“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.

There are two plotlines to the episode. First, there is Odo’s continued integration with his own people and, second, there is fallout from the battle between the Defiant and the Jem’Hadar.

The plot with Odo is easily the better of two. Odo slowly, and inexorably, begins to learn about his heritage and understand the potential of being a member of his race. It’s a journey of self-discovery and is quite enjoyable to watch. Even better is Kira’s reaction. She’s obviously happy for her friend, but there’s a clear regret at knowing that the two will likely part ways. The performance perfectly handles the nuance of the situation.

But there is an undercurrent of mystery to the proceedings. Kira investigates a strange energy reading, which leads to the episode’s biggest twist – involving Sisko, Bashir, O’Brien and Dax.

When we return to Sisko, we learn that, somehow, he’s escaped the boarding of the Defiant and is on his way back to DS9. He’s intercepted by Dax and O’Brien and when they return home, they find that peace negotiations between the Federation and the Dominion are in full swing. The resulting machinations – in which Admiral Nechayev bizarrely agrees to concede to the Dominion’s demands to control DS9 and Bajor – are so preposterous and silly that audiences will likely be left wondering how on Cardassia any of this could plausibly happen. Furthermore, based on Nechayev’s decisions, Sisko and crew (with Garak along for the ride) decide to mutiny and collapse the wormhole. It’s another preposterous act which just doesn’t compute.

The twist, as Odo and Kira discover, is that Sisko and crew never actually returned to DS9. In fact, they’ve been part of some bizarre experiment to test their reactions to different Dominion ploys. Which is all well and good – except that the episode spent a long, long time portraying the events as “real” merely to hit the “reset” button at the very end. In other words, the time spent on the “test” simply isn’t justified by the fact that it all turns out to be little more than a “dream” because we really don’t learn anything new about the characters involved.

Worse still, the overemphasis on the fake events on DS9 undercuts what is easily the most interesting element to the episode: the fact that Odo’s people are the “Founders” of the Dominion who, because of the persecution they once felt from “solids,” have since embarked on a quest of conquest to “bring order to a chaotic” galaxy.  It’s this moment for which the episode will likely be most remembered.  But it is, essentially, “tacked on” to the end of story.

Still Odo’s reactions to the news, and his loyalty to his comrades on DS9 is notable.  Between his performance, and that of Kira, the episode manages to avoid abject mediocrity.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine