Deep Space Nine: Now with 50% More Swagger

Jim’s Take on Episode 1: “The Homecoming” (Part 1)

As brilliant as DS9’s first season was, and it was pretty brilliant, Season 2, to use a metaphor Sisko might approve of, is a whole new ballgame. There is a confidence and swagger that wasn’t quite there yet in the first season and it comes through in every aspect of the show. Right off the bat (See what I did there?), the cast shows a new confidence in their performances, having really learned to inhabit these characters and bring them to life with a certainty that was occasionally lacking in the first season. (Not that you would notice until you actually see this season. They just took great performances and made them that much better!) On the production side of things, they clearly have a little money to spend. The sets are bigger and better, there’s more location filming, and there are more action sequences. They may have to save money later, but they are making sure to open their second season with confidence. 

“The Homecoming” starts off with both Quark and Sisko in unusually good moods. Quark is rolling in profits and having a ball tormenting Odo by cooperating with him and being helpful. So insidious!  He even throws in a new Rule of Acquisition. (Rule of Acquisition #76: Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.) He gets a chance to put his suave moves on both a very femme fatale ship’s captain who has an apparently significant Bajoran earring to give him, which might even provide an opportunity to sweet talk Major Kira. What could go wrong? Plenty, obviously. Not only does he NOT win over Kira, he ends up getting branded by The Circle! His terror over the possible marring of his handsome good looks is priceless.

Sisko is enjoying a little lighthearted parenting time with Jake, who is about to go on his first date (“Who’s worried?”)  and is happily settling in to enjoy a raktajino and a berry tart when Kira has to show up to harsh his vibe with a complicated Bajoran thing. (Is this the first time we discover Sisko’s preference for this particular Klingon beverage? I think it might be!) Everything Bajoran is pretty complicated with a tendency to ruin your day. This earring is no exception. It could lead to the rescue of a famous and beloved Bajoran hero of the resistance, Li Nalas, from a Cardassian prison, where there are supposedly no more Bajoran prisoners. It could also lead to a declaration of war with Cardassia, so…definitely the sort of thing to ruin your brunch. And then a bunch of racist hate-mongers are spraying graffiti around on O’Brien’s nice, clean, station.  Sisko just can’t catch a break, but Avery Brooks really does inhabit the role with so much confidence, energy, and power now. He is just amazing here!

Interestingly, years ago, when I last watched this episode, the idea of The Circle, an extremist group of xenophobic and racist Bajorans, who want  “Bajor for Bajorans,” didn’t seem nearly as dangerous and real as it does in our current political climate.The writers of DS9 really were brilliantly addressing universal themes and ideas that are very relevant to the world we live in. Sadly, things seem to have declined the last 30 years rather than improved. If only a bunch of unreasonable, hateful, selfish, racist extremists could seem like a fantasy notion from a sci-fi TV show.

Anyway, there is an action-packed rescue of Li Nalas where O’Brien pretends to be Kira’s pimp to get them past the prison’s defense shields. We KNOW the leering Cardassian guard is earning himself a righteous whuppin’ from Kira, but it’s still wonderful to watch him get what’s coming to him. Li Nalas turns out to be a pretty big disappointment who isn’t really the heroic legend everyone thinks he is. Sisko’s statement  that a symbol or a legend is more important to people than the truth is certainly food for thought. (Again, so much of this applies to the social media obsessed, politically turbulent world we live in today.) Despite Nalas’s complete disinterest in becoming Bajor’s unifying leader, his presence stirs up all kinds of political turmoil which ultimately leads to Kira being fired so he can take her position on the station.

Deep Space Nine truly launches its second season with so much swagger! You can see it in all aspects of the production, from the performances to jumping right in with an epic three-part story, which was unheard of back in the early nineties when TV production was a very different beast. 

To be continued…

Return to Episode 2.1 Guide