Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Season Four DVD Review

Posted by Scott Rutherford on 04.04.2009

Changelings, Klingons, chicks kissing chicks, suicide, Ferengi Unions and an out of control Odo...this is the season of everything!

Welcome again to my run through all seven season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. As I said way back at season one, the first three seasons were rather hit or miss and for the most part I was pleasantly surprised that the quality of the show was much higher than I originally thought. Whether by planning or providence, they managed to set up this show and really let the writers swing for the fences from the start of season four on.

Probably the biggest change for DS9 leading into this season was the fact the TNG had finished its run so the writers brought over Worf from that show as a way of bringing over some die hard TNG fans who had avoided DS9 thus far. Ultimately the ploy didn’t work but I think even the most stout-hearted Next Gen fans would agree that in the four seasons Worf was on DS9 managed to make that character much richer and diverse but that’s all to come.

One of the great things that set DS9 apart from others is that they never leave you with an end of season cliff hanger. Certainly they tell a story that leaves you wanting the next season to start straight away but those episodes in of themselves are tied off. Last year saw a dying shape shifter, mortally wounded by Odo and thus being the first changeling to harm another, give the ominous warning that shape shifters are everywhere in the Alpha Quadrant and they’re already creating havoc.


The Way Of The Warrior
The Klingons have been hanging around DS9 generally making a nuisance of themselves. When information isn’t forth coming as to why a) They’re hanging about the station and b) they seem to be overly aggressive in their behavior, the newly bald Benjamin Sisko recalls advice he was given in the past, the only people that know how to deal with Klingons are Klingons. Cue Worf, Son of Mough. At a loose end since the destruction of the Enterprise at the conclusion of the TNG film Generations, Worf is re-assigned to see if he can solved the riddle. After taking the honor of General Martok’s son, Worf speaks to an old family friend and discovers Chancellor Gowron believes a changeling has infiltrated Cardassia and is in control of the government sighting proof of the new civilian government and the Klingon Empire must invade and make things right. When Worf “betrays” the Empire and sides with the Federation during the Klingon attack his family is stripped of its honor, seat on the cancel and all assets seized. Since the Federation sides with Cardassia and helps repel the Klingon attack, Gowron dissolves the peace treaty and threatens all involved that the Klingon Empire is ready fight anyone who’s up for it. Seeing as DS9 is right in the firing line between Cardassia and The Klingon Empire Worf gets promoted from security to command slides into a post at DS9.(8.5/10)

Huge opening double episode. Nice master stroke breaking the Klingon/Federation treaty and making these two sides at odds again. Using Dominion paranoia fits into the information provided last year that the Founders are using a “divide and conquer from the inside” strategy in the battle over the wormhole. I LOVE the idea of Worf becoming a fulltime member of the cast and now he’s pretty much a ghost in the eyes of the Klingon Empire it will be interesting to see how Worf reacts to being on DS9 as opposed to the orderly Enterprise and in general being completely outside his comfort zone. Worf, if anyone, is a creature of habit. People have labeled the start of season four as a reset but really, it’s the logical extension of what season three was and while this was more action based it was still the characters that were driving the story. That is very DS9, no matter what the setting.

The Visitor
When an accident aboard the Defiant kills Sisko in front of Jake, he’s all by himself to grieve his loss. However one night not long after the accident Sisko appears in front of Jake for a few seconds then vanishes again. Thinking it’s a figment of his imagination; Jake brushes it aside until a year later Sisko re-appears once more but this time for longer. Jake takes him to the infirmary and it’s discovered Sisko didn’t die but in fact was made out of phase with the rest of the universe. He vanishes once more and Jake is driven from the station when the Klingons take it over. He settles down to life as a successful writer and just when shit is getting good for him, Ben reappears. This sends Jake into a tail spin as he quits writing and begins studying Quantum Mechanics in the hopes of saving his father. Soon it becomes his obsessions and his wife leaves him and after a failed attempt at reversing the original accident fails, Jake realizes that Ben keeps getting dragged back into reality because he’s been linked with Jake. So the next time Ben appears, Jakes kills himself breaking the link and reverting Ben back to the time of the original accident except he knows what is about to happen and saves himself. (10/10)

It’s not often a show gets so universally praised from outside of the Trek diehards but this episode garnered a lot of attention for the quality of acting and story. The calling card of DS9 has always been adding a believable element to unbelievable stories based on the fact that the characters are people we care about and remain very much human. This is a perfect example. Jake has always been portrayed as being a relatively normal teenager that loves his Dad and doesn’t want to be part of Star Fleet. Playing this story out through his eyes makes it all the more intimate and real even though the actual plot is pretty silly. I must mention that older Jake was played by oft-Trek guest star Tony Todd who managed to tone down his usual menacing persona and gives a bitingly, bittersweet portrayal of a grown man who lost the most important person to him so young. Massive props all round for this show and it’s the first DS9 episode I have given the full 10 too.


