if not in Starfleet history and he doesn't even get an on-screen eulogy or even a torpedo casing funeral.
  
  I mean... C'MON!
• From Inga on 2011-12-17 at 11:39pm:
  I have another problem - how come it only took Soran's rocket 11 seconds to reach the star? Either the planet is very close to it, or the rocket traveled faster than the speed of light...
• From b goldstein on 2012-01-08 at 5:54pm:
  The Opening scene with Kirk, Scotty, and Checkov just seemed out of character for all three -- this is because it was written for Spock and McCoy. It makes sense afterwards, but it was a terrible beginning that it was hard to get into the rest of the movie.
  
  So the rest of the movie was ruined for me because the plot felt so contrived.
• From L on 2013-05-13 at 4:40am:
  
  I loved the performance of the captain in the opening scene, as his moment of pride just turned to a nightmare.
  Lots of cool things, but plot-wise it's weak and more like a good series episode with a rushed end.
  They get out of the nexus way too easily. According to Guinan and the bad guy, it's indescribable joy, you'll forget everything you ever cared about and you'll do anything to stay there, even destroy inhabited solar systems, but the two captains just get bored and hop out.
  Or do they? I thought they were going to do a false reality plot twist, but then was disappointed when I realised it was the real ending to the movie.
  Still, it's Star Trek, so it's about enjoying the characters, not logic. Having both 'styles' of Star Trek in one movie was pretty awesome. And everything looked great, beautiful cinema-photography.
  
• From Richard on 2013-05-28 at 8:14am:
  I don't think changing the shield modulation would have worked, they might even have tried it off camera, as Geordi would have done it and the Klingons would have just matched them. If they changed once or twice and it had no effect, they wouldn't have known why and given up trying and just kept the ship together. The only problems I had were the speed of the final rocket (which I suppose could have had limited warp, but this was never even hinted at) and the change in gravitational forces without any change in mass, which is just impossible. Never-the-less, this is my favorite Star Trek film, I really like how it tied the two series together.
• From Kevin on 2013-12-15 at 2:17pm:
  This film really polarizes viewers for some reason. Maybe the most epic of all trek movies, with awesome action, acting, music, effects and BY FAR the biggest use of multiple locations. Honestly, I thought this movie was awesome,despite some confusion about when they were or were not in the nexus and some gravitational errors maybe.
  
  Overall, it did what STTNG was great at. An exciting story, with fun, adventure, something big happening, and FINALLY a "Bad Guy" that was simply bad, but realistic. Not some super meglamaniac that all the other movies tend to use, but an actual believable person that is just very greedy and obsessed, and seemed to have real motivations for what he does.
  
  Kirk wanted to die. That was his choice and I think it is made clear, despite many crying about how he died or where he was. A perfect movie, not really, but the most ambitious of all for sure!
  
  A must see epic.
• From parqbench on 2016-06-02 at 3:23pm:
  tahw dnafinish, but everything reviewers have pointed out was true. lots of logical problems, and lots of just lost potential in where they could've taken the plot. still, at least this is star trek that seems to have a grip on itself, somewhat realistic characters and some nice meditations on the finitude of life.
  
  i didn't have a trouble with "what is and what is not the nexus" because i knew the movie just wouldn't reach there, and could be confidently assumed to gamble on the safe, "happy" ending that the enterprise was actually saved (though kirk was not).
  
  i did wish the nexus was less matter of fact. i really was thinking some reality-bending, pull-apart-your-being crushing, consciousness-expanding/contracting, spiritual ego-death trip morality play/force of will battle of intellect and soul to escape this thing. even going for palatable, easy-to-follow scenes for a mass audience they could've made it more mysterious, but it kind of just feels like he woke up in a new place and that's it. shatner actually does a much better job of at least coming off as preoccupied--and strangely, almost uncharacteristically unconcerned with what's wrong. funny to say that he would be the better actor in this scenario, since usually it's the opposite (though i love you, man).
  
  anyway, funnily enough, the moment i read other posts asking the shield rotation question is the moment i realised i've become a true fan; i remember reading "gotchas" like that all the time and not really connecting the technobabble with anything tangible in any of the series, but after having rounded out most of the available star trek mythos, that was actually the first thing on my mind. "why don't they just rotate the freaking shield frequencies?" haha. at least this is an established premise in the ST universe. and all the klingons got was their *current* frequency, no? so it would have been an admitted gamble. and they could've framed it like that and been fine--"if we catch them unawares, we'll have a brief window to drive them away before they cycle frequencies." still, was a slow & interesting technical battle, as one commenter noted.
  
  ultimately...patrick stewart is great, though i always have the same dilemma when watching trek--we're essentially softening military figures; it really is technically no different than a movie about a general in afghanistan feeling pangs of family longing and then proceeding to carry out his duty to the letter occupying and razing a foreign country and destroying other families. but that's an essay for another day...cheers. :)
• From Trekkie From Way Back on 2016-07-09 at 3:09am:
  A 10?!!
  
  I agree with Mr. Plinkett, who starts his review: "'Star Trek Generations' is the stupidest Star Trek movie ever made." Check out this in-depth and entertaining 3-part review on youtube.
  
  Sorry Mr. K, you have lost all credibility with me. I've disagreed with some of your reviews before, but this goes beyond belief...
• From Graham Bessellieu on 2019-07-28 at 5:19am:
  Again, agreed with Kethinov here; this is a special piece of Trek history.
  
  The convergence of the two generations is weaved together in a thoughtful manner. In fact, the film’s overarching theme is a reflection on the passage of time.
  
  From a cinematic standpoint, there are quite a few painterly scenes in this film. For example, Picard’s interactions with Riker and Troi during his reflection on family has quite exquisite lighting, which serve to dramatize and humanize Picard in ways rarely seen on the show.
  
