2-3. The Siege

Winn and Jaro, scheming.

THE PLOT

Sisko finds himself faced with an edict from The Circle to leave Deep Space 9 within 7 hours. The Federation response is that the instability on Bajor is an internal matter, and that any direct interference is forbidden by the Prime Directive. This leaves Sisko with only one option: To delay the takeover of the station for as long as possible, and hope that Major Kira can bring The Circle's unwitting ties to the Cardassians to light.


CHARACTERS

Commander Sisko: After making sure that all the non-Bajoran civilians are evacuated, along with many Bajorans, Sisko spearheads a guerrilla campaign against The Circle's forces. He proves very effective in this role, and he and the Bajoran general are evenly-matched tactical adversaries.

Major Kira: She seems to almost enjoy returning to a combat role. She is perfectly comfortable at the controls of an outdated, only half-functional Bajoran ship, and uses techniques that are probably very similar to those she used against the Cardassians to evade the more modern ships of The Circle.

Quark: "It's all that I am!" Quark cries when Dr. Bashir urges him to leave his heavy case behind. Quark goes on to embroider that by crediting the case as holding family heirlooms, before Bashir cuts him off by noting that it's filled with gold-pressed latinum. But in a way, Quark is right. He's spent his entire life in pursuit of profit, and to abandon his profit would be like abandoning an irreplaceable heirloom. It will be interesting to see if any attempt is made to have Quark search for something more.

Vedek Winn: Remains an absolute opportunist. When Kira bursts into the Chamber of Ministers, her first impulse is to back up Minister Jaro in dismissing her as an enemy. But when she produces evidence of Cardassian ties to The Circle, Winn does not hesitate for one moment to abandon Jaro, even taking the lead in pursuing an investigation. The Circle may be broken, but Winn still comes out a winner here.  There is little doubt that she will use the investigation of this incident to further promote herself.


THOUGHTS

When Sisko speaks to his staff, and offers any of them the usual chance to "leave now, while you still can," I really wish at least one or two people would take that opportunity. It would enhance the feeling of realism, and it would still be a vote of confidence in Sisko if most of his crew stays.

The Siege ends the three-episode "Circle" arc. After the tightly-packed look at Bajor's background and religious and political strife of the previous two episodes, this installment basically functions as the arc's "action climax."  It isn't as compelling as The Circle, in particular, proved to be. But it's still very good, a highly serviceable climax to these three episodes.

The episode is particularly strong in showing Sisko's tactical campaign against the Bajoran general. Every move made by both Sisko and the general is conveyed in a way that makes us understand why each action is taken, and how the other man can respond. It's good to see two adversaries who are both portrayed as highly intelligent, and I appreciated that the Bajoran general is not painted as a villain.

I am slightly disappointed that The Siege reduces the focus on Minister Jaro, who was so prominent in the previous two episodes. Jaro is only glimpsed in a couple of scenes here, and doesn't really get a chance to display the cunning of his previous appearances. I do, at least, hold out hopes for return appearances by some of the players in this arc. At this point, it's clear enough that Winn and Bareil are going to be recurring characters for a while. I would also hope for future appearances by Jaro or the general from this arc, and hopefully future mentions of Li Nalas.

Most of all, I hope that there will be some consequences seen as a result of the attempted coup. This should not be an incident that's easily forgotten, and the provisional government should be even less stable than it was before. It would be interesting to actually have that government fall, though I'm still not certain the show is willing to really push itself out that far.


Rating for The Siege: 7/10

Overall Rating for The Circle Arc: 9/10

Previous Episode: The Circle

Next Episode: Invasive Procedures

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Deep Space 9




Review Index

2-2. The Circle

The duplicitous Minister Jaro (Frank Langella)

THE PLOT

Kira has been removed from her position as Bajoran liaison to Deep Space 9, replaced by Li Nalas (Richard Beymer) in a bid to increase Minister Jaro's political influence. Given some leave time, Kira accepts an invitation from Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim), joining him at the monastery on Bajor. When Bareil gives her access to the Orb of Prophecy, to help show her future path to her, she is disturbed by what she sees.