Hippocratic Oath
Bashir and O’Brien crash onto a planet that is home to a platoon of Jem’Hadar soldiers. Goran’Agar who leads the squad has managed to become independent from the Ketracel-white used by the founders to keep them inline and he asks Bashir to help find a way to help the others to lose the dependence on the drug. O’Brien is dead set against it and clashes heavily with Julian who believes he is honor bound by his doctors oath to help any living creature. While Goran slowly evolves his own personal values system that is at odds with the Jem’Hadar way, Julian’s failure to provide a cure slowly sets the other soldiers on edge and they slowly lose faith in Goran and want to kill Bashir and O’Brien. Goran helps them escape as Julian and Miles suddenly have a fracture in their once solid friendship.(7/10)

This is good Trek. These shows are always at their best when asking tough moral questions and the beauty of this episode was the fact that you can say Bashir and O’Brien were both right and justifiable for any of their actions. The fact the writers managed to resolves the storyline without resorting to maudlin tricks or compromising the essence of each character makes it all the more satisfying. While this isn’t a fantastic episode it is what DS9 does best and it wins over in spades. I also loved the b-story of Worf clashing with Odo about how to run security on the station and Worf getting his tail cut. It may seem funny that DS9 choose to break past the hard outer facade of Worf but I saw more character redevelopment in the episode for him than in any one season of TNG.

Indiscretion
Recently found remains of an old Cardassian ship, The Ravinok, carrying Bajoran prisoners of war prior to the end of The Occupation leads Kira to believe there might still be survivors. Word gets to Cardassia and suddenly Gul Dukat wants in on the search. They track the wreckage to the Dozaria system and find the crashed ship on one of the systems desert planets. We soon discover that Dukat had a Bajoran mistress aboard whom he managed to have a daughter with, Tora Ziyal! They soon track the survivors to a mining operation run by the Breen as Kira learns Dukat plans to kill Ziyal because it will mean the end of his standing in Cardassia if his indiscretion is revealed. After a battle to free the prisoners, Kira helps Dukat have a crisis of morality and he takes Ziyal back with him and damn the consequences.(7/10)

This show gets a fair bit if hate around the traps but it’s usually about one scene between Kira and Dukat that so forced it’s an embarrassment. Remove that scene and you have a good episode that starts introducing wrinkles into Dukat’s character that even has Kira second guessing herself. The fallout from the shows developments will open up a range of arcs that get explored as Ziyal becomes another great supporting character on this show in a long line of them.


Rejoined
A contingent of Trill scientists come to DS9 which causes a stir when one of the Dax symbionts ex-partners (Kahn) arrives on the station. Trill law it prohibits joined Trills from associating with old family and friends from past lives because the feelings run deep. Everyone is a little nervous and with good reason, as Dax and Kahn spend more time together the fire inside starts to burn hotter. Dax is willing to give it all up while Kahn, who was initially for it, backs out. Dax loses Kahn again.(9/10)

I purposely did a very brief overview of this episode because without doubt, it remains the most controversial DS9 episode and only second after TOS interracial tonsil hockey in full Trek history. What I failed to mention was that when Dax was originally with Kahn, she was a male and the Kahn that shows up on DS9 is female. This means that this Trill love story is between two females and holy shit, when they kissed the geek world nearly exploded! What makes this episode so unique is the fact that sex is never referenced and it’s purely played on emotion making it a great love story on its own without playing on cheap heat to sell the episode. Double kudos for Avery Brookes and his direction of this episode as he never overplayed his hand. Great stuff all round.


