“The Adversary”

I don't know how long it's been since the comments section has been here, but I'm very surprised this episode doesn't get any talk around here, much like Equilibrium. I mean for one Sisko gets promoted to Captain, which was big in and of itself. It needed to be done and I'm glad it was finally done in the season 3 finale. Then you had the revelation about the Changelings being everywhere, and that's a great episode to transition between Season 3 and 4. I wonder if this episode would get more comments if Way of the Warrior hadn't been the premiere, but I'd like to think the real premiere was pushed back with Homefront and Paradise Lost.

As for this one, maybe it's not in the top 3 finales, but it's still a great one anyway. Nice way to end season 3.

The other great thing about this episode is that if you haven't seen it in a while, you tend to forget about the Tzenkethi part of the plot, so the first half of the episode is like you've never seen it before.

By the way, the "2 1/2 minute jump" during the auto-destruct sequence also happened in Voyager's "Dreadnaught." Maybe ALL Starfleet vessels are programmed with this error to confound the enemy?

I've noticed this in a few Next Gen eps, when the captain orders all 'non-essential' - personnel locked up. However on the Defiant, which as I understand is a no-frills, battle-ready ship, who are the 'non essential' personnel? Do they mean the janitorial staff? Any help here?

Joan T, I always figured that while it's no frills, the crew is also not all staying at their post 26 hours a day. They're sleeping, eating, in the Mess, etc. So you'd already have at least 1/2 to 2/3 of the crew that didn't need to be on duty at any moment and would therefore be nonessential. Throw in the fact that at the moment the ship is a runaway train and out of the hands of the crew, and so plenty of people who would normally be running maintenance aren't needed (if the sabotage devices control helm and weapons, who needs to man the helm or the weapons batteries?). At that point, it seemed like the only "essential personnel needed were the security teams sweeping the ship, O'Brien's engineering team fighting to fix the ship, and maybe a nurse to stay with Dax. The rest are pretty much made obsolete by the duty rotation and the sabotage's automating the ship.

You can't deny that DS9 knows how to hook a person into watching the next season. And usually with only one line. The Jem'Hadar - "They're coming, and I want to be ready." (or something to that effect" And now "You're too late, we're everywhere." Curses, at this point in time, I can't afford to keep paying for new DVDs :P

I just watched this episode for the second time last night after not seeing it for a long time. I found the episode highly enjoyable but with some glaring flaws that were never dealt with that I just don't understand.

1) Like you said, who is control of the station? DS9 is a Bajoran station, and the Defiant is a Federation starship. Kira and Odo should be on the station. Granted, on a mission like this Odo should go along since he is a Changeling. There is no reason why Kira should be there. Is she representing Bajoran interests? How can she be first officer of a Federation starship? These questions were never answered....but at least they were not as glaring as they were in "Tears of the Prophets".

2) Another flaw, is nobody did their homework on the Tzenkethi? Sisko was just promoted to Captain but did no independent study or gather any information for the mission? He just took the Ambassador's word for everything and that was that? I would think if there was a coup, Sisko might look at a few reports or ask around to see what information he could gather.

3) Who are the Tzenkethi? Why do we care about them? Are they powerful? I think it would have resonated more if they were a species we had known about in the past, because otherwise how powerful could they be if we never heard of them before? Or were they just stating that any war would be destabilizing? In my opinion, it would have resonated more if they mentioned a species that people were familiar with.

4) I do have to say that the last minute of the episode was terrific. It does leave you wanting to come back to season 4.

Yup, DS9 really did know how to end a season: with a great episode and a dash of ominous foreboding. I'm a little tired of the traiditional hyped-up cliff-hanger formula, I think DS9 was really ahead of its time with this new approach to season enders, it really set the stage for most of today's TV serials.

They already said they were everywhere in another episode or said that was their plan. They even told Odo, he was the first to return and others would come back. Not much suspense to me. The only thing they didn't say before is "Your too late."
But I'm sure they will blame this spies death on Odo, because he is apparently not supposed to harm another liquid blob. I mean they don't really have a name right? Liquid CGI BLOB? Sry, Founders sounds like a club, not a species.

I like this episode a lot, but the use of the never seen or even mentioned before or again Tzenkethi has always bugged me. The first time I saw the episode I was thinking, "War with the Tzenkethi? Oh no, I guess. Who the heck are the Tzenkethi?" I think the writers really should have used the Romulans or the Cardassians here, but if for some reason they didn't want to use a major power, then at least a minor power we'd heard of before would have been better. Just off the top of my head, the Gorn, the Talarians, the Sheliak, the Tholians, or even the Breen would have been a reasonable choice. Still, it's basically a minor quibble with an excellent show.

@Gaius Maximus

Agreed. Cardassians would work absolutely perfectly in this episode. Ambassador Krajensky tells Sisko about the need to show the flag after the recent coup on Tzenkethi homeworld. That's exactly what happens on Cardassia the very next episode!

This episode would have set up Way of the Warrior perfectly. I am really surprised they didn't use this opportunity to their advantage.

Another solid season finale. DS9 does a good job with ending and starting seasons.

7/10

Hard to imagine the holodeck being able to recreate Game 7 of a World Series from 1964 with much accuracy, considering the technology of the time.

Unless the creators of these types of programs actually travel back in time to the events to "film" them.

I rather like the idea of the unknown Tzenkethi being a plot point here. I do wish we had learned more of them in the future though. I also agree that Sisko should have done some homework regarding the supposed uprising in their government rather than just hopping on the ship and taking off. I suppose maybe off-screen he did and ended up reading falsified reports courtesy of the changeling.

Pretty strong finish though to a nearly consistently good season 3.

Not the best season ender in this series but it was above average.

Good drama hunting down the changling... good death scene, goo - then dust... interesting.

I had no problem with the Tzenkethi. Obviously a plant by the Founders...

Sisko makes Captain .... interesting... is Bajor in the Federation yet?

3.0 stars.

I loved how faddil played the changeling disguised as bashir when o'brien catches him in the tube. It was oh so slightly off, but not obvious.

A great season end. This is my second time seeing this episode and it was really good. I was also surprised at Sisko's despondency over the self-destruct countdown, not a normal Sisko moment. Regardless, it didn't take away from the show. I am with the rest of you, why was Kira on the ship? Maybe I am being nitpicky, but they should have locked the blue-guy in his quarters or the brig. He was too scared, he disobeyed his captain after he totally panicked and accused Kira of being a shapeshifter. I think he was so scared he was seeing things.

A few problems:

-It strikes me as odd that an ambassador gives "orders" to a Starfleet officer, although I think it's happened before in Star Trek.

