324. Playing GodFORMULA: Emergence + (The Wrath of Khan - everything but Saavik) + In Theory
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Klingon chef. Terri Farrell in a towel. O'Brien using a sonic screwdriver on Quark.
WHY WE DON'T: That proto-universe nonsense.
REVIEW: A Trill initiate comes to the station to be evaluated and mentored by Dax, and it's more a way to learn about Jadzia than it is about Arjin. Indeed, the guest star isn't drawn very well. Sometimes a milksop, sometimes a spoiled child, sometimes centered, sometimes arrogant, sometimes ready to dive into the alcohol. Maybe that's part of his "aiming to please" shtick, but the result is that I don't really know who Arjin is at the end of this, or if he'll make it. I don't care frankly.
It's a much better opportunity to find out about both Jadzia's and Curzon's past however. Here, the seeds are sown for later explorations as we find out Curzon drummed her out of the program and that she bounced back. The backstory marries the aloof Dax of Season 1 with the more outrageous Dax of Season 2, since by now, she's wrestling sweaty men in the morning and teaching songs to the Klingon chef. She's a Dax who certainly indulges in her former hosts' predilections, but is also the dedicated young scientist when she needs to be. Particularly lovely is her relationship to Sisko here, as you're never altogether sure who the mentor is anymore. In effect, both Ben and Jadzia had the same mentor.
What's unfortunate here is the techie plot that comes with the character development. The proto-universe is a worthy science-fiction idea, but probably unmanageable in the DS9 format. Does it make sense at all that you could plop it back in the Gamma Quadrant with no worries? Won't it still grow to displace our universe? I'm sure it went back to that subspace pocket thingie, but with all the technobabble in this episode (and there's an inordinate amount of it), you'd think they could have made it clearer in the dialogue. Inevitably, the climax is one of those piloting challenges that doesn't translate very well to the screen (and the Wormhole looks nothing like it ever does before or again, though the effects are pretty). It's Arjin going "I can't see it... I can't see it... I see it" in the dullest possible way.
The vole subplot is cute, but little more than fluff. It features the first appearance of Gul Evek, setting up a larger one in The Maquis in just a few episodes. DS9 is getting better and better at establishing its universe's inhabitants so there's a sense of continuity. Bashir's relationship to O'Brien has graduated to the friendly ribbing stage as evidenced by the Hamlin joke. And we even get to see a little of Jake who lets the cat out of the bag regarding Marta. These continuing threads are making DS9 extremely fulfilling to watch in rapid sequence.
LESSON: Either Cardassians evolved from voles, or you can't live on Cardassia without a spoon on your forehead.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: An uninteresting guest star and the babblathon that serves as plot and the episode STILL manages to be a good one? That's because DS9 is carving its place as a character-driven rather than plot-driven show. Still, can't avoid that annoying plot.
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