295. DaxFORMULA: The Host + A Man Alone + The Measure of a Man
WHY WE LIKE IT: A good exploration of what it means to be a Trill.
WHY WE DON'T: Terry Farrell a bit out of her depth.
REVIEW: Much like The Measure of Man which taught us what it meant to be an android, Dax uses the hearing trope to show us what it means to be a joined Trill, and does it rather well. I was wary at first of the murder mystery aspect, since A Man Alone already tread that ground pretty recently, but this "cold case" is only the focus of the B-story, and the solution not an SF cheat this time.
Who is Jadzia in relation to Curzon? And who was Curzon anyway? We get a lot more background on both hosts. Terry Farrell doesn't always seem up to the challenge however, usually keeping herself dialed to "sad" (which is still way better than the Trill witness dialed to "reading cue cards"), though her pride when Sisko lists her accomplishments is a nice moment. Still, it's everyone else's loyalty that grips you, from Bashir's reluctant answers, to Sisko confidently proving himself to be good at explaining strange things by analogy (as per Emissary), to Odo "convincing" Quark to close his bar down to hold the hearing there.
The non-Trill guest stars are rather good. Gregory Itzin as Ilon Tandro gives his usual slimy performance, but there's a reasonable man there I didn't expect. Anne Haney as the caustic 100-year-old judge is a hoot. And Fionnula Flanagan as Enina Tandro owns the touching moment at the end. Ah yes, and you'll also find the first ever mention of raktajino, the Klingon coffee that'll become a favorite on the station.
LESSON: Symbionts are to salt, what hosts are to...? Water!
REWATCHABILITY - Medium-High: It does the job of giving both Jadzia and Curzon (that ghost character in the series) a deeper background, and even manages to be a tiny bit sweet.
Comments
Not that I support capital punishment, but it would seem to be the only way to comply with Klaestron law and keep Jadzia from being unjustly punished.