The most disliked episode of DS9 - Part Three

Ha! My pathetic excuse is I've been up since 6am and been to work and it was a bit of a nightmare and and and...

 

Hey, not too far off and I can totally see where you're coming from with everything.

2 and 4 do tend to fluctuate back and forth for me.

 

4 is higher on my list because it's the first season of DS9 that was really consistent. It didn't have episodes that were the same level of awful and the quality didn't fluctuate that much, which made seasons 2 and 3 pretty frustrating. Season 2 is awesome when you look at the best episodes - overall it has more awesome episodes than 4 - but it has some really weak episodes in the middle.

The best "season" starts with Things Past and ends with Sacrifice of Angels. The opening 6-episode arc of season 6 is great, then it gets diluted, though there are several excellent/great episodes. I can see why you'd put 7 first - it sustains the momentum better with the final arc, because it's longer and because it's the end, and there are several other great episodes, but for me it's too marred by the whole Pah-wraiths and Sisko's Prophet Mom thing.

 

Yeah, I have to think long and hard about putting 2 above 4 and sometimes it drops anyway. You're absolutely right -- it has more awesome episodes than the fourth year but that middle stretch is pretty painful to get through.

I would say "The Muse" is probably the worst episode of the fourth season but it's not as bad as four or more second-season outings.

That opening arc in the sixth season is terrific.

Everything you said about why the seventh season is at the top for me is exactly how I feel, except of course that those lesser elements don't quite bother me as much as they do most people. I'm also an Ezri fan. It's true that introducing a new cast member in the final year of a dramatic series can (and to some extent did) cause problems but I enjoyed her development enough to let it slide.

 

Philistines! Except for Jeff O'Connor, since he's an Ezri fan.

6 > 7 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2 > 1

 

That must make for pretty awesome rewatches. It gets better for you overall almost every season and you obviously still think highly of the one exception to that rule.

 

^ Indeed.

The only reason Season Seven isn't number one (which pains as an big Ezri fan) is that I feel there is a slight dip in quality in the middle, unlike Season Six.

Six is the one with the best overall consistency, IMO. There's only two episodes in it that I don't think are at least above average - Valiant and Profit and Lace - and they're back to back.

So, if Six is a 10/10, then Seven is a 9.5/10.

 

Awesome.

 

That, and I love the whole Pah Wraith, Space Jesus Sisko and Red Eyed Dukat story.

 

I don't actually dislike it either but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say I love it. There are other things going on that I'm consistently more interested in for sure.