CHRYSALIS
Bashir falls for a patient – a genetically engineered patient.
There’s a great scene in this episode where all the genetically engineered characters are singing together. It was quite captivating and I actually felt Bashir falling in love with this woman as he watched it unfold.
The rest of the episode is fairly standard Star Trek love story fare. But that music scene will actually stick in my memory for a long time.
TREACHERY, FAITH, AND THE GREAT RIVER
Odo escorts a Weyoun clone who is defecting while Nog’s Ferengi side comes in handy as a Starfleet officer.
These two plots have nothing to do with each other at all. But they’re both very good.
I admire how ambitious DS9 has been with it’s special FX work. The sequence inside the icy asteroid field wasn’t perfectly designed or rendered but as I watched it, I bought it. It was very “cool” to watch. At one point the runabout landed inside a block of ice and with life support shut down Odo mentioned they would be bleeding heat at a rapid rate. The thing I really liked there was an actual knowledge of basic science being used to create conflict in an episode.
With regard to Nog treating spare (and essential) parts of DS9’s infrastructure as barter chips, the plot moved so fast I honestly couldn’t quite keep up. But that kept it tense and also will make for decent repeat viewing.
ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH
Worf’s old buddy takes him on a mission in the hopes of getting killed.
Sometimes a TV show picks a one-time role and turns it into a fan favorite: Q, Harry Mudd, this Klingon jackass. But I hate this Klingon jackass. I don’t know what people see in him. He may speak with gusto but he is kind of a spazz. Glad he’s gone.
THE SIEGE OF AR-558
Sisko, Nog, Bashir and Dax assist in protecting captured Dominion equipment from a ground assault.
Quark… he is the best part of this episode.
Quark convinced me that this was a dumb fight. He also made me understand the Ferengi a bit better. War really is the last option. It’s what comes after negotiations have broken down. If you’re fighting a war, you’ve really failed at commerce.
When Nog is sent to do recon Quarks asks Sisko if he would send Jake. Sisko avoids the question by countering that Jake isn’t a Starfleet officer. This of course begs the question, what if he was? The fact is that Sisko has watched Nog grow up. Even if Sisko has the guts to send Nog to his death – imagine how bad that act might mess up Sisko’s life. Would Jake forgive him? Could Sisko forgive himself?
As far as the action goes this episode is top notch. It’s nice to see a sci-fi battle that doesn’t take place among the stars. It’s raw and it’s in the dirt but it is still clearly the future. The guy with the ketracel white tubes around his neck was a bit too much, almost cheesy – but I still liked the allegory.
I would say this episode is a bit over rated. Aside from Nog’s lost leg I don’t think any new ground is explored but it is nonetheless a good watch.
pfsycho 