Deep Space Nine Episode Reviews
10--One of the best 5 episodes of DS9. In order to be a 10, the episode must be worthy of the Original Series� excellence.
9--An outstanding episode. D.C. Fontana couldn�t have done much better herself.
8--A very well done episode. But it just wasn�t quite good enough to put in the ranks of �great.�
7--A good episode. But, it just didn�t have that spark that would make the episode interesting enough to watch over and over and over and over.
6--A decent episode. Something was missing, though, and I can�t quite put a finger on it.
5--An okay episode. I wouldn�t want to watch this too many times.
4--Not all that great. It didn�t really have much to it.
3--Lacking in a lot of things.
2--Not good at all. No humor, no character devolopment, no interest.
1--This one stunk. I was severely disappointed and will be scarred for life just watching this episode. It was terrible.
0--I swear one of the three stooges wrote this. So bad, I�m going to tape over it. I�m not joking. Don�t ever watch this episode. You may die.
Description:
Morn dies in an ion storm, shocking Deep Space Nine�s inhabitants. Even more shocking is the fact that Morn gave his entire earnings to Quark: 1000 bricks of gold pressed latinum. The episode is Quark�s search for the missing latinum.
Review:
Although not ranking among the best episodes, �Who Mourns for Morn?� is still a quality episode that combines the often-used plot of Ferengi greed with the mystery and intrigue surrounding Morn�s existence. Throughout the episode, several startling �revelations� were given, but in the end (unfortunately) we find out that Morn isn�t really a prince, and that those revelations were actually false. However, I was still left with the thought that Morn still is a living legend. Although never talking to us (albeit talking excessively to everyone else on DS9), he still is a quiet, plotting thief. Who would have guessed that a simple, quiet guy like Morn would have helped rob such an intergalacticly renowned bank?
I thought that the two Quark episodes (The Magnificent Ferengi and Who Mourns for Morn?) could have been placed farther apart so that we would have seen a better variety of shows dealing with different people. But, this episode was an emissary on what is to come. There are going to be some very good episodes soon that will expand our favorite characters and have a good storyline as well
Out of 10, I would have to give this an 8 1/2.
Description:
Sisko falls ill and dreams he is a science fiction writer in 1953 Manhatten, currently working on a series �Deep Space Nine". Nobody will buy his stories, however, because he is a Negro . This episode has the more famous DS9 characters play humans. All of the regular cast plays humans. Guest stars include Marc Alaimo(Gul Dukat), Jeffrey Combs(Weyoun and Brunt), Brock Peters(Sisko�s father), J.G. Hertzler(Martok), Aron Eisenberg(Nog), and Penny Johnson(Kassidy Yates), all playing humans.
Review:
This was one of the best DS9 episodes. The plot deals with racism in a way that doesn't use the guise of aliens, but instead it deals directly with humans committing acts of racism. It is one of those episodes that is watchable time and time again. The first time through, I was paying close attention to see some of my favorite actors without their makeup. With many of them, only their voice gave the actor away. This took away a little from the plot. However, the second time through, I saw a good, quality story. Avery Brooks is good at getting emotional, and ever since they put that part of Brooks into Sisko, he has been an even better captain.
It was also nice to see the classic plot of Quark (or at least Armin Shimerman) battling it out with Odo (or at least Ren� Auberjonois). A regular DS9 fan would see the irony of "Quark" being the good, humane person and "Odo" being the unconfident white racist. I also thought seeing Michael Dorn (Worf, but this time the baseball player) trying to get Sisko's woman. He didn't seem to have the honor of a Klingon. It was also good to see Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat) without his makeup, seeing him aged, but he has been without the Cardassian look before (TNG: The Neutral Zone, Time's Arrow Part I). This was a perfect mix, not getting too much into the characters "new" look, and touching enough on the plot to have a good, meaningful episode.
Out of ten, this is a well-deserving 9 1/2. It is a prelude to some more quality upcoming DS9 episodes.
Description:
On a shrunken Runabout, Dax, O�Brien, and Bashir attempt to retake the Defiant with Sisko aboard, as the Defiant is overtaken by Jem�Hadar forces.
Review:
The premise of this episode was totally ludicrous and unbelievable. But, it was still good. The writers acknowledged that fact by having Kira and Sisko break down laughing at the beginning of the episode. That was a good message just to tell the viewers, "Hey, we know it's insane, but we haven't had a laid back episode for awhile. It has flaws, but just sit back and watch it like you would a mid-summer made-for-TV movie."
