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 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 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 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 rpeh on 2010-07-30 at 8:12pm:
  I *want* to hate this episode but I can't. It's a totally pointless James Bond parody, but it's done so well that you have to love it.
  
  There are so many references to real Bond movies you can't count them all: the basic plot is Moonraker; the gem identification scene is a rework of the fish identification scene from The Spy Who Loved Me; Doctor Noah -> Doctor No; the music could come from almost any 60's or 70's film; "You should have killed me while you had the chance"... and so on.
  
  This could have been such a dreadful failure that I cringed when I realised what was going on, but as it played out I got more and more engrossed. It's a perfect melding of Trek and Bond, and the actors get into their roles so well, and I'm such a fan of both series... that it gets a 9.
• From Mike on 2011-06-06 at 7:53am:
  If it takes the entire station memory to store the neural patterns of the crew, how did Scotty manage to keep his pattern in electronic stasis for 50 years?
• From Hugo on 2012-04-18 at 7:32pm:
  Loved it! What a great show, especially Kira, Sisko and O'Brien - and Bashir of course. Garak is one of my fave characters, but he was mostly whining in this episode. Interesting that Eddington (what a dull character...) got to play a bigger role this time.
• From L on 2013-05-24 at 8:28am:
  The emergency scenario was just an excuse for them to have some fun, and it was.
  Being they were in a scenario based on Bond-logic, Bashir and Garak were never in any real danger as Bond's ability to get out of certain-death scenarios would be part of the program, but it's fitting that Garak was overly-concerned about coming to harm, as never having seen any Bond films he wouldn't know this.
  It was funny the way they had to outwit the cliches to keep everyone alive, especially to ensure Kira and Dax would both survive - one of the two women always dies and he ends up with the other one, but it's never certain which.
  Sisko's normal over-stated acting style made him perfect to play the villain.
  Love Rom's patchwork fixes for the holosuite.
  "Where's the core memory interface?"
  "It's... right behind the spatula."

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From RichD on 2006-06-13 at 11:41pm:
  Fantastic episode. The Klingon advocate was incredible. He very nearly won the case. The way the plot unfolded was quite extraoridinary. I would have never guessed that the Klingons were trying to lure the Federation into giving up Worf while at the same time, keep them from escorting medical convoys. The plan was very romulanesque. I guess that's my only knock. It was unbecoming of the Klingons to behanve in this manner. Being underhanded. We learn later however, the Klingons were not acting on their own valition. The Quark scene was great. That guy kills me. Finally, I just love the way Sisko both lectured and scolded Work while patting him on the shoulder all at once. The mark of a great leader. Something my ol' high school basketball coach use to do. Tear us down, and build us up. I enjoyed this episode.
• From Dave on 2009-05-14 at 9:11am:
  I also love the Klingon lawyer - the actor's guest starred in a few episodes (TNG and Voyager if memory serves). Fine tradition of aggressive Klingon lawyering in Trek - always good to see. And at least Worf wasn't threatened with a spell on Rura Pente :-)
  One thing - why would Chief O'Brien say he would have taken command if Worf had been injured in the battle. Surely Major Kira would have been the ranking officer?
  
• From onlinebroker on 2009-11-05 at 6:40pm:
  I don't like this episode at all and gave it a 2. First of all I find the whole premise doesn't make alot of sense, why would klingons complain about bloodshed, why did the advocate call Worf a coward for killing people, and in the same sentence call the guy who exterminated a whole city a hero.
  Then Sisko was unbearable in this episode. He talks as if this was some sort of poetry contest, makes me really miss Picard.
• From rpeh on 2010-07-31 at 1:45pm:
  A brilliant episode; gripping and suspenseful. The Klingon advocate in particular was superb - I loved the bit when he told Sisko he would defend Worf himself in any subsequent trial.
  
  Just one problem. He asks Worf "Did you weep...", but we know from The Undiscovered Country that Klingons have no tear ducts. It seems unlikely that the advocate would use a human expression in this situation.
• From Bronn on 2011-11-13 at 5:59pm:
  "Klingon history honors conquerors who murder civilians, yet it is illegal for Worf to murder them now? What's the bloody difference? Well, Klingons are very... odd."
  
  That's hardly hypocrisy at all. Think about all the reverence we today might hold for Alexander the Great. Or better yet, Julius Caesar. Caesar's conquest of Gaul involved the burning of hundreds of villages, killing perhaps hundreds of thousdands. In his most famous battle, he refused to allow starving civilians-women, children-to be evacuated from Alesia because he wanted to stretch the Gaul's food supply. He is certainly revered, still today.
  
  "Ah," you might say, "but we don't pretend to be him, running around and killing women." If you think of Holodeck programs, though, as just an evolution in video gaming technology...Worf was just playing "Klingons: Total War." There's plenty of people who enjoy games like Grand Theft Auto who still believe in the wrongness of senseless violence.
• From Martin on 2014-04-03 at 4:15am:
  Good episode.
  One problem though...why does sisko have only 3 dots in his uniform during the trial?
• From AW on 2015-12-17 at 5:57am:
  This is one of the only times I have seen a deus ex machina ending done in a way that was satisfying and didn't come off as a cop out.
  
  I guess it really wasn't a deus ex machina because now that I think about it that awkward bit of dialog (right before the brilliant "the truth must be won" line) where the advocate reveals an ulterior motive makes sense. However, I doubt the advocate would have revealed that bit of information. Unless he didn't know about the ruse. Yeah that is more like it. In fact that explains why he would contradict himself as other commenters pointed out. The Klingon were using an uncharacteristic (non-battle) strategy to accomplish 2 the two different goals.
  
  Excellent complex episode. Best so far in my opinion.
  
  [Ha, I just realized I wrote that comment like I was having a conversation with myself]
• From Armsauce on 2018-07-13 at 1:58am:
  Some great acting from Avery Brooks in this one as well, especially at the end with Worf.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-10-05 at 10:48pm:
  I had to look up who directed this episode. LeVar Burton! Impressive work. Loved the cuts between the courtroom and the scenes presented by the witnesses.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From MJ on 2011-02-05 at 10:09pm:
  The first time I watched this episode, I realized that TNG hadn't really used the acting talents of Colm Meaney to their full capacity. We got glimpses in TNG: Power Play, but in DS9, O'Brien's character really shows some dimension. He moves beyond the down-and-dirty, blue-collar Irish engineer, and this episode is a big part of that development.
  
  It was an interesting concept for an episode, and it improves with repeated viewing as you can fully absorb the significance of O'Brien's behavior with regard to his Argrathi cellmate. Speaking of the Argrathi, this is one of a couple episodes (see DS9: Whispers) where O'Brien encounters an alien race whose relationship with the Federation isn't entirely clear, but which nonetheless decides to screw with him psychologically and get away with doing so. It's hard for me to believe the Federation's complacent reaction to one of their Starfleet officers being arrested, charged, and essentially tortured (certainly by Federation standards) and do nothing about it. Maybe the protesting is off camera. But while the episode's focus is on O'Brien, this is an inconsistency that takes the episode down just a peg in terms of believability.
  
