The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Kyle on 2015-05-19 at 4:56pm:
  Actually, bio-memetic gel, was mentioned before in the TNG episode Firstborn.
  It didn't seem to be tightly controlled then as Riker used 1/2 gram of it to trade for some ore from a Yridian.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-12-12 at 4:32pm:
  Hey, it's "Remember Me" but this time it's for Dr. Bashir instead of Dr. Crusher, and half as interesting!
  
  I do like the exchange at the end, when Garak essentially commends Bashir for continuing not to trust him.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Psycroptic on 2012-07-29 at 9:06pm:
  I found Seska to be quite an annoying character, I definitely won't miss her.
• From Shani on 2014-12-23 at 12:21pm:
  Why did they not interrogate everyone when they found out there was a traitor. They could have easily have used the technology that showed whether Paris was lying or not in "ex post facto".
  
  Im not sure why they don't use this technology more often. It would certainly come in useful for Odo on DS9 as well.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Krs321 on 2011-03-07 at 1:20pm:
  Fun episdoe but opens huge plot holes. So now the Mirror Universe people can just jump dimensions whenever they want? Uh, what?
  
  Why didnt Mirror O'Brien ask Sisko if they could have 50 photon torpedoes, phasers, or medical supplies, replicators, etc.
  
  Did Sisko give Mirror Kira the code or did he let Terok Nor blow up? If not, why wouldn't he?
• From John on 2011-09-13 at 4:27am:
  I hate Mirror Universe episodes -- they are the ultimate contrived filler nonsense. The only reason this one gets a 3 from me instead of a 1 is because of Tuvok.
• From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-25 at 9:24pm:
  Sisko didn't bring her back because she was needed to help the Terrans in the alternate universe. That would be a totally selfish move on his part and totally out of character.
  
  Also, I don't understand the hatred for "filler" episodes that so many people demonstrate. Trek has always had episodes that are self-contained and episodes that involve more continuity. Some episodes focus more on sci fi, and others seem to be done just for fun. To me, the mirror episodes are fun as heck because it gives the actors a chance to have fun playing twisted personalities. I didn't care if it made no sense from a sci fi angle that Kirk and his double were able to switch back to their proper universes by simply beaming back somehow in "Mirror, Mirror." It was just fun to see Spock in a goatee and Chekhov try to kill off Kirk. Yeah, my mind was smarter than the sci fi in that episode, but I easily put that aside and enjoyed the spectacle of it.
  
  This episode was just plain fun. (Sometimes I think that Nana Visitor is better at playing the evil version of Kira than the good one.) And, yeah, Tuvok being there was great. I loved him in Voyager.
• From Kenneth on 2014-04-12 at 5:28am:
  No commentary on sisko taking down dax ??
• From tigertooth on 2016-10-08 at 4:18pm:
  I'm a little surprised by the positive reaction to the inclusion of Tuvok. Yeah, it was a cool moment when he appears but then... he never really does anything.
  
  I liked mirror-Rom's arc during the episode. But as others have noted, this episode had way too many questions that have no clear, good answers.
  
  And I agree about the general dislike of the mirror universe. You can't even make any connections between the standard and mirror versions of the characters since sometimes they're totally different. While I didn't like Distant Voices, at least you can glean some connection regarding how Bashir views his colleagues by how he portrays them in his mind. But in the mirror universe, you get nothing - just two totally different characters that look similar. I'd prefer it if they used the mirror episodes as comedy.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2009-01-16 at 7:16am:
  This episode is a confluence of a lot of Trek cliches. The review above points out several: energy life form of the week, the ship accidentally harms a sentient form and ends up communicating with it/healing it, etc.
  
  It was also bound to happen that Voyager pulled out that most charming of TNG cliches, the holodeck malfunctions and someone gets trapped or hurt plot.
  
  That said, this one is fun just for the Beowulf stuff and the Doctor, who's quickly become my favorite character on Voyager.
• From Docfan on 2011-08-15 at 8:05am:
  It's interesting how polarizing this episode is: seven reviewers pegged it at 7, and six people gave it a 1. It's a bit of a love it or hate it kind of thing I suppose, and I suspect the determining factor is "the Doctor" - specifically whether or not you are interested in the Doctor's character.
  
  Personally, I thought it was a great episode. I would give it an 8 or 9 even. I thought just about everything was well done, and it was great seeing the Doctor's evolving response to the responsibility of his first mission.
  
  Small things were great too - the Doctor gets to see the outside world for the first time, experience sensations, emotions, and even relationships that would've been impossible given both the technical constraints of his usual sickbay routine, and the social context in which it all operates. Within the holo-novel, no one knows that he is an emergency medical program, and no one treats him as such.
  
  What's more, it's almost as if he treats *himself* differently. In the novelty of it all, in a circumstance well outside the preparations and expectations of his programming, the Doctor explores what he's made of (code, energy, but also emotions, affections, desires, successes, etc...)
  
  The episode is also quite an epic development in terms of social status. This is the same character whose appearance (and for some reason voice?) shrank tenfold (episode 3), because there are more important things on Voyager than a glitch in the Doctor's imaging processor. "Eye of the Needle" (episode 7) sets up the transformation, and this once clinches it, as we see the captain awarding the Doctor her personal and official commendations at the end.
  
  In short, it's really quite a touching, fascinating, and humorous character exploration.
  And a great episode, so long as you like the character in question.
• From Harrison on 2013-02-15 at 11:03am:
  This entertaining episode has some compelling performances, but the science is simply appalling. Suspension of disbelief is one thing, but one can at least expect a basic consistency in the laws of physics prevailing in the ST universe, and a little sophistication in interpreting them. Will any ST viewer be shocked, like Janeway was, to discover "photonic energy" on the holodeck?
• From rpeh on 2015-01-20 at 7:30pm:
  Holodeck episodes almost always annoy me. It's a cop out. We have a sci-fi series but want to do a film-noir episode? Holodeck. We want a swords and sorcery story? Holodeck. And here... we want to do an olde English classic? Holodeck. I disagree with this. If you're doing a sci-fi series you do sci-fi. By all means add in romance and usual human tension (see Battlestar) but don't pretend to be something you're not.
  
  Having said that.
  
  This episode just about works. The doctor is one of the best characters in Voyager so an episode in which he plays a major role is always going to be a winner. But the acting by the residents of the mead hall is awful, and the non-explanation given about the communication with the entity/entities is too much of a hand-wave.
  
  I'll give this a 7 but only because most of the rest of Voyager is so bad.

No fan commentary yet.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Marissa on 2012-08-02 at 1:45am:
  I absolutely love the final scene of this episode, where we only see Odo's reflection in the mirror. It kind of makes the whole thing feel surreal. Odo's offer of friendship there is a beautiful moment for both of my two favorite characters of DS9, and the choice of camera angle was just perfect. Too bad I can't seem to find the proper words to describe exactly why I love this scene.
• From Dubhan on 2014-07-16 at 5:41am:
  This episode is pretty jam-packed. It's got action, subterfuge, sabotage, willful disobeyance of orders, a substantial space battle (!), and - the best part - great dramatic scenes between Garak and Odo to hit you in the feels. This is some of the best Trek has to offer.
• From Mike D. on 2017-01-25 at 6:50am:
  I've heard season 4 is when this series really takes off, and I hope this awesome two-parter is a taste of what's to come. Garak's wide-eyed stare is so effective, he really is a great character. I loved the special effects in this episode, both the peeling Odo and the big ship battle.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From wes on 2012-01-14 at 5:04pm:
  Tuvok's rank insignia begins the episode as Lieutenant, which is wrong since he was never courtmartialed. Later, his rank is back to Lt. Commander. Then later still, it is back to Lieutenant. What's with this?
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2015-05-23 at 6:44am:
  "energy life form of the week" -- enough said! I was re-watching season one; I wished I skipped this one. Wasted hour of my life.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2009-02-24 at 4:38am:
  This episode should have won an Emmy or a Hugo for art direction; the ship is a cool idea and it's rendered beautifully. It's done so well I don't really mind the technical problems.
  
  
• From JRPoole on 2009-02-25 at 4:58pm:
  I wanted to add that the only problem I have with this episode is timing. The proverbial shit just hit the fan in the Delta Quadrant and the dominion pretty much destroyed the Tal Shi'ar (sp?) and the Obsidian Order. They alsod made it clear that the Federation and the Klingons were next. I find it a little hard to believe that Sisko would make a journey like this one with all this going on.
  
