The Homecoming
Many praise the epic quality of the Dominion War story arc, but the dazzling three-parter that served as Season 2's opener also offers a multi-faceted — and yes, epic — storyline focusing on one of Star Trek's most compelling species. This first installment paints an intriguing portrait of a reluctant Bajoran war hero, forcing us to take a closer look at the way people become iconic figures and how our perceptions of them come into play. As conflicted hero Li Nalas, Richard Beymer is subtle and moving.

The Circle
Part 2 of the arc is a more character-driven piece, focusing tightly on Kira. When she's relieved of her post on DS9, Kira heads back to Bajor to recuperate. An early scene, which has her packing up to leave, features some highly amusing interplay among many of the series regulars, demonstrating the unlikely relationships the prickly Major has managed to forge on the station. Kira also gets an interesting Orb vision and a love interest in the form of soft-spoken Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim). This installment also features the deliciously evil pairing of Vedek Winn (Louise Fletcher) and Minister Jaro (Frank Langella).

The Siege
The- final installment of the Bajoran coup arc is more of a straight-ahead actioner than the other two — and it's a good one. While Sisko leads Li Nalas and the DS9 crew in a last stand against Bajoran forces, Kira and Dax rush to expose the truth about the coup. The Sisko scenes are fast-paced and enjoyable, but the Kira/Dax scenes provide the hour's best action and are laced with some fine, seat-of-the-pants bonding moments between these two characters. Viewed together, this trio of episodes offers a fascinating look at a species in turmoil.

Cardassians
This prickly hour takes on a key issue while painstakingly adding a few more of DS9's signature shades of gray. In this episode, we meet a young Cardassian boy who has been raised by Bajorans. Because of his upbringing, he has come to hate his people and all they stand for. When his Cardassian father shows up to re-claim him, Sisko must step in. Many things are taken on here: the rights of adoptive parents versus birth parents, racial self-hatred and the plight of war orphans. We also get some good stuff involving Gul Dukat and Garak (who, as usual, knows more than he's telling). An interesting hint regarding the rivalry between these two compelling characters is icing on the cake.

Necessary Evil
This fine, moody hour illuminates two key characters and their relationship, as well as giving us a taste of what the station was like during the Cardassian occupation. Odo must deal with an unsolved murder from five years ago — and once he's investigated further, he realizes that the culprit is none other than Kira. It's a treat to watch these two already-distinct characters interact with one another, especially as it gives us insight into what they were like during the occupation. The final moments are especially excellent, as Kira confesses Odo's opinion means a lot to her, and asks if he can ever trust her again. He simply looks down at his desk, saying nothing, and we're left with a gut-wrenchingly ambiguous moment of silence. This is one of those episodes that defines DS9's finely-etched shades of gray.

Whispers
"Whispers" utilizes a standard Trek twist — everyone is acting strangely except for the protagonist (in this case, O'Brien), leaving said protagonist to unravel the conspiracy. Except in this case, the protagonist is the conspiracy — the O'Brien we're following is a duplicate programmed to assassinate someone during upcoming peace talks. Of course, we don't know that, and it makes the final twist all the more delicious. Colm Meaney does an excellent job of making us believe in this replicant O'Brien — so much so that, when this unwitting double is killed, we can't help but feel that one of our beloved characters has met an untimely end.

Blood Oath
This episode simultaneously pays proper homage to Trek history and adds new layers to the intriguing character of Jadzia Dax. Kor, Koloth and Kang (last seen in the Original Series) show up on DS9 in search of Curzon Dax. Years ago, this foursome took a blood oath to kill their greatest adversary, and it's time to fulfill that promise. Watching Dax suit up and head out with these Klingons is a treat, a bridging of the classic Original Series and the current era of Trek. The spot-on characterizations, however, are what give the hour its dramatic punch — watching the Klingons struggle to accept Dax in a young female body, and in turn, watching Dax attempt to reconcile her past and present selves sheds welcome light on the Trills in general and Jadzia in particular.

The Maquis, Part 1
Picking up a plot thread that began on Star Trek: The Next Generation and would form the basis for Star Trek: Voyager, this two-parter manages to stand on its own as a compelling, grand scale story. The plot has unlikely allies Sisko and Gul Dukat joining forces in order to prevent war between the Cardassians and a group of Federation colonists known as The Maquis. There's a twist, naturally, and it's one that allows for further character exploration: Sisko's good friend, Cal Hudson, has turned on Starfleet to become a Maquis leader. Sisko's actions deftly differentiate him from his by-the-book predecessor, Picard: he gives his good friend every chance to turn himself in, and even allows him to escape in the end. After all is said and done, Sisko is left with one of DS9's trademark moral dilemmas: did he avert war, or merely delay it?

The Wire
There is perhaps no character that better embodies DS9's shades-of-gray ambiguity than the self-professed "plain and simple" tailor Garak. Though we'd been gifted with tiny hints about Garak's mysterious past up to this point, this is really the episode that begins to shine noticeable light on his shadowy persona. When a Cardassian brain implant appears to be slowly killing Garak, Bashir must unravel the truth behind the Cardassian's past before it's too late. Garak reveals a lot in this episode — the Obsidian Order, Enabran Tain and a mysterious character known as "Elim" are all mentioned — but by episode's end, it remains unclear as to what is true and what is not. Thus we are left with tantalizing hints about Garak, but his sense of mystery remains. Luckily, we would receive more definitive answers later in the series.

Crossover
In taking us back to the classic Mirror Universe, "Crossover" serves as another skillful tip of the hat to the Original Series. It also ended up working so well on its own that it spawned a multi-season story arc for DS9. As with the Original Series' "Mirror, Mirror," there is much enjoyment to be derived from observing twisted doppelganger versions of our favorite characters. In particular, Nana Visitor has a ball creating Kira's evil, leather-clad double, the Intendant, who takes a decidedly narcissistic interest in our own Kira. Also fascinating: Sisko's flashy, scoundrel of a double, the beaten down "Smiley" O'Brien and the sadistic, human-hating version of Odo.

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