-when they described the phaser adjustments, I thought the beams would spread out in a cone and cover all the walls of the Jeffries tubes. This makes sense; the changeling could be disguised as pipe, wiring, and/or bulkhead along the ships corridor. Still, the actual special effects only showed the beams shooting in a straight line down the tubes....which would only really be effective if the changeling was invisible or on the opposite wall.

Despite that, I agree with Jammer's review that this is a good season finale. And I agree with Vylora that I was fine with a new race Tzenkethi being used here, but it would have been nice to have them come up later in the series.

As to Yanks question "is Bajor in the Federation yet". No, they're not (which is an important plot point later in the series)

@methane - I always just wrote off the ambassador giving orders thing as "we don't know their rank". I assume that since ambassador is a job, not a rank, that some ambassadors are civilians and others (like Ambassador Spock) are not. Do we think Spock lost his rank when he took the job? Or what about Worf becoming an ambassador at the end of DS9? Can he no longer give orders to anyone? I guess I just assumed some high ranking admirals took choice ambassadorships on occasion and that explains why some ambassadors seem to carry rank and others are simply diplomats.

The civilians are above the military. Ambassadors many times are put in positions in charge of military assets.

mathane, my point is, why should Sisko get ptomoted if he hasn't completed his mission?

"mathane, my point is, why should Sisko get ptomoted if he hasn't completed his mission? "

My 2 cents is that the mission has changed. Sisko went from the commander of a backwater space port to the commander of the wormhole. He's become the front line of defense vs the Dominion and the head of an interstellar trade hub.

Bajor is still on the agenda, but I had no problem with the promotion here. Also, while he screws the pooch is season 5 in regards to Bajor's Federation admission, in S4's Crossfire Shakaar says "I've been trying to get them to cut the timetable for Bajor's admittance into the Federation by half. But every time I think I've made them understand my reasons, they remind me that every member of the Federation has gone through the same admittance process. "

So he went from a flimsy provisional government to a stable one under Shakaar, managed to not end up with Prime Minister Winn, stopped a takeover by the xenophobic Circle, etc.

We went from a crappy situation with Bajor to one where the Prime Minister is literally BEGGING for membership. And actually Shakaar wins the election right before Sisko gets promoted. If I had to guess I'd say the continuing improvement in the Bajor situation coupled with an exponential increase in his responsibilities are responsible for his promotion.

"The civilians are above the military. Ambassadors many times are put in positions in charge of military assets.

mathane, my point is, why should Sisko get ptomoted if he hasn't completed his mission? "

I know this, but we also know that some ambassadors carry rank. Spock is at least a Captain to my memory.

I believe Spock is unique in that regard.

Good point about the Bajoran government. I guess one could consider that success.

Robert - I always assumed ambassadors for the Federation either resigned/retired from Starfleet or were on an indefinite leave of absence. I suppose that could be different in the Federation.

Yanks - "The civilians are above the military. Ambassadors many times are put in positions in charge of military assets".

Ambassadors don't put themselves in charge of military assets; the civilian leader (President, Prime Minister, etc.) can assign military assets to ambassadors. This episode gives a good reason why random civilians (even those with titles like ambassadors) can't go in an just order the military assets around. They could be trying to start a war!

In a situation like this, you'd expect the Federation diplomatic corps to ask the Federation President (or whichever official runs Starfleet) to officially order Starfleet to take the ambassador out (this could be the Presidential underlings making the arrangement, with him just signing orders), and even follow the ambassador's commands to an extent. Starfleet Command would then issue their orders to Sisko (or to an Admiral who would then order Sisko), detailing the mission, which Sisko would then carry out.

Yanks - "my point is, why should Sisko get promoted if he hasn't completed his mission?"

Well, I think Federation membership is a long-term goal, not something they expected to happen in a few years. To use real world examples, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989; other than Eastern Germany, the first nations from the Communist block didn't join NATO until 1999; they didn't join the EU until 2004! Sisko can be doing his job well (worthy of promotion) even if he hasn't completed that long-term mission.

methane, we are saying the same thing. since we don't ever see a power battle between Sisko and the ambassador I think it's fair to assume that the arrangements you mention happened off screen.

For most Star Trek episodes with ambassadors, I would agree. But at the end of this episode, we find out the real ambassador was supposed to be on vacation, and the Tzenkethi coup that was the cause of their alleged mission never happened.

The impression those revelations give is that the changeling showed up at DS9 right after kidnapping the real ambassador, gave a mission, and nobody checked with Starfleet or the Federation, as they would have quickly found out something was wrong.

The alternative, of course, was that the Changeling had spent some time at Starfleet or the higher levels of the Federation bureaucracy, impersonating multiple people to fake intelligence about a coup and set up the mission. But 1) that doesn't seem to be how the writers were presenting it and 2) that would have immediately sent up alarm bells at DS9 and in Starfleet, because they would have started searching for what else the changeling could have done while there. They would have no reason to believe the only thing the changeling did while at the Federation and/or Starfleet was set up this mission. Our DS9 characters certainly don't seem specifically concerned about this possibility.

Well, so ends season three. I'm going to loop back and talk about the last few episodes of the season soon, but the finale is fresh in my mind.

I have little to say about the main plot elements of "The Adversary." It is reminiscent of something like the John Carpenter version of The Thing, though not as effective. It is an action story, a spooky enemy story, and at times a paranoid thriller. On the last part, the "whom to trust?" question is dealt with most frustratingly in the increasing number of times people get separated (at one point, Odo and Eddington are separated with no explanation whatsoever, after we've already had several scenes); something about the way that Bolian security ensign flips out at Kira registered as particularly fake and over-the-top. And ultimately, most of it was hard for me to get into as an action show, because I kept getting annoyed at the choices that were being made. Send teams of more than two people, so that it would not be easy for the shapeshifter in a team of two to sneak up on the other one; make use of the "nonessential" personnel (WHY ARE THERE "NONESSENTIAL" PERSONNEL ON THIS MISSION?) as well as the security people and senior staff, at least for extra eyes; have more than one guy protecting O'Brien working in Engineering, and when there are two Odos standing there, either stun both of them or at least send both of them to the brig, since one of them is definitely the changeling. This is in addition to the idea that Sisko's first action as captain is to follow the orders of an ambassador without doing any checking whatsoever on the veracity of his statements, leaving the station defenseless since he takes the entire senior staff on this trip whose purpose is to "show the flag." (On the changeling side, why does he keep Bashir alive? I don't get it.)

