Deep Space Nine 2x9 "Second Sight"

rating: *

the story: Sisko falls in love with a woman who keeps disappearing.

what it's all about: After a hot start, the season starts collapsing under everything the series still hadn't figured out, starting somewhat predictably with Sisko.  This would have been a perfect episode for a lot of other Star Trek characters, but for Sisko it was just an excuse to remind fans that the series had really only sketched out 1) he lost his wife in the Battle of Wolf 359 and 2) the Bajorans immediately declared him a sacred figure.  Now, the second one continued to be a fruitful source of material throughout the series, but until the introduction of Kassidy Yates in the third season, Sisko's relationship status was a dead end rarely and poorly explored.

But given that, "Second Sight" is still a fairly nifty episode.  This is entirely due to its premise and the execution thereof, a person who is actually an astral projection of someone else, who has no idea this even happens to her.  In some ways it's the same story as "Sarek" or "Fascination," in which far more famous characters in the franchise (the latter is one of many Deep Space Nine appearances of Lwaxana Troi) suffer medical conditions that are affecting those around them.  As a one-and-done, when this was still happening in Deep Space Nine, episodes that really could have been told in any Star Trek series, it is what it is, it's fun, and lets just leave it at that.

Don't worry, though, it's a short slide in quality; the season picks up pretty spectacularly later.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Fans normally leery of this series because it's so different from the rest of Star Trek will get a kick out of the episode.
• series - Fans of the series, however, will probably find it somewhat pointless.
• character - Not really much of a Sisko episode.
• essential - Do you really need to ask?