The Green Knight is an epic character study that takes it's time following the path of a man finding worth in his life, but that slow progression is also its downfall.
This movie was really gripping at first, I was invested in the first 30 minutes but that flow slowly starts to fade during the mid-section. At this point the scenes begin to drag a bit and the story jumps from one section to the next so quickly that it can be a bit disorienting as to where you are. Despite the slight pacing issues, this film is still a treat to watch.
The visuals and the atmosphere of this film is really well done, each scene felt perfectly crafted. The mix between CGI and practical affects are a real bright spot as today so many movies rely too much on the computerized effects. The tone had me completely captivated, as adventure unfolds there are many darks turns where our protagonist has to preserver to get to his objective. This perseverance is what evolves him as a character and is what enables him to be worthy of knighthood. I bought that evolution due to the fantastic job Dev Patel does in this film.
Patel encapsulates so much of what Gawain is, a reckless and immature child who has done nothing with his life. This causes a great deal of insecurity as he feels not worthy to be in the presence of his uncle, the king, even though he has royal blood. The sense of unsureness is carried throughout the film brilliantly by Patel, and it is not until the end where he truly becomes worthy for the crown. This performance is spectacular, and Dev Patel deserves all the accolades for this film.
Overall, The Green Knight was a really interesting experience. Although it does not warrant its runtime and pacing could have been done better, it is still an excellent film that I enjoyed. Even after watching, the more research I do and more I think about it, the more it gets better due to the complex symbolism and presentation that does not make itself known on the first watch.
Grade: 83%
Verdict: Great
[10/10] I frickin’ loved this. The premise of Spock not understanding humor but trying to put up a blooper reel is brilliant. There’s such delicious anti-humor to this one! And the stone faced, shocked, or heartbroken reactions from the rest of the crew is the icing on the cake.
I think my favorite part is the mix of the extremeness of these alleged “bloopers” and Spock’s deadpan explanations for them. I died laughing at the anti humor of “It is funny because normally he does have legs.” The gags about T’Pring leaving Spock, and him reasoning that it’s funny because “this shattered me” is an ironically hilarious misunderstanding of humor. (And having Nurse Chapel tear up too is a nice touch!) And him showing a ship being destroyed, with the logic that if a small misfortune is funny, a big misfortune is even funnier is tremendous in how you can kind of understand his reasoning but it’s so horribly wrong.
The fact that, in the end, what wins the crowd over is an America’s Funniest Videos-style vision of bathroom humor, pratfalls, nutshots, and farts is the best absurd bow to put on this thing. And there’s even a sort of franchise in-joke with how Gene Roddenberry used to take blooper reels from The Original Series to show at conventions.
Overall, the comic ridiculousness and layers upon layers of humor in this one is all just great. A+!
Sam Esmail, take a bow. The style, pace, punch and composition of this contemporary cyber thriller is top notch, a film that feels no where near it's 141 minute runtime. Harrowing, darkly humorous and while also being a poignant, cautionary tale, Leave The World Behind is dripping in Sam Esmails signature style while telling an equally depressing, all-too-real story that touches on many themes surrounding the human condition in the modern day, as well as environmentalism and technology reliance. Fantastic movie, I can't wait to watch this one again.
-- Spoiler-filled ramblings below --
I really love the topics that Sam Esmail tackles, and the lens with which he frames them. It's an interesting look at the destabilization of a country after a, worryingly plausible, large scale cyberattack. The movie critiques our over reliance on digital conveniences and champions older, more analogue technologies as a more reliable, persistent alternative. The virtues of physical media, maps, books, vinyls and even candles are pushed to the forefront here, reminding us that our devices are all useless without the power of the network behind them. It also critiques our inability to trust our fellow man due to the digital echo chambers we've built ourselves, and the prejudices these spaces create within us without ever meeting the people it warns us about. Additionally, it shows the younger generations, unheard and toothless (heh) in their protests while being actively ignored by the elders, resorting to over consumption of food, material possessions and media to escape and block out the incoming end of the world. There's also commentary on the environment and pollution, with plastic haphazardly buried under the sand on the beech, and the wildlife encroaching back onto the land we've built our overtly large accommodations on. Still trying to put my finger on why all the rooms in the movie are overly blue, it was garish how much blue was in the first apartment shot and the beach front home that G.H. owned. Great movie, I guess I should buy and read the book now.
Really angry. I can't believe they killed Robin and brought Killian back instead. We had already accepted his death and it made perfect sense, but now Zeus rewarded him for helping to kill Hades? Bitch please, if Robin hadn't sacrificed himself for Regina, Regina wouldn't be there to convince Zelena to kill Hades (which Robin wouldn't have been able to do). Killian being brought back didn't make any sense, even though Emma already lost Neal and it was starting to seem she was cursed or something. But all Killian did was putting some pages inside a book, Robin gave his life. Who's the real hero?
Ok, you can say "His death was permanent, there's no way to bring him back" but the truth is they shouldn't even have killed him in the first place. I really can imagine where next season is going: Regina trying to get revenge on Emma, for she always gets a happy ending and Regina doesn't. And she has every right to do it. Emma is so damn lucky it makes me wanna throw up, while Regina, who has to fight for a happy ending, never gets it. Really, this is getting so repetitive... It's time for Regina to get her happy ending. Next week we have a double episode, which means they have plenty of time to find a logical way to bring Robin back, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Really disappointed with this season.
Hades YEAH! :D
For the rivers:
"There are five main rivers that are visible both in the living world and the underworld. Their names were meant to reflect the emotions associated with death.
The Styx is generally considered to be one of the most prominent and central rivers of the Underworld and is also the most widely known out of all the rivers. It's known as the river of hatred and is named after the goddess Styx. This river circles the underworld seven times.
The Acheron is the river of pain. It's the one that Charon, also known as the Ferryman, rows the dead over according to many mythological accounts, though sometimes it is the river Styx or both.
The Lethe is the river of forgetfulness. It is associated with the goddess Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness and oblivion. In later accounts a poplar branch dripping with water of the Lethe became the symbol of Hypnos, the god of sleep.
The Phlegethon is the river of fire. According to Plato, this river leads to the depths of Tartarus.
The Cocytus is the river of wailing.
Oceanus is the river that encircles the world, and it marks the east edge of the underworld, as Erebos is west of the mortal world."
[7.1/10] It’s not really Star Trek until you have Jeffrey Combs playing a character, huh? This one was fun, albeit a bit of a step down from the past couple of episodes.
The A-story sees Mariner and Boimler stranded in a crashed shuttlecraft with an evil computer module (Combs). There’s a good throughline there, with Mariner thinking Boimler’s not ready for dangerous missions yet and bristling at his talk of being on the Titan. Boimler, for his part, seems to be duped by the A.i. (who’s funny in his blithe suggestions that he be able to interface with various other technology), when in fact he’s using its battery to send a distress signal. Mariner getting Boimler taken off a big mission he’s been looking forward to is pretty crappy, but it’s a nice fake out for Bradward and a solid resolution to the conflict.
