YMMV / Star Trek: Deep Space Nine S04E12 "Paradise Lost"

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Did the Red Squad cadets know what was really going on and were active participants in the coup or did they disable Earth's power grid thinking it was an exercise or simulation? Cadet Shepard seems to act like he knew the truth, but what Academy cadet would be so stupid to casually and openly discussion treason, even if he thought Sisko was a co-conspirator? Then again the head of Starfleet academy did this earlier so can one expect better from a Cadet.
  • Did the changelings really bomb the Antwerp conference or was it actually Leyton and his conspirators? We know a changeling was at the conference, but we never see definite proof they were responsible. He set up the disruptions at the wormhole days in advance to sell the story of a False Flag Operation, he may very well have plotted the explosion too.
  • President Jaresh Inyo: an incompetent boob whose head is firmly stuck in the sand or a savvy politician who far more accurately understands the threat posed by the Dominion than Leyton? Notably, he immediately dismisses the security measures proposed in the previous episode as extreme and unnecessary. While it's debatable if they're unnecessary, the measures are both ineffective and a cover for Leyton's coup. He also correctly surmises that public panic is a bigger danger, which Leyton exploits to get public support for his coup. On the other hand, if Jaresh Inyo had more proactive in approving increased security on Earth earlier, Leyton may never have felt the need for a coup in the first place.
• Anvilicious: Like TNG's "The Drumhead", "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost" show that it takes very little effort for justified suspicion to turn into rampant paranoia.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The O'Brien!Changeling. It shows up just to taunt Sisko for a few minutes then wanders off and is never mentioned again. It's like the writers felt the need to remind the audience the changelings really are on Earth and a threat so they hastily threw in this scene.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: The Lakota was heavily upgraded in weapons and (possibly) engine power, which may have been enough to disable the Defiant, but Sisko had his ship upgraded with ablative hull armor (first described in The Way of the Warrior) and didn't inform Starfleet Operations about the improvement. If it wasn't for the Defiant limiting their attacks to the Lakota's weapons systems, it would be likely the Defiant would have destroyed the Lakota.
  • It goes both ways: both ships are equipped with quantum torpedoes as well (Defiant was shown having them before, Lakota is explicitly stated here to have them as part of her weapons upgrade). If it wasn't for the fact that both sides were actively trying not to kill the other, they probably would've blown each-other to smithereens.

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