6-6. Sacrifice of Angels.

Sisko engages in a desperate battle!

"Cannon to the right of them,
Cannon to the left of them,
Cannon in front of them,
Volley'd an thunder'd."

"Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the Jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred."
-O'Brien and Bashir, reciting the last poem you want to hear when charging into battle.


THE PLOT:

Sisko's fleet, already short its full strength because of the need to rush the attack on Deep Space 9, has come face to face with a Dominion blockade that outnumbers them two-to-one. Sisko attempts to create a hole by sending fighters against the Cardassian forces, in hopes that they will become angry and chase their attackers. It's a strategy that plays right into Gul Dukat's hands. He sees his adversary's plan and obliges by creating the hole, with the intent to close it hard. Sisko recognizes Dukat's strategy in turn - but the clock is ticking, and this may be the only opportunity that presents itself, so he takes the bait anyway - Willfully sending his entire attack force into a trap that may well destroy them all!

On the station, Dukat and Weyoun begin planning for the sustained occupation that will follow their all-but-assured victory. Dukat orders the arrest all those he suspects of conspiring to sabotage his plans: Kira, Jake, and Leeta. But no one spares a thought for Quark, who seizes the opportunity for some surprisingly strong action of his own.

All of which may be for naught, as Sisko's forces are crushed, the Defiant only barely clearing the blockade. Rom and Kira race to stop the efforts to bring down the minefield, as the Defiant races to Deep Space 9. But as that ruthless clock keeps ticking, Sisko turns for help in an unanticipated direction...


CHARACTERS:

Capt. Sisko: The episode opens with him commanding a fleet, but only the Defiant is able to make it through the blockade. The episode opens with the Dominion still blocked by the minefield surrounding the wormhole - but that minefield is being steadily disabled. Left with nothing but one ship, Sisko makes his most desperate plea of all, one whose cost will be very steep - particularly seen in light of Sisko's words about Bajor in the last episode.

Odo: Odo finally gets back off the fence, thanks to Kira. Not because of anything she does here - but when the female changeling announces that Kira will be executed, just to cut off her influence with Odo, it completes what started at the end of Favor the Bold. Odo now recognizes that however much he may hunger for the Great Link, he cannot support his people's actions. He does not want to subjugate the Solids, and he will not allow Kira's death. He gathers together his security force - the Bajoran officers he convinced Weyoun to restore to him in A Time to Stand - and uses them to make sure Kira and Rom are able to break through the Jem'Hadar guarding the area of the station they hope to sabotage. When Kira asks why, he answers both for his original betrayal and for his coming to her rescue now: "The Link was Paradise. But it appears I'm not ready for Paradise."

Quark: With Kira and the others arrested, he is the only one left on the station who can take action. He enlists Ziyal's aid and stages a commando raid on the cells. Quark bursts in, a gun in either hand, looking like he just stepped out of a summer action movie - only in a script that recognizes the ridiculousness of the cliche. Some mild comedy follows, as Quark tells the Jem'Hadar guards to freeze, then unlock the cells, and then has to tell one of them to un-freeze so that the second order can actually be followed. Eventually, they charge - and Quark looks ready to have a heart attack after he pulls both triggers, and actually hits both targets!

Damar: In Seasons Four and Five, I largely dismissed Damar as a minor extension of Dukat. Starting with Call to Arms, and building in earnest since Behind the Lines, he has emerged as a strong character in his own right. He is loyal to Dukat, but more rigid than his mentor. He sees the world in black-and-white. Dukat gives a command, it must be obeyed - Hence, his attempt to forcibly drag Ziyal to him.  In the face of an obstacle, he falls back on force as a first resort... But he's not a dumb thug, or else he would not have figured out how to deactivate Rom's minefield to start with. When it's clear the Federation is about to retake the station and Dukat calls once again for his daughter, he instantly recognizes the truth: That Ziyal will not choose to leave. But his black-and-white view and propensity for violence leads to a shocking action, one that makes sure that Damar is not a character I will ever dismiss again.

Weyoun: Throughout this season, he's been presented as the person keeping Dukat in check. In A Time to Stand, Kira and Odo acknowledged his importance in restraining the Cardassians from mistreating Bajor or its people. He has been the voice of reason and diplomacy. But it's tactical rather than benevolent; when tactics call for ruthlessness, it's no surprise to see him advocating it. When talk shifts from winning the war to holding the territory, he eyes a star map with a clinical eye and calmly insists that Earth's population must be eradicated to break their enemies' will and spirit. This reverses what has been the standard relationship of the two men, with Dukat now trying to curb Weyoun's ruthlessness rather than the other way around.

