ITPML-I can live with it. I CAN LIVE WITH IT.

[@saturn580]

Sisko can live with his crimes, but can't bring himself to drink a celebratory toast to them. A nice little touch that says a lot about his character.

[@davfree9732]

He and Admiral Ross would go on to refuse to drink to their victory with Martok as they stood over the bodies on Cardassians on Cardassia. He may have crossed a line he can never walk back, but his foundation of character is still peace time Star Fleet who used his pain of losing his wife to prepare for a war he hoped would never come... But he'd make sure he was ready if it ever did.

[@hostishumanigeneris11001]

It gets easier with time, it becomes a job, emotions are irrelevant and redundant, like a light a lightswitch, you just turn them off...😈💀

[@anunc8797]

I think he looked at it and thought, if I take a sip now, I will cover this with alcohol until I die.

[@branboom6409]

nor will he become a drunk, because, he can live with it.

[@tarn1135]

He was trying to convince himself he could “live with it”. He just didn’t need to like himself for what he did.

[@oooChickenatorXooo]

What a mean, nasty little episode. :-) This may be one of the finest hours of television _ever produced._ I still get chills whenever I watch it. .

[@Tigerman1138]

Chickenator X Everything that people hated about this show made it great here: Politics Murder Gray areas of morality Power Deception Lawbreaking False-flag in war!!! And worse...being able to live with it and do it again if needed.

[@grendelum]

@Chickenator X - I still remember watching this live with a friend and how spooky good the fade to black was (whole episode, I mean, Garak)... *The Visitor* is still the episode that gives the strongest feels tho, my best friend called me bawling right after that one aired, cant say I wasn’t right with her.

[@TabooX1984]

And all it cost was the self respect of one star fleet officer.

[@CaptApril123]

@@Tigerman1138 yep.. that's good television.

[@Briggers0810]

@@TabooX1984 along with the life of one Romulan Senator and a criminal

[@vancityhighballer4832]

him repeating "i can live with it" I still the hardest thing to hear when you know the mythology of starfleet.

[@MajinBadat]

That's why he repeated it a second time, cause of the moral buildings blocks of the Federation.

[@thegreenmanofnorwich]

It was the realisation that fighting hard alone just wouldn't be enough. That he and the entire federation could strive and strive and it likely still wouldn't be enough. He's have to violate some of Starfleet's central ethics. Not just about murder, conspiracy and coercion, but to bury the truth forever.

[@matorix003]

Plus if you know the Benjamin Sisko from before The almost naive Starfleet officer who gets thrown into a situation hed rather not be in just going deeper and deeper It's almost like everything was building up to this

[@joeclaridy3652]

To be honest it is refreshing to hear from my perspective. To me it shows that there are still officers who are willing to fight at all cost.

[@jasperzanovich2504]

@@joeclaridy3652 That point has been mentioned several times about the humans in general. Humans are very quaint and peaceful until they are beeing pressured. Nothing is off-limit when push comes to shove. When it's about survival of the species humans prefer to win by cheating rather than die with honor.

[@jeffjeffriesmedia]

“Computer? Erase that entire personal log…” “Are you sure, Captain? That story was nuts!”

[@alexbaxthedarkside]

You’d be amazed what nuts stories don’t make it into public record ;) simply because humanity can’t be grown ups with the information.

[@jamaldominicbarr7379]

​@@alexbaxthedarkside In the secularists jungles of the West, out and about in the wherefore and the heretofore there be horrors aplenty; enough to make fantastical tails such as these blush.

[@GirlycarDawn]

"Computer erase that entire personal log." "Now broadcasting personal log station wide." "Thanks Windows."

[@motcroquet8871]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@dimitribazos1532]

I love the symbolism of him raising his glass in toast, but then not being able to bring himself to actually drink it. Superbly written episode.

[@rpottage]

I think it’s meant to show that he doesn’t need the drink. He’s accepted what he did and doesn’t need the drink for his nerves or to drown his conscience.

[@angmordagnithil7127]

@@rpottage That's another great read on it. It also struck me on my last re-watch that it's the same kind of glass that Vreenak was drinking the replicated ale. Yet another reminder to Sisko of what he did. That's why I love this episode so much. So many layers, so many pieces of symbolism. Was it all intentional? Certainly not. But everyone has a different interpretation, and all of them are valid.

[@magnusbrzenk447]

Before this episode I didn’t think much of the Garak character, but after this episode the scales fell from my eyes

[@jweav151]

This may be the only episode in the entire series where Garak operates at his full potential and pulls off something no one else could. As Sisko said, the plan was always to assassinate Vreenak. Not only did Garak pull it off, but he kept Sisko in the dark about it the entire time.

[@Goldenbane]

What's awesome is, going back and knowing what you know about Garak when watching old episodes, they become even better!!

[@TakaComics]

Garak gave Sisko the ultimate lesson in “the needs of the many.” Sisko didn’t sacrifice his life, didn’t go out in a blaze of glory, didn’t get recognition or fame. A part of him died that day and he knew it. And the ultimate sacrifice is where you gain nothing personally from it.

[@mrz80]

"I'd call that a *bargain*."

[@hockallz2157]

"...And the self respect of one star fleet officer." The chills from this line alone. I know this whole episode was decisive but it was brilliantly done in my opinion.

[@geoffwilliams4478]

"I don't know about you, but I'd call **that** a bargain!"

[@quequotion6862]

That was some epic acting by Andrew Robinson and Avery Brooks.

[@quequotion6862]

​@@geoffwilliams4478it's really too bad they could never let Quark in on that joke. He would have been so happy to know he was part of an acquisition so great, not to mention the incredible low price paid for the extremely valuable merchandise.

[@tuk955]

I got goosebump after “Erase that entire personal log”

[@hardryv3719]

Everytime I watch this episode, which easily numbers in the dozens by now... I applaud some even if I'm alone, i weep a bit out of sheer amazement, and i ponder how long I'll wait before giving it still another re-watch.

[@johnbergstrom2931]

When I think about this episode, I kinda tear-up a bit. It is incredible.

[@luispanzar4764]

"Erase that entire personal log" is great because of the obvious need to hide what he's done. But there's also the meta aspect of how it contradicts arguably the most iconic phrase in all of Star Trek: "Captain's Log, Stardate etc etc". This adventure has not been your grandpa's Star Trek. Deep Space Nine: Star Trek for people who don't like Star Trek, indeed.

[@Optimusprime240]

It made me wonder just how many times our favorite captains have said that line, and none of us will ever know why

[@justiceavenger275]

Or u will be keep like u r "s good man" and keep this evidence to destroy u or maybe entire of your people's safety?... Yeah , i ERASE every my mess to make sure my entire civilization will preveil.

[@davidatlee2498]

Arguably the best episode in the entire series. The only competition I can immediately think of is "Inter Arma...". And, come to that, I'd have a hard time arguing that this is not the best episode of Star Trek ever produced. Avery Brooks renders a master class in understated performance. The man is a genius.

[@edwalker2169]

understated? Brooks is a great actor, the episode is among the best episodes of TV ever made, but he has never been known to be understated, he is very OTT

[@mrz80]

A line in a Lois McMaster Bujold novel comes to mind: “…the trouble with oaths of the form, death before dishonor, is that eventually, given enough time and abrasion, they separate the world into two sorts of people: the dead, and the forsworn.”

[@TheOneZytel]

Do you remember what novel is that from? I love her Vorkosigan saga books. 😃

[@mrz80]

@@TheOneZytel A Civil Campaign, I believe during MIles' meeting with Ekaterin in the Vorkosigan House attic.

[@xhagast]

Thus the popularity of "the end justifies the means" and "he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day." Cowardly? Perhaps. Ceasar spoke of the Nervii Belgae, who held it dishonorable to flee a battlefield. They lost 40,000 men at a time. By the end of the Gallic War, they were nothing. But they kept their honor.

[@jonathandonley3299]

The way he said it, made me think that maybe he was a little bit pleased about how he got to have a hand in tarnishing the vaunted Federation and their precious Starfleet with their supposedly moral clarity.

[@Xander77Ru]

The obvious rejoinder is "oh, does treachery make you immortal?" None of us live forever, yet we can choose *how* we live our lives and what we leave behind.

[@ErwalDeeas]

Best episode from the best Star Trek series ever. DAMN that was good acting!

[@CaptApril123]

He's so subtle people often miss the brilliance. "Far Beyond the Stars" episode he rips your heart out. I'd kill to see him do Shakespeare.

