“The Changing Face of Evil” is a thoroughly transformative episode. From start to finish it moves the plot along at a breakneck, while still taking enough time and care for character development … and even a health dose of humor. It’s epic. It’s cinematic. And by the time all is said and done, The Final Chapter of Deep Space Nine, which has been slowly building like a thunderhead, breaks headlong into a full-blown torrent.

Fantastic.

There’s an air of finality to this episode — in the sense that the choices and outcomes of what we see set characters and circumstances firmly for what should be a breakneck rush to the final moments of the series. Without question, the landscape changes completely … and some things which were familiar and comfortable will never be seen again.

As if to underscore the sense of danger and desperation, the episode opens with a shocking revelation: The Breen have attacked Earth, have destroyed Starfleet Headquarters, no less. It was a brazen, costly maneuver, but one that paid off in terms of psychological advantage. And what’s most impressive about the new Dominion tactics, with the Breen serving as their leading edge, is that they are going for psychological victories as much as they are going for military ones.

It’s that sensibility which brings them to retake the Chin’Toka system. They attack, the Federation leads an armada to counterattack, with the Defiant along for support … and the Federation fleet is completely obliterated … including the Defiant.

The swan song for one of the most impressive *little* ships in Trek lore is, in many ways, a worthy one. The Defiant preps for battle. We see and hear the ship go through its pre-flight checklist. The camera lingers on the faces of her crew. She launches into battle. dispatching enemy warships … and then falls victim to a new, energy-draining weapon. The Defiant falls in battle, in a blaze of glory, as it were. And losing her is a bit like losing a major character. In fact, in many ways, the Defiant got a more noble, heroic sendoff than Jadzia.

Of course, the crew escapes in pods … which are allowed to return to DS9 as part of the Dominion’s new psychological front in the war (though, one has to wonder about the wisdom of letting, say, The Emissary return to the Celestial Temple — the wormhole). Still, for Sisko and crew, the defeat is crushing. The Federation, which has suffered two psychological defeats (and one crushing military one) is on its heels. They need time to regroup … but with The Breen advancing and seemingly invincible, how can they turn the tide?

Enter Damar … the unlikeliest of heroes. Damar, ever the Cardassian patriot, has engineered an uprising bent on overthrowing the Dominion. His speech is short, but oh-so effective — both dramatically and in terms of character. Seeing the reactions of Sisko, Kira, Odo and Weyoun and the Founder is a thrill to watch. Damar has just given the Federation a chance to recuperate and regroup.

And the most compelling element to it all? Damar chooses as his first target the cloning facilities used to continue the Weyoun line of Vorta. It’s about as clear and poetic a message as he could have possibly made.

But the danger isn’t over. The Federation must find a way to hold off The Breen and help Damar’s uprising. Without the Defiant, DS9 becomes a more vulnerable target. And here’s where the episode’s humor becomes not just a distraction, but a poetic foreshadowing. O’Brien and Bashir have had a running interest in The Alamo this season. In this episode, O’Brien has built a scale model of the Alamo and both he and Bashir discuss the finer points on defending it. Worf, sitting with Ezri, observes that they are “playing with toys.”

It’s a gag that has quite a bit of life to it in the episode. But even more intriguing is Bashir’s discussions about how to defend it from an overwhelming force. The discussion has some obvious parallels to what DS9 might soon be facing. And the offhand comment about “building a moat” around the fort might turn out to have some practical value in defending DS9 from a last-ditch Dominion attack.

And, finally, there is the continuing saga of Winn and Dukat. The story is fascinating for its portrayal of Winn’s final descent into an instrument of the pah-wraiths. But for the most part, it’s the weakest element of the episode. She spends a lot of time looking at blank pages from a forbidden book. Her aide spends a lot of time voicing his objections. Dukat spends a lot of time prodding Winn.

It only truly amounts to something when Winn’s aide reveals Dukat’s identity. It’s only then that Winn has to make a decision: come clean or take desperate action to hold her power. Of course, it’s no surprise that she acts in her self-interests, committing murder — a murder that allows her to see what’s written on the blank pages of the book.

“The Changing Face of Evil” is an episode of payoffs. Not only is it highly entertaining, it’s exceptionally well-constructed.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine