Problems
None

Factoids
- This is the first part of the first three part episode ever shown in Star Trek.
- This is the first episode in which Morn did not appear.

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo unable to explain Quark helping him crack a case.
- Quark visiting Kira's quarters.
- Sisko and Jake talking about Jake's first date.
- Dax one step ahead of Sisko in their conversation about whether or not to give Kira the runabout.
- Kira making up a high ranking Cardassian to fool the border police.
- Gul Dukat's mysterious cooperative mood.
- Quark being tagged by the terrorists.
- Li Nalas telling his story to Sisko.
- Sisko trying to convince Nalas to be Bajor's "symbol", even if he's not a great leader at heart.
- Rules of Acquisition; 76. Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.

My Review
More Bajoran politics. Again, the timing is right, but it's not particularly exciting. There are many things to redeem this episode though. Jake's aborted girlfriend, Kira's successful mission in Cardassia, and especially Dukat's odd cooperation. I found this first part of the very first three part epieode arc to be very pleasant, even if a bit cliched in the end when Kira loses her job for no good reason.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- The scene with Kira, Odo, Dax, Bashir, O'Brien, Quark, and finally Vedek Bareil. I love all the fast and confusing dialog.
- Kira's orb experience.
- Kira: "If you want to change the government, minister Jaro, you vote to change it. You don't sneak up from behind it with a dagger."

My Review
This episode offers no surprises, no turning points other than the revelation that the Cardassians were supplying the Circle with weapons, which again, isn't much of a surprise. Winn is scheming again, and the reason for Kira's reassignment is revealed as being a mundane political maneuver. The whole episode is just dragged out far too long. Only Sisko's decision to disobey orders and stay aboard the station to fight the political uprising is interesting. By the time he makes this decision, the episode is over! A necessary transitional episode for the three parter, but not very exciting. This arc could have been done as a two parter.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Keiko appearance.
- Dax: "Whoa! What is that, a spider or a dog!?"
- Kira's feeling of enthusiasm flying the old broken down ship.
- Kira and Dax's dogfight. Cool!
- Rules of Acquisition; 31. Never make fun of a Ferengi's mother.
- Morn appearances; 1. Sitting behind Quark and Nog when they initially talk about the evacuation. 2. Attempting to board a runabout.

My Review
The final part of this three parter resolves the plot exactly as expected. Kira proves the Cardassians were behind the contraband and the fight ends. Just like that. I'd give it another low rating, but I thoroughly enjoyed Kira and Dax's scenes in this episode, they did an excellent job together, especially during the dogfight.

Problems
None

Factoids
- O'Brien has two brothers.
- Tim Russ, who plays T'Kar in this episode, will later plau Tuvok on Voyager.

Remarkable Scenes
- Quark regarding Rom: "He couldn't find a cup of water if you dropped him in a lake."
- Bashir laying into the Klingon to help him try and save Jadzia's life.
- Sisko reminiscing with the new Dax.
- Quark faking his injury.
- Quark cracking the lock on Odo's box cage.
- Sisko shooting the new Dax.

My Review
This episode features a most remarkable guest star, a disgruntled Trill never given the chance to join with a symbiote. We learn many interesting things about Trill in this episode. Symbiote joinings are rare on Trill, due to the high standards of compatibility established by the Trill society. It's nice to see a guest bad guy who's essentially good at heart. It's also nice to see an episode like this, which is very violent by necessity, end with zero loss of life. The final scene is tragic, you really feel sorry for Verad. Sure his methods sucked, but his motives were honest and pure. He was almost likable. The best part of this episode is how Sisko works so hard at reasoning with the bad guys. He does an excellent job too. I'm most fond of the scene just after Verad becomes Dax when Sisko reminisces with him. The whole episode was very nicely done.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This is the second episode Garak appears in.

Remarkable Scenes
- Garak to Bashir: "I'm no more a spy than you are--" Bashir: "A doctor?"
- Dukat pretending to respect Garak. Now that's ironic. I like Garak's reaction when Bashir mentions what Dukat said to Sisko.
- Bashir addressing Gul Dukat without permission.
- Keiko appearance.
- Bashir asking Sisko for a runabout.
- Garak's behavior at the Bajoran orphanage.
- Bashir to Garak: "You know how to fix computers?" I love Bashir's tone of astonishment regarding learning about one of "plain and simple" Garak's unusual talents.
- Bashir proving that Gul Dukat was manipulating events to his political advantage.

