The MOST Disliked Episode of DS9 - Season Five...

I like Apocalypse Rising.

LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN...
THINGS PAST
THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT
A SIMPLE INVESTIGATION
FERENGI LOVE SONGS
SOLDIERS OF THE EMPIRE

 

I'll give THE DARKNESS AND THE LIGHT a pass. The final Kira monologue is overwrought but I like the sci-fi slasher vibes. "That's one..."

LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN...
THINGS PAST
A SIMPLE INVESTIGATION
FERENGI LOVE SONGS
SOLDIERS OF THE EMPIRE

 

I've deleted Soldiers of the Empire from this list as I enjoyed the crew of misfit Klingons, even if the endings a bit pat.

LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN...
THINGS PAST
A SIMPLE INVESTIGATION
FERENGI LOVE SONGS

 

I actually don't mind "Ferengi Love Songs." The A story, anyway (that Rom/Leeta subplot is rough going). The DS9 Ferengi narrative is definitely starting to fall apart by this time, but hasn't yet gone FULLY off the rails. I think Armin Shimerman does some fantastic work here... I love the scene where he realizes, with horror, that human morality is rubbing off on him.

LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN...
THINGS PAST
A SIMPLE INVESTIGATION

 

Things Past. While it seems at times like an inferior rehash of Season 2's "Necessary Evil," it's not that bad of an episode overall.

LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN...
A SIMPLE INVESTIGATION

 

I can't vote again yet, but I wouldn't lose sleep over either of these ones "winning".

 

Saving A Simple Investigation. It is a boring and tepid episode with the distinction of not being Let He Who Is Without Sin. It is still highly forgettable.

Let He Who Is Without Sin loses ... er, uh, wins!

 

The 'winner' of this season is "LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN...". This season, like season 4, was chock full of great episodes.

Thank you all for voting. I will start season 6 shortly.

 

Finding an episode to save in the season was shooting fish in a barrel.

 

A satisfying final two. "Let He Who Is Without Sin" is my most hated DS9 ep, and "A Simple Investigation" is so frustrating! If they played this while Odo was human, it really could have been something. The relationship would resonate on such a deeper level if it's happening in the wake of his body violation/transformation... that ups the emotional stakes, and it makes more sense from a plot level, why Odo is diving into this ROTW now.

And they didn't do enough with the Odo-as-human arc! It really needed something else -- something EXACTLY like this story. Such a missed opportunity. Place "Simple Investigation" 5 slots earlier, and it could have been one of the great Odo episodes. But where it is, it's nothing -- fine but forgettable.

 

This is my only real gripe with the series as a whole: they didn't pace or position stories in a way that would have made better use of various story threads. The most obvious is the odd way the Winn-Dukat plot played out in Season 7. I think that the biggest missed opportunity is season 6: Sisko's moral dilemma would have been better explored if after Sacrifice (not consecutively) came Pale Moonlight, then Waltz, then Far Beyond the Stars, then Tears of the Prophets. Of course, than would have meant 3-6 months headstart when they were often writing by the seat of their pants.

 

And if it weren't for the brief scene where they talk about Odo's face, you could just move it yourself and have no problems with pretending Odo was human at the time. At least, as far as I recall. I'd never thought of it before, but next time I think I'll watch it before Begotten to see if I like it any better.