Season 3: Heart of Stone through The Adversary
This post covers 13 episodes and the quality is quite high. Overall I find it better material than the first half of Season 3.
Heart of Stone: for some reason I have seen this episode and the following episode (Destiny) several times over the years. I missed DS 9 in its original run as I was living outside my home country (the US.) Every time I returned (for the holidays) I would watch DS 9 and ran across this episode all the time.
I think I now know why I have always disliked Kira. She makes some remark to Odo while in the Runabout that went something like this: “Was he properly impressed with the depth of your expertise?” I always thought it a stupid line and I’ve had a grudge against the character ever since.
Anyway, I still don’t like the episode and it doesn’t move the overall plot forward very much. In the “B” plot we get Nog trying to get Sisko the recommend him for the academy, and learn that he doesn’t want to end up like his dad, Rom. That part is a bit touching. It is still unexplained how Nog could have any hope of getting into the Academy when he just learned to read a year or so ago.
Destiny: I like this one even though I have problem with the ending. It nicely advances the overall plot about Sisko and his role with the Prophets, and we get a Nastradamus-type prophecy to ponder. I’m really curious to see where the writer’s go with this. Are they totally ridiculing organized religion? Are the making fun of the superstition that prevails so much in people’s lives? I don’t know, but at the end of the episode even Sisko was a believer, and I think he would still be very skeptical at this point.
Prophet Motive: I can’t recall the entire plot. I’m a bit surprised that I am enjoying Quark-centered episodes as much as I am, but I am not such a big fan of the ones that feature the Grand Nagas. Honestly I can’t remember how this one ended.
Visionary: This would have been very enjoyable but it reminded me too much of the TNG finale, with Picard moving backwards and forwards in time. I can’t give the episode high marks since it lacks originality. (I assume this aired after the TNG finale but I may be wrong.)
Distant Voices: Dr. Bashir is in a coma and this episode almost put me in one too. Yuck.
Through the Looking Glass: Another “Mirror” universe episode. Marginally better than the last one, “Crossover.” Somehow the DS9 Mirror universe does not seem nearly as meanacing as the TOS Mirror universe. I hope there are not many more of these.
Improbably Cause and The Die is Cast: Great stuff! Possibly the best Star Trek two parter since the Menagerie. Unlike most two-parters, part two does not let us down. We learn that Garek was a truly bad dude in his former life, and we get to see Odo crumbling to pieces when he is prevented from returning to a liquid state. These Founders are truly up to no good. If I were Odo I would hold a pretty big grudge against Garek.
Explorers: This episode did not quite convince me that Sisko and Jake were in a tiny, sail-powered spaceship, but it almost did. Where Sisko found the time to build the dern thing (all by himself!) is a bit of a mystery. The ending felt rushed and a bit awkward with the fireworks and with the Cardies admitting that they had covered up past space-faring achievements by the ancient Bajorans. Good attempt though, and very original.
Family Business: Quark episodes can do no wrong, in my opinion, as long as we don’t see too much of the Grand Nagas. It is such a delight to watch Armin S. in this role.
Shakaar: I take it that this dude has a big role in DS9 going forward. I don’t remember the details of the episode well enough to remember what Kai Winn was trying to pull off by taking back the farming equipment. But for the first time I have come to the conclusion that she is not only evil, but she is simply insane.
For some reason, I don’t find the “on location” shots (the outdoor stuff) to be very convincing. TOS did it better with “Shore Leave” and “Friday’s Child.”
Facets: The Jadzia-centered episodes simply aren’t working for me. There is so much potential with the concept of the joined species that it hurts when the episodes don’t really strike a cord. This was a decent attempt, though.
The Adversary: this episode plods along like a poorly written detective novel. We do get a menacing message at the end with the Founders telling Odo that “You are to late. We are everywhere” or something like that. If I am correct we finally get to see a bit more of the Defiant. Up until now I had only seen the bridge, one crew quarter set, a bit of hallway and a small transporter room. Now we see some crawl spaces and engineering, which is a bit disappointing. The warp core of the USS Enterprise in TMP was so beautiful. Why couldn’t they re-create something like that for later ST series?
I have four more seasons to go and am really looking forward to it. For the first time I am starting to understand why so many fans disliked Voyager. It doesn't hold up well compared to DS9.