My Review
This is the second episode to feature a complex political plot involving Garak, a rare treasure. The episode is hardly exciting, but Garak's scenes certainly make up for any lack of interesting plot development. My favorite scenes are the ones where Bashir and Garak borrow a runabout to go to Bajor and then Garak's hilarious behavior at the orphanage. This plot does little to advance the series, though. Despite how cool Garak's scenes were, and how much I like his character, there have been and will be better episodes featuring him. The thing that annoys me the most about this plot is how confused and ignorant the Cardassian boy was made to seem. As if he's too stupid to come to a rational decision. A decent, if a bit flawed an episode.

Problems
- The gravity Melora is used to is extremely, extremely low. So low that there's barely any at all; she floats around like a feather. Why would her species evolve as bipedal life forms when they can just fly around most of the time?

Factoids
- Bashir's father was a Federation diplomat.
- Bashir is supposedly no good at Tennis.

Remarkable Scenes
- Fallit Kot just after walking into Quark's bar: "I've come to kill you, Quark."
- The Klingon restaurant scene. I love when the Klingon chef throws the plate behind him. Hilarious!
- Melora: "What kind of architect would design a raised limb at the entrance of every door?!" I wondered this myself in the pilot episode. :)
- Melora and Dax discussing alien relationships.
- Melora kicking some low gravity ass!
- The Klingon chef singing.
- Rules of Acquisition: 16. A deal is a deal.
- Morn Appearances; 1. Seen sitting behind Bashir and Dax in the opening scene while they're talking to O'Brien about the wheelchair. 2. In Quark's bar just before Quark attempts to be really really nice to Fallit Kot so he won't kill him.

My Review
This episode is an attempt to prove handicapped people can contribute to society, in a Federation enlightenment sort of way, but instead just comes off as a bit obnoxious. Geordi LaForge was a much better example of how handicapped people can contribute to society, but admittedly in some ways, Geordi is a poor example because they eliminated his problem with technology. Melora is a better example of how handicapped people can contribute to society because her "problem" is natural to her species. To me, Melora was the obnoxious thing about this episode. Her behavior was just annoying, whereas Geordi was a very likable guy. The idea of a medical "cure" for her situation is obnoxious too. The science behind it is a little fuzzy, but far less so than Melora's species' curious bipedal evolution in a low gravity environment. What I didn't like most about it was the episode should have been more about Melora living on the station with a handicap and less about curing it. And even that would have been a little lame. Fortunately, the ending redeems quite a bit of the episode's mistakes. Melora is not going to "fix" her handicap, as that would be insulting the rest of her species. But unfortunately, we never see Melora again, and she doesn't say one damn thing about leaving the station. As far as DS9 episodes goes, this one had the best of intentions but the fuse was a dud.

Problems
- Pel kisses Quark in this episode. I sure hope they didn't tongue it, the Ferengi have razor sharp teeth!

Factoids
- This is the first episode to show Ferengi playing Tongo.
- This episode establishes that there are 285 Rules of Acquisition and that in addition to memorizing them, Ferengi are encouraged to memorize the various official commentaries on them as well.
- This is the first episode to feature a female Ferengi.
- This episode establishes that Quark doesn't have all the Rules of Acquisition memorized. He didn't know rule 103.
- This episode is the first to mention the Dominion.

Remarkable Scenes
- Rom describing how he likes his women: "Naked and submissive."
- Zek "negociating" with Sisko and Kira.
- The revelation that Pel is a female Ferengi.
- Zek smacking Kira on the ass!
- Quark and Pel negociating with the Dosi on Deep Space Nine.
- Zek's gift for Kira. I love Kira's ensuing insults about the Ferengi.
- Dax telling Pel about a supposed time when Quark recreated the bedroom she slept in as a child in the holosuite from memory of a conversation he overheard between Dax and Kira.
- Dax discovering Pel a female.
- Zek slapping Kira on the ass again!
- Pel's reaction to being forced to sleep with Quark.
- Zyree, the first to mention the Dominion.
- Zek's reaction seeing Pel a female.
- Rules of Acquisition: 21. Never place friendship above profit. 22. A wise man can hear profit in the wind. 33. It never hurts to suck up to the boss. 48. The bigger the smile the sharper the knife. 59. Free advice is seldom cheap. 67. The riskier the road the greater the profit. 103. Sleep can interfere with--(Pel is interrupted, we don't hear the rest. It might be "profit").
- Morn appearances; 1. Odo catches him sleeping on the promenade. When awakened and told to "go home," he goes to see if Quark's is open! 2. In the background behind Quark, Rom, and Pel. 3. Can be seen just after Odo and Rom talk about brothers.

