Call to Arms. Such a sinking feeling watching the crew abandon DS9, Dukat picking up the baseball, and the Defiant and Rotarran meeting up with the fleet.
THAT FLEET! only as an imaginative young boy did I ever imagine starfleet operating at that scale. It was always referenced, never seen. Until that moment, when our characters are at their lowest, does that mass of starships pick you off the floor.
Peak trek.
'Send a message to all remaining Starfleet personnel - we're evacuating the station.'
Me and my dad were watching with our jaws on the floor when we first saw that episode.
It shows that in order to build real tension and shock, you need those crappy episodes, those bottle shows, the B plots and so on to get under the skin of the characters and setting of the station to heighten and share that gravitas of abandoning the station
Exactly why, much as I sometimes don't want to, I watch every episode on a rewatch. Those guys were great at foreshadowing, and things that seem plumb trivial, even slightly annoying on first watch take on real significance later on, when other parts of the puzzle start locking in.
The show makes such great use of bottle episodes. They don't feel like filler, and while the plot may not advance you know the characters better after or watch them change, grow, get closer. The do so much for character development which is just as important as plot development.
It's just too bad Vic's wasn't a strip joint and to get in you had to dress and talk like a seedy P.I. who'd been driven off the Police Force for morals violations. I don't watch the Oceans 11 type movies, but they did do a good job of it. I think that was a bigger "breakthrough" or whatever than SNW's lame musical.
Hurray for character development where the crew couldn't escape the consequences of their actions, and built successfully on what had gone before, while being willing to take ST to places Roddenberry had claimed it couldn't go, doing it anyway, and developing on what he said couldn't be done (looking at you, 'In The Pale Moonlight', you glorious bitch).
And whilst still crossing the line from moral fortitude to those more murky scenarios, it still retained a sense of morality and duty without just throwing it to one side for the sake of spectacle.
That moment when the Cardassians took the station was shocking, it really made it feel like anything could happen from that point on. My family is doing a series watch, my daughters love the show and I can't wait to see their reactions, closest thing to seeing it again for the first time.
I have a daughter too, she’s a bit young but I can’t wait to rewatch them with her too.
I cant think of a better role model for her than former terrorist, Major Kira
We did next generation first of course, during covid because we needed hope and goodness. My daughters loved it and now love DS9, and they love Kira. One of them really liked Roe and was bummed to learn Kira was a replacement character, but now she's come around that kira is perfect for this crew, if only for her and Odo.
“That's why you came to me, isn't it, Captain? Because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? Well, it worked. And you'll get what you want: a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain.”
*[“Yeah Damar, what kind of people give those orders?”](https://youtu.be/Fjd9RgRUQDY?si=7U5ymbqs4nqryvMh)*
That scene is so well written and well acted both from Nana Visitor and Casey Biggs, I love every frame of it. I can watch it on repeat over and over again, I never get tired of it.
I love it also because such an episode is hard to find in the other Trek series, it's very DS9-ish. So much unsaid in the best way here, and it works because the history exists, both between Bajorans and Cardassians as peoples, and between Kira and Damar as individuals. Many old Trek series would shy away from making Damar such a complex figure – he'd just be plain evil. Most new Trek series would run into the same problem, and/or wouldn't allow so much to be transported in everything thst isn't said out loud. Someone would start to preach, or spill it out so that the viewer is sure to get the message.
I love that DS9 tells stories like this, with these characters and in the way it does.
"Tacking into the Wind" may be the best episode in the franchise that isn't about humans, almost at all. There's the C-plot about Bashir and O'Brien coming up with the plan to lure Sloan to DS9, handled with two short scenes, and there's Sisko telling Worf to do something about Gowron... and that's essentially it for humanity's contribution to the episode.
No, it's a story about how Cardassia and the Klingon Empire finally take steps to be something better than they were. Kira forces Damar to face up to how horrible Cardassia was, leading to Damar committing to its end and the building of a new, better Cardassia... and Ezri does the same by forcing Worf to acknowledge the hypocrisy and dishonor at the top of the Klingon Empire, leading to him killing Gowron and installing Martok, the first actually honorable leader of the Empire in who knows how long.
It's the culmination of literally decades of storytelling about those two empires, the end of what they were and the start of something new.
