The fourth season finale is not bad, but I do consider it the weakest since the first season closer. It had a lot to accomplish in switching the focus of the series away from the Federation/Klingon War that Never Came to the heating up of tensions with the Dominion. The screw have not yet been tightened for the big picture, but they have for Odo. He is my favorite character and I more often than not appreciate episodes centered around him. But making the season finale--the story that should serve to make you want to come back in the fall--solely about him felt like missed potential. The cliffhanger revelation of Gowron as a Changeling, which is not so, actually--does not have much impact because I have yet to care about Klingon saber rattling since the season premiere.
Nevertheless, Odo is a great character and he gets some good moments to shine here. I particularly liked the bit where he is practically carried by Kira and Bashir to the Defiant until a good natured taut by a concerned Quark gives him a boost of strength to make it to the ship himself.
Odo has been poisoned by his people in order to force him to come to the Great Lake for judgment since he is the first Changeling to murder another. The crew takes the Defiant into the Gamma Quadrant to contact the Dominion and wind up surrendering to them I order to make it to the Changeling’s new home planet.
In the Great lake, Odo is judged for murder. Because he chose the “solids” over his people, they take away his shape sifting abilities in order to make him one of them. It is in this bonding that his scrambled mind learns of theChangeling posig as a Klingon.
“Brokwen Link” has some interesting Garak moments as well. He accompanies the crew ito the Gamma Quadrant I order to discover the fate of the Obsidian order task force from ’The Die is Cast.” The Female Changeling responds that they and all of Cardassia are dead. The threat will have a twisted journey on its way to fruition, but she will make good on it. Garak attempts to take control of the weapos system in order to destroy the new home world, but is stopped by Worf. Although for a short time there, worf was carryig on his TNG tradition of getting his butt kicked by yet another alien he faces in hand to hand combat.
I enjoy ’Broken Link,” but I would like to have more bang in a season finale. The klingon stuff is supposed to be the point we are hanging on the edge of our seats for over the summer, but the plot was reduced to bookends in order to wrap up the Odo killed a Changeling bit from a year past. The episode has a “get rid of storylines that are not working” vibe to it.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
