Game The Most Disliked Cardassian Episode

[Seven of Five]

Call To Arms is the perfect cap to the awesome season five. Things going full circle with Dukat returning to Terok Nor was just such a great cliffhanger, especially alongside the visual of the Defiant joining the armada of ships at the end.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 2: "The Maquis, Part II"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 5: "In Purgatory's Shadow"
DS9 Season 6: "A Time To Stand"
DS9 Season 6: "Rocks And Shoals"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 6: "Favor The Bold"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Penumbra"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "The Changing Face Of Evil"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"
VOY Season 2: "Maneuvers"
VOY Season 2: "Basics, Part I"

 

[Oddish]

Favor the Bold is a fine penultimate episode, building the tension slowly and cycling up to the end of the "Dominion on DS9" arc.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 2: "The Maquis, Part II"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 5: "In Purgatory's Shadow"
DS9 Season 6: "A Time To Stand"
DS9 Season 6: "Rocks And Shoals"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Penumbra"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "The Changing Face Of Evil"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"
VOY Season 2: "Maneuvers"
VOY Season 2: "Basics, Part I"

 

[Captain's Coffee]

VOY Season 2: "Basics, Part I" Because it was a good season finale that sets up a lot of good tension, especially with the crew being stranded on a planet and Voyager taking off as the final shot. Plus, Suder is great character!

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 2: "The Maquis, Part II"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 5: "In Purgatory's Shadow"
DS9 Season 6: "A Time To Stand"
DS9 Season 6: "Rocks And Shoals"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Penumbra"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "The Changing Face Of Evil"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"
VOY Season 2: "Maneuvers"

 

[Seven of Five]

There are still a lot of good episodes left.

In Purgatory's Shadow, like the concluding part which was saved earlier, has a lot of great shocks that shook up the series in ways that DS9 really did best. Tain being alive on the Internment Camp (along with Martok and Bashir ) was great news for me as I was a huge fan of his character. His revealing that he was actually Garak's father was also an interesting move, which helps enhance his prior appearances.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 2: "The Maquis, Part II"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 6: "A Time To Stand"
DS9 Season 6: "Rocks And Shoals"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Penumbra"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "The Changing Face Of Evil"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"
VOY Season 2: "Maneuvers"

 

[Cyfa]

DS9: "Penumbra" - the beginning of the end. And what a beginning! So many little bits to enjoy: Damar commenting on the Female Changeling's condition, Sisko and Kasidy realising their wedding won't be a smal and quiet affair, Ezri rescuing and then arguing with Worf, and the final mention of the tragically unseen Captain Boday

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 2: "The Maquis, Part II"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 6: "A Time To Stand"
DS9 Season 6: "Rocks And Shoals"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "The Changing Face Of Evil"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"
VOY Season 2: "Maneuvers"

 

[Farscape One]

"ROCKS AND SHOALS" is next for me. Possibly the best episode of the first six in season 6. Excellent Kira story, how she goes from being able to look at herself in the mirror to slowly realizing she has become the one thing she hates the most... a collaborator.

And the planet story was superb. The Jem'Hadar are honestly one of the best races we ever got to know... and one of the few that the more you know about them, the less you want to be around. But if I ever needed a bodyguard or soldier, I would quickly pick a Jem'Hadar.


TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 2: "The Maquis, Part II"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 6: "A Time To Stand"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "The Changing Face Of Evil"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"
VOY Season 2: "Maneuvers"

 

[Captain's Coffee]

VOY Season 2: "Maneuvers" because it's a good Chakotay episode, and he doesn't have many of those, let's be honest. Also, it does a great job of showcasing his friendship with B'Elanan, especially in the was she fervently defends him in front of Janeway. Plus, the Kazon chewing up the scenery is kind of amusing.

And with this, I'll bow out. While DS9 does multi-episode arcs, I'm struggling to remember anything about the individual episodes

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 2: "The Maquis, Part II"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 6: "A Time To Stand"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "The Changing Face Of Evil"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"

 

[Seven of Five]

The Changing Face of Evil is next for me. It's another huge step in the FInal Chapter, with Damar's despair at the new Breen allies finally being channeled into something useful for Cardassia by allying himself to the Federation. And of course, the Defiant is destroyed, showing that anything could happen in the final episodes.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 2: "The Maquis, Part II"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 6: "A Time To Stand"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "The Changing Face Of Evil"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

I'm going to save DS9 Season 6: "A Time To Stand". It gets overshadowed by some of the other episodes in the epic six-part arc that kicks off the sixth season, but this came just shy of making it into my top 10 for the whole series. The station's in the hands of Dukat and Weyoun, the crew are on a secret mission in a captured Jem'Hadar ship without chairs, and Garak's in it, so there's a lot of interesting stuff going on in this one.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 2: "The Maquis, Part II"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"

 

[Farscape One]

"THE MAQUIS, PART II" is next. If for no other reason than his 'saints in paradise' speech.


TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."
DS9 Season 7: "The Dogs Of War"

 

[gweeps]

Just realized, there's a glaring omission in the initial list: DS9's season 6 episode, 'Waltz'.

 

[Farscape One]

The only reason "WALTZ" wasn't listed is because the only Cardassian we see is Dukat (Damar hallucination not included). It didn't deal with their society or other Cardassians.

 

[Seven of Five]

I'll go with The Dogs of War next. Rom being the new Nagus is a perfect end for him., whilst the ongoing Damar resistance is one of the best parts about the episodes after The Changing Face of Evil.

EDIT: Interesting typo this time of the morning (5am), I decided that the episode I just talked about was actually The Changeling Face of Evil.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 2: "The Homecoming"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."

 

[Cyfa]

I really enjoy DS9's The Circle trilogy (and it introduces us to the supremely inscrutable Minister Jaro Essa!), so I'm saving "The Homecoming"

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 5: "The Darkness And The Light"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."

 

[Farscape One]

Saving "THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT".

Good Kira episode, and well directed.


TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 4: "Indiscretion"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."

 

[Oddish]

Indiscretion actually had Dukat being a nuanced character, while certainly not a good guy. And while Ziyal was a bit of a dud as a character, it highlights DS9's willingness to have consequences in its storytelling. Plus, the sand spine.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"
DS9 Season 7: "When It Rains..."

 

[gweeps]

The only reason "WALTZ" wasn't listed is because the only Cardassian we see is Dukat (Damar hallucination not included). It didn't deal with their society or other Cardassians.

Yet doesn't 'Afterimage' mainly focus on Garak? Just seems an odd reason not to include 'Waltz'. Dukat is arguably the most famous Cardassian in the entire Trek franchise, and this episode deals more with his psychology, and in turn those Cardassians who followed in his footsteps.

Whatever though, it's not my list, and the episode probably would've been saved early on anyway.

 

[Summer Solstice]

Saving "When It Rains...". I really enjoyed the episode arc which this episode belongs to. In particular, Kira really changed and grew as a character (over the whole of DS9) to get to the point where she was willing to help the Cardassians in this episode.

The Cardassians and the Romulans are my favourite Star Trek aliens. The Cardassians had a lot of depth to them and their culture and I think it really helped having several Cardassian recurring characters to understand them more as a species.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Til Death Do Us Part"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"

 

[Seven of Five]

Til Death Do Us Part is next for me. I think Dukat becoming a follower of the Pah-Wraiths meant that he lost some of his edge as an adversary. However, seeing him plotting away to seduce Kai Winn to serve the Wraiths was quite an interesting way to go. Or at least for the first few episodes of the Final Chapter, at least.

TNG Season 7: "Journey's End"
DS9 Season 4: "Return To Grace"
DS9 Season 5: "Things Past"
DS9 Season 6: "Sons & Daughters"
DS9 Season 6: "Behind The Lines"
DS9 Season 7: "Afterimage"
DS9 Season 7: "Strange Bedfellows"

 

[at Quark's]

Til Death Do Us Part is next for me. I think Dukat becoming a follower of the Pah-Wraiths meant that he lost some of his edge as an adversary. However, seeing him plotting away to seduce Kai Winn to serve the Wraiths was quite an interesting way to go. Or at least for the first few episodes of the Final Chapter, at least.

What interests me about this episode is that in it, Kai Winn still seems to genuinely believe she had been called by the Prophets. In the next episode she learns that Anjohl (Dukat, though she doesn't know yet) wants to release the Pah wraiths. So at that point at the latest she must have realised that something was not quite right with her calling. I would say that this means that the moment she really chose the 'wrong' side would be in that next episode (the changing face of evil) , even though of course one of the reasons the Pah wraiths chose her in this was because she was so easily manipulated because of her character faults, and not ask critical questions such as 'has the Emissary truly stumbled, even though I do not personally like him'?

It's also interesting how different the pah' wraiths vision feels from the genuine article (though Winn of course couldn't know that, never having experienced a true vision). We mostly see them looking down on her (literally), and even though the true prophets can be aloof as well, they'll still acknowledge that 'the path of the Sisko is difficult'. No such empathy here, all they remark is that 'she has a strong pagh, she will serve us well'.

EDIT: completely overlooked the actual next episode Strange Bedfellows where the pah Wraiths reveal themselves to her as such.