Gul Dukat: "A true victory is to make your enemy see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. To force them to acknowledge your greatness." So Dukat intones to Weyoun, giving both the Vorta and us a direct look into the way his mind works. In Dukat's mind, he is a hero - More than that, a savior. But it's not enough simply to win - Everyone else must see him as he so desperately wants to see himself, or else the victory is meaningless. In his mind's eye, he sees it all: The Alpha Quadrant at his feet as he enjoys the adulation of not only Cardassia, but of Bajor and Earth as well, all with his adoring daughter at his side. In the span of about ten minutes, he goes from touching with his fingertips the edges of that dream, to watching it be irrevocably destroyed before his eyes. What is left is broken, leaving Sisko no real sense of victory when he reclaims his prized baseball - Merely a sort of disgusted pity at this shell of a man, beaten less by his enemies than by the crushing weight of his own ego.


THOUGHTS:

Sacrifice of Angels does not finish the Dominion War arc. Starfleet is still in a hard situation, particularly with the heavy losses suffered in this episode at the hands of the Dominion blockade. The Dominion still hold Cardassia, and they still have enormous resources at their disposal. Starfleet has finally won a battle, and a big one - but the war is far from over.

This episode does finish the Occupation of Deep Space 9, however, and does so in spectacular fashion. The battle scenes are large-scale and chaotic. As Sisko throws his fleet at the blockade, exploding ships punctuate every frame - most of those ships, Starfleet's. I love the way the episode treats the strategies of Sisko and Dukat in this battle. Neither man outthinks the other. Dukat recognizes Sisko's strategy, and orders his men to take the bait in order to set a trap. Sisko recognizes Dukat's trap, but orders the fleet to take the bait because it may be their only opporunity. Since Dukat is not diminished, being shown as Sisko's equal in strategic terms, Sisko's ultimate victory feels much more deserved.

Marc Alaimo's performance as Dukat has been a consistent series highlight, ever since the character evolved from "recurring villain" to 3-dimensional character back in early Season Two. This episode lets him run the gamut, from absolute arrogance to absolute ruin. Alaimo is stunning throughout, and in a very real sense it is Dukat who holds this episode together. It's a testament to Alaimo's performance, every bit the equal of the richly complex character Dukat has become, that I find at least as much tragedy as satisfaction in the moment at which Dukat's relinquishes of Sisko's baseball to him, officially handing him back the station.

The entire episode is stunning. I'm sure some have taken issue with the way in which Sisko regains the station. But I found that to work as well, a way of tying what has largely been background mythology for the series into the foreground arc. And we are told that Sisko's victory will come at a price - Something I look forward to seeing delivered on.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: Favor the Bold
Next Episode: You Are Cordially Invited

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4-17. Accession.

Akorem Laan (Richard Libertini), the Emissary of the Prophets.

THE PLOT

When a 300 year old Bajoran lightship comes through the wormhole with one Bajoran aboard, Sisko has the man beamed directly to the infirmary. The man is Akorem Laan (Richard Libertini), a revered poet from Bajor's past who disappeared more than 200 years ago. Akorem was swallowed up by the wormhole, and has only returned to Bajor now. He declares himself to be the Emissary of prophecy - the very role into which Kai Opaka thrust Sisko, and which the captain has reluctantly filled ever since.

Sisko is all too happy to step aside to allow Akorem to be The Emissary... Until the new Emissary's first public appearance, that is. Akorem may be a revered poet, but he is still a man from the distant past. He is shocked that modern Bajorans no longer follow their d'jarras, a strict caste system that was in place in his time. His first speech is almost fanatically devoted to this single topic, insisting that every Bajoran should return to his or her d'jarra - a thought which doesn't rest easy with all Bajorans, and which would disqualify Bajor from admittance into Starfleet!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: "I'm just a Starfleet officer again. All I have to worry about are the Klingons, the Dominion, and the Maquis. I feel like I'm on vacation!" Be careful what you wish for. Sisko doesn't waste a second in relinquishing the "Emissary" title to Akorem. But once he does, he is left as little more than a bystander as Akorem's desire to reinstate the caste system wreaks havoc. When it leads to the murder of a Bajoran Vedek for having been born to the wrong caste, Sisko realizes he must reclaim the title he was so eager to escape. Being the Emissary may not be something he enjoys, but it is his responsibility, a duty he cannot shirk without consequences.