Plus, I got a big kick out of the show making fun of all the malevolent computers in the franchise! The various versions of them making empty threats toward one another at the Daystrom institute(!!!) is a hilarious way to end the episode.
The B-story was nice too. I like that Chief Engineer Billups’ mom is a Lwaxana Troi type, with a zany scheme to get her son to lose his virginity/take the throne. It’s an amusing, if out there riff on a familiar Star Trek story shape. Billups’ people being ren faire enthusiasts is a fun bit, and Tendi worrying that she pushed Rutherford too far outside of his comfort zone, only for him to appreciate her encouragement when he spreads his wings, gives a good grounding in character.
Overall, this is a replacement level episode of Lower Decks than something that shows the series at its best, but an “okay” episode of this show is still pretty darn good!
Neil wrote a really beautiful episode here.
Storm Reid was excellent casting for Riley. A great combination of the snark, sarcasm and magnetic energy Riley needs, while still hitting the emotional chords of the story. She played off Bella really well.
The “Take On Me” inclusion made me smile.
(Also love all the just general set dressings that allude to the game. Savage Starlight. Dawn of the Wolf. Macho Nacho. The wolf/clown mask.)
A small part of me wishes we got some sort of confirmation of whether or not Ellie had to actually kill Riley herself when she starts to turn (while also recognizing that she is not turning) or if she just left her behind. It’s always been one of those mysteries I’ve been morbidly curious about. I took Ellie’s comment a few episodes ago about “not her first kill” being reference to her first human kill, and her having to say goodbye to Riley is such a relevant moment in Ellie’s life that adds layers to her survivors guilt and reasons for why she so desperately wants to believe in the cure. I certainly understand the reasons behind why they leave the story on a more poetic ending, instead of showcasing the brutality of what actually happened on screen, but it is undoubtedly one of Ellie’s saddest and most impactful moments of her lifetime so I’ve always wondered if we’d ever learn how exactly Ellie had to leave her.
EDIT: Also loved Craig’s commentary on how Ellie’s first experience with “loss” manifests in rage and anger. An interesting viewpoint and foreshadowing considering what’s to come in the adaption of Part 2.
EDIT 2: Gustavo’s score felt especially poignant in this episode, too. So good.
[7.5/10] I recently read an article about Star Trek Discovery, praising the character of Captain Pike. The author argued that Pike was a much-needed masculine role model after the supposed degradation of men in popular culture. He argued that the manly, decisiveness of Pike was a sorely needed corrective to the deconstructions of masculinity that have been en vogue of late.
As you can probably tell from my tone, I don’t necessarily agree with the premise. Discovery’s Pike is great, but one of the important and useful things pop culture has done in the last couple of decades is pry away at the trappings and expectations of masculinity in our modern era and in our past, and examined the unsettling underbelly of those cultural tropes and pressures.
But then I come to an episode of Enterprise like “Desert Passing”, and it reminds me how much Star Trek in particular has long been a purveyor of notions of different sorts of masculinity, beyond just macho manly man nonsense. Sure, Kirk never found a situation he couldn’t punch or sleep his way out of, but Spock was a dignified alternative, Picard was the picture of dignity and unassuming strength, Sisko carried emotional baggage and was warm with his son, and Voyager had...uh...Tuvok I guess? Well they’re not all winners, but the fact is that Star Trek has often put forward these sorts of role models, who modeled different but no less strong ways to be men to scores of impressionable nerds like yours truly.
And while I have my beefs with Archer as a character, I like how he too fills that role here. He is venerated as a warrior, as a tactician, and legendary freedom fighter here, the sort of Rambo-esque figure who drops in, single-handedly fights an army, and then saves the day. But Archer not only brushes off those sorts of comparisons, but show’s a different sort of caring, wit, endurance, and self-sacrifice that are traits less associated with the sort of image that article’s author wanted to conjure.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a weird Top Gun-esque space lacrosse scene where Archer and Trip go shirtless and knock over their alien competitors. (Which, I guess, at least helps balance out some of the weird cheesecake the show does with T’Pol?) But the focus of the episode is not on Archer as a manly man; it’s on him as a survivor, someone who is giving and kind.
The meat of the episode sees him and Trip tracking their way across an alien desert while they wait for help to arrive. That challenge means you never see Archer throw a punch. You see him give his water to Trip, who’s suffering from heat exhaustion. You see him being smart enough to remember seeing shelter when they arrived, in case they needed it. You see him being resourceful enough to jerry-rig a way to boil some contaminated water to make it potable. And you see him coming up with all sorts of ways to keep Trip awake and engaged so as not to lose his good friend in the throes of a fever.
In short, Archer is someone unbelievably sharp and giving here. He spends none of his time plotting against attackers or showing anger at a semi-betrayal or frustration with his circumstance. He spends all of it figuring out the situation, helping his dear friend, using his wits and his kindness rather than anything more traditionally masculine.
The same goes for the episode’s interesting take on Starfleet and the Enterprise’s role in the interstellar community. I love the fact that Archer and company’s exploits have been bent and twisted out of proportion, to where random freedom fighters on other planets see the Enterprise as powerful allies to the downtrodden who will save and fight for them with the push of a button. That is very much a Captain Kirk mentality: show up some place, decide that you don’t like the way things are run, and so blow the whole society up and remake it the way you’d like it to be.
But “Desert Passing” engages with the way things are more complicated than that. The humanoid who befriends our heroes seems nice and gregarious (and Clancy Brown hamming it up in the role, Harry Mudd-style, is tons of fun). He offers a believable story that tracks with American history, of minority groups being officially and technically granted equality, but facing softer and realer obstacles when hearts and minds and public institutions have to put that into practice. But we also get a countervailing story from the official government of the planet, that Archer’s friend is actually a terrorist, whose allies are attacking cities and peoples. And then we see that same government be curt with T’Pol and harsh with Archer and Trip.
It’s an idea you don’t always see much of in Star Trek. We’re used to planets being essentially unified nation states, where making contact with one group means that they represent the whole. As Hoshi points out, first contact is likely to be trickier than that in most instances, with situations like the one in “Shadows of P’Jem” that suggest our main characters are trifling with complicated internecine struggles that it’s hard to comprehend, let alone interfere with, after an afternoon of getting to know someone or a single distress signal.
While the show once again lays it on thick with a “directive” reference, at the end of the day, Archer decides that discretion is important, that deferring to governments rather than individual starship captains is the right way to go, and that forbearance is the right choice, no matter how uneasy he feels about it. It’s the exact opposite of a “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality that you might expect in a more traditionally manly leader, but Archer represents that Star Trek ethos of not just ethical righteousness, but calm deliberation, making hard choices that sometimes lead to a queasy stomach rather than an exciting firefight.