  The 18th century sea-faring opening for the TNG cast is memorable and fun.
  
  We get to witness significant character development for Data, with the emotion chip.
  
  And I have to admit, seeing Picard truly happy with family at Christmas (in the Nexus dream) brought a tear to the eye.
  
  The second half of the film does drag a bit, pacing wise occasionally. Then there’s addressing Kirk’s death.
  
  Picard and Kirk working together is excellent and I have no qualm, in principle, with Kirk signing off in this film. It’s just the presentation. There could have been a much more elaborate, exciting and dynamic way to have written that teamwork. Think of all the ways they could have worked together, each playing to their particular strengths and styles of command. Given the entire arc of Kirk’s character, in context, it feels lackluster.
  
  Kirk should have gone out with a bang, with a combination of wit, brash courage, and compassionate self-sacrifice. That’s his character. Instead we get something kind of accidental, with courage no doubt, but awkward and abrupt.
  
  That aside, this film is essential TNG, with major character development and some surprising moments of genuine warmth and heart.
• From gary on 2023-12-24 at 2:34pm:
  William Shatner tried to insert a funny line into the scene where he is dying and Picard comes over to him. In the scene, Kirk is trapped under a bridge. So Shatner wanted Kirk's last words to be "bridge on the captain" as a clever reversal of his usual "captain on the bridge". Stewart also liked the idea so the audience would see they had a sense of humor. But the producers wouldn't let them keep it in the movie.
  
  My biggest problem with this film is that there's no rational reason why Picard would bring only Kirk back to help him defeat Soren. If he's in the Nexus, there are millions of other options. But, it was a nice send-off for the Kirk character. And that really was the point of this one: a "passing of the baton" from TOS to TNG. So in that sense, it was brilliant.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-22 at 8:11pm:
  I think your review was much too nitpicky. I mean, who really cares about the uniforms? It's Jonathan Frakes. He doesn't wear ds9 uniforms! ;) And all that with the airing schedule.... honestly who cares again. Most people watch these out of sequence with the movies anyway.
  
  I think it was absolutely AWESOME continuity to bring back Riker's double and not just abandon that interesting plot line from TNG. The whole Cardassia Prime thing was really cool, too. The only problem I had was not getting to see all the Defiant's information on the shipyard being discussed at the end. Wonderful episode, and great way to bring in Jonathan Frakes!
• From omex@omex on 2011-09-11 at 1:01am:
  I thought the politics in this episode were portrayed very well. I don't have first hand experience, but I understand that the final resolution is very realistic. This is how things get done in both international and domestic politics. There are multiple interests involved, there's duplicity, there's inter-agency secrecy and strife (like the Obsidian Order's secret machinations in the Orion Sector), and conflicts are resolved through bargaining, with a special role for the fall guy, or the sacrificial lamb (Tom Riker).
  
  I love how Dukat is set in opposition to the Obsidian Order, which is encroaching on his authority. Also love how in the end, even though he wants the information from the Defiant, he recognizes that, "Someone has to pay for the damage that's been done, and I don't want that someone to be me." Again, the politics are great.
  
  Probs: I'm not sure I'm crazy about how Kira was portrayed in this episode. It seems like she should've been a little more sympathetic to Riker given her history. I mean, she's certainly been very sympathetic to the Maquis in previous episodes, so she seems just a little out of character.
  
• From Wes on 2012-12-10 at 7:59pm:
  Memory-alpha says: "Although this episode was screened three days after the release of Star Trek Generations, the stardates indicate that it takes place shortly before. This makes sense, as Riker and Sisko's conversation would seem to indicate the Enterprise is still active."
• From AW on 2015-12-04 at 7:32am:
  Another great RDM episode.
• From Zorak on 2016-05-15 at 3:22pm:
  Of all the time's I've ever had to suspend my disbelief at something in Star Trek, the thing Tom Riker does once he makes off with the Defiant might be the hardest to accept. I'm talking about him ripping off his false sideburns. Are you telling me that he loved his goatee look so much that he was willing to risk this super important Defiant heist by wearing a disguise instead of simply growing out his beard a little for real and then shaving it later? That's completely insane.
• From tigertooth on 2016-09-26 at 3:20am:
  Good point, Zorak!
  
  As to the "problem" of Kira being back on duty, I believe that's because she took her mandated day off and presumably enjoyed at least two of the things Bashir ordered her to enjoy.
  
  I wish the Cardassia Prime set looked bigger. Or somehow different -- it looked too much like a starship bridge to me.
  
  Anyway, this was great. Tom Riker was fun, all the Dukat stuff was great, the various interplays between Cardassia-Starfleet, Central Command-Obsidian Order, Sisko-Dukat, Starfleet-Maquis, Kira's relationship to the Maquis... really well put together and executed.
• From JB on 2020-07-17 at 10:02am:
  Problem:
  
  Riker said he was "passing through" DS9 on his way to Risa. Isn't DS9 on the outskirts of Federation space? Sloppy writing.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-08-15 at 2:47pm:
  Great use of Frakes, and all episodes where Alaimo gets to play off Brooks as an ally of necessity are can't-miss.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Popescu on 2010-08-22 at 2:45pm:
  Completely agree about Keiko and O'Brien's problems.
  
  About the telepathic influence affecting only the senior staff... At the party there were other personnel who were kissing and/or hugging in the background... Were they also senior officers? If they were, shouldn't we know something about them?
  
