In Purgatory's Shadow
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"In Purgatory's Shadow" is the 112th episode of the
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', the 14th episode of the fifth season. The episode premiered on February 10, 1997 to a Nielsen rating of 6.7 points. It is the first half of a two-part episode, with the second half, "
By Inferno's Light "By Inferno's Light" is the 113th episode of the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', the 15th episode of the fifth season. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet-run space station ...
", first airing a week later. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the
space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...
''
Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the '' Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication fr ...
'' near the planet
Bajor The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , ) are a fictional species in the science-fiction '' Star Trek'' franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, o ...
, as the Bajorans recover from a decades-long occupation by the imperialistic
Cardassian The Cardassians () are a fictional extraterrestrial species in the American science fiction franchise '' Star Trek''. They were devised in 1991 for the series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' before being used in the subsequent series '' S ...
s. The station is adjacent to a
wormhole A wormhole (Einstein-Rosen bridge) is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special Solutions of the Einstein field equations, solution of the Einstein field equations. A wormhole can be visualize ...
connecting the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants of the galaxy; the Gamma Quadrant is home to an expansionist empire known as the
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
, ruled by the shape-shifting
Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairi ...
s. This episode begins the Dominion's invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, a plot arc which continues until the final episode of the series. It features the return of several characters, drawing on plot lines previously established in the third, fourth and fifth seasons. This episode is dedicated "In memory of Derek Garth", a grip for the series who died in an automobile accident in December, eight weeks before the episode aired.


Plot

When Deep Space Nine picks up a mysterious coded message from inside the Gamma Quadrant that appears to be Cardassian, exiled Cardassian spy Garak is asked to analyze it. He told everyone that the message was a harmless report from years ago, but Dr. Bashir sees through his lie when Garak tried to sneak away on a ship. He reveals that the message is a distress call from his mentor Enabran Tain, who was believed to have been killed in an ill-fated Cardassian attack on the Dominion two years prior. Garak convinces Captain Sisko to allow him to travel to the Gamma Quadrant, accompanied by Lt. Cmdr.
Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and seasons four through seven of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') as well as t ...
, to search for Tain and other possible survivors from Dominion attacks. Soon after entering Dominion space, they wind up in the midst of the Dominion fleet. Worf realizes that the fleet must be assembled to invade the Alpha Quadrant. He sends a warning message to DS9 just before
Jem'Hadar ''Star Trek'' is a science fiction media franchise that began with Gene Roddenberry's launch of the original ''Star Trek'' television series in 1966. Its success led to decades of films, novels, comics, and spinoff series. A major motif of the ...
soldiers take him and Garak prisoner. Back on DS9, the crew receives Worf's message and realize the Dominion is coming. With reinforcements at least two days away and only disgraced Cardassian officer Dukat (on the station due to a confrontation with a Klingon battle cruiser) on hand to help out, Sisko sees only one choice—sealing the wormhole, trapping Worf and Garak on the other side if they cannot return before the operation is completed. Worf and Garak are taken to a Dominion detention center. Tain is there, on his deathbed; instead of being thankful to Garak for coming, Tain chastises him for allowing himself to be taken prisoner. Also among the fellow prisoners are the
Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...
general
Martok Martok, son of Urthog is a recurring character in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', played by actor J. G. Hertzler. Martok is a high-ranking Klingon leader at the Federation-Bajoran space station in the late 2300s. Martok figures prominently in ...
, and, to Garak and Worf's surprise, Dr.
Julian Bashir Julian Subatoi Bashir, MD is a fictional character from the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', portrayed by Alexander Siddig. Bashir is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS ''Defiant''. ...
—meaning that the Bashir back at DS9 is a Changeling impostor. As his last request, Tain makes Garak promise to escape. Desperate for a kind word from his mentor before the old man passes on, Garak makes a request in return: that Tain acknowledge him as his son. Tain does so, and father and son share a memory before Tain dies peacefully. His mission complete, Garak is ready to find a way out. On Deep Space Nine, the crew shoots a particle beam at the wormhole, intending to close it. However, something goes wrong. The emitter array has been sabotaged, and the wormhole remains open, allowing a fleet of Dominion warships to begin pouring through.


Reception

Zach Handlen of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' said this was a good cliffhanger but that "it's hard to really say how any of this fits together before we get to next week's second half." He found some of the setup and character scenes dragged and were a little frustrating at times, but appreciated how the episode brought things into greater focus. In 2015,
Geek.com Geek.com is a technology news weblog about hardware, mobile computing, technology, movies, TV, video games, comic books, and all manner of geek culture subjects. It was founded in 1996 and was run independently until 2007 when it was sold to N ...
recommended this episode as "essential watching" for their abbreviated ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''
binge-watching Binge-watching (also called binge-viewing) is the practice of watching entertainment or informational content for a prolonged time span, usually a single television show. Statistics Binge-watching overlaps with marathon viewing which places mo ...
guide. In 2018, CBR rated "In Purgatory's Shadow" paired with "By Inferno's Light", as the 9th best multi-episode story arc of all of ''Star Trek''.
Nerdist Nerdist Industries, LLC is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast (The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a network of podcasts, a premium conte ...
included this episode in their
binge-watching Binge-watching (also called binge-viewing) is the practice of watching entertainment or informational content for a prolonged time span, usually a single television show. Statistics Binge-watching overlaps with marathon viewing which places mo ...
guide for the
Dominion War The Dominion War is an extended plot concept developed in several story arcs of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', an American science-fiction television series produced by Paramount Pictures. In the fictional ''Star Trek'' universe, the Dominion War ...
saga of this series. In 2020, ''Doux Reviews'' said "In Purgatory's Shadow" was "one of the best-written episodes of ''Deep Space Nine''" and had a great
cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...
ending. In 2020, ''The Digital Fix'' ranked "In Purgatory's Shadow" and "By Inferno's Light" as the fourth best episode(s) of ''Deep Space Nine''. They call the episodes an "epic two-parter" that took the show's "long-running narrative to another level" and praised the various plot lines and reveals.


Continuity

In 2019, Nerdist recommended starting with this episode as part of a
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
that covers the start of the Dominion War. They named a selection of episodes concluding with "Sacrifice of Angels", the 6th episode of season six. The episodes they recommended for this story arc included: * "In Purgatory's Shadow" * "
By Inferno's Light "By Inferno's Light" is the 113th episode of the television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', the 15th episode of the fifth season. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet-run space station ...
" * " Call to Arms" * "
A Time to Stand "A Time to Stand" is the first episode of the sixth season of the television series ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', and the 125th episode overall. This episode was broadcast on television starting on September 29, 1997. Set in the 24th century, ...
" * " Rocks and Shoals" * " Sons and Daughters" * " Behind the Lines" * " Favor the Bold" * "
Sacrifice of Angels "Sacrifice of Angels" is the sixth episode from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (season 6), sixth season of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', 130th episode overall. The episode's plot details the efforts of the United Federation of Planets to retake ...
"


References


External links

* * * {{Star Trek Cardassian stories Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (season 5) episodes 1997 American television episodes Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes in multiple parts