At the end of the day, Archer is worried about the health and well-being of his chief engineer and best friend. He’s worried about the complexities of using the Enterprise’s arsenal to take sides in a war that may be just, but which probably has more nuance to it than can be gleaned from one partisan in a high dudgeon. He is not the innocent-saving, evil-basting cowboy rocking through the galaxy. He is an occasionally supercilious, sometimes cavalier, but ultimately well-intentioned, altruistic, and thoughtful leader. It’s a flavor of masculinity that might not please the anti-feminist sceeders out there, but which is part and parcel with Star Trek’s more nuanced take on what being a man is and can be.
(As an aside, I really liked the production design and directing here. The desert landscapes were beautifully composed, and there were tons of creative shots like Archer and Trip emerging from their sandy hiding place. Certainly the most visually appealing the show’s looked so far!)
Oh man... this finale had me bawling start to finish. I know a lot of people will have stuff to say but I loved it. I think they did the show justice. I hoped Pamela would die but a life in prison seems just as Negan said... it's worse for her than death. Walker Lance had me shook! I hoped they'd show him as a walker but I didn't think it would happen.
Rosita has never been a fave of mine but her death had me feeling A LOT. It was beautifully serene in the cruelest way. I had a feeling than when she fell and returned that they'd pull a Glenn again... having her survive but die later on. It was heartbreaking. That said I can't let Luke's death go. We didn't get much of Luke but the way his group reacted, the way he had to watch the woman he loved die gruesomely in front of him to then losing his leg and dying of that... it broke me!
The little moment between Maggie and Negan was so powerful. I'm so glad Maggie doesn't forgive him and in return I love that Negan now fully realizes what he's done to her.
Rick and Michonne's story is going to be interesting. I'm really hyped for the spin-off now that we've seen a glimpse of what that will look like. Seeing them brought back a lot of memories. Adding the montage of literal memories too it... My god... again; I cried.
Daryl saying 'I love you' to Carol meant the world to me. They really are soulmates. Platonic soulmates. I have so much love for the both of them.
I truly enjoyed the finale. It wrapped up a season that for me was bringing some of the OG magic back. I'll definitely revisit the show and I'm actually looking forward to the spin-offs now... which I didn't before but having our TWD end makes me ache for more.
The story continues to be extremely compelling, but the lack of any sort of chemistry between the actors playing Young Jonas and Young Martha is getting to be almost painful to watch. The Jonas actor actually seems to be getting worse all-around over time instead of better, with it being most noticeable in those scenes with Martha. To call it wooden would be an insult to trees. And it's unfortunate since their tragic love is supposed to be the focal point of it all.
My other problem with this one is the stupid way that Claudia creates a false sense of urgency by telling Ulrich to meet her at 10 that night. As a result, she HAS to get that key card right away. Dramatic? Sure. Idiotic? Also true. A far better option would have been to just tell Ulrich that she might need some time, and that he should be there every night at 10 until she shows up and NOT get discouraged if it doesn't happen the first night. Or she could have compromised by bailing on the first attempt to get the key card and going back to see Ulrich so that they could regroup and reset things a bit. But, no. She needed to get that key card RIGHT NOW and, well, go figure.
Beyond those complaints, though, the rest of it, as I said, is still terrific. I'm just a bit disappointed to have any complaints AT ALL since the show has spoiled me up until now...
An episode with a lot of heart that does flounder a bit, but manages to come out pretty good. Tim Russ is, of course, the main attraction here as he plays a very different version of Tuvok. It's quite a startling change, but also really charming. I'm sure I'm not alone in preferring the childlike, emotional Tuvok we meet here instead of the usual one.
This is also a strong Neelix episode, a character that I typically dislike. However, it's episodes like this which really let us see what's going on underneath his cheerful, over-exuberant exterior that make me warm to him more. Neelix cares deeply about his friends (or in the case of Tuvok, "colleague") and his affection and attention towards people is not an act. For once, I really enjoyed spending time with him.
There are things about this which I didn't really like, though. The nature of the show means that Tuvok was always going to revert to his former self by the end, and even though there's a tease that he may have retained some of the "fun" Tuvok, I feel quite sure that it will never be mentioned again. Nor will his secret affection towards Neelix. It's a shame, it could have made for a really interesting premise to keep Tuvok this way and have him relearn what it means to be Vulcan over the course of time. Or even reject that entirely.
There was also a real missed opportunity to refer back to the events of the episode 'Tuvix', which this episode mirrors in many ways. That was also a strong Neelix/Tuvok pairing (literally) and ended with an unwanted surgical procedure. I'm amazed that the two characters didn't bring that shared experience up at any point. But that's what Voyager is: past events have little bearing on each episode, no matter how important they were, and I think the writers were always happy to stick to the assumption that viewers had never watched the show before.
Anyway, this was sweet and charming. The subplot with the invisible aliens was quite boring, and the deputy investigator was a really irritating character.
I get emotional every time. Deep Space Nine ends with a beautiful farewell that manages to cover a lot of bases. It wraps up the Dominion War and gives - mostly - satisfying farewells for these characters. This show had by far the characters with the most depth and development in the franchise. There is no room for arguing that fact at all. They felt real. They had faults and they had arcs and evolved throughout the show.
So, it's a real shame that this is the final on-screen appearance for all of them bar Worf. If there was any Trek show that deserved a continuation in film format it was this one. The stories developed here were so rich, and even though this episode wraps things up it still leaves enough open questions and paths for exploration (with one MASSIVE cliffhanger in particular).
This episode itself is strong though certainly not without problems. The pacing is mostly good, but every time we cut to Kai Winn and Dukat on their pah-wraith search it really spoils the momentum. I've now learned (thanks to online forums that didn't exist for me back in the day) that a lot of people were not fans of any of this storyline. I can kind of understand why, even though it never bothered me too much. I really like the mythos that was slowly built up around the Bajoran religion, and certainly when I was younger I couldn't see the way elements became shoehorned in. The pah-wraiths amount to little more than hand-waving magic when you really look at them and they had the effect of turning both Winn and Dukat into pantomime villains.
I don't really accept the way that Winn changed her entire religious beliefs so readily, even though she tries to justify it. I also don't quite understand most of Dukat's motivations after he loses his daughter in season 6. If we are supposed to believe that he's just gone a bit insane then it could have been portrayed better. The whole showdown is over and done with far too quickly and it all gets a bit Star Wars (which I adore, but Star Wars is fantasy-based whereas Star Trek is science fiction/technology based). It doesn't fit. And we get a fast wrap up where Sisko and Dukat just fall into the fire which is... silly, to be polite.