  With all the bunch of characters in DS9, it's quite hard in an episode like this to focus on more non-essential ones, maybe just showing them in the background is enough. Also, Bareil is not an senior officer, neither is Jake or Quark :)
  
  I don't think this is a problem... The episode just focuses on the most important characters, many of them being part of the senior staff.
• From Ry-Fi on 2011-02-06 at 6:08am:
  Great episode. I LOVE the directing/cinematography of this one! Way to go, Avery Brooks! There are so many long, moving shots, and the DS9 set is really shown off far better than in any other episode that's come before. This one must've been a hoot to make, and I'm sure somewhat challenging for the actors.
  
  As always, Majel Barrett is a pleasure to see (I love that woman, and her portrayal of Lwaxana is divine).
  
  Finally, this episode really adds credence to the fact that Keiko O'Brien can be a real bitch. Her way of talking with Miles and resolving issues sure rubs me the wrong way. I'm not entirely fond of her, and sure don't understand what Miles sees in her. Their relationship does come across as fairly realistic - it's just too bad it doesn't seem like a great one...
• From Gul Ranek on 2012-12-23 at 9:58pm:
  I guess this is DS9's version of The Naked Time/The Naked Now, although a bit more fun. When I read the recap, I thought it was going to be a disaster, but turned out not to be all that bad. The only problem for me is the almost-cartoonish scene when Bareil punched Sisko who responded by blocking his subsequent punches like Neo in the Matrix, after which Dax knocked Bareil out. As for the question why only the senior staff was affected, I guess it could be argued that Lwaxana had her outbursts only when she was present around them.
  
  P.S. How come you stopped doing the filler count halfway through the second season? This episode, for example, could be marked as the starting point for the Kira/Odo romance.
• From Kethinov on 2012-12-24 at 3:27am:
  I'm currently doing a DS9 rewatch and slowly altering my reviews to tweak things and add the filler quotients. You'll see more added in the coming months. I expect the project to be completed by June.
• From tigertooth on 2016-09-27 at 4:15am:
  Respectfully, I disagree completely with Gul Ranek. The "fight" between Sisko and Bareil was my favorite part! It was indeed slapstick, but it also makes sense: Bareil could never go toe-to-toe with Sisko. And it's a silly episode, so they should have gotten silly in the final scene. If anything, the problem is there wasn't *more* ridiculousness.
  
  Does anybody have a gif of Sisko's reaction to Bareil's punches?
• From C on 2017-04-19 at 2:19am:
  Avery Brooks' acting when Dax is seducing Sikso is so perfectly genuine. I enjoy this one overall.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-08-16 at 9:04pm:
  A fun romp in the vein of The Naked Time/The Naked Now. Works better than the TNG variant because it comes along after the characters and relationships are established.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-11-29 at 10:13am:
  I could have done without O'Brien being a jealous jerk to his wife... again. They really get lazy with O'Brien sometimes. They just make him suffer and/or super moody. I was completely with Keiko in this one (as I usually am). It was touching he was willing to resign for her, though perhaps a bit over-the-top. At least he came around. (And apparently he's a pretty good lay.)
  
  I would have been more sold if the "love vibes" affected different people differently, depending on their self-awareness and maturity. One redeeming aspect of The Naked Now was that some of the more "serious" officers were more in control than the others.
  
  I feel Dax has been sloppily written recently. She falls in love with a stranger in Meridian and is ready to throw her life away for him. Then two episodes later she's under this amorous influence toward Sisko seemingly without any self-awareness or sense that something is amiss. But normally she should be one of the most self-aware and self-controlled people on the station, what with eight lifetimes' worth of memories. It also seems Bareil, who is supposedly a contemplative holy dude, completely loses himself. I did like how Kira and Bashir, though they couldn't stop making out, kept saying they needed to stop, but couldn't stop!
  
  Agreed with the commenter above who said the bit with Sisko deflecting Bareil's blows was their favorite scene. Mine too. Bariel is not a fighting man! Sisko didn't even get mad, he just got exasperated.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Remco on 2008-11-21 at 4:03pm:
  Holy crap, they predicted the financial crisis! :D Let's hope this doesn't come true either. I don't particularly like the prospect of a 16 year long depression.
• From Sean Freeburn on 2009-07-15 at 10:32am:
  I was pleasantly suprised with the time travel in this episode - too often when sci-fi shows travel back in time, they end up in modern day Earth or some pivotal moment in Earth's past (TOS: The City on the Edge of Forever, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, VOY: Future's End, etc.) in an attempt to be trendy. Past Tense had a nice break on this cliche, by setting it in our not-too-distant future, yet still in DS9's past.
• From Phillip on 2009-08-06 at 6:38pm:
  As a non-American Star Trek fan I have a serious problem with this episode a lot of the 'reforms' were already in existence in European countries at the end of the 21st Century. The throwaway line 'Europe is a mess' doesn't cut it.
  
• From tigertooth on 2016-10-02 at 5:05pm:
  One nitpick: both in this two-parter and in The Search, the entire senior staff leaves the station -- taking the Defiant with them. Who is back at DS9 keeping things together? Especially in this episode, given the Dominion threat, how can they justify leaving the station without any senior officers *and* without their greatest weapon?
  
