The Assignment

Almost from the inception of the Star Trek canon, creatures have been able to take over the bodies of various characters, from Kirk to Janeway. This striking ability makes for some interesting plots, but it is kind of a cheap method of operation. Here, Keiko returns from a trip to Bajor and her body has been taken over by some entity. Miles is told that if he doesn't cotton to the demands of this thing, Keiko will die. So until he can figure out what to do, he must answer the call. The best part of this involves his enlisting Rom, Quark's hyperactive but incredibly talented brother, to assist him in bringing about these wishes. Rom is both insufferable and sweet as he plays his cards. Without him, the episode would be been dull. Almost as dull as Keiko's normal character.

Keiko returns from Bajor with her body possessed by a non-corporeal alien.

This is a solid 'O'Brien must suffer' episode.

The premise is simple and effective. There is no real suspense, because you know everything will get resolved and the central characters will be okay. However it is fun to see it unfold and interesting to see how the Chief gets himself out of the predicament.

A big positive is seeing Rosalind Chao play a different character and she a great job acting malevolent. It gives all her scenes with Colm Meaney a very different edge. His birthday party is very well portrayed.

It is a good episode for Rom, who gets to make a strong contribution to the story. You do have to suspend the disbelief during certain contrivances associated with this character, but his scenes do entertain.

Meaney, Chao, and Max Grodénchik are all superb.

For me it's a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

If any man has ever been on a short leash with his wife or lived under fear of what she could do to him in a divorce, do not watch this episode or you will have PTSD trauma. This is nightmarish for abused men who have survived such marital treatment. Keiko is the wife from h*ll who everyone thinks is the sweetest thing. She has Miles jumping, and tells him when to jump and how high. Or else...

When the episode begins, Miles, Julian and Molly are worried because during Keiko's absence, they let her plants die. However, oddly, Keiko is just fine with this and all smiles...until she reveals that she's possessed!!! And, the possessed Keiko promises to murder her host unless Miles helps her! What follows is a really cool version of Keiko--evil, scheming and yet sweet and normal when anyone other than Miles sees her. Personally, I loved this version--especially since 'normal' Keiko was one of the most boring recurring characters on the show. This is not a slam against the actress playing her, Rosilind Chao, as she could only be who the writers let her be. Unfortunately, the possessed Keiko only lasts this episode!

This episode was nice as an introduction to the Pah Wraiths--nasties who would appear in some interesting future episodes. However, the episode also is a bit hard to accept because you would think anyone in this situation would IMMEDIATELY alert the crew as to what was happening--yet Miles O'Brien keeps it to himself throughout the show. Odd to say the least--as are ALL his actions during the episode. Perhaps he just thought the new and improved Keiko was better than the boring old one...like I did.

Too often, the character of Keiko wa just sorta there: fretting about something, annoyed about something, or bland Stepford-wife furniture. This was partly due to Ms Chao's decision to prioritize family over work, and not be regular cast, which we are bound to admire and respect -- but it evidently hampered the writers from really giving her anything of interest to do.

And then comes this! A Keiko-centered episode, and an utter delight -- and entirely dependent on Chao's performance. This could have been done more politely, but fortunately wasn't. From the very first scene, she takes control of the screen and doesn't let go. Arguably it sorta breaks some of the norms of the show (couldn't O'Brien have told anyone?) -- but so what? TNG and DS9 both had difficulty pursuing real fun, but here they went all in, to the possessed-other story this needed to be.

So: thank you, Rosalind Chao! One of my top 10 DS9 episodes.