View source for Penumbra (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

{{Infobox television episode
| image =
| caption =
| series = [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]
| season = 7
| episode = 17
| production = 567
| airdate = {{Start date|1999|04|05}}
| writer = [[René Echevarria]]
| director = Steve Posey
| music = [[Dennis McCarthy (composer)|Dennis McCarthy]]
| guests =
* [[Marc Alaimo]] as Dukat
* [[Casey Biggs]] as Damar
* [[Jeffrey Combs]] as Weyoun
* [[Salome Jens]] as Female Changeling
* [[Penny Johnson Jerald]] as Kasidy Yates
* [[Deborah Lacey]] as Sarah Sisko
* [[Michelle Horn]] as Saghi
| prev = [[Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges]]
| next = [['Til Death Do Us Part (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|'Til Death Do Us Part]]
|episode_list = List of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes
| season_article = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7
}}
"'''Penumbra'''" is the 167th episode of the television series ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', the 17th episode of the [[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7|seventh season]]. It aired on syndicated television the week of April 5, 1999.<ref name="krad" />
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the [[Starfleet]]-managed [[space station]] [[Deep Space Nine (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 "[[Prophet (Star Trek)|Prophet]]s", 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 (Star Trek)|Dominion]], an expansionist empire from the Gamma Quadrant ruled by the shapeshifting [[Changeling (Star Trek)|Changeling]]s, 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 (Star Trek)|Breen]]. Ezri is a member of the [[Trill (Star Trek)|Trill]] species, [[symbiosis|symbiotically]] joined to the long-lived sluglike creature Dax; the previous host of Dax was Worf's late wife [[Jadzia Dax|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|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 (Star Trek)|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 [[transporter (Star Trek)|transport]]ing 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 (Star Trek)|Breen]] ship.
Meanwhile, side plots in the episode focus on other character arcs and subplots in the Dominion War story arc:
* Sisko buys land on Bajor, planning to build a house there for his retirement, and proposes marriage to his girlfriend [[Kasidy Yates]]. However, he receives a vision from the Prophets, who tell him that marrying Yates will bring him great sorrow.
* The Changelings are secretly suffering from an unexplained illness, and no progress has been made in finding a cure.
* The Cardassian leader [[Damar (Star Trek)|Damar]] is growing more and more discontent with Dominion rule. He is visited by [[Dukat (Star Trek)|Dukat]], his predecessor as leader of Cardassia, who has become a member of a cult worshipping the Prophets' enemies, the [[Pah-wraiths]]; Dukat undergoes cosmetic surgery to disguise himself as a Bajoran.
== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/star-trek-deep-space-nine-inter-arma-enim-silent-leg-1798179951 |title=Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges"/"Penumbra" |last=Handlen |first=Zack |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=27 March 2014 |access-date=2019-07-15}}</ref> [[Tor.com]] gave it 6 out of 10.<ref name="krad">{{Cite web |date=2015-01-23 |last=DeCandido |first=Keith R. A. |url=https://www.tor.com/2015/01/23/star-trek-deep-space-nine-rewatch-penumbra/|title=Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch: "Penumbra" |website=[[Tor.com]] |access-date=2022-04-01 }}</ref>
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.<ref name="Whitwam">{{Cite web |date=2015-01-19 |author=Ryan Whitwam |website=[[Geek.com]] |title=Star Trek: Deep Space Nine condensed: How to watch the most story-driven Trek |url=https://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/star-trek-deep-space-nine-condensed-how-to-watch-the-most-story-driven-trek-1613741/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120130855/https://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/star-trek-deep-space-nine-condensed-how-to-watch-the-most-story-driven-trek-1613741/ |archive-date=2016-11-20 }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.startrek.com/news/star-treks-best-opera-moments-ranked|title=Star Trek's Best Opera Moments, Ranked |website=StarTrek.com |access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb episode}}
* {{Memory Alpha|Penumbra}}
* {{StarTrek.com|penumbra}}
{{Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes|7}}
{{Star Trek Cardassian stories}}
[[Category:Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7 episodes]]
[[Category:1999 American television episodes]]
[[Category:Television episodes written by René Echevarria]]