Star Trek Deep Space Nine Feature Length Episodes: Ranked

Odo finds his people and everyone rather wishes he hadn't.

The Search not only introduces the Founders to be the Changelings but it also introduces the USS Defiant, Starfleet's new surprise for the Dominion. Deep Space Nine's third season picks up a pace after the first two.

The actual colour pallete of the show changes and everything is brought into a sharper definition, something that the show would stick with for the remainder of the series' run. The Jem'hadar prove to be too much for the Defiant and Odo escapes with Kira, only to find themselves not heading home but heading directly for the Founders' homeworld.

What follows is an elaborate scenario where the main characters are tested to see how they would react to the Dominion once they come through the wormhole. They are released due to Odo's request but it is clear from these episodes that the Federation is outmatched in this one.

Odo's exploration of his heritage proves bittersweet here. Their deep mistrust of solids effectively stonewalls them from trusting Odo's friends the way that he does, even with his joining the Great Link. This is both a high stakes and low key season opener. The main crew of DS9 try to collapse the wormhole and Odo spends time in the garden. It does drag in a few spots but it is still an excellent introduction to the Founders and the threat that they pose.