Although some people disagree with me, I liked the conflict between the Jem'Hadar "Alpha" and "Gamma." It was an allusion to experience versus youth. Which is the superior? Something I didn't like, however, was how bad the Jem'Hadar were at aiming. Instead of trying to create continuity, the writers have used the Jem'Hadar as their puppets. When it serves their purpose, the Jem'Hadar never miss. But, when it doesn't, the Jem'Hadar are terrible shots. At least in previous episodes, this lack of continuity was due to them not having enough ketracel white. In this episode, there was no reason.
There were some subtle small jokes, like Doctor Bashir saying, "Sorry, that was very small of me." These jokes showed us the cool, laid back attitude of the episode. These last few episodes have had a good, laid back attitude, and now DS9 will turn to the intense, emotional episodes that launched the season and is the reason for their ongoing success.
Out of ten, this is ranked as an 8.
Description:
As O�Brien infiltrates the Orion Syndicate, he may become one of them . . .
Review:
This continued in the great line of annual O�Brien torture episodes. O�Brien knew had to betray his friend and sell him out to Starfleet, but his own duty to Starfleet conflicted with his sense of honor. It was a good episode that dealt with the obligation to duty versus obligation to self. This will be dealt with again next week.
The fact that the Dominion is dealing with the Orion Syndicate is a startling revelation. This could be one of the ways that the Dominion got information about the Federation during the war and always seemed to be one step ahead of them. Since the Dominion wants to establish itself as an honest, friendly organization, if people realize its involvement, it could hurt their status. It is always interesting to see a Starfleet officer undercover.
The lesson learned here was the lesson of betrayal. O�Brien had to betray his friend. He knew that. But in the end, he did the best he could to stop Bilby from sentencing himself to death. He tried not to betray Bilby. But he still did. And when Bilby saw that he wasn�t going to be alive for much longer, he sacrificed himself for his family. �Family is the most important thing,� said Bilby. He wasn�t a ruthless Ferengi criminal, but inside he was just an ordinary, moral human being. That is one of the lessons that should be learned in this episode. No matter how bad you seem to be, inside there is still some good. There isn�t a person on this planet who is totally bad. Some people are just victims of circumstance, as was Bilby.
This was an excellent episode; it tested O�Brien very well. And he passed the test. Out of ten, I give this episode a 9 1/2.
Description:
Worf�s duty is to save the ship and abandon Dax. Will he abide by his duty, or will he abide by his heart?
Review:
This was a fairly good episode. There wasn't a whole lot to it, though. We were treated to some amusing moments when Dax and Worf were arguing, when O'Brien and Bashir were going to beat Quark in tongo, and when Worf had bet on Dax with blind faith, even though he had no idea how to play tongo. There was good music, especially when the Jem'Hadar were going to attack the two officers. We also had the privilege of seeing the runabout dodging asteroids, wbich was really good special effects. As far as plot went, it was only mediocre until the end. Worf had gone into some spying missions and did have the capability to run around in a jungle, but Dax was a poor choice for that kind of mission. She is a scientist and didn't have the experience necessary to complete that sort of mission (unless she got experience in her previous 7 lives). I liked the idea of Worf choosing Dax over his duty, even though it was somewhat predictable because of his attitude earlier in the episode.
I thought the ending was a little confusing, and thus took away from the dramatic plot. When Worf threw his meqleH at the tree, I first thought it was because his informant was dead. But, we later found out that it was because he decided to ignore his duty. Sisko's response was as it should have been. He abided by his duty and told Worf that he made a grave error. But, as a man, he would have done the same thing for Jennifer (isn't it interesting that he didn't say he would have done the same thing for Kassidy?).
Overall, a decent episode. Out of ten, I give it an 8.
Description:
Kira goes back in time after discovering that her mother may have had an affair with Gul Dukat.
Review:
This was a very interesting episode. Any Kira/Dukat episode has potential, but the writers made this episode fulfill its potential. Like any good episode, it pressed the main character, in this instance Major Kira, to her limits. Kira had the difficult choice between killing her mother, a collaborator, or letting her mother live. For Kira, the line had always been clear: Any collaborator deserved to die. Just like in the War of the Dominion arc, she questioned that line once again.
