“Civil Defense” is a standalone episode which manages to be a whole lot of fun, in spite of itself and its rather unimaginative premise. What makes this episode work are the character interactions. The episode successfully utilizes the character development of the series thus far and, even though the story itself comes across as implausible and silly, the execution of the story is a success, thanks to how well the characters confront the rather ridiculous circumstances before them.

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“The Abandoned” is another example of DS9 taking a familiar TNG plot and providing a slightly different approach to the story. The result is a success with an episode which nicely balances its subplot with its main plot. Indeed, the writing is very good, creating wonderfully natural, and meaningful, character development. What criticisms there are to be had –such as the biological implausibility of the episode’s primary conceit and the performance from the episode’s guest-star – are few and far between. As a result, this truly is a classic episode.

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Wrapped inside a now-typical Trek plot about surgically-altered main characters is a surprisingly moving and effective story. Perhaps “Second Skin” works well because it turns the Trek cliché on its head and provides a fresh approach to the outcome. But I suspect the episode is successful because ultimately it’s about the people involved in the story – about their loyalties and convictions. Just as important is the story’s ability to provide a deeper dimension to Cardassians, giving them motivations beyond that of simply being “the villains” of the series. As a result, “Second Skin” is a strong installment – provided viewers can endure the episode’s primary conceit long enough to get to the heart of the story.

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“Equilibrium” is a quiet, introspective episode which can be best summarized by Dax in its final scene: “If you want to know who you are, it’s important to know who you’ve been.” The idea of understanding and reconciling your personal history – the choices you’ve made, regrets you might have – is an important theme to explore and discuss. And this episode deserves credit for raising this very point. Unfortunately, the pacing is glacial and, despite a handful of truly creepy moments, there’s very little real emotion generated by the proceedings – an unfortunate deficiency in an episode all about identity. Afterall, who we are is directly linked to the emotions we experience.

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“The House of Quark” is an amusingly comedic affair which manages to find some important thematic and character moments tucked into its oftentimes implausible and cringeworthy events and dialogue. Despite the missteps, however, this episode is a strong example of why DS9 is a fascinating and compelling series, even in a story with the silliest of premises. To that end, fans of DS9 will likely find much to enjoy about the events in this episode – even if they might elicit groans of derision from casual viewers.

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“The Search, Part II” continues the Dominion storyline introduced in the season two finale, and further developed in “Part I.” The problem with “Part II,” however, is that its primary conceit effectively nullifies roughly half of what we see in the episode. It’s a bait-and-switch kind of plot device which, ultimately, reveals very little about (most of) the characters and serves only to create a rather cheap “gotcha” moment for the audience. Worse still, the nullified events are so ridiculously implausible that it’s possible for viewers to dismiss them even before the big revelation. Even so, there are a few positive developments – mostly from the subplot about Odo.

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Deep Space Nine’s third season gets started in a big way thanks to the tension-filled episode titled, “The Search, Part I.” Capitalizing on the ominous introduction of The Dominion in the season two finale, this installment focuses on the response from the Federation and DS9 to the new threat. There are a number of moving parts to this episode – from character to narrative developments – which are mostly designed to set up a bigger resolution in the next episode. Still, there’s enough here to make “The Search, Part I” a compelling and essential installment of the series.

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Well-done.

“The Jem’Hadar” is a solid hour of television, beginning with quiet character moments and inexorably escalating to a deadly battle and the brink of war. It’s not a perfect installment of DS9, but it effectively establishes a mortal threat to the DS9 station for the coming seasons. The dialogue is crisp, the plot is serviceable, and the implications of the episode’s final moments are ominous. All-in-all … well-done.

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Really? Are we expected to take the entire episode of “Tribunal” – from premise to resolution – seriously? The whole story is an exercise in poorly contrived conflict. Even the final climactic moment is wholly inexcusable. The episode might have been forgiven its silly outcome had the journey itself been worthwhile. Unfortunately, that is not the case. At best we get a caricature of oppression, but because it is an entirely untenable institution, it proves to be almost worthless as a story element.

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“The Collaborator” is an interesting and immersive mystery that never quite gains enough traction to make the episode something truly exceptional. The story makes effective use out of many of the developments of the series thus far, and even provides for some significant development for minor characters. But the pacing is simply too plodding and the overall conflict is too obscure to translate into a truly compelling narrative.

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