The compelling personal element to this story is Odo being forced to kill another changeling, and the episode sets this up pretty clearly by having Odo remind us of the "no changeling has ever harmed another" bit, as well as Odo's comment that he has gone his life without killing anyone. Given Elliott's pointing out in his review of "The Adversary" just a day or two ago that Odo is horrified at the idea that he is a monster, yes, but even more so that he is a CRIMINAL, I like how Odo's action here runs against Odo's whole code -- Odo doesn't use weapons, Odo doesn't kill, Odo is not a criminal, but here he kills and breaks the most fundamental taboo of his people. It's an especially interesting moment because of the quasi-rape of the other changeling trying to force a link on Odo, and Odo's partly instinctual, almost angry reaction leading him to push his adversary into the warp field, causing his death; Odo certainly was protecting the Defiant crew (and the Alpha Quadrant, as a result), but I think the violence also comes out in part because of the intense violation of his personal boundaries, which is made even more intense by the fact that he *wants* on some level to Link with the changeling, but has to fight against it. In some senses, we have a bit of a version of this with Dr. Mora, where Odo is made angrier with Mora's attempts to get close to him because Odo wants to on some level; but this is even stronger. The severing of Odo's connection to his people via killing also has particular impact after the way "Facets'" Odo/Curzon thing found another way to approach Odo's changeling nature and loneliness, which, more on that when I write about that episode (I'm predictable, but still, I do think the Odo[/Curzon] material in that episode was largely its strongest bits). I think the episode maybe should have focused more strongly on Odo's headspace; there are hints of the other version of this story, where everything was filtered to some extent through Odo's experiences and the crew's affections for and anxieties about Odo -- see, for instance, Eddington asking Odo where he would go if he were the changeling and Odo's defensive reaction.

Sisko's promotion to captain: well, it is certainly appropriate for Sisko to be a captain given the amount of responsibility he has, with the increased strategic importance of DS9. Still, I really do feel like the teaser would have been sufficient, rather than laying on the HE'S A CAPTAIN NOW stuff repeatedly, especially when it really is true that this does not change anything, since it does not seem as if his duties or privileges are different in any practical way. (I also tend to think the episode should have *either* done the "this is my last commander's log" thing or the "my son the writer says I should say some words etc. etc. but all I can think of is: captain's log" log entry, but not both.) And what was up with that Eddington scene, with the "I really agreed with what Chief O'Brien said, about it being a long time coming" or whatever? I really have no idea. I wonder if it's meant to be character development for the obviously underwritten Eddington, but the whole scene just felt bizarre.

"It's too late. We're everywhere" is an impressive hook for next season, particularly after having an episode devoted to why changelings' abilities make them dangerous.

I think probably 2.5 stars.

To my mind a disappointingly small-scale season closer. Yes it's an intense little adventure yarn, but really we're dealing with well-worn dark corridor and "how do we know you are who you say you are" tropes that never really transcend the twists we see. Isn't it convenient that Bashir just happens to open the door just as changeling Bashir is outside?

But if ever an episode can live on the strength of its final line its this one. That suddenly blows the doors wide open on the bigger picture and acts as a really nice intro to Season 4. 2.5 stars.

"The Adversary" is an absolutely fantastic season closer and does wonders to sent up the Dominion threat going forward. It's kind of a shame that this direction for the show was somewhat scuttled when the studio forced the producers and writers to take a different approach for "Deep Space Nine" in Season Four - not to say that the Klingon story-arc is bad, I think the writers did an amazing job of integrating it into the larger picture they were attempting to tell. It would have been nice, though, to see where they would have taken the threat of total Changeling infiltration of the Alpha Quadrant otherwise.

I won't comment on the similarities the episode shares to John Carpenter's "The Thing" simply because I've never seen "The Thing". Don't hate me, horror just isn't my preferred genre. :-P The paranoid atmosphere on display, however, is marvelous. It's something of a rarity for Trek to allow the hero characters to be so scared and jumpy, especially around each other. There are other episodes where it happens, but they are rather scarce. We get some excellent character work and development, especially for Odo. Having him break the taboo of harming another Changeling was an ingenious idea, one which I'm assuming the writers intended all the way back in "The Search, Part II" when the taboo was first stated by the Female Changeling. And the red-herring of Eddington being the infiltrator was very enjoyable on a meta level. When I first introduced my parents to "Deep Space Nine" they spent the entire third season thinking that Eddington was indeed a Changeling spy, which I've heard was a common theory among fans at the time. Well done for the writers playing with that expectation! And later making Eddington a Maquis, instead of Dominion, spy was a masterstroke.

Two rather glaring problems harm "The Adversary", however. First, the fact that we never get to actually see a Tzenkethi. Come on, really?! They're going to introduce a new player onto the political stage of the Alpha Quadrant, one that even had a war with the Federation not too long ago, and not give us the money shot of seeing what they look like? I'm assuming that the Tzenkethi aren't an Alpha Quadrant super-power like the UFP or the Klingon and Romulan Empires. They're probably something more akin to a second-tier rated power like the Cardassians (important and formidable, but not quite an A-list player). But that's no excuse; let us see them! Talk about a wonderful world-building opportunity fumbled away. Second, how exactly did Changeling Krajensky manage to get the ball rolling on this attempted destabilization of the Quadrant in the first place? We're heavily led to believe that the real Krajensky never came to DS9, that when we first met the Ambassador that it's already the Changeling. Can an ambassador just show up to any Starfleet facility and start giving orders willy-nilly? He wants Sisko to show the flag along the Tzenkethi border and Sisko never once clears this with either Starfleet Command or his direct superior? An ambassador just shows up and off we go? I guess confirmation of orders isn't a thing in the 24th century.

8/10

@Luke, I agree with the oddness about the real Ambassador Krajensky never having come to DS9, and that the mission was invented by the Changeling. I think this is the writers' attempt to make us feel isolated way out on the frontier. But as a military officer, I don't find this realistic. I can assure you, Luke, that confirmation of orders *is* still a thing in the 21st century.

Generally I owe that to the writers knowledge of military affairs having probably come almost entirely from 1) watching earlier episodes of Star Trek and 2) from watching Hollywood depictions of the military. The shame is that there are so many plentiful, relatable stories of the mundane and action varieties within military life that, along with sensible military logic, never reach the doors of the writers room.

So now the Federation/Starfleet have had a war with the Tzenkethi.
For a peace keeping organisation based on exploration and learning they sure get into a lot of wars.

At which point do the peace loving hippies think "Screw this, lets seal our borders and stay here. Too many innocents are dying because we want to boldly go..."

Be interested to see a list of everyone they've had a war with.

Romulans
Klingons
Cardassians
Tzenkethi
Dominion

The Borg don't count as they're headcases.

Anyone else?

Why is an ambassador briefing a Captain on his orders? This should have been an admiral.

Ambassador Robert Fox in A Taste of Armageddon gave orders to Captain Kirk. So did Undersecretary Nilz Baris in The Trouble with Tribbles.

