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The Final Chapter--Living up the Expectations?

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There's been no shortage of hype for the last arc of episodes, dubbed The Final Chapter. The promotional videos alone are things of beauty. But how are the episodes that make up the last chapter of Deep Space Nine holding up against the expectations of fans? By all intent and purposes, not very well. This is not to say the episodes seen thus far in The Final Chapter ("Extreme Measures" airs this week) have been bad. In fact, they've been some of the better episodes thus far in a largely rudderless, filler filled season. So what's the problem?

As with season six's "Tears of the Prophets" and season seven's two-part premiere, there is too much going on in The Final Chapter. The writers are running out of time, and are trying very hard to cram as much story into these last episodes as possible. The result is giving many of the episodes a feeling of being rushed. There's nothing wrong with a fast pace, but it's generally considered polite to allow the viewer to keep pace and not make one feel as though one is watching a show stuck on fast-forward. And it's not as though the writers haven't had time to tell all the story they're stuffing into the final nine shows. They've had all year to give the show the direction they're trying so desperately to fit into the final arc, but they didn't, and now they're trying to make up for it.

A brief review of episodes in The Final Chapter so far:

"Penumbra": A bit of a slow, clunky start, but a good set-up for what's next to come in Sisko's story.

"'Til Death Do Us Part": Hit most of its marks. But what are they doing to Dukat?

"Strange Bedfellows": Winn and Dukat? Yikes! While I fear Winn's change of heart will turn out to be a decontruction of what was once a complex character--much as what was done to Dukat's character after season six's "Waltz"--I'm willing to reserve judgment until I see where this plot leads. And the "continuing to be more and more interesting each week" award goes to Damar. His reaction to the fate of Weyoun 7 was the highlight of the episode. I look forward to seeing this character continue to bloom.

"The Changing Face of Evil": The turning point of the nine show arc. Lots of big moments that were unfortunately rushed through, and their impacts not explored fully. The highlight of the show

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