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Star Trek DS9 - 4x13 - Crossfire

Originally Aired: 1996-1-29

Synopsis:
Odo's hidden feelings for Kira interfere with his duty to protect the Bajoran First Minister, who also happens to be attracted to her. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 4.69

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 27 5 4 8 31 19 14 17 13 12 6

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- This episode establishes the Shakaar-Kira-Odo love triangle.

Problems
- When the wormhole opened for Kira and Shakaar, no ship went through. Why did it open?

Factoids
- Quark calls Odo colder than a Breen winter. This is more evidence that Breen is a frozen wasteland.

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo perfecting his office and his disposition just prior to Kira's arrival to discuss station security.
- Quark complaining about Odo making too much noise shape shifting above Quark's quarters.
- Kira: "It's just Quark's luck that you would be assigned quarters above his." Odo: "Luck had nothing to do with it."
- Odo: "I have a daily routine which I follow unwaveringly. The shopkeepers on the promenade joke that they can set their clocks by me."
- Odo and Worf discussing order in their quarters and reasons/methods of deterring visitors. O'Brien has a tendency to drop by a lot and it annoys Worf.
- Kira asking Odo why he doesn't wear a belt anymore. Odo's response: "It didn't really serve a purpose. It's not as if I needed it to hold my pants up." When she said it looked good on him, he materialized it.
- Odo smashing things in his quarters.
- Quark confronting Odo about the noise.
- Odo denying that he knew the floor renovations he requested had sound proofing in it.

My Review
So there's more talk about Bajor's push to join the Federation, this is something I like. It's always nice to see the show advancing its premise. This episode also featured a few nice scenes between Odo and Worf. Though the episode was more about Odo than anyone else. Odo of course is in love with Kira is too afraid to tell her. There are some good scenes between Odo and Quark in this episode too. Their half adversarial half friendship relationship is one of the best character developments of the whole series, and this episode contributes heavily to it. My favorite moment between them in this episode is Odo installing sound proofing in his quarters to make Quark happy, then denying all knowledge of the whole operation to Quark's face. It was a great ending to this otherwise unremarkable episode. Literally, nothing happens in it except we get to watch Odo go through some social pain.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Remco on 2009-01-25 at 2:06pm:
    One thing that struck me watching the scene with Odo's belt, is that Odo has walked around naked his entire life! That must provide for additional weirdness-factor for the people on the station.

    It also means his comm-badge is really just him. How would it feel to be part-computer? If we think this through a little further: how would it feel to be Sisko's briefcase in Homefront? How would Odo know when to turn back into his humanoid form? Bags don't usually have ears, or brains to process sound.

    I would like to hear explanations to these things instead of the throwaway technobabble that we sometimes get to hear.
  • From Krs321 on 2011-04-18 at 11:28am:
    Why not just beam VIPs to and from locations instead of all the security hoopla?
  • From Hugo on 2012-04-30 at 2:21pm:
    I have been wondering why we don't see Odo doing more Reed Richard's routines (or plasticman etc). I thought that if shifted shape he would not necessarily take on the properties of the object he turns into - but this time his hands in the elevator...

    I liked this ep though, and great that it didn't focus on the assassination.

    Best moment : Quark in PJ's
  • From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-10-04 at 11:27am:
    In a season that hasn't really missed with an episode yet, this one has not aged well. "Odo the incel" is a pretty yucky plot, one we are able to more accurately diagnose in 2021 than a writers room in the mid 90s could. The development of the overarching Odo-Kira subplot could have been handled much better than this.

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Star Trek DS9 - 4x16 - Bar Association

Originally Aired: 1996-2-19

Synopsis:
Tired of workplace mistreatment at the hands of his brother, Rom organizes all of Quark's employees into a union and goes on strike against the bar. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 5.13

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 19 5 3 5 7 14 17 11 12 10 8

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- While largely a minor character development piece, the little details we see in this episode regarding Rom, Leeta, Worf, Bashir, and O'Brien are all significant later.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Worf nitpicking the Defiant.
- Bashir and O'Brien dressed up for their holosuite program.
- Bashir suggesting to Rom that he should form a union.
- Quark to Rom: "The only thing I regret is not being an only child."
- Odo listing all the security breaches on the Enterprise to rub it in Worf's face that Worf isn't a perfect security officer.
- O'Brien regarding a cyst on the back of his neck: "Either I paint a nose, eyes, and a mouth on it and pretend I've got two heads, or you take it off!"
- Worf lamenting about the station's constant breakdowns while O'Brien revels in it because he likes fixing things. I like how he complains about how boring sitting in the transporter room was. :)
- Holographic Quark approaching Odo.
- Sisko blackmailing Quark into settling the union dispute by threatening to charge him for back rent. ;)
- Worf moving his quarters to the Defiant.
- The Nausicaans throwing darts at one another.
- Rom to Quark: "What you were trying to do was make yourself feel important. Making me feel dumb made you feel smart. But I'm not dumb, and you're not half as smart as you think you are."
- Rules of Acquisition; 211. Employees are the rungs of the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them. 263. Never allow doubt to tarnish your lust for latinum.
- Morn Appearances; 1. In front of Rom while he bemoans about his ear. 2. Gets up and leaves after Quark announces the pay cuts. 3. Seen in the background sleeping at the bar during the strike. 4. Next to Rom when he quit his job.

My Review
Worf loves the Defiant and hates the station, Quark's employees have unionized and are demanding better treatment. The FCA shows up and haves Quark beat up. Quark solves the problem by secretly giving into his workers' demands so long as the union is "officially" dissolved. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but a good show and a decent watch.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Remco on 2009-01-28 at 10:59pm:
    Odo called the station "DS9" in this episode. I don't think we've heard this abbreviation on the show before.
  • From John on 2011-01-12 at 12:27pm:
    I found this episode highly enjoyable, and the fact that it features Leeta has absolutely nothing to do with it. :)
  • From hugo on 2012-05-09 at 1:37am:
    Just dull and uninspired, and a plot where not much happens. And Leeta is not a good actress.
  • From peterwolf on 2013-11-30 at 4:05am:
    This is THE Rom episode. It provides all the reasons and feelings why Leeta will love Rom (soon after her affair with Bashir). It is very funny how O´Briens´ story of his ancestor Sean (made up or real) inspires Rom to stand his ground against Ferengi laws and tradition. Although Rom seems to trade his Union ideals in the end, he wins: all his conditions for the workers will be accepted by Quark and he gets his job in Starfleet as technician "junior grade"! Similar to Damar he will do things in the future that decide the war against the Dominion. Also, the tiny subplot of Dax and Worf prepares the basis of their relationship. A very great episode, if you know what is coming later on!
  • From Martin on 2014-04-02 at 2:29pm:
    Nice episode.
    One detail i couldn't stop noticing is Liquidator brunt's bodyguards are Nausicaan...the same nasty race that stabbed picard on the heart.

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Star Trek DS9 - 4x17 - Accession

Originally Aired: 1996-2-26

Synopsis:
A legendary Bajoran appears mysteriously after more than 200 years and challenges Sisko's claim to be the Emissary. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 5.24

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 17 5 3 3 1 19 15 12 11 11 6

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- This episode mostly features a collection of minor, but necessary continuity, such as Keiko's second pregnancy.

Problems
- This episode contributes heavily to the "inconsistent wormhole aliens behavior" problem. I won't go into detail, but essentially, the Prophets seem to contradict their original behavior quite a bit from this point forward.

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien and Bashir cleaning O'Brien's bachelor pad.
- Akorem Laan's introduction.
- Sisko: "I'm just a Starfleet officer again. All I have to worry about are the Klingons, the Dominion, and the Maquis. I feel like I'm on vacation!"
- Quark to Worf: "Did you hear? Keiko's going to have another baby!" Worf: "Now?!" Seems Worf had not so fond memories of delivering Keiko's first baby in TNG: Disaster. ;)
- Keiko playing O'Brien and Bashir back to together.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Playing darts with Bashir.

My Review
This is a complicated episode, which creates a shakeup in the very premise of the show. It seems Sisko is no longer the Emissary; that the real one has appeared from the wormhole. Sisko revels in these events at first, because he hated being the Emissary. But when the new Emissary begins advocating ridiculous new social changes that would ruin Bajor's chances of joining the Federation, Sisko realizes maybe he should be the Emissary after all. To me, more interesting was the whole subplot regarding Keiko, O'Brien, and Bashir. I don't know why, but it had a certain charm to it. I liked the ending where Keiko goes behind O'Brien and Bashir's back both to get them back together. Very cute.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From JRPoole on 2009-05-05 at 10:30pm:
    Two problems here:

    1) Doesn't sending Akorem back to live out his life change the time line in a very serious fashion? The cute little tie up of that question at the end is ridiculous.

    2) Okay, how gullible are the Bajoran people?
  • From John on 2011-01-12 at 2:27pm:
    This episode proves once again that the Bajoran people are the most naive pushovers in the Alpha Quadrant.

    One of the things I love about DS9 is that the "Prophets" themselves seem to have little or no interest in what actually goes on on Bajor. They are completely indifferent, in part because they themselves can't even conceive of linear time as we understand it. It's fun to laugh at the Bajorans as they read so much into everything the Prophets do, while at the same time you know the Prophets don't really care one way or another.
  • From MJ on 2011-02-07 at 7:45am:
    The wormhole aliens/Prophets are to DS9 what the Traveler was to TNG: an absurd, unnecessary story arc that reduces the show's credibility. As with the Traveler, the Prophets are used to explain away inconsistencies, do things that make no sense, and kill the climax of otherwise good episodes (see DS9: Sacrifice of Angels). The difference is, we have a lot more Prophet episodes than we do Traveler episodes.

    This religion of the Prophets makes the Bajorans look like despicable fools. This is especially true of Kira, who in these episodes is no longer the tough, independent fighter, but a sheep who blindly devotes herself to whatever the religious authorities of her planet dictate. So, the Kira character definitely loses credibility. Then, enter this 200+ year-old Bajoran poet who wants to turn Bajoran society upside down, likely throwing the entire planet into chaos and ruin, and everyone just goes along with it because you don't question the Emissary? It doesn't really reflect well on Bajor overall.

    I console myself with this episode somewhat by hoping the point is to show how blind obedience to organized religion can be bad. There are hints this might be the case, such as Odo's excellent questioning of Kira (my favorite moment in the episode) on the Promenade before the new Emissary's first speech, and how the Prophets clearly have no concept of time, rendering the prophecy of who contacts them "first" a moot point. But, I realize it's not Star Trek's place to really take positions; the show simply offers competing points of view to educate the audience, which, of course, is fantastic. But the Prophet storyline takes away from Kira and Bajor in the process.

    I do like how the episode reflects both Sisko's being uncomfortable with the position of Emissary while also wearing the uniform, and his true concern for Bajor when the new Emissary starts enacting his agenda. Sisko has come to love this world and its people, however superstitious they may be, and is willing to serve in this role if it's in Bajor's best interests.

    We also have an episode that ends rather suddenly (again).

    I also wasn't a huge fan of the subplot. Normally I enjoy the camaraderie between O'Brien and Bashir, but this subplot was rather dull and pointless. It went from O'Brien wanting to spend more time with Keiko to missing Bashir. Not interesting.

    Below average episode at best.
  • From Bernard on 2011-02-07 at 6:01pm:
    I find myself in agreement with MJ over the Prophets but in total disagreement over Major Kira.

    I think that you are confusing your personal loss of respect for her character with her credibility. The character is still perfectly credible as we see time and time again on our planet the blindness of faith. Have you never had conversations with believers who can stand there and as perfectly rational people then suddenly say that they believe that a man fed 5000 from a couple of loaves? The Kira character is consistant in this respect all the way through the series, so I think it is perfectly credible that she behaves in this manner. Just because I personally can't understand why people can have blind faith doesn't mean that a character is not credible if they do.

    This episode does not mark the end of the Prophets as a well thought out and written species though... just watch 'Rapture' and any episodes from that point onwards involving Prophets/Pah Wraiths or both to see not only the spoiling of a truly fascinating species but also the implication (and later more than just implication!) that they really do have a connection with the Bajorans!

    I enjoy this episode as it brings up interesting points and as MJ said is allows the viewer to make up their own mind. I would rate it slightly higher than 5 despite some of the problems.
  • From MJ on 2011-02-13 at 8:46am:
    Hi Bernard,

    You make a great point. I have, actually, known some very intelligent believers, and it has been strange to me how they reconcile their faith with some of their other views. Maybe not strange, but interesting. I can see what you mean about Kira still being who she is, and yet still steeped in the traditions of her people. We have had glimpses of how her religion was one of the things that may very well have sustained her during the Cardassian occupation.

    I guess it just catches me off guard when I see episodes in which Kira is fearless, answering to no one and taking on anybody who gets in her way, and yet here is willing to abandon her life simply because a spiritual leader told her to do so. The good thing, though, is that she doesn't do so unquestioningly. She voices her frustrations to that Vedek about her lack of artistic talent, which at least makes it somewhat believable.

    On another note, I really did enjoy the moment in this episode where Kira informs Sisko of her decision to resign, and advising him on a replacement.
  • From Tallifer on 2011-03-30 at 8:23pm:
    Original Star Trek was generally atheist: gods were just aliens in disguise. Deep Space 9 recognizes that for most people the universe is mysterious and mystical. The Bajoran religion seems to be a mixture of Hindoo and Moslem ideas.

    In this episode, it is the Hindoo caste system. The Cardassian occupation was an aberration and a traumatic experience. Naturally many Bajorans would be eager to return to the halcyon days of yore. Nowadays there is still a segment of Indian society that wants the ancient caste system legalized and enforced.

    As for the emissaries, all the major religions have several prophets from the gods. When Akorem assumed the mantle of emissary, many Bajorans could have easily thought of Sisko as a sort of John the Baptist preceding the actual emissary.
  • From Hugo on 2012-05-11 at 4:00pm:
    Well, I gave it an 8 - a solid, interesting and engaging episode, with any major flaws - as I see it!
  • From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-27 at 1:20pm:
    Keiko has redeemed herself. I was really aggravated by her in the last episode with her in it. In this one she behaved the way I expected a woman returning home after a long absence would behave. :)
  • From John on 2013-04-30 at 9:06pm:
    I have to agree with Bernard that Kira is still a very credible character.

    Specifically, the idea that someone can be stubborn, willful and annoying, while at the same time being indecisive, ignorant, and easily swayed by religious doublespeak is perfectly credible.
  • From Mike on 2016-11-03 at 2:16am:
    I'd give this a 2, mainly because it's an episode that didn't really need to be made, or should've been much better.

    The whole point of this episode was to show Sisko finally embracing his role as Emissary. And I could buy the premise that the Prophets had Akorem do this brief stint in the future in order to get Sisko to accept his "path". But that's not how the episode is scripted. Instead, the whole thing seems like random action by the Prophets that inadvertently almost upends Bajor, the consequences of which are completely ignored by the end of the episode.

    Akorem lays out a pretty good case for his being the Emissary. But apparently, he's wrong. So why exactly did he emerge from the wormhole 200+ years into the future? The vague response from the Prophets indicates that he drifted into the wormhole, they saw that he was injured, healed him, and then released him. Since they're unaware of linear time, they just so happened to drop him into the timeline at this moment. When Akorem and Sisko speak with them, they seem to think something along the lines of, "oh yeah, that's right...Sisko explained this whole linear time thingy to us...ya know, maybe we could just send this Akorem guy back to his time." In other words, as John points out, they do things in capricious ways while the Bajorans foolishly read into everything as intentional. We never find out what the Bajorans thought of why Akorem briefly appeared in this time period. Instead, they seemingly just accept that it happened and go back to their lives.

    So Akorem goes back to his time, almost everything returns to what it was at the start of the episode except for Akorem's poetry, the changes to which are written off as mysterious Prophet ways, and Sisko now happily performs the ceremonies that he felt uncomfortable with at the start.

    It's an aggravating, unsatisfying end.

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Star Trek DS9 - 5x04 - ...Nor the Battle to the Strong

Originally Aired: 1996-10-21

Synopsis:
Jake Sisko experiences the horrors of war first hand. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 5.54

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 41 2 3 5 7 14 14 23 36 25 14

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- There's no essential plot or exposition in this episode that renders it unskippable, but it's a decent episode, even though it could have been better.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Bashir boring Jake, then Jake getting excited about going into a combat situation.
- The Ferengi view of pregnancy.
- Jake watching the wounded come in.
- Jake running and finding the dying man.
- The discussion about the preferred method of death.
- Jake's random phaser fire turning him into a hero.

My Review
A decent episode. I'm a bit annoyed that the Klingons are still attacking the Federation. But once you get over that, the episode is pretty intense and emotional. Jake has his first battle experience, gets lucky, and becomes a hero. I rather like the way he was completely honest with himself about everything. And as Sisko said, "everyone sees a little of himself in this."

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Remco on 2009-05-06 at 11:24am:
    I thought this was a very gripping episode. The first part was a bit like a good ER disaster episode: you never see the disaster itself, but you see the bodies coming in. You know it's right around the corner. And then Jake got caught in the cross-fire. Without military training, he panics of course, and he feels that makes him a coward. But as we saw in the first part, not even soldiers are able to cope with battle. In the final battle, when running was not an option, Jake fought instinctively. It was not out of some sense of heroism. It was just survival.