  The ship itself is awesome. I don't really mind the technical problems. We can rationalize that the lumber was for unexposed parts of the ship, and it might even be that the ship itself wasn't blasted into space or designed to return to Bajor through the atmosphere. Sisko seems obsesses with recreating it exactly, and it seems that the ship is already in space when he boards it. Perhaps the ancient Bajorans had rocket technology and assembled the ship in orbit somehow. Regardless, this is still a good episode, one of the most memorable stand-alone episodes in DS9, perhaps in all of Trek.
• From djb on 2009-10-28 at 6:59am:
  I liked this episode too, though it seems strange that an "ancient" Bajoran solar sailing ship would be sophisticated enough to be ... IN SPACE, yet not have an onboard computer navigation system. Kind of backwards.
  
  Anyway, I'm mainly commenting to complain about the spoiler you put in your review, about the future between Sisko and Yates. I did not know about this, as I am watching the episodes in order and have not seen much of DS9 at all before watching it now. I prefer to let the show unfold at its own pace and not know what happens later. Naturally a few spoilers are almost inevitable, but this was a big one and was unnecessary in my opinion. I enjoy reading reviews on your site, but will stop if you continue to put spoilers like that in.
• From Kethinov on 2009-10-28 at 10:40am:
  Sorry. :(
  
  You will see a few more here and there but they are rare and accidental. I've been working to strip them out.
  
  Be advised that comments posted on reviews will not be held to the same standard.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-29 at 8:30pm:
  The first time I watched this episode it really annoyed me. Second time around.... it annoys me a bit less.
  
  The technical problems with the solar sail make the whole idea cringe-worthy. Rigging? Rigging was for sailors to climb, not to adjust sails with! The sail is nowhere near large enough and far too complex. Compare to the more sensible description of a sail used for manned transport in The Mote in God's Eye (book) where the sail is roughly as large as a moon. More, you don't just gain propulsion from light, you gain it from the solar wind - and you can't tack against it. It's like this whole script was written by somebody who had heard the phrase but never got beyond that. You can even hear the "wind" rippling the sails in the exterior shots, and the "fireworks" in space at the end. Good grief!
  
  On the sail ship, they consult paper charts. This is in a series where huge storms appear with no warning just about anywhere, yet the charts are treated as accurate. Jake refers to losing the "jib and port mailsail". Just.... look that up so I don't have to describe how wrong it is. I could honestly write about another 1000 words about the technical problems here.
  
  The timing, as another poster mentioned, is just awful! From full-on, 100% action we get to an episode where the characters have to fill time by mentioning there's no sound, not even an engine! You can almost hear the gears on the DS9 engine grinding as the change-down occurs.
  
  Second time around, the timing issue didn't matter as much, but it made me watch the B-plot more, and... it doesn't really exist. A few scenes with no real character development.
  
  The technical issues are almost inexcusable! We *know* how to make solar sails, so the details can be accurate for once! The other plot details are inconsequential. But... somehow I quite like this episode. If this had been a TNG show, there'd have been loads of preaching nonsense. In this show, it just happened. I'll give it a 5.
  
  Okay... I'll stop ranting now.
• From Popescu on 2010-08-24 at 11:03pm:
  People, please stop whining about this episode, especially about the science behind it.
  
  I've just watched the special features released for each season of DS9 and the guy who created the solar sailing ship described these issues and why he choose to make it that way. He was aware of the things you are posting about here.
• From John on 2011-09-13 at 11:13pm:
  blah blah blah the science is all wrong blah blah blah WHO CARES!?
  
  This is a delightful and very well-done character-driven episode focusing on Ben and Jake Sisko. I have always loved the way the writers dealt with the Sisko family relationships, and the way Avery Brooks and Cirroc Lofton (and later Brock Peters too) portrayed it. I realize that some folks don't particularly care for the Jake character, but I've always liked him. His presence helps add depth to the otherwise straight-up badass Sisko. Don't get me wrong -- I love badass Sisko -- but it's nice to know that's not all that he is.
  
  This episode isn't about the science of solar sailing, it's about bonding between father and son. If you can watch it with that in mind, and ignore the "bad science", you'll actually enjoy it quite a bit.
• From Shaa on 2012-04-07 at 9:18pm:
  But, and please bear with me, what about the freaking sails? Why were they necessary? According to Newton, without friction, that ship would go just fine without a need for sails. Also, when they jumped into Warp, they should've stayed at that speed. The sails wouldn't have slowed them down, there would be no friction causing resistance in the sails to slow the ship down. They should've flown forever. Also, how would the ancient Bajorins have taken off??? No motor, just sails, how would they achieve any sort of upward motion? I am so confused! Am I not understanding some underlying concept here. Because based on my high school knowledge of physics, this doesn't make sense.
• From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-26 at 12:10am:
  I've noticed a few times in Trek when an engine goes out or power is lost, space vehicles slow down. It's hard for my mind get past this, but I just have to accept that it's the physics in the Trek universe. Space has friction.
  
  I really loved this episode. I said to myself as soon as it was over, "This was a great character-driven episode, not a great sci fi episode."
• From Gul Ranek on 2012-12-26 at 11:17am:
  The solar sail is actually based in real world science - the Sun emits a stream of particles (mostly electrons and protons) which could actually propel a craft. See more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_sail
  
  This was a decent character episode, and I agree that it was a bit out of place compared to the events of the previous two episodes, but so are the next three episodes before the season finale, I guess.
  
  While I love every appearance of Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo is simply brilliant in the role), I was surprised when the Cardassian government threw a firework display and so openly congratulated Bajor on their accomplishment. I expected for Dukat to have the lightship towed back to DS9, saying that it violated Cardassian space, or something to that extent.
• From Dstyle on 2013-10-24 at 6:32pm:
  I don't want to jump on the "bad science" bandwagon, but... the solar ship jumps to warp, faster than the speed of light, and somehow Jake and Sisko DON'T end up splattered to bits all over the back of the ship? So I guess the ancient Bajorans didn't have the technology to create an artificial gravity net, but they somehow had inertial dampeners?
• From Dubhan on 2014-07-20 at 4:55am:
  What? No mention of the fact that this is the episode where Sisko "grew the beard!?"

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Remco on 2008-11-30 at 5:29pm:
  I really liked the episode, but I find the conclusion to be somewhat lacking. After Janeway's threat in the previous episode, I didn't expect Voyager to just fly away after this. They killed one of their crew after all! The episode wouldn't have ended like this if for example Paris was killed.
  
  I find the Vidiians and their problem intriguing. I would like to see more of them. After two episodes, we've only seen two "harvester scientists", which is slightly one-sided. ;) But there's surely enough characterization there for another episode.
  
  Another reviewer (Jammer) had a nice observation:
  
  "The scene where human-B'Elanna reveals all of this to Paris is very absorbing (until Paris' extremely stupid line, "I guess you finally got your wish," upon which B'Elanna should have promptly strangled him)."
  
  :)
• From faced on 2011-08-19 at 8:28am:
  I don't know what was more of a remarkable scene, seeing a fully Klingon Torres, or seeing a fully human Torres, vulnerable and scared and conciliatory : ) This was a really fantastic idea for an episode and it was well-executed.
• From Damien Bradley on 2016-12-28 at 12:43am:
  I'm not normally a Torres fan, for whatever reason, but I liked what they did with her here. I liked the concept of two conflicting aspects of a person being embodied and able to speak and argue with each other. Very existential. One of them died. Which is the real Torres? Good acting on Dawson's part.
  
  It occurred to me watching this that Klingons might not feel fear the way humans do. That's why they're so bold; they're literally fearless. So B'Elanna, at least to a degree, isn't used to feeling fear. When she finally does as a full human, she's incapacitated, and Tom has to point out that for humans, courage is feeling fear and acting despite it. To me this means humans almost have an advantage over Klingons in this way: They experience fear and learn to overcome it!
  
  I liked the consistency in Tom's character. I think despite his attempts at a bad boy persona, he actually cares. He tries to be comforting to people, sometimes succeeds, but often comes from a place of reasoning with them somehow rather than empathizing. There's a time for each of those, and he doesn't always know the difference.
  
  I wish they had thought to save that nice Talaxian who helped them. Or anyone else there, for that matter. The Vidiians were enslaving and murdering people. I feel for them, but the phage doesn't excuse their behavior. And the redshirt death was disappointing.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From wartorn on 2011-08-18 at 2:40am:
  I want to explore a few interesting things mentioned in the review. To start with, were the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki "much less destructive and much more appropriate than the Metreon Cascade?" Were the two wars "quite a bit different?" Well, there really isn't enough information in this episode about the Talaxian conflict to determine for sure, but there may be more similarities than differences.
  
  There are a few things to consider here, the first being the raw numbers. Neelix mentions that more than 300,000 were killed by the Cascade. The combined total from both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were roughly 250,000. So, going by the numbers alone, the Cascade did more damage, but the atomic bombings were in the same order of magnitude. It's not like comparing apples to oranges... maybe like comparing oranges and tangerines.
  