  Obviously they did it in order to get all the main characters (except Quark) onto the shows without adding a station-based B-plot. So I get it from a real world perspective. Just kind of ridiculous from the fictional world perspective.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Popescu on 2010-08-22 at 4:25pm:
  When O'Brien and Kira transported to the '60s there was Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix playing so loud that they had to shout to hear each other. That was sooo awesome! :D
• From Zorak on 2016-05-16 at 11:31am:
  I enjoyed this 2 part-er quite a bit. It was an interesting story and I really enjoyed the guest characters. The social worker, the security guards, the residents of the sanctuary, even the mogul.. all played well and convincing. I tend to really like these time travel outings. I think I find Star Trek the most interesting when characters are out of their element. Also Bashir and Dax are becoming less annoying characters and starting to come into their own (well Bashir at least.. Dax still has a long way to go).
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-08-15 at 7:07pm:
  A very enjoyable two-parter that gives good commentary on social issues that indeed do plague the 21st century, albeit a bit stylized. Trek has always had this social consciousness and it is indeed better for it.
• From Steven Wrieden on 2023-08-29 at 7:24am:
  Interesting to me that the older guard says: "best ball club I ever saw,'99 Yankees, no doubt about it". In fact, they won the World Series in 1999. The episode aired in 1995, the Trek writers called it.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From endlessmug on 2006-10-07 at 5:25am:
  The first episode of Voyager was better than I thought it would be. After hearing so many people talk about how horrible the show was, it actually had a pretty good start.
  
  (And on your note about Locarno/Paris: I also hate when they don't reuse a character when it's played by the same actor and basically acts the same. Would it really hurt to put in some continuity into the show?)
  
• From Avril on 2006-11-22 at 3:11pm:
  In regaurds to Nicholas Locarno, they originally wanted to use the charactor but they would've had to pay royalties to the writer of the original episode everytime Paris was on screen. So instead they used the same idea but a different name to avoid this.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-22 at 11:06am:
  Dear Kethinov:
  
  Concerning DS9: Emissary, you state:
  
  "Probably the most remarkable first episode for a Star Trek series ever."
  
  Concerning this episode you state:
  
  "This is probably the best of all the pilot episodes."
  
  OK, you're up. Which is it? Which series has the better pilot: Voyager or DS9? I would readily admit that either is superior to the pilot for either TNG or TOS. TNG's pilot, TNG: Adventure at Farpoint was OK, but not great in my view. TOS's pilot (which I suppose would be "TOS: The Cage) was bad.
• From Kethinov on 2011-10-22 at 5:04pm:
  Voyager's. But DS9's was my favorite until Voyager's aired.
• From wes on 2012-01-13 at 5:36pm:
  It seems a problem of continuity that Tuvok is called "Lieutenant" and not "Commander," while his rank is Lt. Commander. This is a bit annoying to me for two reasons.
  
  1) Lieutenant seems to be the most overused rank on Voyager, especially among senior officers.
  
  2) Every other officer of any Star Trek season with the rank of Lt. Commander has been addressed as "Commander" and not "Lieutenant."
  
  This seems to demean Tuvok's rank more than anything. It's unfortunate.
• From Brian on 2013-09-11 at 12:15am:
  Actually, the reason they didn't use Nicholas Locarno as a name was to avoid paying royalties to the guy that came up with the character.
• From Edwin on 2014-08-07 at 11:06pm:
  To correct one of your factoids, Quark is actually the second character to appear in all three 24th Century Trek series, the first is the Cardassian Gul Evek who is briefly seen in the pre-credits sequence of Caretaker. He had previously appeared in several episodes of TNG Season 7 and DS9 Season 2.
• From Axel on 2015-06-07 at 3:59am:
  Say what you want about Voyager, but I think they are the only Star Trek series to have a pretty solid first season. It took TOS and TNG quite a while to get it right. DS9 and ENT started out decently but really didn't get good until late first season. Voyager did a great job and I think this is without question the best pilot in Star Trek. Fantastic premise, fantastic two-parter and very well executed. I like Janeway's speech about the two crews working together and continuing the mission while also searching for a quicker way home. Sets up the series nicely.
  
  On a side note: Gul Evek has also appeared in all three Star Trek series during this time. He was in this, he was in DS9: The Maquis and Tribunal, and he was in both TNG: Preemptive Strike and TNG: Journey's End.
• From Nightangel on 2017-02-14 at 8:47am:
  Just to let you know, the reason why they didn't use Nicholas Locarno is because then they would have to pay royalties to the writers of the episode of TNG that he was featured in. So... they created Tom Paris as a replacement... giving him the exact same backstory as Locarno, and even hiring the same actor.
• From Ensign Obummer on 2022-02-02 at 8:43pm:
  So about the royalties thing, while it is true that writers back then got these royalties...from the various interviews and statements from the actor about his role Tom Paris it seems they wanted to make a similar character and only later decided to use the same actor.
  It is a fun rumor to say they changed the name to save what... 10 grand ? per season, but I think it is not true.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jim on 2008-09-19 at 2:49pm:
  Stranding a few hundred people to save an entire species? I think this is a no-brainer, and it boggles my mind that people question it. 'oh, let's kill off an entire species so we don't have to make a long voyage' Amazing.
• From JRPoole on 2009-01-07 at 10:38pm:
  I've decided to make my slow progress through Voyager as it originally aired in tandem with DS9. Though I'm familiar with the concept and the characters, I haven't seen very much of Voyager, so this is a little bit of a blind run.
  
  The pilot is much better than I thought it would be based on my perceptions of the series. Like DS9, this is a new, grittier Trek. While I still think DS9 has the best set of characters in all of Trek, the crew of the Voyager is interesting and, for the most part, well-done in this first episode. I think this may be the best premise for a series in the franchise as well: a crew thrown together 75 years from home in the most truly alien part of the galaxy we've seen yet.
  
  While I still give the nod to the inaugural episode of DS9 as the best pilot in the franchise, this is a close second, and I'm looking forward to the series much more than I expected.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Rob on 2008-04-25 at 12:09am:
  The one thing I've always hated about Voyager, the series not the ship, is that they introduce these great secondary characters and then they disappear so that a bunch of anonymous characters can show up for one episode and then disappear. Carey is one of them: he vanishes soon and then only appears in S7 so he can be killed... why didn't we see him FAR more often in Engineering? Vorik is another one we could have seen a lot more of as a "passing character" or the one to hand in a report and give a few lines during the "disaster of the week".
  