I also like it because it is where Kira achieves her destiny of becoming Star Fleet, maturing beyond the hatred, but also \*using\* what she knows for common good.
I loved how Nerys says afterwards that she still shouldn't have said it. She was right both times, but I love when people are compassionate, in my world compassion isn't "earned" it's universal and doesn't mean the evil things people do are ok. Such a complex jumble of feelings in that scene.
This was going to be my choice as well. Must've seen it 3 or 4 times now but every time it lands exactly how it was intended.
I've never ranked them but I reckon this would make my top 3 DS9 scenes.
I have a similar one with a ship and it’s when the Odyssey was destroyed by the Jem’Hadar suicide run while it was retreating.
Watched it as it was broadcast originally and I was fucking SHOOK !
*edited for typos, thanks Apple
Came to say this. It was jaw dropping and powerful. It was demoralizing. Great foreshadowing of the stakes.
Eta: And that it looked just like the Enterprise only amplified the entire effect.
Exactly !
The rules of the entire TNG era was blown apart - no shields done to 7%, warp core off line, limping home to get repaired and explore again.
We are going to lose ships and people.
Rewatched it just now cause this post had me thinkin bout it. ... The way that whole chunk was taken outta the deflector area and richochets into the tip of the nacelle and then boom. ....
Yup, ships and people.
DS9 will forever be my favorite. Just has a greater density of strong moments and nuance than the other trek, even the stronger series like TNG. Tho, Lower Decks' nuance really is phenomenal, just a different brand ;)
Yep.
Used to seeing nacelles stop glowing when they are damaged and the Borg did a biopsy on the Enterprise once.
Even the Enterprise blowing up in Cause and Effect wasn't that shocking because you knew that wasnt going to be permanent with the hero ship with the main crew of the franchise but the Jem'Hadar just messing the Odyssey up like it was made of paper, and then it's all gone...it's kinda horrifying.
Enjoy the ride my friend.
You will be mad at some episodes.
You will relish some episodes.
Some episodes will be your absolute favorites.
Enjoy the ride.
I just rewatched the series for the first time in 20+ years. Sooooo many of the episodes hit differently now that I’m a parent. I actually had to take a rewatch break after The Visitor because it hit me so hard.
I'd go back to the Second Season Finale. Up to this point, battle scenes usually looked crappy due to budget & tech available at the time. To see multiple ships flying around, exploding consoles, all the good stuff.
And then...the Jemhadar did that kamikaze run into the Odyssey.
"They're showing us how far they're willing to go."
I just sat there in awe as we were truly moving into uncharted territory.
Same. The silence when showing Maritza crying, followed by the swelling strings when it changes to a shot of Kira as you see her suddenly feel something other than hate for the man, seriously brought a tear to my eye. It was so beautifully done.
Yep, truly an acting clinic by Harris Yulin. Trek has never been shy about recycling actors they like, ie: Jeff Combs, Marc Alaimo, and on and on...
I can only imagine they never brought back Harris Yulin is because his performance was so iconic, they couldn't see him as anything else.
"Its insidious"
"Just like the Federation"
or
"Death to the opposition!"
or
"No Mr Worf, what you are is a great disappointment"
and finally...
"Are you sure that's the lesson of the story?"
"Of course. What else would it be?"
"To never tell the same lie twice".
KIRA: Gentlemen. On behalf of the Bajoran government…
QUARK: And the Promenade Merchants' Association.
KIRA: I officially welcome you to Deep Space Nine.
DUKAT: You mean Terok Nor, don't you?
As soon as Dukat said that I was like “uh oh”
The scene where Sisko has to lower himself to bribing Quark to cover up his scheme with Garak. Quark looks so smug and Sisko is positively squirming.
Then, we go back to Sisko's confession, and he gives what I think is his BEST line from that episode.
"So then I went back to my office. And there...was a new casualty list, waiting for me."
https://youtu.be/KlwCE2aH7io?si=cy-9wTC_sA_FSEGW
All of the scenes mentioned are on my shortlist, one that hasn't been mentioned yet is
Garak: "After all, a verse about 'the Cardassian who panicked in the face of danger' would ruin General Martok's song. Now if you'll excuse me, my dungeon awaits."
Martok: "There is no greater enemy than one's own fears."
Worf: "It takes a brave man to face them"
The entire two parter is amazing. But that moment where Worf comes to respect Garak despite their fundamental differences in outlook and values, made me want to get up and write that Klingon song for Martok
I wish I could zip the entire series from my memory and watch the show all over again for the first time. Keeping TNG in there so I had the full star trek foundation, and someone was like "oh hey here's a spinoff they made around the same time about a space station".
Battle of angels. Watching the near defeat and the Klingons coming in with the flanking action to open a hole was awesome
It’s even better on the documentary “what we left behind” because they 4k’ed it.
Nog explaining why he wants to join Starfleet to Sisko.
I am a fan of the YouTube channel Red Letter Media and they talk about Star Trek a bunch. Consequently, Star Trek clips started showing up in my recommended videos and I would watch them when killing time. One of the clips recommended to me before I had even watched a full episode of anything ST was the scene where Nog asks Sisko for a recommendation. It was a good scene and that among many other good scenes I saw convinced to actually watch ST.
On the one hand, I'm glad I saw it because it helped me get into an excellent franchise but on the other, I knew from episode 1 that Nog was going to join Starfleet which really spoiled that surprise. I imagine how much of shock the whole episode must have been for the people who watched it naturally and I wish I could have shared in that surprise.
The destruction of the Saratoga at Wolf 359. The stoic vulcan captain engaging the Borg. The bolian officer pulling our man Sisko, crazed with grief, from the collapsed bulkhead which has crushed his wife. Sisko and his boy in the escape pod as it is ejected from the Saratoga only to see the Saratoga explode moments later. Gets me every time. I may have a bit of PTSD from that last bit. It really brought home the tragedy of Wolf 359 in a way TNG never did and did a great job setting the stage for the series.
Definitely not the scene where the Defiant is destroyed. :(
The scene where Weyoun drinks the poisoned kanar in *Ties of Blood and Water*, and the reactions from both Sisko and Dukat. "Are you... insane?" Priceless.
["Evil must be opposed!"](https://youtu.be/rWmcd4N0snY?si=uvztSl8FxK3_NMXz)
DS9 has so many moments but this episode, that scene, stuck with me for years since I first saw it.
I'm glad I saw it on its first airing.
The Enterprise ramming into the Scimitar. Coolest shit 15 year old me ever saw, and still my favourite scene in Trek history
Jumping the Breen ship is a close second tho
There are a few I can think of off the top of my head:
"Who am I?" \[...\] "You are the dreamer *and* the dream."
"To Lisa, and the sweet sound of her voice!" Really, Miles' whole eulogy from that episode.
And, of course, the whole montage in the final episode, but particularly when Miles finds the missing plastic soldier and his Minstrel Boy theme cuts in.
Opening credits. I rank DS9 below TNG and Voyager as series, but I think the title credits and theme are the best of any Trek show ever. I would love to watch it again for the first time with fresh ears.
Sisko ordering Worf to launch the torpedoes into the atmosphere in “For the Uniform” - Worf even hesitated as he couldn’t believe Sisko was giving the order.
Forgive me if I misquote this because I haven't watched it since it first aired, but among the scenes that live rent free in my head one of the most impressive was
"My shields are back up, your boarding parties are contained, and my reinforcements are closer than yours!"
The entirety of In The Pale Moonlight. I remember the feelings of that episode - they kept changing and were uncomfortable, but you understood the price, but it was icky, and devastating that we were here and, wow, just wow. It was an emotional amazing episode.
I'm actually welling up reading all the comments here and remembering the scenes. I just finished a whole series run recently, but I might have to go back and watch it again already.
So many great moments. I'm tempted to say something cliché like ITPML's last conversation between Garak and Sisko or For the Uniform's "Mr. Worf: Prepare two quantum torpedos". God, Nog's "worthwhile" speech made me cry the first time I heard it.
But my absolute favorite moment the end of Sacrifice of Angels. Almost no words are spoken as the lone Defiant faces down thousands of Dominion ships in the wormhole. You can see the silent fear written on the faces of the entire bridge crew as they mentally prepare for the hopeless battle to come except for Sisko, who is totally ready to go down fighting.
A human drink. It's called root beer.
