Today is Star Trek’s 50th anniversary: Treat Yourself to These Episodes

Publicity portrait of American actor Avery Brooks in the television show ‘Star Trek Deep Space Nine’ (Paramount), 1995. (Photo by John D. Kisch/Separate Cinema Archive/Getty Images)

4.) In the Pale Moonlight (Deep Space Nine)

What would you be willing to do to end a war? Captain Sisko answers this question, with some deep reservations and a healthy side of moral uncertainty.

Captain Benjamin Sisko, commander of the Deep Space Nine space station, is embroiled in the devastating Dominion War. The Federation is at war with the Dominion, an alliance of alien races from a distant quadrant of the galaxy. Facing serious losses, Sisko seeks to bring the neutral Romulans onto the side of the Federation. This is a tall order, as Romulans have remained suspicious of humans despite increased diplomatic relations.

Sisko enlists the help of Elim Garak, an alien tailor on the station. Garak was a spy for the Cardassians, another alien race; it’s an open secret that he still has some useful contacts within the Cardassian government. Throughout the episode, Sisko makes more and more concessions to his personal morals in order to move closer to victory. It ends with deaths, explosions, and the Romulans joining the Federation’s efforts in the war.

Garak maintains that a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for winning a war. Though Sisko has fought against the notion for the entire episode, he finally agrees, saying that he can live with his decision for the good of his people.

Deep Space Nine  took Star Trek down some dark paths, and this episode is one of the darkest. It gets even more so when you continue to watch the series and realize that Sisko is never brought to task for his actions. It’s chilling, compelling television.

Next: The Lorelei Signal