According to Paul Ryan, you have to include The Emissary in that as well.I don't need to rewatch TNG to make a shiteograph about Alexander episodes.
TheGodBen Revisits Deep Space Nine
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Ok, I literally LOL'ed at that.
I think the thing that bothers me the most about the whole Alexander/Worf thing is that it completely contradicts the way TNG left the two. As annoying as Alexander could be, there was a progression in his relationship with Worf on TNG, culminating in "Firstborn" where Worf refused to be separated from him. Worf wasn't winning any father of the year awards yet, but he was trying.
So it was a little annoying that they just disregarded all that when Worf got the job on DS9. I get why the writers didn't have him bring Alexander to DS9- there was already a single father on the station, another one would be redundant. But the way they handled it was just bad, and "Sons and Daughters" is the pinnacle of that. It had already been addressed that Worf's parents were too old to take care of Alexander. Maybe if Worf had decided to send him to military school as he'd contemplated in "Firstborn" then him showing up on a Klingon ship would have been more believable.
And I can't believe that Worf's parents wouldn't have told him that Alexander ran off to join the military.
Yeah, DS9 Alexander just struck me as a bumbling Klingon teen with daddy issues. As for the age 8 thing? Maybe Klingons grow up more quickly, and I don't find it hard at all to believe the Klingons would take fully matured people in the middle of a war no matter their age. It is a warrior culture.
I think the Doc in VOY actually mentioned Klingon's aging quickly, sort of as a throwaway continuity bone to explain Wildman's rapid age jump.
I don't think it has one, it's a really shite graph.What's the scale on that graph?
Behind the Lines (***½)
Behind the Lines is the beginning of the end of the occupation arc, the pieces are being put in place for the two-part finale. With the minefield being brought down and Rom arrested, things have to come to a head soon. For the most part this episode is very successful at moving the plot forward and addressing relevant characterisation. The problem with the episode is, of course, the ending. I don't mind that they sent Odo off into a completely other place, but I know that this change for him will begin to change back in the next episode and be resolved in a closet in a few episodes. The lack of follow-through on this change in Odo cheapens the ending of this episode and undermines his arc here with the female Changeling. That's really unfortunate, because exploring that a little deeper would have been fascinating, but the writers apparently weren't prepared to do that. The result is messy, and the ending of this episode goes too far in making Odo seem aloof and uncaring about his friends. I know that it can be explained away as Odo experiencing some sort of post-orgasmic high from the link which soon wore off, but if that's all it is then don't present it as a bit of a cliffhanger.
Meanwhile, Sisko gets a bit of a promotion and is given a desk job away from the Defiant. This is a pleasant enough tale, but it is kinda pointless considering he's on the brink of retaking DS9 and this change for his position will be undone. As I said, it's a nice tale, and I actually somewhat appreciated that the story kept its focus on Sisko and didn't show us the actual battle Sisko sent the Defiant into. Jadzia isn't quite as convincing as Sisko during the ceremony of the used power-cell, you need a certain amount of craziness to make such a thing not seem cheesy and nobody on the show does crazy quite as well as Sisko.
Memory Alpha said:
So that's apparently why Odo's actions in the arc get brushed away so quickly and offscreenly. I agree that it was a bad decision.
Also, this episode does indeed seem very much like Sisko got promoted, which is why I decided to consider him a Commodore for the rest of the series on my latest rewatch.
Memory Alpha said:
Though not 100% satisfied with the way it was handled, I'm glad they didn't do that. First off, weddings being interrupted by whatever is such a played out TV cliche. Secondly, it just seems way too drama-queen for Odo.
Yeah it does. Perhaps if he hadn't attended the weddiing at all? Which would then have attracted the attention of Kira, where he could then have said he can't be around them anymore.
It's such a shame the plotline was handled in this way. If they'd just had a little more faith in themselves and let Odo become isolated, they could have perhaps thought up something further down the line. The missed potential is comparable to the mishap over Section 31 in Extreme Measures.
