120. Children of Time

Summary

After passing through a mysterious energy barrier surrounding an M-class planet, the crew of the Defiant encounter a settlement of 8000 inhabitants who claim to be their descendants. They are shocked to learn that when they leave, a temporal anomaly will throw them 200 years into the past, where they will found this very colony. Their dilemma over whether to allow the accident to occur and preserve the colony or avert it and go home (in which case the colony would cease to exist) is exacerbated because Kira requires medical attention she can't get on the Defiant. If they don't return to DS9 she'll be dead in two weeks. Odo, who's had 200 years to mourn her, stuns Kira by revealing the feelings that his younger counterpart (who is absent during all of this because he cannot hold his shape due to the barrier's interference) has kept secret for so long. The Defiant crew decides to allow themselves to crash and preserve the colony, led by Kira who has made her peace with her destiny, much to Odo's distress; it meant a lot to him that Kira was going to live and that his younger self wouldn't have to lose her the way he did. As they approach the anomaly, they are shocked as the ship veers away and misses it. The colony is gone, it never existed. Kira, upset at this turn of events, is visited by the present-day Odo, back to his normal self. He informs her that the older Odo linked with him and that he knows everything that happened...and it was the older Odo who changed the ship's course, so she wouldn't have to die.

Analysis

"Children of Time" is one of the all-time great DS9 episodes, a prime example of some of the things that makes the series great: unresolved endings, difficult decisions that are not circumvented by fortunate happenstance, interpersonal conflict and the consequences of ongoing relationships. Aside from these factors, this episode has an almost cinematic feel in the way it's shot, acted and especially scored. It is clear about halfway through the episode that this is the proverbial no-win situation and that no matter what, the ending isn't going to be exactly a happy one. Yet we, as Trek viewers, still expect the patented Trek five-minute technobabble solution...but it does not come, which leaves you with a sense both of disquiet over the denouement and satisfaction over the integrity of the storyline. Perhaps the temporal mechanics aren't exactly kosher...but I've never been one to place technical accuracy over dramatic impact, and if there's one thing CoT has, it's impact. A beautiful episode, wrenching, and perfectly representative of DS9's superlative fifth season.

Rating: 10.0

Memorable Quote:

"There's something I want you to know, something I've been wanting to tell you for 200 years. I love you, Nerys. I've always loved you." --Odo...sigh

Classic Scene:

I've always been partial to the planting scene, where the Defiant crew help their descendants plant their crops before they cease to exist. Worf bringing the Klingons to help plant, saying that their enemy is time and they should help them defeat it, is an especially nice touch.

Sexually Slanted Line 'O the Episode:

"Don't worry, you'll learn to handle him." --Yedrin Dax to Jadzia, re: Worf

The O/K Status Report

Hoo boy. Another pivotal episode in this relationship, and one that leaves things very much up in the air. At long last, Kira knows how Odo feels about her. When he tells her what Gaia-Odo did for her, namely change the Defiant's flight plan, she is disbelieving and shaken that he sacrificed 8000 lives for her sake. Clearly Odo is no more comfortable with it than she is, not to mention that he hadn't expected her to find out about his feelings at this exact moment. The episode ends with them agreeing that they both need time to sort things out. Angst, angst, sigh, sigh.

Special Alerts

1