Episode Review - Armageddon Game (Deep Space Nine, Season 2)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here.

Overview – Doctor Bashir and Chief O’Brien are on T’Lani Prime, assisting in the destruction of the Harvesters, a deadly biochemical weapon. As they work with scientists on both sides of a deadly war, Kellerun soldiers appear and start killing everyone. O’Brien and Bashir escape and are now hunted men. Meanwhile, back on the station, Sisko is informed by the ambassadors of the two sides that Bashir and O’Brien are dead following an unfortunate accident. Keiko, upon viewing the data recording of the incident, finds her husband’s actions a bit hard to believe, and soon has Sisko looking for answers.

Score: 7/10 – This is a fairly good episode from DS9’s second season. It has some suspense as O’Brien and Bashir go on the run. Miles being infected by the Harvesters adds to the tension, and the two are forced to work together to survive the ordeal. While the writers try to add to the tension with this standard plot device (incapacitate one character so they have to rely on each other to survive), the audience knows full well that neither of these main characters is going to die. Still, it is fun watching them bicker, open up to each other, and eventually trust each other. This episode, while not the first time these two characters have been paired together (that happened in the previous season’s “Storyteller” as well as racquetball combatants in the earlier episode “Rivals”), it is considered to be the beginning of the friendship that will develop between the two and become very significant over the rest of the series. There is some action, intrigue, and a few plot twists. While the storyline is fairly generic (really, you could have made an almost infinite number of stories by pairing up any two random characters), it works because O’Brien and Bashir have such great chemistry. The relationship that is started here will become one of the most realistic friendships in the franchise. There are also some nice plot twists near the end, with the final one being delivered in the closing seconds. Keiko, when she was informed of her husband’s apparent death, found that her husband was drinking coffee in the afternoon. She insists that he would never drink coffee this late in the day, and insists that the recording she saw must be a fake. This is what starts the rest of the crew on the road to rescuing O’Brien. It turns out, in the end, that Keiko was completely wrong about her husband (he does drink coffee in the afternoon), showing us that the day was saved because Keiko didn’t know her husband as well as she thought she did. Some fans love that twist, others hate it, but it definitely leaves its mark.

Relevance – 1 point. As I mentioned above, this is where the O’Brien-Bashir friendship truly begins. In previous episodes where they are paired up, it is either as rivals or in a situation that really doesn’t give them a reason to set aside differences. If you are a fan of this friendship, then you need to see this episode to watch how it all began.

Continuity – 3 points. Character continuity is always at risk when you do a story like this. People want a believable reason for two characters as different as the engineer and the doctor to get along, and the writers pull it off. Story wise everything checks out. A point is scored for universe continuity as well.

Character Development – 3 points. Definitely some big things start with the pairing of Miles and Julian. Before this episode, Miles really couldn’t stand the young, cocky doctor. It is understandable as the two have very different personalities. Then, as the story unfolds, the two starts to put aside their differences and must work together. O’Brien really shines initially as the action begins, using his military background to save himself and the good doctor. Clearly in the emergency, Bashir is out of his element. Bashir also gets some great growth, including even more respect for O’Brien. He opens up about himself and his past. Mostly, this episode does a fine job of contrasting these two. O’Brien is the realist, down-to-Earth family man, while Bashir is the starry-eyed, naïve dreamer who loves the freedom in his single status. It gives us exactly what we want from these two. We also have some good moments as the rest of the crew grieve the loss of their friends and colleagues. Most notable is Quark, who in his brief appearance adds more heart to his character than in almost the entire first two seasons combined. As only a Ferengi could, he honors his two cherished customers who always paid their bills.

Social Commentary – 2 points. Working together with someone who is totally different from you often leads to a sense of respect. Unlike other encounters between the two, O’Brien ends this episode with a newfound respect for Bashir. While such situations may not always lead to a fast friendship, this episode shows that it can.

Cool Stuff – 0 points. This is where this episode comes up a bit short for me. There are many good things about this episode, but try as I might, I just can’t think of anything that is really “cool”. The aliens look fairly run-of-the-mill for Star Trek at the time, the sets are standard, and the storyline is routine.

Rank – Captain (16 points). This is an enjoyable episode. Great writing and acting by Colm Meaney and Alexander Siddig take an otherwise typical storyline and make it a fun episode. This is a must see for Season 2.

If you would like to read other reviews from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, please click the following link.

If you would like to read an episode review from any of the Trek series, click the following link to get to the series catalog. If the episode you want reviewed has not been done yet, then feel free to request it in the comments and I will see what I can do.

