A Federation ambassador brings newly-promoted Captain Sisko orders to take the Defiant on a patrol of the Tzenkethi border, where a destabilizing coup has just taken place, but everything is not as it seems. (Season finale)
Summary
Sisko receives his promotion
In the wardroom, Commander Sisko is receiving his fourth pip, finally becoming a captain. At the subsequent celebration party, Federation Ambassador Krajensky informs Sisko that a coup has taken place on the Tzenkethi homeworld. Sisko is to take the ambassador and the USS Defiant to that sector to remind the Tzenkethi of the Federation's presence on nearby colony worlds.
Not long after departing, the Defiant receives a distress signal from a colony on Barisa Prime, stating they are under attack by the Tzenkethi. When contact is abruptly cut off, Sisko alters course and tries to contact Starfleet Command. However, the ship's communication system malfunctions. Chief O'Brien and Lieutenant Dax discover that strange alien devices have hooked themselves into the ship's systems; their placement is the work of a saboteur. Since the person that placed them would have been exposed to trace amounts of tetryon particles, Dax scans each member of the crew for signs of the particles. Within minutes she discovers that Krajensky is the culprit, and also that he is a Changeling, who morphs before their eyes and escapes through an access hatch.
It becomes clear that the Changeling has taken control of the ship. The crew can do nothing to prevent it from activating the cloaking device and arming the ship's weapons. Sisko then realizes that Krajensky's visit to DS9, his information about the Tzenkethi coup and the transmission from Barisa Prime are all fake. It seems likely that the Dominion is hoping to start a war between the Tzenkethi and the Federation that would destabilize the Alpha Quadrant and make it easier for them to move in. With the Defiant primed for battle and just a few short hours from the Tzenkethi border, it is imperative that they locate the Changeling.
They've barely begun their search when O'Brien finds Dax unconscious in the engine room, so he'll have to make the repairs himself. Sisko decides that if O'Brien can't regain control of the ship before they get to the border, he'll have to order the self-destruct of the Defiant.
Because the Changeling can look like anyone, Sisko has his officers pair up, with instructions to keep their partner in sight at all times. But in the course of hunting down the Changeling, Sisko, Odo, Eddington, Kira and a Bolian officer are each separated from their partner and suspicion grows among the crew. Odo points out that Sisko is not the Changeling as he is bleeding from a minor wound.
Bashir is discovered locked in a spare set of quarters
Now armed with a way of unmasking the Changeling via simple blood tests, Sisko has Dr. Bashir test everyone. When Eddington's blood seems to morph into orange goo, he is taken into custody. But moments later, they discover a second Bashir, the real Bashir, and realize they have been tricked by the Changeling. He escapes just as the Defiant enters Tzenkethi space.
Sisko has no other choice but to activate the auto-destruct sequence, giving O'Brien only ten minutes to find a way to regain control of the ship. But as he works in engineering, Odo shows up... followed by a second one. Unwilling to be side-tracked by playing "choose the Changeling" O'Brien manages to drop the force fields surrounding the sabotaged systems. The false Odo changes form and attacks O'Brien and Odo. In the course of fighting him, the real Odo inadvertently causes the Changeling to fall into the ship's warp core, fatally injuring him. O'Brien completes his repairs, returning control of the ship to Sisko, who deactivates the self-destruct. Back at DS9, Odo relays some disturbing news, the dying Changeling's last words...
"You are too late. We are everywhere..."
Memorable Quotes
"Why are you protecting these solids? You don't belong with them. You belong with us. Let go. Don't you see? You've lost. It's too late for you to help them, but it's not too late to help yourself. Link with me, Odo. We can escape together."
"I... don't... think... so!!"
- - Changeling saboteur and Odo
Background Information
- The working title of this episode was "Flashpoint". In the Deep Space Nine Chronicles intro, it is stated that the episode was untitled until a contest was held and "The Adversary" was selected.