My Review
Another episode to feature another smashing performance by Wallace Shawn as Zek. He's so funny. Quark and Rom are excellent Ferengi characters too, but something about Zek just strikes me as great. Everything about his character is just perfect for his role. All the nuances and all the little details add up to a most remarkable character. Additionally, Pel's secret love for Quark makes for most remarkable story. The Dosi are interesting as well; the Gamma Quadrant equivilent of the Ferengi. My only regret about the episode is that we don't see the Dosi again, because they were an excellent race. The Dominion is first mentioned in this episode, the Dosi are probably under their control. All the nice little things in this episode add up to a most entertaining and funny Ferengi episode.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This is the first episode to mention Odo's Cardassian neck trick.

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo: "Commence station security log Stardate 47282.5. At the request of commander Sisko, I will hereafter be recording a daily log of law enforcement affairs. The reason for this exercise is beyond my comprehension. Except perhaps that humans have a compulsion to keep records and lists and files. So many in fact that they have to invent new ways to store them microscopically. Otherwise their records would overrun all known civilization. My own very adequate memory not being good enough for starfleet I am pleased to put my voice to this official record of this day: Everything's under control. End log."
- Rom revealing some of his hidden talents.
- Rules of Acquisition: 139. Wives serve. Brothers inherit.
- Odo: "You're not as stupid as you look!" Rom: "I am too!"
- Odo's first meeting with Dukat.
- Odo's first meeting with Kira.
- Odo's first meeting with Quark.
- Dukat: "You're not afraid of anyone, are you shape shifter? Not even me! I was right about you. You are the man for this job."
- Rom saving his brother's life by screaming.
- The revelation that Kira was the murderer.
- Morn appearances; I've read that Morn appears briefly here, but I couldn't find him in this one.

My Review
This episode features a wonderful history lesson; we get to see Terok Nor as it was during the occupation. And it features an old murder investigation which Odo can now solve. The whole plot is wonderfully interesting with multiple turning points and lots of intrigue. The title "Necessary Evil" is symbolic of Kira's deed (or perhaps all of her deeds) as a member of the underground. It may also represent Odo's collaboration with Dukat. Granted, Odo doesn't fit the strict definition of the collaborator. He wasn't gaining anything by working with Dukat, and he wouldn't have lost anything by refusing. Though Odo did walk the line between being for Bajor and being against Bajor, he was essentially in it for justice. All things considered, this is one of the most memorable episodes of season 2.

Problems
- This is the first of many episodes to directly and blatantly ignore the events of TNG: Force of Nature. This is one of the worst offenders too; Jadzia and O'Brien tweak a staraships engines to fly at warp 9.6!
- The captain of the Prometheus seems to hold the rank of Lieutenant...

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Sisko's odd behavior the next morning in ops.
- I love Seyetik's cheerful arrogance.
- Sisko's conversation with Odo about his phantom girl.
- Sisko: "Seyetik is one of the Federation's greatest minds." Kira: "I know. He told me."
- Seyetik's death. His final words: "Let there be light!"

My Review
This episode is certainly original, but in many ways annoying. Sisko's profound loss of his wife is exploited in an inappropriate way, and the topic of reviving dead stars along with Seyetik's wonderful character are all thoroughly wasted. I give it extra points for Seyetik's heroic end and all the coolness associated with it, but other than that, a disappointment.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode establishes that the station can hold 7000 people, according to Odo.
- This is the second episode to mention the Dominion. Haneek claims that the race which conquered her's was conquered by the Dominion.

Remarkable Scenes
- The universal translator failing in the beginning.
- The universal translator beginning to work.
- Haneek and Kira discussing the horrible dress.
- The Bajoran minister and Vedek carefully explaining their reasons for denying the Skreeans' request to immigrate to Bajor.
- Jake trying to be nice to the Skreeans.
- Haneek's final words with Kira.
- The Bajorans accidentally killing the Skreean attempting to land on Bajor.
- Morn appearances; 1. Watching the Bajoran play music in Quark's bar. He cries to Varani's playing. 2. Window shopping on the promenade. 3. At the bar when Varani plays for the Skreeans.

My Review
I like the beginning of this episode when the universal translator failed. It's nice to see technology isn't infallible! Their race's language is too different for it! Unfortunately, that whole idea is sort of ruined by the fact that their race looks extremely similar to humans. Not identical, but very close. That said, the issue of a group of people wanting to immigrate to Bajor is interesting, but could have been handled better. The Skreeans demanding to immigrate to Bajor, despite a major famine on the planet, despite the fact that Draylon II was more than adequate for the Skreean's needs, without any good reason just came off as offensive. I lose all of my sympathy for the Skreeans very quickly when they start getting belligerent and angry that they can't live on Bajor. They redeem themselves well though in the ending; I'm most fond of Haneek's final words with Kira. She finally comes off as convincing, making a decent argument for once. But by now, the decisions have been made. Why didn't she be so rational when she had a chance at moving into Bajor instead of just proclaiming a bunch of religious nonsense?

