Station log: stardate 52576.2

Rene Echevarria pens this episode that first aired on 7 April, 1999, and begins one long serial arc that plays out through to the final episode.

Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer) disobeys Sisko’s (Avery Brooks) orders and goes after Worf (Micheal Dorn) when a ship the Klingon is currently serving on is missing after a battle.

Sisko has other things on his mind, including proposing to Kassidy Yates (Penny Johnson Jerald). He’s secured some land on Bajor, and wants to build a house, and wants to share it with Kassidy. It’s a really nice moment for Sisko considering where he was emotionally at the beginning of the series.

That doesn’t change the fact that he’s upset and worried about Dax who is traversing the Badlands in a runabout to hopefully find Worf. I’m not a fan of some of the effects work that bring the Badlands to life, it’s not the best the series has put forth, but the story is well written, and allows for emotional arcs for Sisko, Yates, Worf and Dax. All of them are nicely executed, though Worf and Dax have some shaky interactions, as they haven’t done much communicating since Ezri joined the station.

But this is only the first part in a nine part story as we race towards the series finale. We are given glimpses into the Domion side of the conflict, with The Founders still falling ill to sickness that has infected them, and the war may not be going as well as they want. The Cardassians are less then thrilled with their allies, and Dukat (Marc Alaimo) has a plan.

And the episode ends with Sisko as the Emissary realizing that his wedding may be more than a small affair for Bajor, and Worf and Ezri are captured by the Breen, after they get something out of their system.

Station log: stardate unknown

David Weddle and Bradley Thompson penned the second episode in The Final Chapter. It first aired on 14 April, 1999.

Dukat is ready to put his plan into action, and arrives on the station, disguised as a Bajoran named Anjohl. Meanwhile, Sisko reels from his vision of the Prophets telling him that he can’t marry Kassidy, but he’s determined to anyway. Dax and Worf are still held by the Breen, and are subjected to ‘interrogation,’ though neither of them know why the Breen would even bother to capture them in the first place.

… and what are the two going to do about that night? and does Ezri care for someone else?

And will Sisko go against the will of the Prophets? Doesn’t he and Kassidy deserve some happiness together?

There are a lot of narrative threads being set up, and Bajor and Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) is brought onto the board by having a vision of her own provided by the Prophets (?), and she is told that a guide will arrive to help restore Bajor…

… and it’s Dukat!? And there is a real sense of menace putting those two in the same room together.

And Sisko makes his choice… while we learn the Breen is about to form an alliance with the Domion… oh boy.

The Final Chapter of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Complete Series on DVD, now available from Paramount Canada, blazes onward next week as the Human Adventure continues.

Boldly go…