  Of course one has to take into account the environmental damage. The Cascade completely changed the atmosphere and climate of the colonized moon, leaving a poisonous cloud that lingered for at least 15 years. The atomic bombings affected the quality of the air, impaired agriculture, and created a long-term drinking water problem in the area. Significant, but not quite the same as a full-out nuclear winter.
  
  So here is another interesting question: were the U.S. atomic bombings of Japanese cities "more appropriate" than the deployment of the Cascade? It is really quite impossible to determine, but perhaps not... Although Jetrel's side was described as the "invaders," we don't know what circumstances precipitated the occupation. Indeed, Neelix explains that he thought his side's reasons for going to war in the first place were unjust, "not worth dying for," which makes one wonder about the supposed "invasion" they suffered as a consequence. We learn also that the "invasion" was actually an unconditional surrender, precipitated by the deployment of the Metreonic Cascade.
  
  There is also the matter of Jetrel's explanation for targeting civilian populations as opposed to military or deserted targets - "the full force of the weapon had to be demonstrated." We're not told explicitly why, but presumably to cause surrender and immediately end hostilities.
  
  All of this is pretty much a point by point description of the circumstances around the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It's quite possible that the Talaxian side was an aggressor, as Japan was, (hence Neelix' noble/cowardly draft dodging), and it's quite possible that the subsequent "invasion" by Jetrel's people was more like the U.S. occupation of Japan.
  
  All of this makes the episode even more poignant and fascinating. It's my personal opinion that America has long since thoroughly wiped the entire unpleasant episode from its collective memory. There is really very little remorse felt about it. It was necessary, it happened, it stopped the war, it helped stop Hitler, end of story. Of course, Japan never forgot it, and there remain deep sensitivities about what happened. Perhaps the difference in perspective is best demonstrated by Japan's censoring of the American action rpg game Fallout 3. Their objections were about a side-quest in which you explode a nuclear bomb in the middle of a city, and also about one of the regular weapons available to the player: a tactical nuclear weapon called "Fat Boy" - the same name given to the plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
  
  Perhaps we've put it all behind us a bit prematurely? This Voyager episode recalls our attention to those tragic events.
  
  - - -
  
  Most of the focus of the episode is actually on the question of the role of science, with Jetrel portraying a classic Ellulian technocratic scientist. At one point he presents an argument that usually goes unstated, but is very present in the modern world: "If it can be done, it must be done. Science is bigger than man, technological development is intricately tied with the search for truth and knowledge, and thus any scientific pursuit has a kind of intrinsic value. It is wrong, and in any case impossible, to try and control it."
  
  The way Jetrel states it, and the way Neelix responds to it, one is a bit torn and sees both sides of the picture. Good work on the part of the show's producers. The fact is, this is not a nutty, fringe mad scientist idea, and not something that is obviously true, but something humanity has been battling with for at least several hundred years. We've been wrestling with this question of science, technology, and its role and purpose internally, as individuals, in academia and in philosophic texts, and in various political arenas.
  
  Regrettably, I think Jetrel (and the Ellulian point of view he represents) is right about one thing: no matter what we think of it, no matter the moral arguments we bring to the table, no matter how guilty or righteous people feel about what they're doing, technological development is not really something we *do* - it's more like something that happens to us, more like an evolutionary process that we have little real direction over. "One discovery leads inevitably to the next." It's difficult to really argue with this reasoning, when you consider the history and sociology of science/technology.
  
  When scientific discoveries are made and technological innovations are born, no one can possibly foresee where they will lead eventually. It's really a much more complicated problem than the obvious questions of something like the Manhattan Project or human cloning. These things *seep* into society one tiny step at a time (linked with undeniable conveniences and amenities, outright improvements even, lifesaving advances in medicine, etc...) - by the time some kind of danger or threat or controversy is recognized, it is already here, it's already on the way down.
  
  There is some room for human agency, of course, but it has its limits. These things engender their own societal responses - for instance, 1) there are test ban treaties, 2) ozone depleting compounds are made illegal, and phased out, and so on. But we must admit to ourselves that our ability to truly understand and respond to what we ourselves create... is limited.
  
  To quote Jetrel, science is indeed much bigger than man, but this is something that should give us pause rather than glee. It would seem as if something has gone wrong, has gone quite thoroughly backwards. What started as a human project, something we do, engage in, for the sake of both our innate curiosity and our desire to improve our lives, has turned into something we really can't not do, something we serve, and worship, unknowingly, to ends and consequences we cannot possibly foresee.
  
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-22 at 4:22pm:
  I enjoyed the comment bt wartorn on this episode, and I agree with much of it. I believe however that there is clear and convincing evidence that the attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not justified, and was actually an atrocity and a war crime.
  
  I say this despite the fact that my father served in WWII, much to my pride. I admired my father's service and I do not say this to denigrate the honorable service our soldiers gave in WWII.
  
  However, on the subject of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, history ie very clear. The Japanese emporer Hiro Hito had already transmitted his intention to unconditionally surrender to Allied forces prior to the American decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, much to our shame.
  
  Unfortunately, he issued his decision through the Soviet ambassador. The Soviets intentionally failed to transmit the message on to the Americans because they wanted the nuclear bomb to be deployed in combat as a live test to the weapon. The Soviets had spies at Alamagordo and were watching the Americans with great interest. They certainly did not want the Japanese offer of surrender to succeed.
  
  Nonetheless, we had many advisors to Pres. Truman, including Oppemheimer himself, who urged the President to not drop the bomb on the Japanese people. We had all of the intelligence we needed to know that dropping the bomb on Japan would accomplish nothing militarily.
  
  In this respect the events of Americans dropping the nuclear bomb is hauntingly similar to the Metroen Cascade described in this episode.
• From Rick on 2012-12-26 at 11:13pm:
  I urge people reading the above post not to take it as the factual information that it purports to be. The majority view is that there was no surrender. People like the above poster are certainly free to argue to the contrary but to present that argument as the clear truth is reckless at best and disingenuous at worst.
  
  Aside from that, do you really think that if Japan was close to surrendering before the first bomb, they would wait for a second?
• From Mike on 2017-07-26 at 1:32am:
  Ethan Phillips said that he watched the first season of Voyager as it was airing and then didn't really watch it after that. He didn't say why (that I know of) but one wonders if he figured this was a good way to remember his character on screen. It's certainly one of the better, if not the best, Neelix episode in the series.
  
  James Sloyan, who plays Jetrel, is one of the better recurring guest stars in all of Star Trek. He plays Admiral Jarok in TNG: The Defector as well as future Alexander Rozhenko in TNG: Firstborn. He was also the Bajoran scientist Dr. Mora, who "discovered" and experimented with Odo, in a couple DS9 episodes.
  
  I agree the parallels with the atomic bomb dropping are a bit heavy handed. But, it raises that question people have discussed since the atomic bomb's invention, and even before with the invention of poison gas used in WW1: is it desirable, or even possible, to "cordon off" a branch of scientific knowledge because you're afraid of where it might lead? The implication that someone else would have invented the weapon eventually, and the reasoning that you do the research regardless of how some wish to apply it, were notions that added some depth to the issue.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From rpeh on 2010-07-29 at 9:08pm:
  Decent episode, but one problem. When Quark is blocking his ears, his skull visibly compresses. I don't recall any information about Ferengi skulls being made of rubber... Apart from that it's a good episode for background on the Ferengi.
• From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-26 at 1:40am:
  Best line: Rom about his father, "He couldn't hold on to latinum if you sewed it into his pants!"
  
  I liked this one.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-12-17 at 9:23am:
  This episode, if any so far, puts the lie to Quark's protestations that the Ferengi have never practiced slavery. How their society treats women is, no two ways about it, abject slavery and utter degradation. It's completely inexcusable, given the glaringly obvious evidence from both Ishka and Pel that Ferengi women are just as capable as men -- and in many cases, more so. I know it's portrayed in the show as backward and wrong, but it's still kinda hard to watch. It might be funny if it didn't resemble the way many women are still treated right now in the real world. I try not to judge individual Ferengi characters too harshly -- after all, the sexism is systemic and deeply conditioned.
  
  From a practical economic perspective, these male-dominated races like the Ferengi, Jem'Hadar, Pakleds, etc. are unfortunate, simply by the fact that they end up employing way more male actors. Give us a recurring race of women, already! (Like the Gems in Steven Universe. It is doable, has been done, and is very refreshing!)
  
  I do have to hand it to the DS9 writers for developing the Ferengi, though, after the joke they were on TNG. As problematic as they are in-universe, they've certainly become much more multi-dimensional since they were first introduced. A fine salvage operation.
  