Major Kira: Her religious convictions keep her from questioning Akorem after Sisko steps aside as Emissary. She tries to explain to Odo that having faith means "no explanation is necessary." If the Emissary says something must be done, it is her place as a Bajoran to accept him at his word. In one of the best moments in the episode, one that recalls similar exchanges in last season's Destiny, she tells Sisko just how much the Emissary's word means. "Maybe you never realized this, Captain, but we would have tried to do whatever you asked of us when you were Emissary - no matter how difficult it seemed." Sisko's wordless reaction is the perfect cap to an excellent scene.

O'Brien/Keiko: The "B" plot is about the return of Keiko, and its affect on O'Brien. He is certainly happy to have his family back, but it's been a year and he has developed certain routines for his leisure time that don't include her. At the same time, she's been spending time on her work, something which doesn't include him. O'Brien quickly misses his playtime with Julian, and his constant presence is a distraction for Keiko. The solution is obvious, and more time is devoted to this side plot than is called for, but Colm Meaney plays all of this as authentically as ever.


THOUGHTS

Accession is an early script by Jane Espenson, a writer who would move onto a truly splendid career, writing for series as disparate as  Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Torchwood, Once Upon a Time, and Game of Thrones. This script isn't up to the very best work she would eventually do, but it shows the attention to characterization, the intelligence, and the thoughtfulness that would make her so successful.

I always appreciate seeing Deep Space 9 return its focus to Bajor, something which has become much less common since the introduction of the Dominion threat. This episode starts out feeling like wheel-spinning. After all, we know that Akorem will not remain as Emissary past this episode, and we know that Sisko will reclaim the title with no lasting consequences. It all seems like a setup for an hour of filler - and insofar as this episode is unlikely to affect later ones, it could probably still be classified as such.

But the details make it richer than it might be otherwise. The d'jarra draws on the caste systems of countries such as India and Pakistan, among others, and just enough information is given about it to make it fit with what we already know about Bajor's past society. That the d'jarras were abandoned only fairly recently, with the Cardassian Occupation, makes it plausible that Akorem could persuade a large percentage of the population to return to this system... something that would be implausible if it had been abandoned centuries ago. The script also namedrops Kai Winn, whose suspicion of Starfleet and previously established fundamentalist tendencies likely make her happy to embrace Akorem as the Emissary.

It's a good episode, but not a great one. The main thing that limits it for me is that we see very little of how this impacts the average Bajoran. We see how it impacts Kira, as she prepares to give up her life and career to follow her d'jarra. I would have liked some other Bajoran characters in this episode, though, to show a variety of reactions. We hear that Shakaar won't give up his position and return to farming, for example. But we don't see him, even though this would have been excellent episode for him to make an appearance. We could see him and Kira in conflict, with the religious Kira accepting of the new Emissary even as Shakaar rebels. I'd be a lot more interested in that as a "B" plot than the issues of the O'Briens.

The O'Brien strand is definitely the episode's weakest element. It doesn't really seem to fit with the "A" plot, and it takes away screen time that the main story could have used to feel more fully developed. It's not really a badly-done plot, though it's given at least two scenes more than it needs to make its point. But it would have been better placed in a different episode, perhaps one with a lighter overall tone.

My issues with the "B" plot and with the lack of really seeing the effect of the new Emissary on the Bajoran population keep this from an excellent score. Still, this is a solid episode with some tantalizing hints for the future. The Prophets inform us that they are "of Bajor." More than that, they pronounce that "the Sisko" is also "of Bajor." This is a statement that I suspect will get followed up in the future.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: Bar Association
Next Episode: Rules of Engagement

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4-6. Rejoined.

Out of the past: Dax is reunited with the wife of a previous host.

THE PLOT

A team of Trill scientists come to Deep Space 9 to conduct experiments on the wormhole. They hope to find a way to produce artificial wormholes. Their team leader is Dr. Lenara Kahn (Susannah Thompson), a brilliant Trill scientist - and, in a former life, Dax's wife!

Trill society holds association with spouses and family from past lives to be strictly taboo. Those Trill who have chosen to "re-associate" have been exiled from society, with the symbiont never again able to join with a new host. Effectively, the symbiont is sentenced to die at the end of the current host's life - a horrifying prospect for a joined Trill.

