Treachery, Faith and the Great River Stardate not given: "The One with the Two Weyouns"

This is one of my favorite episodes, in many ways because I find Jeffery Combs endlessly entertaining. I love his (as Weyoun 6) interactions with Odo, and his (as Weyoun 7) interactions with Damar. Damar here is very much showing his eventual role as a Dominion-detesting revolutionary in his rather understandable hatred for his Vorta "associate". I find it interesting (and possibly a little over the top) that the loyal follower Weyoun 7 is less faithful to the wishes of the much more dangerous Female Changeling than the "defective model" Weyoun 6 is to the comparably harmless Odo. In fact, where Weyoun 7's faith seems phoned in, Weyoun 6's faith is entirely unshakable. It is also good to see more of a face given to the Vorta as a people. So far they have been remarkably vague, even as far as mysterious villains go.
I find it funny that the big bad Dominion that has to genetically engineer all of its friends, sucks at it so much. We've seen renegade Jem'Hadar, and (considerably more often) selfish, unfaithful, disobedient, or disloyal (defective) Vorta. I commend Combs as a character actor, portraying all four of these racial quirks in one episode, using two characters with the same face. I obviously expected the outcome of the Weyoun 6 plot, as I'm sure everyone else did, but I think I should still mention that I wish Weyoun 6 had become something more.
I also (God help me) find the semi-recurring situations like the one in the B-plot of this episode (citing "In the Cards" as a prominent example) to be very enjoyable. The B-plot was silly, yes, but I can't help it. I love it. Nog has always been one of my favorite characters simply because when he gets going, he never stops. This is what he did here, saving the day just in time and in a very entertaining and impressive way. I only wish more had been shown of his dealings and less of O'Brien's confused attempts to compensate for Nog's behavior. This show has made a bad habit of playing O'Brien as the fool, and quite frankly I don't like it. Why can't they ever show any of the good aspects in this poor man's life, if any even exist?
Nitpicking: Why didn't Odo try Weyoun's magic one-hit-kill trick on the Jem'Hadar ships that attacked later on as well?
Nitpicking 2: So I guess that the Rio Grande has magic Jem'Hadar one-hit-kill phasers, but not a recording device that could have been used to get Weyoun 6's testimony about the Dominion en route?
Remarkable scenes: The scene in which it is discovered that Martok's blood wine is gone, followed by the one where Kira discovers Sisko's missing desk are the second and third most amusing scenes in this episode. The first is Weyoun 7's silent implication of Damar in the death of Weyoun 5.
Remarkable inconsistency(?): Why is this the only time that we hear of the Vorta termination implant?
Remarkable VFX: The icy asteroid in which Odo hides the Rio Grande in an attempt to escape his pursuers. The entire asteroid field was beautiful and very nicely done. One of my favorite non-battle effects of the series.
Rating: 7 (legendhiro)

The Siege of AR-558 Stardate not given: Synopsis in main DS9 listing

If I give this episode any marks at all, they are exclusively for the believable and sympathetic portrayal of the dilemma of soldiers caught in some backwater fighting desperately against impossible odds, a very different speed than the space battles we see on DS9. This change of pace is quite positive, very much in line with the humane vision of Star Trek, and is especially apropos in the post-9/11 world.
On the other hand, the physical execution of the siege plot is a shade worse than pathetic. First, they are fighting in caves, again. Second, they are all Fleet officers, which is ridiculous and unbelievable. Would any modern navy take officers off its ships and say, "Hey, now you have to fight a land war for which you're neither trained nor equipped. Good luck."? Thirdly, for a "futuristic" war, their technology and equipment is pathetic even by comparison with average combat kit today. The fact that they are forced to rely on Nog's ears as their most reliable sensor system is a case in point. What about the sight Dax uses in "Field of Fire?" What about good old fashioned infrared goggles? What about UAVs? Furthermore, their phasers give away their positions without conferring the advantages established in TOS and TNG of extravagant power and wide-angle settings (which would take care of the Jem'Hadar charge). The list could continue indefinitely, but I trust the point is clear. I am not against the idea of taking Star Trek to war - it certainly helped shake up that simpering, rosy view of the perfect, ever-expanding Federation. I am simply against it being done badly and without competent military consultants.
Nitpicking: Pretty much covered. It saddens me to see Star Trek not keeping pace with the possibilities of present-day technology. Networked command and control systems with multiple input points are ever-improving. Every time a Jem'Hadar stabs a Starfleet officer, I wonder why carbon-nanotubule-laced (ie virtually unpiercable) uniforms are still in R&D in the 24th century, when the US military has been researching them since the 1990's. As a strictly in-universe point, if the Jem'Hadar can project attacking holograms and send mines through subspace, wouldn't that mean that they can in fact do anything anytime, projecting holographic camouflage for their forces or destroying the enemy with subspace weapons? And what about transporters?
Remarkable quote: "Let me tell you something about humans, nephew. They're a wonderful, friendly people, as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time... And those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people, will become as nasty and as violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon." -Quark to Nog
Great Moments: Quark continuing his criticism of the human capacity for violence, an ongoing theme of the Dominion War arc. Panicked Quark shooting a Jem'Hadar.
Rating: 4 (Anthony Rodger)

It's Only a Paper Moon Stardate not given: Synopsis in main DS9 listing

Wow, this is a really light hearted and heavy episode. In the beginning we see Nog going through so many emotional problems, he's haunted by the memories of war, he's having problems with people who were his best friends, and he just wants to be alone. The real darkness of this episode is that Nog is suffering from something that happens to a lot of real life soldiers, and that many of them don't recover from. He enters Vic Fontaine's, for another episode that deals with emotional issues, but now these issues are darker than the last time we've seen Vic work things out, first love, now a war haunting. The producers are bringing out Vic for character development it seems, but not only of the ones we're used to, but also for the development of the Vic character itself. And Vic is developed a lot in this episode, we can see that he's given a life, and that he enjoys the basic things such as going to sleep at night and waking up in the morning, something most people take for granted. The episode inevitably moves to the controversy that Nog is getting too comfortable, and it becomes clear that when Ezri talks talks to Vic about it, he's unaware that it's happening. That is when he decides Nog needs a wake up call. It's nice that Vic is treated as a real character and not a hologram, it almost seems we're supposed to forget he's fake until there's some form of controversy about it. The culminating scene where Nog says all his feelings about the war nearly brought a tear to my eye, it's heavy enough to affect the heart in some way, no matter who you are.
Remarkable quote: "My son is insane! He's a one-legged crazy man!" (Rom about Nog staying in the suite, poking fun at the beginning where Rom is afraid to make Nog uncomfortable about his leg)
Remarkable dialogue: "How can hiding in Julian's adolescent programs be a good sign?" - "Hey - it could be worse, he could be hiding in that Alamo program." - "...or that ridiculous secret agent program" - "Hey!" - "or that stupid Viking program." - "HEY!" (everyone referring to Julian's programs)
Nitpicking: When Nog is asked what drink he wants, he says a Martini, now either synthehol allows for a lower drinking age limit, or Vic is giving Nog a few more privileges than on the outside.
Remarkable character: Vic Fontaine could have easily become one of the stupidest characters in Trek, but turns out to be one of the best of all time, if I even began to list the memorable quotes by him the list would be longer than my review.
Rating: 8 (Hanzou)

 

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