What an intense episode! If the combined Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order fleets can't stop the Dominion, can anyone? Also we learn that other Changelings are capable of appearing as perfect replicas of other species, not just the soft eared solids like Odo. I also really appreciate that Sisko is reprimanded for taking the Defiant out after Odo defying a direct order but that like the saboteur on his ship, Sisko himself is forgiven since it all turned out already in the end. Also it seems strange, but it is pretty much in line for both characters that the thing that gets Odo and Garak to finally start talking is Garak torturing Odo, but then not giving away what he found to the Federation.
The episode opens with Bashir having lunch with O'Brien who is clearly no replacement to Garak as a conversation partner. In Ops they are startled when Romulan, then Cardassian ships start decloaking and going through the wormhole. Starfleet contacts, them, they intercepted a transmission from Tain to the Cardassia telling them the plan. Thinking there might be a chance they will succeed Starfleet orders Sisko to stay where he is and not pursue Odo into the gamma quadrant. On the Romulan flagship Tain orders Garak to extract any information Odo may have on the founders from him. Garak is resistant but agrees when he learned that Tain has developed a device that might actually do the job and offers it to the Romulans. We see the device getting set up but then cut to the Defiant. They are in the gamma quadrant headed at near top speed to intercept the Romulan-Cardassian fleet when suddenly the cloak fails. Security Chief Eddington admits he did it on a direct order from the Admiral to stop Sisko from losing the Defiant. Sisko orders O'Brien to fix the damage, but keeps Eddington at tactical for being honest about what happened.
Garak's device keeps Odo from changing shape which becomes torture as he nears the time where he needs to become liquid to regenerate. Odo starts falling apart and is clearly in a lot of pain. Finally he admits to Garak that he drawn to join the great link more strongly than he has admitted to anyone and Garak realizes this is all the information he is going to get out of Odo and turns off the device. Garak lies to Tain and the Romulans and tells them Odo never broke. They have arrived at the founders world and prepare to attack. The Defiant is up and running again and Sisko sets out at maximum warp. The bombardment of the planet begins and seems to be going well, but they notice no change in the lifeform count. Something is wrong, and it becomes more wrong when hundreds of Jem'Hadar ships decloak and start attacking. The fleet is overwhelmed and Garak flees to rescue Odo and get out of there. They are stopped by the Romulan Colonel in charge who gives them what they need to escape and Garak asks why. Tovok admits to being a Changeling and then beams out. Garak tries to rescue Tain, but he refuses to leave the bridge. Odo knocks Garak out with a punch and takes him to the runabout. The two are about to be destroyed when the Defiant appears and rescues them before fleeing back to the alpha quadrant. Sisko debriefs the admiral in charge who tells him he is forgiven for now, but do it again and he will either get court marshaled or promoted. Odo stops by Garak's shop and thanks him for not telling the Federation his secret and they both agree to let go of what happened and meet for breakfast some time.
Review: What a crazy episode, things are starting to accelerate in pace, too bad it all slows down with Worf joins the show next season. A solid episode with lots of action and character moments to really be above average.
8 out of 10
Monday, February 15, 2016
Sunday, February 14, 2016
DS9: Improbable Cause
DS9 more than any other Trek is in love with multi-part episodes. So much so that they largely do away with the convention of describing them as Part I and II. This is solid example of that, and one that works especially well since it actually feels like a complete episode that is going to lead directly into something else. It also pays off on the secret in the Orias for early this season by explaining that he secret fleet being assembled there is a joint Obsidian Order/Tal Shiar plan to strike at the heart of the Dominion. And as much as they maybe shouldn't be hiding it from their governments it does seem like somebody should do something about the aggressive and advanced star empire on the other side of the wormhole.
