All posts by Beau

69. The Homecoming/The Circle/The Siege (2.01, 2.02, 2.03)

Synopsis: Kira rescues a Bajoran Resistance hero from a Cardassian labor camp; an extremist group calls for all non-Bajorans to leave Bajor. Sisko and Odo work to reveal the real force behind the Circle’s coup. Sisko tries to prevent the Circle from taking the station; Kira and Dax take proof that the Cardassians are the real force that is arming the Circle to the Bajoran government. 

Memory Alpha SummaryThe Three-Parter

Review: The first three-parter in the Star Trek canon does an excellent job at immersing us in the DS9 world of the Bajorans, while unfortunately only having an average plot to go with it. Li Nalas is a rather drab character study of a war hero, though I did like the scene where he describes his accidental foray into being that hero, shooting a Cardassian in his underwear out of sheer luck. During the final two episodes, he is just sort of there, doing predictable things, including his sacrifice to save Sisko. 

Continue reading 69. The Homecoming/The Circle/The Siege (2.01, 2.02, 2.03)

70. Captive Pursuit (1.06)

Synopsis: O’Brien helps an alien from the Gamma Quadrant as hunters descend on the station searching for their humanoid prey.

Memory Alpha SummaryThe die is caste

Review: Similar themes to The Hunted from TNG, Captive Pursuit explores pretty well the dilemma of what to do with a member of another species that finds value in its members not being equal. Of course, we don’t even learn about this dilemma until there’s about 15 minutes left in the episode, so the first two-thirds are only vaguely interesting as we learn about our first Gamma Quadrant species. 

Continue reading 70. Captive Pursuit (1.06)

71. A Time To Stand (6.1)

Synopsis: With the Dominion on track to winning the war against the Federation, Sisko and his crew take a captured Jem’Hadar ship into enemy territory with a mission to cut off the Jem’Hadar’s supply of ketracel-white in the Alpha Quadrant. 

Memory Alpha SummaryNarrator: They did!

Review: I wish the losses suffered by the Federation here would have had more impact. In The Best of Both Worlds, we see the destruction at Wolf 359 and it’s powerful. Here, the loss of 98 ships is mentioned in a conversation and it doesn’t feel as powerful.

Continue reading 71. A Time To Stand (6.1)

73. Tears of the Prophets (6.26)

Synopsis: Sisko leads an invasion of Cardassian territory, ignoring a warning from the Prophets, with fatal consequences for a member of the DS9 crew. (Season finale)

Memory Alpha SummaryBye Jadzia

Review: Jadzia’s death initially had an impact on me (though it was foreshadowed a bit too much with all of the talk about having a baby with Worf).  It was quick.  It was brutal.  It had no purpose.  Yet the writers chickened out and allowed her to have one last dying breath statement for her husband.  Man, I hate that crap.  It’s faux-drama.  Almost nobody dies getting to say what they want to say.  

Continue reading 73. Tears of the Prophets (6.26)

75. The Adversary (3.26)

Synopsis: A Federation ambassador brings newly-promoted Captain Sisko orders to take the Defiant on a patrol of the Tzenkethi border, where a destabilizing coup has just taken place, but everything is not as it seems. (Season finale)

Memory Alpha SummaryWish they would have told me before I agreed to be host!

Review: A fairly disappointing season finale naturally features The Dominion much like TNG’s season 3 finale featured the Borg. And while The Dominion feel like more of a threat after this episode, the script itself is pretty cheeky and predictable.

Continue reading 75. The Adversary (3.26)

76. Dax (1.08)

Synopsis: New evidence reopens a thirty-year-old murder case and Dax’s previous host, Curzon, is the prime suspect.

Memory Alpha Summary: Wish they would have told me before I agreed to be host!

Review: Finally in season 1 we get an episode about the one main character we know the least about. Unfortunately, it’s yet another senior-officer-accused-of-murder episode, right on the heels of A Man Alone. Two of the same plot in the first seven episodes is really lazy. On the bright side, this episode does it way better, partly because Dax never denies murdering someone (even though she didn’t). The mystery is why she’s remaining silent, and it’s a decent one. 

Continue reading 76. Dax (1.08)

77. The Changing Face of Evil (7.20)

Synopsis: The Breen ally with the Dominion and attack Earth, the Federation Alliance loses its foothold in Cardassian space, Legate Damar organizes a rebellion, and Kai Winn begins to read forbidden texts about the Pah-wraiths. (Part 4 of 9)

Memory Alpha Summary: <a href="http://&lt;!– wp:paragraph –> <p></p> O’Brien will be conflicted

Review: Now we’re talking.  So far the best episode of the long arc as the Cardassians are pretty much all in on helping the Federation, Sisko loses the Defiant (which is as close to a character a non-living entity can get), and Dukat gets outed.  Not digging the Dax/Julian sudden amortization.  Not that it’s completely unrealistic; after all, Julian was crazy for Dax in Season 1.  But it seemed like he had moved past it for five years only to fall for the new Dax so quickly?

Continue reading 77. The Changing Face of Evil (7.20)

78. Apocalypse Rising (5.01)

Synopsis: Sisko leads a commando team into Klingon headquarters in an attempt to expose the Changeling impersonating Gowron.

Memory Alpha SummaryNot that kind of commando. It was a fully clothed team.

Review: A nice resolution to the Klingon war story that always felt a bit forced, but retconned nicely here to include the Dominion being behind the whole thing.

Continue reading 78. Apocalypse Rising (5.01)