Deep Space Nine concludes its third season with “The Adversary,” a surprisingly self-contained episode which plays out more like DS9’s version of Alien than what we have come to expect from the now cliché cliffhanger ending we usually get from Trek. The change of pace is a nice touch and the episode also manages to offer some ominous portents for future seasons. As a standalone piece, it’s exciting and fun, if lacking in any real profound or meaningful commentary. Still, this is a successful way to end the season.

Beginning with Sisko’s long-awaited promotion to captain, Sisko and the crew of DS9 quickly depart on the Defiant to the Tzenkethi border in the hopes of averting war. Ambassador Krajensky has informed Sisko that the Tzenkethi have recently suffered a coup d’état and a tenuous ten-year peace between the Tzenkethi and the Federation is now at risk. Unfortunately for Sisko and his crew, shortly after departing DS9, strange things begin to happen …

First, O’Brien hears noises deep in the bowels of the ship. Second, systems start to go haywire. And it shouldn’t take a first-year cadet to figure out that a changeling is behind the disarray. As it turns out, the Founders have decided that war between the Tzenkethi and the Federation would destabilize the Alpha Quadrant, and make it an easier target for … whatever it is they plan to do with it.

The result is an episode that spends a great deal of time focusing on the crew’s efforts to hunt down the changeling and regain control of their ship, before it’s too late – before the changeling manages to use the Defiant to attack a Tzenkethi outpost and incite the war. As a procedural story, it works fairly well, playing off the natural paranoia the crew feel, knowing that anyone could be the changeling. Sisko’s efforts to ferret out his quarry are as entertaining as they are ingenious. And the result is a solid outing.

More importantly, though, is Odo’s role in all of this. His conversation with Eddington, about never having to use deadly force in the course of his duties as constable carries with it a bit more significance when coupled with the notion that “No changeling has ever harmed another changeling.” Odo tries find some way to save the day, without compromising his own code, or that of his people. And it’s Odo’s story that really makes the events that much more meaningful.

Ultimately, and tragically, Odo is forced to kill his adversary – but not before one last ominous statement is made. The changeling tells Odo, “You’re too late. We’re everywhere.” The implication is that the Founders have infiltrated much of the Federation and surrounding political entities … capitalizing on a story idea first introduced in TNG’s “Conspiracy” – the notion that the enemy just might be within the Federation itself. It’s a solid setup for Season Four, although, there is a danger. If everyone is suspect, and some of those people do turn out to be changelings, much character work can be lost.

“The Adversary” is a strong season-ending episode, pointing to a much larger, darker and dangerous future for the DS9 series.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine