Star Trek DS9’s Biggest Betrayal Secretly Revealed
Perhaps the biggest heel turn in all of Star Trek history happened in Deep Space Nine, when we discover that Gul Dukat, a reluctant and occasional Cardassian ally to Starfleet, had secretly joined the Dominion and taken all of Cardassia with him. The reveal of his treachery is both surprising and chilling, but many fans have often wondered exactly how he was persuaded to join a rival star empire. Interestingly, Weyoun’s attempt to recruit Sisko into the Dominion in an earlier episode most likely reveals how Gul Dukat was recruited.
The Dominion Hierarchy
For this strange tale of Weyoun, Sisko, and Gul Dukat to make much sense, we need to quickly review the Dominion hierarchy. The whole empire is run by the shapeshifting Founders, but they generally prefer to kick back on their home world and let their underlings do the dirty work. Those underlings are split into two primary groups: the violent, drug-dependent Jem’Hadar and the Vorta, who serve as both leaders of these warriors and ambassadors to other cultures.
The Usual Sales Pitch
To the Dominion’s credit, they don’t prefer to outright conquer others when it can be avoided. Instead, they use the Vorta to try to make diplomatic inroads with prominent individuals throughout the galaxy, with the ultimate goal being to recruit those individuals and their organizations into the Dominion. Weyoun tries to give Captain Sisko his traditional sales pitch in “To the Death,” and while this Starfleet officer refuses, we contend that this is the sales pitch that eventually won over Gul Dukat.
Weyoun Just Doing His Job
This was an episode where Sisko and Weyoun had to reluctantly team up to stop some rogue Jem’Hadar from accessing an Iconian Gateway, exotic alien tech that could allow them to transport literally anywhere, making them a potential threat to the entire galaxy.
In this episode, Weyoun tries to tempt Sisko, offering to make him “absolute ruler of the Federation” one who would never have his authority checked by a Federation president or a Starfleet Chief of staff. Sisko refuses the offer, and Weyoun breezily admits that he is “just doing my job” and “trying to build a bridge between the Dominion and a potential ally.”
An Off-Screen Exchange
What does this conversation between Weyoun and Sisko have to do with Gul Dukat, though? Simple: if this really is just part of Weyoun’s job, then it stands to reason that he has a similar speech that he gives to different prominent people to tempt them into joining the Dominion. While we never see it onscreen, it’s likely that Gul Dukat received his own version of this speech because he received the Cardassian version of what was offered to Sisko: he became the absolute ruler of his world in exchange for their loyalty to the Dominion.
A Missed Opportunity For Sure
In retrospect, we’re kind of sad that we never got to see the exact moment of temptation onscreen because Weyoun and Gul Dukat always had the show’s most entertaining conversations (thanks to the talents of, respectively, Jeffrey Combs and Marc Alaimo). Still, the heel turn makes for a wonderfully shocking Deep Space Nine moment, one that transformed the show forevermore. And thanks to Weyoun, we get an even better look at what makes Sisko and Gul Dukat so different, despite the show often presenting them as two sides of the same latinum strip.
