Review

An episode exploring the morality of conduct during war. On the station, the monotony of Kira's daily routine is depicted and we begin to see her slowly realize she's becoming a collaborator. In the end, she decides to go against Sisko's advice and form a new resistance after Vedek Yassim kills herself publicly to protest the Dominion occupation. More interesting though is Sisko and crew's situation stranded on the planet they crashed on. The Vorta leader, Keevan, decided to betray his own men by giving Sisko and crew his exact plan of attack so that instead of being stranded on the planet, he could surrender as a prisoner of war and spend the war resting comfortably in a Federation prison. Sisko is left with the choice of whether or not to go through with Keevan's plan. He doesn't like the shady morality of it, but he realizes that "given the choice between us and them there is no choice." He tries one last time to appeal to the Jem'Hadar's wits, informing them that Keevan betrayed them and that they'll surely all die if they decide to fight this battle. But instead of surrendering, we're shown instead just how insanely loyal Jem'Hadar soldiers are. They knew Keevan betrayed them and they walked into their own deaths knowingly, and proudly. Because obeying the command structure and the "order of things" means more to them than their own lives. A fantastic episode.