The Defiant is conducting scientific research on a subspace compression anomaly. A runabout carrying Dax, O'Brien, and Bashir is temporarily shrunk down to mere inches... and then inadvertently left that way when the Defiant is commandeered in a Jem'Hadar attack. Sisko is stalling by exploiting internal strife among the invaders -- a mix of new Jem'Hadar bred in the Alpha Quadrant and aging veterans of the Gamma Quadrant. But ultimately he needs the help of the tiny runabout and its tinier crew to retake the Defiant.
This episode is by no means a reboot of the animated series. Staff writer René Echevarria had actually written a spec script about a shrunken shuttlecraft even before selling his first script to The Next Generation. Once he was brought on staff, he tried to persuade show runner Jeri Taylor to make it, only to be all but laughed out of the office. After moving to Deep Space Nine, he pitched show runner Ira Steven Behr to similar results. But Behr eventually softened, until one day, the idea didn't seem so crazy. (For whatever reason, though, it was writing duo Bradley Thompson and David Weddle who wrote the script, not Echevarria.)
Against the odds, the episode does work. It's smart to come at the premise initially with as much skepticism as the audience. In the first scene, reportedly written by Ronald Moore, Kira can't keep herself from laughing hysterically at the idea of shrinking people down for science. Julian is cracking jokes throughout (while also fusing his new super-genius personality with some old-fashioned first-season naivete when it comes to areas outside his knowledge). Yes, this is a silly idea, the episode admits... just go with us.
Thankfully, it doesn't let things get that silly. Even though behind the scenes, it was nicknamed "Honey, I Shrunk the Runabout," it's not a parade of hijinks about being tiny in a full-sized world. There's no concern of being stepped on, no running around in the carpet fibers of the Defiant (as we're specifically told our tiny heroes couldn't breathe outside the ship), and the main concern is not about trying to be noticed and rescued -- it's about trying to not to be noticed and being the rescuers.
But yes, of course we get some tiny hijinks. There's a Star Wars-like "into the superstructure" flight as the runabout enters the Defiant. In the final clash, the Rubicon zips around like a modern day drone, blasting Jem'Hadar with tiny torpedoes (inflicting burning explosions that look to have been done practically on set). And Bashir and O'Brien's trip inside a computer panel is a real showpiece sequence with a great set and props -- towering computer chips and giant flashing widgets.
The humorously tiny heroes do get to save the ship from a real jeopardy, a takeover by the Jem'Hadar. There's an interesting idea introduced here that, unfortunately, the series never revisits: a new crop of Jem'Hadar bred in the Alpha Quadrant. They're portrayed as young punks, disrespectful of old traditions, dismissive of the wisdom of the more experienced, and overly confident in their own abilities. The first, Kudak'Etan, is an especially familiar type: he's certain that being the leader means he's also the smartest, and he thinks that because he's in charge that he's also in control. But the veteran Ixtana'Rax is also flawed. He may be rightly suspicious, and may know exactly what Sisko and his crew are plotting at every turn, but he's too loyal to disobey for the greater good. His final words punctuate his failings, as he dies before finishing the Jem'Hadar credo: "Obedience brings victory. And victory is... [life]."
Other observations:
- There are a lot of small (heh) nods to continuity here, with Jem'Hadar removing seats from the bridge as they do on their own ships, a mention of our heroes struggling to pilot the Jem'Hadar ship they once captured, and talk of how the Dominion fleet from the Gamma Quadrant was taken out.
- A few NPC Jem'Hadar definitely fail their perception rolls, not noticing the tiny runabout buzzing about right by their heads.
- The regular characters are all so well-established now that their personalities show even in moments that aren't fundamentally about character -- Nog's nerves are fraying under the pressure of trying to retake the ship, while Kira is cool as they come even after she's specifically threatened with execution.
- Odo's absence from the Defiant avoids some problems in plotting: his status as a "Founder" might have made it too easy to overcome the Jem'Hadar, while his shifting abilities might have been a boon even at a tiny size. Still, he pops in at the very end of the episode to joke with Bashir and O'Brien about them looking shorter than usual -- leading to a rare team-up when Quark immediately picks up on the joke and joins in.
- Just before this, we get a rare taste of Worf's humor too, when he extracts a promise from Dax not to be ridiculed for his attempt at poetry, only to then recite a child-like, sing-songy rhyme.
- While this episode has some superficial similarities with The Next Generation's "Rascals" -- the ship is conquered, the characters in the seemingly silly crisis have to save the day -- one aspect of "Rascals" is not repeated here. Where the Ferengi captured the Enterprise (and might plausibly be beaten by children), the enemies here are Jem'Hadar. Both René Echevarria and Ira Steven Behr later said they'd wished they'd opted for a less serious opponent here; Echevarria felt they should have used Pakleds, while Behr mused that they should have somehow brought back Harry Mudd from the original series.
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