If I want to binge DS9 what episodes can I skip?

[tacomoney]

So I have been meaning to binge DS9 for a few years now (in no small part to SFDEBRIS's reviews making me more aware of the show and its strengths, when i was much younger I knew very little about this subseries).

And now that I got a Netflix account with all the episodes to watch I figure its time.
The thing is with something like Netflix that I can easily go from ep to ep, it gives me the excuse to skip certain eps like He who is without sin or Profit and Lace which I know from Chuck are total crap.

So in people who know better what eps of DS9 can I skip that are either cringey ,boring or add nothing to the myth arc?

[Yukaphile]

"Profit and Lace." Also "Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

[Durandal_1707]

In general, most episodes centering on the Ferengi, the Dax symbiont, Vic Fontaine, or relationship drama are skippable IMO.

More specifically, I'd say:

Season 1: It's kind of a "warming-up" season in general.
* Q-Less <- this clip has all you need to see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etc8qdqiR5k
* The Passenger <- featuring the worst "possessed" acting in the franchise!
* Move Along Home <- unless you enjoy supercheese, which this one has in spades. Allemeraine!
* The Storyteller <- ditto. It's a rejected script from TNG Season 1. What you're likely imagining right now is pretty accurate. The Dal Rock Is Strong!
* If Wishes Were Horses <- this is where Sisko gets his baseball, but it's so bad

Season 2: There's a spot somewhere in there where the quality noticeably jumps. You'll know when you hit it. But before you get there, there's a rough patch.
* Invasive Procedures <- boring symbiont stuff
* Melora <- unless you're having trouble sleeping
* Don't Skip Rules of Acquisition even though it's a Ferengi episode.
* Second Sight <- zzzzz
* A lot of people hate Sanctuary, but I don't really mind it. Still YMMV
* Rivals <- eh.

Season 3: We're in arc-heavy territory now.
* Meridian <- Dax shouldn't be this stupid. Why do the writers make Dax this stupid
* Fascination <- Lwaxana's sexual harassment of Odo infects the whole station
* Prophet Motive <- it's actually kind of fun in a really stupid way
* Family Business <- Quark's mother checks in, I check out.

Season 4:
* The Muse, and that's it. Most consistent season of Star Trek in the franchise IMO. Yes, even the Ferengi eps are good.

Season 5: Another really good season, except for:
* Looking for Par'Mach in All The Wrong Places <- Two characters start a relationship here, which is arc-related I guess, but it's obvious from subsequent episodes
* Let He Who Is Without Sin <- Ditto: one relationship ends, another begins. It's not worth the pain
* Ferengi Love Songs <- Oh good, Ferengi and relationship drama. What could go wrong?

Season 6:
* Everything between Sacrifice of Angels and the finale, with exceptions for Waltz (begrudgingly), Far Beyond the Stars, and In the Pale Moonlight.

Season 7:
* I dunno, whatever you want. Most of it's arc-related, but also I don't enjoy it that much :-/

[Yukaphile]

Yeah, my general rule of thumb is that I only skip "Let He Who Is Without Sin..." and "Profit and Lace." I even watch "Meridian," despite how boring it is, because come on, Jeffrey Combs!

[clearspira]

Honestly season 1 and 2 are irrelevant to the series as a whole with the exception of right at the end where they introduce the Dominion. Season 3 was very much a soft reboot of the show. I would go as far as to say that this was the true season 1.

[Yukaphile]

You're ignoring excellent episodes like "Necessary Evil" and "Shadowplay." I'd have rated "Shadowplay" higher. And I genuinely think there's some excellent Season 1 gems like "Vortex" and "Battle Lines." You'll be lost without watching all those. Really, the only ones you can skip are "Let He Who Is Without Sin" and "Profit and Lace." Everything else is at least watchable. Except maybe "Meridian," which is boring and skippable. Other than that, they all have continuity to some degree or another.

[Makeshift Python]

The show doesn’t really find itself or the characters until the second season. It gets a retooling with Worf in the fourth season, which Chuck once explained was designed to be a soft reboot, with the preceding seasons serving as a long set up for plot and character.

[Yukaphile]

Yeah, so if you wanna skip a season, go with number one, but you'll miss great stories like "Vortex" and "Battle Lines" and even "The Storyteller" which sets up the future friendship between O'Brien and Bashir.

[Independent George]

Honestly season 1 and 2 are irrelevant to the series as a whole with the exception of right at the end where they introduce the Dominion. Season 3 was very much a soft reboot of the show. I would go as far as to say that this was the true season 1.

I disagree regarding S2 - the Dominion story wasn't introduced until the end, but there were still a lot of important character and background pieces early on that are also excellent episodes in their own right. There was more to DS9 than the Dominion war, and this was where it really started.

S2 includes Cardassians, Necessary Evil, The Alternate, The Maquis, The Wire, and The Collaborator. Yes, I know the Maquis plot would soon be dropped in short order, but it is a recurring subplot for a while. On top of that, Whispers, Blood Oath, and Tribunal are rather good standalone episodes (and the beginning of the recurring 'Torture O'Brien' subplot).

S1 is weaker and does not contain so many plot hooks, but Duet and Progress are still worth watching. Neither is essential to the show, but it's still nice to see those early gems while the show was still finding itself. In the Hands of the Prophets is sort of important because I think it's Wynn's first major appearances, but you get more of her later, and it's really kind of clunky & awkward. Vortex and Captive Pursuit kind of/sort of hint at future Dominion plots, but it hadn't yet been planned out at that point, so it only ties in tangentally to what we learn later.

[Yukaphile]

Honestly, nothing in Season 2 approaches the level of "unwatchable" that "Profit and Lace" and "Let He Who Is Without Sin" are. Maybe "Meridian" from Season 3, as it is rather skippable.