Quite magnificent. This is a gorgeously slow paced and sedate episode that asks big questions - but those questions are not about our world or our own point of view, but rather questions about our characters. Captain Sisko has long been uncomfortable with the role of Emissary, but here the age old addage of not knowing what you've got until it's gone comes into play. He finally is able to embrace it and see it for the honour and pleasure that it has the potential to be.
It's also a deftly clever look at religion that allows for all points of view to be viable. Some of our characters have faith, some don't, and both are absolutely fine because they can live their lives comfortably with those beliefs. I find the notion of the Bajoran caste system quite fascinating (it's explored a bit more in the Terok Nor novels) and the ruling which Akorem makes to bring it back is obviously jarring, to the point where it's scary how many people are willing to accept it.
One thing I really enjoyed, which was understated, was the fact that Akorem accepts that he was wrong without kicking up a fuss. He was never a bad person, just of a different time.
The Miles/Julian bromance is a pleasant backdrop to all of this, again resonating with the main story by showing what our characters want or need to make them comfortable with their lives. I'd also forgotten that Keiko's pregnancy was going to start this early!
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2017-11-14T20:50:06Z— updated 2017-12-03T22:07:43Z
Quite magnificent. This is a gorgeously slow paced and sedate episode that asks big questions - but those questions are not about our world or our own point of view, but rather questions about our characters. Captain Sisko has long been uncomfortable with the role of Emissary, but here the age old addage of not knowing what you've got until it's gone comes into play. He finally is able to embrace it and see it for the honour and pleasure that it has the potential to be.
It's also a deftly clever look at religion that allows for all points of view to be viable. Some of our characters have faith, some don't, and both are absolutely fine because they can live their lives comfortably with those beliefs. I find the notion of the Bajoran caste system quite fascinating (it's explored a bit more in the Terok Nor novels) and the ruling which Akorem makes to bring it back is obviously jarring, to the point where it's scary how many people are willing to accept it.
One thing I really enjoyed, which was understated, was the fact that Akorem accepts that he was wrong without kicking up a fuss. He was never a bad person, just of a different time.
The Miles/Julian bromance is a pleasant backdrop to all of this, again resonating with the main story by showing what our characters want or need to make them comfortable with their lives. I'd also forgotten that Keiko's pregnancy was going to start this early!