“A Call To Arms” features a long (almost too long) buildup to one of the best closing sequences we’ll see for a season finale in a Star Trek series. In many ways, the episode is a bit like watching a summer thunderstorm build and creep closer and closer before the torrent of wind, rain and lightning is unleashed. The one drawback to the episode, though, is that its opening paces stumble ever-so-slightly and, as such, the buildup isn’t quite as suspenseful as it might otherwise have been. No matter. The episode will be remembered much more for its final moments than the forgettable scenes which led to them.

It’s war. Finally. The Dominion has been sending wave after wave of reinforcements through the wormhole and Sisko and the Federation have finally had enough. They decide that the only thing they can do is mine the entrance to the wormhole and cut off further ships and supplies — knowing that such an act will clearly provoke war. The thing is, though, war seems to be the Federation’s best possible course of action. Left to itself, the Dominion has slowly wormed its way into the Alpha Quadrant. Not only have the Cardassians joined the Dominion, but the Dominion has signed treaties with countless other nations. And when the Romulans get on board with a non-aggression pact, the Federation realizes that it’s at a tipping point. Wait much longer, and the Dominion will be too well-entrenched in the Alpha Quadrant.

What’s enjoyable about how the Dominion conflict has been setup is in its long-term implications. The Borg were exciting because their invasion was an event — a do-or-die moment of armageddon. The Dominion on the other hand, has military and political acumen and uses their stratagems as a means of slowly coalescing their control over regions of territory. The result is a story that will have plenty of potential in the coming episodes and seasons.

But before war begins, the episode spends some time dealing with some last-minute character work. The result is something of a hodgepodge of sketches. Rom and Leeta pick out a wedding dress and are married. Odo and Kira come to terms with their feelings for one another (actually, they kinda put them on hold). Rom and Quark share a mutual respect. Jake becomes a war correspondent. And so forth. In a sense, the series is basically clearing the slate for the serious business of conducting a war. And its all necessary. But it doesn’t help the pacing of the episode.

Still, these events are all meaningful in some way. And so they have merit. At the very least, very few of them are superfluous. And when it all starts to come together, when the Dominion feint of diplomacy is brushed aside; when Sisko prepares his Order 197; when Martok sounds the alarm; and when Gul Dukat makes his illustrious appearance; there’s no question that this episode has been very carefully and thoughtfully planned. Everything fits as it should. And that makes the battle, the strategies, the final outcome so powerful — and not at all like a contrived bit of melodrama.

As it turns out, Sisko implores Bajor to accept the Dominion’s non-aggression treaty, safeguarding Bajor. So when the Dominion-Cardassian fleet arrives, all that’s left is for Sisko to hold off their fleet long enough for the Defiant to finish mining the wormhole. The sequence itself is breathtaking and cinematic. The fleet of ships pounding away at DS9 is terrifying. DS9’s spirited defense is inspiring. And Sisko’s final plan, to abandon the station (but not before sabotaging it), is utterly brilliant. By drawing the Cardassians and Dominion into a battle for DS9, Sisko allowed a Federation task force to strike at the heart of the Cardassian-Dominion war effort by obliterating a shipyard. It’s all nicely summarized by Sisko’s speech to the merchants and workers — including Quark, Rom, Odo, and Kira — remaining on DS9.

Nevertheless, DS9 surrenders to the Cardassians. Dukat nearly prances onto the station, rechristening it Terok Nor. And the meeting between him, Weyoun and Quark, Odo, and Kira is filled with enough dramatic potential that it’s easy to see why the writers chose to take the series in this direction. Plus, Rom stays behind (as a Federation spy, no less!) as does Jake, as a new reporter. Sisko is furious at his son’s decision, but he realizes that Jake has made his own decision as an adult.

And there’s time left over for one final poetic moment: Sisko leaves behind his beloved baseball as a message to Duakt: Sisko (like MacArthur, I suppose) will be back.

All told, “A Call To Arms” is a fantastic season finale — once you get past its nearly interminable setup work.

“In The Cards” is an enjoyable distraction, ending with an important, and profound thought. In many ways, it shows how infectious optimism can be, and how important it is to do things for other people. There’s a nice level of humor to the story. And the characters are fun to watch. But it’s a slow, meandering tale which takes some time to get moving and never really finds a great deal of traction. I do like the “calm before the storm” approach to this, the penultimate episode of Deep Space Nine’s fifth season (the finale will surely be a riveting affair). Still, as pleasant as this outing might be, it just isn’t a particularly exceptional episode.

As the episode begins, the specter of war hangs heavily on the shoulders of the crew of DS9. A dinner party at Sisko’s quarters is a spectacular failure because everyone is so up tight and tense. Jake decides that his father needs some cheering up and when the opportunity to bid on a 1951 Willie Mays rookie baseball card presents itself, Jake realizes it’d be the perfect thing. Of course, Jake is outbid and so he must enter into a barter with the original bidder in order to acquire the card. The episode then follows Jake’s “adventures” (with Nog in tow) as the two try to gather the laundry list of items they need to complete their deal.

The episode runs hot and cold, though. The man with which Nog and Jake make their deal is comical version of a mad scientist. Dr. Geiger has decided to that the key to immortality is the fact that we die because our cells become “bored.” His dream is to design a machine that will “entertain” our cells and thus keep them happy and willing to continue indefinitely. It’s a preposterously silly idea that is sure to generate a few chuckles. But it’s just as likely to elicit some groans, too.

Jake and Nog discover that they must barter with the crew of DS9 in order to get the things they need. So they’re forced to do a number of favors including writing speeches, realigning some technobabble stuff, and stealing back a teddy bear for Bashir. It’s one of those situations where, if viewers are in the right mindset, there’s plenty of fun and laughs to be had. But the scenes themselves aren’t uproariously hilarious. And not all of the jokes work (perhaps the best is how Odo reacts when Jake and Nog try to explain everything).

But while the humor is hardly a “home run” there are a couple of very solid elements to the episode. For starters, the episode does a fantastic job of using its B-plot as a more serious narrative that brings along the Dominion arc to a very precarious edge. Kai Winn puts in perhaps her best performance here as a leader torn between two unappealing alternatives. She genuinely turns to Sisko-as-Emissary for advice. And, for his part, Sisko acts the part of both Starfleet officer and Emissary in equal parts. In the end, the proposed treaty between the Dominion and Bajor is left in limbo, with Winn stalling for as much time as she can manage.

The other pleasant element to the episode is in how infectious Jake’s efforts are. By deciding to do something for his father, and by doing favors for everyone else in an attempt to succeed in cheering up his father, Jake (and Nog) manage to cheer up just about everyone. The change in mood is a welcome one on DS9, leading Sisko to comment, “Even in the darkest moments, you can always find something that’ll make you smile.” Perhaps it’s an overly sappy sentiment. But it’s certainly a very human one. And it provides a nice balance to the doom and gloom of the Dominion threat.

“In The Cards” is a pleasant episode. But some of its humor just misses the mark (the whole scene with Weyoun on the Jem’Hadar ship, for example is just too over-the-top). But it’s an episode that has its heart in the right place. And it’s a necessary precursor to what will surely be a very intense season finale.

“Empok Nor” is an exercise in mood and suspense. On those levels, it works quite well. It also features some strong character interaction, though this is perpetuated into a bit of hyperbole by the episode’s main conceit. As such, it isn’t quite as evocative or valuable as it might otherwise have been. In the end, the episode goes for broke in the hopes that the audience will hang on for the ride. The results? That all depends on how far down the rabbit hole you’re willing to go …

When DS9 begins to significantly break down, O’Brien must lead a team of engineers (and Garak and Nog) to the derelict Cardassian station Empok Nor to salvage replacement parts. As a premise, it’s a bit tenuous. That they *have* to get a replacement part from Cardassians seems … well, it seems too much of a stretch. Did the Federation really think running DS9 would be a viable longterm endeavor knowing they’d have to rely exclusively on Cardassia for some repair parts? Plus, sending a shuttle off into Cardassian space on a salvage mission seems an awfully risky thing to do without a dedicated armed security detail.

Anywho …

The trip to Empok Nor is notable for one thing: Garak’s conversation with O’Brien about O’Brien’s history as the “hero of Setlik III” — a battle in which O’Brien, as a soldier, was responsible for the deaths of a number of Cardassians. It’s just like Garak to go for this kind of psychological “deconstruction” conversation with someone he finds intriguing. That he broaches the subject over a Cardassian board game, which is a simulation of war, only add another layer to his comments. And the scene serves as a backdrop for the episode’s eventual conflict.

