The Siege

This is a highly entertaining conclusion to the first triad of DS9. Here all the forces that have been moving forward finally meet. Kira was remarkable. I especially enjoyed her trip in the old shuttle with Dax. It is comedic but serious as well. I also enjoyed the effort to confront the Circle invaders with a really good plan. Well done.

In this conclusion of a three part opener it looks very much like the Federation is scuttling their Deep Space 9 project. Avery Brooks is delaying implementation and he and the staff are fighting a rear guard action while Nana Visitor and Terry Farrell try to get to the provisional government of Bajor to give evidence of Cardassian complicity in the rebellion.

This was a fine ending and also it reaffirmed that Richard Beymer whose rescue by Major Kira and Chief O'Brien started this story. Indeed in the end Beymer shows he has the right stuff.

As this final portion of a three-part series on those annoying Bajorans begins, 'The Circle' is set on taking control of Deep Space 9 and their unknown benefactors turn out to be the Cardassians! What an odd alliance. However, despite Sisko learning this, Admiral Chekote has forbidden intervention--so, Sisko is planning on intervening anyway! I like this side of Sisko and he is much more assertive and interesting in part three! Can the small company of Starfleet staff manage to resist this takeover? Well, perhaps if Kira can get the proof of the Cardassian involvement to the provisional government. However, communication with the planet are blocked and it appears as if The Circle will be ready to kill anyone trying to bring the truth to the planet. So, Sisko and his troops will just need to be incredibly tricky, won't they?

This is by far the best of the three parts of this series--mostly because it does have a decent amount of actions--something oddly missing in parts one and two. Well worth seeing.

The Bajoran military occupy DS9.

This is an enjoyable episode with some decent moments for all the main characters.

For me the best of the various plot threads involved Kira and Dax getting the evidence to Bajor. The production values are strong, particularly during the flight sequences as they enter the atmosphere of the planet. The banter between the two is quite amusing too. Nana Visitor and Terry Farrell have strong chemistry and perform well.

I also liked the humour around Quark and his capitalist tendencies around the seating arrangements of the shuttle evacuations.

The DS9 scenes focussed around the military takeover are reasonably good but you never get any sense of a credible threat. The one fatality that does occur is a bit frustrating as it involves a character that feels like he is being killed out of convenience to the TV show.

Frank Langella and Louise Fletcher have less screen time but when they are centre stage they stand out.