A good but not great S3 finale - goes down the route of prior Trek series with stuff like the auto-destruct sequence (used before on 60s Trek, TNG and then aborted) and the "who is the shapeshifter, who is the real person" ("Whom Gods Destroy" in 60s Trek, for example).
What "The Adversary" does achieve is set up S4 with the Dominion as a serious threat (not as well done as in "Q Who" with the Borg though). Nice, ominous way to do it with the dying Changeling whispering to Odo as he dies.
Plenty of suspense trying to find the Changeling -- through the blood test and the test for chemicals earlier. Maybe this was a bit excessive to do this twice.
Certainly the other thing is who is guarding DS9? This never occurred to Sisko when he realizes he's been on a wild goose chase.
Anyhow, I think "The Adversary" deserves 3 stars - pretty good Trek viewing although somewhat cliche: Of course O'Brien figures out how to get past the forcefields and regain control of the ship and the auto-destruct can be aborted. Good ending to an excellent season with plenty to look forward to in S4.

{ And of course, you know the writers had to throw in the two Odos trick, presented here to O'Brien in the engine room as he attempts to disable the Changeling's ship takeover devices. Fortunately, this overused bright idea is satirized when O'Brien unleashes the season's best-delivered one-liner—"Look, I have more important things to do than play 'Choose the Changeling.'" }

And just like with Whom Gods Destroy, Turnabout Intruder, nobody thinks of a simple "ask them a question that isn't in the public record that only the real person would know" solution.

Also, the whole episode was weakened by some obvious idiotic decisions. Everyone is supposed to stay in pairs and yet each pair keeps just getting separated with no good reason. And twice they have the Changeling right there and take a good 5 seconds or so to remember to use their phasers, allowing him to get away.

Still, not a bad episode, just could have been better.

2.5 stars. So-so episode. Really didn't care for the never heard of Tzenkethi. I didn't find the evebts all that exciting or suspenseful. The most interesting part was the ominous note the episode ends on. Plus I was disappointed DS9 chickened out by actually having the Defiant start a conflict. Pretty anti-climatic

DS9 never was all that good at their season finales other than Call to Arms and Tears of The Prophets. In The Hands of the Prophets was a good episode just not a good season finale and The Jem'Hadar, The a Adversary and Broken Link--barring how they set up the following seasons--were duds

{ For that matter, is the Defiant really the ship that should be sent on a Starfleet mission like this? (Episodes like this always make me wonder who's left in charge of the station.) }

It never made sense that the Defiant command crew and the DS9 command crew were identical, instead of Defiant having it's own separate roster.

I thought this was a good finale. The episode builds suspense very effectively. Nothing fosters paranoia within and between people more than fear of the unknown, and as an enemy that can take any form and hide almost anywhere, the hostile changeling epitomizes that fear. There are shades of 'The Thing' (the blood test) and '12 Angry Men' (Bashir: "Don't you ever sweat?" Odo: "No, I don't") which I also enjoyed.

The episode is weakened somewhat by the cliched scene with the two Odos, and the use of an alien race we've never heard of and never see. What are they like? What sort of homeworld do they live on? What is their relationship and significance to the Federation? It's like the 'Homefront/Paradise Lost' two-parter, in that they don't (or can't) show us what's really at stake, so we just have to take their word for it. However, the scene where Odo kills one of his own kind is shocking, and the consequences will have long-term significance. It's not the kind of episode I'll go back to again and again, but it gets the job done. Three stars is about right.

"The Adversary" is a solid but unspectacular way to close off an uneven season of DS9. It's well made, suspenseful, and I enjoyed the homage to John Carpenter's "The Thing". As a season finale, it doesn't really do much until the final scene to really advance the Dominion storyline in any way. That final scene, however, is pretty damn great as a cliffhanger.

3 stars.

Teaser : **, 5%

Let's review Commander Benjamin Sisko's illustrious tenure on Outpost Deep Space Nine, shall we?

-With Dax' help, he discovered the first known stable wormhole, and helped Bajor stake a claim to it. (“Emissary”)
-He falsified a report to Starfleet regarding the discovery of a species called “Tosk” from the GQ, probably a genetic ancestor of the Jem'Hadar (“Captive Pursuit”)
-He violated orders to evacuate DS9 under the pretext of “packing” (“The Circle”).
-He lied to Starfleet about Cal Hudson's involvement with the Maquis, ultimately giving an advantage to a group which is terrorising the region (“The Maquis”).
-He acquired a new vessel that he helped design to bolster the station's defences against the Dominion, promptly saw it nearly destroyed, then later stolen (“The Search,” “Defiant”).
-He violated the PD in order to have a visit with the Mirror Universe version of his dead wife (“Through the Looking Glass”).
-He violated orders again in order to mount a rescue of Odo (and Garak) from the Dominion ambush in the GQ.
-He hosted peace talks between the space pope and Cardassia, subsequently seeing the planet he was assigned to shepherd into the Federation descend into theocratic rule (“Life Support,” Shakaar”).
-Most recently, he consented to have a serial killer take over his consciousness, nearly getting his science officer killed.

And so naturally, this episode opens with Sisko being shipped off to New Zealand to...no wait, he's been promoted. Yeah. The staff congratulate him one by one—a somewhat awkwardly-blocked scene where the non-speaking cast stare at the camera Stepford-style (also, who invited the Bajoran Vedeks?). Anyway, a Federation ambassador informs the...[sigh......]...captain that there has been a coup on Tzatziki Prime or whatever. The ambassador orders Sisko to take the Defiant near the border to “show the flag.” Uh-huh. Writers, you *do* know that you're in space right? This isn't Game of Thrones. Sending Starfleet's only warship to the space-border to shake its fist seems like, at best, a waste of time, and at worst, yet another blithe violation of Federation principles for the sake of plot contrivance. Moreover, why is an *ambassador* sending a starship to show an aggressive posture? Shouldn't, at most, a vessel be sent on a diplomatic mission to secure peaceful co-existence with whichever power takes hold on Planet Greek Yoghurt? Well, as if to demonstrate in as dramatically ironic a manner as possible how poor his judgement really is, CAPTAIN Sisko happily agrees to the mission. The ambassador is also inviting himself along. He likes to watch.

Sisko casually has the Defiant armed to full capacity for this little peace envoy. O'Brien is alone in the Engine Room and hears some odd noises because The Thing™.

Act 1 : *.5, 17%

Dax asks after Sisko's new girlfriend. Apparently, the effects of her illuminating Zhian'tara are to have her double down on the Sex and City vibe and pester him about Kasidy like they're in fucking highschool. According to Dax, the entire senior staff is on pins and needles about their Coman—ahem, Captain's sex life. What is it with Ira Behr and reprising this “Captian's Holiday” bullshit?

