Hm. Don't know. I often asked for more serious stories for Quark. This is a serious story and a moral tale. Great to learn more of Quark's kinship. I'm especially excited to meet his cousin of whom we've heard before (as I remember Little Green Men was the episode where he tried to kill Quark). Again, Quark proves that he's sometimes more than just a greedy Ferengi.
Execution is bad though. It's boring for the most part. The moral story is too much on the nose. And the ethical dilemma (profit vs. doing the right thing) isn't really complex. This starts with Quark's decision to get into the business in the first place. It was not really a voluntarily decision. It was motivated by his existential financial crisis. I think that's a bit too convenient. I never got the idea that Quark was ever accepting that much risk. Plus, I dislike the Hagath guy (or the actor - can't even tell). W/o him the story would have been better. Cousin Gaila is the only antagonist this story needed). The ending is disappointing. We don't even get to see what's happening. And I'm not sure why Quark gets away with that. And - as I said before - the dilemma could be presented much more subtle. I mean, although you learn almost nothing about the conflict (budget issues?), the Regent is about to mass murder people indiscriminately. There's not the slightest ambiguity. He's 100% evil. That much is clear. You don't facilitate a genocide. Even Quark gets this. I'd have liked that Quark had a more difficult decision to make.
Review by Alexander von LimbergBlockedParent2023-09-01T17:17:17Z— updated 2023-09-03T18:56:43Z
Hm. Don't know. I often asked for more serious stories for Quark. This is a serious story and a moral tale. Great to learn more of Quark's kinship. I'm especially excited to meet his cousin of whom we've heard before (as I remember Little Green Men was the episode where he tried to kill Quark). Again, Quark proves that he's sometimes more than just a greedy Ferengi.
Execution is bad though. It's boring for the most part. The moral story is too much on the nose. And the ethical dilemma (profit vs. doing the right thing) isn't really complex. This starts with Quark's decision to get into the business in the first place. It was not really a voluntarily decision. It was motivated by his existential financial crisis. I think that's a bit too convenient. I never got the idea that Quark was ever accepting that much risk. Plus, I dislike the Hagath guy (or the actor - can't even tell). W/o him the story would have been better. Cousin Gaila is the only antagonist this story needed). The ending is disappointing. We don't even get to see what's happening. And I'm not sure why Quark gets away with that. And - as I said before - the dilemma could be presented much more subtle. I mean, although you learn almost nothing about the conflict (budget issues?), the Regent is about to mass murder people indiscriminately. There's not the slightest ambiguity. He's 100% evil. That much is clear. You don't facilitate a genocide. Even Quark gets this. I'd have liked that Quark had a more difficult decision to make.
The B-plot is nice but totally inconsequential