But despite all the time that has past and despite their new hosts, Jadzia and Lenara find their old feelings far from dead. Which leads Jadzia to the brink of an unthinkable choice...


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: Offers Jadzia and extended leave so that she can avoid dealing with Lenara's appearance on the station.  She turns down the offer, but he repeats it when it becomes clear how hard this is for her. Later, when she goes to him for advice, he gives it bluntly.  He does not allow her to shut him down as he reminds her just how much the continuity of the symbiont means both to her culture and to her. Still, he adds that no matter what choice she makes, he will back her decision completely.

Dax: Terry Farrell's performance has always been best when the script gives her a strong nonverbal element to play. Ronald D. Moore and Rene Echevarria have crafted a script tailored very well to that strength. Dax's torn emotions on hearing of Lenara's arrival, and the re-growth of her bond with Lenara, are largely seen through Farrell's expressions and body language, rather than voiced through dialogue. This makes her feelings much more real, too, as that is the way most people bond with partners: With as little spoken as possible, at least until it's clear that those feelings are returned.

Worf: During small talk at a reception, Kira asks Worf what it is that Klingons dream about. "Things that would send cold chills down your spine, and wake you in the middle of the night... It is better that you do not know." When Worf excuses himself and walks away, Kira confesses that she isn't certain whether he was serious or joking.

Hot Alien Space Babe of the Week: As Dax observes with amusement, she and Lenara (Susannah Thompson) have far more in common now than when they were actually married. Lenara is a scientist, like Jadzia, which helps them to work in concert on her experiments. She is the first to broach the subject of their former relationship, expressing her continued hurt over the previous Dax's death in a shuttle accident. But once their feelings for each other are clear, Dax is the one who aggressively pursues a renewed relationship, with Lenara more hesitant.


THOUGHTS

Each season, we get one or two episodes looking at Trill society. Over the course of the series, that society has gradually evolved into one that's both complex and a bit dysfunctional. Rejoined adds another layer onto what we know about the Trill, by crafting a script around the idea of intolerance and taboos.

Obviously, the script works as a parallel for the treatment of gays by society, a parallel made all the more clear by making the relationship one involving two women. It's much stronger in this respect than TNG's more heavy-handed The Outcast was, in part because both lovers are of the same gender (whereas Riker's love interest in that episode was very clearly female), and in part because of the reactions of the other characters. Lenara's brother is concerned, but he clearly wants to protect his sister, even telling the other Trill to say nothing. Sisko assures Dax that he will back her choice, but pushes her to consider what she's willing to give up. The conflict is left as primarily an internal one, Jadzia wrestling with her own feelings and how much she will give up for them even as Lenara does the same.

Though Avery Brooks' previous episode as director was the misfire Fascination, he has otherwise been a very reliable director. This episode sees him return to his strengths - particularly in his patience, allowing scenes to play out uninterrupted, complete with pauses and even occasional repetition. This probably shows Brooks' experience with stage directing, but it's been evident in all of his episodes and has heightened three out of four of them. This trait, along with his sensitivity to his actors, suits this script, making the relationship between Jadzia and Lenara feel like something genuine, rather than simply something to titillate the male fanbase ("Two hot chicks, dude!").

Overall, Rejoined is another in a long line of good Deep Space 9 episodes. A good script by two of the series' best writers combines with good performances and good directing. The series is firing on all cylinders at this point, and honestly has been for some time.

So a really bad one must be coming down the pipe anytime now...


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: Indiscretion
Next Episode: Starship Down

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4-3. The Visitor.

Old Jake Sisko (Tony Todd) and his visitor (Rachel Robinson)

THE PLOT

In the Louisiana bayou, an aspiring writer (Rachel Robinson) comes to the home of her all-time favorite writer: the elderly Jake Sisko (Tony Todd), author of the novel Anslem, a further book of short stories, and... nothing else. She asks the old man one question: Why did he stop writing at a young age? Though on most nights he would simply send her on her way with no answer, on this particular night he decides to tell his story - a story which begins many years ago, with the death of his father.

Ben Sisko and the young Jake were on the Defiant in order to witness a rare inversion of the wormhole: a spectacle that will occur only once every 50 years. But the inversion causes a malfunction in the warp core, one which knocks out the entire engineering staff. Ben is able to save the core, but is hit by an energy discharge, one which knocks him out of time.