It's such a shame the plotline was handled in this way. If they'd just had a little more faith in themselves and let Odo become isolated, they could have perhaps thought up something further down the line. The missed potential is comparable to the mishap over Section 31 in Extreme Measures.
Which makes sense considering how he takes a leadership role in planning the war effort from now on, which seems odd considering he's a captain. But 24th century Starfleet doesn't seem to have commodores for some reason.
Favor the Bold (****½)
A week or so after getting promoted into a position of strategic power, Sisko manipulates Starfleet command into a push to retake DS9, ostensibly so as to take back control of the wormhole, but we know he really did it to get his baseball back. He amasses the largest fleet of Starfleet vessels assembled possibly in all of fictional history, and boy is that a sight to behold. And let us not forget the unsung hero of the Alpha Quadrant: Morn. If it wasn't for his bravery in sneaking a message out in a birthday ribbon then the Federation would have been doomed, and he did it all without once opening his mouth to complain.
Favor the Bold is a difficult episode to discuss because of how it's so tied in with the previous episode and what will happen in the next one. But while that makes for a difficult episode to review, it makes for a great viewing experience. Things are reaching boiling point, the characters on the station are slowly making their true colours known, both Quark and Ziyal are moving away from the neutral position and are turning on Dukat and the occupying forces, while Kira has had enough of Damar and beats him to holy hell. One interesting thing I didn't notice before is that Damar is revealing a lot of top secret information to Quark even though Damar must know that Quark's loyalties are divided right now. I used to think that this was because of Damar's overconfidence, but is it possible that this was the first sign that Damar's conscience was bothering him and he subconsciously told Quark in the hope that the Dominion would be stopped? That seems a little out there, but MA suggests that the writers were considering such things at this time.
Meanwhile, Odo has sex with the Female Changeling and she's so bad at it that he begins to regret siding with her. She was like a dead fish during the whole experience, which is completely unlike what Odo imagines Kira would be like, so he regrets having picked the Female Changeling over Kira. But Kira wants nothing to do with Odo, she's so pissed at him that she nearly beats him to hell just like she did to Damar, which simultaneously upsets Odo and reaffirms his belief of what she'd be like in bed. This is how I choose to explain the inconsistencies of this arc. (As an aside, calling the Female Changeling by that moniker is getting lame, I need a new name for her, like how I called The Doctor "K-Shmull". Any suggestions? Because if you guys don't come up with anything then I'll just come up with something stupid like F-Change.)
While that does seem a bit extreme to me, and I wouldn't go as far as to suggest that he wanted the Dominion stopped (not yet, anyway), I can fully buy into the idea that he was using Quark as an outlet for his subconscious concerns, and perhaps giving himself some small breathing room by allowing the shape of the future to possibly end up in hands other than his own. I think Damar did indeed have niggling suspicions and unease regarding the Dominion membership, but as a loyal Cardassian (with personal loyalty to Dukat, at that) he couldn't confront how he was feeling. And things were moving so fast - when that minefield came down, as far as everyone knew, the triumph of the Dominion was at hand. Damar was helping this young alliance move toward domination of known space before he'd even had a chance to fully absorb where Dukat had taken them (or so I assume). Damar was personally creating the future, and I can't imagine he didn't already have some doubts.
So even though revealing your military agenda to a Ferengi barkeeper is never a good idea, particularly when said Ferengi barkeeper has potential ties to people who might oppose you, I think Damar didn't fully care, and I do think there may have been a bit of subconscious longing for "somebody take this weight off of my hands. I don't want to carry the burden of the future alone". Who knows? I think it's a great idea to mine for fan-fic, but who can say in terms of what we see on screen?
I always disliked the term "Female Changeling", as though Odo is the Changeling and this one is differentiated by being female. I prefer "Founder Leader", since that's apparently what does distinguish her; even if she's not a leader in the eyes of her people (I doubt the Link has any), she's been selected to fulfil that role both for the Alpha Quadrant and, in a sense, for Odo. So you could call her The Leader; imagine it said in a creepy drawn-out voice like in that Simpsons episode with the cult. After all, that's sort of what she is - the cult leader trying to entrap Odo.