Empok Nor is set up as something of a giant booby trap — the Cardassians being renown for their efforts to keep salvagers from ripping off their unwanted junk. As such, the station is presented as dark, gloomy … ominous. Matters get worse when, once the station’s power is activated, two Cardassians, who had been in stasis, are awakened and set out to hunt down O’Brien and his crew. Before long, Nog notices that their shuttle craft has been set adrift and just as he mutters, “that’s not good” the damn thing goes boom. O’Brien and his crew are stranded and at the mercy of the Cardassian hunters.

This brings up another potential weakness in the episode: the Four Redshirts. The episode deserves credit for giving the redshirts distinct personalities and quirks — they really do come to life in the episode — but the fact remains that all four redshirts eventually meet their doom. Initially, the redshirts are disposed of by the hunting Cardassians — a ruthlessly suspenseful series of scenes that inexorable build to the first two murders. Of course, the circumstances set everyone on edge and O’Brien, who just wants to get everyone home, soon has to confront a very agitated Garak.

As it turns out, the Cardassian hunters are victims of a psychotropic drug which makes them little more than zealots. And Garak has been exposed to the same drug. The effect is to turn Garak into a completely psychotic murder who just wants to “play a game” with O’Brien. What follows is fairly standard villain vs. hero fare with the added twist that our usual friend Garak has been turned into the villain. Mostly this is all in very grim, dark, suspenseful fun. After Garak kills the final redshirt, he kidnaps Nog, hangs dead bodies around the station’s promenade and forces O’Brien into hand-to-hand combat.

What works best about the scene is O’Brien’s ingenuity — and his assertion that he is no longer an soldier, he’s an engineer. Garak quickly knocks O’Brien around, but an improvised bomb (a phaser and tricorder — MacGyver would be proud) subdues Garak and, finally, the mission can be completed.

The episode does make an attempt to deal with the killing of the four redshirts. But really, it’s a hollow attempt. In fact, that was never the point of the episode. It just wanted to send the audience on a dark, thrilling ride and, if one is willing to set aside such niceties as consequences and plausibility, the episode works.

“Empok Nor” is an exercise in style over substance. The interactions between Garak and O’Brien were good, as is the explorations of their past (O’Brien as a soldier and Garak as a deadly member of the Obsidian Order). But that’s as far as the episode really gets, unless viewers want to be charitable to a story that starts with a questionable premise and leads its characters into questionable circumstances.

“Blaze of Glory” is an episode about closure. It’s ironic (and a fantastic idea) that the answers ere wrapped in shades of grey, showing the multifaceted nature of the issues surrounding the central plot of the episode. Once again, there’s some great writing and great acting — with enough action thrown in to keep viewers on their toes. The result is an episode that is very, very good.

The story begins with the Klingons intercepting a Maquis communication about missiles being launched at Cardassia. Given the fact that the Klingons had previously given the Maquis cloaking devices, the implications are dire: the Maquis could, effectively, wipe out much of the Cardassian population on their home world with stealth weapons of mass destruction. Sisko realizes that such an event would effectively be the opening salvo in an open conflict with the Dominion, the allies of Cardassia. To that end, he rushes off to confront the one man who might be able to help him stop the missiles: former Major Eddington.

The bitter rivalry between Sisko and Eddington was explored to great effect in “For The Uniform.” Here, that rivalry is put to exceptional use as the two spar, verbally, against the backdrop of potential catastrophe and war. If there’s a big criticism to the episode, though, it’s in how much of the dialogue between Sisko and Eddington is a rehash of their previous “debates” in “For The Uniform.” Still, the dialogue is well-written and serves to reinforce just how personal this is for both Sisko and Eddington — Sisko takes great offense to Eddington’s personal betrayal and Eddington has a very personal stake in the Maquis.

