Although we are done with DS9 and are now in the Delta Quadrant with Voyager, that doesn’t mean you can’t go back and catch up on the episodes you missed. You can find the rest here!
It is a mutiny on the bounty…Station as the crew of Deep Space Nine begin to fight amongst themselves in the episode that originally aired on May 30, 1993. This is Dramatis Personae.
The Episode:
Station Log Stardate 46922.3 Dramatis Personae
The crew is infected by an extinct culture that destroyed itself, now they may destroy themselves as well.
The Breakdown:
After debating whether a Valerian ship is allowed to dock or not, a Klingon ship emerges from the wormhole and immediately explodes. In the seconds before the explosion a Klingon beams aboard the Station and dies just after stating the words ‘Victory’. The crew begin investigating the death of the Klingon and the destruction of his ship. O’Brien and Dax are sent out on a Runabout to see if they can find in evidence in the destroyed ship while Odo has his own suspicions that Quark may have some information for him.
There, Odo learns that the Klingons who visited Quark prior to leaving for the Gamma Quadrant indicated that they would be returning with something that sounded like a weapon. Just as Odo begins to walk out of Quarks bar, Odo’s head splits open and he screams for help. Collapsing to the ground, upon awakening he finds himself in sickbay. There Julian casually mentions that he feels there will be trouble over the ‘Valerian situation’ seeing that Kira and Sisko are at odds with one another. Odo isn’t sure what is going on, but it doesn’t sound good.
Kira pushes further on the Valerian ship that has docked, indicating that she plans to confiscate the Valerian ships cargo because she suspects that they are still working for the Cardassians. Sisko declines to do anything about it and the two of them find themselves on opposite sides of the coin. However, they both seem very much out of character with one another with Sisko seeming very distracted by…something.
The crew continue to discuss the possibility of a coup on the station with the members of the station taking sides. The distrust begins to mount as suspicions of each other get deeper and deeper with the Federation members and the Bajoran members starting to split. It is only when Kira tries to get Odo to help her in going behind Sisko’s back that he realizes that something is not right. This is not the Kira he has come to know and respect, there is clearly something wrong.
As the story progresses, they find more and more evidence of a similar event taking place on the Klingon ship. Sisko continues to seem unimpressed and unmotivated by the events on the station while Kira herself gets more and more aggressive. Odo soon realizes that everyone is acting strange and soon finds that Kira is not only speaking out against Sisko but has also attacked Quark in his bar!
It is not long before Odo has pieced everything together and goes to Bashir for assistance. The Station is clearly at odds with one another and it does not seem to be getting better. Eventually, after getting help from the Doctor, Odo traps the infected members of the crew in a cargo bay and expunges a psychic being from their minds dissipating it into space.
Is this a ‘Good’ Episode:
The story itself is pretty basic and the episode is fairly forgettable at best. That being said, everyone does a great job with what they are given really making you believe, for a moment, that the series is about to take a very dark turn. This distrust is very much at the core of the series with the Federation stepping in just after the Bajoran’s were relieved from a very violent occupation at the hands of the Cardassians. In a way we really gets down to the core of the struggle in the series and that is where this episode, while being a rather disposable one, ends up shining. For a first season, if this is the worst episode of the 20 episodes that were made, it starts out with a very fine track record.
Avery Brooks does a tremendous job in the episode portraying a very uncaring Commander Sisko. This episode really shows his range as an actor, His ability to go from serious to outright crazy to insanely angry in a moment is something to behold.
We also get a real look at Odo and where his allegiances really lie. He is someone who, even with friends, will stand by justice and the law no matter what, even if it means that those closest to him are taken down. He will not abide injustice and is truly incorruptible. This will be a reoccurring theme with the Shapeshifter Sheriff in this series.
Gleanings and Cool Bits:
Sisko builds a strange clock and never finds out why. Much like the baseball and Picard’s Ressikan Flute on TNG, this clock becomes a background piece in the series for some time.
We never learn more about the Saltah’na people and how or why they implanted their memories and feelings into the device the Klingons found. All we know is that they will not be bothering anyone anymore.
Thanks for reading the Retro TV Review, I look forward to discussing the rest of the series with you, one episode at a time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Next Review: Duet
If you would like to read more reviews I have a weekly series called Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday and for more retro TV goodness check out the rest of the Retro TV Reviews here.
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Late To The Game 1/3/2021 (Originally published 4/3/2019)
Special Thanks to Memory Alpha as they are one of the best sources for details on Star Trek information available. Although I have a pretty deep knowledge on the subject, they have proven invaluable as a regular resource.
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