[@johnbergstrom2931]

And good writing, good directing.

[@thedavecorp]

I love how the screen goes black, no fade, just black - erased.

[@asaltycrewman8725]

Beautiful touch of acting: from 1:20 onward, with his first “I can live with it”, you can see the light and humanity slowly leave his eyes, progressing each time he says so afterwards, until he crosses his legs in comfort, his shoulders ease, and his tone becomes the lightest and most relaxed this whole log (but his eyes reach their most cold and dead). Its a chilling presentation of character development through subtle vocals and body language. Well bloody done!

[@healsallwounds]

"Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honour matters. The silence is your answer."

[@kpods1116]

Now that’s a quote!

[@NeilCWCampbell]

Honour and an empty sack is worth the sack

[@wolfgang-franzkranek6146]

Javik, Mass Effect 3

[@22espec]

A soldier in Warhammer 40k would laugh at that question

[@DaveMiller2]

Deep Space 9 is the best of all Star Trek. This episode showcases that. Television should be more like this.

[@SaulofTarsis]

DS9 and B5 some of the best scifi ever written for TV

[@Mrfitz666]

Best DS9 episode

[@fasteddiepoot8758]

yes

[@ankhmorpok1497]

Mrfitz666 yeah, this and Duet.

[@pauljensen5699]

Inclined to say best Star Trek episode ever.

[@dragonglass8010]

@@pauljensen5699 All my favourites are DS9 episodes but this one is the best your right

[@pauljensen5699]

Personal headcannon, the Tal Shiar knew full well everything was fake and probably even guessed Garak had a hand in all of this. But Senator Vrenak had held on to his personal beliefs about the destruction of the Federation and somehow the Dominion wasn't interested in the Romuluans. But since the Tal Shiar had made themselves a mortal enemy of the Dominion, the investigation's results were... 'fortified' to serve the Tal Shiar's needs. ...and supposedly, the head of the Tal Shiar is aligned with Section 31 of Federation Security...

[@dragonglass8010]

Sounds about right

[@joelbrown4507]

Arguably one of the best episodes of the entire ST franchise

[@harveykitzman9083]

I still get chills listening to this! This is THE BEST episode of the series! Avery and Andrew should have gotten Emmys for this! And this music is incredible!

[@BillHimmel]

This episode was my favorite of all Star Trek!

[@Ama-hi5kn]

It really is one of the highlights of the Trek franchise. There are some others, but I will always remember this one.

[@animalian01]

This was a true great episode,and it showed what a great character Garak was

[@thundermaxx1273]

Even thought this series ended years ago I'm still wondering what that "Welcome To The Fight" party was like in the wardroom!

[@Sidragrosm]

@Big Potato Dax, plus Buckets of Romulan Ale..? Lock up your sons AND your daughters..!!

[@travisdavis6778]

The romulans snubbed it everyone else celebrated anyways

[@darylallen2485]

Quark would like to file an official complaint for not being given the opportunity to cater the event! 😆

[@johnharrison6745]

Booze. Lots of booze. 😉

[@erwinkonopka7071]

I remember how blown away I was with that acting when I watched it for the first time. It is high time to rewatch ST.

[@RagingTrojan]

What always gets me about this episode is that Sisko goes from struggling to even get his dates straight with what had happened... By the end of the Episode he returns to his calm and controlled demeaner, as though hes truly at peace accepting what he'd done. Superb acting.

[@woocash9509]

Thanks Mike Johnson

[@Shinji103]

This may very well be my favorite episode of all of DS9. Sisko repeating “I can live with it,” especially the emphasis “I CAN live with it” shows how hard he’s trying to convince himself he can. This episode’s only competition is the episode where they went into the past to the Tribble episode. O’Brien lying to Kirk’s face was GOLD.

[@SuperAp0calypse]

Anyone doubting Avery Brooks acting skill should just watch this episode. Best Captain that, sadly, never got a decent shot at the Borg. Criminal that he wasnt in First Contact at all.

[@thegreenmanofnorwich]

I think having him in First Contact would have created messy writing and upset the flow of the story.

