Bashir tries to outwit Section 31.
Just at the end they lose their nerve, and we get a much more conventional piece of story telling. If we were spending an hour in Kai Winn’s mind, or Dukat’s mind, this would have been worth while. But an hour in Sloan’s mind? A character we’ve seen twice, and who has no definition? It’s simply not a good choice.
The mid-show twist is predictable. The one thing that could have been good is the examination of Bashir and O’Brien’s friendship, but that sequence ends up feeling forced, without the emotional honesty that was needed. But above all, we spend time away from the plots that the show has spent building up over the past six episodes on a sideshow that could have been a much more minor part of the story.
580 down, 157 to go.