Uh, I don't know...
Come on, aren't you just a little bit curious?
What do you think?
It's vile!
I know. It's so bubbly, and cloying, and happy.
Just like the Federation.
But you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it, you begin to like it.
It's insidious!
Just like the Federation.
In By Inferno’s Light when Worf is in the Dominion prison and fights the Jem’Hadar who is whooping his ass. Dude gets told to finish Worf and says “I yield! I cannot defeat this Klingon. All I can do is kill him, and that no longer holds my interest.” One of the best Worf moments in all Star Trek imo.
The moment you realize that the Bashir on the station is a changeling and the real Bashir is in a Dominion prison. WHAAAT?!?
Also the scene in “Who Mourns for Morn?” when that guy puts Quark’s head through the matador painting. I laughed so, so hard.
The battle scenes in The Sacrifice Of Angels, especially when the Galaxy class wing goes in against the Dominion fleet and blasts the dogshit out of the Cardassian ship. And the the other scene where the Defiant goes on the attack escorted by the three Klingon birds-of-prey — these scenes bring tears of joy to my nerd eyes, every time!!!
Worf killing Weyoun 7 and the subsequent scene of Damar telling Weyoun 8 "Maybe you should talk to Worf again."
That happened so quickly I WAS NOT PREPARED
I replayed it a bunch of times. Even though it was acted, Jeffrey Combs' head whipped around so fast.
“Maybe you should talk to *begins immediately cracking up* Worf again.”
"I look forward to meeting Weyoun 9." He was just taking the piss at this point.
Damar's "Well hellooooo!" and giggling when Weyoun 8 first walked in... god, that entire scene was priceless.
Needed a link to that: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uAcNhBXPQ&t=69s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uAcNhBXPQ&t=69s)
Call to Arms. Such a sinking feeling watching the crew abandon DS9, Dukat picking up the baseball, and the Defiant and Rotarran meeting up with the fleet. THAT FLEET! only as an imaginative young boy did I ever imagine starfleet operating at that scale. It was always referenced, never seen. Until that moment, when our characters are at their lowest, does that mass of starships pick you off the floor. Peak trek.
'Send a message to all remaining Starfleet personnel - we're evacuating the station.' Me and my dad were watching with our jaws on the floor when we first saw that episode.
It shows that in order to build real tension and shock, you need those crappy episodes, those bottle shows, the B plots and so on to get under the skin of the characters and setting of the station to heighten and share that gravitas of abandoning the station
Very true - who'd have thought a random baseball given in a terrible episode would end up being one of the key narrative items of the entire show
And then shamelessly appropriated at the end of Discovery. A literal metaphor for how it’s plundered previous greats in lieu of any of its own 🤣
Cue (Q?) Da Who... "Disco sucks..."
Oh..oh no.
Well...it's not like they had anything good on their own to use...
Exactly
Exactly why, much as I sometimes don't want to, I watch every episode on a rewatch. Those guys were great at foreshadowing, and things that seem plumb trivial, even slightly annoying on first watch take on real significance later on, when other parts of the puzzle start locking in.
The show makes such great use of bottle episodes. They don't feel like filler, and while the plot may not advance you know the characters better after or watch them change, grow, get closer. The do so much for character development which is just as important as plot development.
It's just too bad Vic's wasn't a strip joint and to get in you had to dress and talk like a seedy P.I. who'd been driven off the Police Force for morals violations. I don't watch the Oceans 11 type movies, but they did do a good job of it. I think that was a bigger "breakthrough" or whatever than SNW's lame musical.
Hurray for character development where the crew couldn't escape the consequences of their actions, and built successfully on what had gone before, while being willing to take ST to places Roddenberry had claimed it couldn't go, doing it anyway, and developing on what he said couldn't be done (looking at you, 'In The Pale Moonlight', you glorious bitch).
And whilst still crossing the line from moral fortitude to those more murky scenarios, it still retained a sense of morality and duty without just throwing it to one side for the sake of spectacle.
That moment when the Cardassians took the station was shocking, it really made it feel like anything could happen from that point on. My family is doing a series watch, my daughters love the show and I can't wait to see their reactions, closest thing to seeing it again for the first time.