  OK, I changed my mind on one point. The way the men look utterly scandalized when they see a woman NOT naked -- that's fucking hilarious. My dudes, get over yourselves.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Frogshortening on 2006-08-25 at 11:11pm:
  2?? I fail to see how an episode featuring the line "Get the cheese to sick bay", could be so low rated! That is my personal motto!!!
• From Mark McC on 2009-05-22 at 7:41pm:
  I've just started watching Voyager and was surprised when the short first season ended here. I was expecting a grand cliffhanger, possibly with the Vidiians or the Kazon. Instead, Voyager comes under attack from ... cheese!? That premise could have made for an excellent Tribble-style comedy episode season one of a new Star Trek deserves something better.
  
  I actually had to check the DVDs to make sure I'd watched them in the right order. With the disgruntled Maquis and lack of any real main plot this seems better suited as an early filler episode than a season finale.
  
  The episode featuring the tiny wormhole with the excellently-acted Romulan on the other side would have been a much better closer than this.
• From spline on 2013-10-30 at 8:34am:
  Hehe... I remember at the time, even JMS (the creator of Babylon 5) complaining in frustration (was on usenet, rast.b5.moderated), while trying to get B5 renewed for another year and seeing this episode about an "alien cheese virus" somehow get made...
  
  Thankfully things get better... eventually.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Tallifer on 2011-03-26 at 4:37am:
  Two problems for me with this episode:
  
  1. Are a few soil reclamators used by a handful of farmers actually supposed to reclaim enough soil elsewhere to support an interstellar trade in foodstuffs? Why not build a couple new reclamators?
  
  Furthermore these reclamators are very ineffective. There is a tiny community of farmers, and yet one of them has not even benefited from the machines yet, but must wait her turn.
  
  2. The politics are startlingly naive. To me it was obvious from the beginning that Kai Wynn was engaged in corrupt relations with a huge corporate agribusiness which intended to exploit Bajoran government funding for profit. The reclamators were intended for the feeding of Bajorans, not the profits of a food-export corporation.
• From Mike on 2016-11-01 at 7:51pm:
  I liked this episode a lot. The Bajorans, like so many real-world peoples, are dealing with internal turmoil and conflict after throwing off their occupiers. In this case, it's driven by an aspiring despot who hopes that boosting her planet's economy will also aid her own personal ambitions. It pushes her to risk civil war, something few others have the appetite for given the issue is the use of farm equipment. It's a well-written, well-acted episode.
  
  Why not build more reclamators? Well, I'm guessing they are sophisticated pieces of machinery that rely on several industries to build. Bajor, still wartorn and relying on aid and loans, can probably only afford to build a couple of them. Plus, they probably have to wait a while because it takes time to detoxify large amounts of land. Real-world soil detoxification takes months or years and requires lots of composting and solarization. Even in sci-fi world, this process probably takes a while. I think the reclamators make a good plot device in this episode for the premise that the writers were going for.
• From Kevin on 2020-08-02 at 3:58am:
  The B plot in this episode is so strange. I know it was just to pad out some runtime in the episode, But maybe I wasn't paying attention to it enough- I don't recall the Chief making plans with Bashir to fake the injury - as i'm pretty sure that is what happened. Bashir played along, and because of it, ended up stuck with Quark at the end instead. That would've made for at least a more logical side story.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-12-15 at 8:02pm:
  Ah, I love Winn. Love to hate her, anyway. Louise Fletcher is amazing. Seeing her go from calm to livid with the most subtle of facial expressions is amazing. Anyway, I recall from early season 2 that Winn was associated with the Circle, and thus seems to be an isolationist and/or a complete opportunist. Thus her flowery language of joining the Federation is probably all a ruse. It's been so long since I saw the whole series last, I don't even remember! But by now it's basically established that if Winn is breathing, she's up to something, and if her lips are moving, she's lying. And she knows Kira is onto her, but can't let it slip that she knows. Visitor and Fletcher play off each other wonderfully.
  
  I just love the character development in this series, especially compared to my bae TNG. All these events in Kira's life are changing her and affecting her and keeping her interesting. Her covert/overt antagonism toward Winn is always shifting. I like the accumulating backstory of her as a freedom fighter, and how her relationships with other fighters has changed. It's also fun to see Bashir and O'Brien become bros.
  
  Watching this I thought O'Brien and Bashir faked the injury together so O'Brien could get out of the spotlight. I like how they left it open to interpretation.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Remco on 2008-12-01 at 9:16pm:
  This was a fantastic episode throughout. I really liked Odo and Jadzia at the end talking about what happened that day. Jadzia and Odo now have a real bond. Odo knows what it is to be a humanoid (and probably kept some of that love from Curzon), and Jadzia remembers being liquid and the joy of pestering Quark. :)
  
  One minor quibble I have is that it wasn't two hours long. Some of those host scenes were way too short. But this isn't the kind of story that lends itself to a cliffhanger, which seems to be a prerequisite for two-hour shows.
• From Shamin Asaikar on 2012-04-16 at 6:17pm:
  Just a question. Considering Joran's memories are allowed to re-surface in Equilibrium (Season 3, ep4), shouldn't he have found a personification too?
  
• From Kenneth on 2014-04-12 at 7:35pm:
  Great episode but leeta being involved in the ceremony as one of jadzias closest friends felt really forced. Quark steals the show again. Shimerman may be the best actor on the show.
• From Dubhan on 2014-07-26 at 5:49am:
  And of course, one of the great things about this episode is, as usual, Rene Auberjonois. He's always great as Odo, but as Curzon Odo he really gets to shine in a more emotive role than usual. His performances are always so fluid (pun intended) that you never see him "acting". I wish you could say the same about Nana Visitor.
• From Shani on 2014-09-27 at 4:01am:
  Why did Jadzia not remember that Curzon was in love with her? I understand that she didn't have his memories when he was joined to Odo but prior to that shouldn't she have known the real reason she was dismissed from the program?
• From Ravenlord on 2015-09-26 at 6:27am:
  Rom losing his shit at Quark is one of my favorite moments for that character.
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-12-16 at 3:24pm:
  "Magnificent scoundrel" -- perhaps foreshadowing for the later episode "The Magnificent Ferengi"?
  
  Curzodo was something to behold! It's always fun to see the actors get to act out of character. It was fascinating watching Sisko coach Jadzia on how to stand up to Curzon. It's interesting thinking about Dax's former hosts as metaphors for a person's different "sides," so to speak.
  
  Rom standing up to Quark was wonderful. Such a payoff after seeing him be such a doormat for nearly three seasons now.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From MJ on 2011-07-30 at 4:12pm:
  "newest and best captain in Starfleet". Well, this explains the awkward goodbye between O'Brien and Picard in the pilot. Maybe the Chief just didn't enjoy his time under Picard. It could just be an effort by the writers to cement O'Brien as a DS9 main character, which he wasn't in TNG.
  
  The episode certainly had plenty of suspense and illustrated the main problem Starfleet would have in dealing with the Founders. The main problem with this story, though, is that it seems hard to believe that an ambassador would have the power to assign a mission to a Starfleet ship without anyone at Starfleet Command knowing about it. I realize that some routine missions and actions could be decided at the station level, but something like this seems like it would've needed more communication between DS9 and Starfleet, not just an ambassador showing up and giving the green light. I guess one reasonable workaround is that Changelings infiltrating Starfleet made it possible on that end.
  
  Anyway, the episode was pretty good and I even enjoy watching it a second time despite knowing the outcome, so I give it a 6.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-08-26 at 10:14pm:
  "No changeling has ever harmed another" has been repeated so much this season, it deserved this level of payoff.

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• From JRPoole on 2009-02-25 at 8:03pm:
  Well, if you'd told me that this episode began with a 30s model truck floating in space and that Ameila Earhart was a character, I may have been tempted to skip it. It's always annoyed me that American history is scattered all across the galaxy in Star Trek. That said, this was about as good an episode as could be given the premise, and it actually ends up being decent.
  
  My problem is with the Universal Translator. By now we've all just sort of accepted that the UT exists and explains how we can communicate with alien races. We've pretty much given up on trying to explain it or even worrying about it unless it's part of the plot (a la "Darmok" or DS9's "Sanctuary"). So why do they have to go and confuse the whole thing again. How is it possible that the Japanese character hears Japanese while the others hear English? And how does the UT know to broadcast in all those different languages? And finally, how does it work. It wasn't necessary to mention it hear, and mentioning it without explaining it just complicates things.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-22 at 5:20pm:
  I read with interest our webmaster's article on why he doesn't review Stargate (because there is no plausible reason why all alien life forms speak English). While I relate to this sentiment, and agree that it is a failing in the Stargate universe, the use of the UT in Star Trek is so lame and so contrived as to be tantamount to a simple admission that there is nothing behind it at all. For one thing: what is the UT? Is it a computer program as some episodes suggest ala DS9: Sancuary? Or is it a portable, mobile device, as would be obviously required when the Star Fleet folks are out of communicator range? Examples of this are so common as to be too numerous to count. Picard on the surface with the alien captain in TNG: Darmok. Jiordi trapped on the surface of a moon with a Romulan in TNG: First Contact. I could go on like this for a looooong time.
  