So. The ENTIRE senior staff, including Odo AND Eddington are aboard the Defiant for this little trip. Uh-huh. Why in the hell is Odo coming along? Well, maybe Keiko is back from Bajor and she, Jessica Rabbit and Rom can defend the station from Dominion threats, coordinate the election of the new Bajoran FM and finally kill all those voles. O'Brien is still in the ship's bowels, performing maintenance, when he hears more odd clamouring about. After a minute or so, he runs (almost literally) into Bashir who has been hooking up some new medical equipment or something. Miles decides to investigate the doctor's handiwork, and is duly impressed.

In the mess hall, Eddington is called in for a briefing from Sisko, some routine stuff about protecting the ambassador from his own stupidity. Before he leaves, Eddington feels compelled to double down on the crew wetting themselves over Sisko's promotion, lamenting that gold shirts like him don't ever get to sit in the captain's seat, at least not in this century. Yeah, you've got to switch to medical so Starfleet can assign you a giant vibrator to command (c.f. “All Good Things...”). This picks up, sort of, the threads from the brainless subplot in “The Die is Cast.” Eddington and Sisko are both characterised as military men, who wear the uniform with pride, blah blah blah.

EDDINGTON: People don't enter Starfleet to become commanders, or admirals for that matter. It's the captain's chair that everyone has their eye on.

Uh-huh. Sure. That's why Bones joined Starfleet. And Maddox. And Data. Yep, no one in Starfleet gives a shit about exploration or science or psychology or diplomacy. It's all about power, am I right? Everyone just wants to play “Call of Duty” in space. That's what Starfleet has been reduced to on this series. Well this fuckery with the soul of Star Trek aside, at least we do get a little insight into Eddington himself. He definitely wishes he were a red-shirt—well, the good kind, not the one who dies on the away mission.

Later, the Defiant receives a distress call from a Federation border colony, but it's promptly lost.

Act 2 : ***, 17%

Unable to raise the colony on subspace, Captain Reasonable deduces that now the Federation is at war with Planet Pita Bread. Uuuuuuuhhhhmmmm. What? Mr Sisko, you behave as though trigger-happy machismo were a virtue. Why is that? Sisko sets course for the colony and has Odo contact Starfleet while Dax tries to hail the nearest Starfleet ship. I do like the subtle nod in naming the other ship “Ulysses.” Like in “The Jem'Hadar,” our heroes, such as they are, are playing right into *another* Dominion trap, just like the Odyssey. Well, the effort is in vain as the communications system is out. An embarrassed O'Brien heads below decks with Dax to correct the problem. They discover that the systems have been invaded by some sort of tech parasite and their attempt to disable it gets Miles shocked by a force field.

It turns out that this parasite has hacked all the ship's major systems, and O'Brien is certain that the sabotage occurred after they left DS9. There are 47 [duh] people on the Defiant, and anyone could be the saboteur. O'Brien is forced to mention his encounter with Bashir, and Dax hits on the idea of laying the issue bare before the crew. You see, planting the device would leave trace amounts of technostuff on the saboteur's hands. So Dax scans Sisko, then Kira, then Bashir...but they're all clean. Eddington is ready with the phaser...O'Brien is relieved after their encounter the other day that his buddy is clean, but Bashir has no recollection of the event. Uh-oh. Dax scans the ambassador who shapeshifts his way out off the bridge. Yep, it's another Changeling. Odo looks devastated.

Act 3 : **, 17%

Before they know it, the Defiant has cloaked, the weapons activated...but the ship is not under their control thanks to the parasite. Eddington and Odo have been unable to find the Changeling and Odo is certain that the saboteur is still aboard. He surmises that the Founders are hoping that the Defiant's pending incursion into Planet Hummus will lead to a war, giving them the opportunity to seize control over the quadrant, as the Lovok Changeling intimated in “The Die is Cast.” And LUCKILY, Captain Moron here was too trigger-happy and gullible to check in with Starfleet HQ about his hoax mission from the ambassador, and so, here we are. In yet another contrivance, it turns out that Changelings can't be detected as such when they're mimicking other forms. So why is it that Odo can't digest food and drink if he can create a digestive tract? Or was his “messy” comment just a reference to the fact that he doesn't enjoy pooping? Well, Sisko has to make up for his stupidity somehow, so he has the crew locked down, and the search parties paired off in an attempt to limit the Changeling's options.

The senior staff and security are issued phasers (on stun) but Odo refuses, citing the precedent about Changelings never harming each other. Except, as Eddington points out, if this Changeling succeeds in his mission, Odo will probably be blown up by the Falafel People. I think that rule has an asterisk by it, *Only applies to people whose choices we agree with or when the plot requires it. Meanwhile, one of the only two people on board who can hope to destroy the parasite, Dax, has been severely concussed because O'Brien, showing uncharacteristic stupidity, left her alone for a minute to grab some piece of equipment. Good one. Well, Sisko's own idiocy has finally backed him into a corner; he's going to have to destroy the Defiant if O'Brien can't regain control by himself.

Act 4 : *.5, 17%

The only remaining option, before it comes to Operation Blow Ourselves Up, is to sweep the ship with low-level phaser fire, ferreting the Changeling out and, erm somehow getting him to relinquish control of the ship. Sisko, being very clever, has the crew divided into pairs, in case one of them is the Changeling. That way, if one of them is, there won't be any witnesses around when the non-Changeling partner is murdered. Ah, but we have to justify the not-at-all contrived “don't you trust me?” paranoia bits which follow. The story is certainly better than “Cathexis,” but this bullshit angle isn't any less hackneyed than Neelix' rant to the EMH.

Speaking of bad Voyager episodes, Eddington is getting sweaty because their sweeps are heating up the air, reminding me of “Learning Curve” and giving the ship a fever. He asks Odo if he might be able to predict the other Changeling's tactics.

ODO: I've thought about it, but the truth is I don't understand my people all that well.

Truth. Meanwhile, Captain Genius' let's move in pairs instead of threes...or, I don't know, eject the warp core, or shoot the cloaking device, or board a shuttlecraft, or flood the ship with knock-out gas, or … hey you know what would be really useful right now? Some sort of device that forces a Changeling to hold his shape! Gosh, if only some mad master Cardassian spy had had these things built and distributed to the AQ powers, just in case his own perfect plan to destroy the entire Dominion failed! Anyway, Captain Dumbass' plan ends up getting his gold-shirted partner strangled to death by tentacle hentai, I mean the Changeling. Should have put on a red shirt, buddy. More idiocy ensues with Kira and her Bolian buddy finding Sisko and engaging in a three-way Mexican standoff. Even Odo and Eddington allow themselves to be separated. Jesus, how sad is it that these two crack security officers are performing at the same level as Neelix in “Twisted,” wandering off and getting separated like fucking doofuses?