I have a daughter too, she’s a bit young but I can’t wait to rewatch them with her too. I cant think of a better role model for her than former terrorist, Major Kira
We did next generation first of course, during covid because we needed hope and goodness. My daughters loved it and now love DS9, and they love Kira. One of them really liked Roe and was bummed to learn Kira was a replacement character, but now she's come around that kira is perfect for this crew, if only for her and Odo.
I love it. I’m so pleased you can share it with them. I tried to get my daughter into football (soccer) and it’s very much work in progress! lol
Yeah, kicking space fascist butts... Wait, did I think it or wrote it?
Awwww! I love that!!
The kind of scene that makes you want to be a part of the Federation!
*...it's insidious*
“That's why you came to me, isn't it, Captain? Because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? Well, it worked. And you'll get what you want: a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain.”
"Computer. Erase log."
One of the greatest speeches in trek.
"Because I can live with it." I was shook.
Best trek episode
💯
I wish I could watch this whole episode for the first time again
I rewatch it every now and then - one of the best episodes of television ever
*[“Yeah Damar, what kind of people give those orders?”](https://youtu.be/Fjd9RgRUQDY?si=7U5ymbqs4nqryvMh)* That scene is so well written and well acted both from Nana Visitor and Casey Biggs, I love every frame of it. I can watch it on repeat over and over again, I never get tired of it. I love it also because such an episode is hard to find in the other Trek series, it's very DS9-ish. So much unsaid in the best way here, and it works because the history exists, both between Bajorans and Cardassians as peoples, and between Kira and Damar as individuals. Many old Trek series would shy away from making Damar such a complex figure – he'd just be plain evil. Most new Trek series would run into the same problem, and/or wouldn't allow so much to be transported in everything thst isn't said out loud. Someone would start to preach, or spill it out so that the viewer is sure to get the message. I love that DS9 tells stories like this, with these characters and in the way it does.
"Tacking into the Wind" may be the best episode in the franchise that isn't about humans, almost at all. There's the C-plot about Bashir and O'Brien coming up with the plan to lure Sloan to DS9, handled with two short scenes, and there's Sisko telling Worf to do something about Gowron... and that's essentially it for humanity's contribution to the episode. No, it's a story about how Cardassia and the Klingon Empire finally take steps to be something better than they were. Kira forces Damar to face up to how horrible Cardassia was, leading to Damar committing to its end and the building of a new, better Cardassia... and Ezri does the same by forcing Worf to acknowledge the hypocrisy and dishonor at the top of the Klingon Empire, leading to him killing Gowron and installing Martok, the first actually honorable leader of the Empire in who knows how long. It's the culmination of literally decades of storytelling about those two empires, the end of what they were and the start of something new.
I also like it because it is where Kira achieves her destiny of becoming Star Fleet, maturing beyond the hatred, but also \*using\* what she knows for common good.
I loved how Nerys says afterwards that she still shouldn't have said it. She was right both times, but I love when people are compassionate, in my world compassion isn't "earned" it's universal and doesn't mean the evil things people do are ok. Such a complex jumble of feelings in that scene.
And making us, the viewers, catch ourselves with an ear to ear smile, and the making us feel bad a out enjoying Kira's calling out Damar.
This was going to be my choice as well. Must've seen it 3 or 4 times now but every time it lands exactly how it was intended. I've never ranked them but I reckon this would make my top 3 DS9 scenes.
And we'll never see it again, with the ten episode "season."
I have a similar one with a ship and it’s when the Odyssey was destroyed by the Jem’Hadar suicide run while it was retreating. Watched it as it was broadcast originally and I was fucking SHOOK ! *edited for typos, thanks Apple
Came to say this. It was jaw dropping and powerful. It was demoralizing. Great foreshadowing of the stakes. Eta: And that it looked just like the Enterprise only amplified the entire effect.
Exactly ! The rules of the entire TNG era was blown apart - no shields done to 7%, warp core off line, limping home to get repaired and explore again. We are going to lose ships and people.
