Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season Four Rewatch

“The Way of the Warrior”

At last we’ve arrived at this magnificent episode, a sort-of second pilot for the series that triumphantly launches us into the incredibly strong second-half of the series. I think DS9 season 4 is one of the greatest seasons of any Star Trek series ever… and since some fans make the same argument about season 5.. and some for season 6… and some for season 7, we know we’re in for a fantastic run of amazing Trek from now until the end of DS9.
We finally get Sisko in the look he should have had from the beginning — bald and goateed! This is Sisko!
This episode is HUGE and epic, but for me, the moments I love the most are all of the little character bits, which this episode is chock full of: Bashir and O’Brien flipping sand peas into their mouths at Quark’s; Kira and Dax’s attempts at make believe on the holosuite (Kira: “I used to make believe the Cardassians would stop killing the Bajorans and just go away”); Odo demonstrating how he can use his shapeshifting abilities to give the illusion that he is “sharing the dining experience”; Dax winning her bet with Sisko that Dukat would complain before thanking them for rescuing him; the whole business with Rom’s note for Quark (“Dear Quark, I used parts of your disruptor to fix the replicators, will return them soon, Rom.” Quark: “I’m going to kill him!” Odo: “With what?”), and lots more.
But the best moment of the episode, of course, is the AMAZING conversation between Garak and Quark about Root Beer!!! One of the best scenes of all of Trek!! (“So bubbly and cloying and happy… just like the Federation.”)
Garak is amazing in this episode. (Bashir: “I didn’t know you spoke Klingon.” Garak: “Oh, you’d be surprised at the things you can learn when doing alterations.”) He has some great stuff with Dukat, who is also in top form in this episode. (Garak: “Having trouble keeping the civilians in line?”) I adore the idea that Dukat switched sides in order to save his own skin, and now is on the side of the civilian Detapa Council. (I love Dukat’s “yes… SHAME about the Order” line to Garak, as Dukat is obviously over the moon happy that the Obsidian Order got wiped out.)
Of course, this episode is notable for introducing WORF onto DS9. I love how smoothly Worf — a misfit on TNG — fits in to the DS9 ensemble, a group who are all misfits in certain ways. I love Quark’s reaction when Worf orders Prune Juice at the bar for the fiurst time. I love Worf’s response to O’Brien and Bashir’s offer to join them for a game of darts. (“I do not play games.”) I love Dax’s “it loses something in the translation” banter with Worf (and Worf’s deadpan “I suppose so” response to whatever Dax said to him in Klingon!) Most of all I adore Worf’s absolutely bad-ass take-down of Drex. “I am Worf — son of Mogh!!” Michael Dorn’s delivery, and his fierce, wide-eyed expression, is amazing!!! I also LOVE the scene of Worf drinking and singing with the elderly Klingon! I love that great Klingon drinking song! Great scene.
I like how they didn’t forget that Worf and O’Brien had a pre-existing relationship from TNG. I love that O’Brien is the one to meet Worf at the airlock when he first arrives. I love hearing Worf reminisce with O’Brien about “The Best of Both Worlds.” (It’s so normal and human that these guys WOULD occasionally reminisce about that crazy adventure!!) I love hearing Worf describe the TNG days: “we were like warriors out of the ancient sagas… there was nothing we could not do!” (O’Brien: “Except keep the holodecks working right!”)
I like that it’s Dax, who is an expert on the Klingons, who is the one who explains to Sisko the meaning of Martok’s slamming a Klingon dagger onto his desk. (Martok had Captain Kabok killed.) And I like how we see that Dax is able to find common ground with Worf. It’s fun to see them fight with Batleths in Dax’s Klingon exercise program. (Worf: “It wouldn’t be a fair fight.” Dax: “I’ll go easy on you.”)
The action in this episode is AMAZING. I love the great fight with the Defiant versus the Klingons when rescuing Dukat’s ship (though it stretches credulity that the Defiant could survive for two full minutes without shields while battling the Klingons)… but of course, that’s nothing compared to the ENORMOUS Klingon assault on the station. “The Die is Cast” gave us our first huge DS9 spaceship battle with fleets of starships mixing it up, but this battle leaves that one in the dust. It’s awesome to see Star Trek stories being depicted on such an epic scale. I’m not sure the episode quite conveys the geography of the battle (exactly how close/far all the Klingon ships are from the station) and it’s a little weird that these DS9 battles don’t depict the ships being protected by shields (which on TNG usually were depicted as a bubble around the ships), but these are minor quibbles. Seeing a fleet of Klingons take on the station is amazing. I also love all the hand-to-hand combat stuff inside the station!!
It’s interesting to hear Sisko tell Worf that he’s “sorry to hear about the Enterprise.” It’s cool that DS9 has caught up with Generations.
It’s awesome to meet Martok for the first time (though he’s so despicable here!)
It’s also so great to see Gowron again!! It was fun seeing him in the silly Ferengi episode in season three, but much cooler seeing him back in the mix of this epic storytelling here. I love his scene with Worf. It’s a fascinating scene, as Gorwon shifts from being, I think, genuinely happy to see Worf (and NOT pissed at him for sharing their secret plans with Starfleet) to basically throwing Worf out of the Klingon empire (putting Worf right back to where he was at the end of “Sins of the Fathers”). I love Gorwon’s delivery of “Come with me, Worf! Glory awaits you on Cardassia!” And their final exchange is heartbreaking. (Gowron: “You will have nothing!!” Worf: “Except my honor.”)
I also love Gowron’s crazy, wide-eyed deliver of his last line in the episode. (“You have stood against us in battle! And this we do not forgive…” — crazy Gowron wide eyes — “or forget!” )
It’s a little insane that the Klingons, on their way to a secret invasion of Cardassian space, stop to hang out at DS9 for a while. I guess they thought Starfleet would have their back, but it seems like poor strategy to me.
The idea that the Klingons withdraw from the Khitomer Accords (signed in Star Trek VI) is staggering and very cool. I love that DS9 is really unafraid, at this point, to shake up the status quo of the Alpha Quadrant!!
I love hearing about the Pike City Pioneers (presumably named after Captain Christopher Pike from the Original Series’ first pilot, “The Cage”)!
I like that Kassidy has become a regular recurring character at this point.
I love hearing the Klingons ask Morn: “So what is it you DO on this station?” Good question!
I love hearing Bashir and Garak banter about the Betreka Nebula Incident. (Garak: “A minor skirmish.” Bashir: “That lasted eighteen years!”) It’s a funny exchange and also a deliciously intriguing piece of made-up Trek backstory.
It’s interesting to learn that — following the fall of the Obsidian Order in “The Die is Cast” — that now the Central Command has been overthrown. Did the Founders engineer that as the Klingons suggest? We don’t know for sure, but my feeling is they didn’t.
I love that at first, Martok suggests that their scan of the station’s armaments is just a trick of “thoron fields and duranium shadows” which is the trick Kira and O’Brien played on the Cardassians in the pilot episode! It’s awesome that now, at this point in the series, DS9 actually DOES have real defenses and weapons.
It’s weird that Jake doesn’t appear at all in the episode. I’ve always wondered why.
It’s neat to see Worf in red at the end… and I like the meta line that DS9 is here to stay. This amazing two-hour episode proved that.

“The Visitor”

The slam-bang action-adventure of “The Way of the Warrior” is followed up with this totally different episode, a quiet, introspective episode that is every bit as good if not better than “The Way of the Warrior.” The one-two punch of these two episodes represents the show at its very best, absolutely firing on all thrusters. “The Visitor” is deeply moving, a heartbreaking story and a wonderful showcase for the Ben-Jake Sisko relationship, one of the cornerstone relationships of the show.
Cirroc Lofton is magnificent (his scene with Kira, heavily in shadows standing against the window in the upper pylon, is phenomenal), as is Avery Brooks. But the show belongs to guest star Tony Todd (who also plays Worf’s brother Kurn) as the elderly Jake.
I adore the way the show is structured. We don’t start in present day with Jake and Ben on the Defiant. Instead, we start in the future with elderly Jake and the young woman (well-played by Rachel Robinson, the daughter of Andy Robinson, who plays Garak) who has tracked him down to learn the secret of why he stopped writing.
I love that, at this point in the show, we’ve clearly established that Jake is a writer. He’s not Wesley Crusher, Starfleet super-genius, and I love the writers for allowing Jake to be a relatively “normal” young man. Jake mentions studying at the Pennington school in New Zealand, a nice bit of continuity with the references to that back at the end of season three (in “Explorers,” when we learn Jake applied and got in, but decided to defer his admission because he was concerned about leaving his dad all alone).
The little glimpses into this alternate future for the characters is fun. I love seeing the happy, confident Captain Nog, and the friendly bickering relationship of elderly Dax and Bashir is fun to see. (I like that they’re wearing versions of the uniforms and insignia seen in the future-set sections of the TNG finale “All Good Things…”.)