The rest of the episode makes up for this, though. The final battle of the Dominion War is a visual feast and a gripping rollercoaster. The space battle is a tremendous accomplishment for 1990s television standards, but the best part is the Kira/Garak/Damar resistance storyline. Those three characters have such rich histories of conflict to mine that putting them together leads to nothing but joy on screen. The death of Damar does feel like a gut punch even though we've spent so much time hating him for his actions over the course of the past few seasons. It's a shame that his murder of Ziyal is never directly addressed by Kira or Garak. The love-to-hate-him character Weyoun gets a satisfying send off, and the war is ended with a moment of compassion and understanding when Odo offers to give himself up to save everyone.
The individual character bookends are also greatly satisfying, and often bittersweet. Odo leaves, O'Brien leaves, Worf leaves. Odo's decision feel natural even though he leaves hurt people in his wake, but Miles' is much more unexpected and actually the more emotional for me. The O'Brien/Bashir bromance was among my favourite parts of this show, so the video collage of their past moments is heartbreaking for me. Worf's departure is a bit stranger, since we will see him again in Star Trek: Nemesis and it doesn't acknowledge his decisions here at all. Additionally, I will be forever disappointed that there are no flashback to Jadzia due to licensing reasons.
In happier endings, Julian and Ezri are finally together and I like it. It was all a bit forced but I'm just happy at the thought of them together. Nog gets promoted to Lieutenant (take that, Harry Kim), Kira is in charge of the station and Quark gets to keep running the bar while Rom has become Grand Nagus!
That leaves the saddest ending of all: the Siskos. In particular, I think Jake gets the short straw. His dad is gone but just within reach. Benjamin has not only left his son behind, but his pregnant wife. It's a bold ending that leaves you wanting to know more, and extremely bittersweet. Ben and Jake were the heart and soul of this show from the very beginning and I think it's appropriate that it finishes on a shot of Jake thinking about his dad while being comforted.
I said in my review of 'Emissary' that DS9 was my favourite TV show of all time. This rewatch has solidified that statement for me. The characters here are mismatched, broken people who grow and evolve into true friends and take us on that journey with them. It has also really struck me how much DS9 continues to stand up to today's modern TV landscape, while the other Trek shows feel very much liked dated products of their time. Here we have a tale of terrorism, religion, war and through all that a thread of hope and idealism.
I absolutely can't leave it here, and I'm going to be delving into the "relaunch" novels that pick up where the show ended and continue the journey. It's not official canon and could easily be overwritten at any time (especially given the announcement of all the new Trek heading our way on TV), but that doesn't take away from these new stories at all, and given the "black sheep" nature of DS9 in the franchise I have a feeling that these stories are probably the best I can hope for. There's also the upcoming documentary What We Left Behind to look forward to, and maybe one day we'll get a nice HD upgrade for the show.
See you again down the road, DS9.
And here we have it, the real blemish on an otherwise great show and a contender for the worst episode in the whole Trek franchise. This is quite a disgusting episode for very clear reasons: it makes light of sexism, sexual assault and attempts to turn trans-genderism/gender identity into a joke. I honestly have no idea how anyone thought this was a good idea, other maybe than "it'll be funny!". It's a shame, because the episode starts with the very interesting issue of women getting equal rights on Ferenginar before becoming derailed. It also has the superb Wallace Shawn and Jeffrey Combs doing their usual excellent work.
We open with Quark, a character we've come to love through his faults, openly encouraging a female employee to perform sexual acts on him under the threat of being fired. But it's okay, right? It's meant to be funny.
Quark is forced to have gender reassignment and becomes woman. It's okay, it's meant to be funny.
We all laugh at Quark trying to act like a woman, and the way his hormones now make him feel. It's okay, it's meant to be funny.
A Ferengi male traps female-Quark in his quarters and chases her around in an attempt to have sex with her against her will. It's all very slapstick. It's meant to be funny!
At the end, it turns out that Quark's female employee actually wants to perform the work-enforced sex acts on him! Women always say yes if you're persistent enough, right? SO FUNNY!
Quark doesn't actually learn anything from his experience as a woman! Ha! Sexism wasn't ever a real thing! Oh MY!
One thing I can say about this, is that when DS9 decides to do something strange then it fully commits to it. This episode is one that almost fails but pulls through due to its charm and the rich history of the characters and relationships on screen. The pairing of Kira and Odo is one that I've read a lot of viewers discontent with, but I actually found it to work despite the somewhat manufactured nature of it.
A lot of the odds are stacked against this one. We are introduced to Vic Fontaine who I have to admit is a character that I never quite clicked with, but he somehow manages to not grate too badly with me (once I get past his annoying use of dialogue). The 1960s swing music is a a bit too much - and we have to sit through complete songs - but the whole setting somehow seems to nestle comfortably into the show. I'll feel similarly annoyed when he makes future appearances, but I'll also warm to him as the episodes continue.
It's also a far more natural holodeck environment than anything Voyager has done by this point in time. I can understand why the crew would come here to relax.
I remember watching this episode when it first aired and feeling a bit sideswiped by the whole thing. I think that's just because I wasn't expecting it, and I've found myself warming more to it with subsequent rewatches. It's due to the journey we've been on with both Odo and Kira that I feel very invested in what happens between them, but the show could have done a bit more to build up to this naturally.
The dinner between Kira and Odo is genuinely tense and exciting stuff due to the way it's arranged, with Odo not realising he's speaking with the real Kira. We as an audience are waiting for everything to crash and burn in ruins, but simultaneously delighting in seeing Odo really doing well and wanting it to work out. The final moments between them on the promenade manage to be both silly and gorgeous, and I can't help smiling. I'm happy they finally get together.
There is a truly awkward moment during the dinner scene where Vic randomly begins singing and is just staring at Kira and Odo. It's weird and creepy.
Every so often we're given an episode that attempts to break out of the typical Trek boundaries. Usually these episodes can turn out to be fun diversions or impressive pieces of storytelling. Unfortunately, this is not one of them.
Nothing about this episode works. From the off it's broken as we are given the unexplained and ridiculous premise that O'Brien of all people has been sent undercover to infiltrate the Orion Syndicate. O'Brien. Seriously. The chief engineer on the Federation's first line of defence in the war. I have no idea what possible skills he could have that caused him to be selected or why he ever agreed to go. It's nonsense.
Then we have Star Trek's attempt to portray criminals. This never comes off as anything but pathetic, and episodes can usually get away with it because we're having campy sci-fi fun. But when it's supposed to be serious like this, everything about the "bad guys" comes off as nothing but incompetent non-threatening thugs who like to posture a lot. The big scary Orion Syndicate we've heard about turn out to be as intimidating as a puddle. A similar thing happened over on TNG with the 'Gambit' episodes.
To compound things further, O'Brien makes a complete mess of things by beginning to sympathise with Bilby. Who, don't forget, is a murderer. But it's okay, right? Because he's got a heart of gold and loves his family. I complete side with O'Brien's handler here, and can't see Miles as anything but a bit of an idiot in this one.