Episode Review - Business as Usual (Deep Space Nine Season 5)

For those who are new to my episode reviews, you can find the post where I establish my point criteria here

Overview – Quark, suffering from the Ferengi business ban, is broke and desperate. When his cousin Gaila arrives with a business proposition to use Quark’s holosuites for selling weapons, Quark accepts. While at the start Quark is enjoying his success, he soon finds himself at odds with the respect of friends and his conscience. Meanwhile, O’Brien is trying to find a way to keep his infant son from crying when not being held.

Score: 7/10 – A solid Quark story with some great guest stars. Steven Berkoff is great as Hagath. Josh Pais finally brings to life Cousin Gaila with true Ferengi gusto. As far as the side story with Miles struggling to care for his infant son, it allows the rest of the crew not directly connected to the Quark storyline to have some screen time, yet it is not related to the main plotline in any way. While this is not a bad thing, necessarily, it comes across as little more than entertaining time filler. The one thing that was a little weak was the dream sequence that causes Quark to change his ways. While I have no problem with using the dream motif in a story, this one felt a bit stretched. For one, why would Quark be thinking about O’Brien and his baby? Likely he wouldn’t since Quark hadn’t seen O’Brien the whole episode. It felt more like the writers were trying to push the two stories together. Still, a fun episode that shows some great exploration of Quark’s character.

Relevance - 3 points. We finally meet Cousin Gaila, the man who was able to buy his own moon. We will see him again in the “Magnificient Ferengi”. The effects of Quark’s business ban with the Ferengi is the main reason for the events of this episode. Plus, with the side story of how to keep Yoshi O’Brien to sleep, we will see Worf’s aptitude with looking after the youngest member of the Chief’s family.

Continuity - 2 points. Storyline continuity gets a point as everything fits. Gaila fits the storyline that Quark had previously established. Universe continuity is also good. When Kira reveals that Haggath had sold weapons to the Bajoran resistance during the Occupation, it makes sense. As do the reactions of Sisko and Kira when they inform Odo that charges will not be filed against Quark, showing that while they do not like having to help bail out Quark, they make it perfectly clear that they will not overlook any further discretions. Character continuity was a little tricky for me this time around. As I mentioned earlier, Quark seemed to be bothered by the proposed death toll of a deal he was brokering and had a dream that saw those concerns personified. Unfortunately, among the personifications of those concerns were Jake Sisko and Miles O’Brien. Kira, Jadzia, and even Captain Sisko being in his dream made sense, as did many of his employees. Jake and Miles, however, didn’t have any interactions in this episode with Quark, so it doesn’t make much sense that he would be dreaming of them. So, I think I will have to dock them a point here.

Character Development – 2 points. Definitely a Quark powerhouse episode. Armin Shimmerman has stated that this episode is one that shows Quark as a very three-dimensional character. We see that he has a conscience, reaffirms that he is a people person at heart, but that when things are desperate he will rationalize his choice to deal in weapons. He does make the right choice in the end, but it costs him the repairs to the cargo bay that is damaged as a result of Quark’s plan. The side story gives us some nice Miles moments. As he struggles to care for his son who wails as soon as Miles puts him down, we see him trying to live his regular life. He’s at the bar playing darts and with him on his rounds, eventually getting some time off to care for him while his wife is away. The best is when Worf comes to speak to him and ends up holding Yoshi, resulting in the baby calming down and Miles being able to get some much needed sleep.

Social Commentary – 3 points. Ah, the guilty conscience. The realization that our actions have consequences. So often in our world we see leaders of government and industry make decisions and wash their hands of how those decisions affect the lives of the common man. Gun makers and tobacco dealers say they have no liability for the lives that their products cause. Governments use gambling as a way of increasing revenues while disavowing the costs associated with gambling addictions. Too often we stand and condemn those who make such choices, and yet when we ourselves become the decision makers, do we truly change the system? We sometimes elect leaders for their promise to be different, and we often get more of the same. Quark is in a desperate situation, which makes it easy for him to grab at the chance to get himself back on his feet, but when he starts to get his hands dirty, he finds himself doubting his choice. It does cost him something in the way of friendships (Dax) and respect (Sisko), but ultimately he realizes that his choices cannot excuse the loss of millions of lives. Of course, one can argue that the death toll had to reach the millions before he had the change of heart, but we can also ask ourselves if this is more an issue of determining the cost of one’s soul.

Cool Stuff – 1 point. I am going to give a point here for some of the cool weapon demos we see in the holosuite. Other than that, while this is a fun episode, there was nothing that was wowing me.

Rank – Captain (18 points). Nice to see Quark treated seriously for a change. Quite often his episodes and stories are used more as comic relief. This one shows some great depth to the character and makes a point.