Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) is, as always, deliciously detestable as a villain, and that's worth 3 stars. Nana Visitor and Avery Brooks earn another 1 star for this episode, just for doing their best with the lines given them. And that's where the positives end.
This is another one of those DS9 episodes that would be embarrassing to show to a non-Trekkie, let alone someone who isn't into science fiction. Ninety-five percent of the main plot of this episode is explained through long, tedious dialogues about Bajoran politics, which, in and of themselves, are really hard to care about. Likewise, the sub-plot is about a game of darts, which is something that very few people can get into unless a) they are themselves playing darts, and b) there are pints of ale involved. The fact that this game of darts is "on a space station," and that there's wagering involved, does nothing to make it interesting.
Whatever (abortive) action there is takes place in the those boring southern California hills that I instantly associate with cheap production, and this "action" basically involves a bunch of walking and talking, culminating with some limply un-suspenseful, highly unlikely conflict resolution. On that note, plenty of things in this episode are unlikely.
Avoiding spoilers, the charismatic rogues in this episode who we're supposed to root for are far from charismatic, but, regardless, they end up wielding great political influence; of course, everything important happens behind the scenes. This is one of two political shifts which occur abruptly, and their feasibility is explained only through dialogue. The sub-plot also resolves itself in an unrealistic and abrupt way, and unlike most other DS9 sub-plots involving Quark, it's boringly unfunny to boot.
I guess this episode is OK to play as part of a series marathon if you're a hard-core Trekkie "completionist" like me who has it on in the background while cleaning his room. Otherwise, skip it.
