“Broken Link” brings Deep Space Nine’s fourth season to a close with an episode that is more about character than plot, more about consequence than action. In many ways, it’s a counterintuitive approach to a season finale — but works, for the most part. There are clear issues in terms of pacing and superfluous scenes. A lot of time is spent “in between” important events. But the end results are clearly worthy of a finale.

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They say that Quark’s heart grew three sizes that day …

“Body Parts” is an episode that has absolutely no right to end satisfactorily. It has no right to end by putting a smile on the faces of its viewers. Much less myself. I thoroughly detest its premise, its contrivances, its melodrama, its story … so why on Bajor did I have a stupid grin on my face by the time the credits rolled?

Must be Romulan Ale … or something …

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Overcooked.

“The Quickening” is one of those Trek episodes that takes itself far too seriously — and completely misses its mark in the process. There are some praiseworthy moments tucked into the stew, but on the whole, there’s just far too much time spent on making the results as pungent as possible. Perhaps during the production there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Either way, the ingredients do not mix together particularly well and the result is a bitter offering, made all the more distasteful by its attempts to be sweet and fulfilling.

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After several episodes which meandered a bit, Deep Space Nine returns to its Dominion arc with “To The Death” — an action-based installment which manages to find enough time to explore the age-old theme of a clash of cultures. For the most part, it’s a smart, well-paced and executed episode. There’s a wonderful bit of continuity back to TNG’s “Contagion.” There are a number nice little character moments as well. So it’s a wonder, then, that this episode doesn’t register as highly as one might expect. Instead, for all its bluster, it won’t ever be remembered as an exceptional outing. That’s not to say that this is a bad episode, rather, it’s just not one of the best the series has to offer.

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“For The Cause” overplays its hand far too much. The notion that those we love and care about, those with whom we closely work, can often hide surprising and even treacherous secrets is certainly a worthy one to explore. But this episode simply ignores subtlety and character development in favor of contrived and overly melodramatic revelations. It’s a victim of trying too hard to shock the audience. And while the inner conflicts ring true, the circumstances upon which they are based clang with hollow dissonance.

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“The Muse,” I think, wants to be a story about how we can inspire one another — but only insofar as there is something within us to inspire. It’s actually a pretty interesting idea for a story. Too bad it’s utterly wasted here. The entire episode plays out like its characters are under the effects of ether, the plot simply makes little to no sense whatsoever, and it involves horrendous mischaracterizations. The result is truly abysmal.

Need I mention that Lwaxana Troi figures prominently?

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“Shattered Mirror” is classic adventure episode thanks to yet another foray into the “parallel universe” which has been a recurrent story idea throughout the series. What separates this episode from previous ones is a deeply personal connection. There are times that this concept is played a bit too much for melodrama. But the overwhelming spirit of the episode is one of action and suspense, so that the interpersonal situations provide merely another layer to a tale that becomes, almost entirely, a vehicle for a fun, thrilling action sequence.

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“Hard Time” is a gripping, compelling, profoundly emotional episode. In many ways, it’s a dark mirror to TNG’s “The Inner Light” in that a main character spends years in a virtual reality, only to suddenly “resurface” back into the reality he has always known. The episode itself features an excellent production in terms of dialogue, pacing, cinematography, music and, especially, acting. There are a handful of possible criticisms which may or may not serve to pull audiences out of the story. But for anyone who does buy into the concept, this has the potential to be one of the most moving, powerful episodes in all of Trek.

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Sigh.

I really, really liked the final scene of “Rules of Engagement.” Really liked it. Sadly, the journey was so utterly contrived and nearly nonsensical that the destination was almost not worth the effort. As it is, the whole farce (and let’s be honest, this was quite farcical), just smacks of writers trying too hard to create courtroom drama. The result is an episode which, for nearly forty minutes, is just plain ridiculous. Fortunately, it finds a measure of redemption … otherwise, it’d be held entirely in contempt.

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“Accession” is, primarily, an episode about faith. But it’s also an episode about knowing and understanding oneself. There’s quite a bit to like about this episode, from its premise to its central conflicts. But the execution of the story is lethargic and unfocused and the resolution feels a bit perfunctory and rushed. Additionally, there’s isn’t enough done, within the episode, to explore the ramifications for what unfolds. The result is an installment which is high on potential, but relatively pedestrian in terms of performance.

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