DS9: Visionary

         I had completely forgotten that the Miles O'Brien who exists for most of DS9 is actually from a different timeline than the one from TNG and early DS9. I don't think it ever comes up again, but the fact that he is a radiation free version of himself from a future that didn't happen is crazy. This series clearly enjoys playing with time travel and it hasn't even gotten to my two favorite episodes! Visionary isn't really a conventional time travel story, but it does get there in the end so I guess that makes up for the time shifting stuff in the beginning.
         The episode opens with O'Brien waking up on the floor in Ops. He was hit with a burst of plasma and is being treated by Dr. Bashir for radiation poisoning. He is clearly shaken by it as he agrees to take the rest of the day off from work. Kira and Sisko head to meet a delegation of Romulans here for a briefing about the Dominion when they run into some drunken Klingons stuck on the station while their ship is repaired. The Romulans aren't interested in small talk or quarters, they just want their briefing so they all head straight to the wardroom to begin. In Quarks O'Brien has talked Quark into putting up a dart board but the first time Quark gives it a try he throws all of hits darts and once and hits Morn in the vest. As O'Brien goes to throw he suddenly finds himself on the Promenade watching himself talk to Quark about a holosuite the Klingons broke. Then he is back in Quarks where he falls to the ground. 
         Bashir tells O'Brien that he knows why Miles passed out, but O'Brien isn't buying his ignoring of the vision. The Romulan B story crawls along with them not trusting Sisko because of Odo and they demand to talk to everybody on the mission but mostly just make Kira mad. While walking on the promenade O'Brien runs into Quark who starts telling him about the Klingons breaking a holosuite when O'Brien realizes this was his vision and looks over to see himself watching and then suddenly disappear. Dax detects two temporal distortions confirming it was a real experience. Some sort of radioactive particle he was flooded with is interacting with quantum singularity that is apparently near the station, at which point I was practically screaming at my screen: "IT IS THE ROMULAN'S YOU IDIOTS! DON'T YOU ALL KNOW THAT IS WHAT THEY USE INSTEAD OF DILITHIUM???" but of course they didn't respond. 
         O'Brien keeps having visions of the future including one where he dies from a sabotage device hidden in a panel. He checks it along with Sisko and Odo but there is no problem. It is in an empty corridor but it starts making sense when the Romulans take up quarters there. They figure out it was the Klingons but this time O'Brien finds himself dead, Julian didn't detect some other sort of particle in him, but he is able to stop get saved with his future knowledge. Then the station is exploding as he gets away in a shuttle but he can't find out why. They also figure out the quantum singularity is orbiting the station but not the obvious Romulan connection. Julian figures out a way to flood O'Brien with radiation so he can travel forward at will and when he gets there he finds himself asleep. The time travelling O'Brien isn't feeling great from the radiation but both of them head to Ops. A Romulan ship uncloaks and attacks which is what he needed to know, so past sick O'Brien sends future healthy O'Brien back in time to warn everybody and replace him. They talk the Romulans into leaving without an attack and O'Brien is stuck with doppelganger dread.

         Review: I am a sucker for time travel and this is one of the most interesting takes on it I have ever seen. Not the funniest, those ones are still ahead, but a very entertaining episode with a solid O'Brien centered A story.

8 out of 10