Starship Down
The Defiant is secretly in the Gamma Quadrant trying to smooth out a trade agreement with the Karemma after Quark gets caught fiddling the book. Suddenly the Jem’Hadar attacks both the Defiant and the Karemma ship and they seek refuge in a nearby gas giant. The Jem’Hadar takes the upper hand when they nearly decimate the Defiant leaving Ben near death and Worf commanding the ship from engineering. After some serious cat and mouse games, Worf manages to save them and the Karemma and blow up the Jem’Hadar. (8/10)

This show has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. I liked how they managed to split off the crew being trapped in different parts of the ship undergoing their own issue. Especially worthy was the Kira/Ben interaction as she tends to the dying Captain who just happens to be a religious icon on her planet and finally breaking down the wall they have between them has been long overdue. Special mention to Julian and Dax being caught together and huddling for warmth when Jadzia lets slip she liked Julian chasing her. The smugness from Bashir is priceless. Worf’s development as a leader of men continues as he learns from O’Brien about man management and getting the best out of his crew. However, the cake belong to Quark as he bonds with the Karemma trade negotiator (noted Trek sympathizer and ever awesome, James Cromwell) with both learning a thing or two. Fun all round with character development out the ying yang.


Little Green Men
Quark finally receives a long promised ship from his cousin Gayla and offers to transport Nog to Earth as he begins his training as a Star Fleet cadet. But Quark being Quark, he’s actually using this as a chance to smuggle some kemocite which cause no end of trouble when the ship malfunctions and Rom uses it to stop it and inadvertently throws the ship back to July 1947 on Earth. The three Ferengi are being held in a military installation and we quickly learn they are the crashed UFO at Roswell! After some cross cultural clashes, Quark attempting to take over Earth and Odo as a stow away saving the day, the four gather back into the ship and make like heck back to their own time and space. (7.5/10)

This show was tremendous. Obvious contrivances aside, splicing Star Trek into Roswell is such an obvious idea I’m surprised it hasn’t been done sooner. You can also tell the cast and creators had fun recreating the image of what the time was like right down to the cancerous waves of cigarette smoke and the nudge-nudge-wink-wink references to sci-fi terminology of the day. While ultimately this episode has no effect on the DS9 world, it was fun from go to woe and it includes my favorite character moments (Worf’s purchase of Nog tooth sharpener) and the most inside joke ever (Nog remarking that Gabrielle Bell looks a lot like Sisko) in any Trek show.

The Sword of Kahless
Kor makes a return to DS9 as he tells Dax he has found the location of the long lost sword of Kahless. Worf wants in on the action and they set off and indeed find the sword. Kor and Worf start to be blinded by history and threaten to kill each other while Dax plays level head and points out that two honorable warriors like themselves couldn’t possess the sword without it becoming violent, the Klingon Empire would stand no chance. They all agree to beam it into space until such time the Klingon race is ready.(5/10)

While having Kor on my screen is always a welcome distraction, this story was a little too silly for my tastes and smelled a little like an old TNG plot recycled for DS9. I mean, no true Klingon would give up the honor of returning the Sword of Kahless to the home world and it would have made more sense of Worf to step back due to his standing in the Klingon Empire and let Kor take the honor. However, much like the silly cloning of Kahless episode on TNG, this is best left unmentioned and only redeemed by John Colicos as Kor and his antics on the station.

Our Man Bashir
While Julian and Garak are rocking a Bond-like holosuite program a shuttle carrying Sisko, Dax, Worf, Kira and O’Brien runs into a little problem and when Odo and Eddington try to beam them out, things go haywire and they are forced to stash the transporter patterns in the station memory core by dumping a large chunk of programming. It soon becomes apparent that the signatures have integrated themselves into Bashir’s holo-program as they all assume characters in the story. They are unable to end the program until the crew is extracted from the holosuite buffers and furthermore, all the safeties are off! Since Julian can’t follow the story he has to improvise a new ending and just before Bashir is to get killed, the others are extracted onto the Defiant and all’s well.(7.5/10)

Being no one’s fool, the DS9 creators lined this one up at the same time the Bond franchise was revamped and Goldeneye was released at cinemas. DS9 however, played this for giggles as the cast sent up every Bond cliché along the way with Garak cracking wise the whole time pointing out how seriously stupid it all is. And this is the key to the episode. Much like the mirror universe episodes, watching the cast ham it up was fantastic fun and the banter between Julian and Garak selling every point along the way. It’s easy to sweep aside the silly plot which only served as a contrivance to the main set-up because the show itself is such a hoot.

