Travelling to a distant outpost, the Defiant crew must help a ragtag band of Starfleet officers to hold a communications post against the Jem'Hadar.
Similarly to Nor the Battle to the Strong, this episode is designed to show war as it really is in all its horrors. And succeed it does. It's an episode which at the end leaves you completely speechless, because it is so involving and realistic that you can understand just what these officers are going through.
The writing here is once again on top form, communicating with memorable images the battle the combined crew has to go through. It also makes some important points about war, and how weapons can be used against the people who created them. The other major problem with this kind of episode is that you know all the regular cast will survive, so The Siege of AR-588 turns this expectation on its head when one of the regulars suffers a serious injury. Plus, the concept of all the guest stars dying is also not held to, with the upshot that you have no idea who will survive because the deaths are so random, as would be the case in real life.
The other element of the episode that works well is the broadening of both Quark and Sisko's characters, as the Captain is forced to make serious decisions that don't go down well, although not once does any of the Starfleet crew question his orders. Quark also gets the chance to show the emotion he's long been hiding below the surface, as he's trapped in a war he had no intention of getting near. Vital viewing.
****
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