In Purgatory's Shadow
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 10 February 1997
- ON
- First-run syndication
- STARDATE
- None given
- DIRECTED BY
- Gabrielle Beaumont
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 512
WRITTEN BYWritten by Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe
A coded Cardassian signal from the Gamma Quadrant sends Garak and Worf on a secret mission into Dominion space, where Garak hopes to find his old mentor still alive.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
The station picks up a coded Cardassian transmission from the Gamma Quadrant. Garak recognises it as a call for help from Enabran Tain, his former mentor, and Sisko lets him investigate with Worf. They discover a huge Dominion fleet gathering in secret, and Worf manages to send a warning before the pair are captured by the Jem'Hadar and taken to a prison camp. There they find a dying Tain, the Klingon General Martok, and, astonishingly, Dr Bashir, which means the Bashir on the station is a Changeling. Before he dies, Tain finally acknowledges Garak as his son. Starfleet tries to seal the wormhole to stop the invasion, but the impostor's sabotage makes the attempt fail. The episode ends as the Dominion fleet pours out of the wormhole into the Alpha Quadrant.
- 01The episode is dedicated to grip Derek Garth, who died in a car accident in December 1996.
- 02The idea that Tain was Garak's father came from a pitch by Star Trek novelist Judy Klass, who was paid for it but received no screen credit.
- 03Melanie Smith makes her debut as Ziyal, the third actress to play the role.