Doctor Oho nicknamed her "War Criminal". Eh, more of a title than a name, so not much better than Female Changling.
Maybe Ms. Jens?
How about we call her Kerrigan, the Kerrigan from Starcraft as she is the most badass female villain out there.
Or maybe; The Queen of Goo -- or?
Hmm, it's a good idea but it needs a few extra rounds of free association.So you could call her The Leader; imagine it said in a creepy drawn-out voice like in that Simpsons episode with the cult. After all, that's sort of what she is - the cult leader trying to entrap Odo.
The Leader -> nananananananana -> fishing -> dead fish
From now on I shall refer to the Female Changeling as Dead Fish.
Sacrifice of Angels (****½)
I'm aware of all the flaws in this episode, and if I hadn't been before then I'm sure that years of discussing Star Trek on the internet would have made me aware of them. So when I sat down to watch this episode last night I did so expecting that those flaws would be at the forefront of my mind. But they weren't, this episode grabbed me with its story, its action, and its characters. Yes, I agree that the Defiant being the only Federation ship to break through the Dominion's lines for several hours was mightily convenient. Yes, I too am confused about why Kira and Rom focused on disabling DS9's weapons when there were other Dominion ships around the station that could have blown up the minefield (real good). Yes, it was odd that Dead Fish seemed to know that Odo would betray her and she didn't tell anyone. And yes, I did see that Klingon ship accidentally destroy that other Klingon ship during the final push of the battle. Those flaws, and all the others, prevent this episode from getting 5 stars, but they didn't prevent me from having a damn good time watching it.
I know that the biggest controversy about the episode is the role that the Prophets play in disappearing the Dominion fleet. That's an argument as old as the episode itself and I don't see the benefit in repeating it here, so suffice it to say that I don't agree that it's a deus ex machina, and I actually like it as part of Sisko's arc as the Emissary. My personal view is that the Prophets' intervention indirectly led to Dukat's insanity, which caused him to try and release the Pah-Wraiths, and Sisko had to sacrifice his corporeal existence in the finale to prevent that. That's the penance he's forced to pay: Sisko wins the war for the Federation but at the cost of his future, his family, and his home. I know that a lot of people disagree with me about what happened with Sisko in the finale but that's the way I see it, and when Sisko's arc is viewed that way then this episode is the key moment in Sisko's journey.
Another thing that I like about this episode is that it is a focal point for the major story arcs as well as the minor character arcs. This is the only time in the series that I can think of when the Dominion arc and the Prophets arc intersect. Sisko's arc obviously plays a role as I've already explained. Odo's arc with the Changelings plays an important role in the episode, and while I have my problems with this arc and how it is ignored later, I have no problems with how it's addressed in this episode. Quark is forced to confront his principles, and this is one of the most important moments in his journey as he risks his life to save the galaxy. Ziyal's story comes to an end with her death, which also sends Dukat off in a new direction. That direction might not have been a good idea, but I feel that his descent into madness in this episode is actually well handled. A lot happens in this episode, and while there are certain obvious contrivances in the plot, the key moments and the story as a whole are still being driven by the characters themselves.
If you'll permit me to be shallow for a moment, the battle sequences in this episode are absolutely incredible, this is my favourite sci-fi battle sequence of all time. At the time the episode came out the visual effects were mind-blowing, and while the CG models are looking a little dated these days, the fast pace, the constant movement and explosions, the depiction of complete pandemonium, those things keep that sequence exciting to this day. The score to this episode is also magnificent, it captures the epic nature of the plot and enhances it, it's right up there with the score for The Best of Both Worlds in my opinion.
You know that makes a lot more sense about why Odo switched back to the good guys side than anything else.
How did you make that second (and for that matter, that first) leap??
That's actually an oddly appropriate final name, though, imho.
Spoilers abound ahead in my comments.
