Best Episodes Of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine According To IMDb

Launched in 1993, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" was the first of several spin-off series for the franchise after the success of the 1980s revival, "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Seeking to set itself apart from its brethren, "DS9" broke convention by ditching the exploratory starship setting and laying down roots on a space station. Station commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) was not your prototypical starship captain either, but a disgruntled officer ordered  to take control of a Cardassian station and help the Bajoran people — just recovered from a decades-long war with Cardassia — prepare for membership into the Federation.

On his first visit, Sisko discovers a wormhole to the far-off Gamma Quadrant, also home to the god-like Prophets worshipped on Bajor, who anoint him their emissary. Set against this overtly political and religious backdrop, "DS9" broke new ground as a serialized series, which was unusual for the time. Introducing several ongoing story arcs and adding Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) from "The Next Generation" to the cast, it was a darker "Star Trek" than we'd ever seen too. Yet "Deep Space Nine" also managed to sneak in a unique brand of comedic stories that helped set it apart from other shows in the franchise.

While not as successful as its predecessor, "DS9" is now appreciated for everything that made it unique and considered one of the better "Trek" shows. With over 170 episodes — from grim war stories to mind-bending sci-fi tales to light-hearted romps — these are the 30 best according to IMDb. 

Having escaped the Jem'Hadar in the previous episode, "The Search, Part 2" sees Sisko and Dax (Terry Farrell) return to Deep Space Nine to warn of a possible Dominion invasion, only to find their representatives have already arrived. But the Dominion is not looking to conquer, and are in the midst of peace negotiations with the Federation. Admiral Nechayev tells Sisko things are looking promising, but he's leery of an alliance with the Dominion. Sisko doesn't quite trust the peace process, especially when he hears the details of the treaty. 

Meanwhile, back on the Changeling homeworld, Odo (René Auberjonois) is cautious and guarded as he looks to learn more about his people. Kira (Nana Visitor) tries to convince him to be more excited about the discovery of his origins, but he can't help but feel that things aren't what they seem. His fears are confirmed when he makes an unexpected revelation that will change everything for him, for the station, and the entire Alpha Quadrant.

in "Hard Time," Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney) is convicted of a crime he didn't commit on an alien world, but before Sisko can come to his defense he's tried and sentenced. In the blink of an eye, O'Brien is subjected to an implanted memory of two decades in prison, and awakens a changed man. While only minutes have passed for everyone else, for him he's spent the past 20 years in a prison cell, abused by guards and given little food. Returning to the station he struggles to readjust to a normal life.

His return is made more difficult by hallucinations of an apparent cell mate from his implanted memories of incarceration, who begins to act as his conscience. As his friends and loved ones try to help him through his recovery, O'Brien's mental state deteriorates, and his hallucinations urge him back towards sanity. A surprisingly earnest look at mental health, it's an episode that puts the always likable O'Brien through the ringer.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

"Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" sees the return of Section 31 operative Sloan, who arrives with a covert mission for Dr. Bashir. Scheduled to attend a diplomatic conference on Romulus — alongside Romulan Senator Cretak (Adrienne Barbeau), who's been stationed aboard Deep Space Nine during the war — Bashir is tasked by Section 31 to observe and assess the health of Tal Shiar Chairman Koval. 

Going along with Sloan's orders, Bashir soon learns that his mission may be part of an elaborate plot to assassinate a high ranking member of the Romulan government. Out of reach of Starfleet, and with few people he can trust, Bashir turns to Cretak, and together the unlikely allies must work to unravel Sloan's plot and discover the truth of Section 31. A spy thriller with few equals in "Trek," it's a story that will keep you guessing right up until its final moments. 

Following where "Homefront" left off, "Paradise Lost" begins with Sisko and Leyton now in charge of the Federation's response to a global crisis on Earth. Preparing for a Dominion invasion, Leyton orders Starfleet troops into the streets to maintain order, effectively placing the planet under military occupation. But when Odo learns of some discrepancies in Starfleet orders surrounding the night of the power grid failure, it leads Sisko to some disturbing discoveries.

Learning that there may be no Dominion invasion after all, Sisko begins to suspect that Leyton's plans are not just about adding new security measures. Odo's investigation seems to confirm Sisko's doubts, revealing that more is going on than he ever suspected. Determined to stop his former commanding officer, Sisko and Leyton head towards to a confrontation that could decide the very fate of the Federation. Moral and ethical dilemmas abound in this dark political and military thriller. 