Problems
None

Factoids
- This is the first time we get to see an El-Aurian other than Guinan.

Remarkable Scenes
- Bashir's tennis exercises. Hahaha!
- Bashir presenting O'Brien with quite a challenge at the game.
- Keiko appearance.
- O'Brien: "'I guess you prefer old style rules!' Like I was some kind of fossil! In my day I coulda wiped the court with'm!"
- Bashir talking to Dax about O'Brien having severe high blood pressure problems during the game.
- Bashir throwing his second game with O'Brien.
- I like the scene where Quark is pleading with Sisko to get Mazur off the station. They got on the turbolift. The door closes. The camera pans down. The door opens. You can barely hear Quark rambling on to Sisko behind the closed door. Hilarious detail.
- Quark: "You owe me! You begged me to stay here when you first came on board! And I did! Against my better judgement." Sisko: "I didn't beg, I blackmailed you. And don't pretend it hasn't paid off for you either!"
- Scene begins with O'Brien on the floor. Bashir: "I am so sorry!" O'Brien: "What happened?" Bashir: "Well, you served, I returned low, you slipped on the ball." O'Brien: "I slipped on the ball!?" Bashir: "Stepped right on it mid-flight, never seen anything like it."
- Keiko: "Kick his butt!"
- Quark trying to get Bashir to throw the match.
- O'Brien being able to pull off impossible shots and Bashir not being able to "hit the broad side of a Plygorian mammoth."
- Dax and Sisko phasering the luck devices.
- Rules of Acquisition; 47. Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own. 109. Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack.
- Morn appearances; 1. Plays Quark at prosecco and loses. 2. Sleeping at the bar when O'Brien enters Quark's. 3. At Quark's when Quark gives his commercial speech to the crowd advertising a Racketball match he conned Bashir and O'Brien into. 4. Watching the match between Bashir and O'Brien.

My Review
This episode features an original plot, finally another El-Aurian! The title is a reference to the rivalry between Martus Mazur and Quark, as well as the rivalry between Bashir and O'Brien playing Racketball. There are a great number of small details in this episode that make it so good. It's so wonderfully funny and tactful too. The character-driven nature of the episode is entirely to its advantage. The sci fi regarding the luck changing devices isn't particularly interesting, but it didn't need to be. They were quite literally plot devices, pun intended. Bashir and O'Brien have a developing friendship, which began with rivalry earlier in the show, and continues with rivalry in this episode. But as the time passes, you can tell they're becoming more and more fond of one another. Bashir always wanted to be friends with O'Brien, since the beginning. But O'Brien despised him, refusing to even spend any time with him at first! Now with the Racketball games, O'Brien wants to spend time with Bashir; even if it's to satisfy a rivalry, it's still an improvement. An excellent episode.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo: "Humanoid death rituals are a hobby of mine. Everybody needs a hobby!"
- Odo, regarding the nickname "constable": "It's a nickname I barely tolerate."
- Morn appearances; 1. In the first scene.

My Review
Introducing Dr. Mora, the scientist who raised Odo. An exploration of Odo's past is certainly an interesting and expected storyline. This episode features another silicon based life form, the one on the planet Dr. Mora wanted to investigate. The first of this type was discovered in TOS: The Devil in the Dark, and again in TNG: Silicon Avatar. It's nice that the show is being largely consistent about this. The episode goes sour though when it ceases to be about Odo's origins and becomes dominated by the recycled mystery monster attacks the ship (or in this case station) plot cliche.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien and Bashir discussing women and marriage.
- Bashir offending O'Brien by mentioning his marital problems.
- Dax describing reading Bashir's journals.
- Quark's tribute to Bashir and O'Brien.
- Keiko discovering the recording a fake.
- Sisko faking out the aliens with the other runabout.
- Keiko realizing that her "Coffee" clue was nothing but good luck because O'Brien does indeed drink coffee in the afternoon.
- Rules of Acquisition; 57. Good customers are as rare as latinum. Treasure them.

My Review
This episode facilitates more bonding between Bashir and O'Brien, due to their being stuck on a desolate planet with O'Brien slowly dying. Unfortunately, the reason for their misfortune was terribly conceived. The plan to kill Bashir and O'Brien just because they possess knowledge of the harvesters was simply ridiculous. As Bashir and Sisko said, what's the damn point? Oh well, despite the annoying premise, the good moments between Bashir and O'Brien do well to brighten up the episode.

Problems
None

Factoids
- There was a Pakled on DS9 in this episode.

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien and Bashir during the medical exam.
- O'Brien: "I haven't had a physical take this long since I was born!"
- Jake accidentally inferring that O'Brien is "really, really old."
- O'Brien: "They even broke into my personal logs to see what they could find there. I hope they enjoyed the sexy letters I sent to my wife."
- O'Brien freaking out at Quark.
- O'Brien fleeing the station and stealing a runabout.
- The revelation that there are two O'Briens!
- Rules of Acquisition; 194 (maybe, Quark's not sure): It's always good business to know about new customers before they walk in your door.

My Review
A decent premise is slightly ruined, drowning under the weight of another "conspiracy" plot. A decent plot twist at the end saves the episode from a lower rating, but I just wish the plot twist was revealed a little sooner than the last two minutes of the episode. Though it is fun to watch O'Brien freak out at everybody and everything, there is very little plot advancement until the somewhat anticlimatic ending. A decent ride though.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien talking about how he discovered his talents.
- Alixus justifying trying to "buy" Sisko's loyalty with sexual favors.
- Dax's "rope trick" with the tractor beam.
- Sisko crawling back into the penalty box rather than sacrifice his uniform.
- The engineer guy voluntarily letting himself get knocked out by O'Brien.
- O'Brien phasering out Sisko.

My Review
A colony of luddites dominated by a meglomaniac dicatator with brainwashed followers. Not my favorite topic to address in Star Trek, but certainly an interesting and memorable episode. By the end of the episode all I wanted was to see O'Brien phaser Alixus. Her misguided philosophy of life was just annoying. But Sisko's and O'Brien's resolve against her makes the episode nicely watchable, a good pick of the second season.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Omicron particles can only be created by rare matter-antimatter reactions, according to Dax.

Remarkable Scenes
- Odo denying that there are women chasing him.
- Odo beaming himself up and back to demonstrate his power to leave, but he remains as a matter of good faith.
- Bashir eager to spy on Quark because he wants to try out the surveilance techniques he learned from Garak's lectures.
- O'Brien telling Jake to stand up to his Dad.
- Another mention of the Dominion. Rurigan mentions the Dominion conquered his race and he fled to the planet of this episode to set up a new holographic life.
- Jake standing up to Sisko.
- Odo shape shifting in the end.

My Review
This episode tackles the building up issue of Sisko trying to control his son's actions too much. In earlier episodes, Sisko makes plans with O'Brien for the internship featured in this episode. Even earlier, Sisko tries to dictate to Jake the "proper" dating procedure. Even earlier, Sisko tries to discourage him from dating at all, and even discourages him from being friends with Nog! In this episode, Sisko must finally confront the fact that Jake wants to shape his own life. There are some annoying things in this episode, such as the residents of Yadera Prime looking exactly like humans, and the fact that this is another episode which opens with the hope of exploring Odo's origins yet yields no answers. Otherwise, this is a largely successful episode, a decent season two offering.

Problems
- Nothing about this "proto universe" makes any sense whatsoever.

Factoids
- Runabouts are 17 meters wide according to Jadzia.

Remarkable Scenes
- Dax: "It always takes me longer to get ready as a female."
- O'Brien and Kira chasing voles.
- O'Brien's sonic weapon he developed for the voles causing Quark great pain.
- The Klingon chef singing.
- O'Brien's chat with the Cardiassian about the voles.
- Jake accidentally spilling the beans about his Dabo girl girlfriend to Sisko.
- Rules of Acquisition; 112. Never have sex with the boss' sister.
- Morn appearances; 1. Behind Arjin during his conversation with Quark. 2. Behind Dax at Quark's when she talks to Arjin.

My Review
This episode features some nice Trill trivia, but a bad sci fi plot. The idea that an entire universe could be trapped inside of a lab on DS9 is just ridiculous. Personally, I agree with Kira's solution. Step on the damn ants! The way they stopped this proto universe thing from expanding after they dropped it off back in the Gamma quadrant isn't really explained and the whole Trill plot seems to be wasted as a result. I've seen worse, but this was definitely bad.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Garak's third appearance.
- Garak's conversation with Toran firmly establishes that Garak was exiled from Cardassia.

