"When It Rains..." is the 171st episode of the television series , the fifth of the final ten-episode arc of the series. This episode was directed by Michael Dorn and written by Rene Echevarria.
Summary
This television episode has several stories within it that link into Star Trek franchise characters and plots in particular and brings together several stories as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine wound down to the end of season seven. The characters Kira, Odo and Garak go an away mission to help Damar and the Cardassian resistance. On the station Sisko and Martok meet with Gowron. Additional stories include Bashir and O'Brien on Deep Space Nine, Dukat and Kai Winn on planet Bajor. The fictional Star Trek spacecraft, the USS Defiant was destroyed in the previous episode and is not used. The USS Defiant is a highly regarded design of the series, featured in special effect sequences and numerous interior sets in the show. It appeared in 67 episodes of the television showStar Trek : Deep Space Nine and the 1996 film .
Plot
At a strategy meeting, Chief Miles O'Brien reveals that only one ship survived the Second Battle of Chin'Toka: a Klingon Bird-of-Prey that made a chance adjustment in its warp core which immunized it to the Breen's devastating energy dampening weapon. This fix cannot be applied to Federation and Romulan ships, putting the Allies at a severe disadvantage. The Dominion postpones its final offensive to deal with Damar's uprising of the Cardassian military. To help Damar lead the revolt against Cardassia, Benjamin Sisko orders Kira Nerysto go with Garak to Cardassia to teach the Cardassians the techniques of guerilla warfare. Admiral Ross grants Kira a field commission in Starfleet, with the rank of Commander. Julian Bashir's idea of using changeling tissue to create better synthetic organs for solids leads to his discovering that Odo is infected with the same disease plaguing the Great Link. Odo decides to go with Kira to Cardassia anyway. Bashir tries hard to get Odo's medical records from his visit to Earth three years ago but when he receives a phony file he realizes that Section 31 created the disease and used Odo as a carrier. After inducting Martok into the Order of Kahless, Gowron announces he will take a more active role in the conduct of the war. Gowron designs a plan to attack the Dominion, even though Worf and Martok point out that the Klingons would be outnumbered twenty to one. Anjohl Tennan sneaks a look at the book of the Kosst Amojan and the Pah-wraiths punish him by blinding him. Winn throws Anjohl out and tells him he can return when his sight is restored.
Reception
TV.com lists "When It Rains..." with rating of 8.7 points out of 10 on 124 user votes. "When It Rains..." had 4.3 million viewers when it was broadcast on television in 1999. The episode was criticized for having a lot of plot setup, but not much resolution as part of story arc leading up to the season finale. Taken as one of a seven episode story arc concluding the series, in 2018, CBR ranked the "When it Rains...", as part of the #1 episodic saga of Star Trek, ahead of "Best of Both Worlds" from Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode has been reviewed as one of a seven episode story arc noted by CBR:
