LizstarTrek - DS9 Season 7, Episodes 11 - 15

Every Sunday my Twitch subs and I watch Star Trek in my Discord. Here are my reviews and thoughts on each of the episodes as I see it. If you’re curious about a nerd’s views on Star Trek episodes, please read on, I go quite in depth with some of these episodes! I’ve watched some Star Trek before but not all of it!

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Prodigal Daughter - DS9 4/10

O’Brien is missing! He was hunting down the widow of Bilby, the gangster he befriended last season, and is now missing. I can’t believe we’re STILL doing Bilby episodes, for an episode I just kinda liked, it sure does get mentioned a lot.

Ezri’s mom basically helps run the area where he was last seen, so Ezri is sent there to try and get any leads. Unfortuantely, Ezri has a pretty rocky relationship with her mother, who seems a bit controlling. And that was BEFORE she became joined. Now she’s basically a new person, so it’s gotta be even weirder.

Ezri’s family is very VERY uncomfortable to watch. Like, her mother is the worst. Very controlling in that “I’m offended if you think this is bad” kind of way. We also find out pretty quickly that things aren’t on the up and up here. They’re clearly doing some kind of business with the Orion Syndicate, who if you remember, are the guys Bilby worked with in that older episode.

Watching this woman on stream is agonizing.

Anyways, some cops drag O’Brien in during an argument with mommy dearest. He’s beat to shit, both by the cop and also by some Orion thugs. He found Bilby’s widow’s corpse in a river, and is CONVINCED the Syndicate killed her. Usually the Orion Syndicate doesn’t kill its own people like that, unless something is up. I mean, that deranged loyalty is the thing that allows them to control their operatives, but O’Brien is CONVINCED. Ah well, not much he can do about that now, so he’s going to at least help out around the house with some engineering problems they’re having.

Meanwhile, Ezri’s youngest brother is having a nervous breakdown, ripping his art up. There’s stuff about how he hates his art, it’s not good enough, but his mother keeps forcing him to like, put it up on the wall and shit, and it’s embarassing him and making him feel powerless. Ezri is doing that Counseling thing where she’s analyzing everything and everyone just by looking at them for three minutes.

Anyways we start to see some stuff. This slimy smarmy mother fucker has been sabatoging their mining equipment, because they fired an Orion operative, and he wants him reinstated. He also warns the older brother, who seems to be in on the executive side of the business, that O’Brien is with Starfleet Intelligence, and is looking for a Morica Bilby, which seems to worry the brother. Ahhh, he knows something… O’Brien is also VERY good at discovering things, and is getting closer to figuring out The Truth, so the older brother wants him gone. He finds out what happened before he leaves, though, and Ezri confronts the family about it.

Shockingly, the mother is kind of on our side about this. She had nothing to do with the syndicate. The older brother got them hooked up in it out of fear, and cause he had this job forced onto him by his mom. Bilby was basically forced upon Ezri’s family. Widows like her are given cushy jobs with no actual job to do, so she was here, but she was unhappy with her pay, so she argued with them, aaaand the younger brother killed her. He cracks and confesses very easily, and Ezri convinces the older brother to also just… leave. And when her mom is like “This isn’t MY fault is it???” uh, yeah, it was. Ezri leaves, the murder is solved, nothing of value is gained.

Someone in chat called this “a sketch of a Murder, She Wrote plot”. Yeah, basically.

The Emperor’s New Cloak - DS9 8.5/10

Zek’s gone missing! Quark assumes he’s just sluttin’ and fuckin’ with the bad bitches on Riza, but then Ezri shows up and pulls a knife on him. It’s hot. Quark finds it hot too, but Ezri is disgusted. Turns out The Grand Nagus went to the Mirror Universe to open business relations with them. Instead, he got captured, and they’re demanding cloaking technology, or he’s dead. And Quark’s the only one who can help. Quark? Of all people? Huh.

