Strap in guys cuz this is a long post. It is one of the most positive posts I’ve made (if not the most positive). I felt lots of things so I wrote lots of words. Please feel free to join me.

The Ship: I took the liberty of highlighting some of my favourite lines of dialog during this episode, because it was incredible start to finish. Julian: “I’m not a conspirator,” Odo: “What would you call yourself, Doctor?” Julian: “An IDIOT!” Julian was so MAD about it too. And really Julian didn’t have anything to do with importing the illegal things!

Muniz: “I can’t feel my legs.” Dax: “Don’t worry, they’re there.”

I forgot to write it down but I love Jadzia’s conflict deescalation. She does it a lot, pulling someone away from a bad conversation. But in this episode she was like, “Let’s go take a look at this thing, while I explain the nuances of diplomacy.” And then Worf was STILL a jerk. Is it just me or does Worf speak his mind a lot more on DS9 then on Next Gen? And okay, we’ve barely gotten to know Muniz why am I crying? Miles cared about him so, so much. Why did they have to do a funeral?? “We will both keep the predators away.” I’m not crying you’recrying. Holy crap so many people just died for no reason. This went from mildly sad to devastating in SECONDS. I fundamentally do not believe that Sisko would make the same trade again if he could. He is more fighty than Picard, and he follows what he technically should do more than Picard, but I still don’t think he’d go through with it. Unrelated but Jadzia felt WEIRD to me in this episode. She felt more Curzon-y than usual, less forgiving, less caring, a little mean. This is also one of the Jem’Hadar episodes that I find creative and exciting.

Looking for Par’Mach in all the Wrong Places: Jadzia is back! I missed her innuendos. Where have they been? And also, how is her hair always so stunning. This show is perking back up. Julian seems not depressed, which makes me so, so happy. And this episode is hysterical. “I will apologize for this at a later time-“ proceeds to toss that guy out of a chair. I’m just having a great time again, guys. The scene where Quark, Dax, and Worf are trying to figure out what to do with the fight to the death is so well acted. The scenes with Miles and Kira were so hysterically awkward. And the last scene was so amazing I watched it five times. Every character felt right in place to me (except usually Quark whines more but I’m not complaining). And I feel like I should have seen that coming between Dax and Worf but I didn’t and it made me so happy. Dax LIT UP! That completely brought my character back to life for me. I laughed a lot in this episode and I’m glad I made extra time for it today.

Nor the Battle to the Strong: I have a lot to say about this episode. Doctor Bashir feels more and more real to me every episode. I’m not sure why I connect to his character so strongly. The messaging in this episode is so, so intense to me. Star Trek likes to push non-violence by avoiding violent conflict- avoiding planet side battles especially. This was so outward.

I loved the scene when Julian is exhausted, laying on the ground with the other two doctors and managed to joke. I worked in healthcare. I am currently working in a lab testing patients for COVID. And I couldn’t do either if I couldn’t collapse in the breakroom with people going through the same things. I wouldn’t make the same joke Julian made at dinner, but... I’ve tried to talk about these experiences with people who haven’t gone through anything. And my jobs were never very intensive. I can’t even imagine a combat situations. I’m grateful they’re showing this, and I think Jake plays a super important role for those of us who can’t put ourselves in those positions. I think a lot of us wonder what we would do if we were actually in pretty much any situation on Star Trek. It’s really interesting to me to watch a non-trained character try to deal with it.

Also, Julian made a HUGE mistake taking Jake out of the medical facility to get the generator. The officer Jake runs into plays a really important role here for me. They’re still showing the brutality of combat, and Jake is learning something so important. Julian was incredible start to finish. And guys, I even liked the corny Sisko reading Jake’s writing scene at the end of it. This was EASILY my favourite episode of this show so far. I feel so many things. It reminded me to check in with my friends who are on the frontlines in patient care because they are not okay but they are going to act like it until the very end. The message here was so, so beautiful.

Guys, these three episodes have been a complete and utter rollercoaster in the best possible way. Okay, maybe I AM the one crying, but not in the disheartened way I felt when I watched Hard Time. I’m crying because Muniz died first of all. But I’m mostly crying because this means so much to me and THAT is what I remember Star Trek was when I was younger. This is how it’s supposed to hurt! And then we should turn right around and start cheering for Jadzia and Worf and for the future O’Brien kid. I’m still laughing at Kira blaming Julian in the first episode of the season.