If the episode does have anything going for it, it's that Nick Tate in the role of Bilby is quite charming, even if he's completely unbelievable as a mob boss. And the cat is cute.
After 2 episodes: Main couple has great chemistry, though you could tell everything from the huntress girl's face. So the twist that she knew all along wasn't a twist at all and I was shocked that they felt they need to do everything from her perspective so ppl knew she knew. Also, for very old vampires, the adults including the sister are so dumb/naive. Idk, this whole liver thing, I was 100% sure they're going to start believing she didn't kill her but somehow they were more convinced?! Like how?! Even with the mention of the brother I don't think he could be acting like her but doing such stuff so I find sooooo unbelieveble I couldn't watch. If it were a straight main couple I don't think I would be watching passed that point but well... I crave anything sapphic and I really want to give credit to the main actressess which are still unknown.
UPDATE after whole season: first and last episodes were the best, so the showrunners know how to make an impression, also I'm so disappointed that they stick to making Oliver bad, I really liked the twist with him not being responsible and I hoped they gonna leave it at that. I get that he might want the revenge but his last words about power wasn't that logical for me. Nevertheless, I didn't want him to be the bad one after the reveal of his past.
About the point with adults being dumb, it somehow vanished BUT there were so many moments when sth was revealed or sth just happened and I wondered how a person would react to this or if someone did sth I wondered "well, they still dont know about this" at it was revealed in the next convo that the adult already knows it. Like, it infuriated me not only bc it wasn't shown that the person get to know it but also it wasn't revealed HOW the heck they get to know the things. The least infurationg example is after Juliette's First Kill it wasn't even mentioned. The first thing is that in one ep the whole family believed she killed viciously and were afraid that she might be a murderer, then after 2 eps of lies Margot says that she knew all along that Juliette didn't kill anyone, and just another ep after that Juliette is after the First Kill, happy strong and without even hiding it and noone from the family asked who the heck she killed, only to be revealed at the 7/8 ep that she buried the body and Margot being shocked at the stupid idea. LIKE WTF!!! Idk if I just ask for too much logical behavior from a YA tv show after all those Riverdales and Gossip Girl and whatnots but jesus the parents are supposed to be old vampires !!!! HAVE SOME INTELLECT!!!
If you can turn off your brain maybe youll survive this.
Creepy friendly alien race is creepy!
This is an example of how much better Voyager could have been, as it demonstrates many elements that make for compelling television. It's all about the characters and their choices, and we see how much having decisions made for them by others is affecting them.
The potential mutiny here is the real spark of the episode, and it's important to note that it begins with a mixture of the Maquis and Starfleet crews. Seska is the one who keeps pushing, but it doesn't take much for others to be willing. And once it all really begins to play out, it's Tuvok of all people who sees it as the logical course of action.
Janeway's decision is the part that speaks most to me. I have to admit, I think she was wrong. Her primary duty to her crew is to get them home and she denies them that because she's worried about upsetting another culture, and betraying her principles. That would be all well and fine until Harry is offered another way to get the technology they need. That was a loophole on a platter.
The final scene with Tuvok is heartfelt and lays bare a lot about each character's way of thinking. I think he did the right thing even if it was for the wrong reasons, but it can't be overlooked that he probably averted a ship-wide mutiny.
The thing which really brings the episode down are the terrible aliens and their terrible planet, with Gath being particularly hard to watch.
[7.4/10] There’s a viral tweet that goes...
me: i hate clichés”
author: the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one
me: [sobs] omg the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one
That’s pretty much how I feel about Carol and Ezekiel. I was a little skeptical of them back in the day, but they became one of my favorite couples on the show, and stories like the one we get here are why. There may be no more low-key touching scene in the series than the “You make the light” exchange between the two of them. And it works because for however much Carol believes herself to irrevocably steeped in darkness after all she’s been through, Ezekiel not only recognizes the good she does, but the good she is. That means a lot, especially given all they’ve been through.
Their story connects with the broader theme of “Trust”, which is when it’s worth it to work outside of the system to achieve the greater good. It’s so true to form for Ezekiel that even with his qualms about accepting the special treatment thanks to Carol’s actions, he decides to use the extra time to pay the kindness forward one hundred-fold. He creates an off-the-books clinic to help those who otherwise can’t afford the cost of healthcare or refuse to burden their families, a not so subtle commentary on real life events.
Separate and apart from the social critique, I like it as an example of someone like Ezekiel trying to be worthy of the blessings he’s received by sharing them with others. I’m still not a huge fan of Yumiko’s brother, Tomi, because he’s a generic character, but even he has a solid character beat here. After how bad he feels being part of the upper crust, with it apparently affecting his work, the fact that he not only warms his soul working in Ezekiel’s clinic, but that it produces better doctoring from him, is a nice place to take the character. Carol recognizing the good her questionable activities with Lance made possible gives her a win as well. It’s one of my favorite storylines in the show in some time.
The other two plots in this one aren’t nearly as good, but still solid. There’s tension in Hornsby knowing that the likes of Maggie, Aaron, and Gabriel are lying about what happened at that apartment complex, but not being able to prove it. So he parcels out these little tests, each of which the good guys pass, but it drives enough of a sense of foreboding to make weight.
We know Aaron and Gabriel can handle themselves while fighting a bunch of Walkers. But the mere fact that he sends them in as a gotcha moment and then smiles with a faux-pleased “good job” at the end adds to the sinisterness. The tension of him trying to start the car at Hilltop while Maggie looks on speaks to the tone of a well-constructed scene. And there's something downright menacing about him iterating with little Hershel, finding a hat that fits and trying to get the kid to turn on his mom in his own insidious way.
Hornsby’s quickly become one of the show’s best villains, and his ability to play games with the good guys, and seem that much more scary and dangerous when he loses contributes to that. At the same time, it’s interesting to see Daryl be torn between his loyalty to the usual group of survivors and his attempt to fit in and get along at The Commonwealth, if only for the good of Judith and RJ. This whole thing puts him in an uncomfortable spot, and “Trust” plays that up.
That just leaves the various other players within The Commonwealth putting together that Sebastian and others are involved in some shady shit. I appreciate that the show is connecting the dots here after some disaggregated storytelling. Eugene and Rosita go to Connie and Kelly to break the story. Eugene connects with Max who connects with Mercer. I’m doubtful this will all come to fruition before we hit season 11c, but it’s still nice to see things start to lock into place rather than keep expanding out as we head into the show’s last batch of episodes.
The connection here is people confiding in one another, helping them see the right path, even when it’s hard. That’s a little too on the nose with Max and Eugene, but I appreciate the theme of their corner of the episode. Something may be difficult, but when the change is needed, when people are suffering, there’s no other choice but to act to help.
