2.2 — “The Circle”
Plot: As Major Kira leaves Deep Space Nine and retreats to the monastery of Vedek Bareil, the terrorist group known as The Circle escalates its activities. Sisko is alarmed when Odo discovers that The Circle is being heavily armed–and the Cardassians are involved.
Thoughts: Hooray! Politics, drama, factions, betrayals.
What I like best is the return to the sensibility of the earliest episodes of DS9 Season One, where characters rarely said what they mean, at least not all of it, leaving rich subtext beneath the surface. And “The Circle” has great scenes! The opening between Sisko and Jaro, the scene where Odo deputizes Quark, the packing scene in Kira’s quarters, Kira’s dream vision, Jaro and Vedek Winn by the windows overlooking the city.
This episode lets DS9 be DS9. The dramatic arc and sensibility is without precedent in Star Trek. It is similar to Babylon 5, which would not start airing its first season for three more months. Did these shows draw from common inspiration? Did they inspire each other? I believe J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5, has implied that the inspiration for DS9 came suspiciously soon after he had been pitching his series all over town, and not selling it. The only Babylon 5 produced at the time was the pilot movie, however, which aired in February 1993. I may be thinking about this because the Kressari captain looks just like Ambassador G’Kar.
There are some very fine directorial touches on display. Kudos to director Corey Allen.
A recent trend in both DS9 and TNG is seeing characters get shot by a phaser, but not killed or immediately stunned. It just hurts! When did phasers start to behave like BB guns? This is reflective of the type of series Star Trek is becoming. If trading phaser fire isn’t the point, the phasers can be simple, elegant, and lethal. If the show starts to be about shootouts, well…
4 out of 5 armed rescues. I’ll come to save you, Kira! She’s looking like Peter Pan in this picture.
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