Well, Odo tries to make up for his own stupidity by noting that Sisko has started to bleed from his scuffle, and that this seems to indicate that he isn't a Changeling because The Thing™. So Bashir takes blood samples from everyone except Odo, naturally. Sisko takes the chance to cast suspicion over the paranoid Bolian. Way to inspire the troops, captain. When Bashir takes a sample from Eddington, the blood transforms into Changeling goo—so I guess they've got their man. Remember, the Changeling was able to knock the entire crew onto the floor and escape within about a second, but now he's just going to let them cart him off to confinement? Eddington even makes this point himself! God these people are DUMB. Then Bashir (the real Bashir) opens the door across the hall (of course) revealing that this other Bashir is the Changeling. He morphs away and Sisko...sigh...Sisko sends Odo right after him in goo form. So now, the GOOD shapeshifter is on his own and the two are indistinguishable from one another. God these people are DUUUMMB.

Act 5 : **.5, 17%

Well, now the Defiant is minutes away from Planet Tabouli, so Sisko authorises the auto-destruct—which is inexplicably NOT affected by the Changeling parasite. Did I say contrived? Contrived. So, the computer lets the whole ship know that they're ten minutes from blowing up, and Sisko's 47, sorry 45-man crew can cower in their bunks instead of boarding the escape pods. Such an inspiring leader. Well, O'Brien at least thinks he can shut down all of the force-fields on the ship so they can remove the parasite, but this will also remove the shielding around the warpcore. Apparently, the Defiant's impressive design will cause the entire Engineering staff to melt or get cancer if something should disrupt their force-fields. Brilliant. Odo oozes into Engineering, followed by...Odo oozing into Engineering. Odo2 immediately tries verifying his identity with Miles, but Odo1 has just as much info. O'Brien says “fuck it” and has his assistant lock his phaser on both Odos. If he can save the ship, O'Brien may be the only one to make up for his idiocy this episode. Odo2 gives himself away by panicking when O'Brien shuts down the fields and attacks the assistant and the chief before Odo can get into a goo-fight with him. He urges Odo to escape with him, but Odo fights back and manages to shove the other Changeling into the radioactive warp core. He whispers something in Odo's ear before dying and disintegrating into a pile of charcoal.

O'Brien regains control and the Defiant returns to DS9. Odo reports to the Wardroom to deliver a disturbing message—apparently, the Founders “are everywhere.” First Lovok and now Charcoal Changeling; these bad guys just can't help but give away their plans, can they?

Episode as Functionary : **.5, 10%

DS9 has done homages to the Godfather (“The Nagus”), Casablanca (“Profit and Loss”), and now The Thing. I think this one falls somewhere in the middle in terms of quality, not coming anywhere close to the success of the former, but not a total failure like the latter. The final act provides an effective teaser for the next season and gives Odo a small amount of character material to work over, which is good. The suspense is so-so, at moments being effectively conveyed, while seeming rather cheesy at others. What really hurst this story is the fact that the situation relies upon a series of really bad decision-making. Unless the goal was to make the entire command crew look retarded, the plot is very contrived. Sisko, especially, is made to look like a complete idiot, which is all the more glaring in light of his promotion. The episode continues to depict Starfleet as a clichéd space navy, meaning the story relies almost entirely upon the mechanics of the plot instead of interesting ideas.

It's good that Odo is forced to double down on his choice from “The Search,” choosing to side against his people, despite his very strong desire (both from character and from biological instinct) to re-join them, as we saw vividly in “The Die is Cast.” I think it's pretty well-known that the superior “Homefront” two-parter was supposed to end this season. The team was forced to postpone this so they could introduce the Klingon element at the top of Season 4. I debated treating the series this way in my reviews, as I am doing with Voyager, which also had it's season finale screwed over by the producers, but this would mean putting “The Way of the Warrior” after “Paradise Lost,” leaving no place for this episode at all. So, this is the finale we got, and it's pretty lame.

Final Score : **

I've certainly been critical of DS9 episodes before, but I think you're being a bit harsh on this episode. No, it's certainly not a classic. But I'd argue that it's a pretty well constructed episode, with a delightfully creepy ending. The changelings are being dramatic and they know it.

Oh, and congratulations on making your way through 'bad' DS9! You'll probably still have many criticisms to make, but we can probably agree that the show improves drastically from here on out.

"Oh, and congratulations on making your way through 'bad' DS9!"

Time to move along home...

I agree this episode has some engaging bits with shapeshifter hunt which will become thematic through the rest of the series. But yeah, Sisko not confirming the orders with Starfleet (presumably he needs some back up officers from Starfleet to support the station while his entire senior staff and security chiefs are away) is quite the conceit. I would’ve liked it if Fake-Krajensky had conjured some sort of excuse like the mission being classified due to its sensitive nature. Otherwise Sisko just seems too gullible in an episode where we’re really seeing him be a captain for the first time.

As for series getting better from here on out - not a big fan of the Klingon stuff personally - but I do think season 4 has some gems in it all the same.

I'm still doing my recent re-watch Chrome (I stopped midway through Season 6), but I was astounded by the high quality of Season 4. For a 26 episode season, it's truly remarkable. I'd now call it one of my favorite tv seasons ever.

@Iceman

Don’t get me wrong, some of my all-time favorite DS9 episodes are in season 4. It’s just much of the Klingon stuff to me is either a) a huge disservice to Worf, Gowron, Kurn and Kor or b) pedestrian nonsense like “Worf just doesn’t get DS9” b-plots. I know I’m probably in the minority on that but luckily Season 4 gives us many other good stories.

Anyhow, I just started rewatching the season so maybe I’ll reevaluate as Elliott’s reviews continue.

@Iceman:

I really did find myself shaking my head at how stupidly everybody was behaving in this episode. Of course, without that stupidity there would be no plot. I don't think this is awful or anything, just not very impressive.

Watching and commenting:

-Sisko has become a Captain.

--Tzenkethi? Have we heard of them before? Is there a stowaway on the Defiant, or is O'Brien getting jumpy on his old age? Age, experience, growth, changing roles - multiple mentions, so far.

--Something squirming around the ship. Shapeshifters? And wow, yes, and wow, those changelings are dangerous.

--OK, so, just now Odo thinks of this simple "blood test?"

--The changling was unable to take over the autodestruct?

--Uh oh, a changeling has hurt another changeling. That can't be good.

Pretty slow moving, with a lot of frills just to get us to the info at the very end: "We are everywhere."

An average offering.

Maybe this episode was a bit more exciting at the time, but it's aged very poorly. A very perfunctory outing, with shades of "The Thing", that never really manages to excite due to the rather inept attempts to capture the rogue Changing.