    I absolutely believe in Jake's assertion that the line between heroism and cowardice is very thin. I hope I never have to find out where I stand.
  • From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-05 at 7:25pm:
    This episode may have its moments where the emotions seem a little forced, but overall a rewarding episode. It was nice to see Jake showing some maturity to balance out his naive enthusiasm. One of my favorite themes in narratives is redemption and how we are not defined by our past. We have all done things we regret or even find downright disgusting, but we should always have the chance to redeem ourselves. Jake at first tries to justify his cowardice, but as the soldier Jake meets after the shelling reminds him (and us), life doesn't work that way. It is only in humility and being honest with oneself that redemption can begin its work. The episode leaves us with some hope for Jake and even the soldier who shot himself to avoid fighting.

    I love these reviews - they are an excellent companion to the series, especially for someone like me who is experiencing DS9 for the first time.

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Star Trek DS9 - 5x05 - The Assignment

Originally Aired: 1996-10-28

Synopsis:
Keiko O'Brien is taken over by a Pah-wraith. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 4.62

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 41 5 3 5 4 14 14 29 19 7 7

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- This episode establishes the Pah-wraiths. who will become highly relevant later. However their relevance, purpose, and backstory can be understood in context later. This episode also establishes Rom's promotion, but that too isn't necessarily an essential detail as it can be understood in context later. Both details, however, while not entirely necessary are still nice bits of texture to actually see established though.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien meeting a possessed Keiko.
- O'Brien calculating the time various methods of incapacitating Keiko would take.
- O'Brien breaking his glass with his bare hand out of anger at his party.
- O'Brien waking up to a possessed Keiko, briefly forgetting about the possession.
- O'Brien enlisting Rom for his "top secret operation."
- Rom and O'Brien figuring everything out.
- O'Brien using the pah wraith's plan against it.
- Morn Appearances; 1. First scene in Quark's bar. 2. The final scene, Quark's bar while Rom tells Quark about his celebrations for his promotion.

My Review
Another rare episode to mention the fire caves, Keiko was possessed by a Pah-wraith there. One wonders why anyone is allowed to visit such a dangerous place. This is Keiko's episode, which is ironic seeing as how it isn't really her. O'Brien also gets a nice showing; we get to see him interact with his Engineering staff, which kind of like TNG: Lower Decks, is a nice change of pace. I like how Rom figures everything out, proving that he's not as stupid as everyone thinks he is. In fact, he's pretty damn smart; maybe a bit autistic. Oh, and when Dax can't sleep, she scans the wormhole randomly for anomalies. ;)

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From MJ on 2011-08-04 at 4:17pm:
    The beginning of this episode moves a little fast. I would think the Chief would try to establish who-or what-has taken possession of Keiko almost immediately. I know they were trying to reveal the Pah-Wraith thing slowly but I ding it a little bit for this since it didn't make sense.

    Very nice episode for Rom, though...and I guess now Miles and his wife have something else in common: they've both had their bodies taken over by other life forms (see TNG: Power Play).
  • From Selador on 2013-05-12 at 3:51pm:
    I gave this episode a 10. I thought everything about it was superb.

    I knew this was going to be a special one when wraith-Keiko immediately warned O'Brian that any attempt at some techno deus ex solution would fail. It became apparent that ti had access to all of Keiko's thoughts which put O'Brian on the back foot - and there he stayed throughout the episode right until the very end.

    He never had an opportunity to do anything but follow wraith-Keiko's orders, and I really liked see him struggle with what he was doing. He couldn't refuse to do its bidding so played it straight while al the time desperately looking for a way out.

    The script writing and the acting were excellent throughout the episode, there were some beautiful dark moments and some hilarious light relief (Rom: "I will refuse even to tell them my name!" O'Brian: "Rom, everyone on the station already knows your name." Rom: "Oh... then I will refuse to confirm it!").

    I nearly fell off my chair when Odo later complained it had taken 40 minutes for him to get Rom to confirm his name.

    I can't comprehend how you gan give this a 5 and Apocalypse Rising a 7, but I guess that this sort of difference of opinion can only be a good thing since it shows that DS9 is just oozing with quality everywhere and that different kinds of episodes appeal to different people.

    I'm so glad to have watched this straight after the abomination that is Into Darkness, it really lifted the sould, but more on that after you've given it your review... (it's getting a non-canon 0 from me)
  • From Zorak on 2016-05-27 at 11:27pm:
    I have to complete agree with Selador's comment. This episode was amazing. I barely even remember this one from when I was a kid, but re-watching it now as an adult, I was completely blown away. A definite 10 from me. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

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Star Trek DS9 - 5x10 - Rapture

Originally Aired: 1996-12-30

Synopsis:
Sisko has a vision and recommends that Bajor not join the Federation at this time. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 5.37

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 29 1 4 5 8 11 14 6 18 18 15

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Pay close attention to the events of this episode and in particular Sisko's purported visions. This episode features a rare impressive amount of foreshadowing about future episodes.

Problems
- Why hadn't the admiral who contacted Sisko converted to the new uniform code? Or his underling? Why was his underling wearing an old style TNG uniform?

Factoids
- This is the first DS9 episode to feature the uniforms debuted in Star Trek VIII: First Contact.

Remarkable Scenes
- Sisko's instructions to Kira regarding what to tell her concerning why he can't meet with Kai Winn: "Make something up."
- Kassidy's appearance.
- Sisko discovering the lost city.
- Winn: "I was in a Cardassian prison camp for five years. And I can remember each and very beating I suffered. And while you had your weapons to protect you, all I had was my faith and my courage."
- Sisko walking around predicting things.
- Sisko pleading that Bajor not join the Federation.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Quark's bar during the celebration ceremony.

My Review
Sisko has really, truly converted and finally believes he is the Emissary. Sisko turns into quite the prophet in this episode. Most interestingly, he has a vision of locusts swarming over the lost city of Bajor, but they move on. They head towards Cardassia, representing hard times for Cardassia. Bajor would be all right so long as it stood alone, meaning, according to Sisko, so long as it didn't join the Federation yet. Another interesting detail about this episode is Kai Winn as an ally. She was her usual self-serving self, of course, but it was a rare instance when her motives coincided with those of the main cast. This kind of episode has been building up a while. Sisko as the Emissary had to either mean something or not mean something. And there you have it. It meant something.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-07-06 at 2:45pm:
    These are the damned UGLIEST uniforms ever made on star trek. Why in the HELL would the producers decide to do away with the colors that have defined Star Trek for years, and go to these drab, hideous excuses for uniforms??? I absolutely hate them as I hated Picard's overcoat in the later seasons of TNG. I just can never get why the producers switch the uniforms so much. The armed forces of most nations rarely change their uniforms, but apparently Starfleet changes theirs every 4 years.
  • From JTL on 2008-08-12 at 6:15pm:
    Absolutely hideous episode. This is a science fiction show about the future, and the subplot of the 'emissary' is both damned annoying and almost entirely illogical. The philosophy of Star Trek on religion has, up until Deep Space Nine, been to be as open-minded as possible while still holding true to the principle that God is improbable. No scientifically explainable method of action exists for these idiotic visions Sisko experiences, except for the extremely tenuous hypothesis that the Prophets imparted this information to him subconsciously.

    I liked this show about as much as I liked TNG up until this point. Maybe I'll enjoy it again once the Dominion War begins in earnest, but this is the point where Star Trek stops being science fiction and begins being fantasy. I give it a 0/10.
  • From JRPoole on 2009-06-17 at 2:23pm:
    JTL's comment nails my concern about DS9 on the head. I think that it's a better show than TNG overall, but this religious mumbo jumbo gets old and it doesn't seem in keeping with the theme of Trek. It seems to me that Trek got a little new-agey and lost its ant-religion stance somehow after Gene Roddenberry's death.

    Up until now, it's been possible to rationalize away the religious aspects of DS9. The Prophets are really just non-corporeal entities living in the wormhole, not really gods at all. The Orbs have scientific properties that expand the mind, etc. This episode makes that rationalization difficult, and all but verifies the Bajoran religion as fact. Still, it's a nicely constructed episode, and the Cassidy's return is handled well, if a little too quickly.
  • From Phillip Watson on 2009-08-06 at 3:12pm:
    A problem I have in this episode is that due to the change in Uniforms(Bashir wears the old one later in the series) then Sisko was operated on by the Changeling. Why didn't he take the oppurtunity to have him die on the operating table
  • From ZeuS on 2011-07-15 at 10:35pm:
    Absolutely hideous and completely out of place for a Star Trek series religious nonsense.

    0/10 simply because there is no negative score that I could give.
  • From Bernard on 2011-07-17 at 7:43pm:
    Okay, the time has come to comment here!

    I alluded to this episode when commenting on season four episode 'Ascension'. 'Ascension' was the last episode about the wormhole aliens and also the first glimpse of the prophets. 'Rapture' to me is where the wheels come off this particular story arc and we are fed superstitious nonsense instead of science fiction.

    Early on in the series the Bajorans religious beliefs are portrayed realistically. The reasons behind those beliefs are realistic and clever (i.e. they believe in prophets that are actually just non-corporeal aliens living inside a wormhole adjacent to Bajor. These aliens had, up until this point, no idea about corporeal matters least of all the Bajorans). That is clever and you can make clever stories to illustrate the differences between religious fanatics and pure science/scientists just like in the episode 'In the Hands of the Prophets' between Vedek Winn and Keiko. What happens in this episode and hereafter flies completely in the face of all of that and tells us that actually the wormhole aliens DO take an interest in Bajor and they ARE in fact the Prophets. Gene would truly be rolling in his grave. Oh, and I'm not exactly a total lover of Roddenberry philosophy by the way. In fact I think many aspects of the various series' were allowed to become far more realistic and less idealistic and preachy once the great man had passed away.

    Sisko loses respect too as a result of all this nonsense, although Avery Brooks is acting his behind off throughout so tip of the hat there. Kai Winn is excellent in this episode as always too. Ultimately it is all an act of futility because I agree with the last commentator, this episode can only ever receive zero from me.

    0/10

  • From MJ on 2011-07-23 at 1:17pm:
    I agree with other comments here, for the most part. I've never been a fan of DS9's Prophet/Wormhole story arc, and I think it goes against the Star Trek tradition. But one thing I did like about this episode was its portrayal of Kai Wynn. Throughout the series, she's incredibly manipulative, calculating and arrogant. For this episode, though, we get something a little more complicated. Wynn's remarks to Kira about courage and faith as means to resist Cardassian occupation made for a very nice moment, and her efforts to help Sisko with his visions actually seemed genuine instead of obviously selfish. Her conversation with Kira at the end about not having certainly anymore was also solidly done. It was probably the only episode where I didn't cringe when Wynn had something to say. And Brooks did a great job acting here...not overly dramatic.

    Still, the episode retreated into the New Age mysticism that is DS9's trademark and worst contribution to the Star Trek series. Fortunately, we get enough great episodes dealing with other story arcs like the Maquis, the Dominion Wars, and relationships between characters to more than compensate for this.
  • From RodimusBen on 2011-10-30 at 11:48am:
    The reason this episode is a favorite of mine is precisely the reason others seem to hate it-- it brings the spiritual aspect of Deep Space Nine to the forefront. Spiritualism is one of the reasons that DS9 is the best Trek series. It doesn't ignore this essential part of the human experience, but embraces it and shows how science and religion can coexist in the same worldview.

    Everything that happens in this episode can be explained through the information we've been given (or will be given in later seasons) about Sisko and the Prophets. If you choose to see it from a scientific perspective, that's fine. If you see it as an allegory for human spirituality and our own religious faith, then you can do that too. The most poignant moment of the episode is in ops, when all the regulars are talking about Sisko's situation. Worf and Kira, people of faith, "get it." Dax and O'Brien don't. And that dichotomy between the faithful and the faithless is about as close to a universal truism as Star Trek gets.
  • From Wes on 2012-04-03 at 9:49am:
    My absolute favorite Star Trek uniforms!

    I also like this episode quite a bit. The symbolic prophecy is pretty awesome and chilling when we get to the end of this season and beginning of next season.

    DS9's spirituality has validated the spirituality of any Star Trek character who was spiritual. Before DS9, they were almost depicted as silly for their beliefs.
  • From Lee on 2012-04-08 at 7:28am:
    I neither hate nor love this episode. I don't think it "violates" the true spirit of Star Trek, since it IS Star Trek, and as such it has rewritten this spirit, at least in DS9. (I hope this sentence makes sense)

    TNG was anti-religious, VOY was anti-religious too, but didn't make such a huge "foofaraw" around it and DS9 was spiritual and religious. I don't have a problem with that.

    Don't get me wrong, I don't like the prophets, pah-wraiths and the Bajorans either. But I accept it as part of the storyline and as long as it creates suspense I like it. I don't rate this episode bad, because it's an exciting and moving episode.

    I don't get it when people try to impose their view of "true Star Trek" on some episodes. I also like the much-hated series Enterprise so far, although it wasted a lot of potential. But it's a part of Star Trek, whether you like it or not.
  • From Selador on 2013-06-03 at 6:37pm:
    That's a pretty big spoiler right there Phillip Watson, cheers for that.

    The problem with this episode is similar to the one with BSG. I'm not giving it a 0 since it was exciting and had some really good scenes, Sisko's descriptions were at times pretty poetic, but mainly because I choose to believe that a rational explanation for Sisko's visions can be found within the episode. They're not gods that are revealing these things to him, they're wormhole aliens: surely gods wouldn't need to mess with brain polarity or whatever.

    I reckon that Winn is not as evil as she seems, she's misunderstood.
  • From Dstyle on 2013-11-17 at 12:39pm:
    Did anyone else wish they could move Sisko's communicator? He seems to be the only one who can't figure out where it goes on the new uniform.

    I have a lot of thoughts about this episode, but before I get into them, I want to express my extreme disappointment in this site right now re: spoilers. I'm watching DS9 for the first time, and for the most part I've enjoyed coming on this site after each episode to read other people's reactions and share my own if I have any I feel are worth sharing. I've come across the occasional spoiler and just soldiered on, but I think the comments on this episode are the last straw. Specifically, the comment by Phillip Watson, which seems to casually give away what I can only assume is a major spoiler (based on the downthread reaction by Selador) to make some minor observation about the new uniforms. What annoys me most is that this spoiler has been sitting there in the comments since 2009 and the site administrator hasn't done anything about it. There are all kinds of things that can be done to hide spoilers while preserving the original comment, and I think those sorts of things need to be done if this site is going to be a place where all fans--new and old alike--can come together to discuss the episode. Fans who are rewatching the series need to respect the experience of those viewing it for the first time, and the site administrator should do whatever he can to make this site usable for first time viewers. After this I'm probably going to stop coming here after each DS9 episode, which I'm a little sad about.

    That said, I'm a bit surprised about the negative reactions to this episode. Sure, it dealt with religion and spirituality, but that has been a theme of this series from the very beginning: it's not like DS9 is suddenly betraying it's core principles or something. DS9 had to put up or shut up about the emissary, and after it seemed on the verge of shutting up last season with Accession, I was very happy to see them put up in a big way here. I obviously haven't seen this whole series so I don't know how the prophets/WHAs act in future episodes, but I don't think Sisko's prophesies necessarily mean the WHAs have suddenly taken an interest in Bajor, just that they're aware of them and what happens to them. Sisko, who obviously does care about Bajor, can act on that awareness which has apparently been bestowed upon him as well.

    And the new uniforms are better than the old uniforms, in my opinion. The old uniforms just looked like pajamas to me.
  • From Mike on 2016-11-01 at 10:01pm:
    A lot of reviews here have already discussed the religious/spiritual side of DS9. My comment is geared more toward the "spoiler" issue.

    DS9 had been around about 10 years when reviews started popping up here, and by now, it's been almost 20. I understand a new generation of fans is watching the show for the first time. But given that the show is reviewed and analyzed in every corner of the internet dealing with Star Trek, it's reasonable for long-time fans to discuss details about the entire show without having to worry about "spoilers".

    The Bashir changeling/uniform problem that Philip Watson mentions is also mentioned on many other sites and is one of the things fans discuss whenever the DS9 timeline comes up. Rather than expect people to tiptoe around these potential spoilers, a first-time viewer should just watch the show and then browse the internet for reviews and forums later on.
  • From ST on 2017-04-22 at 3:17am:
    I kind of liked how the religious experiences weren't just Sisko being granted special powers. Whatever alien technology was affecting him, it didn't discriminate. The process would have killed him, even when the believers thought he would have lived. So though others here think the episode was mindlessly accepting about religion, it was actually kind of critical at the same time without rubbing it in your face. What if your religion did revolve around alien technology so that it actually appeared to work? Wouldn't that have its ups and its downsides?
    That's kind of what I like about DS9 in particular--the clash of cultures and beliefs is so much richer in DS9 than it is in other Trek series. There's no naivete about culture: no finding the secret supercomputer, destroying it, then having the residents up and abandon thousands of years worth of culture as if it were nothing.
  • From Armsauce on 2017-05-30 at 6:07pm:
    I find it really hard to rationalize Sisko's behavior in this one. He seems really out of character even taking the visions into account.

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Star Trek DS9 - 5x12 - The Begotten

Originally Aired: 1997-1-27

Synopsis:
Odo is reunited with one of his own. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 6.28

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 10 2 2 3 2 11 20 27 20 12 8

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Kira's baby is born in this episode and Odo regains his shapeshifting abilities in this episode.

Problems
- When the baby was born it seems the umbilical cord came pre cut...

