"Emissary"
Seeing the Saratoga fight the Borg and lose immediately shows how bleak the Battle of Wolf 359 was for Starfleet. Sisko looking at Jennifer's corpse, helpless to do anything, and barely escaping conveys a lot of raw emotion, accentuated with Sisko's glare as the Saratoga blows up. You immediately get why Sisko would harbor a lot of ill-will towards Picard, whether he was in control of his actions or not. The rational part of Sisko might understand, but the irrational part doesn't. Sisko is a much more emotional commander, less reserved, and more hands on. You can see it as soon as he leaves the bridge, and on his way to rescue Jake and as he tries to rescue Jennifer.
David Carson's direction already stands out less than 10 minutes in. I can see why he was chosen to direct the first TNG Movie. Very visceral and close-ups shots are used at the most character-driven beats, sometimes with angles facing upward, making them look more dramatic than just shooting straight ahead.
When we first see Odo and we first see the Shape-Shifter effect, it might not seem like a big deal now but, in January 1993, this was maybe a year-and-a-half after
Terminator 2 hit theaters with the T-1000. And the effects with Odo were being done on a TV budget! For the time and the money they had, the effects were pretty damn impressive.
Odo is no-nonsense.
Quark is the best Ferengi up to this point in Star Trek. By a wide margin.
We already knew O'Brien from TNG, so he was like an anchor, going into this series.
I know that DS9 was originally developed with Ro in mind, but I think Kira isn't like Ro. I think Kira is the opposite of Ro. Kira wears her emotions and frustrations on her sleeve. Ro like to repress everything, even though she really can't, has an attitude, and has a hard time opening up. Kira's right up front.
Jake is just a normal 14-year-old boy. Which makes him the opposite of Wesley.
Nog is basically just a hooligan at this point.
And now the scene where Sisko first meets with Picard. I can see Sisko's point of view but, after my TNG re-watch and after having gotten to watch even more of Picard in PIC, I feel like I can see Picard's point of view too. Better than I could've before. After Picard says, "Dismissed" at the end, you can see his facial expressions, and you see the regret Picard still feels about Wolf 359. What can he say to this person? Sisko doesn't know Picard like those us who've watched TNG and PIC do.
After the meeting, when Sisko blackmails Quark into becoming Community Leader, I loved that entire exchange. To quote Odo, "Seems reasonable. You have all the character references of a politician." "You are a liar and a thief." I get way, way, WAAYYY more out of that now than I did when this episode first aired. I was 13. But I
love that line now!
One thing that definitely set Sisko apart from Kirk and Picard was that he was a father and raising his son. He was able to talk to Quark about Nog in a way that Kirk or Picard wouldn't have been able to. "I'm a father myself. I know what your brother must be going through. He belongs with his family, not in a cold jail cell." And when Sisko is able to manipulate Quark, that's when Odo starts to like Sisko. "You know, at first I didn't think I was going to like him." I actually had that thought about Odo at first. He sounded interesting on paper, then he seemed so gruff in his opening moments, but by the end of that scene, I started to like Odo.
Then we get to see more about Sisko being hands-on as he helps Kira clean wreckage on the Promenade. I love how Kira thinks that Sisko thinks he's above it all, and then Sisko shows he's not like that at all and his willing to get his hands dirty as well. I think this scene was meant to contrast DS9 with TNG. No one's above anything. There's a mess they have to clean up, figuratively and literally. This scene provides a nice bridge into the next scene as Sisko meets Kai Opaka. Kira expects the Bajoran Provisional Government to fall within a week, then Starfleet will be gone, and Civil War will break out. That's the mess. Kira tells Sisko about Opaka and how she can bring every faction together, thus preventing Civil War and bringing unity. So what does Sisko do? He goes to see Opaka. Clean the mess.
The temple Kai Opaka resides in looks very intricate. It looks impressive for 1993 TV. Sisko's pain, because he doesn't want to be on DS9, tells Kai Opaka what she needs to know that he's the Emissary. His experiences made him he person Bajor needs. What I remember from later on in DS9 is that a lot of Bajoran politicians are hungry for power. Kai Winn will be the most notorious case, but several others as well. Sisko, not actively seeking a role to lead, I think is what Kai Opaka sees in Sisko. He's not serving his own interests as the Emissary, which means he wouldn't be selfish about it, and no believing it's for him would mean he wouldn't let it get to his head.
When Sisko has his first Orb Experience, let me say this, I
definitely have a different perspective on this scene NOW than as a teenager. Where do I begin? First, up front, I think this is a nice scene and I like it a lot,
BUT Sisko is
waaaayyyyy too forward with Jennifer. And way too fast! "Jennifer, have a lemonade!" "It's not every day you meet the woman you're going to marry!" "You're supposed to say yes!" Wow. He sure is sure of himself.
It's left to the viewer to decide if this is what actually happened or if this is Sisko knowing what he knows now and saying things he didn't with foreknowledge of what's to come. I like that it wasn't entirely clear. But one thing that
is clear is the chemistry between Sisko and Jennifer. Then it's followed by a scene on the station where Sisko tells Jake, "I was just thinking how much you look like your mom." Putting those scenes next to each other enriches the context and makes you appreciate both that much more.
Speaking of sets that look impressive for 1993 TV. The Promenade! Unlike when we first see the Promenade in the episode, the next time we see it, after Quark decides to stay, his establishment is lit up and open for business! It's sort of like a Space Las Vegas. Maybe, maybe not, but you get the idea. The set is large, expansive, lots of contrast between the lights, and the Cardassian color-scheme, all the patrons (including Morn!) and the Dabo Table. Lots of ambiance. Lots of activity. The Promenade is about as different from Ten Forward as you can get. And about as far from Starfleet as you can get.
