Originally posted on BondandBeyond from May 05 2011 to Jun 27 2011
"Apocalypse Rising"
A great season opener with two really aggravating problems:
1) Worf goes along on the mission, despite the fact that he's persona non grata in Klingon space, and yet no attempt is made to disguise him at all. You can recognize a House of Mogh member by their ridges, and yet no one recognizes Worf. When Changeling-Martok walks by, everyone is worried about him recognizing O'Brien THROUGH the Klingon make-up, but not Worf whose appearance is in no way altered. Grr.
2) Martok-Changeling has only himself to blame for getting caught, since after Odo screams out his identity, he openly uses shapeshifter powers to attack him, drawing down all that Klingon fire. I'm sure if he'd been smarter he could've kept the charade going.
Oh well, it's a pretty good season opener, but those issues bug me.
"The Ship"
This episode is really trying hard, but it falls flat. For one thing, nearly all the acts are the same -- the crew in the ship, getting on each other's nerves, trying to figure out what the Vorta wants, while Muniz dies VERY slowly in the background. Then we find out it was a Founder on the ship, and I start wondering why the Vorta didn't just tell them that. Then the episode takes another act to try and convince me about how shooken up the whole crew is over losing five crewmen, when I've seen the Defiant lose more in battle and no one bats an eyelash. I mean, yeah, it's interesting to show that those guys are real people, but to have Sisko agonizing over it as he does in this episode's finale feels really out of character -- Sisko's the guy who does what it takes to get the job done; his soliloquy about how being the Captain isn't as easy as they make it out at the Academy sounds like something a real rookie would say, not Sisko, and the whole "OMG one of my men is dead, I must be a terrible Captain" is more of a Kirk reaction. So while the episode had good dramatic intentions, it just falls apart.
"Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places"
A charming Trek comedy piece with some fun revelations for the characters. A nice sequel to third season's "The House of Quark", a nice beginning to the long teased Worf/Jadzia relationship, and a very honest probing look at the difficulties Miles is experiencing living with both Keiko and Kira.
"Nor the Battle to the Strong"
Absolutely fantastic episode. Hey, guess what -- war is terrible, not everyone is a hero, and even the guys trained to do it are gonna crack under the pressure. The best Jake material since "The Visitor". Everything works. The beginning of a fine tradition of DS9 showing what real war is like, at least within the confines of Star Trek.
"The Assignment"
Genuinely creepy, full of suspense, with fantastic acting performances, Season 5's "Let's Torture O'Brien" episode also introduces the Pagh-Wraiths. Great show.
"Trials and Tribble-ations"
What can I say? Positively glorious. The perfect tribute show.
"Let He Who is Without Sin..."
So this has a reputation as being one of the worst episodes of the series. And yeah, it's not a great episode, but its not horrendous. Its not even memorably bad, like a "Threshold" (VOY) or "Profit and Lace" next season. It's just sorta there. I agree with the producers that what kills it is that we go to essentially a sex planet but see nothing even vaguely sexual. There's no erotic flavour in this show at all -- even the skimpy bathing suits are pretty tame compared even to TOS's feminine warddrobe (not that I'm complaining about Terry Farrell's outfit). I think Worf is written a little overly stubborn, even for Worf, and I think the Essentialist's arguments are overblown (Risa is a vacation planet, for cryin' out loud! Are you vacations are immoral?) but there is some value to the discussion. I also think the episode has a few good scenes exploring the early nature of the Dax/Worf relationship, essentially clearing the air between two very different characters to allow them to understand one another and be together. The scene where Worf talks about his childhood on Gault almost makes the rest of the show worthwhile. Almost.
"Things Past"
Basically the long overdue follow-up to "Necessary Evil" from season 2, and a very mature observation on the part of the writers that there's no way Odo could've been in charge of security during the Occupation for as long as he was and not gotten his hands dirty. It's always fun to return to Terok Nor and see the darker side of things, especially when the show has been making Dukat so sympathetic lately and seems to have largely forgotten about Bajor and the Occupation. A very good episode. And Kurtwood Smith is always welcome.
"The Ascent"
A fantastic Odo/Quark episode. Really great writing and even better performances. The subplot between Jake and Nog was also well done, addressing how the two have evolved into very different people in the little over a year since Nog left the station. Having Nog take his practicum was a very good excuse to get him back on the show and not have to come up with excuses for him to be away from the Academy (or have the crew visiting) like TNG had to do with Wesley. (And of course the War that's coming up was a good excuse for him to stay on the station long after his practicum was over).
"Rapture"
Ah, new uniforms. Excellent. The final major visual signal that DS9 has become awesome (in order these are, the Defiant, Bald Sisko with Goatee, Worf, Grey Uniforms). And it's announced with a great episode that has Sisko finally coming to terms with his role as the Emissary and synthesizing it with his role as a Starfleet Officer. Meanwhile, Kai Winn, Bajor's admission to the Federation, Sisko's visions, all these pieces on the board get shuffled around and all hold major portents for the future of the series.
