Upcoming DS9 reviews

[SlackerinDeNile]

I did feel What You Leave Behind was a little disappointing - I've never been able to quite put my finger on why despite having seen it multiple times. I think maybe just because it's so melancholy, but there's no other way the series could have ended. I feel like the Pah-Wraith stuff was a bit rushed so that probably contributes. Also I know they reused all of the battle footage due to budget constraints but I honestly never noticed until i had rewatched both multiple times.

I'm interested to see Chuck's thoughts on it - maybe that willl help me put it into words whether I agree or disagree.

I agree with you on the melancholy factor, in the first half of the finale I believe this brings it down, the episode should have had more going for it, instead it feels too much like a staged play rather than the gripping, action-packed conclusion to the Dominion War and the fight for Cardassia that we should have seen.

Regarding the pah-wraith stuff, that whole arc from its conception in the sixth season was pretty bad in my opinion, it never really went anywhere and Ron Moore didn't seem to learn from the mistakes the writing team made when he wrote for nu-BSG.

In some respects, the entire 'final chapter' of DS9 is quite messy, the Cardassian resistance and introduction of the Breen to the Dominion was really well executed, the Breen made for some great final tier villains even if we learnt very little about them, but it's all let down by Sisko's and Dukat's respective last arcs as well as that really cheap episode where Dr Bashir rummages through Luther Sloan's head. I have more to say on all of it but I'm too busy right now to write a big essay about it.

[CareerKnight]

I did feel What You Leave Behind was a little disappointing - I've never been able to quite put my finger on why despite having seen it multiple times. I think maybe just because it's so melancholy, but there's no other way the series could have ended. I feel like the Pah-Wraith stuff was a bit rushed so that probably contributes. Also I know they reused all of the battle footage due to budget constraints but I honestly never noticed until i had rewatched both multiple times.

I'm interested to see Chuck's thoughts on it - maybe that willl help me put it into words whether I agree or disagree.

While I don't think the Pah-Wraith stuff was a bad idea and don't dislike its execution to the degree of some trek fans (heck I even agreed with one of the commenters on the old blip videos that Dukat living in Waltz wasn't a mistake). I think its problem in the finale can be summed up in one word, disjointed. There is no real connection between the Dominion War stuff and the Pah-Wraith stuff (not even thematically) to the point where you have to wonder if they were original expecting to get one more season and rap both up separately. Heck Sisko wasn't even aware anything was going on in regards to the Pah-Wraiths until the Prophets gave him a heads up at basically the last second. While the Dominion War is what will always be associated with DS9, the Prophet/Pa-Wraith is the thread that ran throughout DS9s run but its conclusion is treated as practically an afterthought. It happens with little fanfare and no real build up on the part of the heroes. The last battle in this grand arc takes place in a cave with almost no one even being aware of whats going on or happened there (and while that angle could have worked I don't think its what they were going for or even realized at the time).

[FakeGeekGirl]

Like I actually like the Pah-Wraith / Prophet stuff in theory. I think the Millenium trilogy (the DS9 novels, not the Girl with a Dragon Tattoo novels) are great because they flesh out the lore of the Pah-Wraiths a lot.

I actually agree it feels like they expected another season and just tacked on the Pah-Wraith stuff. Which is a shame because they had a set-up for a connection - it's implied that the Pah-Wraith are influence in the war in the Dominion's favor somehow at the start of season 7, following Dukat's unleashing of the wraith into the temple. And of course the Prophets stopped the Dominion reinforcements from coming through. And then they just kind of dropped that.

[CareerKnight]

I was thinking along those same lines and realized that the s6 finale event being a one off was overall a mistake and a missed opportunity. Having more of the Pa-Wraiths influencing the war would have helped flesh them out and expand the threat they represent. It would have also been another chance for DS9 to better explore what Trek has long ignored, what happens when the god-like alien of the week sticks around.