Homefront
The Dominion threat hits close to home as a bomb planted on Earth by a Founder kills 27 people in an act that hasn’t happened on Earth in over a century. Star Fleet enlists Sisko and Odo to help investigate and it soon becomes apparent that more Changelings are around Paranoia starts to run wild and this plays out mainly between Sisko and his father Joseph who runs a restaurant on Earth. When orders come down that relatives of all high ranking officers are to be blood tested to see if t hey are changelings, Ben and Joseph face off as Joe flat out refuses to do the test and when Joseph cuts himself and bleeds, you see Ben expecting to see the blood morph back into changeling goo. Odo explains that this is what his people do, pick at and undermine a society and watch it crumble under its own weight. When a planet wide black out leaves Earth defenseless, the President of the Federation declares martial law as the episode ends on a cliffhanger.(9/10)

While the writers have only hinted at the Dominion for most of series four so far, they play their hand very strongly here making the Dominion a credible threat to the whole of Star Fleet. It’s all good and well to have say, the Romulans, threatening but they are only ever encountered in deep space. With the writers placing this story on Earths doorstep the Dominion have created havoc where even the Borg had trouble and it didn’t take very much to get Earth in a panic. As I have said before, DS9 uses its characters to play out the bigger themes but on a smaller scale making it seem more real and intimate. The interaction of Sisko and his father perfectly summed up the paranoia that the rest of Earth was feeling but we had an emotional investment because we knew the characters. Enlisting veteran actor Brock Peters (To Kill a Mockingbird) was a masterstroke as he has obvious chemistry with Avery Brookes and even the dialogue that focuses on the mundane of everyday life works because they play for realism. Can I give this show a big enough blow job?

Paradise Lost
After investigating the power outage Sisko discovers that the Dominion did not cause this but Admiral Leyton using gun cadets, planned the whole thing to wrest control from the President and implement martial law and other security steps he deems necessary to protect earth from Dominion attack. Leyton is a friend and mentor to Ben so he’s conflicted about his loyalties to him and doing what he thinks is right. When the Defiant faces off against the Leyton controlled USS Lakota, it’s up to Worf and Captain Benteen (Leyton’s booster) to make some independent decisions about who is right and wrong. When Leyton realizes Benteen is no longer on his side, he gives up his post and Earth is finally restored to normal, if not a little shaken by the recent events. (8/10)

Like most two parters, this episode suffered from what the writers couldn’t do, namely fuck with the established story arcs or kill a major character to develop things further. While this hamstrings things a little, you can’t deny that while things went by the obvious route, it was done so well it didn’t matter. The resolve was satisfying as questions were raised and answers given in DS9’s usual murky way. However, the best part was when a shape shifter in the guise of O’Brien talks to Sisko during the unrest and says they are only 4 changelings on Earth causing all this chaos which is more ominous than anything that has come before in Star Fleets history because so few has created so much trouble. Compelling stuff.

Crossfire
After the heavy duty outing previous to this, this episode slips back into DS9 character mode as Odo is assigned as a bodyguard to First Minister Shakaar whose onboard the station to push for early admittance to Star Fleet and is at risk from elements that oppose the idea. Soon it becomes apparent that Kira and Shakaar are striking up a romance and Odo increasingly becomes unglued because his feelings for Kira are so strong. His level of distress reaches an all time high and Odo destroys his quarters which brings Quark to his doorstep who lays down some home truths, if Odo won’t tell Kira how he feels, he needs to put it behind him. Odo heeds this advice and starts scaling back his interaction with Kira. (6/10)

While this episode isn’t terrible it does suffer from the fact that there really isn’t that much plot. We all know about Odo’s feelings and he’s been through Kira seeing someone else before. This episode wins out with the Quark/Odo dynamic in play and the fact there is no outside b-plot to subtract from events. The characters are the focus and the acting talents of Rene Auberjonois and Armin Shimerman make this work in spades and drag it up from the potential dross it could have been.

