Customer Reviews

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 60: Heart of Stone [VHS]

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It has always been the character driven episodes of "Trek" that have been my favorites. "Heart of Stone" remains acting tour de force for both Rene Auberjonois and Nana Visitor.

While others may find this particular installment slow-moving and irreverent, I find it to be dynamic and most essential to the DS9 saga.

Episode title: Heart of Stone

Written by: Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe

Directed by: Alexander Singer

"Heart of Stone" continues in the tradition of "Life Support", the episode preceeding it, with packing tide-turning events for the whole show to idividual episodes as spontanious and ungrounded events, insteafd of handling those changes with proper care and presicion.

"Heart of Stone" deals with one of the strong themes of season 3, the hidden love Odo feels for Kira.

And how originally have the writers dealt with the subject that is finally being adressed?

Kira and Odo, while returning from a Bajoran colony in the Delta Quandrant, stumble onto a Maquis raider who leads them to a remote cavenous planet of the Badlands. When they get there, Kira's foot gets stuck to a living chrystal that grows rapidly.

Meanwhile on DS9, we get to experience the horribly executed B-plot of the episode deals with Nog's sudden decision to enter Starfleet Academy, a decision that has a big role in the developement of the character later on, so it definitely shouldn't have been introduced as a spontaneous whim.

The plot of the story is overly simplistic and childish, underestimating and frustrating the viewer, as overly melodramatic scenes accompanied by bad dialogue and clumsy timing carry the viewr through the episode that doesn't do it's duty in deepening the characters it dels with.

The ending of the story is mostly a reset, even if we are being reminded of a few things nearly forgotten after the third seasons jumpy ride through different aspects of the show.

A good example of what you get if you force developement and closure to a series that has no clearly established storytelling archs yet.

Although only half is centured on Nog, it's where he starts his starfleet career, and the struggles he went throught to get it.

It was one of those episodes that I would recommend watching before you watch the late fifth season episodes through the end of the series. You'll find out why soon.