[Nate the Great]

SISKO: The Circle is for real, Major. They've been armed for a coup and I'm not at all convinced that the military's going to back the provisional government.

The biggest problem with the Circle trilogy is that in three episodes we never really MEET them, we just hear people TALK about them. That's a big difference. Elsewhere in Trek we can have exposition about what the Klingons or the Dominion is doing offscreen because we understand what the Klingons are about. Furthermore we have characters who represent these groups. The Circle has no spokesman like Worf or Weyoun or Garak.

Frankly the Bajoran Civil War should've been a subplot across half a season, not just a three parter. Furthermore, Kira's subplot here of spiritual discovery and starting to date Bariel should've been in a different episode.

JARO: Major, I don't have to tell you. I've heard your opinion of this government. Government. They can't even agree it is a government, so they call it provisional. It's just another word for powerless. I won't allow the Bajoran people to be powerless any more.

I've said before that the Provisional Government shouldn't have lasted this long. I despise it when "temporary" governments (in fiction or real life) let themselves become permanent without a solid bedrock to build themselves upon.

I also recall the failed years of the Articles of Confederation. The government didn't work, but nobody was calling it "temporary."

JARO: We have been doormats to the Cardassians and now the Federation. Any great power that happens by. We will not be that again. We are a people who brought art and architecture to countless planets. We don't deserve to be victims.

Would the Bajorans PLEASE stop acting like the Federation is no different from the Cardassians? The Bajorans have had a year to explain how the Federation is oppressing them, and the closest they ever got is "a single schoolteacher is refusing to teach about Bajoran beliefs even though there should be a Vedek onboard to do the job better than she could." (Seriously, the issues from "In the Hands of the Prophets" may have been exploited by Winn, but she wasn't creating something from nothing, so what happened to the real resolution there?)

JARO:Major, I've heard you have no love for the Federation. I'm not an unreasonable man. I'm willing to send you back to the station if that's what you want. I'll give you that station after we get rid of Starfleet.

I'm still a little confused about how Bajor thinks it could even run the station without Federation assistance. Even IF the threat of Dukat showing up tomorrow with a fleet to take back Bajor didn't exist (and trust me, it DOES exist!), Bajor doesn't have the resources necessary to encourage trade! They can barely feed themselves, much less export anything! What are they going to do, start charging a toll for wormhole access? Good luck enforcing that with the ships you have! Good luck upgrading the station's defenses!

ODO: Courtesy of a Cardassian weapon. The Circle's being supplied by the Cardassians.
KIRA: What?
ODO: I borrowed the proof. (the manifest PADD) It's got a Gul's thumbscan on it.

"A Gul"? While I have no doubt that Dukat himself wouldn't want to be a part of this plan, you could at least create a new name. "Gul X? He was Dukat's rival for years! If the Occupation hadn't have ended he'd probably command his own squadron by now! Could it be that he wants to prove that he can conquer Bajor more efficiently than Dukat?"

CHEKOTE [on monitor]: Then you're saying it's a genuine political revolution internal to Bajor.
SISKO: Supported by the Cardassians.
CHEKOTE [on monitor]: But internal to Bajor. The Cardassians might involve themselves in other people's civil wars, but we don't. The Prime Directive applies, Ben.

Grumble grumble. I thought we were past the era of "Prime Directive=all Federation law regarding contact with other governments".

SISKO: I mean a complete evacuation. I intend to take all Starfleet instruments, materiel. In fact, all Federation property of every kind. How quickly can we do that?
O'BRIEN: Sir, that'll take days. A week, for all I know.

I jolly well hope it would take longer than that. Some Federation equipment is probably pretty well integrated with the ship's systems by now. Plus some rather large equipment like auxilliary generators and sensor arrays to study the wormhole.

The Fiver

Bareil: Well then, you should come to Rivendell, the last homely monastery. But you should be careful, things might heat up with the Circle.
Kira: Don't worry, I'll be packing heat.

I'm not seeing a parallel between a Bajoran monastary and Rivendell. Besides, everyone knows that the Vulcans are the Space Elves, Bajorans are closer to Space Hobbits in terms of culture.

Bareil: Hey, Kira. Would you like to see something with an hourglass figure?
Kira: Uh, this isn't a monastery of ill repute, is it?
Bareil: Only when Vedek Winn's here.

Burn!

Dax: Now listen very carefully. Your life may depend on what I'm about to tell you. You need to --
Winn: -- comprendre que l'étendue du Cercle est le carré du rayon multiplié par pi.
Kira: What? Go where? I don't understand.
Jaro: Je pense que je vais adopter "Appuyons Jaro, notre prochain roi!" comme slogan.
Kira: I don't see why people like these orb experiences so much.

"--understand that the area of the circle is the square of the radius multiplied by pi." "I think I'm going to adopt 'Support Jaro, our next King!' as my slogan." These two French jokes seem rather disjointed.

Winn: Sorry to interrupt this conversation but I'd like to say a couple of things that are vaguely disquieting.
Bareil: Um, sure. Go ahead.
Winn: Old oily Ollie oils old oily autos.
Kira: I don't get it.

Apparently this is a known tongue twister, but I'd never heard of it before.

Winn: What are you doing tonight, Jaro?
Jaro: Same thing I do every night; try to take over the world.
Winn: So what's in it for me?
Jaro: Same thing that's always in it for you; try to take over the religious world.
Winn: Excellent. Let us now commence our evil cackling. Mwahahahaha!

I didn't watch that much Pinky and the Brain as a kid, in fact the whole Animaniacs/Freakazoid corner of KidsWB wasn't really my thing.

Memory Alpha

* The creators knew that they'd dropped the ball on Nalas' story arc.
* First episode to feature Sisko's baseball on his desk.
* In the previous episode it's stated that a runabout can only beam two people at a time, and the rule has already been broken in this one. I think the whole idea is stupid. Runabouts have a proper transporter pad, and they can't do as well as a shuttle did back in "Best of Both Worlds"?

Nitpicker's Guide

* In the last episode the Circle graffitied a low security area and Sisko said to beef up security. In this episode they graffiti Sisko's door! Why isn't Odo doing his job?
* Odo will be on the Kressari ship for a time longer than his regeneration period. This isn't really a nit, I have no doubt that Odo can find a place to sleep.
* Sisko told everyone to slap a commbadge on Kira as soon as they find her, but Bashir tries to untie her first, giving the Circle the chance to shoot him. This doesn't even require genetic modification, just some common sense!
* Phil also wonders why Kira didn't use the orb back in "Emissary."