They steal the cloaking device from the Klingon ship, and then cloak it, and we get a scene of Rom and Quark pantomiming carrying a heavy thing down the hall which is very funny. Ezri’s actress does a lot of flexing here, it’s great to watch. Quark and Rom follow her to the mirror universe to make sure that they get the Nagus back, cause they can’t trust the regent, and they immediately see Mirror!Bashir shoot Mirror!Vic. We get to see Mirror Vic JUST to watch him die, damn. Smiley is still nice and chill, but Mirror!Bashir is a lunatic. He’s especially grumpy because Mirror!Jadzia apparently died recently. Just couldn’t let ANY version of Jadzia escape unscathed, could you, Berman???

Zek, to Mirror!Kira: “You have such nimble fingers, my dear…” Mirror!Kira: “How many times have I heard that??”

Mirror!Kira is ALWAYS the top. Anyways she’s being her terrible self at Zek, it’s great. She’s ALSO been captured, and is in jail with Zek.

Mirror!Brunt saves them. He’s a pleasant nice guy. He also loves Mirror!Kira, but Mirror!Kira is gay, so he just… sticks with her. Not at ALL like our Brunt. They bring the cloaking to Worf, who is like “what? Why would I give you the Nagus?” It was a setup. A setup for THIS!

Ezri’s been with the Regent all along! And she had a deal with Worf to get out scott free, if she gets Ezri, her new toy, to bring a cloaking device. They gay kiss and everything. This is the first gay kiss on Star Trek that can’t be hand waved by “Actually one of them was once a guy when they were married so it’s not gaaaay”. Nah, these bitches gay. Unfortunately for the Regent, she gets all Nutso and stabs Brunt, when Brunt tries to suggest that they should let the Ferengi go, cause why not, and Ezri actually LIKED Brunt. So is she going to help them escape? She offers to help them escape if Rom installs the cloakign device but uh, yeah, that was also a trick. They’re not letting them go. Rom is REALLY starting to hate this universe.

Also there’s a good gag where Mirror!Kira is whispering in Mirror!Worf’s ear, and he goes “I never thought about doing that THERE” “oh, most men don’t but they all love it after I put it in”. Holy shit she’s suggesting pegging him. Oh my fucking god this episode is so funny. There’s ALSO more really funny lines where they distract Garak by telling him how much better THEIR Garak is. And then it turns out, Rom was SMART and sabatoged the ENTIRE ship! So the rebels beat the shit out of them, and Mirror!Ezri shows up to rescue them. Turns out she got a conscious after all. She kills Mirror!Garak, sadly, and then lets Mirror!Kira go.

Quark shoots his shot at Mirror!Ezri and is immediately turned down as she starts flirting with Mirror!Leeta. Welp, you tried Quark. Zek is like “wow this universe is great”, as if lesbians don’t fucking exist in the Prime Universe.

And that’s it! That’s thje last time we’ll see the Mirror Universe. Well, until Enterprise, but this is the last one for a very long time, and in this timeline. It sets it up nicely for more stuff, there’s a big paradigm shift, but Mirror!Kira is still out there. Good for books I guess? Also, Mirror Leeta is here for like 5 seconds, has three lines, and becomes a MASSIVE force and antagonist in Star Trek Online which is very funny.

Good note for the Mirror Universe to go out on.

Field of Fire - DS9 5.5/10

Yet another Ezri episode. They’re trying to get her caught up to speed as much as they can, I guess. I don’t MIND it, I don’t hate Ezri. I just wish she had better material.

Our episode starts with this new guy, Liutenant Ilario, who everyone is like “Oh it’s ILARIO, OUR BEST BUD!” He’s chill and flirts with Ezri. I can’t wait to see this character for episode to c-

Yeah, he’s dead. Ezri wakes up the following day and finds that he’s been killed, by being SHOT. Guns?? Turns out it looks like it was the TR-116, a prototype rifle that the Federation was working for when phasers don’t work, dampening fields and stuff. Ezri takes his death pretty hard, and then has nightmares the following night, with Joran Dax.

