The Homecoming (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

Last updated
"The Homecoming"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 1
Directed by Winrich Kolbe
Story by
Teleplay by Ira Steven Behr
Featured music Dennis McCarthy
Production code421
Original air dateSeptember 27, 1993 (1993-09-27)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"In the Hands of the Prophets"		Next →
"The Circle"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2
List of episodes

"The Homecoming" is the 21st episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . It is the first of the franchise-first three-part episode story arc, and the first episode of the second season.

Contents

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on Deep Space Nine, a space station located near a stable wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy, in orbit of the planet Bajor. In this episode Kira rescues a Bajoran prisoner of war; meanwhile, an extremist group begins to take control of the planet Bajor.

Plot

Quark gives Kira a Bajoran earring, which she immediately recognizes as belonging to Li Nalas, a Bajoran war hero long thought dead. Li is being held on the desert planet Cardassia IV, so Kira requests a runabout for a rescue mission. Sisko tells her he will consider it, but while he considers the matter, O'Brien discovers graffiti from an extremist faction called "The Circle", who want to expel all non-Bajorans from Bajor. Seeing this convinces Sisko that Bajor needs a leader like Li Nalas and he grants Kira the runabout.

Kira and O'Brien, disguising their runabout as a Lesseppian transport, travel to Cardassia IV and discover a labor camp with more than a dozen Bajorans. O'Brien pretends to solicit Kira to one of the soldiers, tricking him into lowering the force field that surrounds the camp. They rescue Li and several other prisoners. Before Kira and O'Brien return to DS9, Gul Dukat contacts Sisko to inform him that the Cardassian government has issued a formal apology and that the remaining prisoners are en route to Bajor. Bajor's provisional government, on the other hand, chastises Kira, because her actions might have resulted in war with Cardassia.

DS9's Bajoran population greets Li Nalas as a returning hero. Sisko and Kira urge him to help bring stability to Bajor, but shortly thereafter Li is caught trying to stow-away on a departing freighter. He relates to a puzzled Sisko that he never wanted to be a hero; he killed an unarmed Cardassian out of necessity in a purely chance encounter, and his fellow Bajorans eventually turned him into a legend. Sisko convinces Li to stay, because Bajor needs a legend like him.

After a trip to Bajor, Li Nalas returns with Minister Jaro Essa of the provisional government. The Chamber of Ministers has invented a new title for Li: "Navarch." However, the title means little; seeing Li as a threat to their power, the politicians have made him liaison officer to DS9 and "promoted" Kira to Bajor, where they believe she can pose them no more danger.

Reception

In 2013, Keith DeCandido gave the episode a rating of seven out of ten for Tor.com , calling it "an excellent start to a new season." [1] [2]

In 2015, Geek.com recommended this episode as "essential watching" for their abbreviated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine binge-watching guide, they noted that this episode is part of a trilogy that includes the first three episodes of the second season, [3] ("The Homecoming", "The Circle", and "The Siege").

In 2018, SyFy recommend this episode for its abbreviated watch guide for the Bajoran character Kira Nerys, as a trilogy with the following two episodes. [4] They note that in this episode a Bajoran extremist group is conducting attacks to challenge the new provisional Post-Occupation government of planet Bajor, forcing Kira to go all out to prevent a civil war. [4]

Notes

Releases

It was released on LaserDisc in Japan on June 6, 1997, as part of the half season collection 2nd Season Vol. 1, which had seven doubled sided 12" discs. [5] The discs had English and Japanese audio tracks. [5]

"The Homecoming" and "The Circle" were released on one double sided LaserDisc on July 15, 1997, in the United States. [6]

This episode was released in 2017 on DVD with the complete series box set, which had 176 episodes on 48 discs. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bajoran</span> Fictional extraterrestrial species from Star Trek