But my favorite part of this one, as has often been the case in this batch of episodes, is Mercer. Some of the dialogue between him and Princess is pretty cringey (especially their discussion of sex, which feels like it was written by thirteen-year-olds). But I love the idea that their connection is more than just kindness and mutual attraction. Princess wants to be there for Mercer, help him deal with the psychic burden of all that he sees and takes in. It’s a great T.V. example of someone being a supportive partner, and speaks more to why they might work than all the meetcutes and other nonsense T.V. shows try to pull.
Mercer’s burden is, again, very compelling. He acknowledges the bullshit of The Commonwealth, but basically feels there’s nothing he can do. He points to the overall good, arguing that just like the old days, protecting fifty thousand people from what’s beyond the city’s walls is worth tolerating the mortal excesses within it. There’s a logic to the argument, but I appreciate Max’s retort that given his standing in the community, he could do something to change it. The show seems to be setting up a coup, or at least the idea that Mercer is the right person to lead this community in a way that works and is more humane, and I’m interested to see where that goes.
Overall, TWD still has its limitations, and the exploration of these ideas is often basic. But the human connections here are vivid, and the acknowledgment that even the people who don’t see themselves as angels can be forces for tremendous good is a heartening one to build the episode around.
Part of me really wanted to enjoy this one more, because it's a really good character piece that finally lets us know why Worf has always been so stoic and serious, while other Klingons are party animals. Terry Farrell gets to do a lot with her character too, plus there's fun stuff for Bashir, Leeta and even Quark.
But it's the surrounding events that just let this down. All of the Risa stuff is unforgivable in it's utter banality and lack of excitement. The threat is meaningless and comes off as pathetic. Risa itself is probably given the most fleshed-out portrayal seen so far in the Trek franchise, but it hardly feels like a pleasure planet from what we see and has never felt like a fun place to visit.
There really are two opposing stories at play here, and the bad one takes so much away from the good one. At its heart, DS9 is far more about the characters than any other Trek show and that's exactly why I love it so much, but those characters can't just exist to serve a crappy "emergency" while they play out their arcs. Normally the two manage to work in harmony - definitely not here.
There are definitely much worse episodes, but this one feels particularly egregious due to its lack of even trying.
I feel like this episode kind of ruined Tony Todd's character, Kurn. He had been an intimidating but fun Klingon in his previous appearances as Worf's brother, but here he doesn't really feel like the same person. Which I'm sure was actually the intent somewhat, giving us Kurn broken and depressed, but somehow I found it went a bit too far. The notion that he'd want to die rather than fight to regain his honour didn't quite work.
It's also shocking that Worf was so readily willing to kill him, but that at least sits in line with his character. Worf is probably the most Klingon Klingon who ever Klingoned, which is completely add odds with the fact that all the other Klingons are far more ready to throw aside honour or just have fun. Worf is having none of that, and raises the question on whether or not he really IS a true Klingon or is he just trying to be the ideal notion of one that he always imagined they should be?
I like that we see the results of his earlier actions in 'The Way of the Warrior' and the effect his selfish decisions have on those around him. I don't like the way this was all resolved with the memory wipe. The highlight for me was actually Captain Sisko's dressing down of Worf after the attempted murder ritual.
Also, clear signs that Worf and Dax definitely have chemistry together!
It happened again! While I remember that Kira and Shakaar get together, I have no memory of the specifics of it or this episode. So, this felt almost like a new DS9 episode to me. And while it's certainly got a lot of charm, it's not a classic by any means.
I think I quite appreciated that lack of science fiction here, this is just a quiet character piece about what it means to fall in love with someone who is not available to you, and I'm sure so many of us can relate to that. Odo is not used to any of this, so his reactions are almost childlike until he remembers himself and manages to pull things together very bravely (the fact that Worf does his job for him without him even realising seems to snap him back to reality somewhat). DS9 was a show that figured out its actors strengths and gave them material that would really work for them.
Interestingly, the big revelation here isn't Odo's confirmation of his feelings for Kira, but much moreso the feelings that Odo and Quark reveal for each other! I think these guys just genuinely love to hate each other and have a deep respect for the way the other person does things, however much they disagree with it. Those moments were the highlight of the episode for me.
The ending almost seems to suggest that Kira has figured out Odo's feelings, but that seems to be more my imagination.
At any rate, it is nice to see Kira so happy and I really love Worf and Odo bonding over their mutual desire for order. I think the real takeaway here, though, is the magnificent performance by Rene Auberjonois. Part of me wants to rate this much, much higher, but this is such a quiet and calm episode that it almost feels like it doesn't want to draw too much attention to itself.
What pure, joyous fun this is. A pitch perfect spoof of James Bond and spy shows which has its tongue firmly in its cheek. The details are all just so correct, from the bad guy leaving the heroes to die in a convoluted manner instead of just shooting them, to the full on sexist treatment of all females, to Dr. Bashir's initials just happening to be J.B. We also get the extra fun of having Garak, a "real" spy along for the ride to point out how ridiculous it all is. His line about working for the wrong intelligence agency is gold.
While this is a Bashir episode, the real stars of the show turns out to be Sisko and Kira in their alter egos. Avery Brooks absolutely nails it with a maniacal performance that is spot on for what was needed (I can never get tired of his, "HA!"). Meanwhile, Nana Visitor puts on the worst Russian accent in history and commits to it fully, making everything she says (intentionally) hilarious. The way she pulls the file dossiers out from the bed is fantastic.
Worf as a baccarat playing henchman is great, so I think that leaves O'Brien as the only character who's left underused (and, ironically, gets Colm Meaney to play the kind of role he's done in a lot of action movies).
The episode just sends up every trope of the genre expertly, and then completely turns things around for the finale in which the hero switches sides to join the bad guys.
Finding ways to make the holodeck malfunction at this point must have been a difficult task, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was sick of it, but this worked in every way. The writers were clearly having a ball with this one, and the names used are fantastic, 'Mona Luvsitt' being my favourite.
The cast were never as much a joy to watch as in this episode.
Top tier chemistry between Terry Farrell and Susanna Thompson. And that kisss! I'm also surprised at how the directing was able to stand out in a good way in this episode. Perhaps Avery Brooks missed his calling.
The cast and characters on DS9 are always great, but I don't usually feel myself heavily empathizing on a personal, emotional level with a television character, but I could feel Jadzia's desire and pain in this one and actually teared up a few times in this episode. The way her eyes trailed over the other woman's neck, sheepishly, and how you could just feel the attraction drawing them inevitably toward each other. It may have been melodrama, but, for me, it was the rare melodrama that actually engaged with me. There's also a bit of humor and character moments with Quark and the bridge team that add the perfect punctuation of levity at the right times.
I fall mildly into the "likes Jadzia" camp, but if there were more episodes as realistically and humanistically written for her character, I'd gladly watch the "Jadzia Show", like so many of the best episodes of Voyager were essentially the "Seven of Nine Show".
