Well, "The Vortex" did not disappoint...this was a pretty decent episode, and one that when I saw the plight of Yareth, even got a tear out of me. But there was a LOT more I was paying attention to, on a rewatch, than the basic plot (and sometimes Croden was just tooooooo much to put up with, both in terms of the bad Rakhari makeup job...so lame in comparison to the awesome-looking Miradorn, and his annoying voice, mannerisms, and personality).
I wish we had seen more of the Miradorn. They get mentioned in season five, and they show up in one of the Corps of Engineers books, but they were interesting enough to be explored in more depth. I like their makeup, too, particularly the flaps of skin and the ornamental "collars" they slot through them. What's interesting is that season five suggested they were a race of some significance- they're mentioned alongside the Romulans, Tholians and Bajor as nations with which the Dominion signed non-aggression pacts. It seems therefore like they must be reasonably influential, and if so where is Miradorn space? They might be a "local" power like Bajor or Lissepia, in which case they need not be too powerful, but seeing as we never see Miradorn wandering around in the background- unlike Lissepians, Kressari, Kobheerians, Xepolites etc- it would appear they aren't from the Cardassian border, which implies their territory might well be expansive for the Dominion to consider them worth signing treaties with.
I'm not surprised we never saw the Rakhari again, though, despite their being reasonably interesting here.
This episode is key, though, because it seems to have laid a lot of the groundwork early on for who the Founders would turn out to be: here we have the story of the Founders' persecution, as well as some tidbits about their cultural worldview (paranoid, harsh in judgment) that are later used by the Founders. On the other hand, knowing what we now know about the Dominion, it is actually quite interesting to wonder what the implications would've been if there HAD been a Changeling colony somewhere--that could've signified a breakway Link, so to speak. Of course, as we find out, Croden was lying. But the odd thing is, the environment of the Vortex turns out to be MUCH like the kinds of places we later saw the Great Link residing, so it makes one wonder if he drew on old local legends to spin his story.
I'm impressed by how well the hints in seasons one and two as to who the changelings are match up to the truth about the Founders, even though the writers only decided to make Odo's people the leaders of the Dominion at the beginning of season three. It holds together remarkably well. Another interesting episode in this regard is "Shadowplay" in season two, where the changeling is the "bad guy" in a story the Yaderans tell their children.
I wish we would've seen more shapeshifting amulets--did Odo keep the one he had? Could it have been used to figure out more about the Founders before the Federation ever encountered them? Just how "alive" is it? Does it have to be "trained" to take the key shape, and is it similar to how Dr. Mora tried to "train" Odo?
That's something I always wondered; was the amulet a life-form, perhaps some more primitive, non-sapient version of a changeling that is limited to a few set forms? If so, what is the significance of that? Is it the changeling equivalent of lower animal life, maybe even an evolutionary throwback, or if the changelings were "engineered" as some novels suggest, was it a prototype?
We had another great Quark moment, in seeing him actually seem to genuinely feel bad about sending Odo to his death (or so he thought). This one actually seemed less ambiguous than the similar moment in "Move Along Home," and forecasts later episodes (including the one where he and Odo were stranded by themselves).
Quark was one character who I believe was used very well from the start.
In the continuity corner...I have some nitpicks. How did Croden THAT easily figure out the controls for a Federation runabout?? Also, we have the glaring incident of Odo actually being KO'ed by a falling rock--which calls into question JUST how many properties he adopts of that into which he shapeshifts. Finally, we have a Vulcan stating she was "afraid." Even in a figurative sense, this is quite imprecise for a Vulcan!
Sadly, it seems to me that "easily figuring out the controls" happens far too often in Trek with characters of all description- and vessels of all descriptions (including military craft)! I guess it's one of those areas in which logic is shifted aside to further the plot.
The Odo-getting-hurt-by-rocks incident has encouraged much debate, I believe. Of course, we know Odo is a poor shapeshifter by the standards of his fellow changelings, so perhaps the shock of the impact caused him to "tense up" and "locked" him into his Humanoid form, so instead of simply reverting briefly to liquid and shrugging it off, he went down and stayed down until he was able to un-tense?
You've got me there but at least the Central Command doesn't start an inter-quadrant war (well, not on most days anyway
. And we get consequences- we all get executed! 
That'll teach us to keep our heads down and not drag Cardassia into conflict with powerful alien empires...