We begin with Garak and Bashir having their usual lunch but Julian seems distracted and says he has to leave. Garak also leaves with his plate still full of food. As Bashir makes his way along the upper promenade level the station is shaken by an explosion, and it came from Garak's shop. Bashir rushes in and finds Garak injured by not critically. O'Brien and Odo start investigating the explosion and find traces of a micro-explosive on the energy relay behind the way. Garak of course refuses to give any useful information but they do discover that the remains of a device that detonates the explosives only in the presence of specific races, a device usually used by Flaxian assassins. There is a Flaxian on board so Odo brings him in for questioning and discovers his perfume trade is a cover for a set of carefully concealed toxins. O'Brien plants a tracker on the Flaxian ship and Odo prepares to follow but is surprised to find Garak also on his runabout. The two follow the Flaxian ship but it explodes as soon as it goes to warp.
The Flaxian ship appears to have been sabotaged by Romulans so they contact the Romulan government who claim the Flaxian was a convicted criminal in the Romulan Empire and the execution was legal. This only raises further questions so Odo contacts someone he knew from the Cardassian occupation who informs him of the untimely deaths of 5 other Obsidian Order operatives that same day. When he returns Garak is actually shocked by this information which is when Odo drops the bomb that he knows Garak bombed his own shop to get Odo on the case. Garak realizes if his colleagues have been killed his former boss Enabran Tain is in trouble so he convinces Odo to let him borrow a runabout to go try and save him. When they arrive at the Cardassian planet though a Romulan bird of prey decloaks above them and brings them in with a tractor beam. Tain is there and tells them he is behind all this, they are preparing to strike against the Dominion and after much back and forth Tain offers Garak a position in the Obsidian Order and Garak agrees.
Review: Why this is such a successful first part is that it tells its' own complete story while also setting up mysteries for the next episode. DS9 succeeds where the other shows fail I think partly because the whole series is in some ways one long story rather than a bunch of standalone episodes. Also I suspect VOY isn't going to be as satisfying either.
7 out of 10
We begin with Garak and Bashir having their usual lunch but Julian seems distracted and says he has to leave. Garak also leaves with his plate still full of food. As Bashir makes his way along the upper promenade level the station is shaken by an explosion, and it came from Garak's shop. Bashir rushes in and finds Garak injured by not critically. O'Brien and Odo start investigating the explosion and find traces of a micro-explosive on the energy relay behind the way. Garak of course refuses to give any useful information but they do discover that the remains of a device that detonates the explosives only in the presence of specific races, a device usually used by Flaxian assassins. There is a Flaxian on board so Odo brings him in for questioning and discovers his perfume trade is a cover for a set of carefully concealed toxins. O'Brien plants a tracker on the Flaxian ship and Odo prepares to follow but is surprised to find Garak also on his runabout. The two follow the Flaxian ship but it explodes as soon as it goes to warp.
The Flaxian ship appears to have been sabotaged by Romulans so they contact the Romulan government who claim the Flaxian was a convicted criminal in the Romulan Empire and the execution was legal. This only raises further questions so Odo contacts someone he knew from the Cardassian occupation who informs him of the untimely deaths of 5 other Obsidian Order operatives that same day. When he returns Garak is actually shocked by this information which is when Odo drops the bomb that he knows Garak bombed his own shop to get Odo on the case. Garak realizes if his colleagues have been killed his former boss Enabran Tain is in trouble so he convinces Odo to let him borrow a runabout to go try and save him. When they arrive at the Cardassian planet though a Romulan bird of prey decloaks above them and brings them in with a tractor beam. Tain is there and tells them he is behind all this, they are preparing to strike against the Dominion and after much back and forth Tain offers Garak a position in the Obsidian Order and Garak agrees.
Review: Why this is such a successful first part is that it tells its' own complete story while also setting up mysteries for the next episode. DS9 succeeds where the other shows fail I think partly because the whole series is in some ways one long story rather than a bunch of standalone episodes. Also I suspect VOY isn't going to be as satisfying either.