“Hippocratic Oath”

This story serves up a great moral dilemma for Bashir and O’Brien. It’s fun to see their friendship — which we’d seen building oh-so-gradually over the course of the first three seasons of the show — truly tested for the first time. It makes sense that O’Brien and Bashir would come into conflict in this situation. O’Brien has been a soldier for years and has seen combat, whereas Bashir really hasn’t. Also, Bashir is an officer and O’Brien isn’t. I like that their argument flows out of their characters, and also that both men take defensible, understandable positions. I love that they don’t kiss and make up at the end, which is realistic. I only wish that the episodes that followed had better followed up on the events of this episode.
Star Trek loves to humanize its villains. It’s the hallmark of the show, that there are seldom true villains, rather there are antagonists. On the one hand, I don’t like seeing great villains de-fanged. On the other hand, I love this moral core at the heart of Star Trek, and it IS great to get to explore the Jem’Hadar for the first time. It’s fascinating to learn that they are, essentially, slaves of the Founders, kept in line by their addition to Ketracel White.
Scott MacDonald, who previously played “Tosk” back in season one, is great as Goran’agar, a Jem’Hadar free from addiction to Ketracel White.
I also really like the B-Story, in which Worf, former Chief of Security on the Enterprise, comes into conflict with Odo, who is the head of security on DS9. I love that Worf questions why Odo lets Quark run loose on the station, and that Worf bristles against the disorder of DS9 as opposed to the neatness of the Enterprise.
This episode finally gives us a name to the third major species within the Dominion: the Vorta, who are the go-betweens between the Founders and the Jem Ha’dar. (Though, interestingly, the show hasn’t yet confirmed that the Vorta are the race that Eris and Borath, from “The Jem’Hadar” and “The Search”, belong to.)
I don’t understand what O’Brien and Bashir are doing in the Gamma Quadrant. The Jem’Hadar said in the season two finale that the Dominion considered any further travel through the wormhole as an act of war. It’s weird to me that this and future episodes ignored that.

“Indiscretion”

There are a lot of interesting ideas in this episode, and I enjoy it, even if it isn’t entirely successful as a whole.
The idea that Dukat had a Bajoran mistress and that he was in love with her is a very juicy notion, and one that puts a slightly different spin on what we knew before about Dukat’s attitude towards Bajor and Bajorans. (We saw in “Civil Defense” that Dukat might have a thing for Kira, and now we know that he’s had a prior long-term relationship with a Bajoran woman.) And that they had a daughter?? Fantastic. I love this peek into Cardassian society and Dukat’s personality, that Dukat feels driven to eliminate Ziyal so as to protect his “real” Cardassian family.
Kira is terrific in this episode. She’s softened somewhat in how she thinks of Cardassians, and Dukat in particular, since the series began. But she’s still tough and brave and willing to do anything to make sure Dukat isn’t able to harm Ziyal.
It’s great to meet Tora Ziyal in this episode! I am glad that this episode is the beginning of her and Dukat’s story, and that we won’t have to wait too long to see what happens next for those two. (Cyia Batten is the first of THREE actresses who will play Ziyal. I think she’s perfectly fine here.)
This episode, and its follow up, “Return to Grace”, mark a point in the show in which I feared they were making Dukat a little too likable. This man did, after all, oversee the brutal Cardassian occupation of Bajor. The scene in which Dukat gets a pointy stick in his rear end and he and Kira laugh about it was a bridge too far, for me, in terms of making Dukat silly. On the other hand, there is a lot of other great stuff for Dukat in the episode, and I like his small arc here of eventually deciding to bring Ziyal back with him to Cardassia, consequences be damned. (This is perhaps the first truly altruistic thing we’ve ever seen Dukat do.) Meanwhile, his scene in the runabout with Kira in which he suggests that the Occupation was actually GOOD for Bajor shows us what a deluded, self-centered asshole he is.
It’s great to see Kassidy Yates again, and I like that the show gives us a speedbump in their so-far mostly perfect romance. The downside is that their argument is a bit one-note and boring, and Sisko is a little too out-of-character dumb.
Still, I do really like the very funny scene in which Dax and Bashir review the dinner-gone-wrong with Sisko. “It’s a big step!”
This episode gives us our first look at the Breen, who are, hilariously, all dressed in uniforms that look exactly like the disguise Princess Leia wore in Return of the Jedi. I assume this was done on purpose, because the Breen costumes are so obviously derivative.

“Rejoined”

This is one of the best love stories Trek would ever do, and it’s also a lovely metaphor for the stigma that used to be associated with homosexuality. The episode depicts Dax in a lesbian relationship, but the trick of the episode is that at no point does any character ever mention anything about the fact that Dax is in love with a woman. It’s all about the metaphor of the Trill stigma against “reassociation.” It’s brilliant.
Terry Farrell is terrific, as is guest star Susanna Thompson. I love their scenes together, they really spark. When they finally do kiss, it’s lovely and rich with emotion. The (inevitable) ending, in which Lenara leaves the station, is heartbreaking.
Back in 1995, this was one of the first same-gender kisses on television.
I love the concept of “reassociation”. It makes perfect sense that this stigma would exist among the Trill, otherwise they WOULD all keep living the same lives over and over, and the society would stagnate.
The techy story of the scientists working to create a stable artificial wormhole works just well enough to keep my interest without overwhelming the main love-story at the heart of the episode.
I love the cool moment in which Dax creates an angled forcefield so that she can walk in mid-air, above the plasma fire, to reach the injured Lenara.
I also love the fun stuff with Dax’s doing magic at the beginning. I love when we get to see Dax’s varied interests and hobbies from across her many lifetimes.
I also really like the nice scene between Bashir and Kira, beautifully framed in the doorway to Quark’s, in which they discuss the Trill “reassociation” taboo. We haven’t gotten to see too much Kira-Bashir stuff since they got off on quite the wrong foot back in the pilot. It’s fun to see their sweet, friendly relationship here at this point in the show.
I love Michael Dorn’s delivery of Worf’s reply, when Kira asks him what Klingons dream about. “Things that would send cold chills down your spine.” Ha! So great!

“Starship Down”

This is a fun episode with great action that utilizes the entire main cast. I love episodes like this (such as season three’s “Civil Defense”) that makes such good use of the entire ensemble.
The visual effects of the Defiant within the atmosphere of the gas giant are great, and we get some awesome shots of the big D in combat with the two Jem’Hadar fighters.
I like how the episode gradually escalates the tension, eventually dividing our characters into different small groupings.
Kira-Sisko — It’s nice for the show to actually acknowledge some of the implications of Sisko’s being “the Emissary,” a religious figure for Bajorans. It’s interesting to see Kira admit to always feeling a distance between her and Sisko, even after they moved past their antagonism from season one. I love that Ben invites her to watch a baseball game with him at the end.
By the way, it’s interesting to me that one reading of this episode is that Kira’s prayers over Sisko work! After she prays over him, he regains consciousness. You could also read that as just a coincidence, but I love that DS9 is the only Trek show that isn’t dismissive of the idea of religion and prayer.
Quark-Hanok — The great James Cromwell (who would go on to play Zephram Cochrane in First Contact) is spectacular as Hanok. I love the look of his alien makeup, and I love what a great character he is. At first, he’s repulsed by Quark’s behavior, which always made me happy as an audience member who often wondered why Odo and Sisko would tolerate Quark’s misbehavior and criminal activities. But I love how Quark is able to eventually charm him into experiencing gambling. Armin Shimmerman is on fire as Quark here. I love that we see Quark’s unique worldview (I love the disgust in his voice when he tells Hanok “your way is just BARTER”), his joie de vivre, and his charisma (as he is eventually able to convince Hanok to stay in business with him.) We also see him being remarkably brave, grabbing the piece that defuses the warhead in the end!
Worf-O’Brien — It’s nice to see that Worf does have much to learn about command (as he himself said at the end of “The Way of the Warrior”) without making him look like too much of an idiot. And I like that he actually does listen to O’Brien’s advice, as opposed to arguing with O’Brien about it. It’s fun to see O’Brien’s relationship with his engineers (this is the first appearance of Muniz, who will return), and — building off of the Bashir-O’Brien differences we saw in “Hippocratic Oath” — it’s interesting to be reminded that O’Brien and his engineers are not officers, and that those engineers didn’t attend Starfleet Academy. (It’s curious to me to learn that Starfleet doesn’t require all of its engineers to attend Starfleet Academy. Most of the main Trek officers we’ve seen all seem to have engineering skills, so clearly engineering IS taught at the Academy. Geordi is an officer who became Chief Engineer… while apparently O’Brien came up via a very different path. I’m not sure I buy that these engineers wouldn’t have attended Starfleet Academy… on the other hand, it does make certain sense that a starship would be crewed by officers and also lower-level technicians who wouldn’t be held to the same standards as officers. This is interesting Star Trek world-building and fun for fans to think about…!!)
Bashir-Dax — Seen in 2019, all of the early business of Bashir’s incessantly pursuing Dax back in season one is a bit distasteful and inappropriate. With that same eye, Dax’s admission that she liked being chased by Bashir doesn’t paint her in the best light. But when this originally aired, I really liked this Dax-Bashir stuff as a nice wrap-up to all of their early interactions, which had mostly been dropped in the subsequent seasons. I still try to view it through that light. I like that Bashir has matured and isn’t behaving like that any more, and also that he’s comfortable enough as a person, and with Dax, to admit to her that this scenario resembled a fantasy he used to have. And I like that Dax liked being chased — it helps understand why she’d tolerate Bashir’s season one behavior.
It’s bizarre to me that the Karemma and the Federation are trading with one another. As I mentioned in my comments of “Hippocratic Oath,” the Jem’Hadar said in the season two finale that the Dominion considered any further travel through the wormhole as an act of war. It’s weird to me that this and future episodes ignored that. It seems very provocative of the Federation to be trading with the Karemma. (Surely the Federation doesn’t NEED those goods?) And why would the Karemma risk angering the Dominion and bringing the Jem’Hadar down on their heads — as actually happens in this episode?? Also, since the Dominion seemed to know about the Karemma-Federation dealings — which is why the two Jem’Hadar ships were sent after them — wouldn’t the Karemma still be in trouble after the events of this episode? (The only explanation I can think of is that the Dominion DIDN’T know of the Karemma involvement, and that they were only there because they’d tracked the Defiant after it came through the wormhole. Surely the Dominion is keeping an eye on the wormhole??)
I love the epilogue scenes at the end, after the Defiant has escaped and returned to the station. Too many episodes end too abruptly for my taste. I love these scenes that allow us to explore some of the fallout of the events of the episode.

“Little Green Men”

I adore this episode that gives us a wonderfully silly depiction of what REALLY happened at Roswell in 1947!! What a clever idea.
The episode is a wonderful homage to old sci-fi B-movies. All of the humans are fantastic depictions of sci-fi movie archetypes. The cigar-chomping general. The egghead scientist. The big-hearted woman. Etc. Also, I love how all of the human characters smoke constantly. (I always laugh when we see the scientist lighting two cigarettes at once!)
The sight of Quark, relishing being with greedy 20th century humans, is a delight. Frankly, the trio of Armin Shimmerman, Max Grodenchik, and Aron Eisenberg is just note-perfect here from start to finish. These actors have created such wonderful, and different, Ferengi characters! Look how far we’ve come from the one-dimensional jokes the Ferengi were on TNG!
I love seeing Nog participate in the Ferengi coming-of-age tradition of selling all of his boyhood possessions. What a great notion!! It’s a wonderful piece of worldbuilding of Ferengi society. (And I laughed a lot at how much Worf enjoyed discovering Nog’s Ferengi tooth-sharpener!)
It’s nice that they’ve continued to find a way to keep Nog involved after his decision to apply to Starfleet. In the early seasons I sometimes found Nog a bit annoying; I love how the show has developed him into a brave, noble young man. (And yet, I love how they also keep him as a Ferengi. I love that he’s willing to allow Quark to smuggle the Kemocite to Earth, as long as he gets a cut!)
I love Nog’s finding the picture of Sisko as Gabriel Bell in his Earth guidebook!! Fantastic call back to season three’s “Past Tense” two-parter!

“The Sword of Kahless”

It’s a delight to see Kor back, and there’s a lot to enjoy with this episode, even though it doesn’t really all work. Basically, the biggest problems are that Kor, Dax and Worf find the lost-for-centuries Sword of Kahless WAY too easily!! I wanted the episode to have shown us more of their actual quest. (It’s ludicrous that the Vulcans couldn’t penetrate the force-field that Dax shuts down in two seconds.) Then the episode just devolves into the characters wandering around the way-overused cave sets, and it becomes pretty boring. There are interesting ideas, and I like how the show leads you to expect that there’s something in the sword that is mind-controlling the people who touch it, when in fact it’s just serving as a catalyst for their worst inclinations. Still, Kor and Worf both turn into bloodthirsty maniacs far too easily. Especially Worf, who is a senior Starfleet officer. The episode doesn’t succeed in selling their descent into power-hungry mania.
Still, there’s a lot of fun to be had. It’s a pleasure seeing Kor back (from season two’s “Blood Oath”). He’s so great! I particularly loved listening to his telling a story of an adventure with Kang and Koloth at the beginning. (And it’s fun to hear Worf mentioning Kor’s “confrontation with Kirk on Organia” — a wonderful reference to the Original Series episode “Errand of Mercy”!)
I love how Worf is giddy as a schoolboy at meeting Kor. I like how Worf expects Kor to be repulsed by his dishonor (as so many Klingons were on TNG, post-“Sins of the Father”). It’s a great surprise that Kor isn’t much bothered, mostly because he hates Gowron. It’s interesting to see that not all Klingons are united within the Empire.
It’s also interesting to hear all of Worf and Kor’s talk about the clone Emperor (From TNG’s “Rightful Heir”). It’s weird that we never actually get to see the Emperor again, though I like that DS9 episodes like this one acknowledge the Emperor’s existence.
Later in the episode, I like learning that Worf is still feeling somewhat adrift, as he was in “The Way of the Warrior”, and that he’s desperate to believe that his dishonor, and all the trials he has been through, has some purpose. That’s a nice bit of character work to underpin Worf’s acting crazy when he gets the Sword — even though, as I noted above, the episode doesn’t succeed in selling just how crazy Worf winds up acting,
It’s fun to see Sisko shaving! I liked his futuristic little cube razor thing!
Toral from TNG’s “Redemption” returns!! That’s a fantastic and unexpected piece of continuity. I just wish he’d been more memorable in the episode and established as a more significant threat.

“Our Man Bashir”

I never, ever, ever expected to see Star Trek deliver a brilliant homage to 1960’s Sean Connery James Bond films. And yet, here we are, with one of my favorite DS9 episodes that does just that!! I love this episode so much. It’s totally weird and unusual as a Star Trek episode, and I love it for that.
The opening sequence of Bashir in the holosuite is a magnificent pastiche of Bond movie silliness. The one-eyed henchman! Seeing the reflection of the bad guy in a champagne bottle… and then knocking him out with the cork! All followed by a classic Bond-style quip: “A lot of kick for a ’45 Dom!” So perfect!!!
How perfect is it that Julian Bashir and James Bond have the same initials??? Whoever figured that out is a genius.
Bashir’s sexy valet has one of the best Bond-girl names of all times. “Mona Loves-it”! Amazing!!!
Nana Visitor is extraordinarily great as the Russian Komananov. (That’s another spectacularly silly/juvenile Bond-girl name, by the way.) I love hearing the way Nana Visitor pronounces the word “colonel.” She’s gorgeous and tough and absolutely perfection. (How amazing is the sexy way she reaches her arm over head to pull out the folder she has hidden under the pillow?)
This exchange between Kira/Komananov and Bashir always makes me laugh with it’s Bond-movie lunacy. Kira: “I never expected to see you again — not after you fell out of that dirigible over Iceland.” Bashir: “I had a parachute — and there was a submarine waiting.”
Sisko as Dr. Noah is such a perfect version of Bond-villain Dr. No — right down to the his Nehru Jacket. Dr. Noah’s plot to create global earthquakes to kill everyone except the select few in his Everest lair is a fantastic Bond-villain plot. (And his flood-related plan also makes his name, Noah, even more perfect.)
I love that Bashir has to play Baccarat against one of the villains (in this case, Worf) — just like happens in every good Bond movie!
There are so many other great touches. All of the furniture that turns around to reveal other stuff (in Bashir’s apartment and in Dr. Noah’s lair); the look of Dr. Noah’s Everest hideaway; the huge map hidden behind the wall; the way Worf blows knockout gas out of his cigar. Even the ending suggestion that “Julian Bashir will return,” which of course mimics the “James Bond will return” text that appears at the end of every Bond movie’s credits. Brilliant.
Of course, the techy problem that leads to Sisko, Kira, Dax, Worf, and O’Brien getting stuck inside Bashir’s holosuite program is ridiculous. And that Rom seems to be, in O’Brien’s absence, the person with the most technical know-how on the station is insane. (We’ve completed the transformation from the stupid Rom of early season one to the technical genius Rom of the later seasons. But even so, there have GOT to be other competent engineers on the station.) But none of that bothers me because the setup doesn’t matter; this episode is all about the fun that the set-up allows.

“Homefront” and “Paradise Lost”

This is a strong two-parter that expands the canvas of the show. DS9 started as the story of a lonely outpost at the edge of Federation Space, but at this point the events on the station (and the show) have repercussions for the entire Federation. So it’s fun to see the show embrace that, and give us this two-parter set largely on Earth, involving Starfleet Command and the President of the Federation.
The story is remarkably prescient. This tale of how easy it is to give up one’s personal freedoms in the name of “security” was made before 9/11, before the Patriot Act, before there were armed guards at NYC subway stations and increased airport security, etc. It’s one of the most forward-thinking Trek episodes I can recall, and it’s (sadly) remarkably relevant to our lives today.
What makes these episodes so great, and so relevant, is that the threat is REAL. A weaker version of this story that might have been told on another Trek series might have had entire threat, ultimately, revealed as just an illusion or a mistake. But while some of what Sisko & co. think was going on turns out to be false (there weren’t fleets of cloaked ships coming through the wormhole), we know that the Changeling threat IS REAL. Sisko and Starfleet DO have a legitimate reason to fear the Founders and the Dominion. And so that makes the dilemma much tougher, and the challenge of holding onto their values all the more difficult — and important.
If the two-parter has a weakness, it’s that I wish the story was told on an even larger scale. Seeing two Starfleet security officers beam onto an empty street at the end of part 1 doesn’t quite sell the idea of Earth’s turning into a police state. I wish we’d gotten to see lots more Starfleet officers patrolling across Paris, and elsewhere in the world. The battle between the Defiant and the Lakota in part 2 is great, but I wish that had been a longer, more involved battle between those two ships (and possibly other Federation ships as well) to really end the story with a bang.
Also, as sometimes happens in Trek two-parters, after an awesome set-up in part 1, part 2 becomes a little too talky. Too much of Sisko and Layton chatting in an empty office. I wanted more tension — I wanted Sisko to feel more alone, more on the run — and I wanted to see more of Benteen and other of Layton’s associates wrestling with what they’d done. (Benteen makes her decision to surrender basically off-camera — I wanted to see the moment in which she changes her mind.)
After many mentions in previous episodes, we finally get to meet Ben Sisko’s father, Jacob, played marvelously by the great Brock Peters! I love this character.
I love how the episode tries to suggest that Jacob might be a changeling. He doesn’t eat (neither does Odo), he’s stopped going to the doctor, he refuses to take a blood test. Of course, it’s all in the service of putting the audience in Ben Sisko’s mindset, as even Ben starts to suspect his father. It’s a great narrative device, very well-executed.
And of course, all of that is just a small part of the two-parter’s greater narrative trick, in that in part 1, the show gets the audience to be on the side of Sisko and Admiral Layton, convinced that Starfleet DOES need to target security on Earth because of the Changeling threat! What a great demonstration of how easy it is for a free society to slip into fascism when driven by fear. When Sisko tells the Federation President, at the end of part 1, “just give us the authority we need, Mr. President — we’ll take care of the rest” — it’s shocking in retrospect, once you see how Sisko was in the wrong! And in part 2, when Sisko comments that “paradise has never seemed so well-armed,” it’s chilling.
I love Joseph Sisko’s angry speech at the end of part 1, in which he very astutely points out how easy it would be for a Changeling to outwit all of the blood tests and other security measures Sisko and Starfleet have undertaken. (“If I was a smart shapeshifter, a really good one, the first thing I would do would be to grab some poor soul off the street, absorb every ounce of his blood, and let it out on cue whenever someone like you tried to test me. Don’t you see? There isn’t a test that’s been created that a smart man can’t find his way around. You’re not going to catch shapeshifters using some gadget!”) Joseph is absolutely correct. We saw back in “The Adversary” that a Changeling can get around a blood test, and their fallibility was proven again in this two-parter when Layton faked the test to incriminate Sisko.
The scene in which Bashir and O’Brien emerge from Quark’s holosuite, having refought the Battle of Britain, is a hoot. Their crazy costumes; O’Brien’s silly cockney accent; and the idea that the two had been in a habit of smashing their glasses on Quark’s bar after their holographic “battles” — all perfect and so funny!
Hmmm, Bashir doesn’t have ANYONE for Odo to look up on Earth…? Heh heh heh…
I like the Sisko-O’Brien/Changeling scene in part 2, in which we learn that there are only 4 Changelings on Earth. But “that’s more than enough,” according to the O’Brien Changeling.
I love the moment when Worf is forced to take the Defiant into conflict with the Lakota. Picard would have stopped things and made a big speech. But Worf’s reaction? “We fight!” Excellent!! This is DS9, not TNG!
The battle between the Defiant and the Lakota was brief but awesome. I love getting to see an Excelsior class ship in action, and seeing the Defiant spin around like the Millennium Falcon was cool. (Also, I’d complained in “The Way of the Warrior” that it’s weird that the big space battles on DS9 for some reason don’t seem to visually depict starships’ shields as the circular bubbles that we saw on TNG. But this action sequence DOES show us the shields of both the Lakota and the Defiant, which made me happy.)
Robert Foxworth is terrific as Layton. He’s able to play Sisko’s ally in part 1 and a villain in part 2. I wish they’d written him with a little more nuance in part two, but that’s not the actor’s fault.
Susan Gibney previously played Dr. Leah Brahms on TNG, and she’s great here as Layton’s associate Benteen. I just wish she had more to do in the two-parter.
I like getting to meet a new, non-human President of the Federation, Jaresh-Inyo.
It’s interesting to hear both Layton and Jaresh-Inyo mention the Borg attack on Earth (from “The Best of Both Worlds”). One can assume that the last state of emergency on Earth, that Jaresh-Inyo says happened a century ago, was the Probe attack in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Nice callback.
It’s nice to see Nog again, though it stretches credulity a teensy bit that he was able to be the connection between Sisko and the “Red Squad” cadets that Layton just happened to be using for his own nefarious ends. Still, I love the idea that Nog has become a regular at Joseph’s restaurant, and that Joseph is willing to get him fresh tube grubs to eat. (Joseph seems like a stick-in-the-mud iconoclast for much of the two-parter; it’s to his credit that he’s open-minded enough to be willing to serve Nog uncooked tube grubs.)
The communications relay — that was sabotaged to cause the wormhole to open-and-close repeatedly — was set up in season three’s “Destiny.” (Though, again, I ask why Starfleet has continued to mess around in the Gamma Quadrant following the declaration in the season two finale that the Dominion would consider any further travel through the wormhole to be an act of war. Why would Starfleet risk it, and why does the Dominion permit it? I guess we’re supposed to just forget about that line of dialogue from season two…)
I don’t understand Benteen’s comment that someone neglected to inform Starfleet that the Defiant had ablative armor. That’s stupid. Of course Starfleet would have the full specifications for the Defiant; it wouldn’t have been a secret!
I always think it’s dumb when we see Odo fighting hand-to-hand, rather than using his shapeshifting abilities. (It’s obviously a cost-saving measure for the show.) Still, my annoyance at that was minimized by my enjoyment of seeing Odo use a Vulcan neck pinch to knock out a Starfleet guard when rescuing Sisko at the end of part 2.
It’s interesting to learn that Sisko served under Layton on the Okinawa during Starfleet’s conflict with the Tzenkethi (the alien race who were the unseen danger in the season 3 finale “The Adversary”).

“Crossfire”

This is a sweet, sad story of unrequited love. I like that the assassination threat on Shakaar is in the background, and instead our focus is squarely on Odo. I also like how, for the most part, this is a very quiet, understated episode, with much of the drama and heartbreak just playing out in Odo’s stillness, and the look in his eyes. Rene Auberjonois is masterful here.
I love the idea that Odo made sure his quarters were directly above Quark’s, as a way to torture him. (“Luck had nothing to do with it.”)
Speaking of Quark, I love the gentle way this episode shows the deep friendship that exists between the two, though neither will admit. It’s interesting that it’s Quark who figures out what’s going on long before Odo (or Kira) does. Quark’s look in the middle of the event in the conference room is another great silent moment in the episode, in which you can see everything you need to see just by the look on Quark’s face. Great work by Armin Shimmerman.
It’s fun to see Shakaar again, and it’s an interesting development to see him and Kira fall into a romantic relationship.
I also like getting a glimpse of Shakaar’s life now, as First Minister of Bajor… and I also like the glimpse at the lengthy and complex process of Bajor’s applying for Federation membership.
I love Odo’s critique of the Federation, that the Federation always claims to be open and understanding but that they’re always convinced they’re right. That’s a pretty fair critique, I think!
I like the beat at the beginning when Shakaar talks about wanting to meet the Emissary and we can see how uncomfortable Sisko is. Following up on “Starship Down,” I’m glad this season has circled back to the idea of Sisko as the Emissary. (This will be much further developed in “Accession,” later in the season.)
I love the whole bit about Odo’s belt. Odo had the belt in the Mirror Universe in season two’s “Crossover,” and it was briefly added onto his costume in season three, but then dropped. It’s cute that Kira liked the belt. I love the simple but effective visual effect in which Odo shapeshifts to make the belt reappear. And, of course, it’s a great metaphor for Odo’s mindset at the end of the episode when he stops wearing the belt again. “Just concentrating on the essentials.”
Speaking of the ending, I love the melancholy ending.
I love the scene in which Odo and Worf bond over their shared need for order… and how they both detest it when people drop by their quarters.
On the other hand, Odo’s line about how he keeps to a schedule so strictly that shopkeepers on the Promenade can set their clocks by his rounds has always struck me as foolish. It seems bad strategy for the station’s Chief of Security to be so predictable!
The Cardassian terrorist group out to assassinate Shakaar, “the True Way,” was the same group who sabotaged the runabout in “Our Man Bashir.”

“Return to Grace”

It’s a nice surprise to get a follow-up to “Indiscretion” so soon, as we pick up Dukat and Ziyal’s story with Dukat demoted to freighter captain because of his disgrace.
Like “Indiscretion” while I don’t think this is a super episode, it’s a very solid story and good continuation of this story-line.
As I mentioned in “Indiscretion,” when watching DS9 originally during this period I feared the writers were making Dukat too likable, and the idea that he wanted be in a relationship with Kira was repugnant. I was fearful the writers were going in that direction, particularly with Kira and Dukat winding up as sort-of co-parents of Ziyal at the end of the episode. Luckily, knowing now where these stories go, I had no reason to be fearful, and so in hindsight I enjoy these episodes a lot more.
While these episodes did try to humanize Dukat, what I notice more upon rewatching is when the dark side of his personality peeks through, such as when we hear Dukat longing for the days when Cardassians were feared, and angrily declaring “I am the only Cardassian left.” Pay attention to his vow that “Everything I have lost… I will regain.”
We also see the charismatic side of Dukat. I love the way Marc Alaimo delivers the “listen to that ‘yes'” speech to Kira towards the end of the episode.
I love the design of the Cardassian freighter, which looks a lot like the bony, segmented Cardassian necks!
This episode marks the first appearance of Damar! He only has a few lines here — nothing in this episode would give you any reason to pay attention to him. And yet…! It’s extraordinary where this character will go…
It’s a nice note at the end that, even after the events of “Crossfire,” Odo is the first person we see greet Kira when she returns.

“Sons of Mogh”

This is a terrific episode right up until the terrible, cop-out ending.
I love seeing Kurn again. (After Tony Todd was so great in “The Visitor,” it’s great fun to see him back again as Kurn.) I love that this episode explores the repercussions of Worf’s getting excommunicated by Gowron in “The Way of the Warrior”. (These consequences are usually easy for the show to ignore, with Worf serving in Starfleet, outside of the Empire.)
It’s very smart writing to have Worf actually go through with killing Kurn at the top of the episode, and then have the rest of the episode deal with Worf’s trying to find another way out. It’s surprising but feels right that Worf would agree to Kurn’s request, but then find that he truly does agree with the human viewpoint that killing Kurn is murder. I love the scene in the med-bay in which Kurn doesn’t let Worf off the hook when Worf protests that Kurn is alive because Worf and Dax interrupted the ceremony. Worf likely could have overpowered them if he wanted to, and he also could have come back to kill Kurn immediately after if he wanted to.
I like the mid-episode scenes with Kurn as one of Odo’s deputies. It just seems so WRONG to have Kurn in the comfy, loose Bajoran uniform! I love the Odo-Worf exchange (Worf: “I am indebted to you.” Odo: “Yes, you are.”). You expect for Odo to say “don’t worry about it,” but that’s not the relationship these two have!
I love that we see in the episode’s opening scene that Worf and Dax have gotten into a habit of sparring regularly in the holosuites. I love seeing them flirt heavily, and I love how Dax defeats Worf with words after he defeats her with the blade. (That’s great writing when Dax-Worf have the same exchange in Klingon of winner-to-loser after she yanks his chain in regards to his comment about her low-cut tunic.)
I like the scene with Worf, late in the episode, in which we see that he’s realized the difficult truth that he’ll never truly fit in with the Klingon Empire (even if he wasn’t currently excommunicated.)
The B-Story with the Klingons attempting to mine the entrance to the Bajhoran system is interesting. It’s not a bad strategy by the Klingons, even though they can’t seem to stop accidentally detonating the mines, and they’re very stupid to agree to allow their ship to be towed back to DS9. Still, we get some cool visual effects, especially when the mine blows out the hull of the Vor-Cha class cruiser, and later when the Defiant detonates all the mines, flushing out the cloaked birds of prey.
I’m surprised there were no repercussions to Worf & Kurn’s killing of a Klingon officer when they’re sneaking aboard to get the info on the mines. Wouldn’t the Klingons have noticed and protested that dead officer??
But it’s the ending that really bugs me. It just feels like such a lame cop-out to wipe Kurn’s memory. I know that the writers backed Kurn and Worf into a nearly unsolvable dilemma, but I do believe they could have come up with a better solution than this. I’m also surprised that Bashir would ever agree to cooperate to wiping Kurn’s memory without his consent.

