10 Most Rewatchable Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Episodes

Deep Space Nine's fifth season is an embarrassment of riches in terms of fast-paced storytelling and major character development. The season pushed rising tensions between the Federation and Dominion to open war while never forgetting the show's diverse cast of supporting characters.

"For the Uniform" offers an exciting game of cat and mouse between Sisko and Michael Eddington, the station's former Chief of Starfleet Security turned Maquis traitor. In a memorable episode that never fails to pack a punch, audiences discovered the depths Sisko was willing to sink in his quest to bring Eddington to justice.

"For the Uniform" features a frustrated Sisko foiled in his efforts to capture the cunning Eddington. The Maquis leader successfully sabotages the Defiant and lures the ship to false coordinates as he ambushes another Starfleet vessel, the Malinche. Through a series of tense communiques, Eddington taunts Sisko, comparing his former commander to Inspector Javert, a character from Les Misérables. In the novel and musical, Javert's obsession with arresting the paroled criminal Jean Valjean ultimately destroys him.

Viewing himself as a heroic figure serving a higher cause, Eddington identifies with Valjean's outcast status and charitable nature. Sisko realizes that his only hope of defeating Eddington is to set aside his Federation code and embrace the role of villain.

By poisoning the atmosphere of a Maquis colony and threatening to repeat his actions, Sisko finally secures Eddington's surrender. Eddington hands himself over convinced that his noble self-sacrifice will assure the safety of countless others.

"For the Uniform" is an adrenaline-fueled romp that positioned Sisko as an altogether different Starfleet captain than his peers, one capable of using violence and intimidation to achieve his goals. The contrast between the emotionally charged Sisko and pensive Picard was perhaps never more striking. "For the Uniform" embraced Sisko's impulsive nature and helped set the table for "In the Pale Moonlight", which acted as the culmination of his willingness to compromise his values in service of the Federation.