Season 4 starts by introducing Worf and shaving Sisko's head (among other things) in the closest thing the series had to a soft reboot, but despite all of these changes, it ended up leading to probably the best Star Trek season to date.
Continuing from the ending of Season 3, this season revolves around the reveal that as of now, anyone could be a Changeling. Interestingly enough, there aren't too many actual Changeling appearances this season, as much of the conflict is spawned from the paranoia of the characters, culminating in the Federation and Klingons breaking their alliance in a genius twist. That leads to the next big aspect of Season 4, the addition of Worf to the crew. He spends much of the season struggling to adjust to DS9, possibly mirroring many TNG fans who started watching the series upon learning Worf is now a main character. As a whole, Season 4 hasn't made too much headway on the Dominion due to all of the interspecies conflicts, but the character arcs and subplots are better than ever. Dukat had a particularly strong subplot as he has to deal with the consequences of learning he has a Bajoran half-daughter, but there's also Odo dealing with having killed a changeling, Keiko having another kid, and Rom and Nog separating themselves from Quark and the Ferengi in general.
The Ferengi was definitely the most surprising aspect of Season 4, since despite getting three Ferengi episodes, I don't think any of them were all that bad. It helps that they focused heavily on the core family of Quark, Rom, and Nog, who are definitely the most likable and developed in the species. I particularly found the comedy-driven Little Green Men to be surprisingly entertaining and well-written. I also think Sisko became a much more well-defined captain this season, though that's probably because Avery Brooks looks a lot more badass when he's bald. While I was a bit let down by last season's finale, the Season 4 finale did a much better job of maintaining a small scale while still having that finale feel, completely bringing the season full circle. In addition, Season 4 of DS9 managed to completely usurp TNG's sixth season as the most consistently strong of the series, with hardly any weak episodes whatsoever (aside from The Muse, of course). Sadly, I do think the second half of the season is generally a bit weaker than the first, but even at its worst, Season 4 manages to be pretty damn great.
By its nature, Season 4 has a lot of potential high points, but these are my favorites:
Way Of The Warrior: The Klingons have been Federation allies for so long, it's kind of painful seeing them go back to being antagonists again. However, it did lead to one of the coolest battle sequences in the series, really showing how far Star Trek has gone from Kirk vs The Gorn. Worf joining the show works perfectly, and his character arc is some of his best material since the Klingon Civil War. Way Of The Warrior is a massive season premiere, filled with action, character work, and sweeping twists that start this season on probably the best note out of any Star Trek season.
The Visitor: The Visitor is a very different type of episode for Star Trek. It even feels kind of unfitting after the action-packed and plot-heavy Way Of The Warrior. However, this is also an incredibly well-written and emotional episode about dealing with losing a father, and it solidifies as Jake Sisko as a far more successful child character than Wes ever was. I also really liked seeing the alternate future, particularly getting to see Nog in the captain's chair.
Rejoined: Despite his role in making TNG the success that it is, the more I learn about executive producer Rick Berman, the less I like him. Notably, he seems to have vetoed pretty much every attempt at tackling LGBT themes, which is why we got the disaster that was The Outcast. And that's why Rejoined felt so big. This episode felt like a big middle finger towards Berman, an episode entirely about two women in a relationship containing the fifth lesbian kiss ever aired on TV. It also aged really well too. Even knowing the two had to break up, I'm glad Lenara wasn't abruptly killed at the end, and the fact that Lenara is perfectly willing to rekindle her relationship with Dax regardless of her not being a guy anymore is kind of progressive! It helps that even outside of the impact, Jadzia and Lenara have great chemistry and their love story feels genuine in a way that many Star Trek love stories don't.
Homefront/Paradise Lost: This was a tense and compelling two-parter about the Changeling invasion on Earth, or at least that's what it initially seemed. Homefront has a pretty great conflict where Sisko get his grandfather to take the blood test to prove he's not a Changeling, and ends on the scary shot of Earth declaring martial law. Paradise Lost, however, is even better, with the genius twist that there are only four Changelings on Earth and that most of the hysteria is manufactured for political gain. These episodes have aged really well and do a great job of exploring what happens when paranoia gets out of control.
Hard Time: Hard Time responds to a massive criticism that many people have with Star Trek, the fact that after going through situations that could have been incredibly traumatic, the characters have immediately gotten over it by the end of the episode. Hard Time is about O'Brien dealing with the trauma of spending twenty years in prison over the course of a few seconds, and it's incredibly hard to watch. I'll admit that watching O'Brien spiral can be a bit too uncomfortable at times, but the final sequence with Bashir and O'Brien is a fantastic payoff and a testament to their odd friendship.
To The Death: This is an episode about Starfleet and a Dominion team forming a shaky alliance to stop Jem'Hadar renegades, and while it ends on a big final battle, the most compelling thing about To The Death is the long buildup to said final battle. The dialogue is pointed and interesting, constantly revealing new things about the Jem'Hadar. Nearly every character gets a chance to interact with each other. And the tension slowly builds as the alliance gets shakier and shakier, which is what makes the final battle at the end of the episode so rewarding. In terms of its screenplay, this is easily one of my favorite episodes in the series, if not all of Star Trek.
As per the usual, there's also one fairly weak episode as well:
The Muse: While admittedly I do really like the Odo/Lwaxana subplot, that main storyline about Jake is just so uncomfortable. The age gap between him and Onaya is way too large for this kind of storyline to work.
Overall, Season 4 is a fantastic season that changes the status quo of DS9 for the better, with a lot of really strong episodes, great character arcs, and the few rough edges that DS9 still had being thoroughly smoothed out making for probably the best Star Trek season yet.
5/5 Stars
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