[7.8/10] I really liked this one! It feels like a classic 90s Trek style spatial anomaly. Having the Protostar go through a tachyon storm and end up in multiple different temporal eddies, moving at different rates, presents a unique challenge for our heroes. And like the best Star Trek stories, also works as a potent metaphor for how they all feel estranged and disconnected from one another after their difficulties in the last episode.
The mechanics of the setup are fun. I like the choice to make it so that Hologram Janeway, given her temporal programming, is one of the few constants who can connect with each member of the crew. The idea of sequential problem solving, where each young hero has to do work to help the next person in the chain is a clever one. And the way that the progression from one person to another alternates between time moving faster or slower adds to the uniqueness of the concept.
It’s also a fun episode visually. The show does a good job with communicating the different speeds of the passage of time, like when Rok-Tahk throws off her blanket while it floats in the air. And I love the interstitial bits where we fly across the sine wave and run into the different heroes, which feels like an homage to the time travel sequence from Star Trek IV. The show doesn’t get too funky outside of those sequences, but there’s some nice, subtle stuff.
My favorite part of it, though, is Rahk-Tok’s story. Gwyn encourages her to be the security officer just because she’s big and strong, but Rahk-Tok doesn’t want to do that and nobody else seems to care. Part of what makes her shut down is the sense of being crammed into a box. But when left to her own devices, encouraged to figure out how to do things her way, she turns out to be one hell of a science officer and engineer!
There’s something so heartening about Rahk-Tok pulling a Groundhog Day and developing incredible skills while stuck in a crazy time scenario, buoyed and motivated by a desire to save her friends and see them again. Gwyn’s mea culpa, Rahk-Tok’s determination and triumph, and the group hug that follows when all is well again work like gangbusters.
We also get some movement in the ongoing plot. Dal confesses to Janeway that they’re not really cadets, and Janeway still affirms them as “my crew”, which is nice. I’m glad the show doesn’t overplay the moment, even if it does drive a further wedge between the young heroes at first. We also get another assault from Drednok, who utilizes the ship’s vehicle replicator to transfer himself aboard the vessel, in a clever twist. And he not only recognizes Janeway, but indicates he’s not the one who killed her crew and hid her files. So there’s a lot going on right now, and it all moves the needle.
Overall, this is a momentous episode, not just for the way it advances the season’s arc, or how it deploys a cool science fiction idea that would be fit for the crew of the Enterprise or Voyager (which gets a musical nod here), but for the way it brings our heroes back together emotionally after some tough times and lifts up Rahk-Tok in particular.
For all the Kira showcasing contained in this episode, somehow it's Garak who ends up making the largest impression on me. We get little bits revealed about him with every appearance, and even after 'The Wire', this is the one where we first realise how dangerous he potentially is. Andrew Robinson also has impeccable comic timing, so his line about overhearing the security code is really hilarious.
But all that aside, this is a Kira episode and quite a powerful one. It manages to create some genuine question about whether or not she really is a Cardassian agent and the relationship that builds between her and her "father" gives a beautiful arc to the story. It also furthers the proof that the species aren't all deserving of hate and even Kira, a Bajoran freedom fighter, is able to see that (a journey she begun back in 'Duet'). Nana Visitor also makes a pretty fantastic Cardassian.
There are shades of this being a repeat of the TNG episode 'Face of the Enemy', but this goes in quite a different direction. Entek is a pretty fantastic villain, too, and the sneaky use of Odo once the gang arrive at the end is really nicely done.
[6.4/10] The frame story, for lack of a better term, has consistently been the weakest part of Lovecraft Country. Unfortunately, this ending is basically all frame story. That’s understandable. It’s natural that the show is going to try to tie off all its loose ends and complete the season arc here.
But it doesn’t come together in a natural or compelling way. The episode has to wrap up tons of storylines for all of its characters that got a more fulsome hearing in other episodes. It also has to bring all the magical rumblings involving the Braithewhites and Tic’s family and everything else together in a single hour. That requires a lot of plot mechanics, and basically disrupts the pacing, the structure, and the momentum in the episode. Everything, every character more or less, gets the short shrift, and very little is explained or built to in a satisfying manner.
But hey! I liked the “Sh Boom” scene in the car! For however much this finale is just a cavalcade of long overly-florid oratories and unavailing ad hoc magical whatever, that’s a very human moment. A very blended family, piling into the car together, in a very tense and potentially deadly situation, only to all sing and jam together over an infectious tune? That’s something, and it’s practically the only moment in the episode that lands as strongly as it should.
The rest is a combination of streams of hollow maxims about family and faith that don’t have the emotional impact intended, in addition to a bunch of deus ex machina magic contrivance that doesn’t feel adequately established or built to. I swear the middle chunk of the episode is just a nonstop parade of speeches. Every scene is just one character monologuing to another about whatever the theme of the moment is, and it becomes truly exhausting after a while.
A lot of these scenes pay off big things that show devoted whole episodes to: Tic’s relationship with Ji-Ah, Hippolyta’s connection to her daughter, and so on and so on. Then, it’s just “boom, that’s done now” after a couple paragraphs’ worth of emotional exposition. It’s a really unsatisfying approach, squandering a lot of the goodwill that the show’s built up to this point.
The same goes for all the magical goings-on. This sort of thing is why I tend to gravitate away from shows with magic at the center. Inevitably, the climax of these types of stories ends up coming down to “We just have to use a bigger/deeper/stronger magic than the villain is using!” rather than something that requires any real ingenuity or creativity.
This is no exception. The best we get is a “reverse the polarity” spell for Christina’s magic. Okay, I guess? The show never really set that up or suggested this magic works that way. The best it does is suggest in this episode that they need to create some sort of binding spell to stop Christina, leading to a scavenger hunt for human tissue from her and Titus. There’s a mild twist when Ruby’s loyalty is confirmed in lethal terms and we realize that Christina has assumed her form, but even that was fairly predictable and made me wish we got more of Ruby’s story/ending than the rushed glimpses we got.
So of course, everyone plays their part. Tic de facto sacrifices himself for a better future for his family and his community. Leti learns the spell to make it happen, doing her part after fighting the woman who killed her sister. Ji-Ah ends up being key as she can join Tic and Christina with her tails which is apparently a way to manage the tissue combination necessary. The rest of the crew...can fight townspeople? Sure? Dee can make friends with Tic and Leti’s devil dog and crush Christina with her Skywalker robot arm? Uh...okay? So much of this feels random, convenient, or just rushed. The season arc for this show and the build to it has been weak for a while, and its ending doesn't make the path there any better in hindsight.
