Coming after the phenomenal Season 4, DS9's fifth season isn't quite as strong or consistent, but it does a great job of finally setting the stage for the long-awaited Dominion War.
The Dominion storyline in Deep Space Nine really did take a while to get going didn't it. I remember how excited I was when the station got cleared out back in Season 3 since it felt like things were really getting real, but by the end of Season 4, the Dominion and Federation hadn't really erupted into war yet. This season, however, actually feels like progress is being made. The premiere has the crew learn Martok was the Changeling, kicking off the end of the Federation-Klingon war. Sisko faces off with Eddington in two episodes wrapping up the Maquis storyline. Odo gets used to being a human before managing to get his Changeling powers back, Kira has her (and by her I mean the O'Briens') baby, and the halfway point of the season packs the fantastic reveal that Dukat has been secretly allying with the Dominion all season. It's such an effective twist because Dukat had really been starting to feel like a part of the main cast and even kind of likable, only for him to brutally remind you that he's still a major antagonist. As a whole, this season is stuffed with satisfying and rewarding payoffs, and it makes DS9's slow burn storylines feel all the more worth it. And then the finale happens, a phenomenal episode that not only starts the Dominion war but brings all of the major subplots and character arcs from Rom and Leeta's romance to Jake's writing career to a dramatic head.
However, Season 5 did feel like a much weaker and less consistent season than the one that came before. You can tell that the writers wanted to start the war in the finale, so they decide to go as experimental as possible to fill up the season to 26 episodes, and not all of those experiments worked too well for me. For every The Ship or Trials And Tribble-ations, there was a Nor The Battle To The Strong or Ferengi Love Songs. I also feel like there were just more episodes that rubbed me the wrong way this season, like Worf's awful jealous streak in Let He Who Is Without Sin, Kira endangering Keiko's child and justifying killing children in The Darkness And The Light, and Sisko not facing consequences for poisoning a whole planet. I've always liked how DS9 is willing to depict its characters in an unsavory light, but several of Season 5's outings felt a lot more unsure about whether or not it wants you to sympathize with its characters whenever this happens, which is odd because this wasn't even in an issue in other episodes like Business As Usual, Things Past, and Children Of Time. I think that's a testament to how uneven Season 5 ended up being, though the incredibly strong last few episodes at least end it on a good note.
At its best, Season 5 has some incredibly highlights:
Apocalypse Rising: Continuing the trend of fantastic Deep Space Nine premieres, this episode is an incredibly fun heist mission as Sisko, O'Brien, a newly human Odo, and Worf infiltrate the Klingons to prove Gowron as a Changeling. Aside from just how much fun it is to watch the crew adapt to the Klingon's lifestyle, this was also a tense spy episode with a cool twist that reveals Gowron wasn't even at fault.
Trials And Tribble-ations: Trials And Tribble-ations not only marks the 30th anniversary of Star Trek, but it also marks the halfway point of my big Star Trek binge. And having seen 15 seasons of Trek (and just realizing how absolutely unimaginable that is), The Trouble With Tribbles is still my favorite episode in the franchise. The writing is so sharp, the character interactions are so entertaining, and it's one of the few TOS episodes that hasn't aged a bit since it's aired. Trials And Tribble-ations is an incredibly fun tribute episode that throws the DS9 cast into that iconic episode. This may seem like hollow fanservice and I won't say that seeing that CGI Enterprise again didn't give me all the feels, but between the fantastic digital insertion, clever and meta writing, and hilarious premise of a Tribble having a bomb in it, Trials And Tribble-ations nearly manages to top the episode it's based on.
In Purgatory's Shadow/By Inferno's Light: I already mentioned just how fantastic the Cardassia twist was, but as a whole, this was a climactic episode that rivaled some of DS9's other behemoth two-parters. We got to see one of the Jem'Hadar's internment camps, the Federation and Klingons finally make up, Bashir is revealed to have been replaced by a Changeling, and Garak learns Tain really didn't die during that big slaughter back in Season 3.
Children Of Time: This episode gave me serious TNG vibes in the best way possible. The DS9 crew faces a really compelling moral dilemma as they have to choose between killing Kira and leaving their families, and killing 6,000 people including future relatives they never knew they'd have. While the crew does have doubts, it's pretty obvious they'll choose the latter, which leads to this haunting sense of inevitability. However, one thing that stuck is Kira finally being made aware of Odo's feelings for her.
In The Cards: This was such a clever penultimate episode built around the juxtaposition between a cute Jake and Nog storyline and the looming threat of war against the Dominion. While all the drama with Kai Winn and Weyoun is great, In The Cards was surprisingly at its best when focused on the hilarious main storyline of Jake and Nog trying to get a baseball card, only to accidentally make everyone on the ship just a little bit happier.
Call Of Arms: The Best Of Both Worlds will always be the most ground-breaking Star Trek finale, but Call Of Arms surpasses it in several ways. The start of the Dominion War impacts pretty much every character in some way, and this finale does a fantastic job of balancing a slew of big character moments that give everyone something to do with some of the best space action in Trek so far. Call Of Arms demolishes the show's status quo in a massive way, but it also ends on a hopeful note asserting that Sisko knows what he's doing, and that the crew will get their station back.
At its worst, Season 5 has some of DS9's weakest episodes yet:
Let He Who Is Without Sin: TOS and TNG have these episodes that just feel clumsy, like you can't imagine how they ever managed to get approved to air on television. Episodes like Sub Rosa, Masks, The Empath, and The Alternative Factor. DS9 has been fairly avoidant of episodes like this, but Let He Who Is Without Sin is easily the most incompetent episode in the series by a long shot. The awkward writing, Worf's irritating jealous streak, the bad costumes and effects, the horrendous attempt at being "sexy", it's all so uncharacteristically inept for DS9.
Ferengi Love Songs: I said this last review and I'll say it again, Ferengi episodes aren't good unless only Quark, Rom, and Nog are involved. Armin Shimerman can play a Ferengi and make him endearing, but he's still an exception. Not even national treasure Wallace Shawn can make the Nagus likable. I didn't even want Quark to be reaccepted into Ferengi society, they're all so annoying.
Overall, Season 5 was one of the most uneven and experimental seasons in the series, with lofty heights and low lows, but it also made sure to do right by the Dominion storyline and packed in some long-awaited payoffs.
4/5 Stars
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