We learned a valuable lesson from this episode. Whatever your parents, or even your family for that matter, do, they are still your parents. They may be evil or they may only be misguided, but you will always be attached to them no matter what happens. You have the choice of either being like Javert (Les Miserables) and have a clear line, destroying yourself in the process of keeping that line clear. Or you can do the human thing, as Kira did, and still care for your family whatever they may have done.
Out of ten, I give this one a 9.
Description:
An internal affairs officer, Sloan, arrives on DS9 and indicates that there may have been a possible internal security breach. His investigation reveals circumstantial evidence that Bashir may be a Dominion spy. For a complete listing of the evidence, go to this page
Review:
This episode wasn't very believable to start out with. All of the evidence that Sloan cited was entirely circumstantial, and it would be hard to believe that Starfleet would exploit one of their officers for their own security. But, as the episode dragged on, we found out that Bashir wouldn't know if he was a Dominion spy. Then the episode was a little more realistic. It also had some impressive plot twists at the end. When Bashir was transported onto Weyoun's ship, I didn't know what was going on. I still thought that Bashir wasn't a spy, and I assumed that Bashir's transport was one of Weyoun's sick little games.
The existence of a culvert Starfleet organization was also believable. As was pointed out in the end of the episode, any good power has to have some sort of intelligence that is willing to break the rules. At the end, we were left with a cliffhanger as Sisko ordered Bashir to accept Sloan's invitation the next time he asked. DS9's executive producer, Behr, did say that many of the 'loose ends' that had been left would be tied up by t he end of the seventh season. That would be a good loose end to tie up.
Out of ten, I give this one an 8 1/2.
Description:
Sisko goes to extreme lengths in order to bring the Romulans into the war on the side of the Federation.
Review:
This was one of the better episodes of the season. It brought us back to the almost forgotten evidence of the war with the Dominion. The entire episode reminded me of something that Dr. Bashir said back in the third season. He said something to the effect of, "Are we really better than the Romulans or the Cardassians? When we're pressed to our limits and have no way out, will we hold true to our ideals, or will we let them slide?" This episode answered those rhetorical questions. Sisko and Starfleet decided that the ends justified the means. The Dominion is evil and has to be destroyed at all costs. That's why Sisko got Garak to help him with the job. He knew that Garak would be willing to do those things which he wouldn't do (i.e. Killing Vreenak & his bodyguards).
I liked the quote that Sisko's father had, "Worry and doubt are the two greatest enemies of a great chef. The souffle will either rise or it won't. There's not a damned thing you can do about it, so you might as well just sit back, wait, and see what happens." Those few moments after the quote were built up well. By Sisko's log entry alone, we didn't really know if the plan had blown up in Sisko's face, or if it had worked. The writers did a great job of leaving us with suspense. Avery Brooks did another good job of acting, taking his character to his limits when things weren't going so well. The ending was somewhat predictable, though. Those who know Garak knew that he would go to any lengths to eliminate the Dominion. After all, he did promise Enabran Tain, his father, to eliminate all of Tain's enemies. The Dominion was one of those enemies.
Out of ten, I give this episode a 9 1/2.
Description:
Odo consults a holographic Las Vegas singer about love, more specifically, about his relationship with Major Kira.
Review:
There's really not a whole lot to say about this one. It was easily the worst episode of the season. Although the Odo/Kira relationship is interesting, a good story is needed in order to keep it that way. His Way was more of an excuse to use the holosuite and use different language than it was an episode. I did like the fact that Odo and Kira got together at the end, except the way in which that was achieved was totally unbelievable and out of character. Whoever wrote this did a terrible job. Normally, an episode like this would be considered a "character development" episode (i.e. not much of a plot, just going into the different aspects of a character). However, there wasn't much development here. Kira got to know Odo a little more, but that was all that was achieved.
Out of ten, I give this one a 2 1/2.
Description:
Sisko has to either risk his only son's life and fulfill his role as the emisarry, or he may face Armageddon. Jake Sisko is possessed by the pagh-wraiths and Kira is possessed by the Wormhole aliens. Louise Fletcher guest stars as Kai Winn.
