Broken Link (DS9 episode)
Encyclopedia
"Broken Link" is an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, the final episode of the fourth season. It has an average fan rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek website.
Quick Overview: Odo contracts a mysterious illness and returns to the Great Link.
, Odo suddenly collapses, and is taken to the Infirmary. Dr. Bashir
performs an exam, and determines that Odo can no longer maintain a solid form, but Bashir can't find an explanation as to what is happening to Odo. The only thing Bashir can do is to give Odo medical orders to remain under observation and to take a rest from his duties. Odo is reluctant do so, but decides to obey the doctor's orders for the time being. Kira stops by, and brings him a report of the day's criminal activities. She hopes that this will take his mind off what is happening to him. While reading the report, he notices something that catches his eye. He then attempts to leave the Infirmary to investigate. He doesn't make it far, and loses his shape and collapses into a puddle on the floor.
Odo then comes to the realization that the only people that can help him are the Founders. With the help of Sisko
, Worf
, Bashir
, Dax
, and Garak
, Odo is taken to the Gamma Quadrant aboard the Defiant
. They are met by the Female Shapeshifter and three Jem'Hadar
soldiers. The Female Shapeshifter tells Odo that the only way he can be helped is by coming with them to the Great Link. The Jem'Hadar soldiers then pilot the Defiant to the location of the Great Link, using a device to keep the location of the Great Link a secret. Later on in his quarters, the Female Shapeshifter visits Odo, and by linking with him she is able to temporarily stabilize his condition. Odo quickly comes to the conclusion that he was somehow infected by the Shapeshifters in order to force him into returning to the Great Link. He also learns he is to be judged by the Great Link, as he is the only changeling to have killed another of his kind.
The Female Shapeshifter tells Odo that he must join the Great Link not only to be cured, but to also let the other changelings know why he killed another of his kind. She tells him that the Founders have infected Odo with the disease, but in a later episode we learn that this isn't true. Odo is also told that while he is in the Great Link, he will be judged by the other changelings, and that at the same time his punishment will be determined. Sisko and his crew try to protect Odo, but he tells them he wants to be judged. As a man of justice all his life, he feels that he is not above justice himself. Afterwards, Garak asks the Female Shapeshifter if there are any Cardassian survivors from the failed Cardassian-Romulan attack on the Founders' homeworld a year earlier. She bluntly replies there were no survivors. Sisko and Bashir then accompany Odo and the Female Shapeshifter to the surface of the planet they are orbiting. Once on the surface, a small island in a sea of Changelings, they realize how many Changelings there are. And as far as they can see it is a sea of Changelings in their liquid form, even from orbit the planet appears to be covered by Changelings in their liquid form. Odo and the Female Shapeshifter then walk into the sea, leaving Bashir and Sisko to wait for them.
On the Defiant, Worf catches Garak attempting to fire the ship's weapons on the planet, and stops him from committing genocide on the Founders and killing Sisko, Bashir, and Odo in the process. Back on the surface, time goes slowly and Bashir in his boredom nearly throws a rock into the Great Link, but is stopped just in time by Sisko. Later, Odo is expelled from the Great Link — as a human. The Female Shapeshifter explains that this is Odo's punishment, but the Founders left Odo's face as it was to remind him of what he lost. Soon after returning to the station, a message from Gowron
, leader of the Klingon Empire, is received. As the crew watches what borders on a declaration of war against the Federation
, Odo reaches a startling realization. Gowron is not a Klingon at all. He has been replaced by a Changeling.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, the final episode of the fourth season. It has an average fan rating of 4.2/5 on the official Star Trek website.
Quick Overview: Odo contracts a mysterious illness and returns to the Great Link.
Plot
Aboard Deep Space NineDeep Space Nine (space station)
Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...
, Odo suddenly collapses, and is taken to the Infirmary. Dr. Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
performs an exam, and determines that Odo can no longer maintain a solid form, but Bashir can't find an explanation as to what is happening to Odo. The only thing Bashir can do is to give Odo medical orders to remain under observation and to take a rest from his duties. Odo is reluctant do so, but decides to obey the doctor's orders for the time being. Kira stops by, and brings him a report of the day's criminal activities. She hopes that this will take his mind off what is happening to him. While reading the report, he notices something that catches his eye. He then attempts to leave the Infirmary to investigate. He doesn't make it far, and loses his shape and collapses into a puddle on the floor.
