456. The Changing Face of EvilFORMULA: -1(Tears of the Prophets)
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Breen. Damar. Finally, the Defiant!
WHY WE DON'T: Nooooooooooooooo, not the Defiant!
REVIEW: The Breen's worth is proven again and again in this episode, as first they brazenly attack Earth and then retake Chin'toka, perfunctorily destroying the Defiant in the process. Our heroes are on the run, and the boys' model of the Alamo (with its poor, missing Travis) is becoming more and more portentous. After all, a non-ship show can stand to lose its ship (beautifully done if a bit quick), but the subtext seems to indicate the station is as indefensible as the Alamo. In any case, the Breen are fearsome enemies from the start, bringing new weapons (a sort of EMP pulse) and strategies to the fore.
Though they're the Dominion MVPs right now, Damar is right to say the Dominion's loyalty to its citizens is subject to revision. Having fallen from grace long ago, he starts a resistance here, but it's a blustering, public resistance. He may end up paying for that, but amusement may be gleaned for the moment from one of his first targets being Weyoun's clone banks.
Back on Bajor, Dukat/Anjol guides Kai Winn to the dark texts of the Kosst Amojan, but its pages are blank until blood is finally shed on its pages. Sorry Solbor, you were great fun, but you had to go the minute you let the vole out of the bag regarding Dukat. It's probably a relief for him to stop pretending to be a poor farmer, what with cracks in his disguise already showing. The man just can't keep his hedonistic and lordly habits in check. You can practically see Winn hold back from gagging though, before her ambition takes hold of her again.
All this attention on the villains does mean the good guys are getting ignored, but as in the previous episode, most of them get small moments. The new Ezri-Worf friendship actually WORKS, perhaps to everyone's surprise. Sisko turns out to be quite the controlling husband as his personal war heats up (the only casualties to date: his prize peppers). He loses that battle, but also the one at Chin'toka's. If they meant to shock us by destroying the Defiant on its first outing of the arc, they succeeded.
LESSON: Fear is as good as death, but more contagious.
REWATCHABILITY - High: Earth, Chin'toka, the Defiant... It's all gone wrong. The stakes are raised considerably in this one.
Comments
It's nearing the end of your ds9 reviews and i for one don't envy the next two tasks in your trek through the Treks, but i'll still be reading and making snide comments on the next two shows, but i'll be damned if i follow along in the watching this time.