Factoids
- The filming of this episode was rather nice. Nana Visitor was actually pregnant during all these episodes. It wasn't fakes. You'll notice in the final scenes of this episode, she wasn't pregnant anymore. They filmed around her real world childbirth!

Remarkable Scenes
- Quark "haggling" with Odo.
- O'Brien's lack of enthusiasm for the delivery ceremony.
- Worf: "Constable, why are you talking to your beverage?"
- Odo fighting with Dr. Mora.
- Dr. Mora: "The first time you did anything like that was when you formed a tentacle to slap my hand from the console." Odo: "I wanted you to stop zapping me."
- Shakaar and O'Brien fighting.
- Odo being uncharacteristically nice to Quark.
- Odo becoming a Changeling again.

My Review
This episode is something of a sequel to DS9: The Alternate. Basically Odo vs. Dr. Mora part 2. Fortunately they (finally) resolved their differences. I was disappointed with DS9: The Alternate; Mora and Odo never settled their differences. Fortunately, this episode makes up for all that one's mistakes. The O'Brien / Shakaar / Keiko / Kira plot was rather childish though. Honestly, I didn't care much for it. In the end, this episode serves the necessary purpose of giving Odo back his shapeshifting abilities. What the hell were they thinking when they removed his ability in the first place? I mean, it made for a dramatic season finale / premiere, but when those episodes were all over, we were left with a much less interesting Odo. Well, we had one decent episode dealing with Odo's newfound humanoid nature (DS9: The Ascent), so at least it served a purpose. Still, it seems as though Odo regaining his shapeshifting ability was somewhat rushed because they couldn't figure out how to use it effectively dramatically. Overall, a rather average episode.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From John on 2011-09-22 at 4:00pm:
    I love the Odo/Mora plot, but the O'Brien baby plot was boring. The only scene even remotely entertaining was the scene where Kira is waiting to deliver, and Miles, Keiko and some Bajoran midwife are playing these ridiculous instruments in order to relax her, and then Miles sneezes -- I guess the writers never get tired of coming up with absurd Bajoran customs.

    A better B-plot would have been to have Quark try to take advantage of Odo's preoccupation to do some shady deals on the station, only to have Changeling Odo bust him at the end.

    I really liked seeing the nurturing side of Odo, which is something we've only rarely seen in the past.
  • From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-28 at 8:47pm:
    I was totally disappointed with the Odo losing his ability thing. And, REALLY disappointed with how he gets it back! Another shapeshifter (a very small and mostly dead one at that) simply merges into him and suddenly all his human organs are gone? No more eating? No more drinking? That's it? I don't know. It felt ridiculously over-the-top.
  • From Inga on 2013-02-02 at 2:24pm:
    I agree - Odo regaining his shapeshifting WAS rushed ;/

    Also, I think Shakaar is a total ass. O'Brien had all the right to see Kira give birth - it was his son after all ;/ and during Kira's pregnancy, the ever-so-busy first minister didn't visit her even once...
  • From Mandeponium on 2013-08-30 at 12:49pm:
    I didn't understand the ending at all.

    Did the changeling give its powers to Odo and then die? How? Why? If Dr. Mora had picked it up, would he now be a changeling? Was it sent by the Founders to restore Odo? Or was it random chance? Surely the Founders are aware of the possibility of this happening and would try to stop it. Where's Bashir when you need him to speculate on these bizarre events?

    Also I get the need not to deviate from the DS9 "formula" in which one of the characters is a shapeshifter, but I wouldn't have minded a whole season of Odo learning to be human. The writers could have teased us all season, having us ask, "maybe this really is permanent?" The way it turned out got wrapped up a little too neatly.

    Oh well, another case of Deus Ex Machina.

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Star Trek DS9 - 5x18 - Business as Usual

Originally Aired: 1997-4-7

Synopsis:
Quark wants to pay off his debts, but it may cost him his life. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 4.87

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 12 4 4 15 5 21 17 8 11 7 3

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- No significant exposition, events, or consequences, but a decent story nevertheless.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This is the first episode in which we get to meet the much mentioned but never before seen Gaila, Quark's cousin.

Remarkable Scenes
- Sisko threatening Quark.
- Bashir's diagnosis for Yoshi: "Perhaps he's become prematurely aware of life's existential isolation."
- The whole whispering scene between O'Brien and Sisko in ops.
- Rules of Acquisition; 67. The riskier the road the greater the profit.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Sitting near Quark while he checks for Odo. 2. Sleeping at Quark's bar while Quark complains about the lack of customers.

My Review
Hagath to me was the star of the show here. A brilliant character played by a talented actor. Besides that, the episode is fairly routine, even a little boring. Quark's financial situation certainly was not enough to hold my interest, frankly O'Brien's side plot was more interesting and amusing. Especially the scene near the end with Worf.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Lt. Fitz on 2012-06-29 at 7:48am:
    Victor Maitland from Beverly Hills Cop! He plays such a good slimeball! :)
  • From Selador on 2013-06-19 at 7:05pm:
    A decent idea, poorly executed. I must disagree with the view Hagath was a brilliant character played by a brilliant actor. He was a one-dimentional stereotypical villain, overplayed by a below average actor with no imagination.

    Quark's turnaround came too late - he had already played apart in selling weapons to very dubious character. He should have been sent to prison for it for a very long time.
  • From Bronn on 2013-07-16 at 8:12pm:
    Trek writers tend to want it so clear that they're not supporting something even slightly controversial by getting a bit heavy-handed with the plot. That's what happened here. I thought this could have been a bit more intriguing without this guy showing up halfway through the episode and announcing that he's the villain of the week by saying, "I would like to indiscriminately kill 28 million people, please." Real people don't talk like that, not even bloodthirsty despots. I would have preferred if they'd moved a bit slower with this plot, having Quark getting drawn in more and more over his head until he realized what he was doing. It seems like they TRIED to do that, but they couldn't help but pass on the message that "People who sell weapons have no souls," so they cut it short pretty quickly.

    This could have been more intelligently done. There was apparently some awareness among the writing staff, since they pointed out that people like Hagath had supplied weapons to the Bajoran resistance. The weapons carried by even Federation security personnel were obviously researched and developed by SOMEBODY-and sure, while they have stun settings, they also have kill settings, and we'll see our heroes using lethal settings on their weapons rather arbitrarily over the remainder of this show's run. Then there's people out there who are supposedly supplying weapons to the Maquis, whom we're supposed to view at least with some degree of sympathy since they were among the heroes on Voyager. We hear about plenty of members of Starfleet who help supply weapons TO the Maquis, so obviously not everyone in the whole Federation hates weapons suppliers.

    Instead of a designated villain who just wants to kill everyone, you could write someone like an ACTUAL bloodthirsty despot. Bring in someone who's running an authoritarian regime that says he wants to snuff out the rebels-it should serve as an echo for the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. The arms merchants could offer him precision weapons that will allow him to eliminate the leaders and blow up rebel hide-outs, but instead, he wants large scale weapons to use to take out entire villages that harbor resistance members. At least make it seem realistic. It also helps leave just a bit of a gray area in which actual weapons developers can exist, even if the ones represented in the episode are unscrupulous.
  • From Axel on 2015-06-08 at 11:29pm:
    I disagree a bit with the reviewer Bronn. I do think this episode did a decent job with the moral gray area that is weapons dealing. Even in the real world, weapons dealing is one of those things that we know goes on and that we overall consider to be evil, but which we tolerate because we also know it makes possible certain things we believe to be worthwhile. It allows causes we believe in to take hold.

    The best scene in this episode is the one where Gaila confronts Quark about his hesitations. This scene reminded me of the movie “Lord of War” which focuses on this same issue. Gaila points out the same thing that Nicholas Cage’s character does in that movie: the universe is made up of people who are committed to the destruction of other people. You’ll never be able to stop it, and refusing to sell weapons doesn’t mean the genocide won’t occur, it just means someone else will profit from it instead. Quark, I think when talking to Jadzia, also offers up the age-old excuse of the weapons dealer: I’m giving people a means to defend themselves.

    I do agree the Federation characters come across as a little too holier-than-thou in this one. Of course, this is before they found out that Section 31 was using biological warfare against the Founders with the hope of wiping them out.

    The eccentric Hagath was definitely an enjoyable character.

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Star Trek DS9 - 5x24 - Empok Nor

Originally Aired: 1997-5-19

Synopsis:
Crew from Deep Space Nine must salvage needed parts from a derelict Cardassian space station. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 6.12

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 13 2 5 1 3 16 10 16 18 22 7

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- This episode features some minor, but fun continuity that will be somewhat relevant later: Nog's experience with Garak will have a lasting impact on his opinion of Garak and this episode is of course the first episode to feature Empok Nor which will later recur.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Empok Nor was abandoned about a year before this episode.

Remarkable Scenes
- Garak: "Well it's just that lately I've noticed everyone seems to trust me. It's quite unnerving. I'm still trying to get used to it."
- The detached Runabout drifting away then exploding.
- Pechetti admiring Cardassian military insignia, suddenly being killed by one of the Cardassian assassins. The scene looked straight out of a horror film to me.
- Garak starting to act a little weird.
- Garak assassinating the Cardassians, then turning to Amaro.
- Garak fighting O'Brien.
- Morn Appearances; 1. First scene, sitting at the bar.

My Review
DS9 does horror. Drugged Cardassians moving about, killing people, Garak going psycho, killing people. All very dark stuff. Well, there are good things and bad things about this episode. First, the bad stuff. No less than four redshirts died needlessly. Thankfully, their deaths were not completely meaningless nor forgotten immediately. Second, this entire mission was manufactured danger. It seems highly unlikely that Starfleet couldn't have manufactured the necessary replacement parts rather than plummeting six of its officers (and Garak) into needless danger. The Jem'Hadar threat alone is enough to not want to undertake such a reckless mission, much less this drugged Cardassians part. In the episode's favor are the four redshirts. They may have died needlessly, but their contribution to the story was great. I loved all four of them, especially Pechetti and his emblem obsession. I always like seeing O'Brien take charge of a situation; he's a great leader. And as always, Garak is a fascinating character. One final comment, why was Empok Nor constantly shown tilted in external shots?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Renee on 2008-09-09 at 4:20pm:
    Why was Empok Nor shown tilted? My guess would be that it was done that way to avoid confusion with Terok Nor alias Deep Space Nine.
  • From lt. Fitz on 2012-06-29 at 2:30pm:
    Perhaps the station was shown tilted because the cameras, working ships, and working stations are always set up to be aligned with the galactic horizon. Keeps space travels from getting dizzy. :)
  • From Hugo on 2012-10-13 at 4:41pm:
    Loved it! Garak-heavy episodes are always good. When I first saw the crew on the runabout - and them being introduced with names etc, my first thought was "redshirts"! And sure enough...

    Does this ep count as an "O'Brien-must-suffer" episode?

    Loved the twist and the mood by the way - reminded me of "Project Firestart" (cinematic Commodore 64 game) and "System Shock". Just having two Cardassian soldiers on the loose was good, and then having Garak switching sides was a good turn.
  • From ChristopherA on 2020-12-16 at 12:02am:
    This is a bottom-tier episode for me. I just couldn’t stand how incredibly stupid the Federation forces were, repeatedly ignoring danger and splitting up just like a group of teenage campers in a cheesy horror movie. First, they are specifically told that the station is likely to be booby trapped, but as soon as they get past the airlock the first thing they do is start wandering around randomly touching things. Second, once they discover that there are enemy forces hunting them down, they decide to split up their forces and do nothing about the threat. I mean, we all expect Federation security to be terrible, that is a given in the Star Trek universe. But this really goes beyond into a level of deliberate incompetence that I found maddening.
  • From Empok Obummer on 2022-10-25 at 3:10am:
    Agreed, too much Redshirt killing. What irked me as well were Garaks statements about killing Cardassians, I mean during his time in the Obsidian Gestapo he probably killed more than O'Brien did. We even saw him murdering a few on the show!

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x16 - Change of Heart

Originally Aired: 1998-3-4

Synopsis:
Worf must choose between Starfleet duty and his wife. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 6.5

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 10 5 6 7 8 19 13 15 25 21 29

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- A decently entertaining story, but not relevant to the overarching story of DS9.

Problems
- So tricorders don't work in the jungle, but Worf uses one to scan Jadzia to determine her medical status?

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Worf and O'Brien judging Tongo.
- Worf and Dax discussing their honeymoon plans. Worf wanted to go to the Vulcan Forge. Nice reference to TAS: Yesteryear, and other episodes.
- Worf: "I have a sense of humor! On the Enterprise I was considered to be quite amusing." Dax: "That must have been one dull ship." Worf: "That is a joke! I get it! It is not funny. But I get it."
- O'Brien and Bashir playing Tongo.
- Bashir playing Quark at Tongo. I love how Quark manipulated Bashir into losing by appealing to his love for Dax.
- Worf explaining to Sisko his motives for leaving Lasaran behind and saving Jadzia.

My Review
A moving story showing how dedicated Worf is to his wife. It must have been incredibly difficult for Worf to make the choice between saving family and saving the mission, and I'm sure it was hard to have Sisko chew him out in the end like that. I rather liked how Sisko told him he would have done the same thing though. The B plot regarding Quark and his unending Tongo winning streak was nice as well for some light hearted humor to cheer up a depressing story. I just wish that Quark had actually lost in the end instead of manipulating Bashir so cruelly. In the end, it ended up being fairly average and borderline filler.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-07-16 at 11:48pm:
    Tongo is such a wonderful game! All the writers kept on adding more rules to it as the show progressed until it eventually became the most ridiculously complex game ever devised. No one on the Star Trek crew even fully understands it.

    However, the writers and directors always make it appear to be easy to understand and commonly played in the show, which is a kind of inside joke. For example, Bashir takes one look at the padd of the rules of Tongo and is like "oh okay, I get it now", as if it's tic tac toe. I also love how they keep on coming up with hands as the show progresses, like the "complete monopoly". What a Ferengi game!!!
  • From MJ on 2011-02-17 at 12:29pm:
    The premise of this episode was a bit hard to accept. Surely Starfleet is aware of the potential problems in sending a husband and wife together on a life-and-death mission...seems like this kind of thing would've been prohibited long before Dax and Worf. And even if Starfleet didn't, I would think Sisko is aware of such problems given his own loss and wouldn't allow it.

    So that knocks it down a few pegs in my view. The dialogue between Worf and Dax in the shuttle about honeymoon plans, Worf's sense of humor, etc. was very funny. It was nice to see some Worf as something other than a stern warrior. And on the planet, they had some touching moments.

    As is typical for DS9, everything was wrapped up very quickly at the end. But it was especially bad here, because this episode completely lacks a denouement. I was hoping for some kind of encounter with Lasaran or failing that, some other climactic event, but nothing. The episode builds up to Worf's rather strange change of heart moment in the jungle, then fast forward to him on the station with Sisko and Lasaran is dead.

    This is a below average episode, with even the subplot accomplishing nothing.
  • From Christopher Wright on 2011-12-21 at 6:24pm:
    Did anyone else notice Worf's line about being a "married man" sounded a lot like his "But, Captain, I am not a merry man!" Line from that Robin Hood TNG episode?
  • From Bronn on 2013-07-22 at 2:18am:
    Those darned anti-coagulants again. They've shown up a couple of times. Jem'Hadar weapons are just about the only weapons on the show that are consistently dangerous. People sometimes get shot by phasers set on kill and end up with just second degree burns on their shoulder.

    It's a shame they didn't kill off Jadzia Dax here. It would have had a ton more impactful than what did end up happening. And even though Worf is often fatalistic, he spent so much time on the Enterprise that I figure he'd attempt to escape the moral dilemma-to find a way to save Jadzia AND complete the mission. He could have thought he'd be able to get back to the runabout and somehow use the transporter. It would have been quite effective for him to have been in denial until the absolute last minute, realizing he'd left his wife behind to die alone.

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Star Trek DS9 - 7x01 - Image in the Sand

Originally Aired: 1998-9-30

Synopsis:
Sisko, now retreated back on Earth to gather his wits, meets an old friend. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 3.66

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 113 6 7 5 3 14 22 21 25 15 18

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode features revised credits. Terry Farrell for Jadzia Dax is removed and Nicole deBoer is added for Ezri Dax.

Remarkable Scenes
- Colonel Kira! Complete with a new hairstyle...
- Worf's behavior with Vic.
- O'Brien sharing a bottle of blood wine with Worf. I love Worf's reluctance. Nice reference to TNG: Hollow Pursuits as well.
- I love the scene where Martok asks Worf to join him on a dangerous mission.
- Bashir and O'Brien deciding to go with Worf on his dangerous mission to honor Jadzia.
- Ezri's appearance.
- Morn Appearances; 1. In the bar after O'Brien shares a bottle of blood wine with Worf.

My Review
This episode reveals the truth behind Sisko's connection with the Prophets. He's actually descended from one! There's that, and a couple other interesting plot threads. Kira, with her new promotion, is now in command of DS9 and the Romulans have established a permanent presence there. They've also secretly heavily fortified one of Bajor's moons under the guise that it's a hospital. This, of course, pissed off Kira. Also, Worf is angry because he believes that because of the way Jadzia's died, she wasn't granted entry into Sto'Vo'Kor. So Martok, Worf, O'Brien, and Bashir all decide to go on a dangerous mission against the Dominion to honor her memory. Finally, Ezri Dax makes an appearance, the successor to Jadzia Dax. These plot threads are all valid and interesting, but none of them are sufficiently developed in this episode, especially Ezri, who gets a pathetic amount of screen time. The episode was designed to be a cliffhanger, and it was done so in a slow paced, annoying way. Nevertheless, it is a satisfactory beginning to the season.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Psycroptic on 2012-07-13 at 9:52pm:
    What's up with all the zero ratings for this season? Spammers I'm guessing. Inconsistent but still a great opening to the season.
  • From Bernard on 2012-07-14 at 6:07am:
    Yes, it appears someone has deliberately been trying to sabotage our good webmasters statistics! Perhaps he can see when all these zero ratings came about and who put them on because all these episodes were rated much more highly before.
  • From Bronn on 2013-07-27 at 1:28am:
    One of many episodes that really ruin the Bajoran prophets.

