Dreaming A World

"The Rapture" Plot Summary:

Sisko sees visions of a Bajoran archaeological mystery which may hold the key to Bajor's future as well as its past, though Kai Winn objects to his interference. But when the visions threaten to kill Sisko, Bashir - with the support of Jake and Kasidy - puts a stop to them.

Analysis:

I can't decide whether this episode reminded me of "Inner Light" or Guiding Light. At moments it was classic DS9, while at others it seemed like self-parody--most glaringly when Sisko started building the Devil's Tower out of noodles, but also when he did that stunning Kirk imitation: "I wish I could...explain this but I can't!" I loved getting a Bajor episode, I was SO happy to see Kai Winn again...until I realized that I don't recognize her or the planet anymore, and I actually miss Shakaar, since you'd think the First Minister would show up for a major interplanetary agreement. Once again I find myself torn between wanting merely to accept an episode as it is, and screaming at all the reminders of things DS9 has screwed up the past two years.

All in all this was a good Sisko episode, a little over the top with the headaches and wide-eyed prophetic speeches, but emotionally gripping. I enjoy watching the conflict between family, love, and duty, and the fact that Sisko's emerging spiritual side figures into the mix just makes it spicier, like good jambalaya (sorry, I couldn't resist). Brooks was engaging, and Cirroc Lofton has been proving all season that he's the best supporting actor in Trek. The scenes with Kasidy Yates seemed forced, but she's grown on me in her absence as well. I'd rather see an imperfect committed relationship than the usual Trek romantic garbage.

This was not, however, a good Kira episode, even if she finally had the guts to call Sisko "Benjamin" instead of "Emissary" in that whiny, worshipful voice. I can't help but wonder what it means about Bajoran priorities when the human Sisko is immersed in Bajoran culture while Kira justifies Bajoran inclusion in the Federation to the Kai. I've always wanted Sisko and Kira to be better friends, but I keep remembering Kira's first words to Sisko about not trusting him or the Federation...and I want to know what happened to that woman, the one who told Opaka she had to wrestle with her belief in the Prophets and the Emissary, the one who used to cite Winn's own reasons for thinking it was too soon for a Bajoran alliance with Starfleet. It's not that I think she shouldn't grow and change, it's that I want to see it happen. Why does she put such stock in a man who keeps making major Bajoran archaeological discoveries without inviting her along with his family members? I'm not sure why she feels so close to Sisko.

Ahhh, it was good to have Winn back, even the new, defanged version who is admittedly more complicated if less colorful than her old assassin self. I loved her revelation about being in a prison camp and her speech about courage and faith; that dovetailed nicely with Sisko's own experiences. I did think Sisko was way too passive at the end, howing to Bashir and not lecturing Jake about following his wishes--Jake's always known that his father could die in the line of duty, we've already seen it happen once--but, again, I'll take the domestic image of happiness we get all too rarely on Trek over the epic hero. Kirk killed God, Picard was worshipped as a god...but Sisko's doing just fine as a man.