7 out of 10
Saturday, February 13, 2016
DS9: Through the Looking Glass
I really disliked these episodes on my original watching because of how the deviated from the main story, but on my second watching I have been enjoying them for how they show us things about characters by either how the react to this alternate universe and how they mirror themselves. O'Brien is the only character who seems to be close to the came person in both universe so I guess it makes sense he would be the one to drag Sisko into this episode. Intendant Kira is a little weak in this episode, especially when she so easily gives up in the end, but is overall excellent as usual.
The episode opens with Sisko and Odo blowing up Quark and Morns illegal Cardassian vole fighting operation but before he can enjoy his small victory Sisko is kidnapped by Smiley O'Brien and taken to the mirror universe. Smiley explain that their Sisko, who was also leading the Terran rebellion, was killed and they need him to get his wife Jennifer from Terok Nor before she can construct a sensor array that could easily detect the rebel bases. If he can't bring her back they will have to kill her and that is more than he can bear so he agrees. But this will involve him fooling everybody into thinking he is the devious and kinda evil Sisko they all know. He gets off to a good start punching Bashir for wanting to kill his wife and they come up with a plan for him and Smiley to get onto Terok Nor so he can convince Jennifer to flee with him.
They get on the station no problem and get caught immediately. Smiley gets taken to ore processing and against Garak's wishes Sisko gets taken to the Intendant's quarters. Garak shows up with Jennifer (I actually am not sure why he does this since he clearly hates Sisko, maybe I missed a line where they explained it) and after some fighting she can tell this isn't the same Sisko she knew and reluctantly agrees to go with him. Sisko uses a subdermal communicator to call Smiley and get the plan rolling. Smiley knocks out the security system and Sisko defeats two Klingon guards and gets their weapons. They link up along with a bunch of freed Terran slaves but Kira is one step ahead of them, she tortured the plan out of Rom and is there with soldiers. Sisko outsmarts her and sets the station on autodestruct. She lets them go without much of a fight. Alone Jennifer tells Sisko she knows he isn't the same person as her husband but he won't tell her what happened. Smiley gets him home and that is the end.
Review: A fairly straightforward story but it got a bit confusing in parts and it seems like some of the explanation bits got cut or something. Still a solid Sisko episode where we again see that he is a master of dealing with whatever circumstances give him and making the best of it. Also he will join any good rebellion ever except the Maquis. Also Tuvok is in this for no reason.
7 out of 10
The episode opens with Sisko and Odo blowing up Quark and Morns illegal Cardassian vole fighting operation but before he can enjoy his small victory Sisko is kidnapped by Smiley O'Brien and taken to the mirror universe. Smiley explain that their Sisko, who was also leading the Terran rebellion, was killed and they need him to get his wife Jennifer from Terok Nor before she can construct a sensor array that could easily detect the rebel bases. If he can't bring her back they will have to kill her and that is more than he can bear so he agrees. But this will involve him fooling everybody into thinking he is the devious and kinda evil Sisko they all know. He gets off to a good start punching Bashir for wanting to kill his wife and they come up with a plan for him and Smiley to get onto Terok Nor so he can convince Jennifer to flee with him.
They get on the station no problem and get caught immediately. Smiley gets taken to ore processing and against Garak's wishes Sisko gets taken to the Intendant's quarters. Garak shows up with Jennifer (I actually am not sure why he does this since he clearly hates Sisko, maybe I missed a line where they explained it) and after some fighting she can tell this isn't the same Sisko she knew and reluctantly agrees to go with him. Sisko uses a subdermal communicator to call Smiley and get the plan rolling. Smiley knocks out the security system and Sisko defeats two Klingon guards and gets their weapons. They link up along with a bunch of freed Terran slaves but Kira is one step ahead of them, she tortured the plan out of Rom and is there with soldiers. Sisko outsmarts her and sets the station on autodestruct. She lets them go without much of a fight. Alone Jennifer tells Sisko she knows he isn't the same person as her husband but he won't tell her what happened. Smiley gets him home and that is the end.
