S3E24 - Shakaar

[dnaphil]

I selected this episode because it introduces Shakaar.

This episode is a good Kira episode. We see her square off against Kai Winn, again. We get to see some of Kira's past life, with the former members of her resistance cell.

When a new conflict arises, Kira goes right back to resistance mode and takes off for the hills. I love that when Winn tries to enlist Sisko into the conflict when she knows she can't stop Kira, he pushes back hard.

In the end, Kira wins this match, and Kai Winn does not get to be First Minister, but she retains her position as Kai, and the conflict continues.

[GMGERRYMANDER]

Ooooooh I hate Kai...

Like I'm supposed to.

The farm valley Kira goes to looks like it might be the MASH set.

I'd like to see Kira and Sisko play poker against each other.

So....did Bashir and O'Brien fake Miles' injury?

[RobAbrazado]

This was tough to watch because I find Kai Winn just so distasteful, but it was a good episode; stronger than I remember it being. It specifically falls into an area that's growing more and more interesting to me, the idea of the "post-revolution." Even more specifically, this episode goes against what I consider a kind of familiar (and wise) trope, that the people who lead revolutions should not be the people to lead the government that comes after (what's good, Robespierre), so the ending of this episode definitely left me wanting to see where Shakaar's story goes after this. But failing that...yeah, it's just nice to explore a little bit of the "what happens to revolutionaries when the revolution's over" idea, and particularly when it comes to Kira. This episode actually reminds me a lot of that early episode "Progress," where Kira is sent to try and kick a dude off his land so the new Bajor can...I don't even remember. Set up a mine or something? But it's the one where Kira has to come to grips with being "establishment" now. Also she straight-up burns the guy's house down, so there's that. Whatever happened to that guy.

ANYway. Solid Kira ep, solid Bajoran politics ep, I dug it.

So....did Bashir and O'Brien fake Miles' injury?

Dude, for real! Like...the way it was acted and everything seemed to indicate so, but it was never made clear in the text?! I want to say canonically "no," because I felt like O'Brien lamenting the end of the streak was a real thing. But...from the perspective of our world, I feel like maybe it was scripted to be "yes" but then edited into a "no"? Or something? But, yeah, all does not feel right with that part of the story.

[dnaphil]

@GMGERRYMANDER The farm looks like MASH because they were likely filmed in the same area, rural CA.