  Rob

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From pg on 2015-05-30 at 1:20am:
  A balanced story of time travel, in which several of the characters contribute with their abilities. The predestination stuff does not get too tragic, because as always in such stories, there is a choice to change the timeline. The good intention to break through subspace and save Janeway and Paris was the ultimate cause of desaster ... Not bad. Since this part was not predictable and because of the otherwise well written story, I rate this episode as good: 8 points, including 1 point for the doctor!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From EKH on 2008-01-12 at 10:53pm:
  I think we can assume that Star Trek has been "re-dubbed" for a modern audience, and that Bashir actually uses a term we wouldn't recognize. Otherwise, the language of the future represents a huge break of realism.
• From Benjamin Baxter on 2008-07-13 at 4:15am:
  There are also several occurrences of "man" in the series that could be explained away with the above explanation.
• From JRPoole on 2009-02-08 at 8:16pm:
  I hate to see Bareil die in such a seemingly pointless way, but the character had to be killed off. He's just too humble, too pure, to be interesting.
  
• From A. Rust on 2009-04-18 at 3:43pm:
  I find Bareil's decision neither meaningless nor foolish. His people were constantly haunted by the shadow of Cardassian Occupation and the only way to totally move forward was through a process of forgiveness of the enemy. Though Bashir may have been right in his analysis of Winn's less than noble motivations, I think Bareil would have been in sympathy with her statement that one man's life meant little in comparison to what could be gained. Having not gotten further in the series, I don't know if his sacrifice is in fact meaningful in the long term, but as Kira observes at the end, he was comfortable with his confusion and made the best choice he could for his people under the circumstances. While I think the episode could have had more scenes of drama at the negotiating table to reinforce what he was fighting for, I found Bareil's sacrifice both noble and totally consistent with is character.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-12-06 at 4:58pm:
  I don't think Bareil was being foolish. Some things are worth dying for. He couldn't live with himself knowing he didn't do everything he could, especially if the talks had failed in his absence. In his own way, he went out fighting. Kira would have died for her cause as a freedom fighter too. I also think Bashir was being rather bullheaded, stubbornly and myopically trying to prolong Bareil's life and ignoring the various reasons it's not so simple.
  
  I really think the original writers of the Ferengi painted themselves into a corner with the Ferengis' over-the-top misogyny. In a different episode, Quark protests that the Ferengi have never had slavery, but that's false on its face: they continue to treat half their population as slaves/livestock when we know full well that female Ferengi have equivalent mental abilities to the men. I can't exactly blame Nog for being the product of his culture, but I can't entirely let him off the hook, either. The writers were right to point this out in the dialogue, of course; it just seems half-hearted. It's treated as an annoyance rather than a moral emergency. It's like nobody really cares too much that this species is keeping half its population in a state of abject bondage and degradation for no logical reason. It's almost played for laughs here. Yeah, sexism is absurd, but it's not all that funny. At least, it's not funny to those of us who experience it as a fact of life. (Thanks, Rick Berman.)
  
  Winn seemed unusually not-evil in this episode to me. She really seemed sincere! It added some character depth. One reason for that might be that, according to Memory Alpha, Louise Fletcher was rather ill during filming and couldn't quite bring herself to act the nasty and conniving overtones usually present with Winn. It's quite telling how useless Winn is in this situation, though. She managed to become Kai but can't handle the heat. Whoops! Bad luck, Adami! Gosh, I hope she doesn't freak out and do anything reckless later.
  
  The "humanity" thing bothered me too; I suppose I'll have to assume he meant something like "humanoid-ity." Lazy writing in an otherwise quite interesting and important episode. Good call in killing off Bareil, too. He became sort-of interesting, but he became even more interesting as a quasi-martyr. Bareil would have been a great Kai for Bajor, but Winn is a much better Kai for storytelling. :)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-23 at 1:11am:
  I'd give this episode an 8. It is at the pinnacle of character development episodes. Before now, Nog has been seen as the annoying little ferengi friend of Jake's, not to be taken seriously. In this episode, he truly opens up his feelings to Sisko. I really liked getting to see that he has interests other than profit. I also liked how Rom expresses his pride for Nog and overrides Quark. I haven't seen further on in DS9, so I'll come back and edit this when I have, but I swear to God I'm going to be furious if I don't get to see Nog in a Starfleet uniform at some point....
• From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-25 at 5:12pm:
  If the changeling can perfectly impersonate Kira, including the features of her face, why in the freak does she have to have an Odo-like featureless face when she transforms into a changeling attempt at humanoid form? And why is she female with the shape of breasts? None of this makes any sense. She could have just transformed into a talking monkey. Or stayed as Kira and dropped the crystal part of the form. I just don't get why they need an actress in Odo face at all. Perhaps they are limited by special effect budget or something. The way they handle changelings boggles my mind.
• From Dubhan on 2014-07-04 at 7:11am:
  I'm a big ol' softie and both of the story-lines in this episode made me tear up. That makes it a top-tier (tear?) episode by my standards.
• From Abigail on 2019-10-30 at 9:52pm:
  All through this episode, I was thinking it was ridiculous. I thought Kira was actually stuck in a crystal, and that she would magically and quickly get out at the end. And the interactions between Sisko and Nog were really annoying (with Sisko being pretty rude and just mean by the final scene).
  
