perhaps there was a little too much Ezri focus...final Sloan episode was deeply disappointing...how Sisko's arc plays out, I feel like there should have been more to it...many of the stories worked well if not very well, and as always the strength of DS9 as an ensemble series is on obvious display here...
Yeah, it could be argued that there was too much Ezri. It could have been slightly more justified had they known there would be more seasons after, but we know they knew it was over. The final Sloan episode, while a good one, was slightly disappointing...I agree. I feel they humanized Section 31 a little too much (just like Trek has done with the Borg and 8472), thus wrecking some of the mystique. Sisko's story did kind of end more abruptly than I would have liked. But, overall, as you stated, the strength of the cast really shown through to make it all come together well.
The rest of the season in inconsistent and weak...and Field of Fire the embarrassing crime procedural is possibly...Siege and Paper Moon are the only two genuinely good episodes in the season outside the final arc.
I can understand all of that. I guess they kind of had to try and develop Ezri...Field of Fire was a good way to show her darker side and also develop Joran a bit more. But, other than that, yeah it was a pretty weak episode. AR-558 and Paper Moon are amazing. They are so emotionally deep and are quite important to developing Nog, Ezri, and even showing some of Bashir and Sisko's gruffer/tougher sides in AR-558.
Not having Ezri be a male was a small mistake, it's would have been more interesting...
I am quite pleased they chose another female. Like another poster said...it was a pretty male centric cast. Ezri also helped soften things a bit as she was slightly more feminine than the other female leads that were written. (and that's not meant as a dig toward Kira or Jadzia...they are amazing characters, written as amazingly bright and strong individuals)
Its a good season in its own right and its improvement over some of ds9's missteps in the previous seasons...more focused as the show was winding down...the characters are well utilized ...The Damar/Weyoun relationship is one of best relationships on the show and Ezri is such a welcome improvement over Jadzia...The religious stuff is a bit of stretch from where the show started and I wish Dukat's arc had been planned better but its all acted so well.
It did make up for some of the past, agreed. The writing was definitely more focused on the goal of character development and wrapping up the key series long stories. Of course...having the character dev a few seasons earlier would have been nice. I also love the Damar/Weyoun interplay. Damar is actually my favorite character in the whole show. How he developed and made the realization that he needed to rebel against the dominion...and then lay down his life to save his people...goosebumps every single time. Ezri is a wonderful addition...agreed. And finally, I actually enjoy the religious aspect, but I completely get that it really can feel weird in the Trek world.
Big love on season 7 for me. They really delivered to the fans, and for that I'm grateful.
I like Ezri but I wished they'd made her a science officer like Jadzia instead of counselor.
It was all amazing. But, I agree with one of the other posters who said that another science officer would be redundant and also the point about it being war time and perhaps a counselor was a good addition.