[@travisdavis6778]

@@thegreenmanofnorwich I can’t see why every nextgen movie had flaws

[@thegreenmanofnorwich]

@@travisdavis6778 cramming another lead character in would be difficult. He'd either have to be reduced to a supporting role, which would be a waste of the character, or they'd have to come up with another hero thread for Sisko, which would have increased the runtime and I suspect that it would have become incredibly sluggish

[@xtzyshuadog]

*See RedLetterMedia's Plinkett reviews on Star Trek The Next Generation films for a laugh* by the way

[@warcraftnut1354]

Borg was mainly a Delta quadrant thing. Cisco was mainly Alpha quadrant.

[@cgallegos2106]

I swear the narrating monologue for that episode was almost Shakespearen. Him staring at the camera reminded me of Richard III or Macbeth.

[@htickle1]

The best DS9 episode ever, and the best Sisko episode ever! Period!

[@Macleodking]

When I first saw Andy Robinson as the psycho hippie sniper in DIRTY HARRY, I knew this was an actor to watch. But he really brought his acting guns blazing in this episode. The producer were wise to hire him. He elevated the show to a greater level than anticipated.

[@roho10011]

The morals of most of Star Trek are those of a dominate power, one that can afford to limit itself and still protect its people and way of life. But as the commander here recognized, the Dominion represented an existential threat that required a more visceral response to defeat.

[@hardryv3719]

This episode stands in stark contrast to conventional political moral wisdom, and DS9 is still the only ST series with a very serious political byline. Absolutely brilliant. The episode is a grandiose reminder thst sometimes rules are broken to sustain a 'greater good', and occasionally the associated cost is painfully high.

[@Desencadenar]

The brutal clash between this episode, and the regular Trek utopan idealism that has been thoroughly established for years before this event... Is one of the reasons why this episode is PEAK. You're right, and Sisko said it himself before, in another one of his great speeches. When he goes: "It's easy to be a saint in paradise." He's describing your very point, there. DS9 is FRONTIER Trek. Dirty, ugly, rough, and the reason the rest of the Federation gets the luxury of sleeping peacefully at night. Because these people are out there, on the edge, doing whatever it takes to buy that peace. With their souls, if must be. I add two other things: - Garak tells one more lie, and Sisko falls for it in a desperate attempt to protect his soul. The price, is WAY higher than what Garak claims. Millions of Romulans will d¡e in the war, now. Sure, some people have replied to this point of mine, saying they would've d¡ed later once the Dominion turned against them. But that is NO excuse to manipulate them like that. And it's a hypothetical, not a certainty. The Romulans could've JOINED the Dominion later, or kept the treaty, thus avoiding or at least greatly reducing those casualties. - I love that Quark got a bit of participation. He once described humanity perfectly to Nog, regarding all this. Explaining why he doesn't trust us. Trying to take care of him, and impart some wisdom. I don't remember the exact words, but it was something like this: Humans change, when pushed hard enough. Expose them to pain long enough, deprive them of their creature comforts long enough, threaten them long enough... And you'll see the ugly below all that idealism. You'll find they can be more violent than the Klingons, more treacherous than the Romulans, and more abusive than the Cardassians. Spot on.

[@forgetfulduck]

​@Desencadenar I vaguely remember quark saying saying like that. 😂

[@gptex92]

Such an amazing episode! Far superior to anything new Trek has to offer.

[@erikswagerty2436]

This and far beyond the stars are my two favorite episodes of my all time favorite Trek series. This one in particular is the best.

[@JonathanBresnihan77]

What an episode. I remember when I first saw it years ago but it hits even harder now

[@MichaelTheRead]

The way he cocks his eyebrow and a little coyness creeps into his voice when he repeats "I _can_ live with it." I also like how he got all of that off his chest, and the immediately deleted the log. I think we've all, at some point in our lives, written "that one entry" that you just _can't_ let anybody else see.

[@CaptApril123]

I can't see anyone but Avery Brooks pulling this off...

[@kendyer8761]

Original series Shatner could have. Mulgrew would pull it off too.

[@CaptApril123]

@@kendyer8761 They would have been good.. but not during the Dominion war, that was Siskos war.

[@hansolo631]

I agree. Picard, Kirk, and Janeway would all be far too moral. Picard couldn't kill Hugh to slay The Borg and Kirk was absurdly righteous, both would be incapable of murder, even the subconscious abstract sort of the kind Sisko commits in this episode. Roddenberry would have never let this episode happen anyways. Janeway's writing was so erratic that she'd be capable of it one episode, then find it unthinkable the next.

