Wow this show can get dark, a lot more so than any Trek so far. This episode is about Odo coming to terms with having falsely convicted three Bajorans the during the occupation and then presided over there execution. It seems like he didn't do it on purpose, but he clearly blames himself for not investigating as thoroughly as possible. The justification for this episode at the end that he founded a "great link" with Dax, Sisko and Garak is pretty silly, but it doesn't take up enough of the episode to interrupt this serious and engaging story.
The episode opens with Sisko, Dax, Odo and Garak on a runabout returning from a conference. They are fighting about whether Garak should be upset the Bajorans don't really want to hear his perspective on the occupation when they hit some sort of plasma thing. Next thing we see the runabout is arriving at DS9, but it is on autopilot and the four passengers aren't doing well. Bashir beams over and finds all four in some sort of comatose state but with lots of brain activity. He takes them to the infirmary and meanwhile the four find themselves 7 years early on Terok Nor. Although they see themselves as who they are everyone else sees them as Bajorans. Odo keeps freaking out and seeing his predecessor, security chief Thrax, doing the job he was already doing at this point in history. Before they can figure out what is going on Dax is grabbed by the guards and Garak gets a punch in the face for trying to bribe them.
Dax finds herself in Dukat's quarters where he has her pour drinks and starts laying on the charm. Garak managed to pull steal a Cardassian com unit from the guard who hit him and uses his codes to scan their identities and they discover they are Bajorans and Odo knows who they are but won't say what he knows or how. They are interrupted by Quark offering them work which they accept. Odo sees Thrax again and while he is disoriented Sisko gets him to admit that the three Bajorans they are portraying were falsely convicted of attempting to assassinate Gul Dukat. Sisko arranges a meeting with the resistance to try and get them off the station but before they can get very far Dax and Dukat walk in and a bomb goes off. Sisko rushes to try and help Dax which gets all three arrested for the attempted murder of Dukat.
While they are in prison Dax manages to knock out Dukat and all four make a break for a shuttle of some sort but suddenly they are back in prison. Odo gets a meeting with the Cardassian in charge of security and tries to convince him using the evidence he remembers from the case but the Cardassian doesn't listen. To him it is about teaching the Bajorans a lesson. Then they are at the execution but it is now Dax, Sisko and Garak being executed and Odo is watching. Then he admits he failed these three and all of them watch his memory of the actual execution and then wake up in the infirmary. Afterwards Kira stops by to talk about it with Odo. He is extremely remorseful but she can't find it in herself to forgive him so she asks if these were the only ones and he admits he isn't sure.
Review: A deep and disturbing episode that digs way deeper into the history of its characters than any Trek has before. Kinda an odd scifi element making it happen, but the story works very well.
8 out of 10
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