| Review : |
This is easily, easily one of the best Trek episodes ever and competitive against any sci-fi or drama I've seen. The Romulan and Cardassian fleet heads for the Founder's home world in the Omarian Nebula (nice continuity, and the kind of galactic politics DS9 does so magnificently). They don't want to negotiate, they're heading out there to destroy the Founders and defeat the Dominion before war can be declared. Meanwhile, Garak is forced to torture and interrogate Odo. The interplay between these two characters is world-class, leading to an epic scene where Odo is dying in agony but refuses to break -- so Garak is the one who breaks, pleading with Odo to say anything, even if it's a lie, so he can end the interrogation and save Odo's life. Everything that happens is in-character, showing us how far Garak in particular has come: we learn that he used to enjoy interrogating and breaking people, but he certainly doesn't like it any more, and he has started to regard the people of DS9 as his friends. Odo is made of tremendously stern stuff. The main storyline is resolved in a drastic way and there is a good scene at the end where the camera focuses on Garak's face and we only see Odo through a mirror. Wonderful, stupendously good episode, one I remembered for the last 10 years. |
