In “The Die Is Cast”, Odo and Garak find themselves deep in a secret mission waged by a joint Romulan-Cardassian task force. Before it is over, betrayals test allegiances, and the full weight of the Dominion descends upon a first strike by Alpha Quadrant forces.

I have been waiting more than two and a half seasons to write a plot summary like this. Am I giddy? Like a Ferengi at a discount store.

This episode’s balance of intrigue, double-dealing, action and character development is just about perfect, and extra marks go to Rene Auberjonois and Andrew J. Robinson, who once again steal the show. My goodness, we need these guys playing off each other more often. Thankfully, one scene seems to hint that’s slated for the future.

Speaking of Odo, he’s really come a long way. Going into this series, he seemed consigned to be the voice of authority ever-looming over Quark’s shoulder. It was such an infamous phenomenon that people have even poked fun at it. Season Three is really fleshing Odo out, and that effort is surely seen in this latest episode.

If I had to pick contention, it’d be with the blatantly-foreshadowed sabotage of the Defiant, and the basically nil consequences for said saboteur. When Lt. Valeris tried this sort of nonsense in a similarly-threatening scenario, she lost her career over it, possibly more. Here, Sisko brushes the whole incident off. At the very least, a swift punch from Miles and a trip to the brig would have been in order.

Why does this really happen? It’s a plot device, designed to ensure certain events play according to schedule, and that the Defiant is delayed from getting to a key event at the wrong moment.

The other possibility is that this officer is a changeling, and the sabotage attempt being easily-fixed is a failure on his part to inflict adequate damage, but we’ll see if I’m right. The biggest clue to this being the correct conclusion is that Sisko never brings up the issue with the Admiral said officer claims gave the order. It’s the kind of scene you sweep out of a final screenplay in hopes that your audience never asks why its absent.

Here I am, asking.

I might just be paranoid, though. The writers have been proficient at tripping me up with Founder appearances. I almost wonder if experiences here led Moore to make Cylon reveals such a major part of the modern Battlestar Galactica–one certainly sees DS9’s DNA shot all through that show.

As for this earlier series, it’s definitely hit its stride by this point.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

---

A miracle at the end of the Universe could tear a vast refugee fleet apart. Check out the Beacon Saga, and follow along as the end becomes the beginning. Try Part I for free, for your choice of ebook platforms.