“Bar Association”

I love this episode! What’s particularly awesome about it is that the main character is ROM! NOT one of the series’ main cast! DS9 has developed an incredible ensemble of recurring supporting characters, but this is the first time one of those supporting characters ever took center stage. Everyone in the cast has some fun stuff to do in this episode (well, except Kira), but it’s Rom who goes on an incredible journey. This would have been unthinkable in any other Trek show. It’s as if TNG had done an episode focusing on Mr. Mott the barber. (Though I’d have watched the shit out of that!!)
Many/most Ferengi episodes have been comedic (such as “Little Green Men”). But I love that this episode is a drama, and it totally works.
I’ve often argued that Quark is a nicer character than most of the characters on the show see him. Upon rewatching the show I often think Quark is poorly treated by the Starfleet “heroes” of the show, in scenes usually supposed to be comedic where Quark is the brunt of the joke. But this episode shows us Quark at his nastiest, being really cruel to Rom and his employees. On the other hand, we can see how Quark has been backed into a tough position, being pushed by Rom and then Sisko to violate a sacred precept of Ferengi society. By the end, we do see that Quark genuinely cares for Rom, and is trying to help him in his own way. The Rom-Quark argument in the corridor (after Leeta kisses Rom) is great. They’re both right. Quark genuinely felt he was helping Rom, while Rom is right that the way Quark went about that was horrible, and that generally Quark’s first thought was for himself. It’s a great scene.
The Defiant has been poking around the Gamma Quadrant for five days? I guess I have to give up and stop asking 1) why the Federation keeps potentially provoking the Dominion and 2) why the Dominion doesn’t respond to Federation ships traveling through the wormhole.
There’s great O’Brien and Bashir stuff in this episode: seeing them in even more elaborate and weird holosuite costumes; bantering about the cyst on the back of O’Brien’s neck; seeing their somewhat different perspectives on Rom’s union (I love O’Brien’s pride at his ancestor who was a union man, and the great joke of O’Brien’s ominous comment to Rom that “he had the biggest funeral in all of Western Pennsylvania”); wagering over which station residents will cross the picket line and enter Quark’s. Their horror at Worf’s entering Quark’s and the “brawl” that follows is fantastic, as is O’Brien’s laughing to Worf, later, about how easily Julian got thrown around.
I also love O’Brien’s later comment to Worf: “Have you any idea how bored I used to get, sitting in the transporter room, waiting for something to break down?” That’s so funny. Watching TNG I often thought to myself that it must be tough to be the person standing around in the transporter room…!
There’s lots of great Ferengi culture-building in this episode, from the idea that an ear infection is deadly to Ferengi (the sight of Rom pouring that vial-full of liquid into his ear at the beginning of the episode is a memorable image!) to the notion that a union is so abhorrent to Ferengi that the Ferengi characters all have trouble even saying the word. But the moment that best encapsulates the Ferengi — and helps us to understand them — is when Rom says that “Ferengi workers don’t want to stop the exploitation — we want to become the exploiters!”
It’s interesting to learn that the Federation doesn’t charge Quark rent, or make him pay for maintenance or power usage. DS9 explores the Star Trek universe better than any other Trek show, but even so, they never dig too deeply into how exactly the money-less Federation interacts with the rest of the galaxy that do use money. (Do O’Brien and Bashir earn a salary, that they can then spend at Quark’s? Will Rom?)
Brunt returns!! I love seeing this character again. He’s a great “heavy” to menace the other Ferengi. I also love his Nausicaan henchmen. (It was a Nausicaan who stabbed Picard in the heart, as seen in the TNG episode “Tapestry.”) I love the sight gag of the two Nausicaans throwing darts into one another’s chests.
Leeta gets her biggest showcase so far. Chase Masterson overacts a little bit in some of the scenes, but I like this character and it’s interesting to start getting to know one of Quark’s dabo girls, to see them as more than just sexy window dressing. The moment when she kisses Rom is very sweet.
Worf’s storyline about having trouble adapting to life on the station is interesting. I can certainly understand his frustration at some hooligan robbing his quarters! When he starts busting Odo’s chops about that, I love how Odo throws a bunch of security breaches that happened on the Enterprise (brilliantly referencing actual TNG episodes) back in Worf’s face. Ultimately, Worf’s deciding to live on the Defiant feels like a step backwards for the character. When I first saw the episode, I thought it was an unsatisfying ending. I still feel that way, somewhat, but own the other hand, I think that was the point. DS9 allows the characters to be flawed, and to make bad decisions. Worf IS running away from his problems! But the end of this episode isn’t the end of Worf’s story. (By the way, I love that Worf is taking the mattress off of his bed when Dax comes to visit him in his quarters on the Defiant. Klingons like firm beds!)
I love the holographic Quark waiters.
I love the surprising ending, in which Rom finally steps out of Quark’s shadow, quits the bar, and starts working for the Bajorans as a technician. When a huge step for this character!

“Accession”

Another great episode in this great season. For the first time, we get an episode devoted to really grappling with the idea of Ben Sisko as the Emissary, what that means to the Bajorans, what that means to Starfleet, and what that means to Ben himself.
It’s a great concept — that Ben is forced to ultimately fight to hold onto the title of Emissary. It’s great to see Opaka again, and I love the moment when she asks Ben point blank “who are you?” Who does he want to be? Who is he going to be?
I love Richard Libertini’s performance as Akorem Laan. I love how he begins so likable and sympathetic, and yet we the audience, like Ben, slowly see that his ideas for Bajor are wrong.
The concept of the D’jarras is an interesting one and a nice bit of worldbuilding for the backstory of Bajor and Bajoran society.
Of course, the core of the episode is the climax, in which the Prophets declare that “He is the Sisko” and then that “We are of Bajor… YOU are of Bajor.” This is a major moment in the course of the series. The meaning of that is a wonderful mystery for now, but we’ll get our answers before the end of the show.
The episode’s main flaw is that most of the Bajorans seem somewhat simpleminded to go along with Akorem’s plan to return to the Djaras — or worse: Vedek Porta causally murders someone with no apparent remorse or regret. It’d have been better had he been in tears, hating himself for what he felt he had to do.
I also don’t love the cliche of O’Brien as a dumb male whose quarters are a mess because his wife has been away, and who isn’t immediately excited that Keiko is pregnant.
I like that Akorem emerges from the wormhole in a solar-sailing ship, like the one Ben Sisko built in season three’s “Explorers.”
I love Kira’s speech about faith. (“If you have it, no explanation necessary.”) I also love the beautiful, wordless way Nana Visitor portrays Kira’s reaction to Akorem’s speech about the D’jarras. She claps so enthusiastically at the start of his speech, but far less so at the end.
I also like that we see Sisko’s waking dream, walking along the Promenade. (What Bashir says the Bajorans call an “Orb Shadow.) No other Trek show has depicted dreams and visions!
I always laugh at Quark’s reminiscences of the children’s book he used to read to Nog: “See Brak acquire. Acquire, Brak, acquire!”
Best part of the episode? Worf’s reaction to learning Keiko is pregnant! (It’s a fun callback to TNG’s “Disaster,” in which Worf had to deliver Keiko’s first baby.)

“Rules of Engagement”

One of the few not-great episodes of the fourth season. Nothing in “Rules of Engagement” is BAD. It’s a perfectly watchable episode. But it’s not great either. The whole situation to frame Worf seems very contrived. The idea that the Federation would even consider extraditing one of their officers to the Klingon Empire, with whom they no longer have any sort of treaty (since Gowron withdrew from the Khitomer Accords back in “The Way of the Warrior”) is lunacy. And while the episode is about Worf, he winds up being far too passive a character, spending most of the episode sitting silently in his chair while the hearing takes place.
There are also lots of other flaws. Why does the episode open with Worf in a holding cell? Later on they say that the incident for which Worf is on trial happened weeks ago. So surely he was allowed to stay in his quarters for that duration? Later, the whole business of Dax and the holodeck program is so stupid. They try to build it up that Worf’s ending the program by declaring that all the inhabitants of the city should be killed is this huge revelation, but to me it’s stupid. It’s just a holodeck program! And at the end, once Sisko knew what had really happened, there was absolutely no need for the whole courtroom showdown with the Klingon lawyer. Why didn’t he go right to the Vulcan judge to show her the evidence?
I love that the episode opens with Worf’s dream. As I commented in “Accession,” no other Trek show would ever depict dreams and visions. I love that about DS9.
I like the way that some of the flashbacks were stages so that characters would shift from being in the moment to talking to the camera. That was a nice way to keep things interesting.
I really like the Klingon lawyer, Ch’Pok. Ron Canada is terrific in the role. I like that Ch’Pok sees the courtroom as a battlefield.
I loved seeing an old, Original Series style Klingon battlecruiser briefly in the fight scenes.
I liked Sisko’s mentoring speech to Worf at the end.

“Hard Time”

This is a very solid and moving episode. The problem is that, to me, it sticks out like a sore thumb in the increasingly serialized DS9. This event should have been LIFE-CHANGING for O’Brien. It just doesn’t work for me — on the serialized DS9 in particular — to tell this story and to then never again mention it, and for O’Brien to be completely fine and back to normal the next time we see him. As a result, I generally skip this episode when rewatching DS9, even though taken on its own, it’s a moving character piece.
It’s also an interesting sci-fi premise. The idea that these aliens simulate incarceration, as opposed to actually building prisons and paying to actually have prisoners live there for years, is interesting!
It’s nice to see Muniz again (after “Starship Down”).
The scene in which O’Brien attempts suicide, and Bashir gently talks him down, is terrific and very emotional.

