Vortex

() 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."

Woah woah woah! We have our first properly good ep of ds9!

Rene absolutely carries it, but it's got actual intrigue and substance. Quark gets used for story and not just bad comic relief, Sisko has to toe the line between starfleet ideals and underbelly reality and the guest star can act. Firing on all cylinders.

Some really, really good space shots for the time, too.

Odo was maybe a little too quick to break the rules for a stuffy security officer, but his motivation to do so is sound and well explored in the episode.

This presents some exciting questions for the series to continue to answer.

Great episode.

This is probably the first episode where there is tacit involvement with a planet which is under the jurisdiction of the dominion.

Cliff DeYoung A.k.a. "Dr. Cray Z. Molardo" from "Robocop" (1994), is Croden, A hapless alien from the Gamma quadrant that unfortunately went to Quark to solve his problem.

Randy Oglesby is a Twinned Miradorn- Who drives a Raider ship much like we saw in the Star Trek TNG episode "Gambit". We also saw that same ship, although a much bigger version of it, flown by the "Children of Tama" in TNG "Darmok"- A ship which inflicted major damage upon a galaxy class starship under maximum shields.

Croden's dilemma involves One of these twinned Miradorn. These are people you don't want to cross.

But we don't know Croden's backstory, it is told to us as this episode unfolds.

He describes a planet where justice is meted out the way the dominion would do it. And although the dominion or the founders are not mentioned, this is the first time Odo is referred to as "a changeling".

Both DeYoung and Ogleby put relish into their characters, we believe them. We believe who they are represented to be.

That is what makes this one of the best season one episodes. As Croden's True story comes out, we start caring about him.

We probably would have liked to see more episodes where Twinned Miradorn were involved, they had quite interesting aspects although the characters of Ro-Kel/Ah-Kel were particularly surly. The only other time where this race is mentioned was in "Q-Less", where we find out that Picard's Girlfriend "Vash" had run afoul of the law on that planet.

There is also a gag where they use a particular gas inside of a nebula as a weapon... this gag was used in Voyager at least once and possibly in both enterprise and TNG. Why not? It was a great gag. And Odo thought of it first.

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.

I have to say that the complex character of Odo is really of interest to me. Here, we get to know him better. He meets another alien who gives him hope of finding others like him. He is in perpetual fear of prejudice. His job on the ship is made more effective by his harsh demeanor. In this, he finds another character who has feelings like his own, having been driven from his planet because he is different. There are many difficulties in this episode and some harsh realities. One of my favorites.