If you don’t remember Joran, he’s the host who did murders, and then got written out of existence. But he’s still there. Still in Dax, his memories still very alive. The nightmares involve Joran explaining that he can help, because he knows the murderous mind so well. The dream is in like, shit-FPS, but it’s inconsistant. Good effect. She wakes up to find another guy dead.

They find out how these people keep getting killed by point blank range from a bullet, alone in their rooms. The rifle has a transporter stapled onto it, which allows them to fire through walls and teleport a bullet rIGHT next to the target. This is the perfect assassin weapon. And ALSO, notably, the perfect anti-Borg weapon, so I guess we’ll never see it again, huh?

She summons Joran, and he explains the conceit of the episode very clearly. “If you wnat to catch a serial murderer, you have to think like one.” It works for a time, she puts on the weapon and scans through the docking ring for people to kill, aaaand then he’s like “GOOD NOW DO MURDER”. Oh no, I can’t believe this backfired. But she keeps working with him anyway. Even after she almost STABS someone under his guidance. Everyone is like “Ezri is cracking, oh no.”

She finally sees a connection between all the victims, after a third one shows up. They all have one thing in common. They have pictures in their room of someone laughing. With that, she decides it’s someone who hates emotion, and decides its a Vulcan. That’s a weird leap, but whatever. And when a Vulcan steps into the elevator with her, Joran is like “oh thats our killer. KILL HIM NOW”. This actor is trying his best but the serial killer who wants to kill everyone around him energy is getting old.

She watches him in the rifle scope, and turns out he’s actually about to shoot her. So she shoots him first. Joran is like “YES, DO IT”, like he’s fucking Palpatine, and then she calls for medical team instead. When asked why he did it, he explains “because logic demands it”. Uh. Okay. She then sends away Joran, and we’re done.

I mostly this one just kind of eh.

Apparently this serial killer, Chu’Lak, shows up again in Prodigy as Janeway’s chief science officer?? Weird.

Chimera - DS9 7/10

This episode starts with Odo being a Wife Guy and bringing Kira two gifts from a trip. O’Brien forgot to get one for Keiko so he offers to buy one. And then suddenly they’re overtaken by some wibbly thing in space that then disappears, and blorp, out of the vents comes a fucking Changeling.

Turns out he’s one of the 100 Changeling babies that was sent out years ago. He sensed Odo and wanted to meet him, he’s been searching for more Changelings for years. He’s NOT a Founder, they’re all infected right now and he’s fine. His name is Laas. He’s been around for 200 years, far more than Odo’s 30. He never quite connected with the people who found him, and now he’s been searching for others like him. He doesn’t HATE humanoids, but he distrusts them, cause they’ve treated him pretty poorly. Apparnetly he also had a wife but she wanted kids, so they seperated. This leaves insidious thoughts in Odo. Odo, y’all can just adopt, it’s fine.

This is the first gay sex on Star Trek, yay

Odo introduces Laas to his friends. Laas insults them all by being a racist. And then when Odo refuses to link with him right in the middle of the Promenade, he’s like “Ah, you’re afraid of making anyone think you’re a Changeling, you’re hiding your true nature”. Dog, I don’t walk around town with my tits out, this ain’t rocket science. We don’t fuck other people in public, that’s just a rule of society. I’m sorry you seem to think that’s wrong, but like, my man, that’s how our society works.

I mostly find this guy insufferable tbh.

Kira is bothered by the fact that she can’t link with Odo, and is also afraid he’s just going to leave with this random shmuck. He thinks Odo is just patronizing her. I mean, it’s understandable. Remember when Odo was fuckin’ the female changeling and he was SO bimbofied he almost let the entire Alpha Quadrant die?

Laas turns into fog into the promenade. This freaks out some Klingons who attack him, and Laas kills one of them in a T-1000 style. Now Odo is surrounded by people who are suddenly distrustful of him, and it’s bother him, very deeply. He’s realizing their tolerance only goes so far… Cause he’s one of the good ones. Quark literally tells him this isn’t the time to throw a pride parade on the promenade. I… don’t THINK it’s an LGBT metaphor, but considering there was canonical gay sex on screen just earlier, y’know.

