I felt kinda meh about this episode. I love a good murder mystery, but the "clues" in this one are pretty sparse and we only meet the killer after Ezri has figured out who it pretty much has to be. And speaking of figuring it out, why does the fact that the victims have pictures of them laughing mean that the killer must be a vulcan? Surely in a war torn Starfleet there are a bunch of emotionally devastated people and maybe the killer just resents the seemingly happy lives they live. Also, it is never explained how the killer go the magic transporting murder weapon. Surely the replication of such a device is highly regulated, in fact we know it is since they drag a guy in for questioning just because he did exactly that.
We begin with the senior staff celebrating with a new ensign (the wiki says lieutenant, but I am certain Ezri refers to him as an ensign) who managed to pilot the Defiant to safety through a dangerous situation. Ezri walks him home afterwards. The next morning there is a commotion in the hallway, he was found dead the next morning. What makes it really strange is he was killed by a projectile which confuses everybody (not sure why, they have replicators and projectiles are clearly still dangerous, but whatever). That night Ezri has a dream about Joran, the host who was also a killer, and he seems to think he can help. After another member of the crew turns up dead in their quarters Ezri does a ritual to bring Joran to the surface to help her find the killer. O'Brien figures out that the killer modified a prototype starfleet rifle to use a transporter to beam the bullet right in front of its victim.
A bolian turns up dead with the same MO so the race is on to stop the killer. Ezri spends the second half of the episode walking around talking to phantom Joran who seems determined to make her a killer, which honestly seems kinda strange. Sure, he was a murderer, but the first time we met him it seemed more like his crimes were those of desperation, not those of a crazed madman, but whatever, he is crazy now. She eventually figures out that the only thing linking the victims is pictures in their quarters of them laughing so it must be a vulcan (racist). She runs into the murderer in a turbolift but doesn't do anything or tell anyone. Well, she does go to her quarters and use her copy of the rifle to shoot him before he can shoot her, but she doesn't kill him and summons the authorities before Joran can talk her into finishing him off.
Review: Not a very good mystery and not much tension since none of the main crew are ever threatened. Lots of Ezri time, but honestly this seems like it should have been more of an Odo episode.
3 out of 10
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