Bashir has a James Bond-like holodeck program that isn’t embarrassing at all.

Garak interrupts, making the whole thing a little better.

Meanwhile a runabout is sabotaged that was carrying Sisko, Kira, Worf, Dax, and O’Brien.

Eddington manages to beam them out but the explosion caused some problem so they couldn’t be materialized.

So their information is sent to the holodeck to be stored until they can be rematerialized. So.. .. so they’re holograms? Or they’re just kinda holograms temporarily? I feel like this raises a lot of big questions this episode isn’t prepared to delve into.

Bashir gets word that ending the program could kill them, but also that aside from their physical appearance, they are basically characters in the program. This makes no sense.

They find out the character using Dax’s image is captured. If her character dies, then Dax could die, of course.

(-_-)

They have a little fight to show us that the safety mechanisms are broken, which every star trek viewer already knows. The safety setting on the holodeck breaks from a slight breeze.

Bashir has to gamble with “Worf”. Or just Worf. Don’t worry about it.

Sisko is the main villain and Dax joined with him willingly! Oh boy does Avery Brooks act it up in this episode.

Just fix it already, Rom

For a minute things get really serious. Garak just wants to call the holo-doors for help, which could do something to the others, and Bashir shoots him, possibly trying to kill him. It’s a brief flash of interesting character stuff in an otherwise weightless episode.

Bashir needs to stall for time, so he joins with Sisko and destroys everyone in the world!

Then they’re all saved the end.