In the Hands of the Prophets
"In the Hands of the Prophets" is the twentieth and final episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe and directed by David Livingston, the episode originally aired in broadcast syndication during the week of June 21, 1993.
"In the Hands of the Prophets" provides a deeper focus on Bajoran politics and religion and highlights what happens when the values and beliefs of one culture are imposed on another.
Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) walks his wife Keiko (Rosalind Chao) to the school where she teaches students on the station.
This scientific view is different from the religious approach taken by the Bajorans, who believe the wormhole is the legendary Celestial Temple inhabited by their "Prophets", whom they worship as gods.
Sisko visits Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim), a more progressive Bajoran cleric, for advice on the problem.
Sisko returns to DS9 and asks for help from Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), his Bajoran first officer, but she also refuses to help.
Meanwhile, security chief Odo (René Auberjonois) and Doctor Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) finish investigating the remains of the Starfleet ensign Miles and Neela found earlier.
Kira suggests that the assassination attempt was planned by Winn to secure her position as the new Kai, but Neela insists she was working alone.
Prior to the scripting of "In the Hands of the Prophets", a crossover with the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation was proposed for the season finale.
However, this idea was dropped in favor of an episode which would end the season on a religious note similar to "Emissary", the series premiere.
"It gave us even more grist for the mill than 'Duet' did, and together they provided a great one-two punch to the end of the first season", Behr recalled.
He compares the religious intrigue of the story to the history of Catholicism in the 15th and 16th century, a time when members of various families jostled for power to become Pope.
"[6] Matt Rorie in Screened.com said the writers examined the politics of the Bajoran religion by "planting pious but open-minded Bajorans like Kira against the orthodox, intolerant, fundamentalist majority, as represented by Kai Winn, who was willing to bomb schools and attempt assassinations on her political rivals to stay in power.
Club, noting that while the episode was not subtle, it did "a good job expanding the show's world, and playing off of undercurrents and themes which have been built in throughout DS9's first season.
Green described the episode as "a no-holds-barred story about the hypocrisy of religious leaders which seems less influenced by the Scopes Trial than by contemporary creationist politicians.
"[13] She described Fletcher as one of her favourite actresses and thought that she portrayed Vedek Winn as the older sister of Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
[14] In 2013, Keith DeCandido for Tor.com gave the episode a rating of 7 out of 10, and praised the performance of Fletcher, calling her "deliciously evil".
[3] In 2015, Geek.com recommended this episode as "essential watching" for their abbreviated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine binge-watching guide, along with "Emissary", "Past Prologue", "Vortex", "Battle Lines", and "Duet" from the first season.
