An interesting story idea with great potential that suffers from sub-standard writing, direction, and acting, "Move Along Home" comes off as weak and contrived, all the more so because the previous episode, "The Passenger", was so powerful and compelling. The whole episode seems rushed and thrown together, without much thought given to plot, character development, or even costuming.
We are introduced to a new species, the "Wadi", who, we are told beforehand, are focused as a culture on the concept of games. Following much fanfare and anticipation, our initial meeting is disappointing- after being treated throughout the series to visually spectacular species- with complex motivations- such as the Klingons, Cardassions, and Ferengi, the Wadi come off as so human and familiar in appearance & mannerisms that they give the impression of a group of co-workers dressed up for the office Halloween party. With their somewhat cheesy, economical looking sparkly costumes, painted-on forehead tattoos, and very human behavior, they seem better suited as characters for TOS than for DS9, and their whole appearance screams of "let's cut some corners on wardrobe & make-up budget this week".
The Wadi are played rather lamely by some forgettable television actors who, other than the leader, don't contribute much other than exaggerated facial expressions. The Wadi leader does attempt to inject a little passion into his performance, but he overacts badly at times and comes off as mysterious & menacing as a zany dad in a McDonald's commercial.
The excellent regulars in the series- Sisko, Dax, Odo, etc., do the best they can, but it's obvious they're struggling with a lackluster script and mediocre directing so they don't have much to work with. The game that they find themselves trapped in is supposed to be dangerous, a perilous "life or death" situation, yet the dialogue and acting is so devoid of passion or intensity that this never really comes across as convincing or believable. The result is an episode where I found myself just as interested in answering my text messages as I was watching the screen.
And it would take a whole separate review just to list all the plot holes- if the situation IS life or death, and Odo IS genuinely concerned about the safety and recovery of the senior officers, why does he meekly play along from the very start instead of immediately arresting the Wadi and demanding the immediate return of the crew? It's his station, his crew, his responsibility, and his rules- yet he sure doesn't act like it. And what about the Starfleet Intelligence Officer working in OPS- the entire senior staff has been missing for a day and he isn't concerned? Not very believable.
Luckily, Star Trek is like pizza, beer, or cigars- even when they're bad, they're still pretty good. If you're a die-hard Trekker, you may want to watch this one, if for no other reason that it makes you appreciate the better made episodes all the more. For anyone else, you may want to pass.
