Production Number 551

Summary
In order to regain contact between the Bajoran people and the prophets who were silenced along with the wormhole, Ben Sisko decides to make a trip to Tyree after recieving a locket from his father that once belonged to his actual mother. Introduced in this episode is Ezri Dax, the next host for the Dax symbiont.

The Review
'Image in the Sand' was the series 7 premiere for Deep Space Nine. It was not meant to be a heavy hitting episode, as was obvious from almost the beginning. Sisko is on Earth, the wormhole is closed, the orbs are dark, and Jadzia is, erm..dead. It is time for a reassesment of the situation and then moving on from there. This episode was meant to fufill that one simple purpose. It was a very small but critical part of the larger story.

With the victory in the Chintoka system the Dominion War has cooled down. That meant this episode was not entirely devoted to it. True the Dominion War is very exciting and at many points we were left craving for more of it, but even now and again breaks are needed from even grim fighting. The only occassional refrences to the war were refreshing, nice.

The only goal here was to introduce and get an idea for the season. It succeeded in that goal. The ever-present Pah Wraiths saw a return, rebounding after last season's finale. Here a Bajoran follower makes an assassination attempt on Sisko which is what got everything started. This entire subplot was detailed and interesting to watch. Whenever a main character is nearly killed it makes things much more real. After this we see Sisko enter a period of debating within himself. This argument, again, is very real. Deep Space Nine has always succeeded with this. The situation has very plainly presented itself, what to do? Our main characters are always being faced with very important decisions, so we wait, anticipating.

Actress Nicole deBoer had her big debut as well with her character of Ezri Dax. She has a rather uncertain entrance, which helps to magnify her personality (nice irony) when she knocks on the door uncertain if Sisko is still there. It is only a small detail, but it hints from the beginning volumes about her. We get the treat of seeing a lot of Ezri this episode as again another struggle is placed on the characters seeing as this person with Jadzia's memories comes into their lives. Even though I find Ezri a little annoying (Yes, yes, she talks too much, what a shock) I think that it helped the show. Jadzia had so much depth to work with, but Ezri is a very nice comeback. It's that uncertain personality that made her funny to watch.

The show was, simply put, FULL of plot twists. Someone would have to be a deadweight idiot not to have this one quality as number one on your list. Changes in plot are key in developing an interesting storyline.

Rating: A

Other Reviews
Jammer's Review
The Cynic's Review
TrekWeb's Review