In the preceding episode, we have Quark going through a spate of mock tears and horrendous sobbing...but in my mind THIS episode, the Nagus, was the start of using 'the little people' as little more than comic foils. It's not such a big deal now, i'm streaming and can either watch or skip the hijinks, but i remember waiting each week for an episode, sitting there with a couple of friends, and instead of watching an episode developing the upcoming conflict with Odo's lost people...poof! there would be an interregnum, and suddenly those little people were at it again...Deep Space Nine is largely a thoughtful show, replete with action, prophecies, tangled plots, larger-than-life characters, and ending with a dark, twisted denouement. These "throwaway" comic episodes only detract from the show's overall value.