    Let's think about this for a minute: The prophets basically possess a woman, drag her to meet Sisko's dad, keep her possessed until she marries him, gets pregnant, has a kid, and the is one year old. Then finally she wakes up one morning no longer possessed, having had her body used as a walking incubator to give birth to someone. In short, the prophets used Sisko's father to rape her, AND used to give birth to the baby then take care of it for a year. That's disgusting.

    It gets worse...I guess. I mean, it might be best to imagine this was like a three year coma she woke up from, though she'd still have had her body changed since she became a mother sometime while she was asleep, but it's been previously shown that people possessed by the Prophets (and Pah Wraiths, basically the same beings except for being evil) are AWARE and remember what goes on while they're possessed. It might be somewhat forgivable if, say, this was a Bajoran who was a very willing vessel for the will of the Prophets, even if she signed on for a lot more than she realized, but this was a human woman who didn't know the Prophets existed and wasn't at all a member of their faith. So they raped a casual bystander just to get Sisko born. AND HE NEVER CALLS THEM OUT FOR IT! Nobody does. It occurred to me the first time Sisko's parentage was mentioned, and never fails to occur to me every time it's mentioned...but it doesn't seem to bother anyone.

    The writers originally had the idea that the Prophet temporarily took corporeal form, but nixed that idea-I guess it seemed a bit too confusing about exactly what the prophets were. Somehow they thought this disgusting idea was better-I really don't know what they were thinking. Basically any episode that mentions this plot point gets an automatic 1 from me, no matter how good the rest of the episode is, just for reminding me of that awful concept.

    I'm not anti-religion. I like some of the religious plotlines in the story-in fact, as a conceptualization of "plot magic," they're far preferable to technobabble that often does similar things. But that the Bajoran faith is so often idealized even when they're behaving like entitled fundamentalists is really grating. I was able to deal with that from the Bajorans from time to time, but when the gods themselves are horrifying...I really wish they'd just had Dukat kill them all instead of letting the Prophets win.
  • From Kethinov on 2013-07-27 at 2:35pm:
    I get what you're going for, but it seemed pretty clear to me in the story that the Prophets merely influenced Sisko's mother without her knowledge rather than force her into actions she was unwilling to do. As such, she probably wasn't aware she was possessed. When she left Sisko's father after no longer being possessed, the story strongly implies that she probably just thought she fell out of love. As such, since she didn't feel coerced by external forces, she wasn't raped.
  • From Bernard on 2013-07-28 at 9:16am:
    I'm in agreement with Bronn in one respect.. I dislike any parts of the story involving the wormhole aliens/prophets from the episode 'Rapture' onwards because this marks the point in the series when the writers make the deliberate decision that the prophets have, do and will continue to take an interest and influence the Bajorans on PURPOSE and not by accident.

    This is quite contrary to the initial encounter with the wormhole aliens in 'The Emissary' where Sisko has to explain virtually every concept of linear existence to them! So I guess they were just messing around with him in that episode?

    Just to point out, I don't mind if they'd portrayed the prophets as beings that consider the Bajorans to be their 'children' from the start but they didn't. I also don't mind if the Bajorans thinks of the wormhole aliens as prophets (gods) but they aren't really... it's a theme shown time and again in the various incarnation of Star Trek, a less developed race thinks of another more developed race as godlike but in actual fact they are not their gods... except the writers decided from 'Rapture' that the prophets WERE the Bajorans gods and started writing it as such. That is when the prophets storyline turned into absolute drivel and they had to start coming up with obscene ways for the prophets to affect our characters lives. It's ridiculous and it was the worst and weakest part of DS9 by a mile.
  • From Bronn on 2013-07-28 at 5:14pm:
    I'm not sure I agree with that assessment, Keth, especially given the one Prophet that keeps showing up as Sarah Sisko and claiming to be Captain Sisko's mother. It's like she's the one taking credit for creating him, not all the Prophets as a whole subtly influencing one woman. The Sarah Prophet also refuses to share credit with the real Sarah-SHE'S Sisko's mother, not the corporeal woman named Sarah. She also says that Sisko is "A part of her," which doesn't make sense unless she's the same Prophet who possessed Sisko's mother.

    I can't say I really see the evidence supporting your version. We haven't seen direct evidence of the Prophets "subtly directing" someone in the story before-they've used orbs, they've used visions, and they've used random electification that makes Sisko have crazy visions. You can argue we don't always see the less overt influences, but if so, you'd think they'd have attempted to give some guidance to Kai Winn at some point, who was genuinely faithful despite her hopeless ambition. Instead they let her experience direct visions from the Pah Wraiths and fall under Dukat's influence. What we have seen, though, is that people can be possessed by Prophets and Pah Wraiths, and they don't even have to be completely willing-like Keiko and Jake Sisko were possessed at different times.

    And if this woman just "fell out of love," it's weird that she completely abandoned her baby and made no effort to ever contact him again, isn't it? She lives in the super-ideal version of earth, so it's not like she abandoned him because she couldn't take care of him. She was in a relationship, had a baby, and then walked out one day without ever getting back in contact with the baby-it's really unusual behavior. It makes much more sense that she was possessed, finally woke up free one morning, was horrified at having been raped and used, and ran far, far away, never wanting again to be reminded of what happened to her, especially not wanting to see the baby she was forced to bear.

    I can't see it as anything other than the most unfortunate of implications ever conceived of in Star Trek, and somehow nobody noticed or commented on it. That's why I went from fairly neutral about the Prophets, to utterly loathing them.
  • From Bronn on 2013-07-28 at 5:55pm:
    Also, from memory alpha, here's a quote from René Echevarria, Executive Story Editor: "We originally thought that Sarah was a Prophet – there was no human woman involved. But we ultimately nudged the idea into something a bit more oblique, saying the Prophets could take over another person's form."

    http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Image_in_the_Sand_%28episode%29

    So even the WRITERS thought they were telling the story about a being taking over a woman's form, so that she could have sex with the right man and give birth to the baby. Yuck!

    Deep Space 9 is usually a smart show about recognizing implications in its continuity-that's why I really like it, and think it's overall better than Voyager. Garak goes nuts when he realizes he's basically acting like a traitor to the Cardassian people to whom he'd been loyal, Worf is forced to deal with the fact that he's isolated from other Klingons, Nog had an emotional crisis about losing his leg that didn't even end when he got a replacement leg (one of my favorite episodes-Nog probably experienced the most character growth during this series of any Trek character ever written), and Sisko was forced to deal with the dual problems of being a religious icon and a Starfleet officer. But somehow they missed this? Despite it coming up repeatedly in several episodes?

    I'd like to pretend it never happened, but they keep reminding us about it later.
  • From Kethinov on 2013-07-29 at 1:30pm:
    There's no evidence whatsoever to support your claim that what happened to Sarah was abuse. You're basing all of your conclusions off of wild speculation based on a whole host of assumptions that the story doesn't go into at all while ignoring the two most obvious pieces of direct evidence contradicting your hypothesis: 1. the characters in the story didn't see what happened to her as abuse, and 2. as you yourself just stated, neither did the writers.

    Don't get me wrong. I'm with you on the storytelling related to the Prophets being annoyingly arbitrary and vague at times and this episode is no exception. But you really are just projecting this abuse hypothesis onto a story that didn't intend that interpretation at all, which is kind of ridiculous given that the other interpretation fits just as well if not better.

    Sure, they could have made it more explicit, and they certainly should have. But the slightly sloppy writing here pales in comparison to several much more heinous examples elsewhere in the series. It seems odd to pick on this episode when there are so many other worse examples throughout Star Trek of vague and arbitrary plots leaving things open to interpretation in unintended ways.
  • From L on 2013-08-13 at 4:44am:
    How can Worf smashing up a virtual holosuite bar be cause for complaint? It's a programmed environment that can be reset at the touch of a button!
  • From Selador on 2013-09-19 at 7:25pm:
    "1. the characters in the story didn't see what happened to her as abuse, and 2. as you yourself just stated, neither did the writers."

    That is a very strange argument for concluding that what happened wasn't abuse.

    The fact that neither the writers nor the characters considered what happened to Sarah to be abuse does not mean that is it wasn't.

    It is amazing that it never even crossed their minds that a women being possessed then forced to have a baby against her will was wrong. Because Bronn is so obviously right with this regard - it is clearly very, very wrong.

    I find it incredible that no one at any stage of production said or thought this: 'Wait, this is Star Trek, the core values of which are things like respect, understanding, fairness and freedom. Here we have gods - and not just gods but good gods, the good guys - taking over a woman's body and making her have sex with a man and give birth against her will. Are we insane?'

    And it clearly is against her will - the clue is in the word 'possessed'. Also she leaves once the prophets let her go and doesn't want anything to do with her son, so it wasn't a case of somthing like Possession Stockholm Syndrome (that is, she didn't come to accept and like the situation she was in after a while, thinking it was all for the best in the long term).

    This is the only logical interpretation of events and I fail to see how anyone could rationally argue that what the prophets did to the poor woman did not constitute a heinous crime. It would surely be illegal on every planet in the universe. It is, in essence, slavery.

    To claim that it wasn't abuse because the writers didn't consider it to be abuse is the same as claiming that Tintin in the Congo is not racist on the basis that Hergé didn't consider it to be racist. (It clearly is by the way - don't know if Tintin is popular in the states?)

    (Disclaimer: I am in no way accusing Kethinov of anything at all here, in case someone jumps to that erroneous conclusion)

    The prophets are without a doubt the worst thing about this series. Space Religion is also where BSG went so catatrophically wrong in the end, quasi-religious nonsense that is both offensive and annoying.

    ...

    Apart from all of that (!) I really enjoyed the first two episodes of this series. Some great stuff involving Quark, O'Brian and Bashir ('The Three Musketeers'), new Dax is pretty cool and I loved the Romulan treachery. I bloodly love the Romulans full stop.

    Also anything involving Weyoun is gold - especially liked the scene when he said "charming woman" about Damar's mistress with such earnestness a few second after threatning to execute her!
  • From Kethinov on 2013-09-19 at 10:27pm:
    It's just more complicated than you guys are making it out to be.

    Your whole argument is based on the faulty assumption that Sarah exerted no free will while she was "possessed." That's certainly possible, but the opposite is equally possible. The episode doesn't tell us one way or the other.

    What exposition the episode does give us uses language like the prophets "shared" her existence and "guided" her to Joseph. That's not unilaterally coercive. She may have had a choice in the matter.

    For all we know the prophets may have "possessed" a dozen different women before one was sufficiently moved by their influences to willingly enter into a relationship suitable for their goals.

    Since it's clear that the writers did not intend the actions of the prophets to be interpreted as abusive, I think we owe them the benefit of the doubt of the more generous interpretation, while also criticizing them for not making the more generous interpretation more explicit.

    A nuanced position is called for here, folks.
  • From Bronn on 2013-10-27 at 6:54pm:
    I just don't think it's sufficient to say that the writers and production staff didn't think it was offensive to conclude otherwise. I mean, the writers probably didn't think Angel One was offensive, even though it was.

    This also isn't the first time in the TNG era we've seen aliens forcing impregnation and everyone pretended it was okay-look back at TNG's "The Child." The writers apparently had NO problem with Troi getting raped and knocked up by an alien influence, since we were supposed to think that was a fairly benign alien in that episode. The writers missing the implications of their story is something that happens sometimes, especially when there is a group of male writers creating what would be a serious woman's issue. They didn't possess Joseph Sisko so he could knock up Sarah-which would have been infinitely less invasive-they had a woman knocked up and possessed throughout her pregnancy.

    And again, I think the implication is fairly clear. We've seen direct evidence of people being possessed by Prophets and Pah-Wraiths-Kira, Jake, Keiko, and Dukat by the time THIS plot point is introduced. I don't see why we shouldn't interpret this as being basically the same thing. If they wanted to clarify this point, they could have just had the real Sarah show up at some point, but she ran away and had nothing to do with Joseph or Ben Sisko the rest of her life...which is essentially what a rape victim would do. It's harder to imagine a woman actually abandoning her son and never making any attempt to contact him again than it is to imagine that she was used against her will.

    That's why I hate this plot point. They could have at least TRIED to do something that wouldn't offend my sensibilities so much. They did not.
  • From Kethinov on 2013-10-28 at 5:01am:
    It's equally valid for me to say that you should at least try to imagine other possible interpretations which wouldn't offend your sensibilities.

    In this thread I've laid out several alternative interpretations that are equally valid and less offensive. None of them are ruled out by the established facts of the plot.

    If you still choose to believe there's only one possible interpretation, then that's your problem, not the episode's.

    I think we can all agree that the episode should have made it more clear. But you're jumping to conclusions.
  • From peterwolf on 2014-01-22 at 4:18pm:
    Sisko´s birth is controversial and deserves a more thorough analysis than simply saying "his mother was forced by the prophets to be raped". At least one motif behind the Sisko/emissary story is that he is a messiah for the Bajorans. One may interpret some actions of the wormhole aliens as wrong. However, if time has no meaning, and the existence of Sisko was inevitable, do categories like good or evil matter at all?
    Anyway, it is a pity that the fan rating of season 7 has been spoiled by improbable counts of "0" for every single episode.

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Star Trek DS9 - 7x16 - Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges

Originally Aired: 1999-3-3

Synopsis:
On the eve of Dr. Bashir's departure for a conference on the Romulan homeworld, he's visited by Sloan, the director of Section 31, a secret and unsanctioned extremist entity within Starfleet Intelligence. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 6.24

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 36 4 2 0 1 16 23 14 31 35 32

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- This episode picks up on the Section 31 plot line established last season.

Problems
None

Factoids
- The episode's title is latin for, "in time of war, the law falls silent."
- The Intrepid class ship, named Bellerophon, was registry: NCC 74705.

Remarkable Scenes
- Bashir and Garak discussing Romulus.
- Sloan predicting that in the aftermath of the Dominion war, the Romulans and the Federation will be the only major powers left.
- An Intrepid class ship! A nice way to cut down on sets and ship models, just reuse Voyager's sets. :) A nice homage too.
- Bashir's meeting with Koval.
- Bashir discovering what's really going on.

My Review
Dr. Bashir has really bad luck with medical conferences. He was captured by the Dominion on his way to one, he was captured by Sloan on his way to one, and now he is duped into participating in a spy mission on Romulus while on his way to one. So Section 31 finally has an assignment for Julian. I was wondering when the writers would revisit this. It's the usual complicated mess of politics one would expect from an organization like Section 31. Unfortunately, the actual story used by the set up in this episode isn't very good. There are interesting tidbits, such as seeing another Intrepid class ship, and seeing lots of nice shots of Romulus, and the political intrigue is even mildly interesting. But when you add it all up, you get something that barely measures up to average. I expected something more profound from Section 31. Not routine political meddling.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-07-26 at 12:08am:
    I really enjoyed this episode, and I enjoy every aspect of section 31. I love how the theme of "the universe isn't pure and happy the way you'd like it to be" is visited by Garak at the beginning and by Sloan at the end. Kind of sums up Deep Space Nine. I LOVED Bashir lecturing Admiral Ross. The Cicero quote was extremely cool, and the fact that Admiral Ross had that on the tip of his tongue just ready to spit out as a justification shows what an asshole he is.

    I loved Sloan complimenting Bashir at the end. I loved seeing Bashir at work as a spy, especially when he wasn't fooled by the "evaporation" of Sloan.

    But above all, I loved Bashir calling security at the end, only to say "never mind. my mistake". HAHAHAHA!!! I give this episode a 9. One of my favorites.
  • From MJ on 2011-03-11 at 3:19pm:
    A deeply troubling episode to be sure.

    The tragic character here, of course, is Senator Chretak. In the first viewing, I thought she might have been involved in the Section 31 plot, and that Bashir, by approaching her, was playing right into their hands. Instead, she was the victim of the plot; removing her from the Senate ensures the Federation's unlikely ally will both head the Tal Shiar and enter the Romulan Continuing Committee unopposed, thus guaranteeing the Romulan war effort.

    One can't help but feel uneasy after this episode. The Federation's...or rather, Section 31's ploy here is so very...Romulan. It's troubling that a Starfleet admiral would be so willing to enact a plan that puts an innocent woman in prison, or possibly to death. But, the episode demonstrates these are desperate times and the Federation cannot afford to lose the Romulans as an ally. Playing dirty politics and spy games to ensure Romulan support is apparently part of Section 31's game plan.

    Overall, I found the episode very well acted...and I have yet to encounter a Star Trek Romulan episode that wasn't gripping. Still, I tend to avoid viewing this episode as it somewhat shatters the view of the Federation as the "good guys".
  • From Bronn on 2013-07-26 at 7:42pm:
    Loved this episode. The scene between Bashir and Ross was beautiful acted, demonstrating Alexander Siddig at the absolute top of his craft. The twist was well executed-even a smart viewer isn't entirely sure what's going on. It appeared to me, also, that Section 31 had crippled Ross on purpose to force Bashir to work with Cretak, who was going to be their secret operative. And having the head of the Tal-Shiar explain that Sloan had single-handedly invented Section 31 told the viewers, and Bashir, something they wanted to hear: that the Federation really wasn't betraying its ideals. It was enough to make you wonder what it would be.

