The final episode of the third season opens with Commander Sisko being promoted to captain. He doesn't have long to enjoy the promotion as an ambassador informs him that after a Coup d'état in the neighbouring system called the Tzenkethi, has led to a possible threat to some Star Fleet colonies nearby. To warn them off he is to take the Defiant to the border. Things go very wrong on the way when the ship is sabotaged in a way that has locked the controls and set them on an attack course against the Tzenkethi. It turns out that the ambassador was a shapeshifter, however unlike Odo this one can take the form of other people. This leads to a sense of paranoia as they hunt the shapeshifter as well as race to retake control of the ship before they plunge the Federation into an unwanted war. When it looks like they have run out of time Captain Sisko sets the ship to self destruct, leaving them a mere ten minutes to retake the ship.
This was a gripping episode, they scenes where they hunted the shapeshifter reminded me of "Alien", especially when Sisko is in the Jefferies Tubes... even if the Defiant if brighter and cleaner than the Nostromo. As the crew start to distrust each other and the sense of paranoia increases the atmosphere becomes more tense. The shapeshifters final words to Odo make it clear that we haven't seen the last of the Founders and that the Alpha Quadrant has been infiltrated at all levels.
This was a gripping episode, they scenes where they hunted the shapeshifter reminded me of "Alien", especially when Sisko is in the Jefferies Tubes... even if the Defiant if brighter and cleaner than the Nostromo. As the crew start to distrust each other and the sense of paranoia increases the atmosphere becomes more tense. The shapeshifters final words to Odo make it clear that we haven't seen the last of the Founders and that the Alpha Quadrant has been infiltrated at all levels.