Return to Grace
Kira is asked to go to a diplomatic conference between Bajor, Cardassia and other worlds. Her transport is a Cardassian freighter captained by Gul Dukat whose been demoted because of the scandal created but the revelation of his daughter Ziyal, who now lives with Dukat on the ship. When they arrive at the conference they find it has been attacked by the Klingons who decloaks in plain view but with nothing to fight with, the Klingon amble away untouched. Dukat plans to hunt the ship down and avenge the attack and with Kira’s help he manages to not only confront the ship, but take control of the bird of prey and kill all its crew. When he returns to Cardassia, he finds that the government is weak and does not want to stir up the Klingon anymore. So Dukat vows to wage a one man war himself. Kira convinces Dukat to let Ziyal stay on the station instead of the warship so she can lead a normal life. (7/10)

Like the previous episode this is more about the characters than the plot and as DS9’s want, it makes for decent viewing. The banter between Kira and Dukat is much more believable than it was in Indiscretion and the understanding between the two is less forced creating a much more believable storyline. The use of irony is prevalent here as it’s noted many times in the episode that Kira helping Cardassians fight a revolutionary-type war was a nice twist as well as the reset in attitude of the Dukat character. Having him become a more sympathetic player adds intrigue as Kira fights her inbuilt hatred of the man against the changes she sees.

The Songs of Mogh
Worf’s brother Kurn makes an appearance on DS9 as he requests Worf performs a death ritual that will take him from his dishonored life and deliver him to an honored afterlife in dignity. Things go awry when Dax clues in to what’s happening and manages to interrupt the ritual long enough for Julian to save his Kurns life. Sisko is PISSED that Worf would even do this and when Kurn realizes that things didn’t go according to plan, he’s a defeated man. He becomes a part of the Bajoran security detail but tries to get himself killed. Worf realizes that he must do something and asks the doctor to erase Kurns memory and pulls a favor with a trusted friend of another, honored house and they take Kurn on as a family member, giving him an honored life. (9/10)

Several massive plot holes aside, I like this episode a lot. Conflicted Worf is a good Worf and having him give up his only relative in order for Kurn to live a better life and protecting both the Empire and the Federation while he’s at it is riveting stuff and drives right to the heart of what Worf is about as a character. However, just don’t think too hard about what happens when someone recognizes Kurn and why a family suddenly has a spare brother at the dinner table.

Bar Association
Ferengi madness! Rom convinces Quarks bar staff to form a union and ask for better work conditions. This brings the FCA representative Liquidator Brunt back to Quarks and he’s threatening to hurt Quark unless the strike ends. Quark gets desperate and finally agrees to terms with Rom if he disbands the union and state that Quark won. Rom agrees but he still quits the bar to go work as an engineer for the Bajorans on the station.(6.5/10)

This was harmlessly silly stuff and while it offers nothing in terms of real substance, it’s a wisely timed episode after having had a string of heavy character themes recently. The funniest moment is O’Brien and Worf winding up in a brawl over union rights and Bashir getting caught in the middle with all three ending up in a holding cell. Sisko’s reaction? Let them stay the night! HA! We also saw the continuation of Worf feeling out of his element and deciding to live onboard the Defiant as a means of avoiding the world of DS9. No a great episode but certainly not terrible.


Accession
The worm hole opens and a 300-year old light ship comes bundling out. The pilot is Akorem Laan, a revered poet in Bajoran history, and he believes he’s the Emissary sent by the Prophets. Sisko, who has always been at odds with position as a religious icon welcomes Laan to the role but he begins to have misgivings when Laan starts to turn Bajoran society on its head. He wants to re-introduce the old cast system (d’jarra’s) back to Bajor as a way to rebuild after the Cardassian war. When a Vedek kills a man because his d’jarra is “unclean” Ben starts to get actively worked up and challenges his own beliefs about whether he is the Emissary. When a vision of the long gone Kai Opaka tells him to be true to himself, he and Lann return to the Prophets so they can make clear on who they want as their prophet. Laan is sent packing back to his time and work as a revered poet and Sisko settles back into his role as Emissary but this time with more assuredness than before.(9.5/10)

Great episode and whether it was by design or luck, having this story play out over four seasons and finally resolving it in such a way as it make sense and is wholly satisfying. By playing the whole “Ben hates being a religious icon” story cool and only bringing it up sparingly with hints that Sisko would be happy to leave it all behind, when the time came and he could do just that, he was shocked at how much he missed the role and how much it meant to him that Bajor was protected.