Christ the longer we watch this, the more I think, it IS an LGBT metaphor. Like, maybe not intentionally, but it feels like it. “I need to be able to exist! As MYSELF! Without judgement!”

All of the people being like “HE MUST BE PUT ON TRIAL, HE’S A MURDERER” about this are being fucking idiots and it’s weirdly out of character. Worf is \hard on this, cause he’s a racist in this episode, because Worf is always the resident conservative racist when he wants to be.

Odo tells Kira he wishes he was out there with him instead, and so Kira lets Laas escape, because she loves him and wants him to be happy. And not feel like he has to be here out of a sense of obligation. It’s quite sad. But Odo goes to tell Laas, yes, he’s staying. Because he doesn’t understand. He doesn’t understand what it is to LOVE someone, especially love them enough to let them go. He’s staying for one reason. And that’s Kira. Laas tells him love is just fake nonsense to distract from the loneliness without the Link. Odo’s like “Nah,” and thats that.

Kira apologizes to Odo if he ever felt he couldn’t be himself around her, and then she basically bathed in him as she turns into aurora borealis around her. It’s a cute ending.

Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang - DS9 10/10

YAY MORE VIC!

Vic is doing a show for O’Brien and Bashir, when suddenly the holosuite just fucking changes to a completely different club, and some mobster guy shows up, announces he bought the casino, and is throwing Vic out. Bashir and O’Brien can’t freeze the program or delete these new characters. It’s a “Holodeck gone wrong, but the holodeck knows it went wrong” episode which is cute. Though these new characters aren’t self aware like Vic is.

They could turn it off and reset the program, which will reset Vic’s memory and erase him, basically, which uh, that’s bad. It also turns out it’s a Jack in the Box, which is a thing in a holosuite program that changes it up as a bit of a surprise. Everyone on DS9 bands together to try and save Vic. Oh, except Worf and Sisko. Sisko is like “Why aren’t you working??”.

Vic gets roughed up, so O’Brien and Bashir help him out and help him stay low, while Odo and Kira investigate into this new villain, Franky Eyes. They are VERY good at this. Kira just has to be hot, which isn’t hard, and she gets in with Frankey, and Odo gets in with his thugs by doing bar tricks (he extends his arm and grabs a drink). Everyone is EXTREMELY good at this. Their plan is hatched: THey need to rob the casino, so Franky can’t pay his mob boss.

We find out the reason Sisko is annoyed by everyone shillin’ for Vic. He’s annoyed because Las Vegas 1962 was a racist time, but the program ISN’T racist, and it’s not accurate. Kinda weird, Sisko, but whatever. His girlfriend asks him to try and come to grips with it. So he does. They need ONE more man for the plan, to be the high roller who distracts. That will be Sisko. We’ve got our plan. It shows it all, heist movie style. It’s great. Lots of distracting and set ups so that Nog can open the safe with his Ferengi ears, and Odo IS THE SERVING TRAY, TAKE A DRINK!!!

This is one of the best shots in all of DS9. Except for all the shots that has Ezri with her spots all the way down in that amazing god damn outfit holy hell in a handbasket.

The plan starts. Things don’t go nearly as well as they hoped, but it never does in heist movies, does it? Everyone has to improvise on their feet. The safe is a different kind of tumbler lock than Nog expected. A patron knocks into Ezri as she’s delivering the martini. They need a distraction? Sisko makes it rain. Just tosses money into the air randomly yelling “EVERYONE’S A WINNER!” It’s great.

It works out. They manage it, with a few messes, but Vic’s is back, baby.

We get one last scene in the end with Sisko and Vic doing a duet. It’s great.

Why don’t people like the Vic episodes? What is WRONG with them???? Vic is legit the best part of late era DS9?!