Now Ben only appears for a few minutes at a time at irregular intervals, always near Jake. And knowing that his father is still alive has shaken the foundations of the younger Sisko's life, leaving him determined to do whatever it takes to get him back.


CHARACTERS

Captain Sisko: He is not aware of the time that passes between appearances, so it takes a couple of these before he realizes what is happening to him. For Jake, this episode spans decades; for Ben, it doesn't even last an hour. Compressed in that time span, he sees his son wounded at his loss; he sees him grow into a successful man with a beautiful wife and great prospects; then he sees a Jake who has lost all of that to obsession before finally seeing the elderly Jake of the frame story. Our Jake won't carry any awareness of the events of this episode, but Ben will, as we see from him protectively clutching his young son to him at the episode's end.

Jake: We see the story through Jake's eyes, as he lives through every day, week, year, and decade of the time that passes. His life is shattered, but it's not because of his father's loss: It's because of the reappearances. By adulthood, he has moved on. But when his father appears again, the pain of losing him again sets him on a new course. As joyful as it was for Ben to see the successful fortyish Jake, that's how painful it is to see him later - when he has sacrificed all that happiness to an obsession with getting his father back.

Nog: The scenes in the future allow actor Aron Eisenberg to show us a more mature and confident Nog. The adult Nog becomes a career Starfleet officer, climbing the ladder to command in good time. The Ferengi whininess of "our" Nog's voice is all gone from this version, and it's clear that his career choice was the correct one for him. Now I find myself looking forward to seeing the young Nog start to grow into this role in the future.

Hot Earth Babe of the Week: Melanie (Rachel Robinson) is less a character in her own right than an audience stand-in, someone to listen to the elderly Jake as he tells his story. Robinson, daughter of Andrew Robinson (Garak), makes an appealing stand-in for the audience. Her character's enthusiasm for writing and for studying Jake's stories also makes her a strong parallel figure for Jake, allowing him to echo his father's advice to her: "Poke your head up every once in a while and take a look around... It's life. You can miss it if you don't open your eyes."


THOUGHTS

As I write these words, I'm trying to think of exactly how to summarize my thoughts about The Visitor. This is the most emotional episode of Deep Space 9 by some margin.  It's almost certainly the most emotional Trek episode ever made. Not gooey, soap opera emotional melodrama, either. This resonates not with manipulation, but with that pure, raw feeling that can only come from the genuinely heartfelt.

Everything about The Visitor works. It has thematic unity.  Ben's advice about not missing life, echoed by the old Jake, is demonstrated by Jake's "alternate" life. Jake misses his own life as surely as Ben misses it. He loses the love of his wife, his writing career, the things that gave his life as himself meaning - They all fade away in his obsession with regaining his father, and he barely even notices as it happens.

The performances are splendid. Avery Brooks conveys authority and sincerity. As he sees his son's life compressed into a handful of moments, Brooks lets the emotion stand naked on his face. He doesn't overact - He just reacts, often wordlessly, and we know his joy, his disappointment, and his regret.

As good as Brooks is, though, Tony Todd is the one who deserves the greatest praise. The scene in which Ben reappears to Jake in mid-life calls upon Todd to move with whiplash speed from the happiness of a fulfilling life, to the joy of his father's reappearance, to anguish as he realizes that he is going to lose him a third time, to despair as the inevitable disapearance finally happens.

Then there's the elderly Jake's final conversation with Sisko, with Jake now the old man and Ben now the young one. Todd's voice hits all the right notes. This doesn't feel like a fortyish actor "doing old." As he speaks, he is able to infuse his voice with the weary authority of age as he tells his father that all his obsession, all that he's sacrificing to undo that moment in time, is not just for Ben. It's also "for the boy that (Jake) was." Todd's voice, Brooks' expressions as he listens to him talk... The combination is devastating.


OVERALL

Deep Space 9 is a generally strong series, and at this point it's running at its height. Three "10" ratings in three episodes is something that I don't think I've ever encountered before, and I stand by all three of them: The Adversary was an outstanding paranoid suspense piece; The Way of the Warrior was an outstanding action piece.

But this, an outstanding emotional piece, is the one I'm most likely to revisit most often. The Visitor is a very special episode, in the best sense of that phrase.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: The Way of the Warrior
Next Episode: Hippocratic Oath

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3-16. Prophet Motive.