What really sets their interactions apart from previous episodes, though, are the developments since their last encounter. Cardassia, with the Dominion as allies, has all but wiped out the Maquis. Eddington blames Sisko, claiming that he (Eddington) should have been there to lead his people in the greatest hour of need. Sisko, of course, counters by criticizing Eddington’s zeal in offering (what Sisko believes to be false) hope. And, really, this is the heart of the episode. The complex and difficult issues surrounding the Maquis — their goals and tactics — as opposed to Federation ideology and methods. Eddington believed that he was fighting for the freedom of his people. Was he wrong? Was it his methods? Is he, really, a villain? And what about Sisko whose actions clearly belie a self-centered motivation.

And so whether it’s Sisko bluffing Eddington into evading a Jem’Hadar patrol or Eddington tricking Sisko into helping him rescue some Maquis survivors, it all speaks to how these two men feel about each other and the larger issues surrounding their circumstances. As it stands, of course, the missiles were just a ploy and the Maquis location has been overrun by Jem’Hadar. The conclusion to the conflict — for both the Maquis and Eddington — is self-evident.

The predictability to the story, the fact that Eddington inevitably gives his life to save his wife and a few Maquis survivors, is a bit of a hindrance. But in some ways, this inevitability is part of the story itself. Just as Sisko is unable to escape the betrayal he feels, Eddington is unable to escape his hero-complex. The result leaves Sisko — and us — wondering about Eddington. For all that he did, how ought he to be remembered?

The answer is as complex as the issues themselves, and that is why the episode (and the series) is so successful.

“Blaze of Glory” is predictable, yes. But it’s noteworthy for how it brings to an end the Maquis and Eddington story lines. Along with crisp dialogue and sharp character explorations, this is a solid episode.

With “Children of Time,” Deep Space Nine does a TNG-style episode … and does it very, very well. This is a solid sci-fi story, designed in such a way as to explore some deep, meaningful questions. There are some issues in terms of story decisions and character motivations. And there are those ever-persistent paradoxes that tend to crop up with “time travel” stories. But on the whole, this is an episode with the potential to be affecting on both thoughtful and emotional levels.

While returning to DS9 from a reconnaissance mission in the Gamma Quadrant, the Defiant stumbles across a strange planet. At Dax’s urging, the crew head off to investigate. Once they pass through a strange anomaly surrounding the planet, they make a shocking discovery: the planet is colonized by 8,000 people … all descendants of almost everyone on board the Defiant, crash-landed on the planet almost 200 years in the past.

And so we have our paradox. As soon as the Defiant tries to return to DS9, it will run into a temporal anomaly that will send it 200 years back in time, they will crash, and the survivors will build a thriving colony. All of this is nicely revealed as Sisko and crew encounter their descendants. Also, Odo survives and Dax is still alive — in a host named Yedrin. These opening scenes are breezy and enjoyable. There’s a sense of wonder and joy at these meetings. Even Worf gets a chance to crack a joke. When a young child asks if Worf can kill by looking at something (a legend about The Son of Mogh), Worf quips, “Only when I’m angry.”

The good vibes continue as Yedrin proposes something that would allow everyone to go on their merry way. You see, the crew of the Defiant would much prefer to go back to their original lives (Miles, for example, has his wife and two children, Sisko has Jake, waiting back at DS9). But if the Defiant successfully leaves the planet … the 8,000 colonists will cease to exist. Yedrin’s plan is to use some technobabble to create *two* Defiants — one that would journey home to DS9 and another that would be thrown 200 years into the past crash on the planet as it should.

Of course, not all is as it seems. Yedrin hasn’t quite been truthful. He’s acting purely in the interests of the colonists and his plan is a fraud — if Sisko and crew follow it, they’ll simply crash land in the past. This then sets up the episode’s central moral dilemma: Does the Defiant return to DS9 and sacrifice 8,000 colonists, as well as their rich history? Or do they willingly crash in the past? To complicate matters, Kira won’t survive crash landing on the planet (she even visits her own grave). And so she must decide whether or not she ought to sacrifice herself for the colonists.

When Kira decides that she *does* want to sacrifice herself, the stakes are raised even higher. Sisko is unwilling to order his crew to what is, essentially a life of exile. But how does one also effectively order the extermination of an entire colony? These are tough questions and, in typical Deep Space Nine fashion, they are handled from a number of different angles.

