PATRON TAKES - DS9 S1E7

You guys are gonna love this episode. It's the return of your favorite TNG character! No, not Q

Yeah.. next!

Loved this episode on first viewing, meh now. I think Q and Picard play off each other in a way that just didn't work here for this episode of DS9. Feels like this episode really just existed to scream, "We aren't TNG!"

I remember seeing the promo for this episode in 93 and being excited for Q to show up on DS9! Then it aired and I was... less than satisfied. We had a weekly gathering in my college dorm to see the newest TNG & DS9 episodes and we were collectively disappointed. Definitely a D episode.

Not the best Q episode. But thank God he's in it, because originally this was supposed to be just a Vash episode. Q doing his Q thing (and Quark being Quark) saves this C from total D-isaster.

This one of the weakest uses of Q to date, but it's worth it for 'You hit me! Picard never hit me!'

Overall Id say this is the first big let down episode of DS9. Return of Vash no one asked for, Q just becoming a creepy ex type persona, and the overall pace is just really slow. I do like Sisko just not playing Qs game and punching him "Im not Picard" was good, but not enough to save the episode. D grade

One of my least favorite Q episodes... He just doesn't fit in with the feel of DS9.

Best quote from this episode and going forward “I’m not Picard” that truly sums up Ben Sisko.

Some nice fun with Quark, I think. But, if anything this episode serves as an early example of how different this new series, AND its characters, were from their TNG counterparts. Likewise, without the charming Picard-Q banter nor the apparently popular Picard-Vash romance, BOTH of those guest characters came off as even less entertaining as ever - and remarkably vapid. Enjoyed it anyway...lol.

"I'm not Picard" is my least favourite line of the show so far. It feels insecure on the part of the writers, like they don't yet have the confidence to really differentiate themselves from TNG in the actual writing of the show, so they're overcompensating by just having a character say it out loud. 3/10 (D). I liked the little scene with Odo and Quark (as usual), but Q is really out of character and the story's just not interesting.

I really dislike the way Q is characterised there. He is not charming, he's just being creepy towards his ex and like using his powers to force her to stay with him? So he's just a bitter asshole ex who can't accept her rejection? That's not Q.

“What’s DS9 going to be?” shout the writers. Not this.

Oh, my. Can’t wait to see your faces.

I'm just looking forward to the horrified reaction to Vash appearing. I think there's stuff to the episode y'all will enjoy though. Like seeing Vash rot. 6.9/10, C Tier, Good. Below The Motion Picture and above Captain's Holiday (TMP is lower than an episode with the moments it has would be bc it has more time to justify)

You guys thought you'd be safe from Vash all the way out in the Bajoran sector didn't you? I guess the writers just really liked using this character for some unfathomable reason. This is my least favorite Deep Space 9 episode. D (The boxing match saves it from E-Status)

Well... at least Sisko punching Q is a pretty good moment, however this episode is pretty weak in general. Can't wait for the shock and horror when you guys see Vash in DS9.

For once stuff was happening and it wasn’t Q’s fault it was Vash’s, more reasons to hate her

I wouldn't say it's a great Q or DS9 episode, but it is interesting to see how Q acts toward the DS9 crew - people he doesn't especially care about, like he clearly cares for Picard. This is probably closer to how Q acts on a day to day basis.

I have very much been at odds with many of your Q takes so far - I think Deja Q is a top tier episode and Q-pid is also great in my mind. I think almost all Q episodes are good. This one is very very mid for me, primarily because it sets itself up with so much potential early and then never does anything with it. The "I am not Picard" bit is stupendous and may even be the best moment yet of the young series, but everything else so badly fails to live up to that moment that the episode is just a huge miss for me.

I've often wondered if getting Sisko to say "I'm not Picard" was the whole point of the episode.

"I

Can’t wait for the pop for Vash!!!! Woooohoooooo! That last convo with Q moved this from an F to an E.

Weak. I know its heresy, but someone has to say it : Q sucks. Of all the episodes I've seen him in , a grand total of one was good: the one with The Borg.

"Hooray, more Vash!" said no one ever. Q and Sisko have a good moment here, but this is generally a mid episode with an artifact of the week causing problems and a terrible guest star dragging it down. D, but only because Q saves some scenes.

Don't fuck with "the Sisko". Picard speeches at Q, Sisko simply punches him. "It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for him."