Quark and Rom are appalled by the
Nagus (Wallace Shawn)'s latest scheme.

THE PLOT

Grand Nagus Zek (Wallace Shawn) returns to Deep Space 9, moving into Quark's quarters to complete his great work: Revising the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition! Quark is literally atremble with anticipation to benefit from the Nagus' wisdom. Which makes it all the more shocking when he opens the book to read the first rule and discovers the following sentence:

"Rule #1: If they want their money back... Give it to them!"

The Nagus has become a philanthropist. He is setting up a Ferengi Benevolent Association, with Quark and Rom to act as co-chairs. As Zek determines to "move beyond greed" and focus on helping the needy, Quark decides that something must be horribly wrong. His suspicions seem to be confirmed when Zek announces that he will be presenting the Bajoran people with a gift - one of the missing orbs of prophecy!


CHARACTERS

Commander Sisko: Supportive Dr. Bashir's nomination for the prestigious Carrington Award. Otherwise mostly absent in this episode, though Quark does express respect for "the Sisko" when talking with the Prophets near the end.

Quark: When Zek expresses his new philanthropic philosophy, Quark at first believes this must be some part of a larger scheme. As it becomes clear that the Nagus's charity is genuine, Quark decides something must be wrong. He insists on having Bashir check Zek out for illness or mental incapacity. When Zek talks of a "gift" for the Bajorans, Quark investigates further - something which ultimately leads him to the truth. All his business acumen shows itself in his scene with the Prophets as he sizes up their weakness, moving from one "sales pitch" to another until he finds one that actually strikes a chord.

Dr. Bashir: He seems less than pleased at Dax having put his name forward for the Carrington Award. He then assumes a fatalistic posture, insisting that he is too young to have any chance of winning. At the same time, he continues to work on his acceptance speech and is anything but happy when he inevitably loses.

Grand Nagus Zek: Wallace Shawn's third appearance as Zek is the best yet. The contrast between Zek's normal foul-tempered shrewdness and his exuberant joy in most of this episode is striking, and Shawn throws himself into both variants of Zek with abandon. In a way, this is like A Christmas Carol in reverse. Zek has always been a Scrooge, but now is a decent and giving man. Through Quark's intervention, he finds his inner miser again.


THOUGHTS

Rene Auberjonois takes a turn at directing, and does a pretty good job of it. After the last comedy episode directed by a cast member, I was actively dreading this one. But Prophet Motive is a delight. It's all the things comedy Trek episodes usually aren't: fast, clever, consistent with both itself and the larger universe of the show, and - just as a side note - very, very funny.

I love the way the episode turns morality on its head. The script, cannily put together by DS9 stalwarts Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, makes us really root for Quark. Like him, we want to know what has brought about this change in Zek. When Quark finds the answer and travels into the wormhole to set things right, it's a heroic moment. His success is a triumph, and we cheer for the tag as Rom shares a personal secret with Quark.

...But surely we shouldn't? The horrible thing that Quark is setting right is... decency. This changed Zek is setting out to do good in the universe, and he has the resources to do quite a lot of legitimate good. This is what Quark is fighting against. Quark's "Hero Moment" will mean that people who may have been saved will starve, that people who may have had a chance at a decent life will live in squalor. The episode doesn't shy away from this, either. Quark stops Zek just at the point when Zek is about to help a planet that has suffered devastation due to solar flares. And yet we laugh, even cheer, as Quark and Rom carry Zek through the corridors in a bag. Quark is standing for the integrity of venality - and the script makes us culpable, because we want him to succeed and this "new Zek" to fail.

In short, the episode makes us into Ferengi while watching it. And far from burying it for this, I come to praise it.  Making us fully complicit in Quark's stand for greed and selfishness?  That's this episode's greatest triumph.


Overall Rating: 8/10

Previous Episode: Destiny

Next Episode: Visionary

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3-15. Destiny.

Sisko struggles with his role
as the Bajoran "Emissary."

THE PLOT

With the treaty between Cardassia and Bajor in effect, two Cardassian scientists come to Deep Space 9 in an attempt to establish a communications relay within the wormhole. If successful, this will allow the station to maintain contact with ships and colonies in the Gamma Quadrant - not only a boon for logistics, but also a potentially considerable advantage against any hostility from the Dominion. But Yarka (Erick Avari), a Bajoran Vedek, urges Sisko to stop the experiment, insisting that a Bajoran prophecy spells out doom should it continue.