    Unfortunately, after an episode that was brilliant up until the end, the coda is weak. I'd give it a ten, but the conversations between Bashir and Sloan at the end didn't really wrap this up for me. Bashir's attempt to contact security and then deciding not to falls a little flat, since he'd already attempt to futilely chase down Sloan at the beginning. It's too much an echo of that to really convey the message that Bashir is slightly sympathetic to Section 31, which is what the writers had hoped for.

    What works for me is the consistency of character, though. Bashir really does like to get up on his moral highground. It's basically a trait all the doctors in the various series share. But Sloon is also spot on about Bashir loving secrets, it's entirely consistent with how he relates to Garak, and the fact that he has his own secret agent holosuite program. He's also easily the most gossipy character on the show, generally curious about what his friends are talking about.

    I give it a nine, but that's with an extra point for a smart reference to Cicero. I'm a sucker for a good reference to Roman history.
  • From Axel on 2015-06-30 at 11:24pm:
    This episode made me wish there had been another episode dealing with the back story on Koval. How the hell did the chairman of the Tal Shiar become a Federation informant? Was he working with the Federation before or after he came to that position? It would be an interesting storyline on its own. It hardly seems believable to me. After all, it would've been nearly impossible for the KGB or CIA to have a mole at the other's highest level. But then, maybe that's why it would be a good episode!

    Overall, a decent next chapter of the Section 31/Sloan-Bashir arc. The Federation has really dirtied its hands during this whole effort to get and keep the Romulans in the war. But Bashir is the perfect character to involve in this whole thing. More than anyone, he represents the most principled, decent aspects of the Federation. We see throughout the series his idealism chipped away. It happens a little in his dealings with Garak, but mostly it happens in the dealings with Sloan and Section 31.

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Star Trek DS9 - 7x18 - 'Til Death Do Us Part

Originally Aired: 1999-4-14

Synopsis:
Sisko and Kasidy plan to marry, but circumstances are not in their favor. Meanwhile, Dukat returns posing as a simple farmer. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 3.25

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 68 6 2 4 19 6 13 12 11 7 6

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Kai Winn's vision from the "prophets."
- Ezri: "I wonder what the Breen look like under those helmets." Worf: "They say no one has ever seen one and lived to speak of it." Ezri: "Maybe they're all furry. It's supposed to be very cold on Breen."
- Worf regarding the Breen: "They do not tolerate incursions into their space. During the second empire, Chancellor Mow'ga sent a fleet of Klingon ships to conquer their homeworld and were never heard from again."
- Weyoun waking up a hung over Damar.
- The Breen beaming to the Jem'Hadar ship bearing "gifts."

My Review
This episode is most slow in its pacing. A lot of time is spent on Dukat seducing Winn, Sisko wrestling with whether or not to marry Kassidy and ignore his mother's advice or be a good little Emisssary, and the general buildup with the Jem'Hadar ship and the Breen ship traveling to meet one another for the cliffhanger. The slow pacing lends poorly to the episode's overall quality, but it works well as a transitional episode in the growing arc. Now we know what Dukat was up to in the previous episode. He is working for the Pah-wraiths still, up to some evil scheme again. We also know what the big Dominion secret is and what the Breen are doing... the Breen have formed an alliance with the Dominion!

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Tallifer on 2011-04-30 at 6:27am:
    The overall story is good but there are several bad moments:

    Dukat and Winn kiss. Shudder.
    Ezri and Worf have lovers' quarrels. Blech.
    Sisko is an indecisive dork.

    I hope the Breen plot twist will play out better than in these past two episodes.

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Star Trek DS9 - 7x21 - When It Rains...

Originally Aired: 1999-5-5

Synopsis:
Kai Winn discovers how to unleash evil, while Damar's rebel movement gains ground. [DVD]

My Rating - 5

Fan Rating Average - 4.66

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 43 3 5 2 2 8 8 23 14 13 11

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- 311 ships lost power in the last episode's battle, presumedly all destroyed.
- The Romulan fleet commander says that 1500 Klingon ships fighting the Dominion alone are outnumbered 20 to 1. This means the combined Dominion, Cardassian, and Breen fleet must be comprised of 30,000 ships!
- Garak's 34th episode.
- Odo became infected on Stardate 49419. This places the infection date to be somewhere around when he visited Earth. He would have infected the founders when he linked with them in the season finale, when they turned him into a human.

Remarkable Scenes
- Sisko asking Kira to go behind enemy lines and teach a bunch of Cardassians how to be resistance fighters. Ah the irony.
- Bashir asking Odo for a "cup of goo."
- Bashir jumping to conclusions about Ezri's relationship with Worf, then discovering Odo has the disease the founders have.
- Gowron assuming command of the Klingon fleet, much to Martok's discontent.
- Bashir getting the runaround trying to get Odo's medical scan from Starfleet headquarters.
- Kira, Odo, and Garak arriving at the headquarters for the Cardassian resistance and offering advice.
- Bashir discovering that he was sent a fake medical file of Odo, after Sisko used his intelligence clearance to get him the file he was previously denied.
- Bashir discovering that Section 31 infected Odo with the virus so that he would pass it onto the founders and infect them too.

My Review
So Odo has had the founders' disease for a while. He must have infected Laas when he linked with him. Well. Poor Laas. So much for him and the new great link he wanted to form! This episode is another transitional episode in the long arc that's been developing. We get to see Kira, Odo, and Garak begin assist the Cardassian rebellion. Some of the Cardassians, as predicted, hate their new allies. Gowron assumes direct control over the Klingon fleet and begins making tactical errors, jeopardizing the entire war, Winn and Dukat are still attempting to free the Pah-wraiths, and Bashir is unable to realize Ezri's feelings for him because he's too busy dealing with Odo's infection. The complex story moves along nicely; there's nothing spectacular about this episode, though nothing wrong with it either. Pretty average stuff. But as I said before, this arc is setting up for a huge climax, and I'm sure Odo's illness will play a major role.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Bronn on 2013-07-28 at 8:03pm:
    One thing that might count as a small problem is Sisko telling Kira that Garak still has contacts back on Cardassia. In that episode, he claimed to have burned them all attempting to obtain proof that the Dominion was planning to attack Romulus. He told Sisko that every single person he spoke he was dead. They did need to bring Garak into this story, but they probably could have found another way.
  • From Armsauce on 2017-07-08 at 8:26pm:
    I've noticed we haven't seen much of Sisko during this arc. I suppose there's just too much going on with all the other characters but I would have loved to see more of his reaction to how everything has unfolded.

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Star Trek DS9 - 2x02 - The Circle

Originally Aired: 1993-10-3

Synopsis:
Relieved of her post and sent back to Bajor, Kira helps to reveal the hidden force behind The Circle and a greater secret that could destroy them all. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 4.47

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 62 3 1 3 7 18 19 25 20 13 12

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- This arc sets up a number of long term plot threads, including Bareil's relationship with Kira.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- The scene with Kira, Odo, Dax, Bashir, O'Brien, Quark, and finally Vedek Bareil. I love all the fast and confusing dialog.
- Kira's orb experience.
- Kira: "If you want to change the government, minister Jaro, you vote to change it. You don't sneak up from behind it with a dagger."

My Review
The plot thickens with the revelation that the Cardassians are supplying the Circle with weapons. Winn is scheming again and the reason for Kira's reassignment is revealed to be a political maneuver. Sisko's decision to disobey orders and stay aboard the station to fight the political uprising is an interesting twist for his character since the pilot. The focus on the characters preserving their friendships with the Bajorans was a nice acknowledgement of the sadness of being torn apart expressed so eloquently by Jake being prevented from seeing his girlfriend in the last episode. Perhaps the best scene of the episode is when Minister Jarro stands up on the ledge in the hideout like a James Bond villain confessing his evil plot to Kira. Overall though the episode is just dragged out far too long. A faster pace might have improved it somewhat.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From djb on 2008-12-19 at 4:45am:
    I'm coming to LOVE the character of Vedek Winn. Not because she's likable, rather the opposite. She's superbly acted and written, so much so that every time I see her I literally want to reach into the screen and rip her throat out. Excellent!

    Other than that, I'd agree with Kethinov... not a whole lot more to this ep than building up to some hopefully momentous conclusion, which I haven't watched yet.

    Also nice to see good character development for Kira, and nice to see how much Kira and Sisko have grown close over the previous year. Also cool to see Odo and Quark (gasp!) working together? Neat orb sequence too.

    A solid 5.
  • From Bernard on 2010-02-07 at 8:18pm:
    This episode is unneccessarily drawn out to the extent that it almost ruins the gathering pace of plot created by the climax of season one and homecoming. Solid 5, but should have been so much better! If only they had dared to concentrate more on the Bajoran politics and less on our heroes doing boring things such as rescue missions.

    Which just reminds me, exactly what is our good Doctor ordered to do when he finds Kira? Slap a com badge on her and call for transport. What does he actually do? Starts treating her wounds! Fortunately this kind of gaffe is actually IN character for him.

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Star Trek DS9 - 2x14 - Whispers

Originally Aired: 1994-2-6

Synopsis:
O'Brien returns from a security mission to notice that the entire crew has seemingly turned against him. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 7.13

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 16 1 4 3 5 3 18 17 37 44 29

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- There's no essential plot or exposition in this episode that renders it unskippable, but it's a decent episode, even though it could have been better.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien and Bashir during the medical exam.
- O'Brien: "I haven't had a physical take this long since I was born!"
- Jake accidentally inferring that O'Brien is "really, really old."
- O'Brien: "They even broke into my personal logs to see what they could find there. I hope they enjoyed the sexy letters I sent to my wife."
- O'Brien freaking out at Quark.
- O'Brien fleeing the station and stealing a runabout.
- The revelation that there are two O'Briens!
- Rules of Acquisition; 194 (maybe, Quark's not sure): It's always good business to know about new customers before they walk in your door.

My Review
A decent premise is slightly ruined, drowning under the weight of another conspiracy plot. The ending redeems most of the annoying aspects of the story, but I wish the plot twist was revealed a little sooner than the last two minutes of the episode. Though it is sometimes fun to watch O'Brien freak out at everybody and everything, it also gets old fast. A decent ride though.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-06-07 at 10:56pm:
    This episode has one of the most intriguing "hook" beginnings of all of star trek. I thought the whole episode was just stupendously done, and the director(s) achieved a truly spooky feel throughout it. I was a little disappointed at the quick, cheap ending. When I looked down and saw that there was only 10 minutes left, I could feel the cheap ending coming on.

    I think the episode would have been REALLY cool if they had made it into a two-parter and really explored the situation with the rebels and such.

    -1 for the cheap ending, but all in all one of my favorite ds9 episodes. The Obrien concentration was fun.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2006-09-29 at 11:41pm:
    A perfect 10 all the way! You get to watch O'Brien slowly lose everyone he cares about drift away in deception. Every time he finds someone to confide in, they turn against him. First it is Jake, then it is Odo, then a Starfleet commmander. All trust becomes diminished. I would not want this to happen to me.

    What is great is that if you are watching the episode for the first time, you will not be able to figure out the mystery, no matter how smart you are. Nor, do you notice that the clone O'Brien is constantly drinking a kind of coffee that the real O'Brien never dirnks. Fantastic!

  • From djb on 2009-01-28 at 3:11am:
    I liked the buildup in this episode. At first, the way people are acting towards the fake O'Brien is subtle, yet noticeable, and it eventually becomes more and more strange and overt.

    I also loved the acting; yet another great performance from Rosalind Chao (and others). I especially liked the scene where they're eating, with the closeups on their faces. He knows she's up to something, but won't tell. She knows he's not really her husband. The tension is terrific.

    I definitely didn't guess what was going to happen, but I did get an inkling when he was told to go back by the starfleet admiral. I began to think that there was something wrong with him rather than the others, given that if there seems to be something wrong with everyone but you, chances are you're the problem!

    A very decent episode, worth watching twice.
  • From Orion Pimpdaddy on 2010-03-16 at 9:03am:
    Bashir totally misjudges what has happened when, at the end, he says, "I think he was trying to be a hero." Honestly, O'brien just wanted to survive. Heroic just doesn't seem to apply here.
  • From Popescu on 2010-08-09 at 10:18pm:
    I feel that a lot of Star Trek is inspired by the writings of Isaac Asimov. This episode also I think was inspired by the short story "Let's get together" by the writer.

    Well, not the entire episode, just the ending stroke me as being very similar.
  • From MJ on 2011-02-04 at 1:15pm:
    This should have been a two-parter. This episode was so gripping that it kept my attention right up until the very end. If they'd have done a "to be continued" when he arrived on the planet and then further explored the Paradas rebel plot a bit more in part two, this would have been fantastic. Instead, as with several DS9 episodes, they try to rush the ending after giving us a truly intriguing storyline. I share the webmaster's below average rating for that reason alone.
  • From bernard on 2011-03-08 at 11:05am:
    Whenever the webmaster has given a rating that is near enough 4 points below the mean then that points toward the true score of the episode being somewhere in between. I think that is true here.

    We have a good episode that is one of those oddities that you can get equal fascination from both first and second viewings, first from O'Briens point of view and then when rewatched from the other characters point of view.

    Overall a quality outing.
  • From Zaphod on 2011-04-20 at 5:36am:
    Great episode, one of the best DS9 episodes this far.
    4 points is ridiculous, as is giving no good explanation for such a low rating.
    It's not just another conspiracy episode, for Christ's sake!
    None of the conspiracy episodes in other series of the franchise was even close to be this original and well written.
    Waiting to the very end to solve the mystery was a very clever move too as it saves the suspense until the end.
    And it's no "cheap ending", quite the opposite. TNG "Conspiracy" had a cheap ending, this one here is amazing and makes you watch the episode a second time just to see it from the other's point of view.
  • From James T Quark on 2015-08-15 at 9:14pm:
    This is actually one of my favorite eps of DS9. I understand a lot of viewers don't like "dream" episodes, "tricked into thinking the holosuite is real" or episodes where things are conveniently reversed due to time manipulation.

    I get why some people don't really enjoy those type of episodes but I'm the opposite. I really enjoy the twists they exhibit and this episode is a perfect example.

    On my first watch, I was completely fixated and didn't see that twist coming at all.

    I'd give it a ten and a must watch.

    JTQ
  • From ChristopherA on 2020-07-17 at 10:01pm:
    I did not enjoy watching this episode. It sets up an intriguing mystery at the beginning, but you quickly get the idea that “something weird is going on” and after that, the mystery doesn’t develop, it just sits there until the end, when it is suddenly resolved so quickly that I only have a vague idea what happened. I felt like the middle half of the episode was just padding and the episode needed more story to add more context to what was going on.

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Star Trek DS9 - 2x24 - The Collaborator

Originally Aired: 1994-5-22

Synopsis:
Kira must investigate the man she loves when she learns he may be the Cardassian collaborator responsible for the massacre of 43 Bajorans. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 5.61

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 9 3 3 6 8 20 17 13 15 6 8

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- The Kai election is decided in this episode.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Kira insulting Vedek Winn.
- Kira and Odo talking to the collaborator.
- Vedek Winn's meeting with Sisko.
- Kira and Odo waking in on Quark. Kira: "Don't be so defensive!" Quark: "I can't help it, between the two of you I'm developing a persecution complex!"
- Rules of Acquisition; 285 (last rule). No good deed ever goes unpunished.

My Review
Vedek Winn manipulates Vedek Bareil to get him to withdraw his candidacy for the next Kai. An interesting idea, but drowns under the weight of slow plot development. The consequences are profound though, as it leads directly to Winn becoming Kai, which will surely lead to some interesting drama down the road.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From carsonist on 2009-01-24 at 6:44pm:
    I'm amazed this only got a 4. Some good drama, and the election of a new Space-Pope is hardly "zero plot development". In hindsight, it may seem obvious that Kai Winn will be elected, but it's an enormous change for those watching the episodes in order.

    The episode had me believing that Bareil had been a collaborator, in the sense of sacrificing the few for the benefit of the many. The double turnaround made for some good emotional responses from Kira.
  • From Tallifer on 2011-03-20 at 6:06am:
    10/10

    The religious politics combine with the social repercussions and aftermath of an occupation. This story was consistently exciting through every minute.

    Plus we get to see some more hotness from Keera Narees.
  • From Bernard on 2011-10-22 at 2:43pm:
    Another strong outing involving Bajoran politics!

    This is a well constructed episode with good performances from Kira, Winn and Bareil.

    I'd give it an 8.
  • From Discordius on 2011-11-09 at 2:28am:
    In context of the political development of Bajor the plot develops not zero but close to 100%! Also, the recent history of Bajor is well integrated with a very tough decision: is it justified to let a small number of people die so that much more can live? Indeed, it could be expected that Vedek Winn eventually prevails in the Kai competition. However, it was a surprise that Kai Opaka was the "collaborator" and not Bareil. His relationship with Kira: her doubts and inner conflict are well acted. A really good episode, deserving rating 8.
  • From ChristopherA on 2020-07-20 at 7:51pm:
    I could see how you might find this slow but I found it full of tension and felt that the plot developed at an adequate pace the whole way through, making it a solid episode. Not the most thrilling, but it raised a good moral question and developed some interesting religious politics on Bajor.