One such angle involves Odo. Through a nifty plot contrivance, the Odo on board the Defiant is unable to hold his shape because of the strange anomaly surrounding the planet. But the older Odo has learned to hold his shape. And, so, he is able to reunite with Kira who, for him, has been dead for two centuries. It’s a fantastic exploration of these two characters. And it holds another layer to the overall dilemma over what the Defiant ought to do. Odo confesses his love for Kira and his desire that she live. In essence, he’s the polar opposite of Yedrin.

Even more interesting is what the colonists choose to do when they learn that Sisko plans to successfully leave orbit. The decision essentially dooms them. And this raises the question: if you know that life will end within hours, what do you do? The colonists’ answer is poetic: they decide to go on with their lives and actually *plant* trees — a literal act of hope. It’s touching … and it touches the crew of the Defiant. And it’s a bit profound, too. Deciding to live, right up to the end, is an important lesson.

Of course, we all know that the crew will ultimately survive — how can they not? — and so the questions remain: how will they survive, and what will happen to the colonists? As it turns out, just as the Defiant was about to meet the temporal anomaly, the ship veered off course. Why? The older Odo. His love for Kira, his desire to see her live and to have a chance for his younger self to be with her, trumped his loyalty to the colonists. Indeed, his actions doomed them. After the Defiant leaves orbit, there is no trace of the colonists.

What’s left is for the crew to remember the colonists and for Kira and Odo to find a way forward.

“Children of Time” is a very good episode. Individual scenes such as: Kira and Odo at Kira’s grave; Worf meeting the Sons of Mogh; the Planting Day activities; the Sons of Mogh joining those activities; the many meetings of crew and family members; all of these are indelible and enjoyable. The episode certainly has the potential to move viewers on a visceral level. It just isn’t one of the best DS9 has to offer. The pacing is just too slow. And the overt confession of love from older Odo to Kira just doesn’t ring true. I understand his joy at seeing her again, but knowing the possible future, how could he just blurt out such important information. And, too, old Odo’s justification for killing not just himself, but 8,000 colonists should be under some scrutiny. And, finally, there’s that whole time paradox: even if the crew *had* gone back in time, how could the colony have been built as-is with the foreknowledge the crew had of where things should be built and how and when they were to have kids, and so forth. That foreknowledge surely would have changed *something* in the timeline, wouldn’t it?

“Soldiers of the Empire” is a good Klingon episode that tilts slightly toward the melodramatic. Still, despite the heavy-handed approach to its central conflict, it nonetheless tells the tale of how far two men would go to save the honor of the other. In that sense, it’s a fine tale, worthy of being told. In many ways, this is Deep Space Nine’s version of TNG’s “A Matter of Honor.” And while the TNG installment fares better, DS9 has, shall we say, an honorable followup.

When a Klingon battle cruiser goes missing near the Cardassian border, General Martok is given command of a Klingon Bird of Prey, the Rotarran, and ordered to search for survivors. Because of his bond with Worf (it’s established early on that Worf is helping Martok refine his combat skills, dulled by time in the Dominion prison camp), Martok asks Worf to join him as First Officer. Worf agrees because, he says, in the Dominion prison camp, Martok gave him the courage to continue fighting. But all is not well on board the Rotarran. The crew is demoralized after a series of Jem’Hadar defeats. When Worf’s dubious status in the Klingon Empire and Martok’s cautiousness are added to the mix, the result is a volatile mix.

Much of the episode is spent laying the foundation for the discontent on the Rotarran. In many ways, the story draws upon old sea tales of crews who begin to believe that there is a curse upon their ships. It’s a nice nautical touch which lends a great deal of plausibility to the state of affairs on the Klingon Bird of Prey. And there are some nice character exchanges here, too — especially from Dax, who uses her experience from Curzon to great effect.

But there are some issues with how far the episode goes to portray the Klingons, individually. As expected, they often tout catchphrases like “honor” and “glory” and “duty” but the angst with which they do so diminishes them. Put simply, they often come across as juvenile and petulant, rather than noble and of high ideals. This is most evident when the Klingons are at their most vocal. A bit of restraint in the portrayals would have gone a long way here.