  The punishment these Argrathi inflict on their prisoners is especially harsh when you consider, as the webmaster's review does, that your family and friends will have barely noticed you're gone. I think that's the point: it's as if they want you to be psychologically scarred and unable to act normal while everyone else acts like it's just been a few hours. Your erratic behavior will then startle your loved ones so much that they will, in theory, restrain you from committing a crime again. Obviously, it doesn't always pan out that way, since we know about how institutionalization takes its toll.
  
  Yet another example of how Star Trek gets you to think about things without being preachy and encouraging you to endorse a particular value. Well done!
• From L on 2013-05-27 at 8:52am:
  A great concept, and a really good character piece.
  
  But once again the Federation lets an alien race seriously abuse, torture and violate one of their members, for just asking questions, and seem to do nothing about it.
  This treatment was an outrage and if they were ever in the federation they should be kicked out. I was thirsting for revenge or at least a shaming speech, Picard style, but no.
  This is politically correct cultural relativity gone too far. This should not be tolerated.
  
  But this was a 'real' science fiction concept, and well done.
• From AW on 2015-12-17 at 6:52am:
  You guys realize that this is a TV show where writers come up with concepts that don't always jive with overall plot. This was a great idea and I thought it was executed well and for that willing to believe that the Federation handled this situation well off camera.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Chris Wright on 2011-11-29 at 3:46am:
  I liked this episode a lot, but it would have been nice if mirror universe Worf had confronted Sisko face to face. I also see this episode showing us how incredibly powerful the Defiant is. If the Federation can make one it can makes thousands and never worry about the Klingons or the Dominion. Loved the Bashir-as-Han Solo-you're all clear kid-moment.
• From L on 2013-05-27 at 10:21am:
  I missed the episode that set all this up due to a scratched library dvd. So in the alternate universe everyone's a jerk and inappropriately sexual? Got it.
• From McCoy on 2017-01-21 at 12:32pm:
  Well, that was a horrible episode. I really like DS9 more than other series (exept TOS - this one is my fav), but all the mirror episodes are just bad. However I like one moment in this episode - Worf: "Make it so!".
• From Armsauce on 2018-07-15 at 7:05pm:
  Mirror Nog is great

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Harrison on 2013-02-18 at 2:51am:
  This fine episode boasts what is probably the signature performance by Andrew J. Robinson, as Garak.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2009-06-09 at 6:54pm:
  Good episode. I don't have much of a comment except to say that O'brien makes one ugly Klingon.
  
• From Jaap on 2010-09-21 at 7:27pm:
  There is a problem: how come Gowron and a lot of other Klingons did not recognise Worf?
• From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-05 at 5:35pm:
  So if Odo is a solid now, does that mean a Changling can harm and kill him? I guess it does because Odo would have killed had the Changling attacking him not been killed. If Odo isn't considered a Changling anymore then why did the fake general hold him back and let the others in the room (other than it being a plot device)?
  Overall, a great episode, and I love the new Dukat with his Bird of Prey. The consistency of writing in the characters so far has been amazing, considering all the different writers and directors. By the way, I am just now, in late 2011, seeing DS9 for the first time via Netflix.
• From Selador on 2013-04-24 at 8:10pm:
  This is not a good episode - it's full of problems, is completely unrealistic and the actual story is lame. One problem was that the Klingons didn't seem to notice that the DS9 crew didn't speak Klingon (except for Worf but he didn't say much). I undertand that the Universal Translator would translate their English into Klingon but doesn't answer the problem for two reason: 1. They would still know that they're speaking a different language because of mouth shapes ect. 2. They actually say some Klingon words... then switch to English.
  
  Another problem was how easy the crew got into the Kingon base. If their intelligence and epionage skills are that good then how did they not know of the Klingon plot to attack Romulus and the countless other things that they don't know?
  
  Also the whole Odo being down thing is getting really old. It's about the fifth time he's told Sisko that he's not up to the job for various reasons.
  
  A really annoying episode and it didn't even include Major Kira.
• From L on 2013-07-25 at 11:24am:
  The exposition in the opening scene was really forced and obvious.
  But when this happened,
  - "Tough assignment. Who are they sending?"
  - "Me."
  all was forgiven.
  
  They really over-did Jake's teeth.
  Must have been an in-joke among the crew or something.
  
  
  
• From L on 2013-07-25 at 12:03pm:
  (whoops, wrong Sisko. *Benjamin's* teeth.)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From MJ on 2011-02-19 at 7:33pm:
  Overall, a great episode.
  
  I was a bit bothered that Odo could simply take Quark into custody and bring him to a Grand Jury without telling him why. It seems the Federation justice system would require that; however, given the fact that it involves the Orion syndicate, the secrecy may have been necessary (although, as it turns out, unsuccessful).
  
  The first time I saw this one, the subplot involving Jake and Nog was uninteresting, but after seeing the whole series and the many turns their friendship takes, this was actually a very nice addition. Jake and Nog are interesting characters as it is. Jake, one of the few Human characters in Star Trek not to be in Starfleet, and Nog, the first Ferengi to do so, make for a fun pair. I enjoy the Huckleberry Finn/Tom Sawyer nature of their friendship.
  
  But this is obviously about Odo and Quark, and it doesn't disappoint. I really love when DS9 stretches Quark's character a bit. So often he provides comic relief, but in episodes like this (and Siege of AAR-558) his more serious nature kicks in, and it's very nicely written and acted.
  
  And (spoiler alert), this episode is further proof in my mind that the writers completely fumbled the parting between Odo and Quark in the finale.
• From Krs321 on 2011-07-14 at 4:20pm:
  I just watched this last night and I'm about 90% sure Quark asks Odo if he wants to play "Fisbin", Kirk's fictional card came from "A Piece of the Action".

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From christopher wright on 2011-12-10 at 5:48am:
  Did anyone else find Silaran similar to Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs? I half expected him to say, "It places the lotion in the basket."
• From Selador on 2013-06-03 at 2:10pm:
  As usual, we disagree...
  
  I kept wishing throughout the episode that Major Kira was played by a different actress. Nina Visitor is incredibly annoying. A very average episode as well, and the 'evil' Cardiassian character was such a cliche. If only he'd succeded though...

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Pete Miller on 2006-07-09 at 3:55am:
  Weyoun is a very entertaining character. I enjoyed his scenes immensely. However, Kira's emotional problems really brought this episode down. Reminded me of those Troi suffering episodes on TNG. After awhile it's like "We get that you are fucked up about your daddy's death. Get OVER it and stop being a bitch." The Legate was only a foot soldier on that battle and she acts like he was the mastermind behind it. I absolutely can't stand her when her Bajoran bitchiness kicks in and she starts whining.
• From rpeh on 2010-08-02 at 12:01am:
  I cannot believe this terrible, boring, overblown and over-sentimental pile of rubbish gained a 7 here.
  