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Star Trek DS9 - 3x10 - Fascination

Originally Aired: 1994-11-28

Synopsis:
A Bajoran celebration on the station serves as the backdrop for an epidemic of inexplicable romantic attractions among the crew. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 3.9

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 20 10 7 66 9 10 14 7 10 9 5

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- This episode furthers several smaller arcs on DS9. Lwaxana's relationship with Odo evolves, Odo's love for Kira is more firmly established, O'Brien's relationship with Keiko evolves, and this is the last time we see Bareil before his untimely death. None of this is essential though unless you watched DS9: The Forsaken and you want to continue the Lwaxana/Odo arc.

Problems
- Why does Lwaxana's telepathic influence only affect the senior staff?

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Keiko, having not had a good time on her trip back because of Lwaxana. :)
- Keiko and O'Brien arguing.
- Jake trying to seduce Kira!
- Bareil trying to seduce Dax.
- Jealous O'Brien.
- Quark: "You hew-mons, you never learn. You let your women go out in public, hold jobs, wear clothing, and you wonder why your marriages fall apart!"
- Jadzia seducing Sisko.
- Kira and Bashir falling for each other.
- The staff figuring out what's going on.
- Bareil attacking Sisko and Sisko's response.
- Quark trying to seduce Keiko.
- Lwaxana seeing through Odo, noticing he's attracted to Kira.
- Morn appearances; 1. Talking to Jadzia about his problems. (Never actually says anything onscreen.) 2. Seen behind a juggler while Quark is selling festival items at the promenade.

My Review
This is a successful humor episode, but in many ways comes across as far too silly. The issues between O'Brien and Keiko are only barely convincing. The story itself is acceptable, but the humor in the episode makes the whole endeavor between Keiko and O'Brien seem more silly than it should have been. I'm fond of the ending, where everything is "fixed" and made to be serious again, but personally, I would have preferred O'Brien and Keiko's meetup to be under completely different circumstances.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Popescu on 2010-08-22 at 10:45am:
    Completely agree about Keiko and O'Brien's problems.

    About the telepathic influence affecting only the senior staff... At the party there were other personnel who were kissing and/or hugging in the background... Were they also senior officers? If they were, shouldn't we know something about them?

    With all the bunch of characters in DS9, it's quite hard in an episode like this to focus on more non-essential ones, maybe just showing them in the background is enough. Also, Bareil is not an senior officer, neither is Jake or Quark :)

    I don't think this is a problem... The episode just focuses on the most important characters, many of them being part of the senior staff.
  • From Ry-Fi on 2011-02-06 at 1:08am:
    Great episode. I LOVE the directing/cinematography of this one! Way to go, Avery Brooks! There are so many long, moving shots, and the DS9 set is really shown off far better than in any other episode that's come before. This one must've been a hoot to make, and I'm sure somewhat challenging for the actors.

    As always, Majel Barrett is a pleasure to see (I love that woman, and her portrayal of Lwaxana is divine).

    Finally, this episode really adds credence to the fact that Keiko O'Brien can be a real bitch. Her way of talking with Miles and resolving issues sure rubs me the wrong way. I'm not entirely fond of her, and sure don't understand what Miles sees in her. Their relationship does come across as fairly realistic - it's just too bad it doesn't seem like a great one...
  • From Gul Ranek on 2012-12-23 at 4:58pm:
    I guess this is DS9's version of The Naked Time/The Naked Now, although a bit more fun. When I read the recap, I thought it was going to be a disaster, but turned out not to be all that bad. The only problem for me is the almost-cartoonish scene when Bareil punched Sisko who responded by blocking his subsequent punches like Neo in the Matrix, after which Dax knocked Bareil out. As for the question why only the senior staff was affected, I guess it could be argued that Lwaxana had her outbursts only when she was present around them.

    P.S. How come you stopped doing the filler count halfway through the second season? This episode, for example, could be marked as the starting point for the Kira/Odo romance.
  • From Kethinov on 2012-12-23 at 10:27pm:
    I'm currently doing a DS9 rewatch and slowly altering my reviews to tweak things and add the filler quotients. You'll see more added in the coming months. I expect the project to be completed by June.
  • From tigertooth on 2016-09-27 at 12:15am:
    Respectfully, I disagree completely with Gul Ranek. The "fight" between Sisko and Bareil was my favorite part! It was indeed slapstick, but it also makes sense: Bareil could never go toe-to-toe with Sisko. And it's a silly episode, so they should have gotten silly in the final scene. If anything, the problem is there wasn't *more* ridiculousness.

    Does anybody have a gif of Sisko's reaction to Bareil's punches?
  • From C on 2017-04-18 at 10:19pm:
    Avery Brooks' acting when Dax is seducing Sikso is so perfectly genuine. I enjoy this one overall.
  • From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-08-16 at 5:04pm:
    A fun romp in the vein of The Naked Time/The Naked Now. Works better than the TNG variant because it comes along after the characters and relationships are established.
  • From Azalea Jane on 2021-11-29 at 5:13am:
    I could have done without O'Brien being a jealous jerk to his wife... again. They really get lazy with O'Brien sometimes. They just make him suffer and/or super moody. I was completely with Keiko in this one (as I usually am). It was touching he was willing to resign for her, though perhaps a bit over-the-top. At least he came around. (And apparently he's a pretty good lay.)

    I would have been more sold if the "love vibes" affected different people differently, depending on their self-awareness and maturity. One redeeming aspect of The Naked Now was that some of the more "serious" officers were more in control than the others.

    I feel Dax has been sloppily written recently. She falls in love with a stranger in Meridian and is ready to throw her life away for him. Then two episodes later she's under this amorous influence toward Sisko seemingly without any self-awareness or sense that something is amiss. But normally she should be one of the most self-aware and self-controlled people on the station, what with eight lifetimes' worth of memories. It also seems Bareil, who is supposedly a contemplative holy dude, completely loses himself. I did like how Kira and Bashir, though they couldn't stop making out, kept saying they needed to stop, but couldn't stop!

    Agreed with the commenter above who said the bit with Sisko deflecting Bareil's blows was their favorite scene. Mine too. Bariel is not a fighting man! Sisko didn't even get mad, he just got exasperated.

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Star Trek DS9 - 5x07 - Let He Who Is Without Sin...

Originally Aired: 1996-11-11

Synopsis:
Worf's relationship with Dax hits a rough spot, and he plans to discuss his feelings during their vacation on Risa. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 3.61

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 63 9 17 12 14 7 11 7 6 17 16

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- This episode ends Leeta's relationship with Bashir and begins her relationship with Rom. However, Bashir's relationship with Leeta was previously featured in only one episode (Explorers) and for only a single scene which did not indicate clearly whether or not they would actually ever get together. As such, their breakup is inessential continuity and Leeta's attraction to Rom later on can be understood in context without seeing this episode. Nevertheless, this episode does feature nice texture and character development both for Leeta's love interests as well as the Dax/Worf relationship.

Problems
- How could a "friend of Curzon's" instantly recognize Jadzia?

Factoids
- The Ferengi have 178 different words for rain.

Remarkable Scenes
- Another mention of captain Boday, a Gallamite with a transparent skull.
- Leeta declaring that she's in love with Rom then Quark and Bashir's subsequent reactions.
- Worf telling Jadzia a story in which when he was a child he accidentally killed a human boy during a soccer game.
- Morn Appearances; 1. The first scene, hands a Starfleet officer a flower.

My Review
Another attempt at a humor episode finally sparks a dud. We get to see Dax in some interesting clothing again, but the overall plot is just lacking. Some good continuity and decent details in the episode, like the horgon which caused Worf's faux pas in TNG: Captain's Holiday. Bashir's and Leeta's "relationship" in this episode is wonderfully handled. But the plot concerning Worf and the Essentialists is very poor. The idea is sound, and the opening is well handled, but they quickly become annoying with their childish attacks and petty sabotage and totally fail to make a point concerning the Federation's complacency and overindulgence. To me, despite his redemption in the end, it just seems petty that Worf has to ruin the vacation of hundreds of thousands of people before he can talk to Dax about his relationship with her.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From JRPoole on 2009-06-15 at 2:24pm:
    I agree. This is pretty lackluster stuff, but it's a good idea with one exception: isn't Worf's action criminal? Do you really think Star Fleet would allow one of it's officers to essentially commit an act of terrorism against a Federation world without wanting to prosecute?
  • From McCoy on 2017-02-02 at 12:56pm:
    I never was a fan of Worf (don't like Klingons...), but here I'm with him. All that Risa stuff is just bad and lacks morality. Everyone romancing everyone? Well, if this is civilised progress, I'm choosing old anachronic boring mentality:) Plus I liked thst soccer story! We need to control ourselves, because we may hurt someone. It's all about responsibility.
  • From Mike on 2017-04-29 at 11:39am:
    I get that "what happens on Risa, stays on Risa" but I have a hard time believing that sabotaging the planet's environmental systems turns out to be consequence-free. What's more, Worf attends the Essentialist rally and joins their sabotage all while wearing a Starfleet uniform! He is very lucky that the planet seems devoid of both media and competent legal authorities.

    The Essentialists are an interesting idea for an episode and I wish more would've been done with them than simply having their leader foolishly take a swing at Worf. It was a cheap and easy way to discredit them so that Worf can conveniently break from their movement, reunite with Jadzia, and get off the planet. Even Arandis has a sobering moment of realizing that maybe the Risian way of life has a cost. But we never get to explore that because, of course, the Essentialists are just a foil for Worf and Jadzia's relationship.
  • From Jadzia Guinan Smith on 2018-05-05 at 3:23pm:
    Maybe when she saw a Trill (any Trill) she assumed it was Dax because she was the only Trill expected on Risa at the time? As head administrator (or whatever), she would probably be aware of this stuff. (I'm just retconning, though. I totally agree this was an error).
  • From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-10-21 at 4:40pm:
    I disagree that the Essentialists weren't handled well. They were treated as silly and childish, which is perfectly fitting for how overly concerned they are with how other people spend their free time. Perfect depiction of their ilk.

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x03 - Sons and Daughters

Originally Aired: 1997-10-13

Synopsis:
Worf is reunited with his estranged son, Alexander. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 5.88

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 23 3 5 12 12 13 27 20 17 22 26

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Worf nitpicking the wedding again.
- Bashir and O'Brien lamenting about the Klingon food and the Klingon singing.
- Martok: "War is much more fun when you're winning!"
- Worf to his son: "You heard what I expect from the others; twice what I expect from you!" Ouch.
- Ch'Targh picking on then fighting Alexander.
- Ch'Targh to Alexander: "Keep a close watch! There might be more hostile simulation programs out there!"
- Dukat: "You don't like the dress?" Kira: "The dress is fine. I don't like you."
- Dukat giving the dress to Ziyal instead. Opportunistic indeed!
- Martok: "You are both stubborn, tiresome, qu'vatlh. The only difference is I need him. I do not need you."
- Alexander joining the house of Martok.

My Review
Kira walks the collaborator line again, Jake is frustrated with his inability to send news to the Federation and wants to join the resistance, and we get another episode taking place largely on the Rotarran. Unfortunately, this particular combined rehash is kind of a miss compared to the originals. While I enjoyed the basic story and appreciate its contribution to the current arc, the episode leaves one somewhat underwhelmed. I appreciate the basic theme. The episode title "Sons and Daughters" refers to Alexander and Ziyal. Alexander is having trouble gaining acceptance as a soldier and Ziyal is having trouble gaining acceptance as a student. I'm also glad the writers are tying up the whole "Hey, you know Worf has a son, right? What's up with him?" loose end. Other than that the episode is kind of unremarkable. Even the battle with the Jem'Hadar seemed routine.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From David Chambers on 2009-11-26 at 4:58pm:
    Is it me, or does the actor that played Alexander look a lot like Tom Cruise?

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Star Trek DS9 - 6x18 - Inquisition

Originally Aired: 1998-4-8

Synopsis:
Dr. Bashir is interrogated by a member of Section 31, a branch of Starfleet Intelligence that answers to no one. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 6.22

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 18 4 2 3 5 13 13 27 19 29 12

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Numerous major long term plot threads are serviced here.

Problems
None

Factoids
- A security officer says 98 ships were lost in the Federation's 7th fleet. This is good continuity with DS9: A Time to Stand.
- This is the first episode to feature Section 31.

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien injured from kayaking... again...
- Bashir: "I'm going to a medical conference, not on vacation!" Not exact, but I'll count it. Count 23 for "I'm a doctor, not a (blah)" style lines, which McCoy was famous for.
- Bashir being served Worf's gagh.
- Sloan regarding the events of DS9: In Purgatory's Shadow and DS9: By Inferno's Light: "Why would the Dominion leave your Runabout orbiting the camp unattended?" Bashir: "They didn't think we'd be able to contact it."
- Sloan drilling Bashir.
- Weyoun beaming Bashir off of DS9.
- Bashir realizing that he's in a simulation.
- Bashir: "You function as judge, jury, and executioner. And I think that's too much power for anyone to have."
- Morn Appearances; 1. Watches as Bashir is arrested.

My Review
Introducing Section 31: an autonomous branch of Starfleet that answers to no one, established 200 years ago when the Federation was founded, sanctioned by the Federation charter. It is the equivalent to the Romulan Tal'Shiar or the Cardassian Obsidian Order. Bashir has been "recruited" into it by Sloan, who is seemingly their leader. The episode ends with this; it's obviously meant to be the start of a longer term arc. While the ending is somewhat unremarkable, the ride taking us there is a decent amount of fun to watch. I was worried this would turn into another TNG: The Drumhead, but fortunately Sloan wasn't a crazed madman but in fact had an ulterior motive, and quite the ulterior motive at that. In the end, the episode is a pretty balanced mix of annoying and cool. It all kind of averages out. In the end though, I just plain don't like misdirection plots, which I ranted about in Voy: Waking Moments. The writers shouldn't have to create layers of deception and revelation to hold an audience.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Jaap on 2010-10-29 at 3:54pm:
    I gave this a 9, because i think it was well written. The few layers in the story presented quite a surpise. Besides, it introduces section 31 and with that a darker side of Starfleet.
  • From Martin on 2014-04-15 at 8:46pm:
    I liked the episode...though i was really disapointed that Garak didn't even appear! Being a cardiassian an a sort of close friend of bashir's i really though he should've taken a part of the deception for bashir!

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Star Trek DS9 - 7x11 - Prodigal Daughter

Originally Aired: 1999-1-6

Synopsis:
Ezri Dax returns to her home and family while trying to gather information on the missing Miles O'Brien. [DVD]

My Rating - 4

Fan Rating Average - 3.11

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 71 14 10 8 17 13 10 19 9 7 5

Filler Quotient: 2, filler, but an enjoyable episode nevertheless. You can skip this one, but you'd miss out on some fun.
- This episode is sort of a sequel to DS9: Honor Among Thieves, but the coda was unnecessary, so there's no reason to consider this episode not filler.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Ezri describing the various types of Gagh.
- Sisko regarding O'Brien: "He is not a detective, he's an engineer!" Not exact, but I'll count it. Count 28 for "I'm a doctor, not a (blah)" style lines, which McCoy was famous for.
- O'Brien, sarcastically regarding Bilby's wife: "Yeah. She accidentally hit herself in the head and accidentally threw herself in the river."
- Ezri regarding her family business: "I feel like I'm trapped in some sort of Ferengi nightmare."
- The revelation that Norvo Tigan murdered Bilby's wife.

My Review
This episode skillfully combines a sequel to DS9: Honor Among Thieves with an episode centered around Ezri. As it turns out, the murder O'Brien was investigating was committed by Ezri's brother, Norvo. This is, of course, all very convenient from a writing perspective, but it ended up being an interesting and entertaining episode regardless. Unfortunately, most of the episode is character development on Ezri's family, not so much on Ezri herself, and most of the rest is spent on the murder investigation. Nevertheless, it was nice to meet Ezri's family, and it was nice to see her doing her job as a counselor, even if she was just consoling family.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Morax on 2019-04-02 at 3:01pm:
    I really like Ezri way more than Jadzia, but I HAVE to agree with her mother: "I hate your hair!".

    But that's actually the only thing I like more about Jadzia...

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Star Trek DS9 - 1x04 - A Man Alone

Originally Aired: 1993-1-17

Synopsis:
Security Chief Odo's character is questioned when he is implicated in the murder of a shady Bajoran. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 3.67

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 55 3 2 16 8 31 16 7 11 11 2

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- The main plot is filler, but the O'Brien / Keiko subplot sets up a long term arc so the context established in this episode is useful, though not essential.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Ibudan's files has a note in it that says "Departure from Alderaan spaceport." Alderaan was the planet destroyed by the Death Star in Star Wars IV, A New Hope. ;)
- Odo: "You have 26 hours to get off this station." This is the first episode to mention the 26 hours Bajoran day.
- It is established in this episode that Odo has to return to his natural state once every 18 hours to regenerate. He "sleeps" in a pail in the back of his office.

