“The Wire” is a strongly executed character drama that has many opportunities to overplay its hand, but, thankfully, does not. A lot of what happens in the episode is procedural, however, the story is one of redemption – or, at least, the quest for redemption. From that perspective, the revelations of Garak’s past are tantalizing and evocative. More importantly, his emotional outbursts, while out of character, demonstrate the complexity of his personality. In the end, it’s Bashir’s tenacious loyalty and work ethic which prevail … though, as we shall see, truth does not.

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“The Maquis, Part II” continues the exploration of difficult and complex issues at the heart of why people go to war. Both sides feel justified. And some even become addicted to the idea of it. But what makes this story so unique is its focus on those who fight beyond the scope of governments – the personal, and still deadly, conflicts of ideological and territorial struggles. What’s truly remarkable is how well the episode conveys the different aspects of such struggles, allowing it to serve allegorically for what the writers knew of in the 1990s, as well as current 21st century conflicts. For this particular installment, there’s still plenty of that deeper resonance to the story. But the pacing is quicker, there’s a bit more suspense. And the climactic space battle is remarkably well choreographed and executed to be both personal and exciting.

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“The Maquis, Part I” is an example of just how powerful DS9 can be. It takes some very complex issues like occupation, terrorism, freedom fighters, and peace keepers and examines them from a variety of different angles, making excellent use of the canvas of characters that populate the series. The episode itself, after an explosive prelude, starts off slowly, but manages to build nicely to a solid, if somewhat inevitable and predictable plot twist. But this is one of those cases where the story is simply a vehicle to the more important exploration of concepts and conflicts. And in the final balance, any issues as far as the plot is concerned are easily offset by the strong characterizations – and what those characterizations reveal about issues that are vitally important to confront.

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“Blood Oath” is a solid example of DS9’s ability to weave complex morality tales that not only raise big questions and entertain, but also provide solid character development as well. There are a couple of pacing issues, through the middle of the episode – the result of a bit of redundancy in the character conflicts. But when you add in a wonderfully conceived bit of continuity back to the Original Series, a healthy dose of action, and some wonderfully vibrant characters, and the result is an episode worthy of praise.

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“Profit And Loss” is, ultimately, an episode about love. But much of its portrayals about love are so ham-handed and cliché that it’s difficult to take the story, much less its final musings on the matter of love, seriously. There’s also a rather convoluted plot about Cardassian political refugees that ends up being horribly executed from a narrative standpoint. The episode is most successful when touching on character elements, but in the end, it’s an overwrought affair that skews toward melodrama and pulp – with the kind of cringeworthy results one might expect from such a concoction.

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“Playing God” is an amusing, if uneven episode. There’s a good deal of character work being done for Dax. And there’s the obligatory sci-fi mystery of the week plot, which provides some moral commentary. Toss in some lighthearted humor and you’ve got the ingredients for an enjoyable installment. And yet, the episode never really finds a rhythm or balance between its story elements. The result is an installment that is, simply, average.

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“Shadowplay” is a surprisingly satisfying episode, despite some obvious issues with pacing and plausibility – not to mention its fairly esoteric central plot. The fact is, the stories in this installment all find enough room to peacefully coexist and, for once, DS9 manages to go for the categorically “happy ending” which it often seems to eschew in favor of more nuanced resolutions. But in this case, the cliché actually works to the benefit of the episode creating a light, breezy episode which, assuming viewers manage to stay awake, provides for a nice payoff in all three plot threads.

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“Paradise” is an inconsistent episode which, while often profoundly compelling, is just as often irritating or inexplicably obtuse. There’s some fantastic commentary here about the role technology plays in the dehumanization of humanity, as well as minor pieces such as speaking truth to power, zealotry, and coercion. It’s an episode which is sure to generate an emotional reaction of some kind from the audience. But whether that reaction is admiration, introspection, or downright annoyance is unclear. Ultimately, despite some missteps in terms of writing, “Paradise” benefits from its very weighty and deep story.

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“Whispers” is an episode that has the right sensibilities – building on audience expectations then providing a significant twist – but instead manages to fall flat on its face due to an obvious conceit. This is one of those episodes that works very well in concept – and for die-hard fans – but not for anyone objectively viewing the show. Instead, the circumstances are all-too-obvious and the final result, while a twist in the narrative sense, isn’t all that successful because it was at least as likely as any other possible outcome.

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“Armageddon Game” is a slightly above average episode thanks to some enjoyable character interactions between O’Brien and Bashir, and an interesting twist to the idea of two warring factions struggling to create a tenuous peace. There’s also a not-so-subtle commentary on biological warfare. But there are a few issues in terms of predictability which tends to dampen most of the high-end tension.

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