 |
||
 EPISODE REVIEWS | ||
 |
Tacking Against the Wind Review by Steve Perry Airdate: Week of May 10, 1999 Written by: Ronald D. Moore Directed by: Mike Vejar Short Take: Extremely well presented, yet I'm fighting to ask if I care Brief Summary: Worf must confront Gowron while the resistance makes a bold move Note: I am sorry for the delay in my reviews. My computer thanks to Windows 98 and EZ-BIOS is near death, and I've been busy saving it. I'm almost there. Voyager reviews are facing a massive delay, for a different reason - I have to wait for the tapes to the last four episodes, since I don't get Voyager at my home away from home... Review: I wasn't expecting to like this one. It sounded like Another Klingon Episode, which, unless it tries to deal with chracterization, like Once More Unto the Breach or Soldiers of the Empire did, tends to me it will be about a lot of honor claptrap and no more. It shouted in the commercial "Worf needs to be used." If anything it looked like an attempt to shut up Michael Dorn and his one-note acting from complaining about too small a role, which if you don't believe, swing by the Great Link to check out that interview. Grow up, Michael. Was that last paragraph one whole sentence? No. Good. The point is, Tacking fortunately wasn't about Klingon claptrap. To begin with, it had very important B and C plots, with the B plot maybe even getting more air time than this A plot, though I can't be sure about that. And, the Klingon plot found a way to be relevant. The problem with arc-style TV is that often you throw the viewer a plot twist that just feels like a plot twist. It's something to keep a character, in this case Worf, occupied. That's certainly what it felt like last week. I won't go all the way out and say I found what happened this week to be completely satisfying, but it felt better this time around. In the end, this plot development lasted all of two episodes, making it hard to swallow, but it worked for two reasons. The first was that Gowron's motivations were made clearer. He's just not being a politician - he's trying to stave off a potential challenge from a presumed rival. Sure, while politicians meddle all the time in wars, this made more sense, even if it should have been set up ages ago. Second, this plot felt worthwhile because it had a sense of closure. No, I just don't mean Worf killing Gowron, in a rather uninspiredly choreographed fight. I mean it felt like a new chapter was now being written in the Klingon Empire. I think this plotline strained to be relevant to the war and mostly failed. It was giving it this twist, thanks to the wonderful, on-target speech from Ms. Ezri Dax, that made it suceed when all was said and done. It made Worf think and make a bold decision, and it left the Empire in the hands of a commoner who did not want power. Very well done. I liked what they did with Worf. Another reason I liked the plot was what they did with Sisko. Boy, could you see Picard saying, "Ahem, mumble, do what you must to stop Gowron, ahem, cough, catch my drift, Worf?" Sisko may or may not be a flawed character... certainly the fact he basically told Worf to knock off Gowron makes him a meanie, but given the stakes and how foolish Gowron was acting, he certainly seems justifed doing it. The captain role on Trek has found a way, even in episodes where the captain was not primarily involved, to make gutsy calls. DS9 I think has been exceptionally good at this, and Tacking is a fantastic example of it. I, in my usual self-assuredness, had another idea for Worf and Gowron. I still like it, but I like what they did here enough to where I don't think I have to be a smarty and mention it. What they did here had problems but I think overal worked quite fine. In a sense, the B-plot suffers from a similar problem that the A one did. In a lot of of ways, it was self-contained. You get the feeling that no matter what happens, this is going to be a short story. However, it had the well-conceived characterization that the A plot had, plus some very smart plotting. Most importantly, like the A plot, it suggested a new page was being torn, in this case the planet moving foward being Cardassia. With that it was brilliantly effective. Damar's family being killed pefectly characterizes the Dominion. Then Kira's reaction! I don't know which was better - her original comment, or her hating herself for saying it. All throughout, Garak was on top of everything... that's why I like him. He's no softy. He's simply a realist, and what works for Cardassia is what works for him. Russot's hatred of Kira felt overbearing at times... a little too obvious. But it was suppose to be. He needed to be a foil for Damar. He was needed for Damar to make his final decision, and it worked very well in that regard. Given this, how slickly it was done was an added plus. Odo changing into the Foundress was smart... the whole plan was. I liked the subtle touches, like Odo's anger, first actually seen in the Foundress's face before Odo remorphed. I liked the Cardassian sympathizer and the snide little Vorta. The goal of the mission made sense, both because it was a needed item an because it gives us an excuse to send Odo home, for next week... The Odo work was effective yet again. I'm so glad we had Chimera, because it's paid of wonderfully here. The scene between Odo and Garak was appropriately tense, and the eventual breakdown of Odo onboard the Jemmie ship was very, very tender. I suppose I'm a sucker for such things... I just love tragedies, I guess, and the fade to black at the end, with Kira holding Odo, just worked for me. God I love this show. Maybe that makes me a fanboy, but at least I'm content. I liked the C plot if I didn't think about it too much. It was only two scenes, but it actually brought up a nice point. No, not that Julian can be a jerk. Julian tried to solve the virus the technobabble way, and couldn't. That isn't suggesting that science can't solve anything, just that in the DS9 universe we so love that's too easy an answer. What they come up with instead isn't completely ludicrous, though it has its problems. Obviously, Sloane shouldn't be sent there to stop them, though he will. And if Section 31 is half as ruthless as Bashir earlier in the episode said they were, the plan would probably fail. That's why I know I won't like Extreme Measures... it already looks cheesy, but more importantly it doesn't seem to show much cunning by Bashir versus this ruthless organization. But we won't be too hasty in judging.... The impression I got from this episode was one of disappointment, almost. The writers have juggled so many stories and so many issues, with such good characterization, over the course of this arc. If it wasn't for Viacom's concerns about syndication, I can't help but wonder how truly good DS9 could be. We'll gladly take this, however... Some short takes: -Do I need to mention that he Weyoun scene was good yet again? - Wasn't Sarpeidon a planet from TOS? someone help here. And did you notice that Dorn mispronounced it? - That was a very sweet looking FX for the Cardassian space station, if I must say so myself. - I guess Moore wan't expecting us to notice that the five key leaders on the resistance were on the same mission together. :) Rating: A Next week: Ugh, mind games? | |
|
|
||
|
NAVIGATION PADD | ||
| ||
