O’Brien goes undercover with the Orion syndicate.
This episode rests on a knife point. On the one hand, it’s ridiculous that O’Brien would be chosen for this mission – he doesn’t really have the skills or background, there must be a hundred more qualified people than him, and even within the DS9 crew Bashir would be a better fit. But on the other hand, he’s the only character who could make the story of befriending the gangster real and emotive.
It worked for me, but I can easily see the suspension of disbelief being a big problem for others on the other side. It’s a simple story, but well told. There’s absolutely nothing about science fiction in here, it’s just an age old undercover story.
511 down, 226 to go.