  And how does the UT magically make everyone's mouth movements match up with what they hear? Holgrsphic projectors? A data feed directly into the brain?
  
  In the end the problems of the UT are so huge that we must simply throw up our hands in despair and admit that it is the thinnest of threads, and ultimately it is all about budget. Given that creating a synthetic language is a rather expensive undertaking, compromises must be made. (Witness the amount of time and energy which went into creating the language of the Navi in the Sci Fi film Avatar.)
  
  I am not sure that Star Trek is significantly superior to Stargate in this respect, to be honest.
• From Kethinov on 2011-10-22 at 6:10pm:
  The difference between Stargate and virtually every other science fiction show is that Stargate doesn't even try to offer an explanation, and by doing so they make it nearly impossible for fans to rationalize it on their own.
  
  In Star Trek, the universal translator is the canonical explanation and while episodes like this may complicate the process of explaining how it works, the UT is not beyond rationalization.
  
  I've always assumed there are different kinds of UTs with different levels of sophistication that were employed at different time periods and that by Voyager's time period it was a piece of technology which had been miniaturized to the point of being embedded as a microchip in every Federation citizen. DS9: Little Green Men provides strong evidence of this.
  
  For that to work, we have to assume that most non-Federation aliens also possess a similar technology and that vast advances in linguistics have occurred to create a sort of universal language pattern matcher, which would enable both the translation capability as well as a mechanism by which two alien UTs can communicate with one another.
  
  The UT would thus then work on a principle of all languages (except oddball ones like the Darmok aliens) following predictable rules that advanced linguistics has cracked. And when two characters equipped with microchip UTs talk to each other, they merely speak in their own languages and the UT in their brains translates for them in real time.
  
  Without a doubt this all implies an incredibly overwrought piece of technology that the show glosses over with far too much carelessness, but still not to the degree that Stargate does. Likewise Star Trek is no stranger to overwrought items of technology fraught with difficult to rationalize technical problems. Another big offender would be the transporter.
  
  Nevertheless, despite these quirks, Star Trek manages to somehow stay largely consistent and plausible. As does Stargate for the matter, all except for Stargate's failure to even try to deal with the language problem.
• From TheAnt on 2013-10-09 at 6:36am:
  Kethinov points out the first problems of this episode in the 'problems' paragraph.
  Only adding that any remaining water in the cooling system - if any still left, would be frozen solid.
  
  The SOS message is received on the AM radio in the pickup truck, which in turn is in a cargo hold of Voyager, and that outside the planetary system of origin. (Some light years at least.)
  
  Kim states that 'we do not monitor this frequency since it only travel at the speed of light.
  Any change of 'Frequency' will not make any radio signal go faster than light - which make this another technobabble blooper.
  
  Even so this is for starters, the small landing pads of Voyager would not be able to keep the starship upright on the surface we see, not rock even less loose sand.
  Ever seen construction workers raise a large crane? They use plates of steel under each supporting pad!
  
  And then the radio of the aircraft sending AM radio to a large distance in space. AM radio were used since it bounced on the ionosphere, and so could be picked up even beyond the line of sight.
  So most of such a signal will NOT penetrate to space, in short it would be weak indeed.
  
  So in the very first minutes this episode fails on all counts on being consistent and plausible.
  
  My vote? A one.
• From Shani on 2015-01-10 at 4:50am:
  I'm kind of annoyed the Janeway could tell the Japanese soldier was human just by looking at. There are so many species that look human even I'm the delta quadrant.
• From Amelia Obumhardt on 2022-02-04 at 8:10pm:
  But not many japanese aliens I think :D
  
  Anyway, I was shocked at Kims lack of historic knowledge. Ok... maybe he never heard of Miss Erhardt, but mixing up a Ford gasoline car for a hovercar?? That would be akin to one of us mixing up an early sailing ship with a WW2 Bismark type of battleship, come on...what do they teach at the academy in history?
• From Mitchell O on 2023-08-25 at 11:22am:
  Really love the soundtrack at the end of this episode, another delightful piece.

No fan commentary yet.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Docfan on 2011-09-09 at 1:48pm:
  This intensely psychological episode and doc character exploration simply blew my mind when I originally saw it. I couldn't even come up with a proper comment to do it justice. If you're a fan of the Doctor, or even the least bit interested in his character, this is a must watch.
  
  This episode takes the doctor's ambivalence about his very nature to its full and logical conclusion: a dramatic existential crisis, complete with doubt, aspiration, self-delusion, madness, a declaration of love, and something like a mock suicide attempt (when he blew up the holographic projection of a holographic projector array).
  
  Small details: love the conflicted, just slightly gleeful bemusement when he discovers that he's bleeding, has a pulse, brain wave activity, hunger pangs, etc.
  
  One of my favorite Voyager episodes thus far (top 5). Altogether brilliant.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From askthepizzaguy on 2010-08-12 at 2:21am:
  You know, I watched the entire Voyager series start to finish several times, and I never noticed the Ocampan reproduction problem.
  
  9 year life span, one child per couple, wow. They definitely should not even exist as a species. Well caught.
• From zooky on 2011-08-09 at 11:19pm:
  Maybe it's just the Ocampa females who can reproduce only once. Males may be able to do it more often, so that accounts for their survival as a species. Of course, that implies they are not a monogamous society, an that their male/female ratio is nowhere near 50/50. As far as we know, that's consistent with what we know about them.
• From Kethinov on 2011-08-10 at 7:30pm:
  Unless there are significantly more females born than males, it still doesn't work.
• From Anon on 2011-11-10 at 3:51am:
  I haven't seen the series past this episode, but is it possible that the Ocampa have litters & not just one baby at a time like humans.
• From Inga on 2013-07-28 at 2:35pm:
  "Of course, that implies they are not a monogamous society"
  
  Kes mentioned in a later episode that the Ocampa choose their mates for life and that there is no jealousy or betrayal.
• From Damien Bradley on 2017-01-03 at 8:14pm:
  I like Kes a lot. I wonder if all Ocampa are as emotionally mature as she is, or if she's just exceptional in her own right. I liked seeing another side of her here, acting seemingly out of character, not in control of herself. I also liked seeing her getting angry at Neelix's jealousy. Even the most calm and composed of people would get annoyed at that after long enough.
  
  The Ocampa must have litters if they reproduce only once. If all females only produce one child, no matter the female/male ratio, they'd die out. Even if all members of a species reproduced at a one-to-one rate, they'd die out too, because not all would reproduce before dying.
  
  I loved the scene between Neelix and Tuvok. When Tuvok said that a parent could teach skills equally to sons and daughters both, I yelled "THANK YOU TUVOK!" It was nice to see the show make such a clearly progressive statement. The scene reminded me of the song "My Boy Bill" from Carousel, where the character singing, Billy, after a whole song about what a strapping lad he'll raise, suddenly realizes his kid might be a girl. Duh!
  
  I agree about the overkill. I do like episodes that have themes to them, but I prefer if if they don't bash us over the head with it. Four different plot threads or conversations all about reproduction all happening at once is a little much. And yeah, it should be a given that they'll have to reproduce if they're expecting a 75-year trip. There are worse things than being raised on a cushy starship complete with holodecks.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-07-31 at 3:30am:
  Oh yeah! THIS is why I hate Brannon Braga!
• From yaspaa on 2010-06-06 at 11:19am:
  Tom mentions being locked up by an unfriendly shapeshifter. A reference to Odo?
• From thaibites on 2013-10-01 at 11:57am:
  The problem I have with this episode is the same problem I have with a lot of the early season 2 episodes - there's too much Earth in them! The whole point of the series was to get out of their rut and away from the Federation. So, here they are - billions of light years away, and they amazingly keep encountering links to their "old life". Impossible!
  Doesn't seem very creative or imaginative to me...(Actually, it shows the producers were either lazy, burned out, or under pressure from the network to dumb down everything so the masses could relate to the show better.)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Praelat on 2009-05-13 at 5:07pm:
  "Why was Worf wearing an old-style TNG uniform?"
  Easy: When he arrived at the station, he was on a temporary assignment and therefore not part of the regular DS9 crew. When he joins the crew for good in the end, he switches to a regular DS9 uniform. That's it :)
  I loved the episode. I'm from Germany, and I watched this episode for the first time on video in England, when it was still a year away in Germany. I was so surprised with the "restart" of the series, bit I positively loved it and still do.
• From Wes on 2011-01-18 at 4:27pm:
  Every time there is someone on the station wearing a TNG-style uniform, you think it's some sin and put it in your "Problems" section. IT'S NOT A PROBLEM. It's consistency. Since "Emissary" it has been that way on DS9. If anyone comes to the station from a starship or starfleet command, they wear the TNG uniforms until next season. I wasn't ever a very big fan of it, but it is consistent throughout the series.
  This episode reminds me somewhat of TOS federation-klingon hostilities.
• From Bronn on 2011-11-07 at 3:34am:
  You're just caught up on the inconsistency in the fact that "Generations" had crew members occasionally in DS9 style uniforms, but that was solely because they were afraid the actual TNG uniforms weren't going to translate to the big screen, with visible zippers. But it wasn't an official style change. If you watch the film again, you'll see that the cast changes back and forth throughout the entire film between DS9 style uniforms and TNG style. Patrick Stewart is probably the only one who didn't change his uniform style at all, and that's just because he had a specially designed captain's uniform starting around the 4th season of TNG.
  