- The producers had initially planned to do a show that had a cliff-hanger ending involving Changelings on Earth. The story was set to introduce Joseph Sisko and would take place in Starfleet Headquarters, with the end to revolve around Benjamin Sisko saying that the Founders had infiltrated the very heart of...and that was the end of the show. However, for reasons still unknown, Paramount nixed the idea, saying they didn't want a cliff-hanger ending, and so the writers came up with a story about a Changeling wreaking havoc on the Defiant instead. However, the Changelings-on-Earth story later served as the basis for the episodes "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost" the following season. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- Stunt coordinator Dennis Madalone played the Starfleet security officer who got his head bashed against a bulkhead by the Changeling. Madalone also plays the one-eyed Marauder in the Mirror Universe episodes
- This episode marks the last time Alexander Siddig is credited as Siddig El Fadil as an actor. As a director, however, he remains credited as Siddig El Fadil.
- The scene in the Defiant's mess hall where the senior officers are taking blood samples of each other to determine which one of them is the Changeling is very reminiscent of the 1982 film The Thing directed by John Carpenter. This film is based on the 1938 short story 'Who Goes There?' by Joseph W. Campbell (writing under the pseudonym of Don A. Stuart) which contains a very similar scene. Strangely however, the writers cite neither the original story nor the Carpenter film as their primary inspiration for this episode, but rather the 1951 film adaptation directed by Chriatian Nyby, called The Thing From Another World. That film emphasizes the theme of paranoia much more so than either the story or the later film adaptation, and paranoia was something the writers were interested in exploring, as it was something rarely seen in the Star Trek universe. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- The writers decided to use the line "No changeling has ever harmed another" as an important element in this episode. This line had been heard a few times already (in "The Search, Part II", "Heart of Stone" and "The Die is Cast"), and its importance would return in the fourth season finale, "Broken Link", where Odo receives his punishment for killing a fellow Changeling.
- This episode marks the last time Sisko is seen with hair.
- According to Jadzia Dax, there are 47 people on board the Defiant in this episode.
- This episode marks the first appearance of several new sets aboard the Defiant, namely main engineering, the mess hall and the extended corridor set.
- According to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, the rifles used in this episode are the first rifles ever seen in Star Trek which actually have a trigger.
- The fight between Odo and the Changeling at the end of the episode was extremely complicated to put together due to all the morphing effects. Producer Steve Oster points out that there are more morphing effects in this short scene than in the entire second season. According to actor Rene Auberjonois, after principal photography was completed, all the cast were allowed to leave except himself and Lawrence Pressman. He explains that during the main shoot, he and Pressman had filmed the scene as normal, but to make sure the effects would work properly, each of them then had to re-enact the scene separately, looking at a monitor and matching their movements exactly. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) There are actually some clips of both actors shooting the fight without the other present in the Deep Space Nine Chronicles intro to this episode.
- The scene when Krajensky morphs into a Changeling and escapes through the vent is one of visual effects supervisor Glenn Neufeld's favorite shots from the entire seven years of DS9.
Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 3.13, 25 September 1995.
- As part of the DS9 Season 3 DVD collection.
Links and References
Guest Stars
- Lawrence Pressman as the Krajensky/Changeling saboteur
- Kenneth Marshall as Michael Eddington
- Jeff Austin as a Bolian security officer
Co-Star
- Majel Barrett as the computer voice
Uncredited Co-Stars
- Randy James as Jones
- Dennis Madalone as a Human security officer
- Jeff Cadiente as an operations ensign
References
1964; ambassador; Autarch; blood; Bolian; coup d'etat; duridium; Entebe; Federation-Dominion Cold War; Federation-Tzenkethi border; Federation-Tzenkethi War; Founder; Helaspont Nebula; M'kemas III; ore; Risa; sabotage; Solais V; tetryon; Tzenkethi; Tzenkethi warship; Ulysses, USS; warp plasma conduit; World Series; Kasidy Yates
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