Review: A fairly straightforward story but it got a bit confusing in parts and it seems like some of the explanation bits got cut or something. Still a solid Sisko episode where we again see that he is a master of dealing with whatever circumstances give him and making the best of it. Also he will join any good rebellion ever except the Maquis. Also Tuvok is in this for no reason.
7 out of 10
Friday, February 12, 2016
DS9: Distant Voices
This is a really clever episode that unfortunately drags a bit in the middle. The set up about Julian being worried about aging and getting put into a coma hallucination is great. Him figuring out that the station in the hallucination is actually him, fantastic. Him wandering around trying to get various parts of his mind to help him fix the "station," that part kinda dragged. The ending is well done and the wrap up with Garak is really good. I also really like how this episode continues to foreshadow Julian's status as an augmented person, it would have been nice if they could have worked this out earlier, but at least it didn't just happen in the episode where it is revealed.
We begin with Garak and Bashir having lunch together and discussing Julian's upcoming 30th birthday. Garak doesn't understand why he isn't excited to be aging as age is a sign of dignity and power among Cardassians. Quark and a Lethean approach and Quark tells Bashir the Lethian is looking to get bio-mimetic gel, but Julian refuses to help. Later Bashir finds the Lethian in his office, when they see each other the Lethian grabs him by the head and blasts his brain with psychic electricity or something. Bashir wakes up in the infirmary with the lights flicker. Communications are out, the computer is out, and he suddenly has gray hair. He makes his way onto the promenade and it is also dark. Quark is cowering in his bar and something is throwing chairs. He heads to security and runs into Garak. He notices he is hearing voices in the distance, but Garak doesn't seem to hear them. They agree to split up and search for survivors. Julian heads into the core but the lights start going off and he is trapped by a forcefield as the Lethian charges at him. He escapes into a turbo lift and makes it to the wardroom where Dax, Kira, Odo and O'Brien are planning.
The four of them aren't themselves, but they agree to start working on repairing the computer. The rest look on as Miles works on the communication. He detects a signal but it is Dax talking about Bashir being in a coma and he realizes the truth, he is the only real one there, the rest are part of his mind. Dax gets grabbed by the Lethian and suddenly Julian is playing tennis on the promenade with Garak. Then he is in the infirmary with Sisko but he also gets grabbed by the Lethian. Bashir is aging more and more rapidly and runs into Quark taking bets on which organ will fail first and kill him. Garak is then having a birthday party for Julian and he realizes that Garak is actually the Lethian. He also realizes he is safe from him, but has to complete the repairs. They head to the infirmary and the Lethian can now only try to taunt him into thinking he will fail. Julian fixes the computer, puts the Lethian in a quarantine and orders the computer to sterilize him. He wakes up in the actual infirmary. Back at lunch Garak first hassles Bashir for not trusting him, but ends with, "there's hope for you yet."
Review: An episode with pronounced highs and a few not so great lows, but overall a good one. I am going to add a point for the subtle setup to the augment storyline, not sure how long the wait will be until it arrives.
7 out of 10
We begin with Garak and Bashir having lunch together and discussing Julian's upcoming 30th birthday. Garak doesn't understand why he isn't excited to be aging as age is a sign of dignity and power among Cardassians. Quark and a Lethean approach and Quark tells Bashir the Lethian is looking to get bio-mimetic gel, but Julian refuses to help. Later Bashir finds the Lethian in his office, when they see each other the Lethian grabs him by the head and blasts his brain with psychic electricity or something. Bashir wakes up in the infirmary with the lights flicker. Communications are out, the computer is out, and he suddenly has gray hair. He makes his way onto the promenade and it is also dark. Quark is cowering in his bar and something is throwing chairs. He heads to security and runs into Garak. He notices he is hearing voices in the distance, but Garak doesn't seem to hear them. They agree to split up and search for survivors. Julian heads into the core but the lights start going off and he is trapped by a forcefield as the Lethian charges at him. He escapes into a turbo lift and makes it to the wardroom where Dax, Kira, Odo and O'Brien are planning.
