Production Number 575 and 576

Summary
It becomes clear to the Federation alliance that it is time to end the war, now..

The Review
As I look back on this episode, I do so with mixed opinions. The short review: It was good. The long review... sit back.

The general consensus on the 'Final Chapter' is that it was a good idea, but I never believed that the writers had entirely planned everything out. From the beginning, action and plot twists were being crammed into the alotted screen time. Many events would have gained a semi episode arc, but instead took place in just 3 or 4 scenes.

'What You Leave Behind' was not immune to this at all. In my opinion it is the best example. One needs to step back and consider what took place here. In the beginning of the episode the Dominion/Breen/Cardassian forces held well over half the original Cardassian territory, by the end, just two hours later, Cardassia was laying in ruins, and that's not even considering commercial time. What happened?

One or two of you might think you know where this is going, and you will argue that this, point in fact, is fine. Deep Space Nine left the air boldly with action and suspense. I am not about to argue that, because I agree completely. This was a brilliant end with a tragic portrayal of the cost of victory, two thumbs up on that front.

But it is what is triggered when you have all this action crumpled and squeezed and edited into one 2 hour slot that I get worried. It's a well-known fact scenes were cut, scenes that helped alleviate all the tension amoung the audience. Many will agree when I say it was work to watch this episode because it meant concentration on every little thing that happened. Fortunately for the writers it was the series finale so there was no need to worry about that, we were all going to be glued to our TV's even if the martians came. I'm simply pointing out out this would not have worked if it had come at any other point. The normal detail and flow of the show was slightly chopped.

So it was action scene and action scene seperated by love scene and important character developemtn scene. I did find the character interaction and developemnt absolutely fascinating here. Miles and Julian turned out to be a good break, leaving us to wonder about this friendship. Of course our confidence was restored in the end. But these two did help to bring about our realization it was the end. Nicely done.

The united rebellion of the Cardassians gave another interesting plot bit. IT helped to show how abandoned the Cardassians felt and how unguided. There's already a book, that would be a great series 5.

The final synopsis: Boy they got away with it. So much was happening at once we missed out on absorbing it. Part of watching a show is being given time to think about and puzzle over major events. This did not happen. There was a light, a series of booms and then the show ended. Good if you like that stuff, but most people don't, including me. But truthfully what we did see when it was not going by at the speed of light was powerful. So I can live with it in this case, it is the finale after all.

Rating: A-

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