![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessI liked ‘Visionary’ most for the little moments, when Miles was smart, Odo was good at his job and Kira was incensed by Romulan questioning. Although they lampshade the temporal mechanics that drive this episode, they really don’t make sense. It doesn’t help that we never see the initial accident that made O’Brien prone to time-shifting (maybe because of running time) but having not experienced that with him, I watched him foresee his own death and the spectacular destruction of the station at an emotional remove.
And if the wormhole was under threat, why didn’t the Prophets see it coming?
Meanwhile, the station is having to cope with unexpected Klingons at the same time as Romulans wanting information about the Dominion as part of the deal with the cloak for the Defiant. On the one hand, the Romulans were pretty rude about it, on the other, Sisko and Kira explained how Odo isn’t a Founder very badly.
In ‘Distant Voices’, Bashir is grumpy about being on the verge of turning 30 (!), he’s attacked by a rampaging alien and comes to to find himself one of the few people on ‘the station’. Also, he’s rapidly ageing, the rampaging alien is destroying everything, and when he comes across them, his colleagues are acting strangely. He figures out that they’re embodying aspects of him. It’s trippy, it’s a bit Life on Mars but not quite as stylish or fun.
There are entertaining moments, but it’s mainly about giving us insight into Julian’s character. We see that he’s not the wet-behind-the-ears naif he sometimes comes off as. Andrew Robinson has a big presence in this episode, which I appreciate.
‘Through the Looking Glass’ is a mirrorverse episode where our Sisko is kidnapped and brought over there to replace his dead equivalent for a mission to kidnap Jennifer (oh yes) who is collaborating with the baddies on Terak Nor. Or he could just stop her, says Mirror!Bashir in a dodgy wig.
Sisko is called upon to improvise as a more combative, space rogue version of himself, which means kissing all the ladies (blech) except the one he most wants to. Actually, it’s unclear whether he went further ith Mirror!Dax. Though I did enjoy him relying on his wits. But the story could have been tighter.
It was powerful to see two black actors playing scenes where they debate the enslavement of their people, here all Terrans, even if Jennifer is doing science instead of hard labour.
Nana Visitor gets to have more fun playing the Intendant and there’s lots of guest star Andrew Robinson, as Garak is her deputy. Max Grodencjik also gets to show off his range as Mirror!Rom.
‘Improbable Cause’ (my favourite of the four) ends up giving us lots of Odo-Garak interaction, which I loved, with much needling leading to understanding. It all starts when Garak’s shop is blown up, then an investigating Odo uses the word ‘supposition’ a lot, runs down an assassin (remarkable make-up). Then the Romulans turn up!!! But the explanation tracked with all that had happened this season.
Garak doesn’t become much more truthful, but Odo starts getting a glimpse of why he was exiled and his relationship with the Cardassian behind it.
Just as we were reminded that at the start of the episode, Garak was dissing Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, we’re left hanging on a ‘To Be Continued’.
Oh, and Odo’s mysterious Cardassian informant was more convincing than other sources he’s had this series. Like: when and how did he make all these friends at Starfleet?
And if the wormhole was under threat, why didn’t the Prophets see it coming?
Meanwhile, the station is having to cope with unexpected Klingons at the same time as Romulans wanting information about the Dominion as part of the deal with the cloak for the Defiant. On the one hand, the Romulans were pretty rude about it, on the other, Sisko and Kira explained how Odo isn’t a Founder very badly.
In ‘Distant Voices’, Bashir is grumpy about being on the verge of turning 30 (!), he’s attacked by a rampaging alien and comes to to find himself one of the few people on ‘the station’. Also, he’s rapidly ageing, the rampaging alien is destroying everything, and when he comes across them, his colleagues are acting strangely. He figures out that they’re embodying aspects of him. It’s trippy, it’s a bit Life on Mars but not quite as stylish or fun.
There are entertaining moments, but it’s mainly about giving us insight into Julian’s character. We see that he’s not the wet-behind-the-ears naif he sometimes comes off as. Andrew Robinson has a big presence in this episode, which I appreciate.
‘Through the Looking Glass’ is a mirrorverse episode where our Sisko is kidnapped and brought over there to replace his dead equivalent for a mission to kidnap Jennifer (oh yes) who is collaborating with the baddies on Terak Nor. Or he could just stop her, says Mirror!Bashir in a dodgy wig.
Sisko is called upon to improvise as a more combative, space rogue version of himself, which means kissing all the ladies (blech) except the one he most wants to. Actually, it’s unclear whether he went further ith Mirror!Dax. Though I did enjoy him relying on his wits. But the story could have been tighter.
It was powerful to see two black actors playing scenes where they debate the enslavement of their people, here all Terrans, even if Jennifer is doing science instead of hard labour.
Nana Visitor gets to have more fun playing the Intendant and there’s lots of guest star Andrew Robinson, as Garak is her deputy. Max Grodencjik also gets to show off his range as Mirror!Rom.
‘Improbable Cause’ (my favourite of the four) ends up giving us lots of Odo-Garak interaction, which I loved, with much needling leading to understanding. It all starts when Garak’s shop is blown up, then an investigating Odo uses the word ‘supposition’ a lot, runs down an assassin (remarkable make-up). Then the Romulans turn up!!! But the explanation tracked with all that had happened this season.
Garak doesn’t become much more truthful, but Odo starts getting a glimpse of why he was exiled and his relationship with the Cardassian behind it.
Just as we were reminded that at the start of the episode, Garak was dissing Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, we’re left hanging on a ‘To Be Continued’.
Oh, and Odo’s mysterious Cardassian informant was more convincing than other sources he’s had this series. Like: when and how did he make all these friends at Starfleet?