The four of them aren't themselves, but they agree to start working on repairing the computer. The rest look on as Miles works on the communication. He detects a signal but it is Dax talking about Bashir being in a coma and he realizes the truth, he is the only real one there, the rest are part of his mind. Dax gets grabbed by the Lethian and suddenly Julian is playing tennis on the promenade with Garak. Then he is in the infirmary with Sisko but he also gets grabbed by the Lethian. Bashir is aging more and more rapidly and runs into Quark taking bets on which organ will fail first and kill him. Garak is then having a birthday party for Julian and he realizes that Garak is actually the Lethian. He also realizes he is safe from him, but has to complete the repairs. They head to the infirmary and the Lethian can now only try to taunt him into thinking he will fail. Julian fixes the computer, puts the Lethian in a quarantine and orders the computer to sterilize him. He wakes up in the actual infirmary. Back at lunch Garak first hassles Bashir for not trusting him, but ends with, "there's hope for you yet."
Review: An episode with pronounced highs and a few not so great lows, but overall a good one. I am going to add a point for the subtle setup to the augment storyline, not sure how long the wait will be until it arrives.
7 out of 10
Thursday, February 11, 2016
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
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
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
DS9: Prophet Motive
Any episode with such a blatant pun title as this is ok by me. Getting to see an episode play with what it means to be a Ferengi like this is really cool, and having it all be the wormhole aliens/prophets actually makes it make some sense. The B story about Bashir being nominated for a prestigious medical award I think may be the writers starting to get us ready for the idea that Bashir is more than he appears. Specifically he has been genetically engineered to be smarter than a normal person, but I am not sure when they actually decided this was the case.
The episode opens with Quark getting his lobes rubbed by a woman he is also negotiating a business deal with. She is surprised he is more interested in getting his lobes rubbed than in making a profit, but he explains he isn't just any Ferengi. They are interrupted by Rom bursting in, Quark tries to get rid of him, but he is with the Nagus! Grand Nagus Zek has arrived on the station and takes over Quark's quarters for his new mission. Bashir is working away in the infirmary when he is called to the wardroom, it is full of his friends who hand him a glass of champagne before telling him he has been nominated for the most prestigious medical award in starfleet. Not only that, he is the youngest person ever nominated. This is too much for him and he rushes back to the infirmary.
Quark can't stand living with Rom and the two decide to visit the Nagus to figure out what he is up to. He welcomes them in and Quark is shocked to find all his furniture gone. The Nagus give them his big project, a new rules of acquisition. But something is wrong, the rules are now all about helping people and respecting your family, not rules for making the most profit. The Nagus' assistant doesn't know what to say, he is as shocked as the rest of them. The middle part of the episode is all Quark freaking out about the new rules, Rom getting a job working for the new Ferengi benevolent society, and Julian being excited and also worried about his nomination.
Quark eventually learns that the Nagus has a gift for the people of Bajor and this is too much for him. He and Rom try to break into the Nagus' ship, but are caught by his assistant. Luckily the assistant is as upset as they are and lets them in. They find that the gift the Nagus plans to give is a one of the Bajoran orbs. They accidently open the Orb and Quark has an experience that shows him the Nagus' outlook is a "gift" from the prophets. The three of them kidnap the Nagus and head for the wormhole. Back on the station Julian learns he didn't win the prize. Quark is luckier though, he manages to get some time with the wormhole aliens by opening the orb inside the wormhole. They tell him that they changed the Nagus since his incessant drive for profit is dangerous. Quark tries to tell them how important profit is, but they won't listen. However they do listen when he explains that lots of Ferengi will keep coming to the wormhole the figure out what happened to the Nagus unless they fix what they did. Quark wakes up and finds the Nagus back to his old self.
