 |
||
 EPISODE REVIEWS | ||
 |
The Best Was Yet to Come Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges Review by Steve Perry Airdate: Week of February 29, 1999 Written by:Ronald D. Moore Directed by:David Livingston File Photo || Mission Log || Opinion Poll Short Take: Of course it was good Brief Summary:Bashir comes in from the cold Review:First of all, an apology. This review is late. I actually had it done, but a hard drive crash wiped it. (Always save!). Schoolwork has been horrific and everything has been a mess. Of course I would like this episode. I liked Inquisition and In the Pale Moonlight, so merging the two is a dream for me. But this episode wasn't a simple merging of the two. It had its own intriguing story, and worked because, instead of big life and death issues, it dealt with the career of one woman. It's easy to apply morality to the grand scheme, but how does it affect that one person? On its most basic level, entertainment, it succeedly wonderfully, simply because it was unpredictable. Sorry, nobody saw that plot coming. It caught you by surprise, but after the fact it made perfect sense, with only one unanswered question - why Koval was a mole. Actually, moles have been that high up in history. Kim Philby comes to mind. I think it worked so well because the result seemed so... small. No devastating plague or actual assassination, just shuffling seats on the Continuing Committee to keep the Romulans in place. It's what real spycraft is about. It just felt interesting to watch. One minute someone is talking about that plague, the next that assassination looks possible. Biting dialogue helped quite a bit. Everything seemed smart, with one exception, Sloane's "etymology" speech. But the debates in the episode worked wonderfully. Sloan telling Bashir to spare him the "we must do what's right speech" in exchange for he sparing Bashir the "Ends justifies the means" speech is one such example. On one level, it's frustrating, because this episode was so smart and had so much detail, that it makes you mad that ALL episodes don't show this much effort. Every episode should make a reference to past continuity, or some obscure Vulcan disease. It had technobabble elements, but these elements made sense. It had great sets. The acting was fantastic, with even Barbeau working well as a replacement. God I love this show when it's good! Two things added to the story. First, little clues, seen in retrospect, help us see things better. Admiral Ross choking on Romulan Ale because he is such a boy scout for some reason screams at you upon a second viewing. Second, Bashir showed that he is in fact smart. He pieced the story together based on clues no more substantial than a word carelessly tossed off by someone. He actually showed he was genetically enhanced instead of a big mental zero like we too often get in Trek. The characters in such cases are at the plot's whim, but here that was not true. Bashir drove the plot, and that led to important consequences. I think that's especially important because Bashir, smart as he may have been, was also naive, and walked into a trap. That's good too. It's using the traits of the characters to advance the story. God, I loved this episode. Holy Mother Mary it was good. It was also crucial for Bashir to be naive because of what he represented. He represents the noble and good side of the Federation. It is a sad commentary that he is in his attempt to reach out led to someone's destruction. But it also points out the fact that there are dark forces to the universe ('these are not nice people!") and sometimes being good isn't enough to stop them. Ross understood that. Though the fact he thought he was saving lives was a platitude, it was a true platitude. I'm not sure if I want to tackle these questions, except to say that Moore fleshed out the subtext to them well. Bashir for exampled mocked Sloane because Sloane acted like he was so good because he was doing wrong deeds so others would not have to do them. It's stuff like that complicated episodes with complicated issues are suppose to have. So, great hour. The last three episodes have been A, B+, and A+. Is DS9 back? We'll let the arc decide. To the finish! Some short takes: -Great use of the Voyager sets. - Sloane will be back, and I'm glad. Sadler is awesome. - I like the idea of a "continuing committee." It seems so Politburo. Rating: A+ Next week: Uh-oh, holodeck show | |
|
|
||
|
NAVIGATION PADD | ||
| ||
