BABEL First rate. The defining moment in this episode came mid-way through when only three of the officers are still standing on the station: Sisko, Kira and Odo. While it's clear that Dax, Bashir and even O'Brien have things to offer the mesh of characters on the station (and Quark is a crucial defining element of Odo's persona), DS9 is solidifying around these three. They're the most vibrant people on the show, and their interactions are the most interesting, in part because they HAVE interactions. Deep Space Nine has, after a bare four episodes, essentially supplanted The Next Generation as the preeminent second-generation Star Trek representative. The bland "everyone is good friends" approach to characterization on TNG has been swept aside in favor of DS9's "people have foibles, and no, they're NOT all going to like each other" approach. And "Babel" is the episode that's clinched it. While at first glance this episode may not have seemed a character-driven show, in fact the pressure of the virus delineated the prime characters. In particular, we saw the characters consider what sacrifices they were willing to make to keep the slowly dying flame of hope alive. Sisko was willing to let Kira go to Bajor without hearing what she had in mind because he knew that without doing SOMETHING, he would have lost everything. His love for his son Jake was delineated better here than in the previous episodes, and we saw that that is in part what drives him. Kira wasn't forced to make a sacrifice here, but we saw that she's still a rebel at heart, doing what needs to be done to get the job accomplished. This will surely catch up to her sometime; perhaps we'll have an encounter between her and the provisional government soon. No doubt Dr. Surmak Ren would be all too happy to testify against her in such a case. Odo's sacrifice, of course, was in working with Quark. Odo clearly places much of himself in his mask of cynicism and stoicism (which of course raises the question: Exactly what is being masked?). He's also not used to being out of his element, as evidenced by his mild panic when Sisko succumbs to the virus, which Quark thoroughly enjoys. Odo is a complex character, made all the more intriguing because we still don't know what he is, or what drives him. (It's possible that he doesn't know what drives him, either.) His caustic wit is one of the most delightfully entertaining aspects of the series, and Rene Auberjonois' delivery suits it perfectly, making even his response to Trader Jaheel's gibberish - "I'll bet" - funny in the midst of the tension. (Not since Dr. McCoy has there been a Trek character who so lends himself to one-liners. No, not even Worf.) And the Odo-Quark tag-team is much more fun than I'd dreamed anything involving a Ferengi could be. The plot of "Babel" was straightforward, and it could have been drawn from any number of virus stories in science fiction (and in fact this one seems to have been lifted almost wholesale from a New Twilight Zone episode). But the entertainment and the drama comes from watching Our Heroes fight to hang on by their fingernails until things get worked out, which was made doubly terrifying since any one could at any time be hit by the virus and be instantly removed from action. The added threat of the self-destructing trading ship added fuel to the flames, and kept the tension high until Kira got back. The episode was not without its flaws. For instance, O'Brien's CONSTANT maintainence of the station just didn't ring true given that DS9 has been functions quite smoothly for the past two episodes. And, of course, there was the damnably bland music. (Why-oh-why can't they just step away from the pseudo-new-age crap and compose some themes with some punch, or some emotion, or *something* to them?) And I felt that the ending was a little too abrupt. (I'd give a lot for some of the episode-ending "topical" wit that Classic Star Trek often displayed.) But on the whole this episode was a resounding success. And next week's episodes looks way cool, as well. I think they may be on to something here, folks... Grade: A DS9 SEASON ONE AT A GLANCE: Emissary: C- Past Prologue: A A Man Alone: B Babel: A --- Total Points: 12 2/3 Season Average: 3.167 (B+) (Rise of 0.278 from previous episode)