This post covers 13 episodes and the quality is quite high. Overall I find it better material than the first half of Season 3.
Heart of Stone: for some reason I have seen this episode and the following episode (Destiny) several times over the years. I missed DS 9 in its original run as I was living outside my home country (the US.) Every time I returned (for the holidays) I would watch DS 9 and ran across this episode all the time.
I think I now know why I have always disliked Kira. She makes some remark to Odo while in the Runabout that went something like this: “Was he properly impressed with the depth of your expertise?” I always thought it a stupid line and I’ve had a grudge against the character ever since.
Anyway, I still don’t like the episode and it doesn’t move the overall plot forward very much. In the “B” plot we get Nog trying to get Sisko the recommend him for the academy, and learn that he doesn’t want to end up like his dad, Rom. That part is a bit touching. It is still unexplained how Nog could have any hope of getting into the Academy when he just learned to read a year or so ago.
Destiny: I like this one even though I have problem with the ending. It nicely advances the overall plot about Sisko and his role with the Prophets, and we get a Nastradamus-type prophecy to ponder. I’m really curious to see where the writer’s go with this. Are they totally ridiculing organized religion? Are the making fun of the superstition that prevails so much in people’s lives? I don’t know, but at the end of the episode even Sisko was a believer, and I think he would still be very skeptical at this point.
Prophet Motive: I can’t recall the entire plot. I’m a bit surprised that I am enjoying Quark-centered episodes as much as I am, but I am not such a big fan of the ones that feature the Grand Nagas. Honestly I can’t remember how this one ended.
Visionary: This would have been very enjoyable but it reminded me too much of the TNG finale, with Picard moving backwards and forwards in time. I can’t give the episode high marks since it lacks originality. (I assume this aired after the TNG finale but I may be wrong.)
Distant Voices: Dr. Bashir is in a coma and this episode almost put me in one too. Yuck.
Through the Looking Glass: Another “Mirror” universe episode. Marginally better than the last one, “Crossover.” Somehow the DS9 Mirror universe does not seem nearly as meanacing as the TOS Mirror universe. I hope there are not many more of these.
Improbably Cause and The Die is Cast: Great stuff! Possibly the best Star Trek two parter since the Menagerie. Unlike most two-parters, part two does not let us down. We learn that Garek was a truly bad dude in his former life, and we get to see Odo crumbling to pieces when he is prevented from returning to a liquid state. These Founders are truly up to no good. If I were Odo I would hold a pretty big grudge against Garek.
Explorers: This episode did not quite convince me that Sisko and Jake were in a tiny, sail-powered spaceship, but it almost did. Where Sisko found the time to build the dern thing (all by himself!) is a bit of a mystery. The ending felt rushed and a bit awkward with the fireworks and with the Cardies admitting that they had covered up past space-faring achievements by the ancient Bajorans. Good attempt though, and very original.
Family Business: Quark episodes can do no wrong, in my opinion, as long as we don’t see too much of the Grand Nagas. It is such a delight to watch Armin S. in this role.
Shakaar: I take it that this dude has a big role in DS9 going forward. I don’t remember the details of the episode well enough to remember what Kai Winn was trying to pull off by taking back the farming equipment. But for the first time I have come to the conclusion that she is not only evil, but she is simply insane.
For some reason, I don’t find the “on location” shots (the outdoor stuff) to be very convincing. TOS did it better with “Shore Leave” and “Friday’s Child.”
Facets: The Jadzia-centered episodes simply aren’t working for me. There is so much potential with the concept of the joined species that it hurts when the episodes don’t really strike a cord. This was a decent attempt, though.
The Adversary: this episode plods along like a poorly written detective novel. We do get a menacing message at the end with the Founders telling Odo that “You are to late. We are everywhere” or something like that. If I am correct we finally get to see a bit more of the Defiant. Up until now I had only seen the bridge, one crew quarter set, a bit of hallway and a small transporter room. Now we see some crawl spaces and engineering, which is a bit disappointing. The warp core of the USS Enterprise in TMP was so beautiful. Why couldn’t they re-create something like that for later ST series?
I have four more seasons to go and am really looking forward to it. For the first time I am starting to understand why so many fans disliked Voyager. It doesn't hold up well compared to DS9.