Sisko dismisses Yarka's claims. Given that the Vedek assembly has also ignored him, Kira is inclined to do the same. But gradually, elements of Yarka's prophecy begin to come true. First, an additional Cardassian joins the scientific team, matching up with his claim of "three vipers." Then an unusual comet appears, its tail resembling the "sword of stars" in Yarka's prophecy. As the coincidences mount, even Sisko has to wonder if this effort truly is cursed.


CHARACTERS

Commander Sisko: We have already seen Sisko's discomfort with his role as the "Emissary" of Bajoran legend. It's not just that Sisko doesn't believe in the Bajoran prophecies - He desperately wants not to believe, to the point that he tries to shut out the evidence as it comes. In the scene in which Kira confronts him with all the elements of the prophecy which have already come true, she ends by noting that one of those is his presence as the Emissary. Sisko turns away, his face a picture of denial, doubt, and general insecurity. He sees himself as simply a Starfleet officer.  He cannot reconcile his view of himself with the Bajoran insistence on imbuing his very presence with special meaning.

Major Kira: Kira gets her third strong episode in a row. With most characters, I'd start to feel a sense of overkill. But Kira has become so complex that each episode is able to show some new side to either her character or Nana Visitor's performance. Here, we focus on the contradiction Kira experiences between her religious beliefs and her status as first officer to a man her religion insists is an icon. As an officer, she believes in pursuing any project that will help cement peace between Cardassia and Bajor. As an officer, she agrees with Sisko that there is no reasonable cause to suspend the experiment. As a Bajoran, however, she believes in prophecy. She may initially distrust Yarka's interpretation, but as elements seem to come true, she cannot ignore her beliefs. And finally, as she reluctantly admits to Sisko, she cannot help but view her commanding officer as "The Emissary," however much she may not wish to.

O'Brien: Strikes up a fractious relationship with Gilora (Tracy Scoggins), the Cardassian engineer. She treats him dismissively until he finally has enough and snaps at her, which - all too predictably - causes her to develop feelings for him. This subplot is pretty standard stuff, though Colm Meaney's performance when he finally recognizes Gilora's interest and tries to defuse it is very enjoyable, and Scoggins is quite fetching, even buried under a mountain of alien makeup.

Dax: Her friendship with Sisko allows her to snap him out of his doubts when he begins wondering if the Bajoran prophecies truly are real. During a rare moment of indecision, Sisko wonders if he should expel the Cardassians, as Yarka urged. Dax asks him what he would do if he had never heard of the prophecy, then tells him that he has to choose whether he will be guided by religious prophecies or whether he will make his own decisions. It's all the urging Sisko needs to return to himself for the episode's final stretch.


THOUGHTS

Destiny is the first episode to deal in any depth with Sisko's ambivalence about his role as "Emissary." That's somewhat surprising, given that we're now in the second half of Season Three. Still, seeing this background strand brought to the fore is extremely welcome, particularly in a script that deals with it in a complex way. We see Sisko's frustration at being thrust into a role he doesn't want. We see Kira's difficulty, trying to deal with Sisko as her commanding officer (one with whom she often argues) while at the same time viewing him as a religious figure. And we see the complex role of prophecy itself, with the metaphoric language open to so many different interpretations as to make firm predictions meaningless.

Ultimately, as both Dax's scene with him and the ending of the episode indicate, Sisko is probably best advised to simply make his own decisions based on his own good judgment. Any other option would involve second-guessing himself. In a crisis, that could lead to disaster.

The script is well-structured, and makes good use of the ensemble. Only Bashir and Jake really get left out (and for the latter, at least, that's nothing new), while even Odo's small role is used to bring out Sisko's central dilemma. Good use is made of continuity, from mentions of the aliens inside the wormhole to the use of the Bajoran/Cardassian treaty. At this point, the show is starting to really coalesce into an ongoing narrative, an element of the series which seems to grow stronger and stronger as the series progresses.

Another major strength of this episode is the effects. The visuals of the comet, its impact on the wormhole, and Sisko's flight through the wormhole while shielding the comets... These are wonderful visuals, dynamic and beautiful at the same time. That some of Deep Space 9's best effects are couched in such a smart script is a particular joy, as it shows that intelligent drama and outstanding effects do not have to work against each other.

All in all, another first-rate episode in a season that's shaping up to be the series' best yet.


Overall Rating: 9/10

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