These Are The Episodes… Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 4

Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine Season 3 ended with a warning from The Dominion. Things are in motion, and they cannot be stopped. No one is sure how far the Founders have spread in the alpha quadrant or how high up their influence goes, but one thing is for sure: things are starting to destabilize.

Reminder:

  • Must See episodes feature the main plot or primary character development. These are required viewing to understand everything at the end.
  • Should See episodes feature secondary plot elements or character development, and while they aren’t required, they will give you a more complete experience with the show. If you have watched the should-see episodes so far, you should continue watching them now.
  • Take It or Leave It episodes are all one-offs and filler.

It’s worth noting that must-see episodes aren’t necessarily good and take it or leave it episodes aren’t necessarily bad and that ideally, you’d just be watching all of them.

Season 4 has 25 episodes. 11 are must-see, five are should-see, and the remaining nine you can take or leave.

4×01 and 4×02 “The Way of the Warrior” part 1 and part 2

  • Must See
  • Originally aired as one two-hour episode.
  • First Series Appearance of Worf
  • Relevant to Benjamin Sisko, Dukat, Worf
  • Relevant to The Federation and Klingons, The Dominion, Changelings, Massive Space Battles

4×03 “The Visitor

  • Should See
  • Relevant to Jake Sisko, Benjamin Sisko

4×04 “Hippocratic Oath

  • Must See
  • Relevant to Bashir, Bashir and O’Brien are Bros
  • Relevant to Jem[‘Hadar

4×05 “Indiscretion

  • Must See
  • Relevant to Dukat, Kira
  • Relevant to Cardassians, Cardassian Occupation of Bajor
  • First Appearance of Tora Ziyal

4×06 “Rejoined

  • Should See
  • Relevant to Jadzia Dax, “Dax is Really Old”
  • Relevant to Trills

4×07 “Starship Down

  • Should See
  • Relevant to Quark, Bashir, Dax, Benjamin Sisko
  • Relevant to The Dominion
  • Guest Star James Cromwell

4×08 “Little Green Men

  • Take It or Leave It
  • Relevant to Quark
  • Relevant to Ferengi, Earth History

4×09 “The Sword of Kahless

  • Should See
  • Relevant to Worf, Dax
  • Relevant to Klingons
  • Callback to Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode “Redemption
  • Guest Star John Colicos

4×10 “Our Man Bashir

  • Take it or Leave it
  • Relevant to Bashir, Bashir and Garak are Bros

4×11 “Homefront

  • Must See
  • Part 1 of 2, Continued in Paradise Lost
  • Relevant to Benjamin Sisko, Odo
  • Relevant to The Federation, Changelings, The Dominion is Coming

4×12 “Paradise Lost

  • Must See
  • Part 2 of 2, concluded from Homefront
  • Relevant to Benjamin Sisko
  • Relevant to The Federation, Changelings, The Dominion is Coming

4×13 “Crossfire

  • Should See
  • Relevant to Odo
  • Relevant to Odo and Kira, “Odo Has Feelings and he Feels Them”, The Federation, Bajor

4×14 “Return to Grace

  • Must See
  • Relevant to Dukat, Kira
  • Relevant to Cardassians
  • First Appearance of Damar

4×15 “Sons of Mogh

  • Take It or Leave It
  • Relevant to Worf
  • Relevant to Klingons

4×16 “Bar Association

  • Take It or Leave it
  • Relevant to Quark, Rom
  • Relevant to Ferengi

4×17 “Accession

  • Must See
  • Relevant to Benjamin Sisko
  • Relevant to Bajorans, The Prophets

4×18 “Rules of Engagement

  • Take It or Leave It
  • Relevant to Worf
  • Relevant to Klingons

4×19 “Hard Time

  • Take It or Leave It
  • Relevant to O’Brien
  • Note: Despite not holding any plot relevance, this episode is one of the best of the season.

4×20 “Shattered Mirror

  • Should See
  • Relevant to Benjamin Sisko
  • Relevant to The Mirror Universe

4×21 “The Muse

  • Take It or Leave It
  • Relevant to Jake Sisko, Odo
  • Relevant to Jake Is a Writer, “Odo Has Feelings and He Feels Them”

4×22 “For The Cause

  • Must See
  • Relevant to Benjamin Sisko, Garak, Tora Ziyal, Michael Eddington
  • Relevant to Cardassians, The Federation, The Maquis

4×23 “To The Death

  • Must See
  • Relevant to The Dominion, The Jem’Hadar
  • First Appearance of Weyoun

4×24 “The Quickening

  • Take It or Leave it
  • Relevant to Bashir
  • Relevant to The Dominion

4×25 “Body Parts

  • Must See
  • Relevant to Quark, O’Brien Family, Kira
  • Relevant to Ferengi

4×26 “Broken Link

  • Must See
  • Relevant to Odo
  • Relevant to Changelings, The Dominion, The Federation, Klingons
  • Relevant to The Dominion is Coming

Conclusion

As compared to season 3 before it or season 5, after much of Season 4 feels like a diversion. The Klingons and the Federation are at odds for the first time since the debut of Star Trek: The Next Generation after the Klingons attacked and seized territory from the Cardassians.

The real points of this season seem to have been to bring the Klingons into the story in a big way (and then develop them for the fans of the show who may have been unfamiliar with them) and also to develop the primary races of The Dominion. This isn’t bad; yet, things were just starting to get going in season 3, so It’s slightly off-putting to go back to more development in season 4.

That being said, if the end of season 3 was ominous, the end of season four leaves the alpha quadrant primed like a powder keg, ready to explode. How long until we do? I’ll see you to find out next week in season 5!

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