There’s some nice creepy flavor in this one, particularly thanks to Rosalind Chao’s performance, and the time-bomb style plot works pretty well. The “good-guy-compelled-to-help-bad-guy-with-a-hostage” conceit can be a tough one to pull off, since there always has to be an airtight, believable reason why the hero can’t seek help or clue in their friends. This episode does a solid enough job keeping that conceit up, even if you can still feel the strain here and there. Plus there’s a good Rom thread!
Keiko was gone for 5 days and BOTH Miles and Bashir were given the assignment to water her plants, and somehow they didn’t communicate with each other. Plants are ruined, Miles has to tell Keiko. Stakes are pretty high for this episode.But then we find out Keiko is a pah-wraith, which still isn’t as bad as turning into a little kid.The pah-wraith is threatening to turn off Keiko’s brain if Miles doesn’t do what she wants!But she makes him a cake so all is forgiven.Miles has to do all sorts of reconfiguring in a short amount of time! Computer reconfiguration is what Star Trek is all about. So he needs someone that is both smart enough and dumb enough to help him finish on time. Rom to the rescue!But then O’Brien makes the lightning go a different direction than the pah-wraith was expecting!! AKA the end.
