3 in Dax (Deep Space Nine S01-E08)

The fugitive Dax is charged with treason... and the murder of my father.

I like this episode. Dax, in the 90s, for its entire runtime was a compelling story modeled on the Ship of Theseus argument way before Wandavision and its 2 minute scene. It’s only fault is that the episode didn’t draw attention to itself as identity metaphysics.

What I also love of the episode is that it deals with lies: those we tell ourselves, the reputations we value, and the lies a country tells to itself too.

3 in Q-Less (Deep Space Nine S01-E07)

No wonder you're not commanding a Starship.

I forget. Did Captain Picard ever do the jamaharon with Vash?

The onetime entanglement of Captain Picard resurfaces from the wrong side of the wormhole: Lt. Dax found her in the Gamma Quadrant. She said she was stranded for 2 years - probably pre-wormhole - which should have been a warning but getting lost was not a crime. In any case, Vash has dependably brought trouble aboard the station along with her previous ride to the Gamma Quadrant: Q.

This episode is a momentum killer as much as momentum can be in an episodic TV series. We’ve seen glimpses of Bajor, tackled some history of the DS9’s Bajoran crew; Tosk was just the first of what could be beyond the wormhole. 

Well, technically today’s trouble came from the wormhole, but with old faces from The Next Generation it felt more like a bridge than a road to new adventures.

Excalibur (The Warlord Chronicles)

Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I always come back to the magic, and like in the previous two books I don’t know where I want to be. We can have a world where magicians levitate at will, shoot energy blasts, shape change, teleport, or none of it, just to keep this a grounded medieval adventure. The previous two struck a difficult balance between actual magic, dumb luck, and men who know a bit of science and present them as magic.

Enemy of God (The Warlord Chronicles)

Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I like this, book 2 of the Warlord Chronicles, Enemy of God, better than the first. Reason one is that everything has already been setup in part one and now the story can go into action as they say. Lancelot, Merlin, and Galahad are firmly set that all the story could do is begin its steady march towards the inevitable.

The Winter King (The Warlord Chronicles)

The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Winter King reads like the narrative presents itself to be, a personal take by one of Arthur’s warriors.

There are parts when you feel like it’s messy and long, such as getting taxes and telling the story of a battle from a perspective right along the shield wall. Names of places like Dumnonia and Powys, or a king like Gorfyddyd doesn’t help in the marketing, or not even my own memory as I struggle to recall half the names and places in the story. Camelot and Excalibur have different names too which I now fail to recall. But I have to admit it makes it more real, like a history book.

3 in Captive Pursuit (Deep Space Nine S01-E06)

Chief O'Brien and Tosk enjoying common ground: engineering problems

The Gamma Quadrant comes alive for the first time in the episode Captive Pursuit. An unassuming ship came out of the wormhole, damaged; carrying a nervous looking passenger. He is a Tosk, a species bread to be the most formidable prey in an interstellar fox hunt. 

Before you know it, the  visitor that intended to just pass through becomes a friend. Is Tosk a pitiful creature needing Starfleet help? Or should the Federation pity themselves for having holosuites? Let me explain.

Here are 3 notable moments in Captive Pursuit.

Godzilla vs Kong (2021)

Evading Godzilla's blast from underwater. Why did Kong even survive this?

My impression of this universe of Godzilla and King Kong is that they are nature personified. The kaijus are the real lords of earth. Gods.