It's sad that after six seasons when a writer still doesn't know the characters. There are so many missed plot holes and holes in characters, you have to wonder if an amateur writing student at a local college actually wrote this episode.
Part of the blame must also go to Nicole De Boer, who seems absolutely clueless about how to play Dax. Yes, I understand that the Dax has inherited a new host in Ezri, but the years of wisdom and memories should still be intact. And yet Ezri walks around the station skittish of everything but her own shadow. And, yes, the argument that she's trying to get used to the symbiote is a stretch. How long did it take Jadzia in the first epsiode? Yeah, I rest my case.
My biggest issue, however, is how much pain Worf is in over the loss of his wife, and yet he's presented as the problem. The last episode ends with Dax walking off and saying, "Worf, we've got a lot to talk about." Really? The man LOST HIS WIFE, and this is what Dax says to him?! She can't figure out why he's avoiding her. Gee, I wonder why. So, instead, she begins avoiding him. I don't see Dax doing this. Not after being married to him and seeing how much pain he's in. No, Dax would find a way to talk to him and try to help. Instead, De Boer plays Dax like a high school girl who's afraid of being seen by the boy she actually likes.
I was also surprised that there were no scenes with Sisko and Worf. Sisko lost his own wife. He knows what it's like and how painful it is. As a writer myself, I would have definitely included some scenes between Worf and Sisko, with Sisko trying to help Worf through his pain. And, please! Worf being intimidated by Sisko is just stupid. Worf isn't intimidated by anyone, and frankly Picard could be a much tougher captain than Sisko.
This episode had so much potential, and yet it fails on most every front. The only storyline that was interesting was the one involving Garak and why he's experiencing such intense claustrophobia. That storyline keeps this episode from being a complete disaster.
I'm hoping De Boer starts getting a handle on her character as the season evolves, as she's shaping up to be the worst actor of the cast, as she clearly doesn't know her character at all. If things were going to be this bad, they should have just written off the character of Dax when Jadzia was killed.