More disturbing still are the developments in Bajor's capital city. The provisional government is losing more and more support, and The Circle is growing in strength. Sisko meets with one of the military leaders.  He comes away convinced that The Circle is planning a coup, and that the military cannot be counted on to support the government when that happens. When the station gets information that The Circle is receiving arms smuggled through Deep Space 9, Sisko decides it is time to act - if it's not already too late!


CHARACTERS

Commander Sisko: It's hard to believe that this time last season, Brooks was often wooden and Sisko was flat and ill-defined. By now, at a point still fairly early in the series, Brooks' performance has become regularly outstanding, and Sisko has become my favorite Trek lead.

Sisko has a wonderful scene in the teaser opposite Jaro, in which he very pleasantly tells the Minister exactly what he thinks of him without once actually coming out and directly insulting the man. He shows his appreciation to Kira by emphatically stating that "no one can" replace her, and by promising to her that he will get her back.

Major Kira: Taken out of the command structure, she feels useless and doesn't really know how to cope with that. She is clearly drawn to Vedek Bareil, but resists that, even after an encounter with the Orb of Prophecy. Kira is known for having disagreements with Starfleet, but she has no sympathy for The Circle. "If you want to change the government, vote to change it," she tells a representative of The Circle, comparing their planned coup with knifing somebody in the back.

Odo: When Quark comes to him to tell him that the Circle is heavily armed, Odo doesn't dismiss him. He recognizes that Quark is genuinely scared, and trusts that Quark can get information from people who would never talk to him. Odo has his own ways of getting information, of course, and his shapeshifting abilities help him to gain some critical intelligence about the true source of The Circle's weaponry.

Vedek Winn: Continues to be the gently pleasant, open face of evil. She's all smiles, but her acid is unmistakable as she reprimands Vedek Bareil for allowing Kira to come into contact with an Orb, calling his failure to clear it with the Council "discourteous." The ending scene makes plain that she is still angling to become the next Kai. While she is being very careful about drawing certain alliances, she knows that her order is small, and that she will have to take some chances in order to achieve her ambitions.

Minister Jaro: Frank Langella is even better here than in The Homecoming, and we learn a lot more about Jaro in this episode. He seems to be the definition of unflappable. He remains calm when Sisko so very diplomatically belittles him in the teaser, having no trouble switching gears to discussing the problems posed by The Circle. He is equally calm opposite an intransigent Major Kira.  He presents himself as reasonable, even when he's behaving unreasonably.  In that way he's really quite a good match with Vedek Winn, and it's good to see these two fine actors and interesting characters share some screen time in this episode.

THOUGHTS

The Homecoming was a very good season premiere. The Circle is even better. All the background strands about Bajor are coming to the foreground here, with all the different agendas and factions seeming ready to tear the planet apart.

The Circle is itself a disturbingly plausible organization. We've all seen groups run by very sincere-seeming people, determined to return to "the old ways" while seeing anything from the past century as a turn away from true "values." It's not hard to find historical examples of such groups gaining power, particularly in difficult times. With a weak provisional government and civil and religious unrest, The Circle's coup is far from implausible.

The episode is tightly-paced, making good use of elements from The Homecoming and from the previous season. The ending raises the stakes nicely, with Sisko's hands effectively tied as everything begins falling apart.

I'm just hoping the next episode doesn't see it all conveniently fixed. Obviously, Sisko won't be abandoning the station, so obviously The Circle won't outright drive Starfleet away from Bajor. But even if Sisko wins a victory, I hope it isn't a complete one. Events such as the ones portrayed should have long-term repercussions. I will be very annoyed if the next episode ends with everything exactly as it was before.