  It's not interesting in any way. The plot is obvious within a few minutes and the acting is absolutely bloody awful. This episode is the only one where I used the DVD controls to skip ahead to see if there was something more interesting about to happen. I didn't even do that with TOS The Empath!
• From John on 2011-09-23 at 3:38am:
  I have to agree with the other commenters, this episode deserves well below a 7. For me it's 2, 2.5 tops, and both of those points are for Weyoun.
• From Selador on 2013-06-18 at 12:32am:
  I agree with the other comments. Kira is awful, Weyoun is brilliant. It's also completely unrealistic that Gul Dukat and Weyoun would be allowed to freely roam DS9 - the Federation and the Dominion are in a state of war for god's sake. Very dull episode on the whole. It was worth watching solely for the scene in Quark's bar where Weyoun drinks the poison. Classic.
• From Tarondor on 2018-09-06 at 11:21pm:
  I found it to be very moving and understood Kira’s ambivalence well. It was more to do with how she failed her father than anything Ghemore had done. And her anguish at how Ghemore struggled in death rang very true to me. Icon ur with the 7 rating.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-20 at 1:54pm:
  I think the complaints about Kira "overreacting" to Ghemor's participation in that attack are unfounded, and I'm frankly not sure if we watched the same episode.
  
  Just as Kira looked for an excuse to leave her own father's deathbed, she wanted to get away from Ghemor's. Dukat gave her a reason, and she hates that it was *him* that did what she wanted. It's her guilt that is eating her, guilt over her lack of presence at her father's death and the guilt she knows she will feel if she avoids Ghemor's. In the end, she makes the right decision and is able to take some peace from it, burying Ghemor next to her own father on a hill that was once barren but is now verdant.
  
  This episode speaks to any child who has lost a parent or a parental figure. Those questions of "did I do enough?" never go away. Fantastic entry.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From hugo on 2012-10-09 at 3:15pm:
  One could see what would happen to Eddington from miles away: predictable! One gripe I have with that character is that he spent all that time undercover, being just a boring quiet person. Now he is an adventurous romantic that loves to hear his own voice, and he is also the Maquis leader...
• From Gul Ranek on 2013-01-08 at 4:22pm:
  I agree, Eddington was very underused and not developed in a decent way.I guess the writers must have had some basic ideas about the character when they introduced him in the third season, but never got around to implement them and decided to get rid of him by making him a member of the Maquis.
  An example of this is his conflict with Odo about who would be taking care of station security - they made a big deal of it, but Eddington barely appeared in subsequent episodes.
• From Bronn on 2013-07-18 at 2:48am:
  I loved the scenes involving Sisko bantering with Eddington. That was the main fun of this episode for me-Eddington was boring as a security officer, but he's really charming as a renegade leader. I loved the way he was portrayed in this, and in his previous appearance. Agreed, he was underused, but that was not really a problem with this episode, which was extremely enjoyable.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-20 at 11:07pm:
  Fantastic sendoff for Eddington. Ken Marshall did an especially great job in these last three appearances as the character (For the Cause, For the Uniform, and then Blaze of Glory). Really a good foil to Sisko. Both are decidedly "good" and are willing to do what it takes to see their goals carried out.
  
  Additionally, a great payoff for the Maquis subplot that's been going on since TNG and obviously was heavily present in Voyager. Wish more could have been done with it on *that* show but as far as DS9 goes... no complaints.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From MJ on 2011-01-23 at 10:09pm:
  Not a bad episode. For the first time, we get a glimpse of the truly arrogant nature of the Changelings and their apparent lack of concern for the ruinous policies of their Dominion. They simply don't want to be bothered by the solids, and so they are content to dwell in their ocean community and allow genetically engineered soldiers and brainwashed diplomats wreak havoc on the rest of the galaxy, intervening only to ensure their overall plans succeed. They clearly consider themselves a superior life form, and in the Great Link, all the troubles of the galaxy are trivial. It might be easier for the viewer to understand the Changelings if we had some more background on this "persecution" they once experienced at the hands of solids. But for now, they seem even worse than the Borg. At least the Borg were consistent: their collective nature and desire to assimilate explained their indifference to the suffering they caused. Changeling indifference is a bit harder to grasp because it's all so intangible, a big mystery that one could only understand if one is in the Great Link.
  
  Anyway, a good "continuity" episode, continuing to show life on the station and with the Defiant and Federation. This is certainly not the episode you want to watch if you're checking out DS9 for the first time, or else nothing will make sense.
  
  I will say this for the writers of DS9: they incorporate humor, wit, and sharp comedy into their scripts better than any other series of Trek. One-liners like the one O'Brien gave to Nog about nobody being left to call him captain are typical of this series. Then you have characters like Quark and Garak, whose sole purpose at times seems to be to deliver comic relief in tense situations. It's a hallmark of DS9, and it's one I thoroughly enjoy. This series probably has the best "quotations" list of any.
• From L on 2013-08-04 at 6:07am:
  Damn Odo, you'll have to do something pretty big to redeem yourself from this massive lapse in reliability, now that you're a Great Link junkie.
  Slap him Kira. Slap him hard.
• From AW on 2015-12-29 at 6:14am:
  Not showing the mission is good character development. Overall this show has always been presented from Sisko's perspective. Star Trek has almost exclusively presented envy themes in hokey, usually filler, episodes. Conflict between members of Star Fleet rarely surfaces in such a naturally personal level.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Remco on 2009-06-26 at 8:24pm:
  I liked how Dukat's rationalizations in this episode echoed some of the Iraq war rationalizations. As the western world was going to bring a superior but bloody democracy to Iraq, Dukat was going to give Cardassian superiority to the Bajorans.
  
  The Iraqis, like the Bajorans, did not quite accept that superiority.
  
  Of course, then Dukat pulls a Hitler, and starts terrorizing the population, which is where the comparison ends.
• From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-21 at 1:04am:
  Musically speaking a waltz has three beats per measure which lines up with the three voices in Dukat's head. Sisko's arm cast thingy reminded me of C-3PO. Brilliant performances by both main actors in this one.
• From Zorak on 2016-06-23 at 3:04am:
  I have to agree. That was a fantastic performance by the actor who plays Dukat. I think he might be my favorite Star Trek villain in the entire franchise.
• From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-27 at 9:13pm:
  Dukat is the anti-Sisko, this episode is a phenomenal insight into the post-Ziyal Dukat... but he shows that there has always been shades of his depravity from the very beginning. Fantastic acting, fantastic character. Easiest 10 I have given.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From MJ on 2011-02-02 at 4:59pm:
  This episode is one of the things that sets DS9, and Star Trek in general, apart from other TV series. The powerful social message and creativity of this episode is so rarely seen on TV these days. This episode also convinced me that Star Trek has found some of the most talented actors in the business. In this case, Avery Brooks!
  
  His mental breakdown as Benny Russell is breathtaking in its intensity. Had I been on the stage during the filming of that scene, I probably would've neglected my job because of being drawn into his performance. Sometimes Brooks overdoes the emotion just a tad, but in this episode it was stunningly real. It reminded me of "The Ship" when he contemplates his dead comrades at the end.
  
