The Most Disliked Episode of DS9, Final Round: 2021 Edition...

[Sakonna]

"The Muse" once again...

SECOND SIGHT - 2
THE MUSE - 3
PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 1
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 0

 

[Farscape One]

I will save "THE MUSE" now for the same reasons as the last few rounds.

This is funny, because a few pages ago I said I knew what the final 3 would be, and it turns out I was completely accurate. But it really can be any episode's game now.

It is really, really hard to vote for any at this point. One is particularly awful, and the other two are simply boring. Though being boring can be considered the worst thing any piece of entertainment can be.

So I will vote for "SECOND SIGHT" because while it is boring, it is at least earlier DS9 so it can be sort of excused. Plus, we get great views of the Nebula class ship... much more than ever.


SECOND SIGHT - 1
PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 0
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 0

 

[Oddish]

Scraping the bottom of the barrel, we are.

Second Sight. That terraformer might have been a raging egomaniac with a god complex, but he was at least memorable. And, in a twisted and self-serving way, heroic. And we got to see Sisko begin to move past his grieving widower status.

SECOND SIGHT - 2
PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 0
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 0[/QUOTE]

 

[Brobdingnag]

"SECOND SIGHT", by the skin of its teeth.

SECOND SIGHT - 3
PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 0
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 0

 

[Sakonna]

I will save "Second Sight", because I do like the first 10 minutes or so. That late-night-on-the-Promenade vibe is always something I can appreciate.

I'll vote for "Prodigal Daughter" this last round. Again on the strength of vibes... I like the way they depict the planet in this one.

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 1
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 0

 

[Farscape One]

This is an awful pair of episodes. One is terrible, the other is terrible and boring.

So on just the strength of the comedy of Quark and Rom stealing the cloaking device, "THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK" gets my final vote for this DS9 game.


PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 1
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 1

 

[BoTWoT]

I don't see prodigal daughter as all that bad. It's character backstory for Ezri, even if it's way too late in a series for this. And, even if I hate her mom for the same reasons I hate my own. And, Obrien is finally only suffering for a reason of his own choosing.

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 2
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 1

 

[Seven of Five]

Prodigal Daughter is such a snoozefest, featuring a character that I hadn't warmed to, and who was also being rammed down our throats at that point of the season. But, at least O'Brien was there, carrying on the Bilby story.

The Emporer's New Cloak was a terrible way to say goodbye to the mirror universe, mixing it with poor Ferengi humour along the way. It's easily the worst episode left.

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 3
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 1

 

[Brobdingnag]

"THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK" has some tiny funny moments while the other one is just dull and totally unimaginative. Sure it's stupid but it's stupid funny at times, while the other is just boring all the way through... Don't watch it if you're even slightly tired or people will hear you snore from afar.

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 3
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 2

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I guess I'll be the one to end this, voting Prodigal Daughter, because dull and mediocre > embarrassing and awful.

PRODIGAL DAUGHTER - 4
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK - 2

 

[Brobdingnag]

Well, this is it. The two that won are the two worst of the series, as far as I am concerned at any rate.

 

[Oddish]

Fitting. The episode that heralds the presumed return of the Evil Terran Empire is declared DS9's biggest, smelliest, steaming-est heap of fresh cowflop. And runner up goes to that yet another Ezri episode no one wanted.

Glad I didn't have to vote to save either of them.

WINNER: THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK

 

[Vale]

Does this mean we move on to Voyager now?

 

[Oddish]

Unless they decide to go a little nuts and hit Enterprise next instead. But one way or another, Voyager is on the horizon.

 

[Farscape One]

And the 2019 winner is also the 2021 winner: "THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOAK".

Thank you all for playing. This has been a blast. I shall start VOYAGER season 1 in the late morning.

 

[Brobdingnag]

Does this mean we move on to Voyager now?

Definitely.

 

[Sakonna]

And only two episodes have made the finals of this game all four times -- "Meridian" and "Emperor's New Cloak."

"Emperor's New Cloak" is certainly a worthy winner for me. I'm often advocating for various MU and Ferengi episodes others dislike, but I've got nothing on this trash!

It's probably the way the homophobia goes into overdrive for the last MU visit that particularly sets me off.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

It's probably the way the homophobia goes into overdrive for the last MU visit that particularly sets me off.

Homophobia? Sex has always been treated as opportunistic and self-serving in the mirror universe, even in TOS.

 

[Oddish]

I think they were referring to the fact that every surviving woman in the mirror universe is a kinky lesbian. That's less homophobia than it is stereotyping.

As much as it might bother us today, it was pretty normal at the time: when DS9 was active, you could still go to jail in some states for having sex with a same-sex partner. Same-sex marriage was only something you saw in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

 

[Sakonna]

I was talking about the progression from "Crossover", where we go to the evil-verse and find one character who's a bit queer, to "The Emperor's New Cloak", where the two defining differences of the MU have become that you're going to find a lot more evil and a lot more gayness.

I also found it offensive at the time, this isn't an only-in-retrospect read.

Truly one of the most frustrating missed opportunities on Disco was that they didn't make Mirror Stamets a predatory straight guy. Could have counterbalanced the whole thing right there! Ah well.