[@darylallen2485]

@@hansolo631 interesting observation about Hue. As I recall, after Starfleet learned he had the opportunity to eliminate the borg threat, but failed to act, he was reprimanded and given a direct order to kill any borg necessary to eliminate the threat if he ever had the same opportunity in the future. From that perspective, one would think Starfleet command would be in full support of Sisko. Hell, Starfleet poisoned Odo so he would infect and possibly kill all changelings. Sisko's behavior is disappointing, but doesn't seem such an anomaly in that light.

[@MikhailMengsk]

All the main actors could have, but Sisko's character was the right one for this.

[@michaelfisher7170]

On of the if not the best episode Star Trek ever offered. Challenging and brutal. I miss DS9 and I miss the "old" Star Trek.

[@johnbergstrom2931]

Yeah, I hear you... Star Trek Discovery has great special effects, but it is vile on a lot of levels.

[@joshjericho9304]

My favorite episode by far (in the pale Moonlight)…reading about this episodes genesis, and the fact that it was such a departure from Roddenberry’’s idea of what StarFleet and the Federation was made it exceptional. Also the series’s use of “section 31” and episodes like this showed a dark side to Star Trek’s usually moral and ethical themes

[@Claudanne2]

Best monologue in Star Trek

[@MikhailMengsk]

Sisko and Picard make for a perfect metaphor for humanity: one can sacrifice everything for an ideal, and another cast it aside for a greater good. There can't be a starker contrast between two characters, but they are still each perfect on their own. You need both types of people to forge a powerful yet just society.

[@CaptainSisko1972]

Should have won an Emmy !

[@jasonrodgers9063]

DS9 had SUCH rich writing, story telling!

[@jamallabarge2665]

This approximates any good Mafia story or ancient tales of treachery and intrigue. Garak is a person who gets things done.

[@CodySharpe]

Best episode in any of the series. I don't know how many times I've rewatched it.

[@Frankjc3rd]

Plot twist: that entire log entry ended up on Director Sloan's desk.

[@timothyplatt4106]

This is by far the best episode of all the Star trek series. Garrett is my favorite character along with quark and nog.

[@ericmcconnaughey2782]

Garak.

[@diamondjim7560]

ITPML is one of the best Star Trek episodes across the entire franchise. Right up there with Balance of Terror from TOS.

[@lionsjourney29]

Do you all realize the serious steamroller effect that was the Romulan assault on the Cardassian Dominion border? When the Dominion begun its assault on the Khitomer Accords space by deploying such a massive force againsts DS9 that the Federation and Klingons launched a desperate first strike to neutralize one of the main dominion shipyard to slow down the imminent assault on Klingon Federation space. DS9 stood and fell by itself only guarded by the Defiant and the Rotarraan before DS9 was evacuated when Sisko felt the Klingon Federation raid on the shipyard had had enough time to dash in and out. His defense of DS9 being a delaying action to tie up such massive formation of dominion units. Now, the Khitomer Accords powers only struck one system deep in the cardassian union. And fell back to the border. And then the dominion was on their asses for months. Starfleet and the Klingon Imperial Defense Force had to go in the defensive extendedly. And the front line kept being pushed back and back. Now the Romulan Star Empire though, took less than 3-6 days. From the delay in the senators shuttle arriving on Romulus. A search patrol was sent in the known travel plan of the shuttle. A wreckage was found and identified by the Tal-Shiar units on the Search squadron. They combed and sifted throgh that wreckage confirmed it was their guy. And foul play happened. At some point the rod is found and the tal-shiar agents have alarms blaring in their heads. A high ranking senator that was obviously assassinated and now cardassian data storage is found on site. They report back to HQ and begin decoding the data. The tal-shiar informs the praetor and senate and advises the current equivalent of national crisis status such as defcon-3 or defcon-2 in preparation for the findings. Their star Navy begins to mobilize. And make for the border. The cardasian data rod shows the dominion is stupidly planning an invasion. A diplomatic query maybe subspace is sent to cardassia. The entire senate privy to this is fucking livid. The changeling or weyoun claim innocence. Hell they are blindsided. And as garak says the more the dominion protests its innocence the more the tal-shiar will call BS. because if a human found out that romulus was trying to double cross the federation. They too would blow that human out of the sky. So the Tal-shiar the biggest intelligence arm and secret police of Romulus is saying the dominion is guilty, the math is mathing, and we better strike first before the dominion sends us on the defensive like they do the Khitomer powers. So the Senators or Admirals incharge of the Romulan Star Navy go to Defcon-1 and dash for the border. By 0800 hours of DS9 station time. The empire declares war. This scene seems to be after sisko shift ended. So...8? 10 hours later? In those 8-10 hours either 15 small squadrons of the Star Navy jumped those Cardassian bases and got the better of them. (15 small border squadrons seems like the short notice version) but we've seen that with dominion upgrades Cardassian weapons platforms can make short work of an Uncloaked D'derix class warship. Which means the empire had to roll in with as much fire power as they can to one. Roll back the frontline and take out huge weapons emplacements that would hinder flow of ships. And provide safe haven for the dominion in case the romulans begun taking territories. So they struck 15 bases in 10 hours. And a massive fleet per base?

