In the Pale Moonlight

Season 6, Episode 19, Aired
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Episode Summary

Stardate: 51721.3 ''''Sisko and Garak lure the Romulans into the Dominion war in order to get them to join the Federation/Klingon Alliance. Without them, the Federation and Klingon Empire would eventually lose the war and fall under Dominion rule.
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Fan Episode Reviews (17)

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  • Where no Trek has gone before.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By pharoahsdance, Apr 25, 2011 Report Abuse
    You can go as far back as TNG for the roots of this episode - "The Drumhead", "The Wounded" and "The Pegasus" all showed Starfleet people doing very bad things, though importantly the protagonists always stuck to principle, no matter what the cost. DS9 felt free to push this line further and further; Sisko was a guy who would cut corners, though he'd never betray fundamental principles.

    That is, until season 5's "For the Uniform", where to capture a nemesis, he decided to act unethically and mercilessly. And here, he crosses the line irrevocably. He may still be the good guy, but he did some horrible things - he may not be diabolical like Picard's nemeses in "The Drumhead" or "The Pegasus", or Luther Sloane in "Inquisition", but like them he acts in a villainous way - and it works!

    The writers took an interesting, and excellent choice in this story. It's shocking enough for Sisko to merely fabricate evidence of a casus belli - but just as important was his realization that once clear principles are abandoned for convenience, nearly any act can be rationalized for worthy ends. Hence his willingness to release a murderous criminal out of jail, to bribe Quark, to break the Federation's laws, and finally to destroy evidence of two murders he effectively underwrote. And finally, to shrug them off as necessary evils. The viewer, who generally rooted Picard's unwavering self-righteousness, might nevertheless finding themselves siding with Sisko.

    DS9 at its best.moreless

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    5 0

  • This episode was so good that it surprised me even as a fan of the show.

    9.9
    "Superb"
    By SesseKitty, Apr 21, 2011 Report Abuse
    DS9 is my favourite of the Trek series and this particular episode has to be in the top 5 best sci-fi episodes ever.

    Overall I very much enjoy how the series often reminds us that the universe isn't black and white but filled with hundreds of shades of gray, nothing is so clear you might think. But this episode takes the whole deal to another level and doesn't turn cheesy or stupid unlike many others (in Trek and other series) that obviously are trying to accomplish what this episode does brilliantly.

    Not only does this episode stick to your mind and make you wonder how would you do in that situation but the plot itself keeps you on the edge of your seat, even when it's about Romulans! I usually feel like fastforwarding the Romulan episodes but not this time. If I had to recommend one single episode of DS9 to watch, this is it.moreless

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  • Darkest Trek!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By mac000, Oct 08, 2010 Report Abuse
    My favorite Star Trek episode of all.

    Sisko and Garak who successfully bring the Romulans in the Dominion-War.

    The way the plot is pure brillance. Garak as the extended arm of Sisko.

    It is the type of episodes Star Trek would need more of. A view in the darker side of the Trek-Humanity. Not just your standard "We're nice to everyone! Because the nice ones always prevail." but the way it would actually work in the real world.moreless

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    4 0

  • Simply the best episode of all the Star Trek Series

    10
    "Perfect"
    By vanbarel, Oct 08, 2010 Report Abuse
    I really believe that making a movie out of this episode would have been perfect.
    It's really astonishing how the whole feeling of the series (a bit different from the common star trek series), maybe due to the wartime, explodes in this episode in all his splendor.

    Just be assured that only in ST:Enterprise, and not to this extent, the charachters strand-off from the path of common "Federation all-do-gooders"

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  • A perfect example of what makes DS9 the best (and thus by far the most underrated) of the ST series' The Federation is still losing the war, and Sisko takes steps, of questionable morality, to change the course of the war with the Dominion.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By igotbupkis, Oct 08, 2010 Report Abuse
    This story is one of the many unique viewpoint episodes, told, as it were, by/with interludes of Sisko relating into his personal log the events by which he and Garak singlehandedly maneuvered the Romulans into joining with the Federation against the Dominion, by making the Romulans believe the Dominion was planning to attack them much as Hitler attacked Russia.

    The title "In the Pale Moonlight", of course, refers to "Dancing With the Devil in the Pale Moonlight" -- popularized by the Meatloaf song, of course, but much older -- referring to skirting the boundaries of morality in the pursuit of a goal.

    In this case, it was the need to use deception, something highly atypical of the Federation, to cause the Romulans to break their "Non-aggression Pact" with the Dominion/Cardassian Alliance.

    It's "dancing with the devil", because, when you skirt moral boundaries, you very much run the risk of doing evil while in the pursuit of immanently laudible goals.

    There's a secondary element of "dancing with the devil", here, too, in that, if he failed, Sisko would almost certainly have had the opposite effect, and brought the Romulans into the war on the side of the Dominion.

    The episode reveals much of Sisko's character, as he agonizes over the need to step deeper and deeper into questionable moral territory in the pursuit of his goal. It also provides some additional insight into Garak, as he demonstrates his species' own Machiavellian capacity to manipulate perceptions of events and motivations.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • The Romulan Star Empire abandons its nonaggression pact with the Dominion and openly declares war on them. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Sisko gets some information on the Romulan Senator on a PADD with the number "4778" in the lower right-hand corner of the display. Writer Joe Menosky began including references to the number 47 in almost every episode of Star Trek since season four of The Next Generation. It is an in-joke, referring to The 47 Society at Pomona College in California, a college which Menosky attended. Edit
    • Ferengi Rules Of Acquisition #98: "Every man has his price." Edit
    • Colm Meaney (Chief O'Brien) and Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) do not appear in this episode. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Garak: Ah, and one other thing. Vreenak believes he's on the winning side, so until you can prove otherwise, you may have to put up with a certain... acerbic attitude. Sisko: Mr Garak, after having spent a week with you, I have developed a very, very thick skin. Edit
    • Vreenak: You are persistent, I'll grant you that, captain. But I'm afraid dogged determination isn't enough to change the reality of your situation. Time is definitely not on your side. The Dominion shipyards are working at one hundred percent capacity, your facilities are still being rebuilt. The Dominion is breeding legions of Jem'Hadar soldiers every day - you're experiencing a manpower shortage. But more important, the Dominion is resolved to win the war, no matter what the cost. Edit
    • Sisko: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • In The Pale Moonlight In The Pale Moonlight is clearly a reference to the phrase "Will you dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?". The episode, of course, deals with crossing moral boundaries in issues of survival. It's amusing (and, no doubt, intentionally ironic) that the faux scene with Weyoun refers to the fact that the Dominion is willing to do what it takes to win, but not the Federation - they're too "moral"... and here is Sisko, doing what it takes to win, even "dancing with the devil", or running the risk of doing evil while seeking a laudible goal. Edit
    • Sisko: .......cold warriors. This phrase was commonly used in the Cold War period ca. 1950-1990 to describe those people on both sides who were engaged in the unofficial, and largely bloodless conflict between the American and Soviet blocs. Also used to refer to politicians and policy makers on both sides who promoted hard line against the opposite side. Edit

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