Vortex

Rene Auberjonois is center stage in this DS9 story. Odo gets a glimmer of hope that he might reunite with others of his kind.

It all comes from a fight on the space station between some aliens. One is killed and the other wounded. Cliff DeYoung the wounded one tells there are others like Odoin the Gamma Quadrant. And it turns out he's wanted for murder on another world so Odo is given the task to escort DeYoung.

The viewer also is given tantalizing bits and pieces of what a changeling society is like. It whets one's appetite for more.

And a season or two later all about changelings is revealed.

One species from the gamma quadrant kills another on DS9 and Odo gets involved.

This is a strong character episode for Odo and it makes his origin quite intriguing.

The highlight for me is when story asks questions about the Changeling species and makes me want to find out more. Rene Auberjonois carries the episode very well with a grouchy, reluctant hero performance.

In the second half, when the action moves off DS9, it gets quite compelling and there are a number of cool moments with quite plausible danger and characters doing the right thing in difficult circumstances. There are some convenient plot turns, but it doesn't spoil anything. Also the visual effects are done to a pretty good standard considering that it's Star Trek.

All performances are very good, particularly Auberjonois, Armin Shimerman, Cliff DeYoung and Randy Oglesby.

It's a 7.5/10 for me but I round upwards.

A really great episode from the first season of Deep Space Nine. It acts as both a good charactor building story of Odo and adds some interesting background in relation to Odo's Changeling history. We're also given some hints regarding Odo's race that will feature more prominently in later episodes. The other aspects to 'Vortex' which really establish DS9 as a show which likes to draw upon 'grey areas' is the charactor of Croden, where one dismisses him at first but develops an affection towards him as the story unfolds. Previous episodes of the first season try to build on the good/bad nature of various individuals, but this is the first one which I think works exceptionally well.

() The first episode of DS9 that really feels up to the classic Star Trek caliber. Hits all the beats for the tight 46 minute form factor; the story's efficient and well-paced, with not just solid characterization for Odo's continuous series arc, but also plausible, well-rounded arcs for the villains/blocking and one-off characters (with three pleasing, well-resolved final-act twists).

() As with so many of the stories in this episodic structure, they live or die on performances - and Auberjonois and Cliff De Young's strong dramatic chemistry solidify this as something memorable.

() Costuming for Croden looked like at least a partial repurposing of Vincent Schiavelli's as The Peddler in TNG S01E20 "The Arsenal of Freedom."

A real rogue, Croden (Cliff De Young) arrives on the station from the Gamma Quadrant. Unlike most visitors, he's not particularly interested in meeting with Federation or Bajoran dignitaries...but he IS interested in hangout out with the lower elements of the station. However, in the process, Croden kills someone and Sisko has to decide what to do with him. However, Croden throws an interesting monkey wrench into all this---he tells Odo that he's seen OTHER changelings and he offers to tell him where...if he lets him free. Naturally, there is more to this and the denouement is quite interesting. Worth seeing, especially as Croden isn't quite as he seems and it does give some insight into Odo's origins.