[@lionsjourney29]

All of this tells me that a mega fleet was cloaked around the border expecting a possible invasion. There is no other way. The empire is huge and militaristic. It definitely has a huge Navy. But if the empire was getting naived and waiting till the last second to pull units to the cardassian the line would have cardassia went on the offensive. Nah. The empire was keeping close tabs on the border. Cross border traffic had a warship or two tailing it while they went to the earth neutralzone. Any flare up of disruptors near a star system or a shipping lane and the warbirds would spam torpedoes and disruptors blasts to that ship.

[@Huk256]

Sisko: "I can live with it... Computer, delete that entire personal log... " Sloan: "Hmm, first time 🙄?"

[@alcohol-freebeer3642]

One of the greatest monologues in Trek history.

[@Jokie155]

"People are dying out there! Every day! And here I am debating the finer points of morality!" - Sisko. "When does it stop being right, Admiral? How many?" - Picard. *let's all give a big round of slow clap for Insurrection, folks*

[@ldkellandshaw]

It's actually 'How many people does it take Admiral, before it becomes wrong? How many people does it take Admiral?'

[@warrioroflight6872]

I wouldn't say that any specific number of people keeps it from being right. It depends on what your intentions were and what the alternative was. For instance, President Harry Truman killed 200,000 Japanese during WWII with the A-bombs, and most of them were civilians. But it was either that, or letting a minimum 250,000 Allied soldiers die fighting along with the millions of Japanese they would have killed in their quest to end the war without the A-bombs. In addition, Japan would have been split between America and the Soviet Union and the Soviet's half would have suffered from the nightmare of Communism that would be imposed on them, just as East Germany did. Who knows? If that had happened, there might be 'North Japan' and 'South Japan' even today, just like Korea. With choices like those, I would say that Truman made the right choice. He killed 200,000 people, and saved the lives, dignity, and freedom of countless others for generations to come.

[@Sidragrosm]

@@warrioroflight6872 "It's easy to be a Saint, in Paradise." Or when it's ~only~ one species (The Baku & Their "cousins" The Son'a), one of whom was sitting on the proverbial Fountain of Youth - the other a spiteful off-shoot. For all his wise and experienced council, Picard could never, NEVER make the truly hard choices that were put before Sisko. In that..? Picard (like 98% of Star Fleet) was ridiculously naive. While many are critical of ITPML, calling it a betrayal of all that Star Fleet stood for, this episode..? proved an adage that Roddenberry himself once wrote, in another of his works (Andromeda) - "We saved the Garden... by introducing The Snake." (Rev Bem) High minded ideals (such as those of the Bajorans) mean less than nothing when your enemy is threatening your existence. No matter how peaceful or spiritual a being (ANY being, even Plant life!) is..? when the chips are down..? There's only one rule - Survive, at all cost; Never mind how. That's why there must always be a Section 31, a Captain Sisko (or a Harry S. Truman)... For there is no Diplomacy, nor even the illusion of peace w/out the prospect of Reciprocity. And high ideals count for nothing in such times or places - something THIS episode..? detailed *Flawlessly* . Avery Brooks and Andrew Robinson deserved Oscars for their work in said episode...

[@travislundbech8789]

And this is why Sisko is my favorite Star Trek captain 🙂 so morally complex, on the side of the angels but not really one of them

[@danelamoreaux4166]

My favorite episode of the series. Sisko is the best captain,imho.

