With huge fleets of Jem'Hadar ships coming through the wormhole with regularity -- ostensibly to protect Cardassia -- it's clear the Dominion will soon have an overwhelming force in the Alpha Quadrant. The Starfleet response, to mine the entrance to the wormhole and prevent any more ships from coming through, escalates the situation to a point of no return. A Jem'Hadar armada sets course for Deep Space Nine, intent on seizing control of the station.
When this episode originally aired in 1997, no one in the audience would have been surprised that it ended on a cliffhanger. But few could have conceived of a story that wouldn't be resolved in the following season's premiere. In retrospect, though, it's clear to see that the writers were thinking in longer terms, using this episode not just to tease one question (like "Can we get Picard back from the Borg, or is he dead?") but to maneuver all the characters into situations with dramatic potential to be explored, over multiple episodes.
At a macro level, the Starfleet characters are all set up for a "Star Trek: Defiant" show, while the rest are left on what Dukat pointedly re-christens "Terok Nor." But there are curve balls thrown within this framework. Worf is paired with Martok -- this time without Dax, to add more heft to her decision to marry Worf once they're reunited. Jake stays behind rather impulsively to do journalism from the front lines (in the plot thread the writers would ultimately have the hardest time paying off in an organic way). Garak must flee the wrath of Dukat, casting his lot with the Starfleet people he's grudgingly grown to trust, and bidding goodbye to Ziyal. (We're told he's grown close with her, though that romance feels forced -- perhaps largely because the writers had been writing him as implicitly gay before this point.)
Among the characters who aren't split from each other, interesting conflicts are put into play. Kira and Odo agree to set aside for a later time the revelation of his love for her (a love the normally perceptive Dax admits she never picked up on). Rom returns to work for his brother (nominally as a spy cover), with Quark's disdain for Rom's impulsive wedding to Leeta hanging over it all. Weyoun and Dukat are shown to be strained allies, Weyoun choking Dukat's chain where Dukat barely perceives a chain at all. They in turn have opposing dynamics with our regular characters: Weyoun deferential to Odo, as Dukat preens for a disdainful Kira.
So much of this is set up for next season, but that doesn't mean there aren't great moments here in this episode itself. The confrontation between Weyoun and Sisko is delicious, each offering lies they know the other sees right through. Sisko has another interesting scene early on with his own son, whose recent news article doesn't paint him in the best light. Rom and Leeta do get married (though elements of this story clang of chauvinism today -- his taste in wedding dresses, his paraphrasing of Casablanca when he sends Leeta away). Kira's "official protest" from her government is delivered with wonderful sarcasm by Nana Visitor. And Avery Brooks is great in his speech to the people of the station, telling them how the place has become his home.
There are also spectacular visuals throughout. Though some snippets of the space battle are lifted from previous episodes, there are plenty of great new shots with fine details including dozens of ships and lots of debris. The explosions in Ops when Kira triggers the station sabotage are appropriately epic. Plus, of course, a great image with no visual effects at all: Sisko's baseball, left behind on his desk as a message Dukat correctly picks up on.
It is, in fact, such a stuffed episode that some moments which might have been quite nice to see remain off-screen, including O'Brien's farewell to his family, and whatever speech Sisko gives the Bajoran Council of Ministers that convinces them to sign a non-aggression pact with the Dominion. Still, show runner Ira Steven Behr and his most frequent writing partner, Robert Hewitt Wolfe (who left the series after this episode) really do juggle all the elements well.
Other observations:
- It's fun to see Rom participate in an old-fashioned Star Trek technobabble brainstorm, leading to the creating of "self-replicating mines." (Side note: I know our regulars are the good guys, of course -- but the use of mines is generally considered to be a war crime, right?)
- Jake helping Bashir prep the Infirmary for casualties is a nice echo of their previous wartime experience.
- The weapons of Jem'Hadar ships have previously been so powerful that a line of dialogue needed to be wedged in here to note that Starfleet shields must have been improved somehow. There does need to be a fight of it now, after all.
The previous season of Deep Space Nine, season four, included a couple of my favorites of the entire series. But season five was more consistently strong, and had plenty of greats. My picks for the top five are "Trials and Tribble-ations," "Nor the Battle to the Strong," "The Assignment," "Children of Time," and the finale "Call to Arms."
Next up, season six: the most serialized storytelling on the series yet, some very effective breaks from the usual format, and lasting changes for the main characters and their relationships.
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