I’m rewatching it now, it’s so well written that it almost stands out from the rest of the episode. It comes off like something from David Mamet or The West Wing. It’s not Far Beyond The Stars or In The Pale Moonlight, the stakes of the episode are too low. But the material it gave all the actors to work with, the incredibly realistic way it weaves together different conversations going on between a large group, that the (really really good) acting abilities of the cast just get pushed over the top. It’s all in one room, no effects, no cost except for the appearance of Bareil, but it’s riveting, you can’t stop paying attention. It’s kind of a master class in writing. And it’s buried after the opening credits in the second episode of season 2.
She grew against her own will. Not uncommon but very difficult to portray. And it never would have worked if Nana Visitor hadn’t had the chops to pull it off, and the writers had the writing talent to write it. We really lucked out with DS9, they hit it out of the park so many times and in so many different ways, week after week for years.
Characters going through unwanted growth reminds me of Quark and Garak too.