163: Neither Enemy Nor Devil

About this episode

The episode reflects on the 30th anniversary of 'In the Hand of the Prophets' and discusses its themes of science versus religion and political influence within the context of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

"In the Hand of the Prophets" 30th-anniversary reflections When Keiko O'Brien decides to teach the children aboard DS9 about the Bajoran wormhole, she takes a scientific approach. Word soon reaches the planet and Vedek Winn is having none of it. The religious leader sees Federation influence and its secular teachings as a threat to her people's beliefs. Seeing a chance to exert influence on the station and advance her own standing in the upcoming selection of a new Kai, she hatches a plan to assassinate a fellow Vedek and turn the tide of opinion against the Federation. In this episode of The Orb, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our 30th-anniversary retrospective that will take you through all of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, one episode at a time. In this installment, we wrap up Season 1 as we discuss "In the Hands of the Prophets" and how the story bookends the pilot while setting the series on course for its destiny of richly intricate serialized storytelling. Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Bookending Emissary (00:02:40) Science vs. Religion (00:07:35) Going Where No Star Trek Has Gone Before (00:16:44) Room for ALL Philosophies? (00:20:19) Louise Fletcher Nails Winn…

People in this episode

Hosts: C Bryan Jones, Matthew Rushing

Topics covered

• science vs religion
• Bajoran wormhole
• Star Trek storytelling
• political influence
• serialized narrative

Keywords

• Deep Space Nine
• Bajoran
• Vedek
• science
• religion
• serialized storytelling
• politics
• Star Trek

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Federation

Books & works: In the Hand of the Prophets, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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