Remarkable Scenes
- Bashir trying to seduce Jadzia again.
- Keiko appearance.
- Odo being a fascist prick.
- Jake's first meeting with Nog.
- Odo realizing that he'd been set up.
- Rom appearance.
- Quark and Odo bickering.
- Sisko: "Care for lunch?" Bashir, not realizing Sisko wasn't talking to him: "Sure!" Dax: "No, thank you."
- Odo: "Killing your own clone is still murder."
- Keiko's first day as a teacher.
- Morn appearances; 1. On the Promenade while Odo and Quark are talking, before Odo freaks out at the stranger; 2. Can be seen while O'Brien and Keiko attempt to resolve their argument on the Promenade; 3. Can be seen on the Promenade when Odo goes to his office; 4. Odo sits next to him when he sits at the bar. Everyone, including Morn, leaves when he sits down; 5. Morn was also in the mob outside Odo's office.

My Review
A man with a grudge against Odo clones himself, then murders his clone so that everyone will draw the conclusion that the only man who could have committed the murder was Odo, because his DNA would be at the scene of the crime due to the fact that he was the first investigator on scene. This is a somewhat overcomplex and slightly weak premise, but it works. The more emphasized plot regarding the Odo angst in this episode is a little more interesting. Unfortunately the mob mentality of this episode is silly and hard to believe.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From JRPoole on 2008-11-12 at 2:52pm:
    I'm in almost total agreement with the review, so I don't have a whole lot to say here. I do, however, absolutely hate the scene in which Jake and Nog let loose the flea-like insects as a prank. It works until the victims start rapidly changing color. I just don't see how this is possible, and it reeks of bad sci-fi: weird situations and improbable outcomes just for the sake of being strange.

    One of DS9's main attractions (and often a thorn in its side as well) is the galactic melting pot that it represents. The strange-looking aliens are almost all exectuted well, but it sometimes borders on the ridiculous, the way the bar scene with the intergalatic lounge band in one of the Star Wars movies does. Here's an example of that kind of visual stimulation getting corny.

    Wow. I just spent two whole paragraphs bitching about a throwaway scene.

    I do like Keiko's decision to start a school on the station, as it fits with the roll-up-your-sleeves-and-pitch-in aesthetic established by the rest of the crew.
  • From Bernard on 2009-11-16 at 7:22am:
    I know that the reaction of the bajorans on the station is overplayed here to create the tension that the episode needs. I forgive this with the view that they are developing Odo's character and background and it would have been very pedestrian without any threat. The interplay between Odo and Quark is marvelous even at this early stage in the series. How well did those two actors nail their characters so quickly?

    Again, this episode is only hinting at how good DS9 can be. I gave it a 5.
  • From Bronn on 2013-06-10 at 6:36pm:
    It creates a bit of discontinuity with the later characterization of Odo that the Bajorans were able to so quickly incite a mob against him. Later on it's established that all the Bajorans who ever visited DS9 believed he was a hero who stood for justice within the corrupt Cardassian system.

    This was also before they'd established a few facts about shape shifters-Odo wouldn't shed skin cells like a humanoid. It's not to say that shape shifters never leave cells of their DNA behind, we don't actually learn that. But a big plot point of the show is that any part of a shapeshifter that becomes disconnected from their body reverts to a gelatinous state, so it wouldn't remain in the form of hair or skin cells.

    Those little continuity gaffes don't bug me because it was very early, and once they'd figured things out, they did stay consistent with them. What does bother me about watching this episode is that Terry Farrell's performance is VERY wooden for most of the first season. Her line reading is bad here, and was just as bad in the pilot. She got better, fortunately, but it's surprising she was ever cast with some of these early performances, especially since the producers made the decision to redesign Trills specifically because she had a pretty face that they didn't want to cover up.

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Star Trek DS9 - 1x08 - Dax

Originally Aired: 1993-2-14

Synopsis:
Curzon Dax, Jadzia's former Trill identity, is accused of murder. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 5.18

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 7 21 5 13 11 20 10 14 15 11 14

Filler Quotient: 3, bad filler, totally skippable.
- Unless you're dying to see the first episode to mention Raktajino, there's nothing terribly notable in this one.

Problems
None

Factoids
- O'Brien is said to be visiting a 100 year old relative in this episode, to explain his absense. Interestingly, the arbiter mentions she is 100 years old as well. I wonder if the parallels between these two extreme old age mentions have anything to do with the remark about Dax' age.
- This episode marks the first mention of Raktajino, Klingon coffee.
- Jadzia is said to be 28 years old in this episode.
- Bashir says that 93 hours after a symbiote is joined to a host, they cannot be separated without killing the host.

Remarkable Scenes
- Bashir flirting with Dax again.
- Kira and Sisko finding a political loophole to keep Dax on board.
- Odo blackmailing Quark into cooperation.
- The arbiter. She's hilarious.
- Sisko making an entirely bias argument in Dax' favor.
- Odo interrogating Enina Tandro.
- Arbiter: "Lieutenant Dax, you are either 200 years older than I am or you're about the same age as my great granddaughter. At first I wondered which of those you were. But now I am bothered by the likelihood that you may be both."
- Enina Tandro showing up and admitting the embarrassing truth at the hearing, proving Dax' innocence.
- Morn appearances; 1. When Sisko and Odo are walking on the Promenade, just after Odo blackmails Quark into cooperation; 2. Can be seen behind Quark as the hearing is beginning.

My Review
I don't particularly like this one. It seems a failed attempt to reproduce TNG: The Measure of a Man. For one, we don't know Dax well enough yet to care very much. Second, the legal grounds for extradition in this episode are pretty damn solid. Sisko was defending her blindly. He didn't care if Dax was a murderer or not; he was going to save her either way. In that respect, it's good that Dax did end up being innocent for the sake of future stories. That said, I enjoyed hearing details of Curzon and Sisko's history. Really, the whole purpose of this episode was just an excuse to develop Dax' character though. Unfortunately, Dax acted like an idiot the whole time. Her blind sense of honor almost got her killed.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Roth Mantel on 2009-03-16 at 4:37am:
    One of the things that troubled me throughout watching this episode was that even if Ilon is correct in his legal claim that the relevant Federation treaty with Klaestron IV authorizes the unilateral extradition of a federation officer with no notice to her commanding officer--which seems quite odd itself--it still surely does not authorize them to use violence against federation officers (Bashir) in the process, nor does it authorize the sabotage of the station's tractor beam.

    Since the manner in which Ilon attempted to execute the warrant surely violated either Federation or Bajoran law (probably both), it seems to me that they could have held him on the charge and delayed extradition proceedings at least until Klaestron IV sent another representative to pursue the matter through the Bajoran government. Not only would it have been sensible to pursue the charge to deter future sabotage, but this would have created a much more effective delay than a mere extradition hearing with the Bajoran arbiter.

    Also, Sisko asked Kira to investigate any relevant legal precedent, but we never heard back anything. That seems odd--I can hardly imagine that the issue, or at least highly analogous issues, have not been resolved before on Trill. Perhaps we heard nothing more on the subject because it wasn't useful for Sisko. Furthermore, tThe "expert" on Trills either doesn't know or nobody bothered to ask!

    Otherwise, I though the episode was pretty average. Dax's obstinate refusal to cooperate was irritating, even if it was explained at the end. I also thought that Anne Haney did a wonderful job playing the Bajoran arbiter.
  • From Sheriff__001 on 2009-08-23 at 3:35am:
    I found the grounds for extradition entirely absent. The question is broached poorly in the episode, but the initial argument was correct: the defendant named on Tandro's warrant was already dead. Jadzia Dax is not liable for any of the actions of her previous hosts (meaning that others may believe she is, and Jadzia Dax may believe herself obligated but she is in fact not obligated).

    I cannot believe that no one thought to ask if Trill law covered such a fundamental question. If there was a Trill equivalent to the Bill of Rights, it would surely say that no joined Trill is liable for the actions of a symbiont's previous joinings.
  • From Bernard on 2009-11-22 at 7:06pm:
    An interesting episode that brings up an intriguing question about Trill society. Unfortunately the question is never really answered adequately because it turns out that Dax is innocent anyway. Luckily they return to similar themes later on, but not regarding Curzon but Joran.

    On the positive side though we learn loads more about Trill society, Dax and even Sisko.

    I find it difficult to accept criticism of the way the Jadzia character is played since she is consistantly played in her serene, relaxed manner upto this point in the series. The writers seemed to make an active decision to write her differently around the season two episode 'Playing God'. But this Jadzia came first! I found her to be within character at this point in the series and that aspect of this episode was believable. Another steady episode.
  • From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-11 at 1:50pm:
    Again, speaking as an attorney, the idea of "unilateral extradition" is utterly ridiculous. If we are to accept the Federation as being a more evolved version of our own society, how much sense does it make to sign a treaty that authorizes a foreign law enforcement officer to violate the law? There is absolutely no precedent for this in any international law.

    Further, as others have pointed out, since the treaty did not apply anyway (DS9 being Bajoran, not Federation, territory), Sisko could have simply clapped Ilon in handcuffs and thrown him and his goons into the brig. Not doing exactly that is simply spineless, and does not accord with Sisko's character.
  • From Wes on 2012-11-20 at 5:20pm:
    I guess they didn't have the have the wardroom (or hadn't found it yet) by this point. Thus, they resorted to using Quark's for the trial. This was just a bit annoying, but somewhat understandable. Just interesting that this would have been a great time to introduce the wardroom, but they just didn't think of it. Another trial/hearing took place on DS9, Worf's, and it took place in the wardroom.
  • From Bronn on 2013-06-10 at 9:33pm:
    Just realized. The person turning 100 years old at the beginning of the episode is Keiko's MOTHER. That means she was at least 60, unless you buy Keiko being over 40 at the time of this episode (Rosalind Chao was 35 at the time). Medicine of the future, I guess.
  • From Dstyle on 2013-09-03 at 1:57pm:
    I can't believe all of the negative reactions to this episode! The purpose of this episode seemed pretty clear to me: a deeper exploration and explanation of what a Trill is, at least in DS9. I found it very useful in that regard, especially since the Trill species we see in DS9 is very different from the species we previously saw in TNG: The Host.
  • From Damien Bradley on 2013-10-02 at 3:59am:
    Poor Dax. Swore an oath to secrecy and bound by honor to keep it. (Later season spoiler alert: even though it's pretty annoying, but she definitely proves herself worthy of Worf, honor-wise.)

    I agree with the criticisms about the legal issues here. Unilateral extradition does not mean illegal entry/assault/kidnapping. It would mean "hello, I am so-and-so, I have come to claim so-and-so by order of this warrant." Annoying to see Sisko not throw the book at the intruders. And Trill society would have determined guidelines for legal ramifications of previous hosts' crimes long ago. And Quark's being the only appropriate venue for a hearing? Come on! There would have been dozens of conference rooms, not just the single wardroom that somehow hasn't been discovered yet.

    And yet, somehow, I still kind of liked this episode.

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Star Trek DS9 - 1x15 - Progress

Originally Aired: 1993-5-9

Synopsis:
A stubborn old Bajoran farmer forces Kira to take a good look at how much she has changed since her alliance with the Federation. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 5.35

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 11 3 5 10 8 15 12 13 15 11 4

Filler Quotient: 3, bad filler, totally skippable.
- Unless you're dying to see the first episode to mention self-sealing stem bolts and Cardassian Yamok Sauce, there's nothing terribly notable in this one.

Problems
- It's not realistic for Bajor to have a habitable moon. Its Earth-like gravity (the same as Bajor) would preclude such an orbital relationship.

Factoids
- This episode establishes that Bajor has 5 moons.

Remarkable Scenes
- Jadzia discussing Morn asking her out with Kira. Jadzia thinks Morn's few wiry hairs make him look cute.
- Jake and Nog bartering for profit.
- Mullibok's insistence on calling Kira a girl, getting her all mad.
- Mulibok's exaggerated stories about how he colonized the moon.
- Mullibok: "The Cardassians probably told you you didn't stand a chance either. Did you surrender?" Kira: "No." Mullibok: "Why do you expect me to act any different than you?"
- Jake and Nog trying to figure out what self-sealing stem bolts are.
- Bashir "requesting" Kira stay on the planet.
- Kira's nasty old tree analogy.
- Kira destroying Mullibok's home.
- Morn appearances; 1. Seen talking to someone as Jake and Nog talk to the Lissepian captain on the Promenade. 2. Sitting on a barstool when Nog walks into Quark's. 3. Sitting at bar while Odo and Quark talk about Nog and Jake's land.

My Review
For once, Jake and Nog's childish exploits are entertaining; I particularly enjoyed the "self sealing stem bolts" gag. The "stem bolts" are basically one big joke about Star Trek technobabble. Everyone insists on using the term so accurately ("they're not just stem bolts, they're self sealing stem bolts!") but you never find out exactly what they do. None of the characters even know! Unfortunately the main plot of the episode is less well made. A story about a luddite is a good premise and Mullibok's dynamic with Kira is good fun and all, but the whole premise of the episode suffers from a number of problems. First of all the idea that Bajor could have a habitable moon as depicted isn't realistic. Second of all, even assuming that hard to rationalize premise, it's profoundly irresponsible for Bajor's government to ruin such a rare freak of nature by destroying it just to extract some energy to heat some homes. Finally, it's mentioned that there is a slower energy extraction method that wouldn't destroy the moon's environment. Seriously, why not use that instead? Can't they find another energy source in the mean time to heat some homes with? The whole plot just defies common sense.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Bernard on 2009-12-06 at 5:57pm:
    Why? Why, oh why did I just subject myself to this episode again?

    Truly horrendous.

    Yes there are good moments for a couple of the characters, but we've already established that Kira doesn't like being on the opposite side to the 'little guy' in Past Prologue so we don't really gain anything from it that we havn't already seen. The B plot has nothing to do with the A plot and it is also mundane.

    Low point of the season surely.... though I've just seen what is next.

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Star Trek DS9 - 1x18 - Dramatis Personae

Originally Aired: 1993-5-30

Synopsis:
Odo is caught in the middle when an alien influence pits Kira against Sisko in a deadly struggle for control of the station. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 4.61

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 12 5 13 7 16 22 9 12 4 10 4

Filler Quotient: 3, bad filler, totally skippable.
- Unless you're dying to see where the hell that clock on Sisko's desk came from, there's nothing terribly notable in this one.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo: "How am I?" Bashir: "How do you feel?" Odo: "Fine." Bashir: "Good. Because I have no way to know. Your body chemestry defies analysis."
- The crew starting to act... weird.
- Kira attacking Quark.
- Odo manipulating Bashir.
- Morn appearances; 1. Behind Quark when he serves Jadzia her drink.

My Review
This episode is largely pointless. It may have been more interesting if it had aired earlier in the season; Kira's loyalties are hardly in question anymore. What's more, the whole episode is an excuse to get the characters acting completely out of character without much of a reason. The only redeeming quality of this episode is how Odo saves the day, by manipulating both sides. He was the perfect man for that job and he did the job well. It was certainly entertaining to watch Odo bring the station back to order, but unfortunately the episode comes off as being little more than another hour of filler.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From djb on 2008-12-04 at 1:44am:
    I wouldn't call this episode filler, at least not as much as "Move Along Home" or "If Wishes Were Horses." It definitely had some redeeming qualities.

    First, I liked how people started to just act slightly out of character at first, gradually growing into their alternate characters. I also liked how these characters they were playing out weren't complete departures from the original people; you could still sense some of their original personalities present. I liked how I couldn't really tell where in the episode the characters became not-themselves. For example, Kira's increasing frustration with Sisko about the Dolamide on the Valerian ship seems in character, until before you know it she's openly plotting against him. Well done.

    Odo saving the day is definitely fun to watch.

    The whole "telepathic sphere" thing was slightly farfetched, granted, but that's par for the course in Star Trek. I kind of like the loose end of what the Klingons had been talking about before they entered the wormhole -- what was that all about?

    One nice touch worth mentioning is the title: Dramatis Personae. It's a Latin term meaning "cast of characters," and the main place I've seen the term is at the beginning of Shakespeare plays, where the list of characters is given at the very beginning. The crew, over the course of the episode, begins to act out characters as if they are in a play. Very clever.

    I'd give the episode a 5.
  • From Bernard on 2010-01-03 at 6:56am:
    How strange that you seem to have adopted the term 'filler' when describing episodes that are not particularly good. DS9 never was an ongoing story, even later on in the series when they adopt longer story arcs most episodes can stand on their own. Certainly at this point in the series we have barely any ongoing arcs, so what exactly are these episodes supposed to be filling? Food for thought there.

    Anyway, This episode is no worse than some of the earlier outings of the season. I agree that it is out of place and so I docked it a point for that. But no more than that since it is still not a bad effort in it's own right. Just because it would have been more appropriate earlier in the season doesn't mean that it can't happen later in the season. There are characters that are fascinating whilst under the influence of the telepathic sphere such as Kira, Bashir, O'Brien. Unfortunately and ultimately what spoils the episode for me is Sisko and Dax. The latter stages of this episode could have been a real power struggle between Kira and Sisko and some real tension should have been built. Instead we see him making a clock... gripping stuff.

    Another average 5 for me, good elements, good idea and good moments but lacking overall.
  • From Abigail on 2019-08-31 at 7:29pm:
    Another "the whole crew goes crazy" episode -- Every Star Trek series had at least a couple of these, and they all kind of drive me nuts. I don't need to see the whole crew acting nutty for 45 minutes and then see it cleared up as being a (fairly pointless) "telepathic sphere".

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Star Trek DS9 - 2x09 - Second Sight

Originally Aired: 1993-11-21

Synopsis:
Sisko falls in love for the first time since his wife's death, but the object of his affections may not be all that she seems. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 4.09

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 12 10 13 15 18 12 8 7 11 6 1

Filler Quotient: 3, bad filler, totally skippable.
- Unless you consider blatantly defying the continuity of the even worse episode TNG: Force of Nature to be worthwhile, this rather lame episode is thoroughly skippable.

