When a series of murders is committed on DS9, Ezri begins to receive visions of her serial-murdering past host Joran, and she must decide whether to seek his help finding the killer.
It's another Dax episode, this time a murder mystery. There's a lot of mileage to be had from Dax's past lives, and Joran is well worth exploring, with the instincts of a killer boiling deep below the surface and heavily repressed. Dragging him to the forefront works quite effectively, although Ezri's wisdom at wandering the station apparently talking to herself is questionable.
Once again, Nicole de Boer gives an impassioned performance as Ezri, holding the episode almost solo. Regardless of how good Terry Farrell was, de Boer has created a new character in a very short period of time, and imbued her with her own individual characteristics. An impressive feat. In fact, the acting is of a high calibre throughout once again.
However, there are a few problems with the execution. Firstly, where's Odo during this? Surely he's the one who should be trying to find a murderer, not the station counselor? Secondly, the leaps in logic that lead to the killer are suspect at best, and the fact that Ezri's suspicions are confirmed is highly unlikely. It's almost as if there wasn't enough time in the episode to adequately explain what was going on, so coincidences, guesswork, and the ability to spot a criminal by looking at them is used instead of actual investigative prowess.
Having said all this, though, Field of Fire is still well-produced, nicely acted and filmed, and atmospheric. Definitely worth a look.
***
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