Remarkable Scenes
- Garak continuing to avoid Bashir's inquiries into the truth about Garak's past.
- Garak's meeting with Quark.
- Sisko accusing Garak of being more than "just a simple tailor."
- Natima shooting Quark.
- Natima: "Oh Quark. I've always loved you! Even when I hated you!"
- Sisko being forced by the Bajorans to turn over their Cardassian guests.
- Garak's conversation with Toran.
- Quark begging Odo to let Natima and the others go.
- Garak confronting Quark, Natima, and the others during their escape.
- Garak killing Toran.
- Rules of Acquisition; 223. (Quark is interrupted before he can cite it.)
- Morn appearances; 1. At the bar in the scene where Odo confronts Quark about the prospect of Quark procuring a cloaking device.

My Review
This is a very strange and entertaining episode with regards to Quark. It's difficult to accept Quark actually fell in true love with Natima to the point where profit (almost?) stopped mattering. But that's what fuels the greatness of this rather unusual story because as unbelievable in theory it is, it is portrayed absolutely convincingly. The story portrays two parallel plots; Quark's love for Natima and Garak's love for the state which exiled him. Garak's presence always enhances an episode; the combination of Quark's unusual behavior and Garak's involvement make this rather dry plot quite a bit better than it should have been.

Problems
- This episode made the Klingon forehead problem much worse before Ent: Affliction solved it.

Factoids
- This episode establishes that Klingons live much longer than humans.

Remarkable Scenes
- Kor and Koloth's appearances.
- Odo lamenting about having a "Klingon afternoon."
- Koloth: "A sharp knife is nothing without a sharp eye."
- Kor, regarding the albino: "I will cut his heart out and eat it while he watches me with his dying breath!"
- Dax dueling Koloth.
- Dax describing her alternative tactical strategy.
- Kang killing the albino.
- The silence when Jadzia returned to her duties.

My Review
Introducing Kor, Koloth, and Kang. Oh, do you remember them? Yep, seems Klingons live for an extremely long period of time. These were some Klingons who gave Kirk some headaches in the original series. The three Klingons and Dax's previous host Curzon swore a blood oath to avenge the death of their Klingon sons murdered by the treacherous albino. In this episode they band together for one last glorious battle together. In the end, Koloth and Kang die, but Kor lives. And we will see him again. I very much enjoyed this episode. DS9 did the Klingon stuff very well; this is the first of many such episodes.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Cardassians tend to have photographic memories. They also put their children in intensive mind training programs at the age of four.
- This is the first mention of the badlands, an area of space where ships are lost due to plasma storms.

Remarkable Scenes
- Jadzia mentioning dating captain Boday, a Gallamite with a transparent skull. The first of many mentionings.
- Hudson and Sisko reminiscing.
- Sakonna discussing a business proposition with Quark.
- Dukat sitting in Sisko's quarters.
- Kira's report on what Jake is doing.
- The first sight of a Maquis vessel destroying Cardassian ships.
- Quark's meal with Sakonna.
- Sakonna: "I wish to procure weapons."
- Quark's reaction to Sakonna's request for weapons.
- Odo defending the security procedures of DS9 when it was Terok Nor.
- Rules of Acquisition; 214. Never begin a business negociation on an empty stomach.

My Review
This episode marks the official beginning of the Maquis, obviously, given its name. One thing I like is the direct continuity with TNG: Journey's End, the previously aired episode. I'm fond of Sisko's attitude toward the Maquis. Sympathy, but no exceptions for they're criminals and should be stopped at all costs. This is the first of many of Sisko's strong stands on moral issues. The episode ends with a cliffhanger as Sisko realizes his friend Hudson is in fact a member of the Maquis. A very good episode.

Problems
None

Factoids
- Properly trained Cardassians can resist Vulcan mind melds.

Remarkable Scenes
- Sisko's speech to Kira.
- Sisko and Odo leaving Quark in jail.
- Legate Parn regarding Gul Dukat being held by the Maquis pending execution: "What difference does it make whether we do it or they do it?"
- Dukat ridiculing his interrogators.
- Odo using his shape shifting abilities in battle.
- Dukat describing the Cardassian legal system. Entertainment, not justice.
- Kira: "With that kind of firepower, the Bajorans could have lost a full scale assault on Cardassia!" Dukat: "And lost."
- Dukat scaring the wits out of the contraband freighter.
- Sakonna: "I am a Vulcan. My emotional state is irrelevent." Quark: "Well I'm a Ferengi and my emotional state is very relevant."
- Sakonna to Quark: "Do you propose to lecture me on logic?"
- Quark's lecture about buying peace at a bargain price to Sakonna.
- The space battle. Nice!
- Rules of Acquisition; 3. Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to.