[@tomrodgers6629]

One of the best episodes of the whole Star Trek franchise.

[@samsticka]

Sisko: Computer, erase that entire personal log. Smart move, Sisko. Who knows how much trouble it could've gotten him into if anyone got their hands on it? Sisko would be wanted by Starfleet, the Romulans and the Dominion. He probably would've been court-martialed for sure.

[@pjosepha]

And hunted until caught and crucified in revenge!

[@samsticka]

@@pjosepha Oh, I don't know about that. But for sure, Sisko would be a wanted man throughout the galaxy.

[@nessanderson6460]

I very much doubt the Prophets would've let that happen But it likely would've led to another Federation-Romulan War.

[@samsticka]

@@nessanderson6460 That would've given the Dominion the opportunity to take over the Romulan Empire.

[@nessanderson6460]

@@samsticka That entirely depends on *when* it came out.

[@timcirulis5273]

The best Star Trek episode of all Star Trek episodes IMO.

[@Pizza793]

In times of war the law falls silent

[@Briggers0810]

Another good episode.

[@andreatreese8347]

There is a reason that even hardcore fans of the OG series admit that this one is the best Star Trek episode EVER MADE, with the only close competition being the classic "Balance of Terror", and how very fitting that both heavily involve the Romulans.

[@reginaldshort8486]

Possibly the greatest episode of Star Trek and it was based on dialogue not exploding warships

[@johnbergstrom2931]

Best fu*king DS9 episode, EVER!

[@Ken-wg4zy]

Garak was an unforgettable character that evolved during the series to playing a pivotal nexus in the storyline. A spy like no other. :)

[@iaf010]

Sec 31 must have a huge library of erased personal logs..

[@geraldqueener7861]

One of the best episodes in all of the star trek series

[@Piterdeveirs333]

Sir, this is a Wendy's

[@therikerp]

This is the best 4th wall break.

[@UncleFester84]

I would so love to see Dr. "Holier than thou" Bashir reaction if he ever learn the truth...

[@phillm156]

This episode highlights what it is to be at war, and what is done when you’re loosing.

[@DayneTreader]

Honestly, I would be able to live with it too. It'd take me few hours to justify the whole thing to myself after it's all been said and done, but I would be able to live with it.

[@jamesosborne7521]

This whole episode should be a stage play.

[@sean202]

This is why I love DS9 it was more realistic, Sisco wasn't BSing he would poison a planet just to get one man (even Worf look at like God Damn) and knocked Q on his azz.

[@martincamacho2444]

This episode is a perfect when considering the previous episode of revealing section 31 existence, I mean this shows Starfleet captains, when desperate are willing to use murder and intrigue but they don’t want to be personally behind it or know about it

[@michaelwallbrown3726]

Captain Sisko knows what it's like to be on the slippery slope

[@jeffjeffriesmedia]

This was the best Trek episode. ever.

[@vodeankandosii3982]

Best. Captain. Ever.

[@korsair50]

Huge victory for the good guys!

[@neovoltron25]

But at what price??

[@MrTBSC]

@@neovoltron25 oh the bargainprice of a dead pro-dominion senator, a dead common crimminal and the slightly lost selfrespect of a starfleetoffficer ... add on a couple romulan warcassualties allong the way as such wars go but it could have been much worse otherwise ...

[@Shamshiro]

Welp, nothing pints of vodka can't drown.

[@dreadfulspiller8766]

I wish we had good star trek shows again.

[@DaveMiller2]

@J Jackson But because it was ignored by the network while they fawned over TNG and Voyager, they were allowed to do pretty much whatever they wanted. That and the caliber of the cast made DS9 the best. Funny how things work sometimes.

[@improv2-ij7ch]

This is why Cisco is better than Picard. Picard wouldn’t be able to live with it. People say Picard would have found another way. But there wasn’t. No one has come up with an alternative scenario. "You knew I was able to do the things you can't." "Someone has to protect men like you from a universe that doesn't share your sense of right and wrong." Sloan, section 31. In TNG, the solution was always some convenient plot device that had Picard scolding the person afterwards. But it was always so convenient.

[@CrystalKingdomGeneral4942]

"All warfare is deception." -Sun Tzu.

[@zegermanscientist2667]

Perfection.

[@irishbob26]

He was never the same after this.

[@xwingx1gt]

I can't help but wonder how Gene Roddenberry would have reacted to this episode.

