The Dominion War. By the second season it became clear that Deep Space Nine was going to be more about characters and real life than any previous Star Trek series. And the pursuit of this led DS9 across a line that no one had dared cross before. The introduction of the Dominion set up one of television's greatest story arcs, but one that has been criticized by fans, by Majel Barrett Roddenberry, and even by Rick Berman himself. For many, open warfare has no place in Star Trek. But is that so? In this episode of The Orb hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing take a first look at the Dominion War, focusing on the setup, how it changed our characters, how Cardassia paid the heaviest price of all, and why the Dominion War was good for the core mission of Star Trek.