I think what annoyed me most is that this is, to my memory at least, the third outing where the Defiant gets sabotaged mid voyage. It's become quite a tedious trope, especially as it's only the Defiant's first season on the show.

Two stars.

a good, suspenseful episode, though extremely derivative of the thing. the blood test is almost beat for beat identical even though it makes sense in the context of the story. i half expected sisko to say, "now, when a man bleeds..."

3 stars. Pretty entertaining although I suspect I’d have preferred the original season finale idea of Vulcan leaving the Federation before paramount strangely nixed idea

This was pretty tense and suspenseful. And the final revelation carried quite a foreboding punch

Watching DS9 “back-to-back”, it’s not always easy to keep track of the seasons as they progress, except by changes in hairdos— or rank! With a season finale it’s to be expected, of course, but I do have an aversion to those plots which see everybody off on a mission. With the entire senior staff crewing the Defiant, who’s in charge on the station? Isn’t it still possible that the Dominion could come through the wormhole in force at any time? It’s not even clear (watching the episode for the first time and spoiler-free) what Kira and Odo are doing on a purely Federation mission.

By the end, the need for Odo to be present is obvious, of course — although it’s still not clear why Kira came along for the ride.

Minor niggle: does O’Brien really believe Sisko is the best captain in Starfleet? I know his interactions with Picard were limited ( often to just one word) and he is working close-quarters with Sisko, but really?

Now that I am three seasons in, never having seen DS9 before, I have to say that it’s a massive annoyance to me that the Changelings were named Changelings by the writers. In British folklore, a changeling is a fairy infant, placed in a cradle in exchange for a human child who they have stolen. A changeling child would (like a cuckoo in the nest) be raised by its human “parents” while always seeming something “other”. The Dominion shapeshifters are not changelings, but “changeable”. I would have preferred Metamorphs, with a colloquialism such as “werewater” (as in werewolf, with the prefix “were” denoting “man” in Old English) applied by the humanoid inhabitants of the Gamma Quadrant, based on their limited interactions.

"I think what annoyed me most is that this is, to my memory at least, the third outing where the Defiant gets sabotaged mid voyage. It's become quite a tedious trope"

I'm pretty sure it's only the second time, and the other was Eddington doing it in very different circumstances to obey orders. What was the third?

@Tomalak

I think it may be in 'Defiant' when Major Kira blows out part of the EPS grid by sabotaging a replicator to damage the cloaking system.

Could be wrong, though!

Great episode. Suspense. Action.

But pointless.

Another episode which sadly shows that the DS9 writers were still treating DS9 as little more than an extension of TNG. And that they weren't afraid to outright plagiarise other, better media.

The episode opens with a curiously flat celebration of Sisco's promotion to Captain, after a deliberately misleading voiceover. As cheap tricks go, it's ... cheap.

Then, following a verbal request from an ambassador, Sisco loads the Defiant for bear and sets out to perform some gunboat diplomacy. With the entire command crew of DS9 in tow.

Where do you begin with this? The only ship attached to DS9, being sent away? A warship being sent to perform a diplomatic mission - even one which may require fighting? And doing all of this based on a verbal request without even contacting Starfleet to confirm or even request situational updates? And to a species which have never been mentioned before or since, and yet who presumably have at least some degree of technological parity with the federation.

And to take the entire command crew? Who's looking after DS9 in their absence? Why is the station chief security officer riding shotgun on a mission which has nothing to do with the Dominion or the wormhole?

Obviously, the answer is that the writers needed to set the story on a spaceship and that Odo needed to be present so that they could set up a heavily foreshadowed showdown between him and the Founder changling.

But it's all very clumsily handled, and as with many other episodes in this season, suggests that the writers were more comfortable with TNG style "travellng" episodes than the "fixed-point" stories which Babylon 5 was successfully showcasing at the time.

Moving onto the actual story, and it's mostly lifted from The Thing: a small group of people isolated from the outside world must battle an alien creature which can perfectly mimick any of them.

It's here that the episode becomes a little more ridiculous, as we find that the Changlings cant be identified via scanners, as apparently they perfectly mimick whatever form they take, all the way down to the molecular level.

This is something I find very hard to buy into, especially when you consider that the Federation has access to Odo to test detection methods. And as this very episode highlights, changlings do have physiological differences to humans - they don't eat, nor do they sweat in high temperatures and they need to turn into goop once every twelve hours.

(It's also a conceit Ronald D. Moore carried over to BSG, where the "human" cylons were repeatedly claimed to be indistinguishable from humans, despite being susceptible to radiation which doesn't harm humans, having high-bandwidth FTL transmitters installed in their brains /and/ the ability to control computers by inserting fibre optic cables into their arms...)

Still, it gives the crew of the Defiant a chance to charge around in pairs, despite the fact that Odo has shown how easily a changling can subdue a solid. And we get to see a blood-test scene directly lifted from The Thing, with an overly telegraphed bait-and-switch twist thrown in at the end.

Naturally, this leads to a showdown between Odo and the enemy changlingn once the writers have finished hammering home how "no changling has ever harmed another".

As ever, this is one of the broad generalisations Star Trek is very fond of and which doesn't really hold up well. Odo himself proves that each changling has it's own distinct personality and ethics, and the Founders have spent centuries manipulating other species, often while in disguise. And there's never been a situation where two founders have conflicted, or deliberately caused the death of another in the name of progressing a strategy? After all, Odo has been brought into the line of fire by previous Founder activities several times and has only been saved by external factors; this entire episode involves putting Odo on a starship going to war and quite possibly complete destruction.

And the other changling was more than happy to assault Odo while demanding that he return to their homeworld.

Still, the inevitable happens, and it does at least give us a final line in the final episode of the season which sets things up for the dramatic opener of the next season - and this is also when the writers finally seem to get a better handle on what DS9 should really be...

Too many problems in this episode. Risk of war with Zen Kathy? Who's she? - Sisko should have asked. Doesn't he contact Starfleet before going on major missions like this?

And no, I'm never going to believe that the founders have never harmed each other. Cultures have their myths that are widely accepted, despite being ludicrous.

Quibbling about this episode seems a bit pointless. It's an attempt at an action-oriented, crowd-pleasing season finale, with all the usual pleasures and flaws that such things entail.

One thing nobody's mentioned is how creepy the Changeling intruder looked. It's a memorable villain: a creepy old guy in a semi-dress who rapidly morphs into wildly lashing goo.

As for this season, I'd say there were 8 bad episodes, which is not bad for a mammoth 26 episode season. I thought all the two parters were very good (The Search 1 and 2, Past Tense 1 and 2, Improbable Case and the Die is Cast), as were the episodes which forwarded politics on Bajor and with the Maquis (Defiant, Destiny and Shakaar). However I would say none of these episodes rival the greatest in season 1 and 2, and none of them quite makes 4 stars on Jammer's scale.