The best you can say is that the ending works on a thematic level. There’s something piercing about the notion of generational black trauma giving way to black power. The symbolism when Tic and Leti gather with their ancestors and use their shared strength to avenge their abusers and empower their survivors is potent. The notion of our heroes seizing power from the people who’ve held them and their community down so that they can make a better world for their children is a strong one. Those ideas just aren’t supported well by the in-universe plot mechanics or the bevy of drippy oratories meant to get us there.
On the whole, I’m still left wishing that Lovecraft Country was an anthology with ten, only loosely-connected tales rather than this hybrid standalone/overarching plot method. The acting is still good, and the ideas at play are still strong, and the intra-episode writing is often quite good as well. But this show is, unfortunately, anchored around longform storytelling, and never proved itself terribly good at it. In the end, I’d recommend plenty of the series’s individual episodes, but I’d have a tough time recommending the show as a whole.
[6.7/10] My running complaint about Lovecraft Country is that the individual weekly main stories have been good, sometimes even great, but the attempts at serialization and dribs and drabs of continuing stories or side bits have been less than great.
Unfortunately, “Jig-a-Bobo” is essentially all ongoing plot threads and side bits. It frankly feels like a dumping ground for pieces of the larger arc that needed to go somewhere, but didn’t really have a place to go on their own. So instead, we get this patchwork quilt of different plot developments and monologues that isn’t as strong as other outings from the series.
It’s a shame, because this is really Dee’s episode, or at least it should be, and her piece of it is the best part. For one thing, Jada Harris does an incredible job selling Dee’s traumatization at knowing (and smelling) what happened to one of her young friends, who just so happens to be Emmett Till (something I didn’t pick up on in his appearance during the haunted house episode). She communicates the anger and shock of it, the fear and disorientation when the cops harass her, the determination to beat the supernatural curse that Chief Lancaster put on her.
Her experience dramatizes the dread and anxiety that you could be next in a visceral way. Add onto it her fear that she’s lost both her father and now her mother in a short amount of time, and it creates a sense of psychological horror mixed with real life injustice that cuts through everything else in the episode.
That’s all before the sheer craft of it, which is exquisite. Again, the combination of racist imagery with a virtuoso, chilling performance from the two young dancers who play Dee’s supernatural attackers really stands out. Their movements are uncanny in a disturbing way, but also impressive, and the sound design to evoke them is right on point as well.
But that’s pretty much where the high points end. There is something moving and horrifying in the dramatization of what happened to Till and the reaction of the community to his barbaric murder, but frankly it feels tacked onto the proceedings. The intentions are clearly good, with the show trying to educate the uninitiated and make the communal reaction come alive. And yet, it feels kind of cheap to realize that as a sidestory amid other interpersonal drama and tales of magic battles, rather than making it the centerpiece of the episode or even the season.
We get Ruby’s overwritten monologue, and we get the bizarre scene where Christina tries to experience what Till went through in order to develop empathy (I guess?), and before that we get a gross and kind of unnecessary sex scene between the two where Ruby becomes Hillary and then changes back again. You can feel the show straining for profundity and artisness in all of this, but it doesn’t really work.
Then there’s just the clunky plot mechanics of everyone’s interactions. Again, the serialization on this show has been really janky, to where cause and effect, and how much time has passed, and how one event leads to another is not terribly clear. So we see Tic give Christina the key in order to learn how to do a spell (presumably so he can protect Leti and their baby), while Leti gives Christina the negatives of the pages from the spellbook in order to protect Tic. (Shades of O. Henry!) We learn that Christina wants to sacrifice Tic on the vernal equinox to become immortal, so at least now there’s a goal in mind. Christina’s literal immortality vs. Tic and Leti’s familial immortality. But the lore deposits are awkward and the scenes don’t really click.
Oh yeah, and Tic is a total asshole to Ji-Ah! Which I suppose is to be expected, but still makes him feel cruel and hard to like. At least Ji-Ah gets a good barb in when he accuses her of killing one-hundred men, and she retorts, “It’s in my nature. What’s your excuse?”
We do get a good scene with Tic and his dad. Montrose is a good character, even in weaker episodes, and I like his explanation of both him and his wife wanting a family and sharing familial love, even if they didn’t share romantic love. It’s sweet, as is him participating in the spellcasting out of a desire to protect his grandson. It remains awkward that we’re told rather than shown what Tic witnessed in the future and how he understood what it meant for him and Leti, but the scenes of him and his father help keep things going well.
Overall, this one feels off, often like it’s a bunch of scenes from disparate episodes patched together. But there’s still some good material in Dee’s story that both horrifies and conveys the themes and emotions of the episode better than the rest of what’s there.
We've heard a lot about the Cardassian Occupation, but this is our first chance to see some of it thanks to some detailed flashbacks. The station looks like a very different place and it's a wonderful transition from the comfortable DS9 we're used to to the dirty and brutal Terok Nor. It's easy to forget that it was an ore refinery.
The changes in characters past and present are also a joy to see. Kira is a different person, younger and angrier and with a lot of reason to be scared. Odo is unsure of himself and we are shown a great contrast between his questioning skills in the past compared to how they are now (complete with a Columbo moment). We get to see what Dukat was like when he was in charge, with all the arrogance and power it brings. Even Quark is different, playing his part to fit in alongside the Cardassian's rule.
Besides giving us a solid crime investigation, this is an important character episode for Odo and Kira. Their friendship has been built on Kira covering up the murder she committed, and Odo seems to be able to forgive her for it. That seems out of character for him until later revelations (he's in love with Kira), but I doubt that storyline had been thought up at this point.
It's a reminder of what a dark place many of DS9's characters are coming from, and firmly guides the show along this path. There's even room for a little bit of comedy. Great stuff.
There's a moment in this episode where Sisko interrupts Kira "daydreaming", and I have to admit I also found myself daydreaming a lot through this one. It's a slow paced and drawn out episode that takes a very long time just to inform us of something very simple: the Circle are ready to begin their coup, and are unknowingly getting their weapons from the Cardassians.
It would be okay if the episode didn't let our characters fall by the wayside. Kira is lost, floating about (being "useless") while Sisko is just reacting to all the developments coming his way. Frank Langella and Louise Fletcher provide a fantastic supporting cast, but everyone else doesn't really get much of a look in. Vedek Bareil is actually kind of creepy and Bashir is beyond rubbish at his attempt to rescue Kira.
This is just setting things up for the final part, and if it wasn't for the WONDERFUL scene at the start with everybody coming into Kira's quarters (finally realising that these are her friends, a big step) and the pretty good cliffhanger, it would be a complete loss.
Side note: Winn gets one of my favourite condescending lines of dialogue - "Please, feel free to stay as many days as you'd like... even a week if that's necessary."
I liked the idea of the movie and it is definitely one you might enjoy if you don’t think too much about it.. However, here are a few issues I had with it:
I don’t really know how exactly to rate this movie but at least I can say I finally got that one off my watchlist.
