Penumbra (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

Last updated
"Penumbra"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 17
Directed bySteve Posey
Written by René Echevarria
Featured music Dennis McCarthy
Production code567
Original air dateApril 5, 1999 (1999-04-05)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"		Next →
"'Til Death Do Us Part"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7
List of episodes

"Penumbra" is the 167th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the 17th episode of the seventh season. It aired on syndicated television the week of April 5, 1999. [1]

Contents

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet-managed space station Deep Space Nine near the planet Bajor, as the Bajorans recover from a decades-long occupation by the imperialistic Cardassians. The station is adjacent to a wormhole connecting Bajor to the distant Gamma Quadrant; the wormhole is home to powerful alien beings worshipped by the Bajorans as the godlike "Prophets", who have made Deep Space Nine's human captain Benjamin Sisko their "Emissary". The later seasons of the series follow a war between the United Federation of Planets and the Dominion, an expansionist empire from the Gamma Quadrant ruled by the shapeshifting Changelings, which has already absorbed Cardassia.

This episode begins the nine-episode concluding story arc of the series, which brings the Dominion War and other story elements to a close. In this episode, Lt. Cmdr. Worf is missing in action after his ship is attacked by the Dominion, and Lt. Ezri Dax goes in search of him; both end up captured by enigmatic aliens known as the Breen. Ezri is a member of the Trill species, symbiotically joined to the long-lived sluglike creature Dax; the previous host of Dax was Worf's late wife Jadzia, and the complex fact of Ezri's existence leads to complicated feelings between her and Worf.

Plot

Worf is reported lost in a perilous region of space known as the Badlands after the ship he was commanding was destroyed by a Dominion attack; the USS Defiant recovers some survivors of Worf's ship but not Worf himself. Ezri Dax, feeling an obligation to Worf due to her memories of Jadzia, takes a runabout to the Badlands to search for him herself. Dax has the computer extrapolate a likely entry point for Worf's escape pod into the Badlands, and then takes the runabout in and cuts the engine, allowing the currents to carry her to Worf's position.

Once Dax has rescued Worf, their conversation on the runabout is awkward; he resents her treating him as if she were Jadzia. When the runabout is attacked by Dominion ships, they escape by transporting themselves to a nearby planet, but have no way of calling for help. Camping on the planet for days, they argue about Jadzia; their fight eventually turns into a kiss and then sex. Later that evening, the two are abducted and imprisoned on a Breen ship.

Meanwhile, side plots in the episode focus on other character arcs and subplots in the Dominion War story arc:

Reception

In 2014, The A.V. Club noted, that although this is one episode, its plot is highly serialized into Season Seven of this television show. [2] Tor.com gave it 6 out of 10. [1]

In 2015, Geek.com recommended this episode as "essential watching" for their abbreviated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine binge-watching guide, as well as every episode after this. [3]

In 2020, this was noted for Star Trek including opera, in this case scene where Worf sings some Klingon opera to pass the time while stuck in a spacecraft. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bajoran</span> Fictional extraterrestrial species from Star Trek

The Bajorans are a fictional species in the science-fiction Star Trek franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, owing to decades of subjugation under a military dictatorship which saw many of their species enslaved or forced into exile away from their homeworld. They were first introduced in the 1991 episode "Ensign Ro" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and subsequently were a pivotal element of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and also appeared in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Sisko</span> Character from TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Benjamin Lafayette Sisko is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise portrayed by Avery Brooks. He was the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), which was originally broadcast between 1993 and 1999. The character has also appeared in various books, comics, and video games within the Star Trek franchise.

Dukat (<i>Star Trek</i>) Fictional character from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Dukat is a fictional character from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. A member of the fictional Cardassian species, he is introduced as the former overseer of the series' namesake space station but goes on to become the leader of his species' governing body, the Cardassian Union. At times an enemy, while at others an ally of Benjamin Sisko, Dukat appears in 35 of the series' 176 episodes. He was portrayed by Marc Alaimo throughout. Dukat became a fan favorite among Star Trek fans and he is widely considered to be one of the most iconic villains in the Star Trek franchise.

"Emissary" is the series premiere of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It was aired as a single two-hour episode on its initial broadcast, but was divided into two one-hour episodes when it aired in reruns.

"Call to Arms" is the 26th and final episode of the fifth season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 124th episode overall. This episode marks the start of the show's celebrated Dominion war story arc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What You Leave Behind</span> 25th and 26th episodes of the 7th season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

"What You Leave Behind" is the series finale of the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 175th and 176th episodes, the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. The episode was written by showrunner Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler and directed by Allan Kroeker. It originally aired the week of May 31, 1999.

"Sacrifice of Angels" is the sixth episode from the sixth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 130th episode overall. The episode's plot details the efforts of the United Federation of Planets to retake space station Deep Space Nine from the forces of the Dominion. This is the second half of a two-part episode, continuing the story immediately from the end of the previous episode, "Favor the Bold". The episode features a large guest cast and numerous VFX scenes with spacecraft.

"'Til Death Do Us Part" is the 168th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This episode first aired the week of April 12, 1999 on syndicated television.

"The Changing Face of Evil" is the 170th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It was first aired on syndicated television on April 26, 1999.

"When it Rains..." is the 171st episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the fifth of the final nine-episode arc of the series. This episode was directed by Michael Dorn and written by Rene Echevarria. It was first aired in broadcast syndication on May 3, 1999.

"Image in the Sand" is the 151st episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the opening episode for the series' seventh and final season. It was first aired the week of September 28, 1998.

"Strange Bedfellows" is the 169th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is one of eight episodes of Deep Space Nine directed by Rene Auberjonois, who also played the role of Odo on the series.

"By Inferno's Light" is the 113th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 15th episode of the fifth season.

"Waltz" is the 11th episode of the sixth season of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 135th episode overall.

"Tears of the Prophets" is the 26th and final episode of the sixth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 150th episode overall. It was first broadcast in broadcast syndication in the United States the week of June 15, 1998. It was written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler, and directed by Allan Kroeker. The episode featured the death of the character Jadzia Dax and the final appearance on the series of actress Terry Farrell.

"Shadows and Symbols" is the second episode of the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 152nd overall, premiering the week of October 5, 1998. The episode's premiere received Nielsen ratings of 4.2 points corresponding to over 4.1 million viewers. This episode was written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler, and directed by Allan Kroeker.

"Behind the Lines" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 128th episode in the science fiction show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep Space Nine (fictional space station)</span> Fictional space station in Star Trek

Deep Space Nine is a fictional space station, the eponymous primary setting of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which aired from 1993 to 1999. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens. It is run by a joint crew of Starfleet and Bajoran officers and it is the home port of a number of Starfleet runabouts, as well as the starship USS Defiant.

References

  1. 1 2 DeCandido, Keith R. A. (2015-01-23). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch: "Penumbra"". Tor.com . Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  2. ↑ Handlen, Zack (27 March 2014). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"/"Penumbra"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  3. ↑ Ryan Whitwam (2015-01-19). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine condensed: How to watch the most story-driven Trek". Geek.com . Archived from the original on 2016-11-20.
  4. ↑ "Star Trek's Best Opera Moments, Ranked". StarTrek.com. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.