The station is adjacent to a wormhole leading to the distant Gamma Quadrant of the galaxy, which is home to a hostile empire known as the Dominion, ruled by the shape-shifting Changelings.
They succeed in destroying the Ketracel White depot, but the ship's engines are damaged in the explosion; without the use of warp drive, they are many years' journey from home.
Dukat is optimistic about how well the war is going for the Dominion-Cardassian alliance; but he has not yet been able to disable the minefield blocking passage to the wormhole, and Weyoun reminds him they are vulnerable without reinforcement and resupply from the Gamma Quadrant.
Sisko's son Jake is on DS9 as a reporter for the Federation News Service, but Weyoun claims his articles are biased against the Dominion, and refuses to broadcast them until he sees "open-mindedness".
A 2015 binge-watching guide for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine by Wired recommended not skipping this essential episode.
[5] This six-episode arc is noted for its serialized format, compared to shorter two-episode pair stories that had been more common to the Star Trek franchise up to that time.