“Shattered Mirror”

Now we’re talking, as we return to the now-annual DS9 tradition of a Mirror Universe episode. For a long time this was my favorite of the bunch, mostly because of the absolutely kick-ass action sequence at the climax of the episode. These days I think the first one, “Crossover,” still stands as the best, but I still dig the heck out of this episode.
After introducing Mirror Jennifer last season, it’s a great follow-up to allow Jake to meet her. I love the story that follows, with Jake head over heels excited about the chance to spend time with the woman so much like his dead mother, while Ben is angry that Jennifer used Jake to lure him into the Mirror Universe (because Smiley needs Sisko’s knowledge of the Defiant to fix the problems they’re having with their newly-built version) but also still having feelings for the woman who is so much like his wife. This is great stuff.
Jake is well-used in this episode. It’s also cute to see how he misses Nog in the opening — and then how disappointed he is to encounter the unfriendly Mirror Nog. (A Ferengi always dies in these Mirror Universe episode, and so it’s Nog who gets axed this time.)
Mirror Jennifer’s death was sad at the end, but it feels right that Jennifer was doomed even in the Mirror Universe.
I love seeing the Defiant chasing the bird of prey through the rings of the station. And then the climactic “Attack on the Death Star” style assault on Mirror Worf’s huge flagship was extraordinary. It’s exciting to see the show deliver action at this level.
I love seeing Worf channel Captain Picard and growling “Make it so”!
Seeing Worf and Garak together is a hoot (especially when Garak admits that at least he was able to please the Intendant, only for Worf to reply “you’re not my type”). I don’t like the business about the lost key, though, as that makes Worf and the other Klingons too cartoonishly dumb.
It’s fun to see Mirror Bashir and Mirror Jadzia are now getting it on. (It’s also twisted to have Mirror Jadzia confirm that Sisko DID sleep with her in “Through the Looking Glass”.)
There are some plot holes. How on earth did the Terran Rebellion have the resources to construct the Defiant?? Also, at the beginning, Sisko is remarkably casual about Mirror Jennifer’s being on the station. He doesn’t bother to tell anyone, or maybe post a guard or even have someone like Dax stay with her and Jake? He just leaves his son alone with her for hours? That seems like a dumb move.
It’s very funny when Odo criticizes Quark for not having friends, to which Quark replies: “Look who’s talking!”
Rewatching this episode, it’s cool to see how these three Mirror Universe episodes were building an epic story taking place in the Mirror Universe. It’s cool to see how things have developed, with the Terrans having succeeded in kicking the Alliance off of Terok Nor, and the end of this episode clearly leaves the door open for the next chapter, with the Intendant on the loose and Worf swearing vengeance against the rebels. In hindsight, it’s a bummer that the future Mirror Universe episodes never really fulfilled the promise left by the end of this installment. They went smaller, not bigger, and that’s a disappointment. I wish we’d gotten to see the story of the Terran’s ultimate victory on Deep Space Nine. (Instead, the story was told over the course of several great novels, culminating in David Mack’s terrific “Rise Like Lions.”)

“The Muse”

And here we are at the one and only true stinker of the mostly magnificent season four.
It’s cool to see Jake write “Anslem,” the novel we heard about back in “The Visitor,” but that’s about all this episode has going for it. I’m glad the writers chose to give Jake some attention, but this story of a vampire draining his brain while also giving him inspiration as a writer is dead on arrival.
The Lwazana story is almost as bad. I haven’t liked any of the three Lwazana DS9 episodes. Watching Odo put in an embarrassing situation by having to publicly proclaim his love for Lwaxana isn’t my idea of a good time. (Though the great Rene Auberjonois actually does manage to wring some emotion out of that dumb set-up.) The episode’s biggest crime is its waste of the great Michael Ansara (who played Kang on the Original Series and in season two’s “Blood Oath”) and his great voice! His character is a one-dimensional bore. Blech.

“For the Cause”

Now this is what I’m talking about, as this awesome episode kicks off a great run that leads us into the season finale.
It’s fantastic to return to the Maquis story. The set-up of Sisko having to investigate Kassidy Yates as a possible Maquis smuggler is gold. Even better is the cold DS9 ending. You’re expecting that Kassidy is being set up somehow. But no! She actually IS working for the Maquis and she gets arrested at the end! Classic DS9.
Also awesome is the revelation that Eddington, too, is a Maquis agent! Finally the boring Eddington comes to life, and has a purpose on the show. (He’s the face of the Maquis that Sisko’s friend Cal Hudson should have been, as established in “The Maquis” two-parter from season two.) I love how brilliantly Eddington is able to manipulate Sisko into leaving the station to command the Defiant mission. And I adore Eddington’s fiery speech at the end, poking some arguably accurate holes in the facade of the idealized Federation. He is arguably correct that Starfleet is so obsessed with the Maquis because they had the gall to leave the perfect Federation… and that the Federation does have colonistic tendencies. Most in the Federation probably DO hope that even the Cardassians can one day “take their rightful place on the Federation council.” He goes too far when he compares the Federation to the Borg, but otherwise, he presents an arguable position, which is great for a villain. By the way, O’Brien also presents a decent case in support of the Maquis earlier in the episode, which I enjoyed. (After Worf insists that all terrorists are dishonorable, O’Brien retorts “I wouldn’t say that around major Kira if I were you.” Things are not so simply black and white on DS9.)
ALSO awesome: the inspired pairing of Garak and Ziyal! It makes sense that the two Cardassians on the stations would connect with one another. I love seeing them dance around one another. I am so glad neither one has an ulterior motive. (This is especially rare for Garak!) It’s so sweet that, in the end, they’re both just lonely for the company of someone who, maybe, can understand them. I love Ziyal’s speech to Garak at the end. (“…Then I for one would welcome your company. And I get the feeling you would welcome mine.”)
That scene between Sisko and Kassidy, in which he practically begs her not to leave on her cargo run (a Maquis delivery) and instead to run away with him to Risa, is heartbreaking.
I love the scene of Kira threatening Garak, thinking that he has ill intent towards Ziyal. (Quark’s deadpan “you showed her” to Garak after Kira leaves is hilarious.)
Weirdly, this episode gives us the second of three actresses who played Ziyal. She was played by Ciya Batten in “Indiscretion” and “Return to Grace,” but here she’s played by Tracy Middendorf. I’m not sure why they kept recasting the role. Maybe to age Ziyal up a bit? I thought Ciya Batten was fine in her first two appearances, and I really like Tracy Middendorf here. But in her next appearance in season five, and all episodes after that, Ziyal will be played by Melanie Smith (who I also think is great in the role!).

“To the Death”

I love the one-two-punch of “For the Cause” and “To the Death,” two very different episodes spotlighting very different aspects of the ongoing DS9 storyline, but they’re both really solid.
It’s great to dig deeper into the Jem’Hadar with this episode. We see how fierce and dangerous they are, but there’s a nobility too. I love the revelation that they KNEW about the rogue band of Jem’Hadar (that Weyoun was trying to keep secret), but that it doesn’t change their loyalty to the Founders and too their mission. It’s cool to learn how young most Jem’Hadar are. (I love the conversation between the 300-plus year-old Dax and the eight year-old Jem’Hadar!) I love the Jem’Hadar’s “Victory is Life” motto and their whole pre-battle speech: “We are dead… we go into battle to reclaim our lives.” (And, of course, I love O’Brien’s very human version!)
Clarence Williams III is fantastic as the Jem’Hadar first, Omet’iklan. Also great are Brian Thompson as Toman’torax and Scott Haven as Virak’kara. I love how each of these three main Jem’Hadar characters are very distinct individuals!
Jeffrey Combs finally debuts his SECOND major recurring DS9 character (in addition to Brunt): Weyoun! (Yes, recurring, even though Weyoun gets vaporized at the end of the episode!) Combs is SO PERFECT as the slimy, sweet-talking, officious little worm Weyoun. I love his bored delivery of the oath when giving the Jem’Hadar their ration of Ketracil White (in marked contrast to the reverence with which they treat that moment.)
It’s interesting to finally get confirmation that the Vorta (first mentioned in “The Search” Pt. I) are the same species as Eris (from “The Jem’Hadar”) and Borath (from “The Search” Pt II).
I love that the weapon the rogue Jem’Hadar have found is an Iconic Gateway! That’s a wonderful deep-cut reference to TNG (from the 2nd season episode “Contagion”).
Another deep cut reference? They say the rogue Jem’Hadar’s base is made of Neutronium (which is why it can’t be destroyed from orbit) — that’s what the hull of the Doomsday Machine was made of, as per that Original Series episode!
The opening shot of the massive damage to DS9 — an entire pylon destroyed! — is shocking and very cool. But it’s a major flaw of the episode that the story being told doesn’t ever really live up to the magnitude of that opening image. That makes it seem like open conflict with the Dominion has finally begun, but that’s not at all the story this episode is actually telling. It’s a bit of a fake-out, and I don’t love that. (Also, we for sure should have seen that damage being repaired for at least several episodes following this one, but we don’t, which annoys me.)
The episode’s other flaw is that — sort of like season two’s “Blood Oath” — there’s a lot of talking and buildup before the big fight at the end of the episode, and that big fight didn’t quite deliver the spectacle I’d been hoping for. (I’ve always wanted an extended cut of this episode, because I’ve read that it’s the only Trek episode to ever be edited for violence — that they shot a lot more action that didn’t make it into the final episode. That’s a shame.)
I like Dax and O’Brien’s conversation about writing letters to their loved ones before going into combat.
I love Bashir and Worf’s showdown over Worf’s favorite chair in the Defiant mess hall.
I love Worf’s vow to Sisko that if the Jem’Hadar First does carry out his threat to kill Sisko, “he will not live to boast about it.”