  The concept of the episode is well executed. I share the webmaster's dislike for "it was all a dream" episodes. In TNG's "The Inner Light" for example, I couldn't believe how the Kataan aliens could reconcile abducting a person, making him live his entire life in their world having doubted his sanity, only to reawaken him back on his ship to once again doubt his sanity. But in that episode, Patrick Stewart's performance helped overcome this glaring problem. In this episode, the performance of Brooks and all the others does the same. And the ending is a nice twist in the sense that DS9 is sort of getting in touch with its roots. Gene Roddenberry lived in a time of social upheaval, and dreamt of a future where all humanity is united regardless of petty differences. Benny Russell shares that same dream.
  
  This episode reminds us that Star Trek is more than just another TV series. It's a form of social commentary. It forces us to look at ourselves in new ways and keep our imaginations going. This episode is a gem for sure.
• From djb on 2011-04-15 at 8:11am:
  This episode was painful to watch, but very powerful, and still enjoyable. Viewers in the 90s, especially younger ones, can easily take for granted that a popular show could depict a "negro captain." Just 50 years previous, this was unthinkable, and it is good to be intimately reminded of how hard it is to be an oppressed minority. Sisko, a 24th century man in the Trek universe, most likely has no direct experience of racism, and probably doesn't appreciate what his ancestors were up against. The experience probably gave him some good perspective.
  
  It was great to see all the actors without their makeup! It was also a pleasure to see them playing different characters. I'll bet it was refreshing for all of them. I liked how each character had some similarity to their corresponding DS9 character, but was also markedly different. Michael Dorn's character was very different from Worf, but like Worf, was very good at a physical skill and competed in it. Marc Alaimo and Jeffery Combs still played villains, but their villainy was much more overt. Shimmerman's character may have been annoying, like Quark, but he was also very idealistic and principled, very unlike Quark.
  
  A unique and fascinating episode.
• From Jay on 2013-02-26 at 6:36am:
  I had half a mind to stop watching the series after this episode, because after Sisko said, "I'm a human being" I knew the series couldn't possibly get any better. Honestly, maybe the best acted anything I've ever seen. Definitely a performance deserving of an Emmy.
• From L on 2013-08-06 at 7:48am:
  I couldn't work out if the pulp artist was an un made-up regular or not, he looked familiar but I couldn't place him.
  
  The rocket model on the table in the writer's office seems to be inspired by the Tintin on the moon books, which came out in the early 50's.
  
  I loved Jake's character, he played it well. The two cops were really disturbing.
  
  'You are the dreamer, and the dream.'
  Powerful episode.
• From Dstyle on 2013-12-02 at 12:53pm:
  L, the pulp artist was Martok. I admit, I had to check IMDB, but he was so familiar and it was driving me crazy!
• From Zorak on 2016-06-23 at 9:38pm:
  I both like and dislike this episode. On the upside, the acting was great, the sets were well done and it was definitely powerful and expertly written and directed. On the downside, there's just something about them doing an episode like this that just doesn't seem right. Focusing on Sisko being black feels very out of place to me. I can't quite articulate why this felt cheap, but it did. That being said I still really enjoyed the episode.
• From McCoy on 2017-02-26 at 8:37pm:
  11/10 and a winner of my personal Best Trek Episode Ever. It's not only a story about racism. It's a story about how other people and ideology can destroy you (but not your idea). I've experienced something similar in my life, so I'm taking it probably more emotional.
  One more thing - it's not "it was all a dream". It's more meta-level. Similar to Dick's "The Man in the High Castle". A character, who suspect, he's fictional.
  Masterpiece!
• From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2017-09-08 at 7:11pm:
  I was wondering about the pulp artist too, I thought either Garak or Morn. I hadn't thought it could be Martok?! I have to watch it again. Oh, twist my arm :-)
  
  I also liked seeing Michael Dorn without klingon make up. Such a good-looking guy forever covered up with THAT make up! sigh... (he looked even better when he was a few years younger, in TNG: Homeward, where worf was surgically "altered" to look human for a mission. Hah!)
  
  I usually don't like "it was all a dream" episodes either, as a concept. But I agree with the other reviewers that this one had so much going for it, that it really makes up for the cop-out device. Also, it's not absolutely clear that it was JUST a dream. It could be the wormhole aliens sending him visions.... although as I hear myself say it, I don't think that makes it better at all :-(
  
  But really great episode thought provoking in a serious, deeply star-trek way, but also super funny. A solid 8 from me.
• From J B on 2020-11-20 at 6:39am:
  This is a fun episode, but it is just too heavy-handed and over-the-top for me to understand why so many people love it so much.
  
  The main storyline (in Sisko's dream) contains no moral ambiguity, something which regularly adds interest to this series. Instead, it comes off as straightforward and excessively melodramatic. There is no resolution either--it ends abruptly during Benny's breakdown which makes for an unsatisfying, incomplete story. It feels like the director is trying for some emotional impact here, but the whole thing is so overdone that it almost comes across as camp.
  
  The fun part is seeing the whole regular cast in their new roles in the dream.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From packman_jon on 2012-05-15 at 1:57am:
  Watching this episode made me think about how lucky Miles is having him live in the 24th Century versus late 19th or early 20th century. Having him go undercover in a gang/mob/crime syndicate indirectly lets him experience what life might have been like for someone of his heritage - mostly if he would have grown up poor as an Irish-American - would have had to do to make ends meet. Another good DS9 episode!
• From hugo on 2012-12-31 at 11:39pm:
  So is this classified as an "O'Brien must suffer" episode? I liked the setup and the setting, but I felt the ending was a bit dull. And everything was a bit cliche too. I don't think the emotional trust/connection between Bilby and O'Brien came out really in the buildup to the end.
  
  @packmanjohn - don't exaggerate, you make it sound like most poor irish-americans (one of the biggest immigrant groups!) were mobsters...
  
  
• From L on 2013-08-07 at 7:55am:
  A genre episode that didn't quiet work.
  They laid on the male-bonding/betrayal of trust dilemma so thick that it was hard to tell if it was a spoof or a homage to the trope. It was just a bit much.
  The Vorta being so 'evil mobster'-like seemed really out of character for what they were supposedly cloned to be.
  
  The most interesting thing was the remote hacking via implant.
  Still, I like O'Brian episodes.
  
  
• From Dave on 2016-04-18 at 2:28am:
  This episode is basically Donnie Brasco in space. Very strange.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From spock on 2007-01-07 at 11:51am:
  Entertaining, but unnecessary. I don't think we needed an entire episode devoted to showing how evil Kai Winn is. The ghostbusters style showdown was truely the worst piece of writing since "profit and lace"
• From Curtis on 2009-11-29 at 3:53am:
  I thought this one was pretty awful. That "battle" was pure baloney and, again, we didn't need a whole episode to show that Kai Winn was evil. This one just seemed to heavy-handed to me.
• From L on 2013-08-13 at 3:23am:
  This is where my mild dislike of the spiritual/religious theme in DS9 turns to outright contempt and DS9 really loses me. (though I'll finish the last season before starting on Voyager)
  
  Sisko is willing to let his son be killed for the sake of a ridiculous light and dark battle of some sanctimonious and patronising energy aliens (who don't even exist in linear space and time or understand cause and effect, so how would that even work?), because 'it's the will of the prophets'? Screw that.
  