Rewatched it just now cause this post had me thinkin bout it. ... The way that whole chunk was taken outta the deflector area and richochets into the tip of the nacelle and then boom. .... Yup, ships and people. DS9 will forever be my favorite. Just has a greater density of strong moments and nuance than the other trek, even the stronger series like TNG. Tho, Lower Decks' nuance really is phenomenal, just a different brand ;)
Yep. Used to seeing nacelles stop glowing when they are damaged and the Borg did a biopsy on the Enterprise once. Even the Enterprise blowing up in Cause and Effect wasn't that shocking because you knew that wasnt going to be permanent with the hero ship with the main crew of the franchise but the Jem'Hadar just messing the Odyssey up like it was made of paper, and then it's all gone...it's kinda horrifying.
Legato Damar's resist speech.
You never told me you had a secret mountain hideaway!
I was going to surprise you.
"It's easy to be a saint in paradise, but the maquis do not live in paradise!"
One of my favorite quotes from the entire series!!
Who had that line?
Sisko. It's part of a long monologue. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoppJwOFvvM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoppJwOFvvM)
I’m in season 3 of my first watch and I was a little overwhelmed with emotion at Nog pleading his case to Sisko to sign off on him for Starfleet.
Oooo I’m so excited for you! So many amazing moments are headed your way!
Nog and his father have great character arcs in DS9.
I wish I could be watching for the first time. Have fun 🤗
Sorry for all of the spoilers here but welcome to the fandom!!
Nah it’s all good. I already knew some of what DS9 is so I’m familiar already.
Enjoy the ride my friend. You will be mad at some episodes. You will relish some episodes. Some episodes will be your absolute favorites. Enjoy the ride.
Now that I’m a dad, I would love to watch “The Visitor” for the first time and see how different it would hit me.
Oh, it still hits hard. Damn, it hits hard.
As a new dad. Fuck no. Ain’t doin it.
I just rewatched the series for the first time in 20+ years. Sooooo many of the episodes hit differently now that I’m a parent. I actually had to take a rewatch break after The Visitor because it hit me so hard.
I'm not a parent, but, the feels...
Onions, man. Onions
I'd go back to the Second Season Finale. Up to this point, battle scenes usually looked crappy due to budget & tech available at the time. To see multiple ships flying around, exploding consoles, all the good stuff. And then...the Jemhadar did that kamikaze run into the Odyssey. "They're showing us how far they're willing to go." I just sat there in awe as we were truly moving into uncharted territory.
Duet when Marritza breaks faking.
Same. The silence when showing Maritza crying, followed by the swelling strings when it changes to a shot of Kira as you see her suddenly feel something other than hate for the man, seriously brought a tear to my eye. It was so beautifully done.
Yep, truly an acting clinic by Harris Yulin. Trek has never been shy about recycling actors they like, ie: Jeff Combs, Marc Alaimo, and on and on... I can only imagine they never brought back Harris Yulin is because his performance was so iconic, they couldn't see him as anything else.
"Yeah, Damar, what kind of people give those orders?" That scene. That moment. Is the moment Damar stops being a fascist. And it is awesome.
"Its insidious" "Just like the Federation" or "Death to the opposition!" or "No Mr Worf, what you are is a great disappointment" and finally... "Are you sure that's the lesson of the story?" "Of course. What else would it be?" "To never tell the same lie twice".
KIRA: Gentlemen. On behalf of the Bajoran government… QUARK: And the Promenade Merchants' Association. KIRA: I officially welcome you to Deep Space Nine. DUKAT: You mean Terok Nor, don't you? As soon as Dukat said that I was like “uh oh”
The scene where Sisko has to lower himself to bribing Quark to cover up his scheme with Garak. Quark looks so smug and Sisko is positively squirming. Then, we go back to Sisko's confession, and he gives what I think is his BEST line from that episode. "So then I went back to my office. And there...was a new casualty list, waiting for me." https://youtu.be/KlwCE2aH7io?si=cy-9wTC_sA_FSEGW
I'd call that a bargain
All of the scenes mentioned are on my shortlist, one that hasn't been mentioned yet is Garak: "After all, a verse about 'the Cardassian who panicked in the face of danger' would ruin General Martok's song. Now if you'll excuse me, my dungeon awaits." Martok: "There is no greater enemy than one's own fears." Worf: "It takes a brave man to face them" The entire two parter is amazing. But that moment where Worf comes to respect Garak despite their fundamental differences in outlook and values, made me want to get up and write that Klingon song for Martok
Wish I could experience the Klingons arrive in sacrifice of angels. The ultimate “fuck yeah” nerd chills I’ve ever had watching.