“The Quickening”

This is a lovely episode, a wonderful spotlight on Bashir. He goes on a fascinating journey in this episode, as his initial arrogance (that he can come in with his superior knowledge and medical technology and cure the Blight within a few days) is shaken in a shocking way. The scene in which all of his patients die horribly is shocking and surprising.
The ending is particularly lovely, in which Ekoria dies but her baby is born without the Blight. DS9 is tougher Star Trek, which is why I love it. Things don’t always go as smoothly as they did on most of the other shows. (On what other Trek show would all of the doctor’s patients died horribly as Bashir’s do in this episode?) But DS9 is still Star Trek, and it does still tell stories that are uplifting. This episode’s ending strikes a perfect balance. I find it deeply moving.
I love the opening scene with Quark’s ads on the station monitors, and the jingle-playing mug that Worf angrily arrives with. Very funny! (Quark had first floated the idea of displaying his ads on the station’s monitors way back in “The Jem’Hadar”.)
I love the gorgeous matte paintings of the destroyed settlement, and the way they’re able to adjust that to show the area at different times of day as the episode progresses. Over-all, the scale of the episode is wonderful. This is a more visually interesting — and convincing — alien town than many of the ones we’ve seen before. it’s cool to see all those extras in the wide shots — it helps sell the reality.
I really like the character of Trevean, who is presented as an obstacle to Bashir, but thankfully the episode doesn’t paint him as a villain. Michael Sarrazin’s performance is wonderfully understated.
I love hearing about Bashir’s teddy bear, Kukalaka!
It’s crazy to me that Bashir, Dax and Kira are doing a biological survey in the Gamma Quadrant on a teeny runabout. That seems incredibly dangerous.
There’s a comment about the planet’s being “just outside Dominion space” which has always bugged me. How and when did the Federation learn the exact boundaries of Dominion space in the Gamma Quadrant? The Jem’Hadar said in “The Jem’Hadar” that ANY travel through the wormhole would be considered an act of war! As I’ve commented before, why wouldn’t the Dominion have quickly conquered the space around the GQ terminus of the wormhole, if they didn’t control it before? It’s never worked for me that the writers ignored the declaration in “The Jem’Hadar” and created this idea that Dominion Space did not encompass the Gamma Quadrant terminus of the wormhole, so they could tell stories like this one.
Other plot holes: it doesn’t make sense to me that the little Runabout’s sensors could detect the Jem’Hadar ship at the beginning — but somehow the Jem’Hadar’s sensors weren’t powerful enough to detect the Runabout? How could that be? Then at the end, they leave Julian and tell him two transmit a message to the station when he’s ready to be picked up. But wouldn’t the Jem’Hadar be able to intercept that signal? It would have been better if they’d just agreed on a time — maybe a month later? — for them to come back and check on him.

“Body Parts”

This is a great Quark story. As in “Bar Association,” I like when these Ferengi stories are treated as dramas rather than comedies. It’s great to see Brunt again (Jeffrey Combs killing it, so soon after meeting his OTHER great DS9 character, Weyoun, in “To the Death”). I love his scheme to get revenge on Quark. (Frankly I’m surprised Ferengi aren’t doing that sort of thing to one another all the time!) I guess it IS a little much that Worf, Garak, AND now Quark are ALL exiles from their people… but I don’t fault this episode too much for that.
I love how Quark, even though he sees himself as a staunch supporter of Ferengi values (in contrast to how he sees Rom and Nog), nevertheless has a very different worldview than Brunt. I love Quark’s line “We’re businessmen, we’re not Klingons.” I love how proud Quark is at the idea of being a Ferengi businessman. I love how joyous Quark is, at the start of the episode, when he thinks he’s going to die a (financial) winner. (And how excited he later is, when he finds out he’s not dying, to be able to sue his doctor for malpractice!)
I love how, to the Ferengi, “philanthropist” is a nasty word.
I love that the show gives us another dream! This time it’s Quark’s dream of the Divine Treasury (the Ferengi afterlife). It’s fun to see Rom (Max Grodénchik) as the first Grand Nagus, Gint. I love how Gint tells Quark that the Rules of Acquisition are just guide-posts. This is yet another worldview, different from Quark’s or Brunt’s.
It’s a joy to see Quark actually struck speechless at the end of the episode.
As for the loony idea that Kira is now carrying Keiko’s baby… well, it’s certainly an interesting way to deal with Nana Visitor’s real-life pregnancy! (The father was Alexander Siddig, who played Dr. Bashir!)

“Broken Link”

Another very solid DS9 season finale that is a stand-alone episode (rather than a “to be continued” cliffhanger) that nevertheless ends on a terrifically exciting note that propels us into the next season.
It’s great to see the repercussions of Odo’s killing of a changeling in the season 3 finale, “The Adversary.” It’s great to see the Female Changeling again, and to see the new Founders’ homeworld. (There seem to be a LOT more Founders here, as the sea of Changelings extends beyond the horizon!)
I never got too excited about the plot twist of Odo’s being turned into a solid, though it is an interesting next step for the character (and thankfully wouldn’t last for too long). (I like that they note that Odo will need to get himself an actual uniform, since his previous uniform has always been part of his own body!)
Of course, the cliffhanger that Odo reveals that Gowron is a Changeling is a doozy! I love that moment!
It’s great to see Gowron again, albeit only on viewscreens. I like the way this episode, while focusing on Odo’s story, still gives us a taste of the larger interstellar situation, and how the season-long simmering conflict with the Klingons is now boiling over.
As I have commented in other episodes, I don’t understand why Odo retains his humanoid form when he loses consciousness (as he does when he passes out in Garak’s shop at the start of the episode.)
Those two scenes with the buxom Bajoran woman that bookend the episode are annoying to me. I don’t find that actress at all compelling.
I love Worf’s comment when he hears Garak wants to board the Defiant: “Tell him the ship is off limits to Cardassian spies.” It makes sense that Worf has zero tolerance for Garak, unlike the other DS9 residents who have known him longer.
I love Garak’s line: “If there’s one thing Cardassians excel at, it’s conversation!” Indeed!
I like Quark’s quiet comment to Odo, “Then you ARE coming back.” It’s nice to see that nod to their strange friendship.
I love the scene in which the Female Changeling rips Garak a new one, declaring that “Cardassia is dead.” That is harsh! (And ominous!)
I like the visual effects shots of the Defiant surrounded by Jem’Hadar warships.
It’s funny when Bashir almost absentmindedly throws a rock into the sea of Changelings.
This episode refers to “Dominion Space” within the Gamma Quadrant. See my comment on this point in my notes for “The Quickening.”
The show usually allows characters like Quark and Garak to get away with all of their misdeeds — so it’s nice to see that Garak is sentenced to six months in a holding cell for his attempt to sabotage the Defiant.

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