  Here's how it worked: Crew members on space stations had space-station style uniforms like DS9. Starfleet personnel serving on spaceships had TNG style uniforms. You see that any time someone visits the station from a ship up until the change-over to the "First Contact" style uniforms. It was a consistent rule, not something to be confused about.
• From DK on 2013-09-23 at 2:55am:
  More Star Trek stories should have been built around this model. Long story arcs, plenty of combat drama and lots of fight scenes make for very enjoyable episodes. I didn't even mind it so much when they had Kira beating up Kingons but really, I don't care how hard my sister hits me, I' m not going to fall to the deck. So that was either the biggest pussy in the history of the Kingon empire or.... Well, I guess that's it, the Kingpns she beat up were the biggest pussies of all time. The powers that be should really leave the hand to hand combat to the men.
• From Kenneth on 2014-04-13 at 3:43am:
  First impressions of episode and overall change in tone for the season is set right away from the new graphic and speeding up of the theme song. Some one in the graphics department decided to add some life to the images of the station. Sisko bald is bad ass. Jadzia and Kira showing some skin. Ds9 season four off to a good start
• From jbense on 2017-12-28 at 8:04pm:
  The new theme music for season four sure is different, but I disagree with your opinion that it is better.
  
  The original theme had an elegant austerity to it--horns building upon each other in counterpoint with a soft orchestral backing. It was beautiful, the best of all of Trek's theme songs IMO.
  
  The season four version is faster. The strings are shrill and detract from the intricate horn counterpoint, particularly by overpowering and obscuring some of the pleasing harmonies at the end of the tune. The new graphics, which I admitedly do not care for, unfortunately also come with irritating sound effects which further tarnish the music. Altogether, these changes subtract substantially from the bare appeal of the original theme.
  
  Of course this is all up for debate based on personal preference, but as a musician I was disappointed when the original theme was replaced.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2009-07-06 at 8:23pm:
  The scenes that have Worf talking about leaving Starfleet just don't work. The audience is not fooled for a minute, especially since his name is in the opening credits. I still like the episode though.
• From MJ on 2011-01-11 at 10:22pm:
  Watching DS9 up to this point, I was thoroughly unimpressed by the Federation's response to the Dominion. Don't get me wrong, I love the show. It was really coming into it's own, introducing new story arcs, adding further depth to its circle of characters, and really proving itself as a series to be on par with TOS and TNG, with the potential to outshine them. But within the story itself, the Federation has seemed impotent, while every other power in the region is realistic about the Dominion and doing what they can to stop them.
  
  Consider the Romulans. They have attempted to collapse the wormhole, and then launch a pre-emptive strike on the Dominion. The first plan was stopped by the Federation, and the second plan went forward with no Federation support. Now the Klingons plunge themselves into the fight, and again the Federation hesitates.
  
  The only justification I could come up with for the Federation's behavior is that its fight with the Borg has altered its strategy. Wolf 359 taught the Federation to be wary of massive confrontations, and the fact is, the Federation faced the Borg threat with very little help from the Klingons and none from the Romulans or Cardassians. Maybe in the eyes of the Federation, it's time the others stepped up to face the Dominion threat. That is understandable.
  
  Another thing I don't understand, is where are all the other Alpha and Beta Quadrant powers right now? The Sheliak, the Gorn, the Tholians...surely there is some involvement? This seems to have been the time for Star Trek to summon its prior alien encounters, since the Dominion is clearly something everybody should be concerned about!
  
  That being said, I love the angles DS9 is exploring; it is something unique that neither TOS or TNG have dealt with yet.
• From AW on 2015-12-15 at 7:26pm:
  The subspace realm Jake gets sucked into on his second to last try looked a lot like the place where Sisko met the creators of the wormhole in the Pilot.
• From tigertooth on 2016-10-18 at 4:03am:
  This certainly isn't unique to this episode, but as an example: right before the final attack on DS9, Gowron says something in Klingon. Worf then translates to "today is a good day to die".
  
  But why didn't the universal translator already translate it? I mean, Gowron wasn't speaking English that whole time, right? He was speaking Klingon.
  
  Anyway, great two-parter.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jason on 2010-01-14 at 3:44am:
  Wow; this episode was abysmal. It is like a spoof of what every bad Star Trek episode is -- spatial anomalies, technobabble, space-based life-forms, stuff that doesn't make sense but is easy to film -- and in the end they just do nothing.
  
  I wish I had that 45 minutes of my life back.
• From Drac on 2010-04-30 at 5:47pm:
  Boring episode , Kes birthday was the only remdeeming part so far i find Kes , The doctor and Neelix the only intresting characters.. i want ds9 back :(
• From Jim on 2010-07-30 at 5:47am:
  The only thing missing was a group hug. And Janeway's head spinning around. Also, doesn't Neelix seem a little creepy when he gets jealous?
• From Andrew on 2017-06-01 at 5:48pm:
  The Bar appears to be a replica of the one Kim found Paris in a couple episodes prior. If Paris frequently runs this program it at least makes sense that Kim knew where to find Paris in Marseilles.
• From Gary on 2018-02-24 at 6:23pm:
  Lucky that none of the bent corridors or rooms opened up to the outside, but that's fine, one can accept the odd "twisting" premise for the sake of fun.
  
  What struck me as even more ridiculous: this episode underscored the "named characters matter, the rest of the crew doesn't" curse that seems more pronounced on Voyager than on other series. What do our heroes do when they encounter other crew? Tell them to go somewhere safe and just wait. Essentially, pat them on the head... "We professionals will take care of it, now stay out of the way, OK?". They have a ship full of experts of various sorts, and the main cast doesn't really know what's going on or have solutions to the problem. How about telling everyone everything you know, and getting as many minds as possible at work? But no, of course they're all useless.
  
  It wouldn't have changed anything in terms of outcome, but would have made Voyager appear like a ship with 140 crew, not 10 crew and 130 passengers.
• From paul vh on 2024-03-08 at 1:57am:
  Bob Picardo has said this is his least favorite episode of the series, for the same reasons talked about in some of these reviews: it's 43 minutes of the crew surprised to find themselves in a different room than the one they intended to go to.
  
  It was painful to watch, so I imagine it was even more painful to act in.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Gilos on 2013-07-05 at 5:46pm:
  Watching two people bicker at each other for over 30 minutes is terribly unpleasant... I don't understand why the writers thought this would make a good episode. The baby reptile was cute but the mother costume was horrendously cheesy, especially the immovable jaw. This was a stinker and IMHO Kethinov was awfully generous in his review.
• From Mitchell O on 2023-08-28 at 3:54am:
  It only occurred to me when rewatching this episode that the Jem'Hadar fighters at the start might be a continuity error.
  
  In the fourth season episode "Message in a Bottle", the Doctor is unaware of the Dominion, and up till this point there is never a mention of them in Voyager (as best I can recall).
  
  Seems like the footage was handy and they slipped it in hoping no one would notice!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Johnny Storm on 2006-05-07 at 11:59am:
  I have to admit that I am mainly a TOS and TNG fan but I would go so far as to say that this is IMHO my candidate for pretty much the best episode of any Trek, ever.
  
  It beautifully portrays a father's love for his son. It is the only ep of Trek that has ever brought tears to my eyes (and my wife's). It is successful on a number of different levels: the plot, the superb acting, the view of how the DS9 charcters will turn out in future (very like "All good things...").
  
  Having said that it does not stand up so well to repeated viewings and the view of the future was superceeded by later events.
  
  Still a great one though.
  
