Deep Space Nine - Season Two Reviews

9) Second Sight — Sisko falls in love with a mysterious woman who keeps disappearing ... literally. Nothing-burger Sisko Romance. Rating *

10) Sanctuary — Three million refugees from a race called the Skrreeans come through the wormhole, believing Bajor is their long-lost homeland. A very boring 1990s political allegory, a sort of DS9 Hippies in space, without any humor.  Rating *

11) Rivals — With the help of a gambling device, an El'Aurian con man opens a casino that threatens to put Quark out of business. Bad filler episode, with an inadequate Guest star. Also, lots of racquetball. Rating *

12) The Alternate — Odo's father figure, Doctor Mora, visits DS9, bringing with him old regrets and reopening unresolved issues in their relationship. Interesting Odo episode. Fun when he's onscreen, dull when he's not.  Rating **1/2

 13) Armageddon Game — After destroying unwanted biological weapons, O'Brien and Bashir find themselves on the run from a group of deadly conspirators. A lifeless paint-by-the-numbers Bashir-O’brien action episode. Rating **

 14). Whispers— O'Brien suspects a Starfleet conspiracy when he finds the entire crew of DS9 exhibiting unusual behavior. This was much better the first time round. Once you know the twist ending, it’s boring on re-watch. Far too much O’Brien.  Rating **

 15) Paradise — Sisko and O'Brien find a human colony that has been stranded 10 years without the benefits of technology. Another tedious star trek,“ utopias are bad” episode. As usual, everybody seems happy, but our liberal heroes know conformity comes at too high a cost.   Rating *

 16) Shadowplay — Odo and Dax investigate the disappearance of several people, only to discover the entire village and its people are part of a sophisticated holographic simulation.  Odo and Dax have excellent chemistry together, and the Guest star is quite good, but we get too much B plot about Jake, Sisko, Quark, etc. Rating **1/2

 17) Playing God — Dax is assigned a Trill "initiate," whom she must enlighten regarding the life of being joined with a symbiont.  More Dax - and not worth watching. Rating *

 18) Profit and Loss  — Three Cardassians on the run from their own government seek refuge on DS9—and one of them is Quark's ex-lover. A "Homage" aka rip off  of Casablanca.  Has its moments with Garak and Odo, but Quark is no Humphrey Bogart.  He's a funny little ferengi  with a big nose and big ears.  He's a comic supporting character,  and mostly concerned with cold hard cash. Yet, we're supposed to believe he's a romantic figure!  Imagine Peter Lorre, instead of Bogart, romancing Bergman. Rating **1/2

 19)Blood Oath — Dax finds herself in a difficult moral dilemma when torn between Federation values and a loyalty to three Klingons with whom Curzon Dax took an oath of vengence. Starts out well as the 3 Klingons are played by former TOS Klingons, but it just peters out. Good idea, average script.  Rating **

 20)The Maquis, Part I Sisko and Dukat observe skirmishes between Federation and Cardassian colonies in a section of space supposedly demilitarized as a result of a recent treaty. Good introduction of the Maquis. Dukat makes this an above average episode.  The scenes with Sisko and Admiral Cal Hudson are best skipped Rating **1/2

 21) The Maquis, Part II — Sisko tries stop a war by preventing the Maquis from attacking a Cardassian outpost.  Highlight is the Dukat-Sisko pairing. Lowlight is the acting of Ben Casey. Otherwise a good action packed episode. Rating ***

 22) The Wires — A malfunctioning brain implant places Garak in mortal jeopardy, Bashir tries to save his life  Garak (Robinson) makes this a most interesting drama. Rating ***

 23). Crossover — Kira and Bashir cross into a mirror universe where humans are slaves.  Good Kira vs. Bad Kira.  Very enjoyable. Rating ***1/2

 24) The Collaborator —Winn tells Kira that Vedek Bareil may have been a Cardassian collaborator causing. Kira searchs for the truth.  A low stakes drama. Vedek is a very dull dog and his Romance with Kira is very unpersuasive. Rating **

 25) Tribunal — O'Brien is arrested by the Cardassians and forced to engage in a public Cardassian show trial. It was much better the first time round. Not enough Odo or Fritz Weaver. Too much Sisko, too much setup, and too much O’Brien torture porn. Rating **1/2

 26) Jem'Hadar  — While on shore leave, Sisko, Jake, Rom and Quark are taken prisoner by the Jem'Hadar, the dreaded foot soldiers of the Dominion. The only thing of interest are the Jem’Hadar, otherwise its snooze city. Rating **