Rules of Engagement
Worf is put on trial by the Klingons after a mission to protect a convoy he mistakenly opens fire on a Klingon passenger freighter killing all on board. While most pass it off as a casualty of war, the Klingons seizes it as blood lust and a way to take down a traitor to the Empire and be extradited back to Kronos. All’s lost for Worf as it seems his Klingon heart does rule over his Star Fleet uniform when Odo uncovers evidence of a plot to frame Worf and for the federation to stop aiding the Cardassians. (3/10)

Terrible episode. Remove the fact we have a Klingon lawyer, the contrived ending is pure cop out when none was needed. Star Fleet destroying vessels is nothing new and a mistake in battle is bound to happen. This would have been better served as a look into the soul of Worf and play on the recurring storyline of him wanting to be a warrior and servant to the Empire yet still upholding Star Fleet ideals. Have him destroy a ship with civilians, have him be guilty of that crime but innocent because he was in combat at the time and have him deal with that fact. That’s a better story.


Hard Time
Miles is wrongfully charged with espionage and sentenced to 20 years of incarceration by way of artificially implanted memories into his brain. While takes a scant few hours to embed in O’Brien brain, to him, he’s lived every moment of those 20 years. He comes back to the station a damaged man and being the sort of person he is, refuses help when he needs it from the people that care about him the most. We see in flashbacks that he had a cell mate Ee’char who managed to keep Miles sane for most of his imprisonment but as the years wear on and time starts to bleed together Miles starts to become paranoid and unstable and snaps and murders Ee’char over a misunderstanding about hidden food (which was always in short supply). Miles carries with him the guilt of these events and tells no one about it and while he understands it never really happened, in his mind it was real and he killed someone who only ever showed him respect. Unable to reconcile the two, Miles is pushed to the edge and when he’s ready to take his own life Julian talks him down. Miles reveals his tortured soul with the impacting line

When I had the chance to show that no matter what anyone did to me I was still an evolved, human being, I failed. I repaid kindness with blood.(10/10)

Amazing episode and some of the best Trek ever. Except for the plot device that allowed O’Brien to serve 20 years in prison in a matter of hours, there was next to no sci-fi in the story as it’s all about the emotional scarring carried by Miles when he returns home. Colm Meany is flat out excellent. And for a while I actually though they may have sent Miles completely to the dark side but they paid off the whole story in the best way possible…no miracle cure. I really liked how the writers made O’Brien’s murder, just that. Not a righteous conflict where Miles defended himself but an irrational act of a desperate man who went too far. I have nothing but praise for this episode and my only real gripe is that this wasn’t explored more in the future with no word ever mentioned of it again.

Shattered Mirror
That’s right, its mirror universe time and those of you that have read my review of the first three seasons know I don’t really rate these episodes…until now! O’Brien and Jake are kidnapped into the mirror universe where they find Jennifer Sisko has come over to the Terran cause. They have taken Terok Nor (the Cardassian name for the station) and need Sisko to help put the finishing touches to their version of the Defiant before the Alliance Fleet (lead by Worf!) arrives and of course, the Alliance is thwarted and sent packing.(8/10)

Why do I like this mirror episode? Because it works better than others before it! The inclusion of Worf as an out of control Regent and Garak as his pet is tremendously funny shit as Michael Dorn hams up Worf beyond all belief with Andrew Robinson matching him step for step. The Sisko/Dax/Bashir triangle is handled perfectly (a couple of punches and some choice dialogue) and the story is great comic book fodder of good vs evil. I want more!

The Muse
A mysterious woman comes onboard DS9 and attaches herself to Jake and helps him write his first novel by unleashing his creativity but at a price, she feeds off his neural energy which will kill Jake if not stopped. Ben catches on but the woman escapes before he can capture her. We also have a b-plot of Lwaxana Troi re-appearing on the station fleeing into the arms of Odo as she’s married to a man that will take her child to be raised by him. The solution…Odo and Troi marry to help her escape. Huh?(1/10)

While this season has some low spots those episodes have some redeeming value of character development and such. This episode is shit and one of the worst of the whole shows run. Avoid or destroy…just don’t watch.