  
• From RichD on 2006-06-02 at 9:16pm:
  I just saw this episode recently. I had not seen it in many years. I'd forgotten how incredibly moving and touching it is. I am a full grown man. I do not cry often watching a tv show or a movie. Maybe ET when I was a boy. This episode gets me every time. Perhaps it reminds me a lot of my relationship with my father. The thing that struck me with this most recent viewing, was Cirroc Lofton's acting. It's like a .150 hitter coming up with the game winning hit in the World Series. Superb. Where did that come from? If he'd only been half as good, the episode would have suffered. This is an episode you can watch and show to someone who doesn't even follow the Star Trek. It's that good.
• From Pete Miller on 2006-06-25 at 2:06am:
  You know, as I was watching this I thought "I can't wait to see how low a rating eric gave this reset button episode". When I came to find out that you gave it a TEN my mind was blown. I am sorry, I usually agree with all your ratings but I found this episode to be filler, doubtlessly the producers recovering from the expensive "Way of the Warrior". I couldn't focus on the episode because the whole time I knew that this couldn't possibly be. I knew that DS9 didn't just end with an old man jake kicking the bucket and the Klingons owning deep space nine. Now if I went back and watched it again, maybe I'd enjoy it more. I did like seeing Nog as a CAPTAIN.
  
  Bottom line, I disliked it. I thought it wasn't nearly as profound as it was trying to be, and I think that TNG "The Inner Light" is a much better executed version of a similar premise. I recognize that I am in the minority, so I won't mess up the fan votes by submitting mine. I, however, would give this one a 3. I didn't care for it at all.
• From Alex von Treifeldt on 2008-07-07 at 8:25am:
  An absolute cracker! I only saw it 7 July 2008. Your last sentence sums it up perfectly! The series really came alive for me today! I just didn't know what hit me...
• From djb on 2009-11-08 at 6:48am:
  The concept of a "reset button" episode is not, in itself, bad. Some of the best TNG episodes had that going, to some degree (The Inner Light, Tapestry, Yesterday's Enterprise, and All Good Things come to mind). It's all in the execution. This episode executed the reset button quite well. In fact, you could even say that aspect strengthens this episode, in a way.
  
  For one, it's obvious from the very start. As soon as we find out that the old man is Jake, it's clear that this is not a typical episode. Then when he refers to his father's death, since we know Sisko doesn't die, it has to be some kind of alternate-reality-type episode.
  
  One way it which this aspect is a strength is the way it implies how things would have turned out if Sisko weren't around; in other words, Sisko is instrumental in the events that happen over the next 4 seasons. This is clear, but the episode highlights that. Plus, as someone else pointed out, Sisko is left with the memory.
  
  I always appreciate these small excursions from the normal sci-fi Trek. It reminds us that this show (series of shows) is about the human journey as well.
• From L on 2013-05-28 at 8:29am:
  Jake and Sisko's relationship has always been portrayed so wonderfully, an openly affectionate father-son dynamic is rarely seen in popular culture or sadly even real-life. This was beautiful and moving.
  My only concern - does losing his father and his consequent bumming around make Jake a great writer, or will he still be one with the timeline 'fixed'?
• From meinerHeld on 2013-06-03 at 2:57am:
  Too bad that the poignant exchanges between Jake and Melanie are rendered meaningless. Nonetheless, just the chance to see a sagely Jake in an exquisitely homey setting, dispensing wisdom unto the youngun, was beautiful.
• From Dstyle on 2013-10-24 at 7:44pm:
  You know how sports teams sometimes wear retro throwback jerseys in certain games? It must have been throwback uniform day on Commander Nog's ship, because there's no way that TNG era uniform was still in use!
• From Zorak on 2016-05-17 at 8:53pm:
  As good as the acting was by the regular cast all around, I think it was Tony Todd who really made this episode what it was.
• From Coihue on 2018-10-02 at 4:37pm:
  Made me cry. Every-time-they-get-together.
  This was even better than The Inner Light.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Bronn on 2013-07-10 at 10:23pm:
  I can understand that Worf's black and white morality makes it difficult for him to know what to do with Quark. But any time there's a plot based upon a misunderstanding because of a lack of communication, it's a hackneyed plot. Odo says that he's not in the habit of talking about his long term undercover work-that's fine, but since Worf is ALREADY snooping around in the investigation, it's probably better to limit the damage. He mentioned that Worf's surveillance was useful in keeping up appearances...but if that was the case, he could have just told Worf the plan and asked him to cooperate, and it would have worked out fine.
  
  There's also a whole contingent of Starfleet security on the station at this point that nobody seems to have remembered. That doesn't really bother me, it's the culmination of events surrounding Worf. It's stupid that Odo's investigation fails not because Worf won't leave it alone, but because Odo refused to tell Worf what he was doing despite having plenty of golden opportunities to do so. And somehow Worf comes out looking like the idiot here.
  
  The A-plot for this episode, however, is awesome. There's conflict between Bashir and O'Brien, the tension of a young idealistic officer and a veteran non-commissioned officer. It's a complicated issue, and O'Brien raises a few valid concerns: What if freeing the Jem'Hadar dependency turns them into renegades? What if the Founders decide this interference is an act of war by the Federation? It's really a huge decision for a Lieutenant to take full responsibility for, even if his motives are completely pure. If only they'd sacrificed the stupid B-plot, they could have focused even more on this part of the episode.
• From peterwolf on 2013-11-23 at 10:26pm:
  Regarding the problems with "Goran'Agar doesn't eat, doesn't drink, ...": Goran'Agar explains to Bashir that he came back to the planet in order to cure his men like himself from the Ketracel White addiction. He thought the environment contained some healing factor. Roughly around minute 15 in the episode he clearly states "we breath the same air, eat the same food". Thus, the Jem Hadar do eat, although it is not mentioned whether Goran'Agar might have started eating after he stopped taking the drug. But then his body seems to produce always small amounts of the drug, as Bashir finds out. Also, it would be very unlikely to get all the energy the Jem'Hadar need from small doses of a drug.
• From Martin on 2016-03-10 at 10:30am:
  I understand Odo could've told Wolf about his long term plan, that could've saved them all the trouble. Still, there is a chain of command and Odo's the chief of security in that station. Worf was out of line to interfere with the investigation without explicitly telling Odo. Lesson lerned, we hope.
  About the other part of this episode, being this episode about black and white moral standars, i honestly think O'brian's a stupid man. After all those years looking up to Picard and another few years learing to change his beliefs about cardassians and other ethics related issues, he shoud NOT have decided to see the matter in a black and white manner. Bashir could see beyond his own experiences with the Jem'Hadar and that the matter was a big plain grey. They were dealing with a group of people trying to break free from slavery, trying to be free. Isn't that a top priority for the federation? To help people in such meaningful manners? What about TNG "I, Hugh"? They understood that Hugh was becoming an individual with his own rights to be, and chose to help him instead of taking the oportunity to cripple the Borg right there, taking his life. O'brian was right there, wasn't he? Shouldn't he have learnt the lesson? Damn him! Damn him i say!
• From Mike on 2016-10-31 at 9:49pm:
  Yes, this was definitely an episode that deserved a sequel of some sort where we find out something more about Goran'Agar's fate. The premise of the episode was too interesting to simply leave alone. Other episodes dealt with the Ketracel White addiction, but not in an interesting way like this one.
  
  Re: Martin, O'Brien makes it clear that the reason he opposes what Bashir is doing is because there's no way to predict what the Jem'Hadar will do once free of the White. Bashir is doing what we'd expect a Federation doctor to do, but O'Brien makes a good counter-point; they could indeed turn into a destructive, uncontrollable force that kills at will. Using the Hugh example, the next time we saw Hugh in TNG: Descent, he explained the confusion and chaos that resulted when those Borg were free of the collective.
  
  That's what makes all these episodes great, IMO. The Federation values of freeing sentient beings from things like the Borg collective or the Dominion are portrayed as the right path, but not an easy one and with plenty of opposing views and unforeseen consequences.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-05-13 at 2:33pm:
  When Dukat is about to kill his daughter, at the end of the cave, look carefully at the right side of the screen. Something appears to crawl down the camera lens and then crawl back up. It may be a drop of water, but that does not explain how it changes direction. It is probably a spider.
  
• From John on 2011-01-11 at 7:28am:
  Another Kira episode. It plays out like this:
  
  Kira hates Cardassians and won't shut up about it. Gul Dukat shows up. Kira is outraged. Dukat is arrogant. Kira gets defensive and self-righteous -- this goes on for about 20 minutes, as usual. Kira puts her foot in her mouth and finally shuts up for a little while. Dukat shocks everybody (except the audience) by proving once again that he's even more evil than they thought he was, but not quite super-evil (yet). Kira witnesses all of this but doesn't learn anything (as usual). The end.
• From Rob UK on 2014-03-03 at 9:36pm:
  I was just watching this episode and just after Dukat sits on the thorn all is not right, i edited out the scene and uploaded it, check this out
  
  Good bit of humour i thought
  
  http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ehovn_major-kira-anal-fisting-gul-dukat_fun
  
  No copyright infringement intended purely for fandom and entertainment purposes only ;) Thanks for sharing that little snippet of sanity Kethinov

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From rpeh on 2010-07-30 at 6:12pm:
  The overreaction to this episode speaks volumes about Trek fandom. It's okay for Kirk, Riker et al to snog their way around the galaxy, but show one brief kiss between two women - who *first* became attracted when they were different genders - and the whole world collapses.
  