DS9 needs to stop trying to be TNG. D for “decking Q”

Oh man, this episode has EVERYTHING you guys have said you loved. I can't wait to see your thrilled AF faces as this one really gets going. No wait, it's just a traVASHty of an episode. Q Trek fans changing the station.

....yeah

The return of Vash, and Q shows up to provide nothing to the plot but occasionally taunts the characters. Yeah, I'm sure you guys are gonna just looooooove this one, right? Also... "You hit me! Picard never hit me!" My dude, you never put Picard in a boxing ring and punched him 5 times first. This is not exactly a 1 to 1 comparison.

I can think of good guest stars that only got one turn. Some people do like Q-Pid. Not me, but some people.

Prediction: you’ll hate this one, because of the return of Vash.

A Q crossover into DS9 was definitely NOT needed and oh look he brought Josh & Alex’ favorite side character Vash!

Please make it stop!!!

Worst Q episode ngl

Overall mediocre episode, but I do love when Q says he has never seen a space station ripped apart by a wormhole before, like he's just there to eat popcorn.

Hell yea , Cant beat a Vash and Q episode = sarcasm

Vash aside, it's cool to hear how Q is known outside of the Enterprise crew, with Sisko having been briefed on him previously

Bad script aside. Sisko punches 'god.' Gold.

REALLY REALLY bad episode. It's debatable but I think this is the worst Q episode in all of Star Trek. ALSO BRINGS BACK YOUR FAVORITE GUEST CHARACTER IN ALL OF STAR TREK! HYPE. It's worth noting that I have probably seen this episode 4-5 times over the years and have no idea what the actual plot is beyond Q showing up.

It seems like they were trying to use TNG to build up DS9 but it wasn't well executed. Q didn't save this episode.

Weak script, worth it for the pop in the ol schnozzola!

I really dont like this episode. Q is great but he gets used way too little, Vash is as insufferable as usual, and the typical „the station is about to explode“ plot is really generic and uninteresting

They took 40 minutes to figure out that the priceless alien artifact of the week is causing the anomaly of the week.

"I'm not Picard!" One of the most menorable Sisko lines ever.

They must have known ho much you "liked" Q and Vash together in TNG. So guess what. THEY'RE BACK!

Hot take: I like Q in this. DS9 -IS- the 'B' team, the Enterprise crew really -WOULD- have solved this by now, and Sisko doesn't realize that the omnipotent being of infinite power got knocked down only because he let him. Q only sticks around out of vague boredom, kinda like how I did!

So far the worst appearance of Q. And perhaps the worst appearance of Vash as well.

Oh DS9 why? I think when people talk about early DS9 it’s stuff like this they think about. It’s not a good episode and it clearly screams as an effort to entice TNG fans over. That being said Q chatting to the DS9 crew does have some merit if only for us little people like to O’Brien. Easy D tier.

This episode has flaws and could have been better, but I think people make it out to be worse than it is. Q is fun in this, he's best when he tests humanity and observing them struggle while Vash is unbeknownst to her auctioning off a living creature and even participating in the auction was great! It's nice to see this darker side of Q once in a while, it stands to reason that the crew would think he's causing the problem, I thought it was a neat switcheroo. I give it a C would rewatch

No Wait! Don't quit the show. It's just an early misstep, I promise.

Okay, not the best episode around. But take notes Picard, THAT is how you throw a punch.

Is everyone ready for Alex's grumpy face for an hour?

Worst possible use of Q, he feels completely out of place here.

I think there are little scenes between the main casts that show their everyday lives and relationships that I enjoy but when it comes to the actual plot or Vash or Q I am immediately checked out

You hated Vash on "Captains Holiday"! You detested Q and Vash on "Qpid"! Logic would follow that you'd detest this one, but maybe seeing The Sisko punch Q in the face may turn it around for you. If you ever needed proof that he's "Not Picard" going forward, this should be it 😆

You guys are going to abhor this one. Can’t say I would disagree with you.

You guys talk about "popping" for surprising moments in your reactions. Man, you should've seen how hard ten-year-old me popped when Q showed up. Unfortunately, I don't think the episode lived up to it. Unlike you guys, I liked Vash on TNG, but here somehow I'm really bored by her.

Feels like a TNG leftover episode that got reworked to show how the DS9 cast is different than the TNG cast