Top 20 Episodes of Star Trek Deep Space Nine #14: Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast

Before we get to the meat of the episode, we need to talk about Garak. Garak is the only Cardassian who remains on the station after the rest of his people withdrew from Bajor. While he claims to be a humble tailor, there is much more to Garak than meets the eye. In reality, he was once a high-ranking officer in the Obsidian Order, Cardassia’s primary intelligence organization. We’ll discuss Garak in far greater detail next time, but for now, let’s get to the episode.

Odo is investigating an attempt on Garak’s life and while Garak claims to have no idea what’s going on, Odo believes that Garak knows far more than he claims. As such, it is revealed that the assassination attempt was actually a roundabout invitation by Garak’s former Obsidian Order superior, Inaubran Tayne, to join the order once again. The reason Garak has been brought back into the fold is because the Obsidian Order has joined forces with the Romulan Tal’shiar for a clandestine attack against the Changeling homeworld, crippling the Dominian in the process.

There’s a lot going on in this episode, but the real selling point is Garak’s relationships with both Odo and Tayne. With Odo, it’s a perfect union of opposites. While Garak is a skilled liar who never reveals the whole truth about himself, Odo is a justice seeker who seeks the truth by any means necessary. The chemistry between the two is excellent, and you can tell that despite them being polar opposites, they do respect one another. There’s a scene later in the two-parter where Garak is forced to torture Odo and report anything he reveals to Tayne. Under extreme Duress, Odo reveals his deepest secret, that even though he knowns that they are evil, he wants nothing more than to live among his people. And despite the fact that the information provided is of no consequence, Garak still refuses to reveal that secret. The relationship between Tayne and Garak is equally interesting. Tayne was Garak’s mentor, but their relationship is clearly a lot more complicated than either is willing to reveal. Even though Tayne is the man responsible for Garak’s exile from Cardassia, and even now the two would probably betray one another at the drop of a hat, there is still mutual respect between the two and Garak’s concern for Tayne’s life during what is basically a suicide mission is genuine. It’s a great episode from start to finish.

However, we’re not done with Garak by a long shot, as next time we get a much deeper insight into his character.