PATRON TIER LIST - DS9 S1E3 - Past Prologue

It teeters between an A and B . A good story, you get another glimpse of the Bajorian people , character development for several characters in the second episode and introduction of a new and interesting character . But because I have the foreknowledge of what i think are better episodes to come I gave it a B

Here's where you get to see the for shadowing of the decisions Kira will be forced to make throughout the show! And we are still in the "tie in TNG characters" stage. So excited that you are at this point in your journey! Enjoy!

This one was better than I remembered. I have a feeling I'll enjoy more of the first couple seasons seeing it through TA's eyes than I do on my own. Interesting BTS detail, Andrew Robinson had no idea how to play a Cardassian, but met Alexander Siddig and thought he was cute and that Garak wanted to seduce him and used that angle to inform the character. Side note: neither actor is gay.

I feel it's kind of relative. Is it an S compared to that episode over there? Maybe, but in the overall scheme of things it is probably just a solid hour of TV, and thus a B. If you feel "City On The Edge" or "Yesterday's " is an S, or your favorite Sopranos, whatever, then is this as good as that and worthy of an S too? I gave it a B.

"A" for the episode itself, and one level bump for the arrival of Garak. 😁

Plain Simple S Tier

A from me. I think this is a great episode.

The fact that this is overwhelmingly getting voted as a B tier says a lot about how good other episodes in this series are.

There is a lot of information given. It's not slow, but action packed. At no time does it seem to drag. And Kira and Odo get a lot of personality development.

World building and some pew pew as well. Both great for a season one episode.

Foundational episode on Bajoran politics. Clearly illustrates WHY the Federation is needed here to provide a degree of stability. S in hindsight, B without.

Didn't you already watch this one and release the uncut? I'm confused ...

Past Prologue continues Deep Space Nine’s early exploration of Bajoran politics and post-occupation trauma, offering a narratively solid episode but still a bit rough around the edges. The characters, particularly Kira and Sisko, are still settling into their roles, and you can feel the cast working to find their chemistry, sometimes successfully, sometimes not quite. The episode introduces some heavy hitters, notably Elim Garak, whose cryptic charm and ambiguous motives instantly mark him as a wildcard. His first conversation with Dr. Bashir is meant to be layered and subtle, but instead, it plays more awkward than mysterious. Bashir comes off as incredibly naïve, almost childlike, failing to grasp the subtext of Garak’s clearly loaded conversation. It’s as if the doctor has no awareness outside of his own job title—"doctor"—which undercuts the tension of the scene. Garak is practically waving red flags, and Bashir just smiles through it. That said, the seeds planted here between Bashir and Garak do eventually bloom into one of DS9’s most interesting dynamics, so in hindsight, the scene works better than it does in the moment. But on first watch, it feels like an unbalanced exchange, too much intrigue from one side, not enough intuition from the other. The main plot involving Tahna Los and the Kohn-Ma helps establish Kira's moral complexity. Her struggle between her past as a resistance fighter and her present role as a liaison with Starfleet gives the episode real emotional weight. However, Tahna himself feels underdeveloped, his motivations are clear but not compelling. Overall, Past Prologue is a decent early episode that shows DS9’s potential. The political themes and character dilemmas are engaging, but the episode stumbles slightly due to uneven pacing and character writing that hasn’t fully matured yet. It's a stepping stone, an important one, but still clearly part of the show’s growing pains.