Review: I really like what DS9 did with the Ferengi, they are probably my favorite race from the series. This episode isn't the most remarkable episode, but having it be about Ferengi gives it at least one extra point.
7 out of 10
The episode opens with Quark getting his lobes rubbed by a woman he is also negotiating a business deal with. She is surprised he is more interested in getting his lobes rubbed than in making a profit, but he explains he isn't just any Ferengi. They are interrupted by Rom bursting in, Quark tries to get rid of him, but he is with the Nagus! Grand Nagus Zek has arrived on the station and takes over Quark's quarters for his new mission. Bashir is working away in the infirmary when he is called to the wardroom, it is full of his friends who hand him a glass of champagne before telling him he has been nominated for the most prestigious medical award in starfleet. Not only that, he is the youngest person ever nominated. This is too much for him and he rushes back to the infirmary.
Quark can't stand living with Rom and the two decide to visit the Nagus to figure out what he is up to. He welcomes them in and Quark is shocked to find all his furniture gone. The Nagus give them his big project, a new rules of acquisition. But something is wrong, the rules are now all about helping people and respecting your family, not rules for making the most profit. The Nagus' assistant doesn't know what to say, he is as shocked as the rest of them. The middle part of the episode is all Quark freaking out about the new rules, Rom getting a job working for the new Ferengi benevolent society, and Julian being excited and also worried about his nomination.
Quark eventually learns that the Nagus has a gift for the people of Bajor and this is too much for him. He and Rom try to break into the Nagus' ship, but are caught by his assistant. Luckily the assistant is as upset as they are and lets them in. They find that the gift the Nagus plans to give is a one of the Bajoran orbs. They accidently open the Orb and Quark has an experience that shows him the Nagus' outlook is a "gift" from the prophets. The three of them kidnap the Nagus and head for the wormhole. Back on the station Julian learns he didn't win the prize. Quark is luckier though, he manages to get some time with the wormhole aliens by opening the orb inside the wormhole. They tell him that they changed the Nagus since his incessant drive for profit is dangerous. Quark tries to tell them how important profit is, but they won't listen. However they do listen when he explains that lots of Ferengi will keep coming to the wormhole the figure out what happened to the Nagus unless they fix what they did. Quark wakes up and finds the Nagus back to his old self.
Review: I really like what DS9 did with the Ferengi, they are probably my favorite race from the series. This episode isn't the most remarkable episode, but having it be about Ferengi gives it at least one extra point.
7 out of 10
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
DS9: Destiny
A pretty straight forward episode that continues Sisko on his path to accepting his status as Emissary and that establishes direct communications with the gamma quadrant. It introduces direct prophesies to the story in a way they hadn't really been present before and makes Sisko decide if he should change course based on them or risk ruining everything by listening to them. Also I honestly don't get why they are so offended Quark is trying to welcome the Cardassians back to the station, don't they believe in the peace treaty? Shouldn't they want their new friends to feel welcome?
The episode opens with Sisko and Odo planning security arrangements for a pair of visiting Cardassian scientists. They have been working on a subspace relay to send signals through the wormhole. Quark tries to drop off some Cardassian booze to welcome them but gets kicked out by Sisko. Right after that Vedek Yarka shows up to warn Sisko that a prophesy has predicted that events are in place that will lead to the permanent closure of the wormhole. Specifically that three "vipers" and a "sword of the stars" will open and then burn the gates to the celestial temple and somehow the Emissary is tied in as well. Since there are only two Cardassians and he doesn't think he is the Emissary Sisko ignore the warning. Sisko also learns Yarka has been stripped of his titles for being a pain in the ass on Bajor but Kira isn't convinced and meets with him. After she and Sisko meet with the two Cardassians to come up with a plan and it is then that she learns that a third Cardassian is on the way.