  The willingness to subjugate one's will and self to a mysterious force simply because it's bigger than you has no place in Star Trek or any supposedly enlightened future. How many times has something god-like turned out to just be a fallible energy alien that lives on a different scale to us?
  
  Any sympathy I had for Bajoran culture is gone as all I can see is a superstitious people's brain-washed chanting.
  
  It is true that our tendency to repeatedly fall for this nonsense and find something to worship so as to ease our tiny little frightened minds is the human condition, and so it is perhaps where the traditional idealism of Star Trek really ends and maybe the writers wanted to take it in a more realistic direction. It can be excused on that level if it's being presented as a common tendency of all sentient beings alone in the universe, but it seems to be presented here as a noble quality with all the talk of 'faith' and so on.
  
  I thought at least Dax was the one hold-out with her "They'll always just be 'wormhole aliens' to me" line, but even she prays to them in the last episode.
  
  Maybe the final season exposes and properly condemns this fetishising of the abandonment of rational questioning in the name of 'spirituality' and payment for the granting of favour. I certainly hope so.
• From Alex on 2021-03-18 at 11:31pm:
  The initial conflict of Sisko taking away the stone tablet was so artificial. Why did they need to take it with them at all? Energy readings (of which there was none) could've been examined at first with the tricorder, and since the inscriptions were the focus of attention, couldn't they basically work with a photo? When the need to return it becomes pressing enough, apparently Dax can work just fine with a holographic projection of the tablet. Why not just work with that from the beginning?
  Yeah, he had to shatter it. But he just as well could've beamed down to the cave with a sledgehammer, or something.
  An annoying episode. Sometimes there's slow episodes, silly episodes, or ran-out-of-material episodes. This one is more "characters ignore basic logic and fumble cluelessly for half an hour before something anticlimactic happens". For me it's 4, at most.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Abigail on 2008-12-26 at 3:58am:
  Maybe time travel isn't really supposed to make sense, but I never got a good explanation out of this episode for how the 8-year-old Molly and the 18-year-old Molly could end up in the portal simultaneously. If it was just because the 18-year-old was sent back a few moments after the 8-year-old arrived, that's not really a good enough explanation. If they had sent her back four years later, would she have found 12-year-old Molly?
  
  Also, it disturbed me that Keiko and Miles were even willing to send the 18-year-old back. I didn't see that as the best option. However, since she ended up finding her younger self, it was still a satisfactory ending (minus the fact that I'm a little confused about how she found her younger self ...)
• From Damien Bradley on 2013-02-18 at 7:56am:
  Bah! Reset button episode. The whole time I was thinking, "they had better not get the 8 year old Molly back." ... but they did. That kind of ruined it for me. I thought it would be really cool to see how this new, 18 year old "feral" Molly would progress and re-integrate herself into society, but no, they of course found a way to magically get the original Molly back. I'm surprised you liked this episode, Eric; you mention reset buttons all the time and how annoying they can be.
• From OmicronThetaDeltaPhi on 2014-06-30 at 2:14am:
  It was an interesting episode. It was a moving episode. But one thing deeply bothers me about it: The outrageous attitude of the Federation Magistrate towards Molly.
  
  He wants to take a frightened girl away from her parents by force, and lock her up in a "special care center". Without even seeing her. Without consulting her parents. Without even having a hearing.
  
  What's the deal with that??!! Is this Star Trek, or "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"?
  
  Fans usually target episodes like "For the Uniform" and "In the Pale Moonlight" as being anti-Roddenberry. But to me, it is episodes like this one which put the biggest stain on the utopian future that Star Trek is supposed to be.
  
  
  
• From ChristopherA on 2021-04-05 at 7:55pm:
  @OmicronThetaDeltaPhi: I don’t remember it that way. The dialog is set up in such a way to make the protagonists sympathetic and the Federation official seem heartless. But actually, she is in jail for knifing someone, presumably she had a hearing but it is irrelevant since we know she is guilty, they don’t need her parents’ permission to detain her, in fact it would be inappropriate to just ignore the crime and release her to her parents. Moving her to a detention facility where she can actually get psychiatric help is actually far more helpful than just a normal prison.
  
  The works into one of Abigail’s points, that even though the narrative is designed to support the O’Brians’ belief that the only solution is to return her through the time portal, that is pretty questionable. Sure, her parents tried to help her and failed, but maybe, just maybe, a staff of experienced psychiatric expert actually COULD help her acclimate where her layman parents could not. Humans are social animals, they could at least give it a try before they commit various crimes and muck around with time travel equipment they don’t understand in order to condemn her to a life of eternal solitude.
  
  I thought the concept of the episode was worthwhile and interesting to think about, but it was kind of boring to actually watch, definitely not my favorite.
  

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Rob on 2008-04-18 at 11:16pm:
  I really like the scene where the Prophets force Sisko to realize that he's "not acting linear" regarding his wife's death. It's heart breaking watching him break down and Avery does a wonderful job to make us feel his heartbreak. I think this one scene probably shows more raw emotion than all of TOS (except Spock's death in Wrath of Khan) and TNG combined.
  
  
• From JRPoole on 2008-11-12 at 5:08pm:
  This is probably the best pilot of all the series. The only flaw is noted in the review; the scenes with the prophets drag on and the scene shuffling through Sisko's memory is well executed but borders on corny at times. Still, a fine maiden voyage, so to speak.
• From Bernard on 2009-11-12 at 11:58pm:
  Just started rewatching DS9 back through again on dvd. This two parter/feature length gets better every time I watch it. I would agree with the previous poster that it is most definitely the best pilot episode, setting up the premise of DS9 perfectly. Shame much of the rest of season one does not build on it as well as it could have done.
  Avery Brooks' performance is nothing short of exceptional considering the range of emotion that he has to convey while coming to grips with his new character. I also like the handling of the introductions of all the main cast as well as our first sitings of Rom, Nog, Gul Dukat and even Morn!
• From Cory on 2011-09-28 at 2:45am:
  I'm confused, maybe somebody can clear this up for me, I thought the aliens in the wormhole stated it disrupts them whenever anyone passes though, how did Sisko manage to convince them to not only re open the wormhole but to allow passage from any ship that desires it?
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-09 at 10:54pm:
  Since I keep pointing out scientific issues, I can't resist pointing out the gaping hole in the story with respect to the "wormhole aliens" as they come to be known in DS9. This concerns the temporal nature of these aliens, I.e., that they supposedly exist in a non-linear fashion with respect to time.
  
  Any one remotely familiar with either Einsteinian or Quantum physics knows this is completely nonsense. The existence of a four dimensional universe consisting of three spatial and one temporal dimensions is a basic feature of our physical universe. Only string theory postulates any deviation from this, and that is in a very different form from that shown on DS9. That is, string theory postulates the existence of several temporal dimensions, all of which are linear. (Only one of these has sufficient depth to have any relation to normal matter.) Also, the experimental basis for both Einsteinian and Quantum physics is overwhelming, while the experimental basis for string theory is non-existent, making it a form of intellectual masturbation in my view. But I digress.
  