Review:
This episode had so much potential. But like many of the more recent DS9 episodes, it failed to live up to that potential. It was a classic struggle between good and evil, but that's about all it was. The writers should have concentrated the story on a good single element, with another as a subplot. For instance, they should have made the good versus evil part the main plot, and Sisko's decision to risk his own son as a subplot. Instead, they threw in Kai Winn for no other reason but to have her guest star. Her part really wasn't necessary to do anything except fill up time.
We had Sisko facing a possible Armageddon, yet there wasn't a whole lot made about it. Meanwhile, we had Kira's faith being tested. Her faith has always been strong, and it remained so in this episode. More could have been made about her sticking to her faith despite the possibility of death. Instead, the writers went through some subplots, not really concentrating on one good single story element. There was so much to tell, but so little was told in the end. This was definitely better than last week's episode, but it left much to be desired.
Out of ten, I give this one a 4 1/2
Description:
Jake and Nog are rescued by the U.S.S. Valiant, a Defiant-class vessel. The Valiant is commanded solely by members of Red Squad (Homefront, Paradise Lost). Ensign Shepard (Paradise Lost) makes another appearance.
Review:
The episode started full of gaping holes. First of all, the Runabout that Jake and Nog were on was attacked almost instantaneously after they left the starbase. We can assume that the starbase is inside Federation territory. So, when the Valiant rescued the Runabout, the ship was awfully close to home. Yet, the Red Squad cadets didn't return home, or they weren't even given the option. The second gaping hole was the mission that the cadets were on. To circumnavigate the Federation could take years, and it wouldn't require hardly any special talents. Such a mission seems unnecessary. The third hole was the idea of a ship with only one adult figure on it. While one adult member may be all that is necessary in the safe confines of Starfleet Academy, more would be needed on the front lines in the middle of a war. However, as the episode wore on, these gaping holes seemed less and less large, after I stopped thinking about them and got interested in the story.
Nog has always been cocky about his service to Starfleet. He thinks that he knows everything there is to know about protocol and duty and obligation. His treatment of Jake was certainly in character. This is the first lesson of the episode. Like Nog, you may know more than someone else (Jake) about a certain thing (protocol, etc.), but that doesn't mean that you should treat that other person as a total idiot. There is such a thing as "common knowledge," and we don't have to go to an academy to learn that. Such arrogance can cloud your judgement and you may make a mistake.
The second lesson that was learned had to do with the crew. The captain was dead set on accomplishing his mission, whatever the cost may be to the ship or the crew. Even when he knew there was no way to succeed, he trampled on and wouldn't let anyone back out. Any good commander should take into account his crew when making command decisions. People had been away for months, and he showed no compassion at all towards their situation. The bottom line is, he didn't care. Any good leader has to care about the people under him, whether it is a captain or a coach. That doesn't mean that the leader doesn't push people, it just means that he knows when to quit. The captain of this mission didn't know his limits.
The third lesson is the oft taught "Moby Dick" lesson. The captain pressed on even though he was putting the ship and the crew in grave danger. He was so obsessed with his mission that he never stepped back and took a look at things from an objective perspective. Because of this, everyone but Jake and Nog died. You can push yourself beyond your own limits, but know when it is time to give up.
As for the plot, it had a lot of lessons to the story, but it never had that extra push that would make this episode really good and watchable several times.
Out of 10, I give Valiant a 6 1/2.
Description:
When Grand Nagus Zek is deposed, Quark poses as a woman to help him regain his power. Guest stars include Jeffrey Combs as Brunt, Max Grod�nchik as Rom, Aron Eisenberg as Nog, Cecily Adams as Moogie (Ishka), Chase Masterson as Leeta, and Wallace Shawn as Grand Nagus Zek.
Review:
Three words: Yuck, totally unnecessary.
Let's start out with the good part of the story. Well, women's rights on Ferenginar? A wonderful proposition that could have been told in a wonderful way, from the eternal greed of the male species, to the inhumane treatment of women, to the immense financial gain that would be made by allowing women to make profit, to the struggle of Zek keeping his position of power and his dignity despite incredible odds. If you've seen the episode, this isn't exactly what happened. Instead of dealing with equality and the philosophical realm, the writers went drag style.
