Zack Handlen reviewed the episode for "The A.V. Club" in 2012, calling Q an "iconic figure". Handlen said Q allowed the writers to compare the different reaction of the characters to his presence in "DS9" and "TNG". However, Handlen felt that Q was not a good fit for "DS9", as the character seemed like an afterthought. Also, the pairing of Vash and Q took up too much screen time compared to the main cast, Handlen noted, while the overall plot involving the "stealth alien" embryo "plays like an abandoned script from early in "TNG"s run, and an example of a fascinating concept reduced to a perfunctory MacGuffin," Handlen wrote.