Synopsis: Garak and Worf investigate a message which suggests that Cardassian spymaster Enabran Tain is still alive. Upon their arrival, not only do they find Tain, but also General Martok… and someone they did not expect. The crew tries to defend the Alpha Quadrant from the invading Dominion fleet; Worf, Garak, and the other prisoners prepare to escape from the Dominion Internment Camp.

Memory Alpha Summary:  Got it Done

Dax: [of the Dominion ships] There sure are a lot of them.
Kira: That’ll just make it harder for us to miss

Oh boy have they been building up to this two-parter, and it’s glorious from start to finish. That Tain is Garak’s father makes perfect sense and puts together a lot of pieces from previous episodes. But beyond that convenient resolution, there’s just so much character development here. Worf finally gets to kick some ass, beating up one Jem’Hadar soldier after another. In fact, it makes you wonder why he was so useless on the Enterprise. But most importantly, Gul Dukat does a heel turn and becomes the ultra villain he’s been teasing at for years, becoming the Hitler to the evil succubus of the Dominion. Oh, and Gowron is now back on the Federation’s side again?  Oh man, I just love every twist and turn here. I was never that comfortable with Gowron’s sudden turn against the Federation given how much he owed to the Federation for his ascension in the first place. This feels right. 

The only criticism, and it’s mild, is that Julian being a Changeling on DS9 feels a bit too much like they forced it in there, especially since they really didn’t drop any hints in the past couple episodes. Apparently, the writers were afraid to drop hints, but it would have been more satisfying if they had. 

And that’s a wrap. Hopefully the few of you who followed along enjoyed reading this.

Synopsis: After a Cardassian man arrives on the station suffering from an illness that he could only have contracted at a Bajoran labor camp during the Occupation. Major Kira leads an investigation to determine whether he is actually a notorious war criminal.

Memory Alpha Summary:  The screaming of the lambs

Review: It only took sixteen episodes, but Gul Dukat finally comes back to play. Unfortunately, Garak is nowhere in sight, given a disappointing singular episode in season one. The star of this episode, though, is another Cardassian. A marvelous performance by Harris Yulin as the personality changing prisoner. I was caught a bit off guard by the ending, which is quite powerful.

Synopsis: Sisko takes an untested Starfleet warship into the Gamma Quadrant in an attempt to find the Founders of the Dominion. On his homeworld, Odo learns about his people while back on the station, Sisko discovers that the price the Federation is willing to pay for peace with the Dominion may be too high; The Founders learn that the only way they are going to take over the Alpha Quadrant is through war.

Memory Alpha Summary:  DS9’s version of Q Who

Review: Another episode that shows how much better the writing is on DS9 versus TNG. Allowing use of a warship and a cloak makes perfect sense, given the Federation’s apparent weaknesses in firepower compared to nearly every major race in the Alpha and Gamma quadrant. It also gives the special effects people more fun and makes space battles in the show more tense. I wish they had been able to keep the Romulan T’Rul on board the Defiant, as a Romulan character whose motivation isn’t solely “destroy the Federation” would have been nice.

Synopsis: When a Klingon fleet under General Martok arrives at the station ostensibly to protect the Alpha Quadrant from the Dominion, Sisko recruits Lieutenant Commander Worf to discover the Klingons’ true intentions.

Memory Alpha Summary:  Michael Dorn finally gets to have fun

Review: After sputtering to the finish line in season 3, DS9 needed to make a statement in season 4. And they produced the goddamn Gettysburg address. This episode could have easily been “The show where they brought back Worf,” but it transcends that to be one of the best episodes of the series. 

Synopsis: With mounting losses in the Federation-Dominion war, and the specter of defeat, Captain Sisko enlists Garak’s help to “persuade” the Romulans to join the Federation/Klingon alliance to win the war. However Sisko soon learns that to save the Federation he may have to betray the values it stands for.

Memory Alpha Summary:  Dance with the devil

Review: This one reminded me of Suspicions, where Beverly narrates her stupid decisions that nearly ended her career, but in the nick of time everything works out fine and she’s exonerated because ends justify the means. 

Synopsis: Experiencing a vision from the Prophets, Sisko sees himself as Benny Russell, a science-fiction writer in the 1950s, who struggles with civil rights and inequality when he writes the story of Captain Benjamin Sisko, a black commander of a futuristic space station.

Memory Alpha Summary:  Where no Star Trek had gone before

Review: Now this is DS9’s Inner Light.  It’s a little light on exposition, which is saying something, but the allegory is impressive. I found this to be quite moving, no doubt enhanced by watching it for the first time during the third year of the Trump presidency.

Synopsis: An attempt on Quark’s life re-opens a five-year-old murder investigation.

Memory Alpha Summary:  And not shrug emoji you’d expect

Review: A brilliant episode in nearly every way. Odo’s narration deepens his character and sets up the flashbacks very well. We learn more about what DS9 was like when the Cardassians ran it. We get to see how Odo became security in the first place. And then we get the bomb drop, which is that Kira murdered somebody and has been withholding that info for years. Of course, it was a time of war, so it’s not exactly murder; yet, Kira has been hiding that info, which implies that in her mind, it was more than just a casualty of war. The deeper relationship between Odo and Kira gets its start here.