  Lots of quality scifi concerns the varying rates at which life forms live in linear time. One excellent example is "Dragon's Egg" by Robert L. Forward in which he proposes the possibility of life on the surface of neutron stars. The compounds in these life forms would be nuclear rather than chemical, and thus would be much faster than normal biological processes. Thus, these life forms would live and die very quickly. (Nonetheless, they would be "linear".)
  
  In order for a life form to transcend time it would have to exist outside of the physical universe. The only intelligent being that could exist outside of our physical universe and still relate to creatures within it would be God. (This is the very nature of the definition of God in philosophical terms.) While the writers of DS9 attempt to take on the issues of religion and philosophy in ways that no other series has attempted (in the process going where no other star trek series has gone before), they pull back from making the WHAs truly divine. These creatures are severely limited in their physical locality, for example. They live only in the wormhole. This may be a very strange location in non-Newtonian space. It is nonetheless a single location. A truly divine creature would be capable of co-existing everywhere in the universe simultaneously.
  
  In the end, the WHAs present some difficult scientific and philosophical issues which the writers of DS9 do a pretty poor job of reconciling.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-08-27 at 2:16am:
  This episode contains elements we'll see throughout the series. Kira's past causes her to make tough decisions, Garak is scheming, and runabouts are used for the climax.
  
  Garak and Odo are great in this episode, but I gave it a 4 because it still seems to have that "pilot feeling."
• From Bernard on 2009-11-15 at 10:54pm:
  I don't remember ever liking this episode, but viewing it now I can see that it is a fairly strong episode. Character development is the order of the day and this has it in spades, even for guest characters (the wonderful Garak in his first appearance).
  
  Bajoran politics are continuing to be featured and that usually makes for decent episodes. I gave it a 6.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-14 at 4:12pm:
  This episode along with "Progress" in this season, and numerous episodes of other seasons of DS9 exposes one of the annoying aspects to Kira's character: She "goes stupid" whenever she is around a former "hero" of the Bajoran resistance, any Bajoran religious leader, anyone bucking the establishment order or the like.
  
  Admittedly, Nana Visitor is not the greatest actress to start with. (Witness her terrible overacting in "Progress" after Mullibok gets shot.) Whenever Kira gets that starry eyed look, one begins to cringe: You know something embarrassingly lame is coming.
  
  It's like this girl has no common sense whenever she is confronted by one of these guys. She simply cannot accept that they are human beings. Over and over she expects them to behave in a manner which accords with her delusions. And she is constantly and consistently disappointed. Yet she stubbornly refuses to admit defeat: The next time one of these guys comes along: Wham! There she goes again, all strarry eyed and deluded.
  
  The plot device is way, way overused, and it does no credit to Kira's character. It just makes her look stupid.
• From Bernard on 2011-10-15 at 9:22pm:
  And Jeff has put in a nutshell while talking about Kira exactly why I prefer characterisation in DS9 to that in TNG.
  
  Yes she is stupid. Yes she is stupid often. That is exactly how the character is! She is consistant, although as the seven years go on she does eventually mature somewhat. I prefer watching an imperfect character like this over the perfect people we had in TNG.
  As for Nana Visitor as an actress I have to disagree with Jeff as I find her to be spot on almost all of the time during the shows run.
  
  But hey, that's the great thing about opinions!
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-18 at 8:01pm:
  Bernard:
  
  I love the dialog! Thanks so much for your response to my post. My issue with Kira is not just that she is stupid: She is stubbornly and aggressively stupid. After a while folks tend to learn. Kira does not seem to do so that much (although I will keep watching and see what she does in later seasons).
  
  But I also agree with you. DS9 characters rock compared to TNG characters whio become cloying and sickeningly sweet at times. (The funeral schene for Tasha Yarr being one glaring example) DS9 characters seem more real, and for that reason more appealing. Bashir is such a blatant man whore (in a way Riker never was). Dax is so much more edgy and ambiguous than Troi. And as I have said in other posts, I absolutely adore the relationship between Quark and Odo.
  
  I still maintain though that Nana Visitor overacts blatantly at times, though. ("Progress" is a good example.)
• From John on 2012-03-20 at 4:51am:
  I agree with Bernard. Nana Visitor does a fine job playing Kira. Unfortunately, Kira, as a character, is stubborn, willfully ignorant, and pretty much one-dimensional. It's not entirely her fault though.
  
  In order to like Kira -- to sympathize with her whining about the Cardassians and appreciate her as a loyal Bajoran, you actually have to like the Bajorans. This is nearly impossible, as most Bajorans are depicted as helpless sheep who are WAY too religious, and generally weak. If this was TNG, Picard would find himself disgusted with their blind faith and rigid dogmas. Frankly, I do too.
  
  I admire and respect that Kira is tough, but that's the only thing about her I like at all. Other than that I find her shrill, ignorant, and generally annoying.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Bernard on 2009-11-21 at 1:53am:
  I thought this was a fairly drab outing, with a quick fix ending. Lots of cliches and a very poor effort at injecting the suspense needed toward the end of the episode in the shape of the captain trying to escape the station.
  
  Chances at character development largely missed out on because they were talking jibberish!
  
  On the bright side, it's watchable and it's not the worst outing of the season....
• From AW on 2015-11-26 at 7:55am:
  You have to consider the scene in which - Sisko tells Odo "There's no hurry" and then Odo proceeds to walk super casually to the turbo lift - a remarkable scene.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-11-13 at 5:08pm:
  While I like the idea of the hunt, I don't like the hunter aliens. I find it hard to believe that Sisko would tolerate them tearing up his station in pursuit of their quarry.
  
  What I do like about this episode is O'brien's growing dislike for Bashir. Notice how he completely cuts off Julian's speech in Ops? DS9 is better at continuing character development and plot threads in filler episodes and alien-of-the-week episodes than TNG ever was, and that's one of it's strengths.
  
  The review above wondered whether these races are part of the Dominion. Tosk certainly is reminiscent of the Jem Hadar to come....
• From Bernard on 2009-11-22 at 1:59am:
  Strongest episode since the pilot. Tosk is magnificently portrayed too aswell as providing a good outing for the Chief.
  
  I love the way Sisko reacts to O'Brien's subterfuge, gives him a blasting but he agrees with him.
  
  Sounds like I'm copying the review above ... but I found it to be spot on. Solid 6.
• From John on 2011-09-07 at 11:05pm:
  Additional factoids:
  
  At the time of this episode, about 300 people live on Deep Space 9.
  
  At this point in time, DS9 has traffic of about 5 or 6 ships per week.
  
  
• From Dstyle on 2013-08-25 at 12:57pm:
  Man, those universal translators are magic! First contact with a brand new species, and they understand and are understood completely!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Mark McC on 2009-02-19 at 3:02am:
  This is a nice fun episode that ties in nicely with TNG, and provides some light-hearted relief from the relatively heavy mood set by the batch of DS9 episodes (compared to much of TNG anyway). The plot doesn't do much except update us on what Vash has been up to on her travels. The real highlight is, as always, John de Lancie's performance. There doesn't seem to be any real reason for Q being there, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.
  
