Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
JBear wanted me to know that I missed reviewing some DS9 episodes. Allow me to rectify. Note that I may have already forgotten a lot of what happens in the episode.
Ferengi Love Songs - A decently funny Quark episode. Very much in sitcom meets folktale mode. Decent enough.
Soldiers of the Empire - I love Klingon politics episodes, whether it be about the empire or interpersonal politics, so this was a solid one.
Children of Time - I was worrying that this was going to be an episode that undoes the timeline and doesn't give the proper weight to the horror of deleting an entire timeline of people. This one does and I'm really grateful for it. I plays Odo's decision as somewhat romantic but ultimately abominable, despite any good intentions.
As for more recent viewings...
Empok Nor - This was a solid episode that gets a lot of help from having Garak in it and there's good O'Brien stuff too. I also appreciate that it adds some weight (though not quite kind of much as Children of Time), to a character's actions, even if they were under the influence of a murder drug. I guess my one complaint is that the one off characters for the episode are more utilitarian to the plot than strong characters, meaning their deaths only matter as much as it effects the regular characters.
In the Cards - Star Trek comedy episodes. When done well, they can be a delight. Done badly, they can be cringe inducing. In the Cards feels down the middle; no painfully bad comedy but not particularly strong. That said, it is a fun cool down episode that does a little table setting for the next episode and both reminds us of the looming threat and bringing a little sweetness and happiness to the characters. Also, Nog steals his stepmom-to-be's teddy bear. I'm really weirded out by Bashir wanting it.
Call to Arms - This is one of the best ones I've seen. I mean, I wouldn't put it exactly at the top, I feel there are some more low key episodes I like more, but as an adventure, its got all the good stuff: strong characters, very good build up and when we FINALLY begin the war against the Dominion (via the Cardassians). In all honesty, I was getting tired of promises it was going to be a thing that would happen. Not because I'm like "Boy, I want to see war scenes" because I tend to find the space dogfights the least interesting part of this series, but rather I just wanted a pay off to all the build up. And this episode does pay off. Not only that, it does the kind of thing I like to see in my favourite adventure fiction like superhero comics: blowing up the status quo. And like superhero comics, we know that it will return mostly to normal, though our characters will grow through it, but its exciting to see Sisko not playing around with diplomacy and Kira just blow up DS9's control center and hand it over to the enemy. I feel like most of the season finales so far were just set ups with a pay off happening next season (particularly the end of season four). This feels complete to itself while still setting up an exciting new situation for our characters, who are somewhat stratified and have each chosen their own way to fight. Even though our heroes lose the battle, it feels a little more triumphant than your usual Empire Strikes Back-type moment as our characters have already set plans in motion to work towards a comeback. It doesn't feel like the "moment of despair" part in an arc, but rather a shake up that promises more fun adventures to come while still retaining the weight of what was lost in the battle and what needs to be fought for.
I know that the next six episodes are a big arc so I'm pretty jazzed for that and hope the new status quo lasts for it. Rom as a spy is easily my favourite choice. Speaking of, Max Grodénchik kills the line "I've got to go to waste extraction" far better than the line deserves.
Ferengi Love Songs - A decently funny Quark episode. Very much in sitcom meets folktale mode. Decent enough.
Soldiers of the Empire - I love Klingon politics episodes, whether it be about the empire or interpersonal politics, so this was a solid one.
Children of Time - I was worrying that this was going to be an episode that undoes the timeline and doesn't give the proper weight to the horror of deleting an entire timeline of people. This one does and I'm really grateful for it. I plays Odo's decision as somewhat romantic but ultimately abominable, despite any good intentions.
As for more recent viewings...
Empok Nor - This was a solid episode that gets a lot of help from having Garak in it and there's good O'Brien stuff too. I also appreciate that it adds some weight (though not quite kind of much as Children of Time), to a character's actions, even if they were under the influence of a murder drug. I guess my one complaint is that the one off characters for the episode are more utilitarian to the plot than strong characters, meaning their deaths only matter as much as it effects the regular characters.
In the Cards - Star Trek comedy episodes. When done well, they can be a delight. Done badly, they can be cringe inducing. In the Cards feels down the middle; no painfully bad comedy but not particularly strong. That said, it is a fun cool down episode that does a little table setting for the next episode and both reminds us of the looming threat and bringing a little sweetness and happiness to the characters. Also, Nog steals his stepmom-to-be's teddy bear. I'm really weirded out by Bashir wanting it.
Call to Arms - This is one of the best ones I've seen. I mean, I wouldn't put it exactly at the top, I feel there are some more low key episodes I like more, but as an adventure, its got all the good stuff: strong characters, very good build up and when we FINALLY begin the war against the Dominion (via the Cardassians). In all honesty, I was getting tired of promises it was going to be a thing that would happen. Not because I'm like "Boy, I want to see war scenes" because I tend to find the space dogfights the least interesting part of this series, but rather I just wanted a pay off to all the build up. And this episode does pay off. Not only that, it does the kind of thing I like to see in my favourite adventure fiction like superhero comics: blowing up the status quo. And like superhero comics, we know that it will return mostly to normal, though our characters will grow through it, but its exciting to see Sisko not playing around with diplomacy and Kira just blow up DS9's control center and hand it over to the enemy. I feel like most of the season finales so far were just set ups with a pay off happening next season (particularly the end of season four). This feels complete to itself while still setting up an exciting new situation for our characters, who are somewhat stratified and have each chosen their own way to fight. Even though our heroes lose the battle, it feels a little more triumphant than your usual Empire Strikes Back-type moment as our characters have already set plans in motion to work towards a comeback. It doesn't feel like the "moment of despair" part in an arc, but rather a shake up that promises more fun adventures to come while still retaining the weight of what was lost in the battle and what needs to be fought for.
I know that the next six episodes are a big arc so I'm pretty jazzed for that and hope the new status quo lasts for it. Rom as a spy is easily my favourite choice. Speaking of, Max Grodénchik kills the line "I've got to go to waste extraction" far better than the line deserves.