Be that as it may, Martok’s continuing reluctance to engage the Jem’Hadar — including letting a scout ship go free — bring the simmering tensions on board ship to a boil. Worf realizes that the crew has no confidence in themselves, and even less in their new captain. It’s up to Worf, then, to set things right. His solution is equal parts bravery, ingenuity and audacity. First, he quells a minor mutiny, without bloodshed and follows that, immediately, by challenging Martok for control of the ship.

As the episode conveyed early on, Martok is no match in battle against Worf. And, certainly Worf quickly gains the upper hand. But he does not kill Martok. Instead, Worf deliberately lowers his guard, allowing Martok to stab him — thereby securing control over the ship and raising the spirits of the crew. They go on to rescue the survivors and defeat a Jem’Hadar ship.

But in the episode’s best moment, the reality of events is not lost on Martok. Instead of simply making him another fire-breathing victorious Klingon, the episode (finally) switches to a more subtle approach. Martok recognizes that Worf’s actions were done purely to allow Martok to consolidate control over the crew. And Martok rewards Worf by offering to have Worf join the House of Martok, as a warrior … and a brother. It’s a touching, appropriate conclusion, solidifying the bond between the two men.

“Soldiers of the Empire” gets high marks for its portrayals of Worf and Martok. Where it loses some steam, though, is in its use of the Klingon crew. Fortunately, Dax is used effectively and the result is a classic.

“Ferengi Love Songs” is a train wreck of of misplaced ideas, humor and stories. Almost nothing works here, from the premise to the script to the performances. Instead of humor, we get horrid. The installment increasingly grates on the nerves and the only way to endure this drivel is try to ignore it as it unfolds. I’m not sure why Deep Space Nine had such a fetish for bad Ferengi stories — there’s no reason why they all have to be nonsensical farces — but the love affair with the Ferengi is destructive and demeaning.

Quark, after suffering a string of bad luck decides that it’d be a fantastic idea to go home and live with his mother for a while. And if that isn’t bad enough, once he arrives home he finds, hiding in his bedroom closet no less, The Grand Nagus himself, who is having a fling with his mom. Moments later, Brunt, from the FCA appears … once again using Quark’s closet as an entry point. Brunt offers Quark a deal: Sabotage the relationship between the Nagus and Quark’s mom and be reinstated as a Ferengi. Quark takes the job.

Setting aside the obvious retread notion of Quark taking an illicit job only to have second thoughts later (seen just two episodes earlier in “Business As Usual”), the whole premise is just without any merit or interest, much less humor. I suppose it is kinda silly to have a running gag about characters showing up in Quark’s closet. But when that’s the best “joke” the episode manages to come up with, you know the prospects are pretty bleak.

Because, really, Quark’s plot is entirely forgettable. It had been done with a bit more sobriety and interest in “Business As Usual” and that episode wasn’t saddled with the disgustingly sappy and annoying relationship between the Nagus and Quark’s mom. Beyond their cringeworthy PDA, there is the combined effect of their voices which are bit like listening to a cross between scratching a chalkboard and cow enduring an alien probe. You would think that a species, with ears like the Ferengi, would talk in voices that had a tad bit more subtlety.

The subplot features Rom’s pending nuptials with Leeta. And, if anything, it’s more insufferable than the main plot. Things are going smoothly until Dax notes that Rom is the most “unFerengi-like” Ferengi she’s ever met. As a result, he goes off and makes a ridiculous demand which Leeta refuses. Their marriage is on hold until Rom gives away his money and all they are left with is their love.

Awwww.

“Ferengi Love Songs” is an example of the worst kind of dreck a series can produce. It’s supposed to be funny, but the episode is in love with its own premise and humor to the point where it doesn’t realize how horrendous the final product has become.

“Ties of Blood And Water” is an episode heavy on emotion and drama. It fits nicely into the larger continuity of the series and features some strong performances from its cast. And while it’s not a perfect installment, all told, it’s a classic.

As the episode begins, Kira welcomes back to DS9 Legate Ghemor — the Cardassian with whom she bonded so strongly in “Second Skin.” She hopes his knowledge and charisma can be used to spark a new dissident movement on Cardassia to cast off the Dominion. But it’s not to be. Ghemor has a terminal illness and he has come to DS9 to die, to be with the closest thing he has to a family before he passes on: Kira.