The Bajorans are a fictional species in the science-fiction Star Trek franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, owing to decades of subjugation under a military dictatorship which saw many of their species enslaved or forced into exile away from their homeworld. They were first introduced in the 1991 episode "Ensign Ro" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and subsequently were a pivotal element of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and also appeared in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kira Nerys</span> Fictional humanoid in the TV Series Star Trek Deep Space Nine

Kira Nerys is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999). She was played by actress Nana Visitor. The character is from the fictional planet Bajor, a world which has recently emerged from a brutal foreign occupation. She was a member of the resistance, and the decades-long conflict has left her tough and uncompromising, but she is sustained by her strong faith in traditional Bajoran religion. She has been assigned to Deep Space Nine, a space station jointly operated by the United Federation of Planets and the new provisional Bajoran government, where she serves as second in command as well as the ranking representative of her people.

"Emissary" is the series premiere of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It was aired as a single two-hour episode on its initial broadcast, but was divided into two one-hour episodes when it aired in reruns.

"The Maquis" is a two-part episode from the second season of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"Cardassians" is the 25th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the fifth episode of the second season.

"Past Prologue" is the third episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, broadcast during the first season. It originally aired in broadcast syndication beginning on January 11, 1993. The episode was written by Katharyn Powers, with additional elements added by executive producer Michael Piller and co-producer Peter Allan Fields. It was directed by Winrich Kolbe.

Second Skin (<i>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</i>) 5th episode of the 3rd season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

"Second Skin" is the 51st episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the fifth episode of the third season.

"Babel" is the fifth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The episode aired on television on January 25, 1993.

"The Circle" is the 22nd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the second in a three-part story arc, and also the second episode of the second season.

"The Siege" is the 23rd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the third in a three-part story arc, and the third episode of the second season.

"Battle Lines" is the 13th episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Tribunal (<i>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</i>) 25th episode of the 2nd season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

"Tribunal" is the 25th and penultimate episode of the second season of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 45th episode overall. It was the first episode of the series to air after the conclusion of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the series of which Deep Space Nine was a spinoff.

"Call to Arms" is the 26th and final episode of the fifth season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 124th episode overall. This episode marks the start of the show's celebrated Dominion war story arc.

"Defiant" is the 55th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the ninth episode of the third season. This episode guest stars actor Jonathan Frakes, in the role he had originated on Deep Space Nine's predecessor series, Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode aired in broadcast syndication on November 21, 1994.

"Explorers" is the 68th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 22nd episode of the third season. It premiered May 8, 1995.

"Life Support" is the 59th episode of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 13th episode of the third season and the first episode to air following the premiere of its spinoff, Star Trek: Voyager.

"Destiny" is the 61st episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 15th episode of the third season.

"By Inferno's Light" is the 113th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 15th episode of the fifth season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep Space Nine (fictional space station)</span> Fictional space station in Star Trek

Deep Space Nine is a fictional space station, the eponymous primary setting of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which aired from 1993 to 1999. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens. It is run by a joint crew of Starfleet and Bajoran officers and it is the home port of a number of Starfleet runabouts, as well as the starship USS Defiant.

References

  1. ↑ DeCandido, Keith (2013-07-09). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch: "The Homecoming"" . Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  2. ↑ Handlen, Zack (2012-04-05). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "The Homecoming"/"The Circle"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  3. ↑ Whitwam, Ryan (2015-01-19). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine condensed: How to watch the most story-driven Trek". Geek.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-20. Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  4. 1 2 Krishna, Swapna (2018-01-16). "A binge-watching guide to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Kira Nerys". SYFY WIRE. Archived from the original on 2019-07-23. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  5. 1 2 "LaserDisc Database - Star Trek Deep Space 9: 2nd Season vol.1 [PILF-2323]". www.lddb.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  6. ↑ "LaserDisc Database - Star Trek DS9 #021/22: the Homecoming/The Circle [LV 40510-421]". www.lddb.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  7. ↑ "[REVIEW] Deep Space Nine Complete Series DVD Box Set". TREKNEWS.NET. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.