My Review
Nothing unexpected here. One notable detail is how Sisko saves Dukat's life; something he will do again, and something he will come to regret. Sisko working with Dukat was definitely surreal. Sisko's resolve remains strong, he is more willing to defend the Cardassians, the treaty, and the peace; turning on former Federation members, even his former friends, to accomplish this. I liked the way he balanced his loyalties and duties in this episode so perfectly. His actions were the perfect model for a Starfleet officer, in my opinion. Everything from his chats with Cal to his handling of Dukat was great. The climax was a lot of fun to watch, the space battle of unexpectedly high quality. I liked this second part better than the first part.

Problems

Factoids
- Garak's 4th episode.
- This is Andrew Robinson's (the actor who plays Gark) favorite episode.
- This episode marks the first appearance of Enabran Tain.

Remarkable Scenes
- Garak and Bashir discussing "The Never Ending Sacrifice", a supposed classic Cardassian novel.
- Bashir regarding Jadzia's plant: "In my expert medical opinion, I'd say it's sick."
- Bashir: "I'm a doctor, not a botanist!" Count 10 for "I'm a doctor, not a (blah)" style lines, which McCoy was famous for.
- Garak's seizure.
- Odo: "I routinely monitor all of Quark's subspace communications." Bashir: "Is that legal?" Odo: "It's in the best interest of station security."
- Odo regarding the Obsidian Order: "It is said that Cardassian citizens cannot sit down to a meal without each dish being dually noted and recorded by the Order."
- Garak telling inflamed stories of his past.
- Bashir's meeting with Enabran Tain.
- Tain regarding Garak: "That man has a rare gift for obfuscation."
- Garak foreshadowing a Cardassian Klingon war.
- Bashir: "Out of all the stories you told me, which ones were true and which ones weren't?" Garak: "My dear doctor, they're all true." Bashir: "Even the lies?" Garak: "Especially the lies."
- Morn appearances; 1. I've read that Morn appears in this episode somewhere around Quark's, but I've not been able to see him.

My Review
Finally, a Garak's past episode! Up to this point, we know literally nothing about his past other than that he was most certainly exiled from Cardassia. At the end of this episode, all we know for certain is that his first name is Elim and that he has some connection to the head of the Obsidian Order, Enabran Tain because we don't know which of his stories are lies and which are the truth. Though, it's fun to rewatch this episode after one's seen all of DS9 just to see Garak tell all his stories again with full prior knowledge of his full past, though I'm going off a tangent here. This episode features one of the best acting performances in all of Andrew Robinson's entire career, with his performance as Garak in this episode. A splendid showing.

Problems
None

Factoids
- This episode is the first to mention "New Bajor", the first Bajoran colony in the Gamma quadrant.
- Garak's 5th appearance.
- This episode is a reference to TOS: Mirror, Mirror.

Remarkable Scenes
- Kira and Bashir crossing over into the mirror universe.
- Evil Kira describing the events of TOS: Mirror, Mirror.
- Mirror Quark: "Gold pressed what?"
- Mirror Quark shot down a hero.
- Mirror Sisko calling Mirror O'Brien "smiley".
- Bashir killing Mirror Odo.

My Review
The second of a long line of Mirror Universe episodes, the first was TOS: Mirror, Mirror. It seems the Terran Empire has been destroyed thanks to Kirk convincing Mirror Spock to initiate reform. In its place, the Alliance. Some kind of joint Klingon, Cardassian, and Bajoran Empire. While I like the idea behind these types of episodes, this one serves as little more than as an introduction to the DS9 Mirror characters and as a result features not very much else content. Thankfully, the introductions are not wasted. We will see them again.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- Kira insulting Vedek Winn.
- Kira and Odo talking to the collaborator.
- Vedek Winn's meeting with Sisko.
- Kira and Odo waking in on Quark. Kira: "Don't be so defensive!" Quark: "I can't help it, between the two of you I'm developing a persecution complex!"
- Rules of Acquisition; 285 (last rule). No good deed ever goes unpunished.

My Review
Vedek Winn manipulates Vedek Bareil to get him to withdraw his candidacy for the next Kai. An interesting idea, but drowns under the weight of zero plot development. The whole thing plays out exactly as it was expected to with no major surprises. One thing to note is that the consequences of this episode are majorly important to the series. Kai Winn becomes twice as destructive as Vedek Winn was, Kira already regrets Winn becoming Kai, but she'll have twice as many reasons to later in the series.

