Months have passed since the collapse of the wormhole and the death of Jadzia Dax. A promoted Colonel Kira has taken command of the station in Sisko's absence... but she isn't calling all the shots. Admiral Ross forces her to welcome a Romulan Senator as a permanent presence on Deep Space Nine, and the relationship starts friendly but quickly sours. Also sour: a grieving Worf, who's looking for a glorious battle to win in Jadzia's name to secure her a place in Sto-vo-kor. Meanwhile, Sisko must first find himself to find the Prophets; a vision reveals a truth he never knew about himself.
When people talk about Deep Space Nine being ahead of its time and forging the future of more serialized storytelling on television, they often cite the six-episode arc that opened season six, or the 10-episode arc that concluded the series. I also see a modern television sophistication in this short arc. This episode is willing to risk being quiet, even contemplative, when every other season premiere of basically every science fiction show is bombastic and large. It may be the first episode of a two-parter (or the middle of a three-parter, depending on how you look at it), but it doesn't necessarily feel that way. Several plot threads are put in play, and to my mind, you could imagine maybe they'll be wrapped up in one more episode? Or maybe they won't? There's an open-endedness here.
Each story line is grounded in the emotions of the characters involved. The disrespectful death written for Jadzia Dax at least becomes a useful plot point: Worf can't begin to heal until he rights that wrong and honors his wife with a victory in battle. The action isn't in this episode, but we do get nostalgic memories of the Enterprise with O'Brien, surprising sympathy from Quark, and a pledge to help from Julian. We also get a Vic Fontaine rendition of "All the Way" that's quite moving, even before it provokes Worf's violent reaction.
On Earth, Joseph Sisko's typical old man crankiness gives way to true venom when his dark secret may be exposed. His fear rings true: that the fact he's kept a secret from those he loves for so long is actually worse than the secret itself. Benjamin is so adrift and desperate that he physically shakes answers out of his father, recoiling from his own intensity.
Kira has received a promotion (at Nana Visitor's suggestion), plus a new uniform and hair style. Her story is a short little roller coaster of trying trust where her instinct was suspicion, opening up to this "not like other Romulans" Romulan, Senator Cretak... only to learn in the end that she should have trusted her instincts all along.
There's even pathos in the snippets we get of Weyoun and Damar. The latter's alcoholism, previously an almost comedic plot convenience, is a more serious concern now, ridiculed by Weyoun but not, you sense, by the show as a whole. (And the nasty, viscous nature of "kanar" somehow makes his addiction even that much more sad.)
Along the way, there are well-executed moments of humor -- Joseph Sisko swearing to take his other secret (his gumbo recipe) to his grave, Quark noting of the comparison of Sto-vo-kor to his bar: "Would you want to stay here for eternity?" There are weightier moments -- Odo noting that "in times of trouble, some people find comfort in hate and fear," Kira keeping Sisko's empty baseball stand on the desk as a symbol of hope. There's also depth added to the previously monolithic Bajoran religion, as we learn there are "Pah-wraith worshipers" emboldened by recent events.
There's also much to say about Ezri Dax, of course. But since we get only a tease of her here, I'll hold onto those thoughts until next time.
Other observations:
- I'm not sure it was made explicit before, but it's clear here that Joseph Sisko lives above his restaurant. As I suppose any workaholic would.
- Benjamin's attempt to construct a facial composite of the woman from his vision feels a little like making an RPG avatar. (My husband joked that he was getting ready to play Skyrim.)
- It feels like nearly every type of ship shows up in shots of the station: Federation, Klingon, Romulan, and even Bajoran.
I can't quite put my finger on what it is about this episode I find so effective. Yet even though it's largely just setup for the next hour, "Image in the Sand" is a strong B+ episode in my book. I think it's a great jumping-off point for the final season.
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