DS9: “The Homecoming”, “The Circle”, and “The Siege”

Date: June 14, 2020

Season 2, Episodes 1, 2, and 3

Musical Accompaniment: iTunes on shuffle, lots of Warped Tour albums.

Interstellar News: This was really a three-part season opener, so I’m treating it as one big episode. Also, absolutely nothing new happened in the opening credits.

Favorite Quotes:

Sage Sisko: “It’s based on a legend. And legends are as powerful as any truth.”

Doctor’s Orders: “Will somebody please explain this conversation to me?” and “Nobody could have planned this.”

Dax, She’s Too Old For You Bro: “Great. Seat of the pants technology.”

Kick-ass Kira: “With your eyes, Lieutenant, not your pants. Just point at them and fire.”

Quick Summary:

“I had done nothing but shoot an unarmed Cardassian in his underwear“: Quark gives Kira a Bajoran earring that was smuggled off Cardassia IV and proves Li Nalas is still alive. Since the Cardassians were supposed to have released all Bajoran prisoners Kira goes on a rescue mission with O’Brien. Kira and O’Brien find an entire labor camp and free most of it. To everyone’s surprise Cardassia issues a formal apology for not knowing such things still existed and Li just wants to rest. Li tries to stow away on a ship to the Gamma Quadrant and tells Sisko the real story of how he killed Gul Zarale. On the station, Jake has a date with a Bajoran girl and graffiti pops up with the symbol of a group called “The Circle” who want all non-Bajorans out of Bajor. Quark is branded by The Circle and Jake’s date is called off because her father didn’t like that Jake is a human. Minister Jaro makes Li a Navarch and makes him the Bajoran liaison officer on DS9, Kira is recalled to Bajor, and the first episode ends.

“How can you be chatting about skin lotion at a time like this?“: Sisko is angry about losing Kira and not being consulted, but he’s assured she earned a promotion. The Circle has gained a considerable amount of power and have even branded Sisko’s quarters. As Kira is packing she is interrupted several times as the other officers and Quark come to say goodbye, but it’s Vedek Bareil inviting her to the monastery. On Bajor, Bareil shows Kira an Orb and she has a weird and sort of sexy vision of her and Bareil. Sisko also beams down to visit with General Krim and fills him in on what he knows and then visits Kira, who is promptly abducted by The Circle and we find out it’s leader is Jaro.

On the station Odo deputizes Quark in order to find out where the weapons are coming from and more about The Circle. After searching the Kressari ship and coming up empty, Odo stows away as a rat and finds out it’s the Cardassians who are supplying the Kressari because they want the Federation to leave so they can take back control. Quark has found out where The Circle’s headquarters are so everyone leaves on a rescue mission and they leave Dax in charge. They are able to rescue Kira and get proof of Cardassian involvement but communication to Bajor is cut off and the Federation is ordered to evacuate as war ships will be there in several hours. Minister Jaro and Vedek Winn make an alliance and we end the second episode.

“And if our fathers couldn’t break us up, no stupid French thing will either”: Sisko gathers the Starfleet officers at Ops and explains how he’s staying so, of course, everyone else starts to figure out how to delay their evacuation so they can stay as well. Nog and Jake will be on separate ships, Keiko is upset with O’Brien for not coming with her and Molly, and Rom sells Quark’s seat to a Dabo girl. Li gives a wonderful speech to all of the Bajorans who are left on station and I can see why everyone wants him to be a leader. General Krim, Colonel Day, and the Bajoran military arrives to an empty DS9 because everyone is hiding in the conduits and eating combat rations. There are several sneak attacks against the military all of which work out in favor of Sisko.

Dax and Kira hitch a ride to one of the moons to find a ship that barely works, but they’ve got to deliver the proof to Bajor. They crash land but are saved by Vedek Bareil’s people and Dax appears just like she did in Kira’s vision earlier. Kira delivers the proof to the ministers and it’s clear that Vedek Winn and Minister Jaro’s alliance is finished when Winn realizes she was going to be on the losing side. They get word to DS9 where Krim and Li had already talked, so Kirm yells at Day and says it’s over. Unfortunately the writers remembered Kira has to come back so they have Day shoot at Sisko and Li is shot and killed protecting him, and dying as a martyr for Bajor. The episode ends with the families returning to the station.

My Thoughts and Impressions: I absolutely love Quark and Odo, they are fantastic together. O’Brien and Kira make a wonderful team and are very good at undercover work. Normally O’Brien is all mumbles when women are involved but he acted like a fine pimp when he and Kira were trying to bribe the Cardassian guard. Kira is a spitfire and I love it. I will admit I gasped when Kira was replaced at Ops, but I also called Li getting killed right after that moment… so there’s that. The first episode was absolutely the most gripping and I’m glad I was told this was a three part premiere.

When Kira is packing I had a flashback to Picard trying to play his flute in “A Fistful of Datas” and being continually interrupted, put it was wonderfully played by everyone in the room. I immediately liked General Krim but thought he would see reason and see that Sisko was an honorable man, but it shows just how easy people in power can sway even the most even headed of people. Kira in the monastery was relatable because I am the worst at arts and crafts, just ask any of my sorority sisters. She’s so honored to be in the presence of an orb and also super embarrassed about being naked with the Vedek, it’s an interesting side to her. Jaro does an amazing job of being a pompous ass, especially when he uses Cardassian torture methods on Kira… coincidence or maybe he knew? I also loved how Odo became the damn label on the box O’Brien put in the ship in order for him to snoop. Sisko is a bit on the sly side when he asks O’Brien how much time it would take to evacuate EVERYTHING, not just the people.

O’Brien’s love of combat rations is fantastic. Bashir is 1000% less annoying and ridiculous and he delivers all of his lines over all three episodes quite fantastically. Odo is fantastic here where he’s popping out of walls, turning into trip wires, and generally being the kind of alien I want on my side of a fight. The whole “rag tag underdog group of fewer people” thing was very much like every other episode of this type I ever watched. The military had to do things just so in order for the traps to work, but military is nothing but by-the-book, so maybe that was for the best. While the third episode wasn’t as strong as the first two, it certainly made for an amazing opening story line and wrapped up the things it needed to. Overall I am now super excited about Season 2 and look forward to the next few months of DS9. Lumping all three episodes together, I’d give a rating of 8 space stations with 5 of them at the mouth of a wormhole.

TA Out!