When Odo contracts an apparent virus, he's left with no choice but to seek the help of the Founders. But the price will be high; Odo has killed another changeling, something that has never before happened among the shapeshifters, and they now plan to pass judgment on him for this crime.
Star Trek has a proud (and impactful) history of season-ending cliffhangers, but they're all generally resolved with the first episode back in the next season. While that's true here in part (the plot thread of Gowron being a changeling infiltrator), what's far more notable is how Odo's story is treated. His people turn him into a solid (an especially "cruel" punishment, their leader notes), and this is a change built to last for some time. The writers planned to leave him this way for "five or six" episodes of the next season... a span that ended up stretching for a dozen episodes.
This is quite a dramatic change for a main character, a true risk for the series to take. But already, this episode demonstrates that the writers are going to make the most of it. Much of this story is built to emphasize Odo's sense of self, which he seems to define in two main ways. First is the strength that comes from his identity as a shapeshifter, which this episode erodes even before stripping it away completely. Odo doesn't know (and Bashir can't tell him) whether his inability to hold his shape is a virus or something as common as changeling puberty or menopause. He can't stand to be seen as weakened by his affliction -- a fact recognized by both Worf (in a sort of "game respect game" way) and Sisko (who assigns Garak to keep him company, not a friend, knowing the Cardassian won't coddle him).
The second pole of Odo's identity is his work. Kira recognizes this when she brings him crime reports during his stay in the infirmary. He's so driven to work that he gets up from his sick bed and collapses in a puddle of goo (with a creepy hand reaching out). Justice is so important to him that he refuses any efforts from his friends to help him escape judgement by the Founders. And as he poignantly confides in Sisko at the end of the episode, his work is all he has left afterward.
There's a great union of actor, makeup, and costume in presenting this story. Odo's gradual degradation is painfully apparent in his stilted movements and his melted-wax appearance. The latter is achieved with a substance called Methicil; at a Star Trek convention, I once saw Rene Auberjonois claim his "drippy face" affect was achieved with the same substance used to make fast food milkshakes thick (uh.... yum?), but this seems to be something different. It looks vaguely edible, though; my husband compared it to a Nailed It! cake.
Although this is very much an Odo story, Garak has a significant role in the episode too. His quest to find survivors from Enabran Tain's attack on the Founders is shut down by their leader in the most chilling terms imaginable (basically: "they're all dead, and you soon will be too"). That quest then pivots to vengeance, which he's so eager to get that he's willing to die for it -- and to physically fight Worf when words alone can't convince the Klingon to help. Ultimately, we're told Garak will be spending six months in a holding cell for what he attempts here, a nice statement that as bad as the things he and others like Quark try, there will sometimes be consequences for them.
There are also a few moments of comedy for O'Brien and Kira, following up on the "pregnancy swap" of the previous episode. Other small nods to continuity include a mention of Dr. Mora, and a new homeworld for the Founders -- an even more desolate and alien environment than their last home.
Other observations:
- Although the writers did plan to leave Odo human for a time, not all their plans here worked out. The Bajoran woman Garak tries to set him up with in this episode was meant to be a long-term romantic interest -- explaining why she gets so much screen time. But upon seeing the finished episode, the writers decided the character wasn't the right fit for Odo, and they abandoned those plans.
- Kira's pregnancy sneezing is the broadest comedy of the episode, but I think the most effective humor is in a much more subtle moment, when Sisko stops Bashir from skipping a stone across an ocean of changelings.
- Some of the most tender moments Odo experiences in this episode come from his "enemies." Quark's goodbye to him conveys genuine concern, while Garak helps him to see the bright sides of becoming a solid -- experiences he'll now get to have for the first time.
Overall, I found season four of Deep Space Nine to be roughly on par with the also strong season three. But the standout episodes of the year were especially notable, among the series' best. My picks for the top five episodes of season four are: "The Visitor," "Hard Time," "The Way of the Warrior," "Our Man Bashir," and "Broken Link."
On to season five -- featuring a human Odo, a pregnant Kira, a loving homage to the original Star Trek, and the true beginning of the Dominion War.
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