The surrogate father-daughter angle of Ghemor’s relationship to Kira is well used in this episode. Kira is overjoyed to be reunited with Ghemor and, for his part, Ghemor seems to be at peace with life, knowing that Kira will be there for him to talk to. In fact, their bond is so strong that Ghemor decides he wants to share *all* of his Cardassian secrets with Kira as part of a Cardassian ritual near the end of one’s life. The ritual itself is a bit of a plot device. And Kira’s hesitation at accepting Ghemor’s offer is likewise a bit of a contrivance. But the setup allows for an important reality: Kira will be sitting vigil at Ghemor’s deathbed while both shares information and passes away.

To add to the dramatic heft of the episode, we get a number of flashback scenes which parallel the death of Kira’s real father, who had been wounded by Cardassians during the occupation. Kira’s discomfort over her father’s fear and imminent death are palpable and they nicely dovetail into her stoic resolve to be at Ghemor’s side. Of course, there’s much more to the conflict than this. After taking a mission to dispose of some Cardassian forces, Kira returns to find that she was not present for her father’s death — that, in essence, he died alone, calling Kira’s name.

With Ghemor, she has a second chance to make the right decision.

But it’s not that simple. After learning that Ghemor is on DS9, Gul Dukat rushes off (in a Dominion battle cruiser, no less) to the station in order to retrieve the elderly Cardassian before too many secrets are shared. Sisko puts up a spirited verbal fight against Dukat’s advances, resulting in some of the episode’s most amusing scenes. Though, the most hilarious moment is reserved for Weyoun, the Vorta (brought back through cloning). After Sisko discovers some poisoned wine intended for Ghemor, Weyoun simply downs the drink, commenting, “Oh my! That is quite toxic, isn’t it?” before explaining that, as a Vorta, he’s virtually immune to poison. Very funny.

But Dukat does manage to halt Kira’s sessions with Ghemor through a more devious tactic: He shows Kira a record indicating that Ghemor was present at a monastery massacre back during the occupation. Furious, Kira leaves Ghemor’s bedside and decides to let the man die alone (as she feels he deserves). One problem with the episode is with how quickly and completely Kira turns on Ghemor. His past actions aren’t any worse than any other Cardassian and, as Odo explains, she could have looked them up at any time. I get that, like with her own father, she was afraid to face the death of someone she was close to. But this angle isn’t given enough prominence before hand to make Kira’s action as plausible as they may be in fact.

As it is, Kira decides, at the last possible moment, to return to Ghemor’s bedside and stay with him until the end. It’d seem a kind of anticlimactic ending, if not for the coda in which Kira essentially bares her soul to Bashir. She relates Ghemor’s final moments, how he refused to give up on life. She explains her own fears and regrets. It’s a powerful and wonderfully acted scene. And it’s this kind of “after the fact” attention that gives this episode much more credit than those which wrap things up neatly and tidily.

“Ties Of Blood And Water” gets high marks for its emotional impact and its attention to detail, particularly in the realm of emotions, consequences and regrets. A few questionable decisions and a relative slow pace hold it back a little, but the continuity between this story and others is enough to make it a true classic.

“What’s one life compared to the lives of 28 million people?”

“Business As Usual” is one of those “typical” Star Trek episodes which puts its characters into tight spots to prove a point about one thing or another. It’s a fairly straightforward and usually successful formula. And in this installment, the story works. The problem, though, is that it doesn’t really do anything spectacular, interesting or particularly noteworthy. The result is an episode which is, simply, average.

As the episode begins, we learn that Quark is suddenly in a great deal of debt. His cousin, Gaila, arrives on the station with an immoral proposal: If Quark allows Gaila to use his bar as a place to sell weapons, Gaila will help repay his cousin’s debts. And so right away, the episode establishes its moral dilemma. Quark obviously loves (and needs) to make money. But it had previously been established that selling weapons was a line he was unwilling to cross. But now, with no other options, he crosses the line.

It’s just a question of when and how Quark will extricate himself from the arrangement. To make matters as difficult as possible, there is the character of Hagath (Tim Halligan). As Gaila’s ruthless partner, the episode establishes, early on, that if Quark ever decides to “cross” Hagath, the consequences would be … deadly.

