A dormant Cardassian program in the station's computer is triggered, locking down Deep Space Nine as though in response to a revolt by Bajoran prisoners. The crew must race against the clock to regain control, but it won't be easy with everyone divided by force fields and counter measures. And matters get worse when the real Gul Dukat arrives to gloat and exploit the situation for personal gain.
This episode reportedly was one of the hardest to craft of the entire season, though the results don't seem particularly troubled. The writers were looking for an idea that would be more action-oriented, and were also looking for a "bottle" show that could be produced on existing sets (and thus be cheaper to produce). They thought they'd found both things in a pitch from outside writer Mike Krohn, who suggested the rough "man-vs.-machine" angle of the story. Though once the staff was working on it, they found it hard to get at any emotional level to the situation.
Virtually every DS9 writer took a run at the script. Then, with filming about to start (and producer Michael Piller still unsatisfied), they carved the story up in pieces and worked on it all together. They subdivided the characters much like in the Next Generation's "Disaster," and that finally did the trick. Characters aren't even necessarily put together in "odd couples," yet the small groups still give each of them a chance to shine.
Ben and Jake Sisko get to show how their father/son relationship holds up under pressure. This is a subconscious reminder that Jake has lived through tough things, and Ben doesn't need to shield or coddle him in a crisis. Jake is active in solving problems, and never buckles to stress. Why Jake is still apprenticing with O'Brien when he's already stated that he doesn't want to join Starfleet is an unanswered question, but O'Brien did need to be used somewhere -- and keeping him out of Ops works best for this story.
Odo and Quark are an obvious but fun pairing. Forcing them into proximity starts off predictably with jokes and barbs (which do work; Quark having higher Cardassian security clearance than Odo is a funny idea). Ultimately, their story moves into more serious territory, with each paying a heartfelt compliment to the other during the crisis... before reverting to their cynical norm at the end.
Bashir and Dax make for another obvious pairing -- though how their story line plays out isn't quite so obvious. This might be the moment when Bashir's rehabilitation as a character is finally complete. He started out brash, unlikable, and skeevy. Bit by bit, we saw professionalism replace his naivete, and a friendship with O'Brien that showed he could be likeable. Now, at last, his distasteful lust for Jadzia Dax is put behind him. He's trapped with her for hours and doesn't try to play the situation for romance. (Though perhaps him commenting on this isn't quite necessary?)
That's not to say there isn't lecherous behavior on display in this episode. The writers had felt like Dukat had been too friendly in recent appearances, and so deliberately set out to make him more villainous in this episode. His arrival on the scene is the moment that really separates this plot from "Disaster," and the joy he takes in the situation is great. He feuds with Garak, knocks Sisko's baseball off the desk, and tries to extort Kira. All properly villainous.
He also flirts with Kira. This too is villainous... and the writers seem not to be aware of just how much. In a throwaway comedic moment, we see that Cardassian flirting takes the form of pompous posturing (well... for Dukat, it does) as he makes a pass at Kira. Garak calls him out, but from this scene, the writers would ultimately begin toying with the idea of putting Kira and Dukat in a relationship together.
Nana Visitor rightly shut that shit down. Knowing her own character better than anyone, she strongly lobbied against it, pointing out that Dukat's role in the occupation, to Kira, made him "Hitler." As Visitor explained in an interview: "She's not ever going to get over that. She can never forgive him, and that is important to me. Kira may have started to see Cardassians as individuals, but she will always hate Dukat." And while her argument won in the long run, she still wished this moment hadn't gone by so lightly: "I would have liked my character to make the point that only a few years earlier, Dukat's wanting me would have meant that he could have had me, and I wouldn't have been able to do a thing about it."
Dukat does at least get something of a comeuppance in the episode, though. His gloating backfires, and his own program turns on him when he's perceived to be fleeing the station. This is another great moment where the jeopardy deepens. Unfortunately, though, we never really get to see Dukat eat crow. Once the program is actually disabled, the episode ends on Odo and Quark. We never get back to Ops to see Dukat lamely return to his ship, defeated.
Indeed, the climax of the episode is generally a bit of a letdown next to the rest of the episode. After layer upon layer of great escalating danger, the final minutes are resolved in a thick cloud of technobabble. That, and a lot of people moving far too slowly too convey any of the urgency their situation deserves.
Other observations:
- Even though Garak has already revealed himself to be an exiled Cardassian spy, he still has fun playing the "is he / isn't he?" game, pretending not to know where everything is in Ops. Indeed, he seems to be having a fun time in general this episode, needling Dukat at every opportunity.
- Quark first mentions his cousin Gaila, who owns a moon. We'd meet the character in person in later seasons.
- Odo's new third season belt disappears in this episode. Rene Auberjonois had lobbied for the costume change after "Crossover," but ultimately felt that the belt only worked in the darker color of that mirror universe costume. Seeing it with his regular beige, he thought it looked "Buck Rogers-y," so he asked to change back.
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