Worf and Ezri return to Deep Space Nine thanks to the help of Damar, who has seemingly betrayed the Dominion in "The Changing Face Of Evil." But before there's time to celebrate, word comes in that the Breen – the Dominion's newest ally in their bid to take over the Alpha Quadrant — have launched an assault on Earth. But while Damar begins to make plans to undermine the Founders' vision of galactic conquest, the Breen's power embolden the Dominion, with a devastating new weapon that could cripple the Federation and its allies.

Back on Bajor, Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) begins to doubt her allegiance to the Prophets. Gul Dukat meanwhile, disguised as misbegotten Bajoran farmer Anjohl Tannan, has become her closest confidant, and helps guide her to a new plan for her people. Urging Winn to read from a forbidden text called the Kosst Amojan, she begins to question everything she has always believed.

The sixth season premiere, "A Time To Stand," picks up where the fifth season left off, with the Dominion and their new Cardassian allies in full control of Deep Space Nine. Led by Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) and the Vorta Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs), their first task is to find a way to disable the minefield at the entrance to the wormhole to get reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant. Major Kira, Quark, Jake, Odo, and Rom, who stayed behind, do their best to adjust to life under Dominion rule.

On the run from the Jem'Hadar meanwhile, Sisko and the Defiant rendezvous at Starbase 375 to lick their wounds and receive new orders from Admiral Ross. Planning a new offensive, Sisko is given a fresh assignment, and with the help of Garak is sent on a mission behind enemy lines aboard a stolen Jem'Hadar fighter. But the daring plan proves a costly one, leaving them stranded in enemy territory.

"Rocks And Shoals" follows Sisko's successful mission to destroy a Dominion facility in "A Time To Stand," but with their ship damaged, and with no warp drive, they find themselves under attack by the Jem'Hadar. Making their way to a nearby dark matter nebula to hide, they wind up crash-landing on a desolate planet after losing power. On the surface they find another Jem'Hadar ship already crashed there, with a Vorta who knows he won't be able to control his soldiers for long. Offered a deal by the Vorta to lead his own men to slaughter at Sisko's hands, the captain is left with a difficult moral choice.

Back on the station, now controlled by the Dominion, Major Kira becomes disturbed that she is settling into a comfortable life under Dominion occupation. Having become the very thing she used to fight against, Kira has a moment of clarity after a Bajoran Vedek makes her realize all that is at stake. 

A chilling two-part mystery begins with "Improbable Cause" and opens with an assassination attempt on the life of tailor and former spy Garak, the last Cardassian living aboard the station. With Garak having a number of enemies from his many days working in espionage, it's not easy for Odo to narrow down a list of suspects. But his dogged investigation eventually singles out a Flaxian assassin named Retaya, who was apparently hired by the Romulans and is promptly killed when he attempts to leave the station. 

As Odo digs deeper he finds evidence of an ominous Romulan plot to snuff out former agents of the Obsidian Order, Cardassia's clandestine intelligence agency. It seems the Romulans are up to something big, and the attack on Garak was just a small piece of the puzzle. Discovering that the former head of the Order, Enabran Tain, has gone missing, Garak and Odo board a runabout and set off to get to the bottom of it. 

Part six of the epic nine-part saga that closed out the series, "Tacking Into The Wind" sees Kira, Garak, and Odo on Cardassia teaching Damar and his rebels how to fight the Dominion. With the trio leading the rebels on a mission to capture the Breen weapon, tensions mount from within when one of Damar's lieutenants refuses to be led by Colonel Kira, a former Bajoran terrorist. With Garak on her side, Damar must choose, and it becomes a battle for the very soul of Cardassia and its future.

Aboard Deep Space Nine, Gowron — the leader of the Klingon Empire — has arrived to take over leadership of the war from General Martok. The political maneuver proves costly though, as Gowron's leadership leads to stunning losses for the Klingons, forcing Worf, like Damar, to make a choice that could decide the fate of his entire world.

Held captive in a Dominion internment camp in the Gamma Quadrant, Worf, Garak, and Martok fight to stay alive in "By Inferno's Light." Worf is forced to endure a series of brutal hand-to-hand matches — to the death — against Jem'Hadar soldiers in training, as Enabran Tain lays dying. Garak, meanwhile, must fight his crippling claustrophobia and escape by crafting a transponder out of spare parts hidden in the wall of their cell.