"The Darkness and the Light"
A classic "old-school" style DS9 episode that recalls "Duet" in first season with its discussion of the morality of the occupation. Even if Kira's captor had some good points, I like that she stands her ground and says "fuck you" instead of coming to some kind of sympathetic understanding (like a TNG character would). Very good episode from Ron Moore.
"The Begotten"
Kira gives birth and Odo gets his powers back. The best part of this episode is its analysis of parenting, while dealing with your own parent. The whole theme of "I'm going to do it differently". Very strongly written.
"In Purgatory's Shadow"
Aka "Improbable Cause, Part III". Where the REAL DS9 begins. Aka a flat-out GREAT episode. Amongst everything else the best scene in the whole show is the Garak/Tain scene.
"Elim, do you remember that day in the country?"
"How could I forget? It was the only day."
"By Inferno's Light"
Absolutely AWESOME. In 40 minutes the entire status quo of the series is flipped around. The Cardassians go from a civillian government under siege to a Dominion dictatorship ruled by Gul Dukat, formerly an anti-Klingon freedom fighter. The Klingons go from our enemies to our allies. Turns out Julian's been a Changeling for the past five episodes. And now we have a full Starfleet and Klingon task force on the station, with the real, one-eyed Martok. Gowron sums it up best,
"Think of it. Five years ago no one had ever heard of Bajor or Deep Space 9. Now all our hopes rest here. Where the tides of fortune take us, no man can know."
"Doctor Bashir, I Presume?"
And just after you've digested that for the past five episodes Bashir has been a Changeling, turns out for the past five years he was also Superman. I seem to be one of the few people who like this episode -- I like Robert Picardo, I like the LMH idea, I like the Rom/Leeta subplot, I think the characterization of Bashir's parents and their backstory fits with everything we've been told about Bashir over the years, I like bringing genetic engineering into the Trek fold and mentioning its illegality in light of Khan, and I like that it's made clear that mainly only Bashir's mind was enhanced. I like the conflict that parents with a mentally retarded child would face in a world where genetic enhancement was a possibility, even if just a black market one. I like the episode. But apparently most people, Siddig included, hated it, and felt this development came out of the blue and wasn't good for Bashir's character.
"A Simple Investigation"
A classic sort of noir story with Odo falling in love with the woman he's protecting. Very well done on all fronts.
"Business as Usual"
A great Quark episode featuring his cousin Gaila and the ethics of weapons dealing. Very well done -- I often feel that Quark, as a comedic character, works better in these kinds of dramatic stories (like Season 4's "Body Parts") than the full-on comedies he is often placed in. Superb episode.
"Ties of Blood and Water"
An excellent follow up to Season 3's "Second Skin", while also continuing threads such as the Dominionized Cardassia, Dukat's new position, and the debut of Weyoun 5. A great moving episode that really hits home so far as the death of a loved one is concerned. Just fantastic.
"Ferengi Love Songs"
There's some good stuff here and there, but for the most part this is a pretty weak, predictable, cliched Ferengi outing that's more important for the events portrayed (beginning of Ishka/Zek, Rom and Leeta's engagement, Quark getting his licence back) then the actual telling of them.
"Soldiers of the Empire"
A somewhat cliched, but still very well done Klingon outing, showcasing Jadiza, Worf and Martok very well respectively. It was nice to see some "Klingon outcasts", see some diversity in the look of Klingons, etc. A well done episode.
"Children of Time"
One of the all-time greatest Trek time travel stories -- great bizzaro paradox, fantastic character drama, heart-renching plot twists, superb moral dilemma, and finally Kira knows how Odo feels about him. An amazingly well written show.
"Blaze of Glory"
And so the Maquis, at least in the Alpha Quadrant, meet their end, along with their morally ambiguous Canadian leader Michael Eddington. The Eddington/Sisko feud was fun, and the Maquis were always great for throwing a dark reflection up against Federation values, but I suppose the show had to start ending some of these ongoing plot threads. It's another great hour of DS9.
"Empok Nor"
An exciting, eerie, well shot episode that just goes a little too far off the rails at the end. Garak becomes too much of a villain for me to be comfortable with the show continuing on as if nothing happened.
"In the Cards"
Perhaps the greatest comic episode of DS9. But with a solid human core. It's like the anti-DS9 episode: Lighthearted A-story, Important B-story, and a message of hope amidst darkness. It's also fantastically written and wonderfully performed.
"Call to Arms"
Ranks with "Best of Both Worlds" as one of the greatest season finales in all of Trek's history. Except this episode has a way better pay-off, with the pure balls to not resolve all its plot points in the next hour. This is an exciting, daring hour of DS9 that's less concerned with ratings grabber cliffhangers and more with pushing the boundaries of Trek and setting up the fantastic opening arc of season 6. Amidst all of the big moments and galactic cliffhangers, it also finds time for great human moments with Rom, Leeta, Jadzia, Worf, Jake, Quark, etc. Can't wait for season 6.
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