  Then the ending totally redeemed it! There was an actual point to the episode! And character development ensued! Hooray!
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-08-16 at 11:33am:
  "Just a slip of the tongue" was a tear-jerking line, and this episode does a good job building on Odo/Kira. Taking Nog seriously, a character who has mostly been comic relief so far (though a good insight into the Ferengi through his relationship with Jake) shows a level of maturity in this show's writing.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-12-06 at 7:16pm:
  @ Lt. Fitz - I noticed all this as well. Regarding the changeling's impersonation of Kira, my guess is that much older and experienced changelings have developed their humanoid impersonation skills to an advanced stage. (See: alternate Odo in Children of Time.) Odo is quite young, relatively inexperienced, has barely linked, and has not been in the Great Link; the other changeling is probably one of the oldest and most experienced. It's very possible that changelings have already infiltrated DS9 and have observed all the people there. Whoever did that could return to the great link and share that information with everyone.
  
  I agree this whole show handled the changelings very weirdly. "Female changeling" makes no goddamn sense. Are we supposed to believe that freaking shape-shifters evolved sexes like humans did? She should have been called the "head changeling" or something if she was the leader.
  
  So far as I know, the other changelings adopt humanoid forms similar to Odo's out of affection and/or convention. They probably don't have a default solid state, but it might be useful to have a "look" for when they want to identify themselves as shapeshifters. Why not that look, since everyone in the Alpha quadrant already associates that look with shapeshifters? That's my guess.
• From G. Host on 2022-05-17 at 11:35pm:
  IMO the primary story (Kira/Odo) was far less satisfying than the Nog one.
  
  Nog proves he can be extremely focused in episode like his father Rom where he needs help O'Brien when Keiko is taken over by Pah-wraith. Aron Eisenberg ended up being guest star with most episodes.
• From fL0reign on 2022-09-08 at 6:57am:
  Someone needs to make an episode about lowering the bar for Starfleet Academy admission between TNG and DS9.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Fenix on 2011-03-25 at 3:00pm:
  I'm a bit confused as to why an external donation was needed. Why didn't the Vidiian simply give Neelix one of his own lungs back?
• From Rick on 2013-03-19 at 2:32am:
  I think the ethics of this episode are completely wrong. If it was Kirk, it wouldve been off with his head immediately, as it shouldve been.
• From Inga on 2013-07-14 at 8:02pm:
  Kirk wouldn't murder anyone. He valued life just like any other Star trek captain and it's one of the things I like the most about the franchise.
• From Rick on 2013-10-09 at 8:12pm:
  Not murder. Punishment for attempted murder. And if not that, then stick them on an abandoned planet like Kahn. Point is, no way Kirk would let a murderer go.
  
  What if they let them go and just before they leave they grab a phaser and kill a crewman. What them, still send them on their merry way? How many times to they have to try to commit murder before you stop letting them go? For me, 1.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-06 at 5:48am:
  Neelix is an annoying bastard. I never could get used to him. Picard would never tolerate having him on the bridge in the middle of a red alert. Therein lies another weakness of Janeaway. I'm sorry, I never grew fond of Janeaway either. Voyager has a very annoying crew, to be sure. Chakotay and his native american bs is highly irritating. Harry Kim is a nieve prick. The only characters I like are Tuvok and Paris.
• From endlessmug on 2006-10-07 at 5:41pm:
  In this episode we have the classic backdrop of having to help an alien entity that the crew accidentally injured. More importantly we get to see the relationship between Chakotay and Janeway grow through the exploration of their “animal guides”. I thought that was fun. We also get into Tom Paris’ character a little more by seeing his holodeck creations. But the annoying fact that they didn’t have enough energy to replicate coffee and now they’re having fun on the holodeck is glaring.
  
  About Pete Miller’s comment: Yes, Picard would never have tolerated having Neelix on the bridge during a red alert. But Picard wasn’t stuck on the other side of the galaxy with a limited amount of resources and not much knowledge of where they are or where they are going. This crew has an entirely different chemistry. In TNG the crew didn’t have as much conflict as the Voyager crew does. It’s Janeway’s job to make sure that this conflict doesn’t grow so that there is the possibility of getting home. This means keeping a high moral and giving the crew hope. This is why Janeway let’s things like this go. This doesn’t mean Janeway lets Neelix get in the way of her work, however. Just watch the episode; it’s clear he is pushing her limits. :)
  
• From Nicholas on 2007-12-31 at 3:58am:
  Regarding the second "problem", it was mentioned in an earlier episode (perhaps the second?) when they were short on fuel that the holodeck systems used a different power source to the rest of the ship, and it was incompatible with other systems.
  
  It was perhaps mentioned more in the interest of future storylines than as something with genuine technical basis, but at least it was established.
• From themadworld on 2013-12-10 at 9:35am:
  As a science fiction episode this largely fails. The plot is tried and tested, and doesn't provide much in the way of tension. The creature is just sort of there, providing no interest.
  
  Yet as a human study this is a good episode. The way the various characters react, even the oft hated (and oft hateable) Neelix, makes for entertaining and fun moments, and Janeway desperately trying to relate to the crew all make this a worthwhile experience.
  
  7/10
• From edward on 2014-03-11 at 6:56pm:
  What I didn't understand is how quickly Janeway, supposedly a woman of science, accepts one of Chakotay's drug induced vision quests.
  I thought she would just roll her eyes, say something like 'Duly noted' and rethink the advisability of having him as second in command.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2009-02-09 at 5:36pm:
  I find this episode interesting because it signifies a change in Trek's philosophies to a certain degree.
  
  TOS and (especially) TNG were both very anti-religion. The show's philosophies about science and rationality over religion and faith are clearly evident in many, many episodes. That starts to change a little on DS9. Sisko has always been uncomfortable with the role of Emissary, but here he begins to grow into it a little, and the plot of this episode suggests that there is something to the Bajoran faith beyond ancient mumbo jumbo. But even before this, Sisko has a more balanced view of such things than Picard ever did. For example, the episode in which then-Vedek Winn threatens Keiko's school makes it clear that while Sisko doesn't believe in the prophets as such, he understands their importance to the Bajoran people.
  
