When Nog returns to the station with a new leg, Ezri is put in charge of aiding his recovery. However, the Ferengi feels more comfortable with the holographic Vic Fontaine, and decides to stay with him...
It's an interesting idea, someone shutting themselves away in a realistic fantasy world to avoid returning to the front lines, but it doesn't really hold 45 minutes. We could have done with some kind of b-plot going on. That's not to say this is a bad episode, it's not, mainly thanks to the leads, but it needs something more exciting, if only a funnier plot about one of the othe regulars.
In seven years, Aron Eisenberg hasn't been given material as good as this, and he finally gets to prove how good he can be. His worries about the war and what will happen if he re-enters it show Nog to be as human (or Ferengi) as the rest of us. Although the idea of hiding from the war was touched on in Nor the Battle to the Strong, using a character we all know makes the tale more personal.
On top of this, James Darren does another superb turn as Vic Fontaine. Not only does the guy have a damn good singing voice, but he has also imbued Vic with a fascinating personality in a very short time. The fact that he is self-aware works well, and the episode plays on the themes of fantasy and reality. After all, the hotel he works in is real enough to Vic, even if he knows it's only a hologram. He can never leave it, so he may as well make it a home.
On the downside, it would have been nice to see Ezri more involved, especially as it looks rather bad when a hologram can counsel people better than you can. There was also a chance to see more of Rom and Leeta too, but sadly these opportunities are missed.
Overall then, a nice change of pace story, but it would have been nice to have had a bit more of it.
***
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