YMMV / Star Trek: Deep Space Nine S04E11 "Homefront"

• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Dealing with terrorism and the paranoia it can cause to ensue, this episode appears to be quite topical nowadays - which is quite impressive, considering that it was filmed more than five years before 9/11 and The War on Terror. Even more so, considering that the bombing that initiated the plot happens at (in-show) Time Index 5-9-11.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Quark attempts to empathize with O'Brien and Bashir by equating the dwindling of his financial investments during an economic crisis with the physical destruction and loss of human life during the Blitz. O'Brien's curt dismissal is played for laughs, but it can come across as rude to viewers. Armin Shimmerman, who behind the scenes campaigned for the Ferengi point of view to be taken seriously, obviously plays Quark's wounded reaction for drama rather than laughs.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: O'Brien and Bashir's dismissive treatment of Quark's experience. People who don't live in a post-scarcity economy — especially anyone who has endured hard times like the Great Recession — would greatly appreciate it if O'Brien and Bashir would check their privilege. Even if you do live in a post-scarcity economy, not everything can be replicated, and financial ruin (even if you still have a comfortable enough standard of living afterwards) is still a severely taxing experience.

---