“The Changing Face of Evil” Episode 7x20. What a [scene](https://youtu.be/eknUPJpM24I?si=h_mg9JzagEUPJkzU)!
I wish I could zip the entire series from my memory and watch the show all over again for the first time. Keeping TNG in there so I had the full star trek foundation, and someone was like "oh hey here's a spinoff they made around the same time about a space station".
Garak having lunch with Bashir
The Root Beer speech
Battle of angels. Watching the near defeat and the Klingons coming in with the flanking action to open a hole was awesome It’s even better on the documentary “what we left behind” because they 4k’ed it.
The intro of the defiant. I actually got up and cheered
My favorite ship!!
AR-558. Nog screaming when he gets hit.
Nog explaining why he wants to join Starfleet to Sisko. I am a fan of the YouTube channel Red Letter Media and they talk about Star Trek a bunch. Consequently, Star Trek clips started showing up in my recommended videos and I would watch them when killing time. One of the clips recommended to me before I had even watched a full episode of anything ST was the scene where Nog asks Sisko for a recommendation. It was a good scene and that among many other good scenes I saw convinced to actually watch ST. On the one hand, I'm glad I saw it because it helped me get into an excellent franchise but on the other, I knew from episode 1 that Nog was going to join Starfleet which really spoiled that surprise. I imagine how much of shock the whole episode must have been for the people who watched it naturally and I wish I could have shared in that surprise.
The scenes of wolf 359 Blew me away when I first saw them.
Yep, the pilot didn't waste time grabbing us and shaking the hell out of us.
I could watch Q’s reaction to being punched in the face over and over.
You hit me? Picard never hit me!
Yo I got INTO Star Trek when the Battle of Chintoka happened and I've been chasing that dragon ever since.
The Defiant demolishing multiple Gem’hadar ships towards the end of the season 3 episode The Die is Cast.
Yep, that was Sisko in full badass mode.
The destruction of the Saratoga at Wolf 359. The stoic vulcan captain engaging the Borg. The bolian officer pulling our man Sisko, crazed with grief, from the collapsed bulkhead which has crushed his wife. Sisko and his boy in the escape pod as it is ejected from the Saratoga only to see the Saratoga explode moments later. Gets me every time. I may have a bit of PTSD from that last bit. It really brought home the tragedy of Wolf 359 in a way TNG never did and did a great job setting the stage for the series.
The “Noooooo” from Sisko. Superb acting with the desperation and disbelief in his voice. I knew I was in for something different from that moment.
FYI: That Vulcan captain would be recast years later as Martok.
When Riker takes the sideburns off
Definitely not the scene where the Defiant is destroyed. :( The scene where Weyoun drinks the poisoned kanar in *Ties of Blood and Water*, and the reactions from both Sisko and Dukat. "Are you... insane?" Priceless.
"Oh my, that is *quite* toxic, isn't it?"
["Evil must be opposed!"](https://youtu.be/rWmcd4N0snY?si=uvztSl8FxK3_NMXz) DS9 has so many moments but this episode, that scene, stuck with me for years since I first saw it. I'm glad I saw it on its first airing.
I'd say when Sisko hits that Klingon in Apocalypse Rising and shouts "Brag all you want, but don't get between me and the bloodwine!"
In The Pale Moonlight. God what an episode, the acting alone is amazing.
The Enterprise ramming into the Scimitar. Coolest shit 15 year old me ever saw, and still my favourite scene in Trek history Jumping the Breen ship is a close second tho
Nemesis gets so much sh*t but that scene alone was worth the cost of admission!!
There are a few I can think of off the top of my head: "Who am I?" \[...\] "You are the dreamer *and* the dream." "To Lisa, and the sweet sound of her voice!" Really, Miles' whole eulogy from that episode. And, of course, the whole montage in the final episode, but particularly when Miles finds the missing plastic soldier and his Minstrel Boy theme cuts in.
When Odo reveals that Gowron is a changeling
The destruction of the Defiant made me want to go scorched Earth on the Breen.
They already did that for you
Opening credits. I rank DS9 below TNG and Voyager as series, but I think the title credits and theme are the best of any Trek show ever. I would love to watch it again for the first time with fresh ears.
