Customer Reviews

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 12: Vortex [VHS]

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Though the official beginning of "Deep Space Nine," was in the first episode, "Emissary," the real storyo the station doesn't take off until this episode. In this episode, the first hints of Changeling life in the Gamma Quadrent is given. These few hints lead to a rude awakening to the Star Trek universe, as the seeds for first contact with the Dominion are set in episodes to come. Sadly, that is all the episode offers. If you don't buy this episode for the first hints of the Dominion, you may be wasting your hard-earned dollar. The episode is basically a fair, at best, episode of the Star Trek phenomeon.

There is only one main plot in this one, and I was thankful for that. Modern Star Trek's habit of squeezing two unrelated plots together in the same episode is something that I sometimes find distracting. This was a refreshing change, and it gives the writer(s) enough time to actually flesh out the characters and the story. The plot itself is fairly straightforward when all is said and done, but it's one that is nicely told.

The episode begins with a botched hold-up. One alien kills another, and the victim's brother vows revenge. Not willing to have one of his prisoner's killed while in custody, Odo protects him while he's onboard the station, and then personally escorts him back to his own planet to face his crimes there. The one unusual feature is that the prisoner comes from the far side of the wormhole, somewhere in the Gamma quadrant, and claims to recognize Odo's species. Odo, who believed that he was unique, is interested, despite the alien's history of lying.

Modern Star Trek often places two antagonistic characters in a closed set to see exactly how they interact. The results of these experiments can vary, wildly. Thankfully, this is one of the successes. Cliff DeYoung's performance as Croden, the murderer, is slightly over the top in places, but it suits the character. We aren't quite sure if he's lying or telling the truth when he says that he knows who Odo's people are, and this allows us to uncover the facts along with Odo himself.