The two scientists seem to be fitting in fine although one can't stop fighting with O'Brien who she clearly thinks is incompetent. Dax has no problem getting along though as she is apparently a fan of Cardassian literature. They get things ready though and head through the wormhole to deploy the relay. They find a comet near the entrance on the gamma quadrant with high levels of silithium and Kira gets worried this is the sword of the stars but Sisko tells her to not talk about it in front of the Cardassians. They turn the relay on but something goes wrong and the wormhole increase in gravity enough to start sucking the comet in before they can turn things off. The silithium in the comet will destroy the wormhole apparently so that is the new crisis. O'Brien comes up with a plan to modify the phasers to blast the whole thing at once and gets to work with the Cardassian he has been working with. She gets romantic and it turns of acting annoyed with one another is how Cardassians flirt so she is upset when she learns he is married.
Things seem to be going well until the time comes to blast the comet. The modifications don't work and the phasers array explodes. O'Brien starts blaming himself but the Cardassian he was working with reveals their colleague is a member of the Obsidian Order and sabotaged the system. They still have the problem of the comet though which is now in three pieces. Kira and Sisko fly a shuttle along with the comet fragments through the wormhole. It leaks a little silitium as it goes which is just enough to let the signal through. Sisko realizes they have fulfilled the prophesy only it was a good thing, not a bad thing. The episode ends with Vedek Yarka telling him that the next prophesy about the Emissary calls for a fiery trial...
Review: A very Trek episode with a science fiction plot mixed with Cardassian politics, religious prophesy and solid character development like only DS9 can accomplish. Not top ten of all time or anything, but a good episode.
7 out of 10
The episode opens with Sisko and Odo planning security arrangements for a pair of visiting Cardassian scientists. They have been working on a subspace relay to send signals through the wormhole. Quark tries to drop off some Cardassian booze to welcome them but gets kicked out by Sisko. Right after that Vedek Yarka shows up to warn Sisko that a prophesy has predicted that events are in place that will lead to the permanent closure of the wormhole. Specifically that three "vipers" and a "sword of the stars" will open and then burn the gates to the celestial temple and somehow the Emissary is tied in as well. Since there are only two Cardassians and he doesn't think he is the Emissary Sisko ignore the warning. Sisko also learns Yarka has been stripped of his titles for being a pain in the ass on Bajor but Kira isn't convinced and meets with him. After she and Sisko meet with the two Cardassians to come up with a plan and it is then that she learns that a third Cardassian is on the way.
The two scientists seem to be fitting in fine although one can't stop fighting with O'Brien who she clearly thinks is incompetent. Dax has no problem getting along though as she is apparently a fan of Cardassian literature. They get things ready though and head through the wormhole to deploy the relay. They find a comet near the entrance on the gamma quadrant with high levels of silithium and Kira gets worried this is the sword of the stars but Sisko tells her to not talk about it in front of the Cardassians. They turn the relay on but something goes wrong and the wormhole increase in gravity enough to start sucking the comet in before they can turn things off. The silithium in the comet will destroy the wormhole apparently so that is the new crisis. O'Brien comes up with a plan to modify the phasers to blast the whole thing at once and gets to work with the Cardassian he has been working with. She gets romantic and it turns of acting annoyed with one another is how Cardassians flirt so she is upset when she learns he is married.
Things seem to be going well until the time comes to blast the comet. The modifications don't work and the phasers array explodes. O'Brien starts blaming himself but the Cardassian he was working with reveals their colleague is a member of the Obsidian Order and sabotaged the system. They still have the problem of the comet though which is now in three pieces. Kira and Sisko fly a shuttle along with the comet fragments through the wormhole. It leaks a little silitium as it goes which is just enough to let the signal through. Sisko realizes they have fulfilled the prophesy only it was a good thing, not a bad thing. The episode ends with Vedek Yarka telling him that the next prophesy about the Emissary calls for a fiery trial...
Review: A very Trek episode with a science fiction plot mixed with Cardassian politics, religious prophesy and solid character development like only DS9 can accomplish. Not top ten of all time or anything, but a good episode.
7 out of 10
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