[@chief1b]

Great episode ever

[@theMightywooosh]

GOLD, PURE GOLD

[@Lyze]

I love the framing being Sisko's confession being recorded that he ends up deleting in the end.

[@ultramaximusreviews]

One of the best scenes in Star Trek

[@amandawilliams8706]

War changes people. The bloodiest and destructive war in Star Trek. Whilst Voyager was safe in the Delta Quadrant. The Alpha Quadrant was getting invaded and the Federation and the Klingons were suffering huge casualties. Anyone in Sisko's place when confronted with daily list of casualties, would have done the same thing.

[@xavariusquest4603]

I think it's fair to say that, if not for Voyager, Species 8472 would have posed a far greater threat than the Dominion ever could. So, another reason to ensure that the very best get to sit in the captains seat.

[@amandawilliams8706]

@@xavariusquest4603 huh... I completely forgot about species 8472. Okay, I take back what I said about Voyager being safe in the Delta Quadrant

[@bigthoruk]

Got to be one of my favourite episodes. Cause I can live with it.

[@SamStuart07]

One of Star Trek more finer moments of human ethics being put under pressure during war time.

[@Madcat221]

It wasn't convincing until he pragmatically realized he just made a confession tape and ordered its deletion.

[@oceandark3044]

Many episodes show our stoic and stalwart captain facing down a corrupt or unscrupulous ends-justify-the-means superior officer. This episode shows how those officers get made and why. Sisko saved the Federation by selling his pride, and it's worth it.

[@SheepDogNumber6]

He CAN live with it.

[@DarkPascual]

I know a lot of people who not only dislike the grim tone of DS9 but also point it as the starting point of Trek losing it's commitment to Roddenberry's vision of a more optimistic future and more into the gray morality of other Sci-Fi works. Since this episode, the Federation was less of a benevolent utopia devoted to exploration, diplomacy and find a better tomorrow for all it's citizens and more like a real government, that even if well meaning, still prone to corruption, shady tactics and moral compromises when put under real threats. But honestly, while I enjoy both Kirk's wide-eyed sense of wonder of the adventurer and Picard's deep philosophic understanding of the diplomat, Sisko's sense of pragmatism of the warrior is what makes him my favorite Trek captain. I understand the distaste for the darker tone (specially when there is an equally good series with similar subjects in Babylon 5) but the whole "Is easy to be saint in Paradise" premise is something that pushed Trek into an interesting storytelling territory.

[@EclipseCircle]

I feel like this episode reaffirmed the optimistic vision. An individual who is willing to throw himself into the mud to keep the many clean is incredibly utopian to me.

[@dvdv7777]

If anything, this actually reinforced the utopian vision. Sure, stains do show up on the polished Federation surface, but the point is that the Federation then does everything to go back to its utopian ideals. This means that even though in war, things may get ugly, the utopian ideals aren't fragile, they can handle difficulties and don't break easily. If they were fragile, the Federation would have become a dystopian militaristic organization.

[@cypheron3030]

Imagine Section 31 watching this entire operation

[@zackeryconant501]

"Write that down! Write that down!"

[@alexgataric]

Section 31 should have had this plan.

[@mariuszmiroslaw2290]

They would pat him on the back. Nicely done.

[@Vesperitis]

In the grand tradition of Star Trek, Benjamin Sisko undergoes his Kobayashi Maru. What do you think of his solution?

[@CCJJ160Channels]

I think after Wolf 359, I imagine there’s a lot Sisko has learned to live with.

[@avian68tb]

Lofty ideals are wonderful things to have in times of peace, but horrible obstacles in times of war. Especially the type of war Cpt. Sisko needed to wage.

[@craigmartinj]

It's a bargain..... but i cannot accept it. Good night.

[@joeblow-k1v]

"Garak WAS right about one thing..." Dude, Garak was right about a LOT of things.

[@DuGalle1]

Da best episode Ever! Its FAAAKE

[@Kalenz1234]

@@akrasiathekruzmachine2341 Romulans are extremely emotional. So for his voice to crack due to the sheer amount of anger he is trying to hold back it actually makes sense.

[@dr.strangelove5622]

No it's reeeeallllllll!!! Don't you understand!!????

[@SwordsmanMercenary]

@@dr.strangelove5622 It's a faaaaake!