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Star Trek DS9 - Season 5 - Episode 23

Star Trek DS9 - 5x23 - Blaze of Glory

Originally Aired: 1997-5-12

Synopsis:
Sisko is forced to confront his Maquis nemesis, Michael Eddington. [DVD]

My Rating - 7

Fan Rating Average - 6.63

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# Votes: 10 2 2 2 1 5 4 27 25 21 4

Filler Quotient: 0, not filler, do not skip this episode.
- This episode is the conclusion to the Eddington and Maquis arcs.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Nog complaining about working security and dealing with the Klingons. This is actually a good connection with DS9: Soldiers of the Empire when Nog complained about Worf and Martok standing in his way.
- Sisko's meeting with Eddington.
- Kira: "I was in the Bajoran shrine meditating and he bursts in, stark naked, fell to his knees crying out to the prophets for protection." Bashir: "Morn of all people. Who would think he'd just snap like that?"
- Odo: "And that's when Morn hit you with a barstool and ran out onto the promenade screaming 'we're all doomed!'"
- Eddington and Sisko arguing on the Runabout.
- Sisko forcing Eddington to help him by getting a Raktajino while two Jem'Hadar ships attack.
- Eddington declaring his intentions to kill Sisko.
- Nog impressing Martok.
- Sisko slugging Eddington for lying to him again.
- Eddington getting himself killed.
- Sisko and Dax discussing Eddington.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Not shown, but mentioned in the beginning as having attacked Quark.

My Review
The perfect final cameo for Michael Eddington. Instead of being defeated and depressed in prison for the rest of his life, he gets one last chance to fight for the Maquis, and he goes down in a blaze of glory. This episode is a tale of rivalry, intrigue, and deception, like any good Maquis story. And for once, Sisko expresses sympathy and even respect for them. This episode represents closure for the entire Maquis arc. We find out what happened to Sisko's friend Cal Hudson; he died fighting for the Maquis. Eddington dies in this episode, and we're told for sure what we thought would happen all along, the Dominion has wiped out the Maquis. There couldn't be a more suitable end to the Maquis arc. Tragic, but moving.

The following are comments submitted by my readers.

  • From hugo on 2012-10-09 at 11:15am:
    One could see what would happen to Eddington from miles away: predictable! One gripe I have with that character is that he spent all that time undercover, being just a boring quiet person. Now he is an adventurous romantic that loves to hear his own voice, and he is also the Maquis leader...
  • From Gul Ranek on 2013-01-08 at 11:22am:
    I agree, Eddington was very underused and not developed in a decent way.I guess the writers must have had some basic ideas about the character when they introduced him in the third season, but never got around to implement them and decided to get rid of him by making him a member of the Maquis.
    An example of this is his conflict with Odo about who would be taking care of station security - they made a big deal of it, but Eddington barely appeared in subsequent episodes.
  • From Bronn on 2013-07-17 at 10:48pm:
    I loved the scenes involving Sisko bantering with Eddington. That was the main fun of this episode for me-Eddington was boring as a security officer, but he's really charming as a renegade leader. I loved the way he was portrayed in this, and in his previous appearance. Agreed, he was underused, but that was not really a problem with this episode, which was extremely enjoyable.
  • From Gaius Gracchus on 2021-11-20 at 6:07pm:
    Fantastic sendoff for Eddington. Ken Marshall did an especially great job in these last three appearances as the character (For the Cause, For the Uniform, and then Blaze of Glory). Really a good foil to Sisko. Both are decidedly "good" and are willing to do what it takes to see their goals carried out.

    Additionally, a great payoff for the Maquis subplot that's been going on since TNG and obviously was heavily present in Voyager. Wish more could have been done with it on *that* show but as far as DS9 goes... no complaints.

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