A much stronger follow up to 'The Siege of AR-558'. This puts Nog front-and-centre, which doesn't happen often, and deals with his recovery from losing his leg. Aron Eisenberg gets to show that he's a better actor than most of us expect and puts in a very strong performance that requires a lot of him. The episode also performs the miracle of making Vic Fontaine an integral part, and I actually found myself really liking him for the first time.
It's a downbeat episode for the majority of the running time. Nog becomes kind of exasperating to watch, and it's easy to understand why Jake loses his temper with him. It all feels very realistic, though - not that I have any experience of losing a limb or being around someone who has. The low mood all gives way to quite a gorgeous and positive ending, though, so it's worth it. It's impressive that the two main characters in this episode, Nog and Vic, are just secondary characters who don't even have their names in the opening titles. There is so many depth and good writing to all involved in this show that we can have episodes like this and it just works.
I also love the background stuff that happens, such as the worry shown by Rom and Leeta (and even Quark!). The sense of their family really shines through. I also love Bashir's exasperation when his holosuite programs are belittled.
If I have any complaint, it's the overuse of damn swing-jazz lounge music. I just cannot get behind it's inclusion in the show, and the fact that every character who comes into contact with it seems to fall in love with it just bewilders me.
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2018-07-14T07:52:55Z
A much stronger follow up to 'The Siege of AR-558'. This puts Nog front-and-centre, which doesn't happen often, and deals with his recovery from losing his leg. Aron Eisenberg gets to show that he's a better actor than most of us expect and puts in a very strong performance that requires a lot of him. The episode also performs the miracle of making Vic Fontaine an integral part, and I actually found myself really liking him for the first time.
It's a downbeat episode for the majority of the running time. Nog becomes kind of exasperating to watch, and it's easy to understand why Jake loses his temper with him. It all feels very realistic, though - not that I have any experience of losing a limb or being around someone who has. The low mood all gives way to quite a gorgeous and positive ending, though, so it's worth it. It's impressive that the two main characters in this episode, Nog and Vic, are just secondary characters who don't even have their names in the opening titles. There is so many depth and good writing to all involved in this show that we can have episodes like this and it just works.
I also love the background stuff that happens, such as the worry shown by Rom and Leeta (and even Quark!). The sense of their family really shines through. I also love Bashir's exasperation when his holosuite programs are belittled.
If I have any complaint, it's the overuse of damn swing-jazz lounge music. I just cannot get behind it's inclusion in the show, and the fact that every character who comes into contact with it seems to fall in love with it just bewilders me.