Rather than being a monster/weird alien of the week episode this second episode of DS9 is a solid character story exploring Odo who would rapidly turn into one of the series more memorable characters. And not just because he was a cool shapeshifter. It also starts building his relationship with Quark which while opening antagonistic is actually one of Trek's more genuine friendships. Bashir still feels off as Mr. I am in love with Dax isn't really a role that suits him. Sisko still seems to be holding his own and I can't help but wonder if I just remembered him wrong, or is he not as good in the middle third of the show.
We begin with Bashir trying to get Dax to go on a date with him while she works on a brainteaser she has been working on for over a century. She leaves for a dinner with Sisko which annoys the hell of the Bashir. Next we see Quark and Odo watching Miles and Keiko get in a fight over something. The two are clearly enjoying talking about other peoples problems but suddenly Odo notices a Bajoran at the Dabo table and tenses up. He rushes over and tells the guy to get the hell off his station and grabs him. Sisko intervenes and stops a full on brawl. We also see Jake hanging out with Nog and getting into trouble. Next we cut to Sisko demanding to know why Odo accosted some dude. Odo explains that the guy is Ibudan, a former smuggler who Odo had arrested for murdering a Cardassian when they still ran the place. Since the current Bajoran goverment doesn't really consider what he did a crime he is now free but Odo still won't let go and insists he will get him off the station. Then we see Ibudan relaxing and getting a massage until a masked figure appears and buries a dagger into his spine.
Sisko, Bashir, Odo and Kira are investigating the crime and things don't look good for Odo. The holosuite was only opened twice and there is no sign of any transporter activity. The only DNA at the crime scene belongs to the victim and the investigators including Odo. (Note: they never explain why after sneaking in through the crack in the door to kill the dude Odo wouldn't have also gone out that way or how he sneaked in the non-holo dagger that he commited the murder with.) The Bajorans on the station immediately start protesting Odo both as head of security and also head of his own investigation. Odo keeps on investigating for now though and finds that the victim had booked a cabin for two and had a note in his log about a meeting with Odo at the time he was killed. O'Brien and Keiko keep fighting and we learn the Keiko's main issue is that she doesn't have a job or anything to do and that she is worried their daughter will run wild like Jake and Nog. What they really need is a school which gives Miles an idea.
The Bajorans keep protesting and Odo gets taken off the case. He finds his office vandalized and Quark comes to hassle him that now he can finally get away with stuff. But Bashir has found something on the freighter. Some sort of technobabble bio goop that starts turning into some sort of lifeform when Bashir cultures it. Keiko opens her school for its first day but it looks like no one but Jake is going to show up. But then Nog gets brought in by his father and two more human children arrive and she is relieved. A mob shows up outside Odo's office and it is all Sisko can do to stop them from tearing the place apart. Bashir meanwhile has figured out to blob is a clone of Ibudan. He rushes in and tells the crown Ibudan isn't dead! Odo rushes to a freighter to confront an elderly Bajoran man who we have seen lurking in the back of many scenes. He pulls of the guys mission impossible mask and it is Ibudan who is arrested for killing his own clone because I guess they never saw Up the long Ladder.
Review: I kept finding more plot holes with this episode as I wrote up the above summary, but the character stuff is all well done. The mystery is far from the worst in Star Trek, but it is so obviously a frame job that it is hard to see why any of them take it very seriously.
7 out of 10
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