389. The AssignmentFORMULA: Whispers + Power Play + Past Prologue + Lower Decks
WHY WE LIKE IT: Creepy Keiko tortures O'Brien.
WHY WE DON'T: Rom, I love you, but sometimes, eeech.
REVIEW: The Assignment adds to Bajoran mythology with the creation of the anti-Prophets, the pah-wraiths. There's a war in heaven and the bad Wormhole Aliens have been cast out into the realm of linearity. Near as our limited minds can understand it. Surprisingly, this isn't a Sisko story. Not yet anyway. Instead, the pah-wraith possesses Keiko - yes, it's an O'Brien torture episode.
Keiko nay-sayers will pretend they can't tell she's possessed, but to be fair, Rosalind Chao presents us with the very essence of Creepy in this episode. Forcing intimacy on O'Brien at every turn, he gets very intense, with shades of Hard Time's violence like breaking a glass with his bare hands, or more subtly, the look he gives her while blowing a candle and making a wish. A lot of nice moments where he's about to try to reveal her presence on the station and she holds him back with a veiled threat, like brushing Molly's hair too hard. That horror overlaid on his family life is all the more potent. The awkward birthday party (I love how Dax is always late for these things), waking up next to her, etc.
And then there's Rom's arc. He's overly ridiculous at times, but he makes up for his social skills by working harder (no distractions). However, the A-plot is so intense that we resent the comic bits. Rom's a little too smart here as well, not just in a now usual technical genius way, but drawing conclusions about Prophet biology. An expository deus ex machina that wasn't necessary, as O'Brien could have made that last, crucial deduction. At least he gets rewarded for playing the patsy ("the role of the idiot brother" as he calls it).
LESSON: If you're gonna be late, at least bring me some booze.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: A really intense story with great performances is let down somewhat by the comic relief.
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