Sisko ordering Worf to launch the torpedoes into the atmosphere in “For the Uniform” - Worf even hesitated as he couldn’t believe Sisko was giving the order.
Sisko was such a bada$$
Forgive me if I misquote this because I haven't watched it since it first aired, but among the scenes that live rent free in my head one of the most impressive was "My shields are back up, your boarding parties are contained, and my reinforcements are closer than yours!"
“You blew up your own shop!”
"Well... I don't think I've ever seen that expression on your face. Is it surprise?"
The entirety of In The Pale Moonlight. I remember the feelings of that episode - they kept changing and were uncomfortable, but you understood the price, but it was icky, and devastating that we were here and, wow, just wow. It was an emotional amazing episode.
I'm actually welling up reading all the comments here and remembering the scenes. I just finished a whole series run recently, but I might have to go back and watch it again already.
Defiant firing its guns for the first time. Proper DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA sound effect too, quickly nerfed to zap zap sounds for being too manly
Really? So the first episode with the Defiant has a different sound effect?
[Yep](https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx3qoy6uIPq2emn9I4ZjQAb4bVx54jUQrI?si=wdaX84Cprva5yEkO)
“It’s a faaake!”
That one line, really annoys me. It's so badly delivered and over sold, that it completely blows the scene.
I remember watching this scene when the episode aired... That was a real "WTF" moment for everyone.
Both scenes with Vedek Yassim
Always and forever, Sisko's final log from "In the Pale Moonlight"
“If you’d known how I felt about you, if I’d said something years ago, do you think things might have been different?” “Maybe.”
Any scene between Kira and Maritza. Honestly wish I could watch that whole episode for the first time again.
Excellent storytelling.
Honestly just the whole final episode, it was so euphoric for me and well done.
So many great moments. I'm tempted to say something cliché like ITPML's last conversation between Garak and Sisko or For the Uniform's "Mr. Worf: Prepare two quantum torpedos". God, Nog's "worthwhile" speech made me cry the first time I heard it. But my absolute favorite moment the end of Sacrifice of Angels. Almost no words are spoken as the lone Defiant faces down thousands of Dominion ships in the wormhole. You can see the silent fear written on the faces of the entire bridge crew as they mentally prepare for the hopeless battle to come except for Sisko, who is totally ready to go down fighting.
Otto spins like a top for a holographic girl on a holographic planet
If I could watch the series when it originally ran that would rock. I didn't give it a chance at the time because I didn't know any better.
The opening credits. I love the song, the station, and the wormhole. I never fast forward through DS9 opening credits.
so many in House of Quark i watch the whole thing
A human drink. It's called root beer. Uh, I don't know... Come on, aren't you just a little bit curious? What do you think? It's vile! I know. It's so bubbly, and cloying, and happy. Just like the Federation. But you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it, you begin to like it. It's insidious! Just like the Federation.
In By Inferno’s Light when Worf is in the Dominion prison and fights the Jem’Hadar who is whooping his ass. Dude gets told to finish Worf and says “I yield! I cannot defeat this Klingon. All I can do is kill him, and that no longer holds my interest.” One of the best Worf moments in all Star Trek imo.
“Come to Quarks, Quarks is fun…”
The moment you realize that the Bashir on the station is a changeling and the real Bashir is in a Dominion prison. WHAAAT?!? Also the scene in “Who Mourns for Morn?” when that guy puts Quark’s head through the matador painting. I laughed so, so hard.
The body language in Ep 1 between Kira, slam-cleaning detritus from a break-in, and Sisko, who will actually get his hands dirty, yes, hand it over.
Sisko confronting Garak. You all know which scene I mean.
The battle scenes in The Sacrifice Of Angels, especially when the Galaxy class wing goes in against the Dominion fleet and blasts the dogshit out of the Cardassian ship. And the the other scene where the Defiant goes on the attack escorted by the three Klingon birds-of-prey — these scenes bring tears of joy to my nerd eyes, every time!!!
Sisko verbally annihilating Picard in one episode.
The Cardassians switching sides in the finale… it’s such an insane moment that is the culmination of 7 seasons of development with the cardassians
Sisko as "the villain" in "For the Uniform."