For The Cause
Odo and Eddington come to Sisko with some disturbing news…it seems Sisko’s girlfriend Kasidy Yates may be a Marquis sympathizer. Ben is not impressed but being the good officer he is, he orders surveillance of her ship. As evidence mounts up, DS9 receives word that Cardassia is to receive quit a few industrial replicators that will come through their possession in secret for transport to Cardassia Prime. When Ben realizes Kasidy is working with the Marquis he follows her to a drop but things smell fishy when the Marquis don’t show. Things suddenly start making sense when Ben realizes that Kasidy has been bait to lure him away from the station and the Marquis have stolen the replicator thanks to their leader…Commander Eddington! (8/10)

Cool stuff here as I didn’t see the Eddington heel turn coming, mainly because he’s been a barely been a bit player for most of the season. Ben takes this VERY personally and it produces a couple of stellar episodes next season as DS9 deals with the fall out. It’s also a bold move implicating Kasidy as it gives the writers a chance to stretch their legs and show Ben struggling with duty and his heart. The fact they blatantly play her deception with Ben being mostly forgiving spliced into the rage over Eddington is a nice contrast. We also have a little b-plot of Garak and Ziyal starting a relationship which has serious implications down the road.


To The Death
The Defiant returns from an away mission to discover DS9 has been attacked by the Jem’Hadar who fled back through the wormhole. Ben, not being the sort to take this shit lying down, goes after them and he soon comes across a damaged Jem’Hadar vessel and when they beam the survivors onboard, Sisko soon learns that the Jem’Hadar that attacked the station were renegades looking to open an old Iconian (seen in TNG episode Contagion) gateway which can transport over great distances, which could lead to the Jem’Hadar taking control of the Dominion and possible the Alpha Quadrant. After much conflict and amusement at the two sides NOT getting along, they defeat the rebels and restore order.(7/10)

While another solid chapter into season four, this episode wins based in the development of the Dominion and its servants and laying the groundwork for the future while providing a story that is interesting. I really liked Sisko in this episode as he has this coiled menace about him the whole time and his complete contempt for the Vorta, Weyoun borders on the venomous. What really played well for this episode was the fact this had a very claustrophobic feel as two at odds crews are crammed in not enough space and no way to get out of it. And Weyoun…where do a I start…I’m not sure of the writers where planning for this guy to be the face of the Dominion in the Alpha Quadrant but by season five he becomes a huge piece of the story puzzle and one of the most entertaining Trek characters ever. Jeffery Combs births Weyoun almost fully formed from the get go and is a delight and only gets better.


The Quickening
Bashir, Kira and Dax answer an automated distress call in the Gamma Quadrant and they come across a planet that was infected with a disease (the Blight) 200 years ago by the Dominion and when this blight “quickens” it is a certain and painful death. Bashir is distraught to learn that the only doctors they have only make things comfortable for those who are sick and often hastening their eventual death. Julian vows to cure the Blight and when he thinks he’s on to something, people suddenly die because his electrical equipment helps the virus to mutate. When Kira and Dax go back to DS9, Julian elects to stay and only one pregnant woman trusts him to help. He develops another cure but the woman still dies but her baby his born free of the disease ensure future generations will live normal and healthy lives.(9/10)

Another stellar episode. Again, the thing that makes this show work is the writers don’t take the easy road. While the disease is essential finished, millions of people on the plant are still going to die because Bashir created a vaccine and not a cure. Indeed, the episode ends with Bashir looking for a way to help the already dying and not being satisfied with what he's done. I also liked the normally smug Doctor getting his tail cut for thinking his medical dick swung large and mighty. One of the good pieces of business this season has been the evolution of Bashir and this was the best example of that and while we only hear about Julian’s search for a cure sporadically until the shows end, his character undergoes a marked shift in tone from here on in.


Body Parts
Quark thinks he’s going to die and as per Ferengi custom, he pre-sells his vacuum-desiccated remains to help pay off any outstanding debt. Quark makes an easy 500 bars of latinum from a single bidder and makes a contract for the remains just before he finds out that he isn’t going to kick the bucket. However, the buyer of his remains is adamant he wants what he paid for and is further complicated when the buyer turns out to be his nemesis Liquidator Brunt. Quark is left in a bind because if he breaks his contract with Brunt it will cause him to be stripped of everything he owns. So Quark hires Garak to kill him so the contract is honoured, but suddenly gets cold feet when he can’t decide how he wants to die. So he breaks the contract with Brunt and loses everything but things aren’t all bad. It seems people onboard the station needs a place to “store” some tables, chairs and drinking glasses meaning Quark can stay in business onboard the station but is a pariah to his own people. (5.5/10)

The undoubted highlight of this episode is the scene where Garak is in the holosuite with Quark showing him the various ways he could kill him. Quarks freak outs are seriously funny. Besides this, there isn’t much else to amuse you as the tired “Ferengi episode formula” is starting to get well, a little tired. While I enjoy silly , irreverence as much as the next person I gotta say this was a little to much of both and not enough grounding in the characters which makes the light episodes work when they focus on the other characters. With the Ferengi’s, the writers just try too hard and often fall flat on their face because they forget the fact that Ferengi’s at normal speed are funny enough and there’s little reason to ramp up their reality. We also get the big b-plot of Miles and Keiko’s baby being transplanted to Kira as a surrogate during a shuttle accident to help cover for the fact that Nan Visitor was real-life pregnant.


