Season 7-Your views...

[Trek Survivor]

Not my favourite overall, though there were some good episodes.

I'm one of those odd rebellious people who - gasp! - actually agree with Rick Berman about something. I happen to agree with him that the war with the Dominion should have ended in season six. I liked the arc, but felt it totally dominated seasons six and seven. Yes, yes, I know the reasons and "oh isn't it more realistic than having the war sorted in a few episodes" retorts - but on a personal level, it kinda lost something to me.

 

[neogothboy74]

On another note, although still in regards to Season 7, I thought the omission of Jadzia Dax (which has been argued many times) was felt:

From a story/payoff standpoint, especially if you're going to have a character (i.e. Worf) recall the things and people he had lost or will leave behind, surely you'll have the one person--Dax--who understood and loved him seen in that flashback.

Yes, I know contract stuff, behind-the-scenes stuff...but it still doesn't work in relation to the story....and it feels like something is missing.

I felt this loss too. But knowing the truth of why that happened I find it hard to hold it against the series. That's one of the things I love about DS9. That when there's a flaw in it, it's almost never because of thoughtlessness. There's almost always a good reason for it.

I've justified it with that we know that Worf thinks about Jadzia; he refererences her all the time; he has a picture of her in his quarters. And I think he was more thinking about his other experiences & the last year with Dax - that he was taking this moment to reflect on the other things that made his stay important. For all we know, just before that scene he spent a full hour going over the highlights of his relationship with Jadzia. Also, I thought, given the limitations of what they could show, that they had a nice homage to Jadzia with Ezri watching Worf leave from the upper level; it's almost an exact reenactment of the final scene from 'Rejoined' when Jadzia watches Lenara Khan leave the station; that hit me like a brick as I watched it, and I really believed that THAT was Dax. And it made me smile.

 

[Saito S]

Also, I thought, given the limitations of what they could show, that they had a nice homage to Jadzia with Ezri watching Worf leave from the upper level; it's almost an exact reenactment of the final scene from 'Rejoined' when Jadzia watches Lenara Khan leave the station; that hit me like a brick as I watched it, and I really believed that THAT was Dax. And it made me smile.

YES! I thought exactly the same thing when I saw Ezri up there on the upper level! It was sort of this echo of the previous event, when Dax watched Kahn go, similar in so many ways because of what Worf shared with Jadzia Dax, yet different due to the reconciliation that had occurred between Worf and Ezri Dax.

Having said that... I thought season 7 was brilliant. I'm not sure I'd say it was or wasn't "the best season", but that's because I have no idea which season is my #1 favorite overall. I thought the whole show was great, and while I can tell you that my fave would likely be 5, 6, or 7, within those three, I couldn't say. And during that entire final sequence, with all the flashbacks and that music playing, I kept tearing up.

On Ezri: I absolutely LOVED this character. Loved everything about her. I did like Jadzia a lot, and I was very sad when she died. But I'd have to say that overall, Ezri is my favorite Dax, and I wish we could have seen more of her. I'm not glad Jadzia died, but I am glad we got Ezri into the show, if that makes any sense.

As for the season as a whole, I've already detailed my general opinion on it. Yes, there was some stock battle footage (though only in the final ep, as I recall...), but I blame the people "upstairs" for that as much as anyone (couldn't you have shelled out some more cash to the production team for the FINAL freaking episode??). As for Dukat... I've heard this complaint a lot, that the whole stark-raving mad angle ruined his character, and I gotta say... I don't get it. I thought it made sense. Considering everything that happened to him, all that he'd been through, all that he had tried (and in many cases, failed) to accomplish, to the point where even his supposed allies in the Dominion and on Cardassia had lost all faith in him (even Damar to some degree, though he would never admit it to him openly)… I thought this was as good a story direction for him as any. And it wasn't just out of nowhere; he didn't just suddenly and inexplicably show up in Tears of the Prophets as a raving lunatic. They planted the seeds back when Ziyal died, and grew the storyline in Waltz. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but for my part, I found it quite effective.