Equality was hardly dealt with in this episode. It seemed as though the main point behind having this episode was to have Quark dress up as a woman. Think about this for a moment, who has the burning desire to see Quark dress up as a woman? Who has the burning desire to finally get a decent DS9 episode? I think the numbers are more swayed to the latter than to the former. We all want good episodes of DS9, yet we got another failure. This episode was similar to The Reckoning, in that there was so much to be told, but the writers (again) missed their mark. Instead of dealing with the meat of the plot, they dealt with Quark being a woman. Totally un-Star Trek, dude. While the good Star Trek episodes have dealt with societal issues, the bad episodes deal with stupid things like this one. Profit and Lace did have some uniqueness, and it had humor too. But it had no story. I wouldn't put this on my top ten list.
Out of ten, I give Profit and Lace a 4.
Description:
Molly falls into a time portal which sends her back 300 years. The DS9 crew use the alien time portal to bring her back, but their calculations are off by a decade, so Molly rematerializes as an 18-year-old woman.
Review:
Again, another DS9 episode that simply missed the target. I'm getting tired of writing reviews to episodes like this, as they all say the same thing: There was sooooo much to tell, if only the writers could have done their job . . . . I'm going to be brief with this one. It started out with the doubtful idea of calculations being off, then Molly rematerializing later. You would think that trained Starfleet officers would have checked and crosschecked and doublechecked the calculations when the life of a little girl was concerned. Not so. Instead, Molly was brought back as an 18-year-old. So the episode went along dealing with her reintegration with society. Parts of this episode were touching, from O'Brien saying, "We'll never be apart again," to the scenes passing the ball around. Then as an added effect, Worf's taking care of Kirayoshi became a subplot. This again could have been good had it been dealt with properly, but it was just another common subplot rather than something that delved into the characters of Worf and Dax.
This episode could have been so much better had it been written well, but it followed suit with a series of DS9 episodes that have been extremely disappointing.
Out of ten, I give Time's Orphan a 6.
Description:
An exhausted crew of the Defiant responds to a distress call of a Starfleet officer. Only audio is available for the communication. We will learn a lot about the crew through their conversations with this woman. Penny Johnson (Kassidy Yates) guest stars.
Review:
It was supposed to be a disaster. A letdown. A continuation of some DS9 episodes that left much to be desired. But it failed in that mission. The Sound of Her Voice was one of the better DS9 episodes this season. It gave us a more personal look into the characters. Never before has a DS9 episode looked as far into this many characters than The Sound of Her Voice did. It was a pleasant surprise to see Odo let Quark get away with one. After all, if it wasn't for Quark, who else would Odo have to continually torment? And Quark was instrumental in Odo's relationship with Kira. He was there when Kira and Shakaar got together, and Odo was lovelorn. He was there when Odo wasn't quite sure if he wanted to get together with Kira. I suppose Odo did owe Quark a favor.
O'Brien's views on ship's counselors was very interesting, and I agree with him. You don't need to talk to someone with a degree in psychology in order to feel better; sometimes all you need is a good friend to talk to. And Sisko had to deal with Captain Yates, who was interfering with his duty. Perhaps a lesson here is that most of the time, personal and professional lives don't mix. They have to stay away from each other if you want to make both lives work well.
The Sound of Her Voice pointed out something that I've noticed over the past season: The DS9 crew really is growing apart. I thought this episode brought them all together. And the final lesson is to let people know how you feel about them. Don't be afraid to talk, even if it seems like you're taking a risk. Because if you don't take the time to let your closest friends know how you feel about them, they'll be gone before you know it, and much will be left unsaid. This episode also foreshadowed what is to come. When O'Brien gave his speech about someone in the "DS9 circle" might be gone someday, he constantly looked at Dax from the corner of his eye.
There were a few errors in this episode. Apparently, going through the energy field was going to be dangerous, yet Sisko sent himself and two other senior officers on the mission. That was illogical. Also, it was found that the starship captain was dead for three years. You would think that someone would have looked in the Starfleet database for more information on the captain. Then, they would have known that the captain departed 11 years ago instead of 8.
The Sound of Her Voice did a lot in the way of character development. Although there were some flaws near the beginning & the end, I give it an 8 1/2.
Season Finale!!!!!
Description:
Sisko commands a task force that invades Cardassia, but he is cautioned not to leave the station. Meanwhile, Gul Dukat returns to Cardassia bent on revenge against Sisko and possessing dangerous knowledge about the Bajoran sacred orbs and the Wormhole Prophets. Dukat uses this information to board the station, destroy an orb, neutralize the Prophets--and kill one of Sisko's closest friends.
I'm starting to think of DS9 as my home now