Broken Link
Odo starts to break down and it soon becomes apparent the Julian can no longer treat him and they need to contact the Founders to help them. So the Defiant heads off into the Gamma Quadrant with Garak to keep the ailing Odo company, in search of the other changelings. They soon get their wish and we once again are introduced to the female shape shifter who informs Odo that they did this too him to get him back to his people so they can judge him for killing another shape shifter in The Great Link. Of course he is found guilty and his punishment? He’s made a solid and cast from The Founders forever. He returns to the station a broken man but when watching a speech from Gowron he realizes that Gowron is in fact a shape shifter and has been orchestrating the war to the Dominions end all along.(8/10)


Another great season finale as some much happens, new developments appear at the end and we’re all left wanting more. For starters, Odo is now a solid. This has a terrific smacking of irony as Odo was forever trying to understand solid behavior and never truly embraced his shape shifting abilities preferring to exist as a humanoid. Now forced to live as one he is confronted with the fact he longs to be a shape shifter again and return to the Link. Another big curve ball is the revelation of Gowron as a changeling. It suddenly puts so much into perspective but the answer remains, how do you prove the head of the Klingon Empire is someone else? We also had the sub-plot of Garak trying to blow-up the Founders home world in retaliation for the massacre of the Cardassian/Romulan attack from the end of season three and Worf stopping him. Garaks logic is more than reasonable when he states…. Don't tell me you'd object to a little genocide in the name of self-defense. It may be the most truthful moment Garak has ever given us as he shows a rage not seen before over his dead colleagues.


Season Wrap-Up
There’s a lot to like here. As I’ve stated a hundred times previous to this, season four is when DS9 really hits its stride and watching back all these episodes, I’m impressed at the variety and depth of the writing. I admit I’m a diehard Trekkie and DS9 is my fav Trek show, but I would put Hard Time and The Visitor up against any “serious” drama for impact and quality. As part of my reviews I’ve been re-watching all the seasons of DS9 and my long suffering girlfriend has watched many episodes with me. She isn’t a sci-fi or Trek fan but she had more than a passing emotional resonance with a large number of these episodes and started to really invest herself in the characters during this season which didn’t happen in the previous three seasons. That’s a mark of quality.

I really liked the additional of Worf to the cast. For so long he was a one-dimensional caricature on TNG, always stoically hard and with one answer for anything…battle. DS9 turned everything about his world on its ear as the chaotic world of DS9 grated against his love of order and the comfort he received from the sameness of living aboard the Enterprise vanished amongst the outlaw-type atmosphere of the space station. A fair few critics complained that the writers whimped on the Worf character but he’s an infinitely more complex character now.

After working so hard to gain favor in the eyes of the Klingon Empire, he found himself again at the crossroads between duty to Star Fleet and loyalty to his people and as always he choose the hard road. Rather than just getting on with his life we see this play against his soul in quiet a few episodes giving us a clearer insist to his internal conflicts. We also get to see him develop a relationship/friendship with Dax and if you really think about it, Worf never really had a friend on the Enterprise. This is all new ground for a character that we’ve all known for 7 years on another series.

Perhaps the biggest plot point of the season was Benjamin Sisko embracing his role as Emissary of the Prophets. The producers used the slow-fuse treatment regarding this subject and only brought up Ben’s discomfort sparingly over the first 3 years. They finally tackled the issue head on with Sisko actively wanting the position and all that it entails. The marks a massive personal character shift and a major change to the dynamic as the Sisko character because personally invested in Bajor and its wellbeing as opposed to it just being an assignment.

The 411: A high quality season of sci-fi as DS9 hits its stride in a big way. Too many outstanding shows to mention and very few true misses. If you want good Trek, this is your one stop shop for everything.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]