Problems
None

Factoids
None

Remarkable Scenes
- O'Brien finding it difficult to leave the station.
- Keiko appearance.
- O'Brien's reaction to being captured by the Cardassians.
- O'Brien's objections to the Cardassian legal system.
- O'Brien to Odo regarding his capture: "They did some dental work that wasn't much fun"
- Odo pestering Makbar at the trial.
- Makbar laying into O'Brien for being a racist against Cardassians.
- The abrupt change in the attitude of the Cardassian court when Sisko showed up with the Cardassian spy.

My Review
This episode was the much expected closer look at the Cardassian justice system. We've gotten tidbits of information about it since TNG: The Wounded and onward. This episode bears the most resemblance to TNG: Chain of Command. When O'Brien is first captured by the Cardassians, his treatment is nearly identical to how Picard was treated in the said episode. Unfortunately, this trial is largely a waste of time. While I enjoyed all of the ironies concerning it, one wonders how such a court could exist in the Cardassian Empire for so many thousands of years. Nevertheless, an enjoyable episode.

Problems
- Eris' telekinetic abilities seem largely inconsistent with the Vorta later featured in the series. My guess is we're forced to assume she was genetically enhanced by the Dominion for this mission and that she was lying about her species when she told Sisko the story of her people.

Factoids
- This episode marks the first appearance of the Jem'Hadar (obviously, given the name), the ever vigilant army of the Dominion. And the Vorta, the ever vigilant administrators of the Dominion. This episode also is the first to mention the founders, though no information about them is given other than the fact that they founded and control the Dominion.
- The Dominion use a phased-polaron beam weapon to penetrate Federation shields.

Remarkable Scenes
- Quark asking Odo to let him use the station's monitors to run commercials for Quark's bar. Hilarious.
- Quark pleading with Sisko about his advertisement plans.
- Sisko and Quark captured by the Jem'Hadar.
- The Jem'Hadar soldier discussing his extensive knowledge of the Alpha Quadrant. I like his preoccupation with the Klingons, and wanting to meet a Klingon. A warrior race vs. a warrior race.
- Jake and Nog on the runabout.
- The first sighting of a Jem'Hadar ship.
- The Jem'Hadar soldier beaming through the station's shields and walking through the station's forcefields then telling Kira to her face that the Dominion has annihilated the colony of New Bajor.
- Sisko: "Quark, maybe you'd better take a look at this." Quark: "Sure! Quark be quiet. Quark stand watch. Quark pick a lock! All you ever do is order me around! You know, commander I think I've figured out why hew-mons don't like Ferengi." Sisko: "Not now Quark." Quark: "The way I see it, hew-mons used to be a lot like Ferengi. Greedy, acquisitive, interested only in profit. We're a constant reminder of a part of your past you'd like to forget." Sisko: "Quark, we don't have time for this." Quark: "But you're overlooking something. Hew-mons used to be a lot worse than the Ferengi. Slavery, concentration camps, inter-stellar wars. We have nothing in our past that approaches that kind of barbarism. You see? We're nothing like you. We're better. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lock to pick."
- Kira and Odo discussing Quark fondly. Odo: "I'd rather see him in jail than in the hands of the Dominion."
- I love seeing another galaxy class starship! The battle with the Jem'Hadar ships was awesome.
- The destruction of the Odyssey.
- Sisko confronting Eris. Eris: "You have no idea what's begun here."
- Rules of Acquisition; 102. Nature decays but latinum lasts forever.
- Morn appearances; 1. Quark offers to counsel him, then cuts him off just as he's about to speak, forgetting about his offer.

My Review
This episode begins the much needed Federation confrontation with the Dominion. I suspect this wasn't done in the first season, or earlier in the second, because of the TNG wrap up. Now that all the attention is on DS9, DS9 can finally start to do cool things of its own. This episode bears nice continuity with the previous episode mentioning the Dominion. Especially with regards to Quark's mentioning that the Ferengi have been trying to enter into trade negotiations with the Dominion for quite some time. So we get our expected confrontation, and what a confrontation! The Dominion destroyed the new Bajoran colony and demonstrated its ability to beam across long distances through shields! The crew of the USS Odyssey was handled very nicely, I loved the uniforms. They had TNG style uniforms, which is consistent with the commonly held belief at the time that older starships still had old-style unforms, but Starfleet was giving newly commissioned ships and bases new-style uniforms. A slow transition. The battle with the Jem'Hadar in this episode was fantastic. The destruction of the USS Odyssey was downright shocking; to see a galaxy class starship taken down so easily! A great finale.