Worst of the Worst---Meridian

The mirror universe episodes are a very close second, but to narrow it down to one episode, it was this one.

http://voyzovrezon.blogspot.com/2014/01/worst-of-star-trek-ds9-meridian.html

"Meridian" is the 8th episode of the 3rd season and was directed by Jonathan Frakes (who did a marvelous job with directing the TNG films and many previous episodes). But everyone is entitled to a mistake. As a director, this is his.

This episode, like many previous, has two story lines. The one involving Quark attempting to get a hologram image of Kira for a creepy client was amusing but not enough to keep this otherwise stinker off the worst list.

As you can see from my previous blog post, the plot involving Dax and Deral was more full of holes than swiss cheese. As painful as the overplayed performances were in the mirror universe episodes, at least they made some sense regarding plot.

Not this one. Therefore, Meridian wins the prize, AKA virtual turkey award, for worst episode.

Worst of Star Trek: DS9---Meridian

I suppose every character has to have a love interest. Chief O'Brien of course has his wife Keiko. So far, all major characters have fallen in, or been in love with, guests that are either alien or someone from their past. Even Quark once had a love affair with a Cardassian.

What I didn't like about "Meridian" was the quick way Jadzia Dax fell in love and decided to leave a career in starfleet behind to become pure consciousness. I mean, WTF? Isn't the idea behind a Trill and symbiot going through rigorous psychological and mental testing to become joined to make the world, or Alpha Quadrant,  a better place?

The episode is about the discovery of a planet in the Gamma Quadrant that shifts between corporeal reality and pure energy. Dax falls in love with one of the inhabitants and he chooses to leave his homeworld before it shifts again and remain in his material state to live with Dax. Nothing is mentioned about the big worm that resides inside her and is part of her, both physically and mentally.

Then he decides to stay with his people because he's concerned about leaving them. Why? If they can survive as pure energy for 60 of our years, what's there to be concerned about? If their dwindling population is of concern in corporeal form, then wouldn't a pregnant female only carry the young for such a limited time in each phase shift, only to return to energy for decades? There were children present, so why not let them populate the species, considering it will take them hundreds of years to grow up? And there was talk that each phase in corporeal form was getting shorter and shorter. If they were to remain as pure energy one day, then why worry about populating the species?

Wouldn't it have been wiser for all the inhabitants, who are worried about disappearing forever, to want to leave the planet and live on another planet or even in the Alpha Quadrant? As the shift occurs, Dax is unable to phase out with the rest and is beamed back to the runabout.

This episode, which was directed by Jonathan Frakes, was full of more holes than a slice of swiss cheese. The episodes only redeeming quality was the side story involving Quark getting a holographic image of Kira to please a creepy customer who is paying for a customized holosuit program.