But as Tain slowly fades, Garak must also face up to his past with the former head of the Obsidian Order before he dies. Back in the Alpha Quadrant, Gowron and the Klingons find the combined might of Cardassia and the Dominion too powerful to take on alone and put aside their recent grudge with the Federation in order to survive. Allied once again, the Federation and the Klingons amass a battle fleet to prepare for an all-out invasion. Back on the station, a saboteur threatens the Federation alliance.

In a move to shake up the series, "The Way Of The Warrior" launched the fourth season and saw the Klingons at odds with the Federation over the emerging Dominion threat. But when the Klingons begin causing problems in Bajoran space, Sisko calls in the only man in Starfleet that knows how to deal with them: the Enterprise's former chief of security, Lt. Commander Worf. Arriving on the station with new orders, Worf sets out to understand why the Klingons are acting so aggressively, but his first meeting with the Klingon General Martok gives him few answers.

Learning from an old friend that the Klingons are planning an invasion of Cardassia, Worf once again finds himself torn between Starfleet and his own people. While the potential conflict threatens to shift the balance of power in the Alpha Quadrant, Sisko realizes that to avert an all-out war he may be forced to help his greatest enemy.

"The Die Is Cast" was the conclusion to the two-parter that began with "Improbable Cause," which ended with Odo and Garak heading out to find Enabran Tain, who they feared was the next target in a series of Romulan assassinations. But no sooner do they discover a nebula full of Romulan ships than they are greeted by Tain, who reveals he's back in charge of the Obsidian Order and has formed an alliance with the Romulan's intelligence agency, the Tal Shiar. 

Working together, Tain hopes their combined power and ruthlessness can mastermind a plot to eliminate the Founders — the leaders of the Dominion — who they've tracked to a planet in the Gamma Quadrant. Armed with a massive fleet of Romulan and Cardassian ships, they plan to wipe out the entire planet. But Garak, offered a place by Tain's side, must interrogate and torture Odo if he is to earn his way back from exile and into a high-ranking position within the Obsidian Order.

"Duet" gives dimension and nuance to the villainous Cardassians in a story that defies genre convention. When a Cardassian arrives on the station he is recognized as an infamous war criminal named Gul Darhe'el, known as "The Butcher of Galitep" for his hideous treatment of Bajoran laborers. Though he claims to be an innocent file clerk, he's taken into custody, and Kira leads an investigation into his identity and crimes with the hopes of putting him on trial. 

But questions begin to be raised as to the man's real identity, and whether he really could be the clerk he says. His ultimate admission to being Darhe'el complicates matters, and throws Kira into doubt. Is this really the notorious war criminal, or just an innocent man playing mind games? The truth proves to be more complex, in a moving story of regret and forgiveness that proves to be one of the show's best, with an incredible central performance from its guest star Harris Yulin ("Ozark").

"The Visitor" is a touching tale about the bond between a father and son. In the episode's opening moments, a crisis on the Defiant causes a random energy surge that strikes Captain Sisko, vaporizing him right before the eyes of his son Jake. While the station copes with the loss of its leader, Jake struggles to move on from the death of his father. But just as his life begins to return to a sense of normalcy, Sisko materializes before him — unaware that any time has passed — before suddenly disappearing again.

As the crew analyzes Sisko's reappearance they realize that the captain is trapped in a layer of subspace and will re-emerge during rare cosmic windows in time, tied to the physical location of his son. Sisko continues to appear on and off for the rest of Jake's life, until Jake finally decides to devote his entire life to finding a way of rescuing his father. A moving story of love and loss, "The Visitor" is truly one of the franchise's finest.

"In The Pale Moonlight" is quite simply one of the finest pieces of pure drama in the series. With the Dominion War raging and the combined forces of the Federation and the Klingons losing badly, Sisko knows the only way to tip the scales is to somehow convince the Romulans to enter the war on their side. For now, the Romulans have remained neutral, but if he can just convince them that the Dominion poses a threat to them as well, he could get them to join the alliance. Unfortunately, the Romulans want proof of Dominion duplicity, and the only way he can think to get it is to manufacture it himself. 

But to do it, Sisko will have to turn his back on everything he believes in. He'll enlist the services of Garak, a former Cardassian spy, and work with ruthless killers and criminals in his bid to deceive the Romulans and turn them into allies. But when the plan spirals out of control, it threatens to turn the Romulans from reluctant bystanders into vengeful enemies. A political thriller and a moral tragedy, "In The Pale Moonlight" shows the personal costs of conscience that people are forced to pay in wartime.