Deep Space Nine's second season does a good job of improving on the first, even if it still has its dips in quality.
Season 2 of Deep Space Nine really has two major overarching storylines. First, there's the Bajoran election set up from the Season 1 finale. This season starts with a three-episode-long arc, a first for the Star Trek franchise, about the DS9 crew stopping a Bajoran extremist group. It's an ambitious and action-packed storyline that left me hoping for even more arcs like this down the line. Near the end of the season, we get an episode that establishes The Maquis (who would appear in TNG soon after), and an episode that resolves everything by having Winn (wait, is that a pun?!) win the election. Winn is still a fantastic and well-acted villain who gives me serious Umbridge vibes in how much more I hate her every time she appears, so I was simultaneously glad and angered to see her make more appearances this season. The other major storyline this season involves the Dominion, a powerful force in the Gamma Quadrant who everyone seems to be scared of. I love how this season planted the seeds of the Dominion in multiple standalone episodes, slowly building up the tension until we get to the fantastic season finale, where they finally reveal themselves and show just how much of a terrifying threat they are.
In terms of the characters, Season 2 does improve on a lot of missteps made in Season 1. Jake and Nog don't get nearly as much screentime as they used to, Bashir is a much more likable character, and great minor characters like Garak and Dukat get more time to shine. I do kind of miss when everyone hated each other's guts back in Season 1, but that also means it's rewarding to see the cast more comfortable with each other. Right now, the only weak link in the cast are the Ferengi, who are still very annoying and cartoonish. In terms of the episode quality, Season 2 is a bit more uneven than the first, with higher highs and lower lows. On one hand, the start of the season is fantastic with the aforementioned opening arc and classic episodes like Cardassians and Necessary Evil, and the end of the season is one of Trek's best streaks of episodes yet. On the other hand, the quality dips quite a bit in the middle of the season, with episodes that suffer from poor structures (Rivals), bizarre and annoying species (Sanctuary), wasted potential (Playing God), and one episode in particular (Paradise) feeling like an early version of Star Trek Insurrection, which can only be a bad thing if you've seen my review of that film. Still, while the middle drags, the strong start and fantastic final streak of episodes are leagues better than even Season 1 at its best.
At its best, Season 2 of DS9 has some pretty great episodes:
The Siege: While I liked the entirely of the season's opening arc, I think The Siege was the best episode of the trilogy. I love how character-focused the first third is, as everyone is preparing to fight The Circle. The titular siege is the most action-packed setpiece in DS9 to date, and everyone gets something to do. All the plot threads from the first two episodes in the arc are paid off, Li Natas has a memorable death scene, and everything wraps up on a satisfying, if a bit tidy, note.
Whispers: This was a fantastic episode, suspenseful as hell. With the focus squarely on O'Brien('s robot clone), you spend most of the episode having no idea what's going on, perfectly creating that sense of paranoia when you know you're not on the loop on something. Things just keep escalating throughout the episode until you get to that final twist, at which point everything just clicks into place.
Blood Oath: While I was watching the first half of Blood Oath, I thought this was a really good Dax episode about a bunch of Klingons. But then I realized that those bunch of Klingons was composed of antagonists from The Original Series, and suddenly Blood Oath felt so much more poignant. It dealt with revenge, premeditated murder, Dax keeping promises from her past self, rekindling your past glory, and the massive shift of the Klingon Empire since their first appearance in Errand Of Mercy.
Crossover: Mirror, Mirror was one of my favorite episodes from TOS, and it made me so happy to see Star Trek return to the Mirror Universe and even happier to learn that Kirk's actions had an effect on the place. Seeing a hammy evil version of Kira was absolutely glorious, and the whole episode was just pure alternate universe fun.
The Jem'Hadar: I love the way Deep Space Nine executes its season finales. They feel like standalone stories on the surface, but they pose massive ramifications for the show as a whole without needing to pull an explicit cliffhanger. This finale belongs to the Dominion, as we learn a lot about this new antagonist and what they're capable of. It establishes so many mysteries about the race and ends on such an unsure note, and it really feels like the series has been dramatically changed.
Sadly, the middle part of the season does boast some weak episodes:
Rules Of Acquisition: Look, I've been able to tolerate Quark on his own, and I admire the attempt to deal with the Ferengi patriarchy, but there's only so many of these irritating creatures I can take! I wish we didn't get our first mention of the Dominion in such an annoying episode.
Rivals: Look, I like slice of life episodes in my TV shows, but Rivals just felt kinda pointless. Quark facing off with a con artist feels like it should have been a subplot in a different episode, and Bashir and O'Brien playing space tennis together feels like it should have been a cold open or one-off gag. Also what the hell is Bashir wearing?
Overall, Season 2 of Deep Space Nine was generally an improvement over the first with a strong start and an even better end, but it was dragged down quite a bit by a rough streak of episodes around the middle of the season.
3/5 Stars
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