3.4 — “Equilibrium”

3.4 — “Equilibrium”

Plot: Jadzia experiences mood swings and delusions that reveal a medical emergency that sends her, Sisko, and Bashir to the Trill homeworld to investigate problems with her joining with Dax. This forces Jadzia to confront the doctors who trained her to be a host and secrets from Dax’s past.

What I Like: Terry Ferrell has grown in confidence tremondously since she started playing Jadzia in Season One. Reporting indicates she was the last actor to be cast for the show, and was thrown into the shooting of the pilot with little preparation. Here, Ferrell shows different gears in the delusion scenes, the ferocity with which she accuses Sisko and Kira, and in her emotionally vulnerable scenes with Bashir.

The Trill homeworld is interesting, but I wish we saw more of it!

The final scene where she embraces Joran Dax in the water is an inspired visualization of the idea of embracing the past.

What Isn’t Good: “Equilibrium” gets a bit talky with all the exposition related to the mystery. Sisko’s deductions fly much farther than the evidence he is presented, and we devolve to “tell don’t show.” Speaking of the revelations, I’m a bit foggy on how the screeners let a murderer slip through their screening process and the other details of Joran Dax get too close to handwaving.

What Makes It Star Trek?: The secret of the Trill homeworld is interesting to think about. Is the government fiction justifiable? Do Sisko and company have an obligation to release the information? The exploration of multiple consciousnesses within Dax and the need to embrace past trauma seem like worthy subjects for a satisfying episode, which makes no mention of The Dominion at all.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 electric pianos.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Equilibrium