“When It Rains…” is the first half of the old saying, “When it rains, it pours,” meaning when bad things happen, they are terrible. The phrase is apt, considering all that happens to the characters involved.O’Brien determines only Klionn ships have the capacity to withstand the Breen energy draining weapon that lead to the destruction of the Defiat. That means the Klingons are going to have to take on the bulk of fighting against the new and very powerful Dominion ally. As if that was not bad enough, Gowron shows up on DS9 to take command of the fleet away from Martok. He then proceeds to make very poor battle plans in the name of glory, but which will lead to obscene amounts of Klingon casualties.
Kai Winn is still uneasily allied with Dukat even after she learns his true identity. Their partnership dissolves when he is blinded in an attempt to read the book on the Pah’Wraith. Winn takes his affliction as a sign he has lost favor with the Pah’Wraith and boots him to the streets as a beggar.
In terms of narrative, Dukat’s blinding comes out of left field. It serves only to get him out of the picture. At least Winn has an excuse to disappear for a few episodes. Watching her study the book would be boring. In Dukat’s case, his disappearance is a matter of convenience. At least now he will discover whether Bajorans have the capacity to feel charity towards him.
Odo discovers the early signs of being infected with the Founder’s virus. Because of Starfleet medical’s stonewalling and the eventual arrival of fake medical records, Bashir figures out that Section 31 infected Odo during “Homefront/Paradise Lost” so that he would infect thereto the Founders. Now they are attempting to stall until the virus does its genocidal work.
The most interesting part of the episode is the story of Damar’s rising rebellion. Starfleet grants Kira a battlefield commission in order to covertly head to Cardassia to train Damar in guerilla warfare. Her commission is an unintended demotion. She is a colonel, so she ought to become the naval equivalent of captain. But she is made a commander instead. The factual error bugs me.
As does the lack of any mention of Ziyal. Damar killed her in cold blood. She was close to both Kira and Garak, who Obsidian Order experience makes him a lock to join in the rebellion, so there ought to have been a confrontation of sorts between them and Damar. Alas, there was much of nothing. One could argue circumstances warranted casting such feelings aside to handle the matter at hand, but I still feel cheated.
The role reversal of a Bajoran aiding a Cardassian rebellion as the latter get a taste of cosmic karma for all their similar misdeeds more than makes up for it. This aspect of the story harkens back to the early days of the series when the focus was heavily on the lingering animosity between Bajor and Cardassia. As much as I enjoy the Domiion War arc, I miss those days.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