  Even if the "prophets" are explained in scientific terms as non-corporeal beings who live in the wormhole and exist outside of linear time, this episode makes it abundantly clear that their fate is tied to that of Bajor and that the ancient texts are in some ways "true," and that the Prophets are somehow (perhaps without their knowledge) guiding Bajoran society through their interactions with the orbs.
  
  This is an interesting wrinkle, and DS9 is definitely the most fully-realized series in the franchise, but I have to wonder if Gene Roddenberry would have approved of the new direction.
• From djb on 2009-05-22 at 8:27pm:
  I agree that DS9's exploration of religion is interesting. But in a sense, it's not a religion. Not to get off on a spiritual/religious rant here, but in my mind, the very definition of "spiritual" (despite its Latin roots meaning "breath") refers to that which is non-material, and which is not subject to scientific/empirical verification (for better or for worse).
  
  The Prophets, AKA Wormhole aliens, are non-coporeal, but still exist in the material universe, and are observable. In other words, there is nothing sacred or holy about the wormhole aliens; they simply are very, very different from humanoids.
  
  The fact that ancient Bajorans didn't understand the true nature of the wormhole and its inhabitants, and decided to worship them as gods, to me, seems nothing more than superstition, even idol worship. Primitive people often deify, and therefore worship, that which they cannot understand, so arguably the Bajoran religion is nothing more than a vestige of pre-scientific ignorance.
  
  The way the "prophecy" in this episode fulfills itself reminds me of the ancient Greek story of Oedipus Rex. The prophecy was fulfilled by Oedipus' very act of trying to avoid it.
  
  Similarly, Vedek Yarka foolishly tries to avert a prophecy given by the Prophets, and of course, in doing so, helps to fulfill, or at the very least is completely ineffective in stopping, the prophecy he set out to thwart. This was because he did not take into account that if the Prophets can see past, present, and future, they would have seen his efforts to avoid the inevitable, and then THAT would be the prophecy itself. Fascinating.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Mike on 2016-11-19 at 3:53am:
  It was interesting to see Quark launch on another passionate defense of his people's ways to those who seem to look down their noses at the Ferengi. In DS9: The Jem'Hadar, he does this with Sisko/humans, pointing out that the Ferengi never engaged in genocide, slavery, or nuclear war. Here, he tries to convince the skeptical, slightly annoyed "Prophets" that there are good reasons for Ferengi avarice.
  
  Overall the episode was okay. I enjoyed seeing Quark figure out what happened to Zek. And it's always a bit boring to me when Sisko or others interact with the Prophets. Seeing Quark interact with them was a nice change of pace, both funny and intriguing.
  
  The Bashir award subplot had some funny scenes, especially when Odo takes interest.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From siukong on 2010-06-08 at 6:38am:
  Actually, I'm pretty sure Torres mentions explicitly that she's half-human in the pilot episode.
• From Krs321 on 2012-01-09 at 4:10pm:
  While not direct, I'm pretty sure Kim mentions Torres' Klingon ancestry in "Caretaker" when they're climbing the stairs, saying something to the effect of "I probably wouldn't be so tired if I were half Klingon, too" and Torres gives an affirmative response "It's almost more trouble than it's worth"
• From Rick on 2013-03-19 at 3:24am:
  To me the doctor doesnt really make sense. When Data is activated he is essentially a blank slate. Of course, he grows considerably. The Doctor, on the other hand, is a smug jackass from Day 1. He was apparently programmed to be that way as well as overly emotional, sensitive, and imposing on everyone he meets. Basically, it is the most irrationally designed program I have ever heard of. The whole holographic rights movement in voyager is utterly ridiculous. You can take their arguments to so many incredibly illogical ends that they need not be stated.
• From spline on 2013-10-19 at 10:06am:
  Belanna does say (in the pilot, 2nd half, right in the beginning, talking with Harry) that she's half Klingon, but doesnt mention the other half.
• From Dstyle on 2013-12-18 at 2:48am:
  Wait a minute: aren't wormholes super unstable, prone to collapse at any moment? That's what made DS9's wormhole to the Gamma quadrant so special: it was stable and wasn't going anywhere. So where do they get off theorizing that this wormhole is deteriorating and is centuries old? Wouldn't that mean this wormhole is also (relatively) stable? I thought wormholes were supposed to appear and disappear without warning. I feel like there were several TNG episodes to that effect.
• From Shani on 2014-12-22 at 1:41pm:
  I am very impressed with voyager so far. I find this first season to be very strong and it is quickly becoming my favourite Star Trek series. I've watched all other incarnations of Star Trek but have stirred away from this one due to warnings from friends.
  
  I do not understand why my friends and so many other Star Trek fans do not like voyager. The science is a bit weak sometimes but for me the character development and storylines makes up for it. I enjoyed the doctor in this episode in particular.
• From Mike on 2017-05-25 at 3:11am:
  I can't believe no other reviews have pointed out that Torres explains she's half-Klingon in the pilot episode! OK, I'm joking...I take pride in being the fourth to do so :)
  
  Anyway, I thought this was quite an innovative episode. I didn't care much for The Doctor subplot, despite its advancement of his fantastic character. But on the plus side, they only spent as much time on it as they needed to. Most of the episode revolved around the rather unique concept of their first Alpha Quadrant contact being a Romulan...and one 20 years in the past to boot! Very creative.
  