Overall Rating: 10/10

Previous Episode: The Homecoming

Next Episode: The Siege

Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Deep Space 9 

Review Index

2-1. The Homecoming

Kira stages a rescue from a Cardassian prison camp.

THE PLOT

Major Kira receives a Bajoran earring, which she learns was smuggled out from Cardassia IV. It belongs to Li Nalas (Richard Beymer), a Bajoran resistance leader who was declared dead during the Occupation but whose body was never recovered. Once she confirms that the earring is genuine, Kira realizes that Li must still be held as a prisoner on Cardassia.

Kira gets Sisko's permission to borrow a runabout and, with O'Brien's help, stages a rescue.  The rescue itself comes off surprisingly easily, but the aftermath is more difficult. Once Li is safe on Deep Space 9, he is horrified to discover that he has become a celebrated hero. The provisional government wants to use him to help stabilize their crumbling regime, and both Sisko and Kira tell him that he is needed to unify a fragmenting world. But what if he doesn't want to be a hero?


CHARACTERS

Commander Sisko: His thoughtful side is on display in this episode. Kira is the perfect person to break Li out of the Cardassian labor camp, but she lacks the ability to truly talk to him about his world's needs. Sisko is able to see the man Li really is, as opposed to the myth, and he is able to listen and provide sound advice. He also recognizes that Bajor is unstable and becoming moreso with each passing week.  He fears for the future of Starfleet's mission to Bajor if something is not done to get things under control.

Major Kira: Her trust in Sisko has increased to the point of actually asking for permission to borrow the runabout. Early Season One Kira would probably have just taken it, and damn the consequences. She and O'Brien make a good team during the rescue mission, with O'Brien's pragmatism tempering her idealism when she is unable to get everybody out of the camp.

Minister Jaro: Well, it didn't take long for me to get my wish to see something of the provisional government firsthand. This episode introduces Minister Jaro (Frank Langella) as the face of Bajor's government.  He is everything that Kira says: a self-serving politician who will turn any situation to his advantage. In the space of seconds, he reprimands Kira for disobeying his orders in staging the rescue and then congratulates her on its success. He co-opts Li to be a figurehead for him, both to strengthen his own position and to avoid letting the man be used by his enemies. Seeing that Kira cannot always be relied on to act as he wishes, he finds a way to deal with that - a way that neither Sisko nor Kira can publicly protest. He should get together with Vedek Winn - their offspring would almost certainly be the Bajoran Antichrist.


THOUGHTS

Louise Fletcher in the Season One finale, Frank Langella in the Season Two premiere, both as characters I expect will be seen again. This show certainly was able to attract premium acting talent, and having actors of this caliber in these key roles does a lot to boost the characters' credibility. We believe it when Sisko has to accommodate these people, even when he doesn't like them.

The Homecoming is a busy episode. We get more background on the state of Bajor and the provisional government than we've ever been given before, balanced against a plot involving a rescue mission and its aftermath. These disparate elements are balanced just right. The episode has a lot to do in 45 minutes, but it never loses control of any of the plates it's juggling.

Particularly interesting was the background plot involving growing unrest on Bajor. The provisional government is described as weak by our central characters, with both Sisko and Kira talking about a lack of leadership. The government may have been able to get power to more Bajoran civilians, but they haven't been able to unify the planet. In hard times, extremists flourish, and a xenophobic group calling themselves "The Circle" is gaining traction. We see their marks being spray-painted on the station walls, Sisko has to comfort his son when he is scorned by a girl he likes simply for not being Bajoran, and Quark is subjected to a brutal assault.

Given the title of the next episode, I'm guessing this background plot is about to take over the story. I hope it doesn't get a pat and easy resolution, because The Homecoming offered an intriguing start to the new season, one which seems poised to take the show in some interesting new directions.


Overall Rating: 8/10

Previous Episode: In the Hands of the Prophets
Next Episode: The Circle


Search Amazon.com for Star Trek: Deep Space 9



Review Index