Odo then comes to the realization that the only people that can help him are the Founders. With the help of Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
, Worf
Worf
Worf, played by Michael Dorn, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in seasons four to seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also appears in the films based on The Next Generation. Worf is the first Klingon main character to appear in Star Trek, and has appeared in more Star...
, Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
, Dax
Jadzia Dax
Jadzia Dax , played by Terry Farrell, was a main character during the first six seasons of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine....
, and Garak
Elim Garak
Elim Garak is a fictional character from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassian empire and a former member of a prestigious Cardassian intelligence group called the Obsidian Order...
, Odo is taken to the Gamma Quadrant aboard the Defiant
USS Defiant
The USS Defiant is a fictional starship in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the feature film Star Trek: First Contact...
. They are met by the Female Shapeshifter and three Jem'Hadar
Jem'Hadar
In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Jem'Hadar are the shock troops of the powerful Dominion located in the Gamma Quadrant. Genetically engineered for strength and resolve, they are also short-lived and believe that "victory is life." They are bred to perceive the Founders, enigmatic...
soldiers. The Female Shapeshifter tells Odo that the only way he can be helped is by coming with them to the Great Link. The Jem'Hadar soldiers then pilot the Defiant to the location of the Great Link, using a device to keep the location of the Great Link a secret. Later on in his quarters, the Female Shapeshifter visits Odo, and by linking with him she is able to temporarily stabilize his condition. Odo quickly comes to the conclusion that he was somehow infected by the Shapeshifters in order to force him into returning to the Great Link. He also learns he is to be judged by the Great Link, as he is the only changeling to have killed another of his kind.
The Female Shapeshifter tells Odo that he must join the Great Link not only to be cured, but to also let the other changelings know why he killed another of his kind. She tells him that the Founders have infected Odo with the disease, but in a later episode we learn that this isn't true. Odo is also told that while he is in the Great Link, he will be judged by the other changelings, and that at the same time his punishment will be determined. Sisko and his crew try to protect Odo, but he tells them he wants to be judged. As a man of justice all his life, he feels that he is not above justice himself. Afterwards, Garak asks the Female Shapeshifter if there are any Cardassian survivors from the failed Cardassian-Romulan attack on the Founders' homeworld a year earlier. She bluntly replies there were no survivors. Sisko and Bashir then accompany Odo and the Female Shapeshifter to the surface of the planet they are orbiting. Once on the surface, a small island in a sea of Changelings, they realize how many Changelings there are. And as far as they can see it is a sea of Changelings in their liquid form, even from orbit the planet appears to be covered by Changelings in their liquid form. Odo and the Female Shapeshifter then walk into the sea, leaving Bashir and Sisko to wait for them.
On the Defiant, Worf catches Garak attempting to fire the ship's weapons on the planet, and stops him from committing genocide on the Founders and killing Sisko, Bashir, and Odo in the process. Back on the surface, time goes slowly and Bashir in his boredom nearly throws a rock into the Great Link, but is stopped just in time by Sisko. Later, Odo is expelled from the Great Link — as a human. The Female Shapeshifter explains that this is Odo's punishment, but the Founders left Odo's face as it was to remind him of what he lost. Soon after returning to the station, a message from Gowron
Gowron
Gowron is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Portrayed by Robert O'Reilly and featured in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine...
, leader of the Klingon Empire, is received. As the crew watches what borders on a declaration of war against the Federation
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
, Odo reaches a startling realization. Gowron is not a Klingon at all. He has been replaced by a Changeling.
Arc significance
- Odo returns home to be judged for his murder of another Changeling (cf. "The Adversary"). His punishment is to be made human.
- Tensions with the Klingons are rising and war may be imminent.
- From his time in the Great Link, Odo is able to remember that Chancellor Gowron is a Changeling infiltrator.