  My favourite moment of this episode is Q's little double-edged jibe at O'Brien. "Weren't you one of the little people?". It highlights the fact that O'Brien has moved on from his lesser role in TNG, where he was a minor character who was never far from a transporter console; one of those "little" people who beaver away in the background to keep everything running. It's also a nice reference to his Irish ancestry, "little people" being another name for the leprechauns of Irish legend (as in the hokey Disney movie "Darby O'Gill and the Little People").
• From Bernard on 2009-11-24 at 1:57pm:
  There is a reason that Q never returned to DS9, he doesn't really work does he?
  
  I'm glad they stopped rehashing TNG villains because there was absolutely no reason for Q to be in this episode just like there was no reason the Duras sisters needed to be in 'Past Prologue'. It's nice when they tie in to TNG, but at least make said tie in relevant to the plot (I know they think Q is behind everything that is going on but we all know he isn't and that's getting very old by now - see TNG's Deja Q for this false blame type of thing).
  
  Vash on the other hand is central to the plot and fits into the underworld of DS9 perfectly. Overall a fairly satisfying episode with a mundane plot, I'd give it a 4.
  
  'Picard and his lackeys would have solved all this technobabble hours ago', love that line.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From JRPoole on 2008-11-17 at 5:11pm:
  I cringed at the thought of this episode because I'm generally anti-Ferengi. At their best, they're little more than comic relief. At their worst, they're silly and borderline offensive.
  
  This, however, is pretty solid. Yes, it's mostly aimed at laughs. Yes, the Ferengi are what they are. But this is done pretty well, and we get good character development of Rom, Quark, and the Ferengi at large. On top of that, it's entertaining from top to bottom, so it all falls together well.
• From Bernard on 2009-11-25 at 11:17pm:
  Excellent episode! One of the strongest of season one, though that really isn't saying much.
  
  Ferengi lore is started in earnest during this episode and remains throughout the seven seasons. I for one enjoy what you might call the 'Ferengi story arc'.
  
  Two important recurring characters get a good grounding here. One is the Nagus, delightfully played by Wallace Shawn. The other is Rom, who despite earlier appearances gets more to do here.
  
  Surprised to see the fan average below your score here, but many do not like the ferengi storylines. I'd give it a solid 7.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-18 at 1:39pm:
  I thoroughly enjoyed this one, not the least because of the great contribution of Wallace Shawn, the exceptional character actor who plays the Grand Nagus. (Shawn is possibly best known for his role as Vizzini in the Rob Reiner film "Princess Bride", but he has a long list of credits to his name. See the IMDB database for more information.)
  
  One comment on the idea that the Ferengi represent American capitalism. Having traveled extensively, I find the Ferengi more like the capitalism in places like Hong Kong or Singapore than the US. The fact that the Ferengi despise trade unions for example, and their extremely repressive attitude towards women are certainly not typical of the US. However, I see the point. I think Star Trek in general tries to portray the Federation as a more evolved version of the USA, absent the drive for wealth and status (although this analogy breaks down at times). Thus, the Federation is a symbol of our aspirations, while the Ferengi are perhaps symbolic of our dark side.
  
  At any rate, I generally enjoy episodes where the Ferengi's are heavily involved. (I find the relationship between Quark and Odo as rich and fulfilling as any in Star Trek, including that between Bones and Spock, or between Geordi and Data.)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Jens-Ivar Seland on 2009-07-18 at 5:41pm:
  Come on! Don't you thionk it's a "problem" that Odo's knocked unconscious by a blow to his "head" ? :)
• From Bernard on 2009-12-01 at 10:22pm:
  Okay, this episode has quite a few flaws such as Odo being knocked unconscious and Odo piloting the prisoner back into the gamma quadrant alone!
  
  It does provide a different angle with which to view Odo though. It also seems to have an emotional impact through the storytelling. I love the final line of the episode. I also love that the writers obviously thought their casual made up name for Odo's 'people', changeling (first heard in this episode) was really quite good so continued to use it as seasons two and the rest continued.
  
  I gave this a 5... unfortunately we now head into a run of mediocrity with the next few episodes...

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Bernard on 2010-01-20 at 10:47pm:
  I like the way they decided to continue on from the end of season one with more Bajoran stuff. One would have thought that after a fairly lacklustre first season that they would begin season two with something quite generic and 'easy' for non-trek fans to get into, I'm glad they did not.
  
  This is by no means a standout offering, but it is steady enough and keeps the interest flowing into the next installment.
• From Amaterasu on 2010-12-08 at 2:44am:
  You don't consider The Best of Both Worlds and Family a three parter?
• From Gul Duviewer on 2011-08-17 at 10:37am:
  I thought this was an excellent episode. I think Chief O'Brian being sent on a successful special ops combat mission, and personally dispensing several guards, deserves a mention in "Remarkable Scenes." Quite a change of pace for him from repairing food replicators and the like.
  
  His deceptive pimping of Kira was also amusing. (How the hell does he do such a convincing job of being so unsavory? Are there other sides to old Miles that we haven't seen yet?)
  
  Everything just seemed nicely lined up and well executed. I really liked how there were a few things on the side that fit in the with the major plot lines, like Quark's mentioning Rule of Acquisition #76 in the very beginning, "declaring peace for the sake of confusion," which ties into Gul Dukat's conciliatory reaction at the end. Also, Jake's date's father not letting them see each other because Jake isn't a Bajoran (ties into xenophobic extremism spreading on Bajor).
  
  There were also some great tidbits of continuity, for instance Miles being eager about, and then actually participating in the Cardassia IV mission. This ties in with his having fought Cardassians before on Setlik III under Captain Maxwell, and personally witnessing atrocities there (TNG: The Wounded).
  
  And another tiny bit of continuity when Quark walks in on Major Kira in the middle of a Bajoran ritual... In the previous episode she talked about wishing her faith was stronger.
  
  To cap this all off, I thought the acting was all around very good - even though there weren't any intensely dramatic scenes. I thought it was all very smooth and even, perhaps just half a notch better than most episodes. In almost every other episode (thus far) I find Avery Brooks' performance of Sisko to be kind of mechanical and... jumpy or something... not quite convincing, at least in certain moments. But here Sisko is very consistent and believable. I hope it holds from here on out.
  
  Anyway, good episode. 8 or 9.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From djb on 2009-01-03 at 1:25am:
  I enjoyed this episode quite a lot, even though it was in the old "oh-crap-someone's-taken-us-hostage-what-do-we-do" plot vein.
  
  It was cool to learn more about the Trill. What was especially cool was seeing the change in Verad, and how Sisko knew from the start that it would change him, most likely to Sisko's advantage. Verad, of course, was so myopically focused on his goal of getting a symbiont, that he had failed to really appreciate the full ramifications of joining. That, of course, is probably related to the reasons he was denied a symbiont in the first place. Mareel, not being a trill, had no idea, and seeing her gradual acceptance of what Sisko knew all along is great.
  
  It was pretty interesting to see Jadzia, who is normally so confident, in such a vulnerable state-- it added some depth to her character.
  