Problems
- This is the first of many episodes to directly and blatantly ignore the events of TNG: Force of Nature. This is one of the worst offenders too; Jadzia and O'Brien tweak a staraship's engines to fly at warp 9.6!
- The captain of the Prometheus seems to hold the rank of Lieutenant...
- Where is the light coming from to illuminate the dead star?
- It makes no sense that they needed to make the Prometheus' engines faster to outrun the potentially failed experiment. Had the star gone supernova, they'd have been in little danger so long as their reaction time on the helm was fast enough. It's not as if supernova explosions expand at warp speed or anything like that. They could have easily outrun the explosion at warp 1!

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Sisko's odd behavior the next morning in ops.
- I love Seyetik's cheerful arrogance.
- Sisko's conversation with Odo about his phantom girl.
- Sisko: "Seyetik is one of the Federation's greatest minds." Kira: "I know. He told me."
- Seyetik's death. His final words: "Let there be light!"

My Review
This episode is certainly original, but in many ways annoying. Sisko's profound loss of his wife is exploited in an inappropriate and annoying way, and the much more interesting plot thread of reviving dead stars along with Seyetik's wonderful character are all thoroughly wasted in the process. I give it extra points for Seyetik's heroic end and all the coolness associated with it, but other than that, a disappointment.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From bernard on 2010-10-16 at 5:05am:
    I agree, interesting episode but somewhat 'flat' and pedestrian.

    Not sure I liked the way Avery Brooks played it either, if this episode is supposed to 'deal' with his feelings about his wife then it fails badly. (We still await the rejuvenated Sisko that is due to appear complete with shaven head later on). He fawns after Fenna and then when he realises she is married... nothing. It's like setting up some sort of betrayal and then just dropping it.

    Perhaps this could have played better using the Defiant later in the series too. There could have been slightly more tension between Sisko/Seyetik/Seyetik's wife and also Sisko might have felt more responsibility for what happens...

    I'm clutching at ideas here, it's a pretty poor episode and that's it really.
  • From Jeff Browning on 2011-10-19 at 6:13am:
    This episode represents yet another example of Star Trek's use of the "onesie", the tight, form-fitting, one piece outfit worn by young, attractive females for the purpose of pandering to the male prurient interest.

    Not that I am complaining. As an attractive young female, Fenna does not disappoint. It seems obvious to me tha Sisko is not in love with Fenna (at least not yet); he simply has the hots for her. (And who can blame him?)

    Other uses of the onesie: Troi after losing the micro-mini outfit she wore in TNG: Adventure at Farpoint, Seven (of course), Kira (although it doesn't really work with Kira, Nana Visitor is not that hot), TNG: Legacy where the main guest character, Ishara Yarr (Tasha's sister) gets an electric blue onesie (with a color coordinated phaser holster!) to show off her smoking' hot bod which is given oodles and gobs of airtime by the camera folks.

    The onesie is a reminder that, for all its pretensions, Star Trek is largely for us horny, sexually repressed geeks.
  • From John on 2011-12-08 at 12:19am:
    Wouldn't it be a better idea to just consider the nonsense of "TNG: Force of Nature" to be the problem, and not hold it against all future episodes when they blatantly ignore the stupid "warp drive destroys the universe" premise? I mean, If you're gonna give "Force of Nature" a zero rating, why should you consider it a problem when nearly every subsequent episode ignores it? I rather like future episodes not reminding me of such an arbitrary "rule."

    Anyway... I found this episode to be pretty boring. Not because it was a romance episode, but because I just wasn't buying the Fenna character. Her calm demeanor seems way too studied to work with Sisko's boisterous/laid-back dual nature.
  • From Bronn on 2013-07-02 at 2:38am:
    It's episodes like this that made my friends describe this show as, "Soap Opera in SPACE," back during its run. Sisko is getting over the death of his wife, and he meets a new woman! But a twist! She's Married! But another twist-she's not really Fenna, she's a psycho-productive illusion of Fenna! Oh, how will our crazy cast sort this out?!

    I have no issue with a romance plot, and no issue with Sisko dealing with his grief. Those are good human issues to explore. This kind of cheesy plot manipulation, trying to shove both of those down our throats in order to set up a lame, uninteresting twist, is what this show wasn't meant to be about. I adored Cassidy Yates when she showed up later, because she actually made more sense than Sisko falling for the AOTW.

    And yeah, I agree with the sentiment that the B-Plot for the week was much more interesting. This would have made a much better episode without the Fenna character.
  • From Martin on 2014-03-19 at 12:31am:
    As i understand it, a gigantic, massive thing as a star has only so many ways to "die". None of wich includes becoming something like we see in this episode...looks more like a gigantic dead planet or something, no light emitted of any sort. So i looked it up, turns out there's this theory that tells us that a white dwarf star (what a small-middle sized star becomes after it dies) cools down over the eons and it's supposed to become a "black dwarf star", cristalized, solid and with no light emitted whatsoever.
    Anyway, besides the fact that we couldn't see this type of dead stars and we clarly see it on the viewing screen of the Prometheus, it's quite impressive to me that the writers took so many detail on this sort of thingies...loved it.

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Star Trek DS9 - 2x12 - The Alternate

Originally Aired: 1994-1-9

Synopsis:
Odo's mentor arrives on Deep Space Nine intent on resuming his search for Odo's true origin. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 4.79

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 12 1 7 13 12 11 15 13 6 7 3

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- Despite how annoying the episode is at times, the establishment of Dr. Mora's character is highly relevant to the overarching story of DS9. You shouldn't skip this one.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo: "Humanoid death rituals are a hobby of mine. Everybody needs a hobby!"
- Odo, regarding his "constable" nickname: "It's a nickname I barely tolerate."
- Morn appearances; 1. In the first scene.

My Review
Introducing Dr. Mora, the scientist who raised Odo. An exploration of Odo's past is certainly an interesting and expected storyline. This episode features another silicon based life form, the one on the planet Dr. Mora wanted to investigate. The first of this type was discovered in TOS: The Devil in the Dark, and again in TNG: Silicon Avatar. It's nice that the show is being largely consistent about this. The episode goes sour though when it ceases to be about Odo's origins and becomes dominated by the recycled mystery monster attacks the ship (or in this case station) plot cliche. Odo being the evil monster of the week was an interesting concept for a plot twist I suppose, but it didn't play well because it exacerbated the already overplayed tension between Odo and Mora. Had the episode been more about Odo researching his origins and less about Odo's angst it would have been more fun.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From djb on 2009-01-22 at 3:49am:
    Watching this episode, something occurred to me: I can wrap my head around the idea of a shapeshifter, but how can Odo change into objects as small, or more importantly, light as he regularly does? I mean, he could change his density, but he can't change his mass, can he? Like when he's trapped in that box in "Invasive Procedures." He not only becomes smaller, but obviously much lighter, light enough to carry. Either that, or he has hardly any mass, and when he's in a humanoid shape his density goes way down. That doesn't really fly either. What gives?
  • From Miles on 2009-04-06 at 5:11pm:
    Starts out good, but it ultimately fails with odo's monster transformation, which is never brought up ever again. That cool/scary obelisk also serves no further purpose. :(
  • From Bernard on 2011-02-15 at 8:51am:
    7 or 8 for the Odo's 'dad' story, 2 or 3 for the monster story.

    James Sloyan is a veteran of Star Trek by now and produces a good performance as Dr. Mora. Rene Auberjonois also turns in a good performance and these largely buoy the episode up a bit.

    We're well and truly into the 'messy, middle bit' of DS9 season 2. Muddles plots, half thought ideas coming to the surface in the last 4 episodes. Let's hope they get back on track soon!

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Star Trek DS9 - 2x15 - Paradise

Originally Aired: 1994-2-13

Synopsis:
Sisko and O'Brien are stranded on a planet inhabited by a colony of humans who have rejected any form of technology. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 3.92

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 32 5 31 13 8 13 14 19 12 6 5

Filler Quotient: 3, bad filler, totally skippable.
- There's no essential plot or exposition in this episode that renders it unskippable.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This is the first episode when Jake starts taking lessons from O'Brien.
- This episode establishes that Sisko is terrible at bluffing in Poker.

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien talking about how he discovered his talents.
- Alixus justifying trying to "buy" Sisko's loyalty with sexual favors.
- Dax's "rope trick" with the tractor beam.
- Sisko crawling back into the penalty box rather than sacrifice his uniform.
- The engineer guy voluntarily letting himself get knocked out by O'Brien.
- O'Brien phasering out Sisko.

My Review
A colony of luddites dominated by a meglomaniac dicatator with brainwashed followers. Not my favorite topic to address in Star Trek, but certainly an interesting and memorable episode. By the end of the episode all I wanted was to see O'Brien phaser Alixus. Her misguided philosophy of life was just annoying. But Sisko's and O'Brien's resolve against her makes the episode nicely watchable. The biggest problem with the story though is the narrative tries to paint Alixus as vaguely sympathetic at the end and it just doesn't play at all. She beams off the planet acting as though she martyred herself for a great cause and the episode itself seems to imply that in some small way she had. What's worse is none of the colonists are at all outraged by her ten years of deception; in fact they actively defend her actions! I can't help but feel a certain touch of Stockholm Syndrome coming from those poor colonists in the ending, though you'd think at least a few of them would have been outraged enough to want to leave on the spot.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From Pete Miller on 2006-06-08 at 12:21am:
    I will definitely agree that seeing Obrien phase Alixus would have been wondefully satisfying. However, as annoying as this episode was, I rather liked the ending. Having those two children stand there at the end was like a final statement against the lunacy of the 'community'.

    Never trust governments that sacrifice the rights of the individual for the good of the whole.
  • From EKH on 2007-04-30 at 10:29am:
    "No EM activity down here."
    Umm, hello? How do explain the simple fact that you can still see, then, Mr. O'Brien?
  • From curt on 2010-05-12 at 10:12am:
    The people on the planet were former starfleet members right?(Atleast I think so) If so i find it odd that they would be quick to result to torture. Even if there leader tells them to.
  • From Ry-Fi on 2011-01-27 at 4:46am:
    Problem? Why did the Orinoco have to lasso the Rio Grande out of warp? Hasn't Trek established ages ago that their starships are remote controllable, provided one knows the ship-specific security command code? I was expecting Kira and Dax to simply remote to it and tell it to drop to impulse.

    Naturally I'd just assume that each of the runabouts could remote any of the others, cause well, why the hell not, for obvious tactical and safety reasons! My assumption must be wrong, otherwise this is a glaring moment of writer's oversight...
  • From Bernard on 2011-03-14 at 4:54pm:
    Hmm...

    What to say about this one!

    Very ordinary. The part where Sisko goes and locks himself back in the box is played out to be a really important moment of the episode... but all it achieves is to make him look stupid.

    The characters on the planet are fairly well fleshed our though, shame the plot never really got the most out of them.
  • From Zaphod on 2011-04-20 at 6:36am:
    Um...
    So for 10 years she exploited us like laboratory rats for her own little social experiment?
    Well, I'm okay with it, no hard feelings, let's keep that "community", I like it...

    I'm speechless, didn't expect that ending, that was really really really bad, mind-boggling, abysmal, WOW!
  • From Bronn on 2011-10-22 at 1:32pm:
    Zaphod's got the right of this. I have no freaking idea how "Whispers," a beautifully executed episode with an exciting premise, rates a 4, while this episode, with a freaking terrible premise and an ending that defies any rationalization, rates a 5.

    This is probably my least favorite episode of DS9 ever. I'm insulted that they attempted to write this character off as sympathetic. For one, Star Trek is a horrible venue for a "Technology is Evil," Aesop, when technology has solved ALL of Earth's problems. Clean, safe, renewable energy, along with groundbreaking medicine and the ability to easily feed every starving person everywhere. Yeah, damned technology.

    And Alixus deserved to be tried for murder. Yeah, trap people on a planet without their consent, force them to suffer and die from snakebites and harsh conditions because SHE rejects modern medicine-that sounds like a heinous crime to me. But the ending makes it seem like we should agree with the crap she's peddling. This episode was a ridiculous mess. DS9 can do so much better, and they know it. What bugs me the most is Ira Steven Behr wondering how she failed to be sympathetic. Yeah, shoving Sisko in a box because O'Brien "hurt the community," through his "selfishly wasted time," trying to contact the runabout so that he could get some medical assistance for the dying girl. How snobbishly selfish of him to agree to the rules of a society where he was stranded in two days ago, and for hoping that he might someday see his child again.

    It's insulting that the writers and producers wanted her to be likable.
  • From Drac on 2013-02-01 at 8:32pm:
    I totally agree with the review. I would personally make up whatever to get them off the planet, because 10 y of brainwashing clearly affecting their judgment. They don't even have enough people.
  • From Domi on 2014-08-17 at 1:32am:
    I didn't think they could make a more unlikable character than Haneek from Sanctuary but they did it. I wanted to smother Alixus with a pillow until she suffocated.
  • From Axel on 2015-06-23 at 1:07am:
    I share the desire to have seen Alixus on the business end of Miles' phaser. She certainly had a hold on these people Branch Davidian style. And it was also disappointing to see the ending where her unwitting pawns basically accept their role in her little social experiment.

    I do agree with Pete Miller that the very ending scene was nice, and I think it redeems the episode a bit. Sure, the writers give Alixus a chance to get on her soapbox and preach her nonsense, but in the end, the community's children are already questioning things. Who knows, maybe down the road they escape that planet while the rest of the community finds themselves suddenly under Dominion occupation :)
  • From ChristopherA on 2020-07-19 at 5:31pm:
    The episode was generally interesting but I found Sisko excessively passive. They made very clear that the leader was a charismatic evil cult leader with a mesmerizing hold over the colony, and Sisko just doesn’t do much about it. They desperately needed Kirk or Picard to come give some dramatic speeches telling off the colonists for following that psycho, both in the middle (instead of just passively going into the box) and at the end (instead of just abandoning the brainwashed colonists).

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Star Trek DS9 - 4x09 - The Sword of Kahless

Originally Aired: 1995-11-20

Synopsis:
Kor, a revered Klingon warrior, sets out with Worf and Dax in search of a mythical, ancient artifact they believe has the power to unite the Klingon Empire. [DVD]

My Rating - 3

Fan Rating Average - 5.07

Rate episode?

Rating: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# Votes: 27 6 7 13 16 10 14 23 9 9 22

Filler Quotient: 1, partial filler, but has important continuity. I recommend against skipping this one.
- This episode serves as a followup to TNG: Redemption regarding Worf sparing the Duras boy and TNG: Rightful Heir with regards to Emperor Kahless. It's also the episode in which Worf meets Kor.

Problems
- In TNG: Rightful Heir, the sword of Kahless was in the Boreth monastery. Kahless picked it up and claimed that it was his sword. So why has it been missing for hundreds of years? Was it just a replica, a fake?

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Quark to Worf: "You know what I like about Klingon stories, Commander? Nothing. Lots of people die and nobody makes any profit."
- Worf, Dax, and Kor discovering the sword of Kahless.
- The Duras family trying to steal the sword of Kahless.
- Worf and Kor arguing over who's to blame for the Duras family's interference.

My Review
The return of Kor in this episode is certainly welcome. It's always nice to see a ridiculously old Klingon throwing his weight around. The continuity in this episode is spectacular. It seems the Kahless clone is nothing more than a figurehead; Gowron has all the real power. Unfortunately, this episode falls flat on its face with the bickering between Worf and Kor. I found it all rather childish. The final blow to me is the ending. The episode started off so good in the beginning, then Kor and Worf started fighting, then they agreed to beam the sword into space and not deliver it to the Klingons. What happened to the sword restoring Worf's name and improving Federation-Klingon relations?

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From John on 2011-01-11 at 11:28pm:
    I have to agree that this episode starts out really well, but descends into childish bickering by the 25-minute mark. By 30 minutes you're just tired of seeing it. I find this rather distasteful, given that Worf has, until now, been the hallmark of honor in the Star Trek franchise. I don't like seeing him scheming or plotting "like a Ferengi", as he would say.

    I give it a 5, only because the beginning was so good.
  • From Laroquod on 2012-06-12 at 8:35am:
    The DS9 producers apparently chose this episode as their first to focus on Worf in order to demonstrate that they completely fail to understand him as a character. They brought on this character to try to win over fans of Worf from TNG and then immediately pissed all over his honourable image treasured most by exactly the fans they were trying to court. I found it extremely insulting at the time, but now it's just one of the many signals that the producers of DS9 did not really understand much about Star Trek or its fans.
  • From Axel on 2015-05-31 at 12:46pm:
    For a while there, it seemed like the sword had been forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in Mt. Doom. It was having the same effect on people as the one ring :)

    Anyway, I do buy the bickering between Worf and Kor although they dragged it on way too long and screwed up by making it the story. Worf, as honorable as he is, has never been confronted with the opportunity for this kind of power, and it can make good people go a bit nutty. It did for Kor as well. But it would've been a lot more interesting to explore the impact of Federation officers helping to retrieve the most prized artifact in Klingon history.
  • From lumzi23 on 2016-12-27 at 2:44am:
    What an amazingly bad episode. It starts off well then takes a left right into crazy town. A virus that changes people into loonies would have been preferable than both of them just suddenly losing their mind. TBH I have not really watched much of TNG but it seems to me that the DS9 people/makers really did the famous Worf a disservice here.

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