  I do find myself agreeing with Shani. Voyager gets overly criticized despite its many awesome contributions to the Star Trek saga. Before people criticize it too much, let's not forget that TOS, despite its awesomeness, did give us such mind-numbing nonsense as Iotian gangsters, Greek gods, the Koms and Yangs, and an offworld Roman Empire. You can criticize VOY for having its characters be a bit flat at times, but it still captures the same Star Trek excitement and exposes us to an entirely new quadrant.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From BlueLabel on 2010-06-25 at 4:07am:
  Problem: at the very beginning, when Sisko runs into Odo and the troublesome Klingon, Sisko claims he "didn't know there were any Klingons on the station". What about the guy who runs the Klingon restaurant?
• From Hugo on 2012-01-22 at 6:56pm:
  Whoa! The best in a long while. Excellent pacing ,good drama and suspense and awesome sci-fi!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-14 at 8:21pm:
  I tend to enjoy the flashback story template. This one was good; however, none of the flashback episodes can compare to DS9 "Whispers", which is absolutely wonderful.
• From JRPoole on 2009-01-08 at 3:33am:
  Okay, so the aliens of the week don't look (quite) exactly like humans, but they have DOGS?
  
  Here's my observation on Voyager up to this point: the character development B plots are almost always very good, while the alien or anomaly of the week A plots are generally lame.
  
  The one notable exception is the Romulan temporal plot in "Eye of the Needle," which is excellent. Other than that, we get re-hashed space entity cliches, an awful time travel episode, and this mess about Paris' troubles, which are strikingly similar to the trouble Riker managed to get himself into in "A Matter of Perspective."
  
  The characters, however, are all getting good treatment. I love the interaction between Neelix and Janeway when they lock horns, and the Doctor is proving to be pretty interesting.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Fenix on 2011-03-25 at 7:04pm:
  I'm going to go ahead and suggest that your "factoid" solves your "problems." Perhaps the presence of one of these newly discovered elements explains the extra gravity on the asteroid.
• From Annoyed on 2011-08-10 at 9:37pm:
  Problems:
  
  1) As mentioned, "the asteroids support a class M atmosphere" ?!
  
  2)Ok, pretty soon we learn that Ptera was "dying of a lesion to her mid-brain...but she didn't die until the [pod] was activated." Then how come she was diagnosed as having died from a tumor by the Voyager medical crew? No sense.
  
  And while we're on the subject of Ptera dying, how is it that they were able to revive her "minutes after she died" the first time, but not mere seconds after she died the second time, due to not fully unexplained circumstances (it's assumed to be some kind of transporter problem?).
  
  3) Why does it take more than half the episode to fully discuss the theoretical difference between corporeal death/transition and other possible interpretations? This is just frustrating. It's resolved eventually, but it should've really been addressed right away.
  
  4)How does Starfleet academy graduate Ensign Kim, who had his type 2 phaser with him (you can clearly see it holstered while on the asteroid), become completely helpless and at the mercy of the alien doctors? WTF? If he was disarmed, it would've made some sense to show this, but I suspect they didn't show it because it doesn't make sense. Here's the first person ever to come back from "the afterlife," a creature of a race you've never seen, wearing clothing and carrying technology you know nothing about, essentially some kind of angel, or prophet, or profoundly paranormal being, in any case, and the first thing you do is somehow disarm him (this without even knowing what's a weapon and what isn't) ? No sense.
  
  This is the first voyager episode, chronologically speaking, that pretty much just stinks.
  
• From Mitchell O on 2023-01-01 at 11:47pm:
  The other problem on glaring display in this episode is Voyager’s amazing ability to jump huge distances in the blink of an eye.
  
  In this case, they travel 0.6 light years in mere moments. Janeway doesn’t even have time to stand up!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2009-06-23 at 4:42am:
  What the hell is wrong with Janeway? She acts absolutely devastated that (Oh my god!) some of her crew members would actually *gasp* violate the laws of a society to get a paltry 40 THOUSAND light years closer to home! As if she'd rather be marooned in the Detla Quadrant than break someone's rule.
  
  Uh, what? When you're stuck 70 years' worth distance from home, the rules change a little. The Prime Directive isn't quite so prime. I understand non-interference, of course; but harmlessly breaking one of this planet's laws, not hurting anyone and not causing any long-term damage, is worth even getting a thousand light years closer, what to speak of forty thousand. She seems to be worse than Picard in this way!
  
  Oh well.
• From Jem Hadar on 2009-06-30 at 2:02am:
  I gotta go with djb on this one. This is a fairly good episode, but Janeway should have just gone with the literature in the first place.
• From Keith WP on 2012-05-08 at 2:55pm:
  This episode is when I first noticed how inconsistent Janeway is with the Prime Directive...one episode she is harping on it like a banshee, and the next she is completely wiping her ass with it.
• From Peremensoe on 2012-07-19 at 1:37pm:
  There is no Prime Directive issue in this episode. It's just a matter of whether to violate the Sikarians' own law.
• From Psycroptic on 2012-07-29 at 8:14pm:
  Not really impressed with the aliens in Voyager so far, they all seem to be exactly like humans or not very creative. The plots have been pretty repetitive as well but the first few seasons of most trek is pretty lackluster so I guess I'll wait and see.
• From rpeh on 2015-01-18 at 6:50pm:
  "It looks like most of these asteroids support class M atmospheres".
  
  No they don't. For comparison, the planet Mars doesn't support a breathable atmosphere. There is absolutely no way an asteroid has such an atmosphere.
• From Kethinov on 2015-01-18 at 8:17pm:
  It's not completely impossible. If the asteroids have a super dense core, they could possibly exert enough gravity to retain a significant atmosphere. Pretty far fetched, but definitely not in "absolutely no way" territory.
• From Jens-Ivar seland on 2015-06-13 at 4:55pm:
  The platform uses the principle of folding space. Janeway says this has been theorized, but noone has been able to develop the technology. She must have forgotten that they use warp speed :)