Every season has a standalone Dax, Odo, Miles, Bashir, Quark and Kira episode, and in this season none of the above get a great standalone. Indeed, their episodes are weaker here than in season 1, 2 and 4. What elevates the season, and creates the impression of the show "becoming better", is its strong two-parters and its fidelity to continuity. I'd say season 3 has lower highs and better lows than what came before.

One also notices the subtle changes in style with Piller moving away from the series. It's a bit more gung-ho, a bit less interested in Bajoran politics.

It's interesting comparing season 3 of DS9 to season 3 of TNG. IMO, TNG's third season was vastly better. IMO it had 4 star episodes with "Survivors", "Who Watches the Watchers", "The Best of Both Worlds", "Deja Q", "Yesterday's Enterprise", "Sins of the Father" and "The Defector". And then very strong and/or iconic episodes with "Ensigns of Command", "Evolution", "Booby Trap", "The Enemy", "The Hunted", "The High Ground", "The Offspring", "Allegiance", "Tin Man", "Hollow Pursuits" and "Sarek".

@Trent

Just wanted to point out there is a discussion of the seasons overall on the "recap" pages. Makes it a little less crowded on the episode pages.

Enjoying your takes!

As a fan of John Carpenter's The Thing, I really enjoyed this episode. It does a good job with the suspense and paranoia but I do agree with the criticism over the lack of verification of their mission as well as the sudden mentioning of the Tzenkethi. We don't know those people, we've never even seen them. But we're supposed to take them seriously as a threat to the Federation? In hindsight it would have been better for the Founders to send the Defiant to try to destroy a Klingon outpost, since the very next episode ends up going the route of driving a wedge between the Federation and Klingon Empire.

And Odo's final words provide a very ominous ending indeed.

Not nearly as good a Season 3 finale as Best of Both Worlds, but a solid 7/10

I just watched this for the first time in many years and I had the same thought as some others here - why are Kira and Odo on a Starfleet mission, a mission entirely unconnected to Bajor or to DS9 security, aboard the Defiant? Why is Kira the 1st officer of the Defiant? Makes no sense.

And while I did enjoy the episode, it felt like it was written for TNG or Voyager, and felt off for DS9, like the writers didn't entirely know their own characters.

Elliot said:

"In yet another contrivance, it turns out that Changelings can't be detected as such when they're mimicking other forms. So why is it that Odo can't digest food and drink if he can create a digestive tract? Or was his “messy” comment just a reference to the fact that he doesn't enjoy pooping?"

This begs other questions too. We've seen Odo masquerade as inanimate objects before (a satchel, a beverage glass, a "you are here" display on the Promenade). If a changeling literally is simply that thing when he becomes that thing, then presumably he can't see, hear, speak or think when in that form.
So...how could he, say, eavesdrop on a criminal to catch them in the act when he's a beverage glass?

Obviously Odo doesn't literally become a beverage glass, because beverage glasses can't shapeshift into security chiefs. So some aspect of the Founder must be retained when the change forms. Why this is undetectable to scanners I don't know.

As thinly explained as it may be, I guess the concept is that Odo's senses and consciousness are wildly different than those of a humanoid, since he retains it in whatever form. And his ability to gain and lose weight at will (rather enviable, I must say!) means that his biology must be fundamentally different too. The fact that he can turn not only into a shape that resembles a glass, but into something molecularly indistinguishable from a class, is rather staggering.

I'm glad other people have touched on this but I find my phrasing to be more clear. Why did no one verify the mission orders with Command? Sisko seemingly only needs the ambassadors word to take the entire command staff of DS9 on a potentially dangerous combat mission. Even Eddington. If they had failed to stop the ship, every single senior officer would have been killed.

I guess they weren't curious at all about a WAR possibly starting and didn't bother to look into it. I love this episode and the way it advances the Dominion plotline is super but that's my only nitpick

I like the episode but the "no changling has ever harmed another" just doesn't make sense. If the changling was successful he would've been killing Odo by causing tzenkethi to destroy the defiant. Another time in dif episode has Odo ,albeit in permanent solid form at the time, uncovers martok as a changling who immediately attacks and attempts to strangle "solid" Odo to death. How does this stuff not count lol. Or is it all supposed to play as an obvious hippocritical thing?

I can see the changelings as hypocritical and not the least bit bothered by it. They're manipulative and self-serving, so what do they care? One of the greatest insights into their mindset is when the female changeling said, "it’s not justice you desire, Odo, but order; the same as we do." I wouldn't be surprised if the "no changeling has ever harmed another" thing was a complete lie just to mess with Odo's mind and try to keep him in line. When Odo was a dirty dirty solid, I doubt they had any issue dispatching him in that condition. Collateral damage also seems to be justifiable to them since it's not "direct" harm.

I was watching DS9 for the millionth time and I've just noticed a GAPING plot hole. Odo fights that changeling and kills it by throwing into the warp core and frying it. No other "dominion" ally was around. HOW did the Founders know that Odo was the one to kill the changling? How do the Founders know that it wasn't some other member of the Defiants crew that killed the changling? This seriously makes no sense and is now really bugging me. I know that to fully enjoy Star Trek one has to suspend logic and accept things that don't make sense sometimes. But this one...this is really a big one. They aren't telepathic except for when they are in "the link". EVEN if you try to explain by saying well maybe they have a spy on station deep space nine or somehow read the defiants logs...I just don't see it happening. There's no way they would put on record specifically HOW the changling was killed or WHO killed him. Am I missing something?

@Jholmes what you said above is a plot hole, but not a gaping one, IMO. Starfleet seems pretty meticulous when it comes to logs and debriefings (In fact Homefront and Paradise Lost suggest that Odo spent hours debriefing at HQ) so it doesn't surprise me that there *would* be a written log of what took place. Why would they choose to cover it up? And even if there were (for some reason) no written log, we know for a fact that there is a flight recorder in Engineering (cf. Star Trek III The Search for Spock), so it's entirely plausible that a Changeling infiltrator was able to gain access to video footage of what took place. After all, "[they're] everywhere!"

Not only was the plot flimsy, but the action was too slow for words. Sisko seemed to be stitched to the chair after becoming captain. He didn't even leave it when the changeling appeared. Overall, the acting and the action was off key and awkwardly done. The dramatic moment wasn't that dramatic. The alien appeared but nobody had good reflexes. They just waited till he disappeared. Also the new haircuts are off putting. This whole season has been mostly disappointing.

I thought the episode wasn't bad overall, but I'm intrigued that the discussion here has carried on since 2009 - that's 15 years, or double the length of time the series ran. For an 'unpopular' series, that's pretty good...