  It's true that the episode isn't particularly interesting, but judge it on its own merits, not on prejudice.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-11-02 at 1:06am:
  The other joined trill in the romantic relationship with Jadsia was Dr. Lenara Kahn. This character was played by Susanna Thompson who played the Borg Queen in four Voyager episodes: Voy: Unimatrix Zero Parts 1 and 2, and Voy: Dark Frontier Parts 1 and 2. Interestingly, she did not play the Borg Queen in ST: First Contact, the only other Star Trek title that includes the Borg Queen. In First Contact, the Borg Queen was played by Alice Krige. Personally, I thought that Susanna Thompson did a better job.
  
  I agree with the comment that this episode does not deserve to be rated as low as a 2. There was some pretty good stuff here. Certainly, Jadsia's heroics were entertaining. There was some decent acting. The onscreen kiss was provocative and actually kind of hot.
  
  But our reviewer is correct that this is not up to the best that DS9 can offer. The main issue was that is was rather slow. I got tired of seeing the two joined trills incessantly doing their thing. They were so boring! I actually related to Bashir in Quarks when he got so bored.
  
  Certainly, it is nowhere near other episodes in season 4 such as DS9: The Visitor (which I would say is the best single Star Trek episode ever). Or even DS9: Hippocratic Oath which was also completely terrific.
  
  I gave it a 4 personally.
• From Psycroptic on 2012-03-28 at 7:48pm:
  The kiss? Disturbing? Definitely not the word I'd use for it.
  
  All in all a pretty dull episode though.
• From hugo on 2012-04-05 at 7:38am:
  I found this a decent episode. Good acting from dr Khan and good chemistry with her and Jadzia.
  
  But - why couldn't they just beam her out from engineering... ?
• From Azalea Jane on 2021-12-24 at 9:11pm:
  The reason I love this episode is not as much because we get Trek's first same-gender kiss, but more because literally nobody in the entire episode brings up their genders as a Thing. The taboo in-show is reassociation. As a lesbian, I love seeing a sapphic love story where it's treated just like any straight love story. This ep could have been basically the same if Lenara or Dax were a man. And that's pretty much the goal of LGBTQ+ activism: that normal variations in human(oid) sexuality and gender identity are treated as that: normal. Kind of how some people are left-handed or hate cilantro. It's just one of many value-neutral facts about them.
  
  And honestly, the scenes between Jadzia and Lenara were wonderful for me. Their kiss was amazing to watch. The actors nailed it, IMO. I totally don't blame anyone else if they're not excited about it, but for me, even in 2021, seeing a WLW love story where their gayness is treated as 100% normal in-universe is still quite refreshing. Also, this episode establishes Jadzia as canonically not-straight. Take that, Rick Berman! :D Note: Roddenberry wanted a gay character on TNG, but Berman blocked it until Gene's death. Berman continued to block gay characters throughout the rest of the series he produced, so the writers and cast had to sneak it in. Garak and Bashir, for example, are _definitely_ gay (or bi, as the case may be) for each other, the actors intended it that way, but they couldn't state it outright.
  
  I tend to agree that the in-universe taboo against reassociation is absurd, but I think that may be part of the point. The real-world taboo is homosexuality, which WILL get you exiled or killed in certain parts of the world, including here in the US. (The number of homeless LGBT teens kicked out by their bigoted parents is utterly sickening. And those are the ones that don't die by suicide. Lawmakers are trying to pass anti-trans bills as I type.) Sisko rightly points out that, regardless of the morality of the situation, there will be a cost to Jadzia being in the relationship she wants. And for many gay people, that is all too often intimately, depressingly true. I can't blame Jadzia for being willing to face the cost. And I can't blame Lenara for being unwilling, either. When faced with severe, irrational societal pressures against us being true to ourselves, we cope how we cope.
  
  My little quibble here is not with this episode, per se, but it's this tendency for Dax to make these rather impulsive decisions around romance. This might not have bothered me if Meridian had never aired -- where Dax is ready to throw everything away to go join Brigadoon In Space -- but here her willingness to face exile and the deaths of two symbionts is less convincing because of that episode. I tend to agree with Lenara on this. Jadzia loves hard, and she WILL love again. Surely Lenara will too. I did appreciate the explanation for Jadzia's impulsivity, though: Curzon. This is especially insightful given us just having seen "Facets" and getting to know Curzon (albeit fused with Odo) in the flesh. Of all the characters we barely see, Curzon is one of the most interesting. I enjoyed the scene where Sisko speaks his mind but then says he'll be loyal to Jadzia whatever she ends up doing.
  
  I also wondered about the transporter thing. They could have easily waved it off with a bit of technobabble like "there's a subspace field that would scatter a transporter signal" or something. The transporter only works when it serves the plot!
  
  Side note: I said "I can't tell if Worf is messing with us" right before Kira said the same thing! ????

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Freddie Katz on 2015-03-10 at 8:41am:
  Not only a rehash of other Voyager episodes, but a a rehash of what has now become a running Start Trek joke; the chief medical officer ordering the captain to take a vacation due to overwork and high stress levels. We had "Shore Leave" on TOS, and "Captain's Holiday" on TNG...I believe that Deep Space 9 was spared.
• From Damien Bradley on 2017-01-06 at 8:48pm:
  At first I was going to complain that it all came down to some mysterious alien trolling the crew for funsies. What? But then I remembered that that's pretty much all Q does in TNG. :)
  
  I do like how Kes' character is being developed. She has powers not shared by the others, and in this episode she was forced to rise up and save the day. I like how, while at first, she was just kind of the "emotional relief" of the ship -- the warm, caring (not to mention attractive) person anyone can talk to, clearly she isn't just that, and she's becoming much more. Again I'm curious if other Ocampa share her telepathic abilities, or if she's exceptional in some way. This is the farthest I've gotten in Voyager so far, so no spoilers please!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-08-02 at 6:36pm:
  Janeaway is a fucking idiot for wanting to land the ship. Let's see, how many times did the enterprise land? Oh! 1 time, when it was destroyed. She's already going for a second attempt in one season. It was completely unneccesary and a complete lack of judgement on her part. Putting the ENTIRE crew at risk to maybe land and help Chakotay. Why didn't they just replicate another shuttlecraft ;) They did it so many times in the series, seeing as they started out with 2.
  
  But yeah, Janeaway is a stupid dumbass. I put the ship landing thing in the same category as Sisko using the Defiant every time he wanted to leave the station. Completely unneccesary.
• From Remco on 2009-01-14 at 11:33pm:
  When Kes was pissed at the Doctor and said she wished that the he could feel pain for once, I said to myself: "well, he has, in Projections". It's a waste that he didn't mention this. It was only 6 episodes (weeks?) ago.
• From Penguinphysics on 2013-01-17 at 5:46am:
  I realize that this is a really small nitpick, but the use of the word DAMPENERS is not correct. When the inertial momentum of the vessel is compensated for, this is DAMPING, which is an absorption of energy (usually in relation to oscillations). A DAMPENER would be something like a shower or hose. A seriously insignificant nit to pick but since the technical advisors work so hard on other things it would seem that they could keep this consistent.
• From Inga on 2013-07-30 at 9:54am:
  Pete Miller - Voyager is a new kind of ship, maybe it's easier and safer to land it, so the decision is not necessarily stupid.
• From Azalea Jane on 2024-01-25 at 8:53pm:
  Yeah, this ep was... kind of WTF. It's especially cringe if you know about how the supposedly Native American consultant they had for Voyager was a phony. But cultural insensitivity aside, it's kind of astonishing to imagine that a bunch of extremely Earth-specific things would be localized to this tiny region of the other side of the galaxy. Well... maybe not "a bunch", but between this and "The 37s", it's really pushing, even for Star Trek.
  
  One little detail I liked was how without his communicator, Chakotay couldn't understand the aliens until they gave him their own UT. Kes adding a couple hours to the Doctor's illness program was fantastic. I love Kes.
  
  This show has a lot of potential, and a lot of great moments so far, but it so badly wants to be TNG that it isn't finding an identity of its own.
  
  Voyager is designed with landing capability, so the previous commenter's complaints about it landing are invalid. (What IS a valid complaint is how imbalanced it looks when it's on the ground, like it's about to tip over.)