It's our first O'Brien episode. No, he doesn't get tortured. Why would you even ask that?

"Captive Pursuit" captures a lot of early Deep Space Nine. There's a lot of TNG's mystery stories, but with more action. The characters are actual characters, but without their throughlines or an ungrayed moral lesson, it can feel pointless. In the series' urgent attempts to ingratiate itself with fans, like including the Duras sisters a few weeks ago and Q next week, it feels like it's ignoring the strengths of Star Trek and its own strengths.

I do wonder how TNG, TOS, Voyager, or even Discovery would have handled an episode like Captive Pursuit.

Nine Deeps of Space is a Trekalong podcast that lets you watch Deep Space Nine along with us on Netflix. It updates every other Sunday night at 10 PM CST. NDoS alternates with its partner series, The Beige and The Bold, which is about Star Trek: The Next Generation.