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What is 'The Die is Cast' About?

Why is 'The Die is Cast' Significant?

How does 'The Die is Cast' end?

Unlike previous installments in the Star Trek franchise, Deep Space Nine focused on war more than exploration. At the time of its airing, many fans disliked that change. However, it opened up a lot of avenues for the future of the franchise by dealing with darker themes and personal stories that attracted a larger audience. The Federation learned about the Dominion early in the series, but it wasn't until the third season that they discovered how nefarious the Dominion was. Everybody in the Alpha Quadrant saw them as an enemy no different from the ones they faced before. The episode "The Die is Cast" changed everyone's perspective.

Few characters on Deep Space Nine are as enigmatic as the Cardassian Garak. "The Die is Cast" does little to change that, but it does shine some light on him. However, this episode was just as much about Odo and the Dominion War as it was about Garak. :The Die is Cast" is a pivotal episode that progresses the Dominion plot more than any episode before it.

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What is 'The Die is Cast' About?

The Die is Cast Facts
Director	David Livingston
Original Air Date	May 1, 1995
Writers	Rick Berman and Michael Piller
Season	3
Episode	21

After somebody attempts to assassinate Garak, Deep Space Nine's resident tailor, he and Odo take a runabout to investigate, as Garak doesn't take too kindly to somebody trying to kill him. Shortly into their investigation, a Romulan Warbird beams the duo aboard, where they're met by Garak's old mentor, Enabran Tain. Tain and Romulan Colonel Lovok are leading a Cardassian/Romulon contingent into the Gamma Quadrant with the intention of destroying the Changeling homeworld, putting an end to the Dominion and the Dominion War.

Sisko and the Federation learn about the plan, and the Federation orders Commander Sisko to let the Cardassian/Romulan fleet continue into the Gamma Quadrant with hopes that they succeed. However, Sisko doesn't like the idea of leaving his people's safety uncertain. He takes the Defiant into the Gamma Quadrant to rescue Odo and Garak. However, anyone would be hard-pressed to get Garak to leave Tain's side. The Cardassian leader promised Garak that he could return to Cardassia Prime if he went along with the plan.

Unfortunately, the first thing Garak is tasked with is interrogating Odo in order to learn any weaknesses that the Changeling homeworld has. Over the years on Deep Space Nine, Garak and Odo formed mutual respect for one another, making the interrogation difficult. To ensure Odo is unable to escape the room, Tain gives Garak a device that prevents Odo's shapeshifting ability.

Why is 'The Die is Cast' Significant?

There are a number of points in "The Die is Cast" that make the episode a key moment in the Deep Space Nine timeline. The events that take place in the episode reverberate throughout the rest of the series. The show had been building up the Dominion as a significant threat since the show's second season, and "The Die is Cast" reveals to the audience just how big of a threat they are. This episode reveals that Changelings infiltrated several major forces in the Alpha Quadrant, including the Cardassians and Romulans.

It's also a significant episode because it delves more into Garak's past. Throughout the series up to this point, Garak shared multiple stories with Dr. Bashir that contradicted his role during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. "The Die is Cast" makes it clear that Garak had military expertise and worked with the Obsidian Order. There's still no clear answer as to why he was exiled after the occupation, but his resolve to return home is clear after accepting the role of torturer for his ally.

How does 'The Die is Cast' end?

By the end of the episode, Garak was pleading with Odo to give up some kind of information about the Changelings, even if it was a lie. Thanks to the shapeshifting-dampening device, Odo's flesh was drying out. Odo finally confessed that he wanted to join his people in the Great Link. While it wasn't the information Tain was looking for, Garak deactivated the device and joined his mentor on the bridge of the Warbird just in time to see them arrive at the Changeling homeworld.

They were first caught off guard due to a lack of resistance around the planet. Then, they were caught off guard again when a fleet of Dominion ships appeared as if they were waiting for the Cardassian/Romulan fleet. The Jem'Hadar ships outmatched those from the Alpha Quadrant, breaking through their shields with a single blast and obliterating Romulan ships with only a few shots. Garak rushed to save Odo from confinement in order to escape certain annihilation. Before they leave, they encounter Lovok, who reveals himself to be a Founder in disguise.

The Founders viewed the Romulan Tal Shiar and Cardassian Obsidian Order as significant threats and pushed for an attack on the Founder's homeworld, hoping to remove them from the battlefield completely. That would leave the Dominion to only face the Federation and Klingon Empire. Odo was given a chance to join the Founders, but he declined. Despite Garak's best efforts to save Tain, he refused to retreat. Odo proved that he was a better person than most on Deep Space Nine by knocking Garak unconscious when he refused to leave Tain's side, saving the very man who tortured him. The Defiant arrived just in time to beam the duo aboard and return to the Alpha Quadrant.