Interesting theory; I like, though I also think Ziyal's death (and arguably later, Jadzia's) is a perfectly good interpretation of the penance.
It brings up a fascinating problem with the Prophets. Since they exist outside of linear time, it is commonly assumed that they therefore have some simultaneous perception of the past, present and future. And if they can perceive the future, then they would know whether or not the Dominion was "meant" too succeed.
I guess you could argue that they have access to multiple pasts, presents and futures, and could see the Dominion-wins-at-Bajor scenario, and were convinced by Sisko to change "his" timeline's future to some other, non-Dominion-wins-at-Bajor scenario.
Still, I feel this interpretation gives the Prophets too much power. For all the fuss made about them, their powers actually seem pretty limited, restricted to the Wormhole and things related to the Orbs. I suppose this situation does technically fall within those bounds, since it occurs within the wormhole, but... ehn. I guess what it comes down to is that I don't think the Prophets caused the penance, whatever it actually is, despite what is implied in the episode. (ie. They didn't kill Ziyal, they didn't make Dukat go crazy, etc.)
Going slightly afield here (and going waaaaay into spoiler territory, be forewarned): your comment about Dukat, and the relative goodness of his new character direction, has got me thinking. It seems to me that if Dukat hadn't gone crazy, and had stayed active in the war working for the Dominion, it would have undercut the whole War Arc. Why? Because the stories would have made the war personal between Sisko and Dukat. Think about it. They'd been foes from day 1. The grand finale would've had to be Sisko and Dukat commanding opposing fleets, going after each other.
One of the great things about the War Arc was, well, how it drifted. Just like stuff does in real life. The Dominion War as depicted in "Behind The Lines" was completely different in its tone than what we saw in "The Siege of AR-558" or the Final Chapter. By the end of S7, the war had moved away from being driven by the characters' animosity for the enemy, or even their desire to defend the AQ, and had become a fact of life that had gotten away from everyone.
But if Dukat had stayed sane, I fear we would have ended up with the same sort of personalized story that we got with Sisko-Eddington, and that that would've overshadowed a lot of other things.
Also, Dukat clearly has a "thing" for Bajor. Yeah, he wants Cardassia strong, so he joins the Dominion and makes all this talk about conquering the Alpha Quadrant and stuff, but time and again, he demonstrates his fixation on Bajor, and to a lesser extent, Terok Nor and Captain Sisko. I honestly think that Dukat could've conquered the entire Federation Alliance, but if he didn't have Bajor, everything else would be irrelevant.
I've seen some really great psychoanalytic theories on Dukat here on the BBS, so I won't repeat those now, but suffice it to say that I don't think Dukat's current position was tenable long-term given his character. So I think where he ended up was much more appropriate to his character.
I wonder if the writers realized this consciously at the time.
I still think Odo should've been the one killed at the end of this episode instead of Ziyal. He knowingly committed high treason against the Bajor and the Federation by linking with the Female Changeling. Kira would've been justified to execute him on the spot.
At the very least, Odo should've been a pariah for the rest of the show. A lovely example of Trek's "no consequences" way of handling things that really is glaring given that this was part of an arc where things ARE supposed to have consequences.
At the very least, Odo should've been a pariah for the rest of the show. A lovely example of Trek's "no consequences" way of handling things that really is glaring given that this was part of an arc where things ARE supposed to have consequences.
I like Sacrifice of Angels too, but I disagree about the disappearing fleet. I definitely think it's a very egregious deus ex machina, though I agree it's an important part in the Sisko/Prophets story. However, I really don't think damaging the Dominion War story like this is worth advancing that storyline, and I'm sure there would've been some way to do it without deus ex machinaing the Dominion War storyline.
That said, I really love the scene were Sisko pleads with the Prophets to help. And the Dominion evacuating the station, especially Weyoun's "Time to start packing" and Dukat's fury is great too.
That said, I really love the scene were Sisko pleads with the Prophets to help. And the Dominion evacuating the station, especially Weyoun's "Time to start packing" and Dukat's fury is great too.
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