Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - 10 Best Episodes Not About The Main Cast
5. Improbable Cause/The Die Is Cast
This third-season two-part episode puts Garak at the fore again, opening with a bang as his shop explodes on the promenade. This is only a very small piece of a much larger puzzle, one that eventually leads into the opening salvos of what would become the war between the Dominion and the Alpha Quadrant alliances. This was one of the first examples of a fleet battle in Star Trek and it is excellent.
However, it is the twisting tale of who is trying to kill Garak and why that forms the thrust of the story. Paul Dooley returns as Enabran Tain, expertly orchestrating the downfall of his former Obsidian Order underlings as he prepares an invasion of the Founders' homeworld. The Cardassian Keldon-class cruiser makes it second and final appearance here, decloaking alongside a fleet of Romulan Warbirds.
The intrigue, the twists, and the tragedy of these episodes are outstanding, with Garak and Odo developing odd mutual respect for each other along the way. Though it was merely a teaser of the true horror that the Dominion would later unleash, the episodes are a fantastic example of how underhanded tactics almost worked against the Gamma Quadrant power, if only they hadn't been found out.
Maybe Starfleet might learn something from that...