And really, none of this is especially new or unexpected. The plot is fairly straightforward (aside from the use of the holosuite to sell “holographic” weapons, thus circumventing the law). The beats of the story are predictable. But what makes the episode enjoyable (or at least passable) are the performances. Hagath works very well as a charismatic and ruthless merchant. And Quark is his usual amiable self. But where Quark really excels is in his portrayal of a conflicted soul. His desire for profit runs completely contrary to his sense of right-and-wrong. He tries fooling himself. He tries rationalizing his actions. But when confronted with a deal that is designed specifically to kill twenty-eight million souls … Quark finally stops waffling and makes a stand.

Quark’s final solution, though, is a bit suspect. His initial willingness to sacrifice himself, saying, “What’s one life compared to the lives of 28 million people?” is well executed. But his decision to bring the two factions together and let them shoot it out with one another is a particularly ruthless decision. Sure, the deaths of a handful of villainous and greedy people are preferable to the deaths of tens of millions … but in an episode about morality, it’s the least moral solution Quark could have come up with.

Him laughing it off with Sisko and Dax afterward doesn’t do much to underscore the gravity of what he had done. The episode could have elevated itself had it given a bit more time and thought to the ethical and moral fallout from Quark’s actions. As it is, the episode ends with the typical “reset button” ending and all is well on DS9.

There’s not much to say about “Business As Usual” because it’s not a particularly noteworthy episode of Deep Space Nine. It’s neither great nor terrible. Merely unremarkable. One might say it’s … business as usual?

“A Simple Investigation” is a romance. It’s a slow, deliberate and often tender affair, despite the film noir and mystery elements. As such, it’s a nice change of pace from the recent Deep Space Nine fare. It’s a nice story. And it allows for some important character work to be done. But there are plenty of potential barriers between this episode and viewers. The pacing is glacial. The plot is cliché and silly. Some of the character decisions don’t make a whole lot of sense. Plus, the story is, well, slow. Very. Slow.

The episode opens with the murder of a secret spy-type person on DS9 (why the discharge of a weapon wouldn’t be detected is a question). The woman, Arissa, that the spy was preparing to meet is sitting in Quark’s bar. There she meets Odo. She tells him that he has “bedroom eyes.” He’s intrigued. And we’re off … tepidly.

Given the setup, it’s rather obvious what is about to happen: The woman will have a shadowy/questionable history. Odo will become inexorably drawn to her. Instead of investigating her, he’ll protect her. They’ll fall in love. And by the end of the story, something will happen to keep them apart forever.

And, in a nutshell, that’s precisely what happens.

The key here is Odo. His actions (and reactions) to the interest he gets from Arissa are quite arresting. His timid steps toward her are plausible. And the subtle performance, along with that from Arissa, really makes what would otherwise be something from a trashy romance novel into something of a soft, touching love story. The problem, though, is that this just unfolds with far too much caution and hesitation. And, too, the reasons for Odo’s sudden infatuation aren’t really explored. It’s not that Odo needed a rational reason — love and attraction are often irrational — but there’s no mention of why Odo suddenly finds a woman who catches his attention (so quickly).

Heck, even a brief bit of dialogue from Odo reflecting on how irrational this all is (especially for a deductive, rational person as himself) would have gone a long way. Instead, the one meaningful discussion Odo has about Arissa, with Bashir, basically centers on how Odo should proceed in order to sleep with her. The scene doesn’t come across as terribly salacious, but the fact that the focus was simply the physical side of Odo’s attraction, at the cost of the emotional, was one of the episode’s central mistakes.

Well, that and the silly mystery which sort of came and went whenever a plot device was necessary.

Still, the development of Odo’s character — to have him, finally, experience intimacy — is an important one. And despite the episode’s missteps in terms of pacing and focus, it’s important to note that it comes across as a truly profound experience for Odo. After he learns that Arissa was a sleeper agent (her memory having been wiped before her mission) and after learning that she is, in fact, married, Odo confronts the other side to love — the pain of loss and separation. The fact that Arissa never actually betrayed Odo allows him to linger on the joy and specialness of his experiences. A nice touch.

“A Simple Investigation” is far from a terrible or embarrassing outing. But it just doesn’t generate enough interest to be a classic, either. It’s a nice change of pace and helps advance Odo’s character. But this is one of those proverbial “reset button” stories that rarely leaves its mark on the series.