  One thing that bothered me was Quark seeming to get off so easily. We hear Kira say he's through at the station toward the beginning of the episode, but this talk goes away by the end. Maybe he redeemed himself just a little by helping the doctor sedate the Klingon and by cracking the lock on the box Odo's stuck in... who knows.
• From Bernard on 2010-03-30 at 1:31pm:
  Good episode for all the reason listed in the main review.
  
  Timing is not fantastic since this is the second episode in a row where the station is evacuated! But we'll forgive that because I like to assess each episode on its own merits.
  
  Interesting to see how all the characters react to the situation. Can you see the same thing playing out later in the series? The interaction between Sisko and Verad Dax is especially pleasing and well done. Solid episode, 7 for me.
• From Zaphod on 2011-04-17 at 11:27am:
  Problems
  none
  ???
  Seriously?
  How could you overlook the possibility of putting Jadzia in a stasis pod? How could Bashir miss that?
  
  Very big flaw, but at least the time pressure wasn't overemphasized so it didn't ruin this otherwise very entertainig episode for me.
• From here@there.us on 2011-08-21 at 2:52am:
  I thought this was a really fantastic episode, that belongs more in the 8/9 range.
  
  There are many absolutely exceptional performances here, starting with the actor portraying Verad. The symbiote integration is depicted perfectly. One gets a very clear sense of who Verad is before the joining (and again at the end, when it's reversed), and a very clear sense of the new entity, Verad Dax.
  
  The really astonishing thing is that the viewer can sense that it isn't exactly a "new" entity at all - we're all very familiar with Dax already, as Jadzia Dax, and the portrayal of Verad Dax conveys that uncanny continuity. The effect is really quite an impressive bit of writing, directing, and acting.
  
  Not only does this episode provide more information about Trill society and Symbiote joinings, but we get a direct, emotional sense of what such integrations really mean for the Trills who undergo them.
  
  - - -
  
  There are a handful of other fantastic performances - including Sisko's convincing affections for Jadzia, anger towards Verad, and frustration towards the helplessness of the whole situation. His "temper" outbursts have not always been very compelling in previous episodes, but I love the scene when he goes berserk on the Klingon mercenary.
  
  Bashir also has a great dramatic part to play - he is forced to violate the Hippocratic oath and remove the symbiote from Jadzia, who he is obviously in love with. As the reviewer mentioned, his chewing out the Klingon makes for a remarkable scene. Do not get between a doctor and his patient, even if you're a Klingon holding a disruptor pistol.
  
  Finally, I thought Quark's character was portrayed even a bit better than usual. Perhaps feeling personally responsible for the hijacking (which he certainly was), he puts his lobes on the line and hatches a plan that is both daring and devious. It's quite entertaining to see him launch himself at a Klingon 3 times his size, then feint an excruciating ear injury. There's a few brilliant comedic moments around this ear injury, but it's also a clever and successful plot to free Odo ("Do we really have to?"), and ultimately help Sisko take back the ship.
  
  
  
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-18 at 11:21pm:
  A couple of other problems mar this otherwise excellent episode:
  
  1. The ion storm. In my experience of watching Star Trek ion storms requiring the evacuation of a station are exceedingly rare. Did Verad create this one? If not, his appearance at this particular point in time when the station is almost abandoned is conveniently coincidental and therefore not believable.
  
  2. We see Verad as a mediocrity, and absolute milk toast. He cannot even manage without support from his woman. Yet he somehow managed to accumulate enough wealth to obtain a spaceship and pay to Klingon mercenaries, as well as mastermind a brilliant crime. I find no capability like this in Verad pre-joining. Where is he getting this? It just does not fit with the rest of his character.
• From Gul Ranek on 2012-12-12 at 4:13pm:
  Nobody noticed Tim Russ as the Klingon? Seems really strange for the part, too calm, very different than other Klingons on the show. He was good in the role of Tuvok, though. Maybe that's why his acting seems strange to me.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

• From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2008-11-26 at 4:27pm:
  Gul Dukat and Garak are fantastic characters, both have a large role in this episode. The best part is where Keiko cooks Cardassian food. SO ackward -- since she does not know the kid hates the Cardassians.
• From Bernard on 2010-04-05 at 8:17pm:
  Further to Orions comment, I love the moment when O'Brien and the boy push their respective plates away from each other.
  
  This episode shines a light briefly on O'Briens own prejudice, hats off for that, furthering his own development as such a small part of an episode.
  
  As usual Gul Dukat and Garak are a treat to watch. I would rate this episode slightly higher, 6 I think.
• From omg@kthx on 2011-08-22 at 7:39pm:
  This episode was decent but vaguely unsatisfying. Perhaps a custody battle just doesn't make for very good Star Trek... a similar thing was attempted in TNG: Suddenly Human, and I think done much better there... at least in the TNG episode there were weird alien rituals, traumatic flashbacks, and more credible accusations of abuse... oh yeah, and Picard got stabbed in the chest...
  
  There just wasn't enough here to be really interesting... I guess Garak got his hand bitten, but that's not quite the same, is it?
  
  Speaking of Garak, as much as I like his character, and as much as I liked how he explained away his computer expertise as "dabbling... a hobby... like sowing on a button," I think this episode brought him too much into the spotlight. Bashir mentioning him to Dukat, Sisko calling him in to questioning, his attending the custody hearing at the end... I think it's too much limelight and detracts from the mysteriousness of his character.
  
  Garak was more compelling when he worked out of the shadows, spoke in pure riddles, and "sold suits" out of his tailor shop... when his role was to observe and facilitate the "back channels" of communication, as Sisko put it.
  
  So, I agree with the reviewer, decent but a bit flawed and unsatisfying. Probably a 5.
• From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-19 at 7:04am:
  Obvious glaring problem: in every legal system in the Western world of which I am aware, a child this age has the right to decide which parent he / she wants to live with. This episode completely misses that point where TNG: Suddenly Human gets it perfectly. In that episode, Picard attempts to persuade Jeremiah Rosa to agree to come live with his human grandmother. Picard obviously knows that the child's choice will be decisive.
  
  This is of course absent any other compelling issues like abuse, or mental incompetence in the parent. The abuse issue was explored and disproven. The Bajoran father is obviously capable and loving. There is no compelling reason to violate the wishes of the child in this case.
  
  The end of this episode is terrible: The child is forced to go live with a parent He neither knows nor loves, and the rights of the adoptive parent are trampled upon. (What has he done wrong here, other than provide a loving home for the child?)
  
  In the end it is not the best interest of the child that prevails: It is the Cardassian father. And where has he been for all these years? did he make any effort to investigate, to determine if his child is still alive?
  
  A very cruel, irrational and unrealistic ending to an otherwise great episode.
• From Mario on 2012-03-20 at 1:22am:
  I did like this episode very much, much more than the average here. It has a lot of intriguing moral dilemmas in it and does not paint them black and white. But I really hated the ending: Forcing the child to leave his adoptive parents (the only one he knows) against his will is in my mind the absolute wrong moral decision and I guess I am not the only one who shares this view.
  
• From Penguinphysics on 2013-01-16 at 3:09am:
  Also, in terms of long term plot development, this is the first episode to refer to the station's original name: Terrok Nor