“Think of it. Five years ago no one had ever heard of Bajor or Deep Space 9. Now all our hopes rest here.” – Gowron

“By Inferno’s Light” carries the momentum built by its predecessor a considerable distance. But there are enough complications, issues, and questions to keep it from being a truly exceptional episode on its own merits — even if it does contain a genuinely solid plot twist in its opening paces. Make no mistake, this is a worthy, entertaining and thrilling installment of Deep Space Nine. It almost effortlessly expands on the lore of the series. It’s very, very good … just not exceptional.

With the Dominion fleet pouring through the wormhole, DS9 braces for battle. But at the last moment, the ships turn aside and set course for: Cardassia. Surprising? Oh, yeah. But not as surprising as what happens next: Gul Dukat’s Bird of Prey follows the Dominion fleet and he announces a treaty between the Dominion and Cardassia, effectively making the Cardassians part of the Dominion.

The battle lines are drawn.

Dukat’s actions, taken to restore Cardassia back to a position of power and prominence — and to expel the Klingons and Maquis from Cardassian territory — make a *lot* of sense, given what we know about his character. But this does raise some questions. It’s common knowledge that the Dominion orchestrated the Klingon invasion of Cardassia. So why would Dukat be so eager to ally himself with them? I suppose you could say that he was blinded by his patriotism, but it’d take a rather large blind spot for Dukat to see past how the Dominion was complicit in bringing Cardassia to its knees. So while the turn of events is exciting and sets up for a lot of new conflicts, the decision itself is a bit, shall we say, suspect.

Meanwhile, back at the prison, Garak, Worf, Bashir, and Martok continue their escape plan — they decide to use Enabran Tain’s improvised communication device to contact the runabout and have it beam them out of the prison. This leads to some very good scenes, particularly where Garak and Worf are concerned. As it turns out, Garak has severe claustrophobia and, as Worf and Martok note, it takes true bravery to confront ones own fears. For his part, Worf proves to be a staunch adversary for the Jem’Hadar death matches. His efforts draw attention away from the escape attempt at the cost of his diminishing health. At the last moment, before Worf is finally killed and the plan is discovered, Garak succeeds and they all beam away to safety.

Which, of course, begs the question: Why in the hell did the Jem’Hadar leave the runabout in orbit in the first place? And, secondly, how did the prisoners even know that the runabout was still there at all? It’s all a bit too convenient. The result is a storyline that gives us some great character moments at the cost of a silly and toothless escape plot.

With Dukat know firmly installed as the leader of the Cardassian Empire, the threat to DS9 has never been greater. Dukat calls Sisko and, in out of respect to Sisko’s efforts to save his life, Dukat offers Sisko a chance to leave the station before Dukat returns to claim it by force. The Klingons, who have been expelled from Cardassian space by the Dominion fleet regroup around DS9. Gowron even says, not without some obvious and delicious irony on the part of the writers, “Think of it. Five years ago no one had ever heard of Bajor or Deep Space 9. Now all our hopes rest here.” The Romulans join the armada. And all signs point to a showdown of epic proportions.

But it’s all a diversion. The changeling-Bashir has modified a runabout with a bomb that will detonate Bajor’s sun, resulting in the destruction DS9 and the combined fleets of the Federation and Klingon and Romulan Empires. At the last moment, though, the changeling’s plot is discovered (thanks to a timely communique from the real Bashir) and the Defiant swoops in to save the day. Of course, this, too, begs a question: Why would the changelings, who are so proud of never committing violence against one another, suddenly send one of their own on a suicide mission?

Ah well … perhaps it’s best not to think on it too much.

“By Inferno’s Light” continues the transformative story begun by its predecessor. There are some really good moments to enjoy — especially the reconciliation of sorts between Worf and Garak as a result of their mutually courageous actions. But there are too many questions, too many questionable decisions, really, for this episode to be considered truly outstanding.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine