“Battle Lines” brings back the character of Kai Opaka and promptly kills her. “The Storyteller” introduces the character of the Sirah and promptly kills him. Sounds like a couple of cases for Odo! Plus! We remind you that Wesley Crusher was once a topic of conversation on this podcast.
Noelle Matteson
-So, going through Trekabout years later. You guys have both finished DS9 and beyond, but I still often feel like responding lol. Listening to “Battle Lines,” and I think I get what you two are trying to say about Sisko in terms of making decision. It’s something that is generally consistent and appears throughout the series. Sisko’s ability to make quick but hard decisions ends up making him a good general and battle leader. (It also makes him good at negotiations in a completely different way than Picard is good at it. Picard would be excellent in Sisko’s position, but he would hate it haha.)
Picard sees things in terms of morality, rules, duty, and responsibility. He’s certainly capable of changing his mind when it comes to evidence and outward input. Even though he sometimes bristles at challenges to his strong convictions, he wants to do the “right” thing for everyone involved. Perhaps because Sisko sees the world in shades of gray, or at least differently from Picard, he relies more on instinct and gut decisions. It’s not in the same way as Kirk, who can come across as brilliant but impetuous, maybe because it seems more pragmatic than emotional.
So yeah, fun listening to these as usual. I actually paused the episode to post this hah!