Garak.

He’s one of the most beloved characters on Deep Space Nine and one of the most complex in all of Star Trek. Garak appears in just 33 of DS9’s 173 episodes, yet it feels like he’s always there. His character arc can stand up to that of any of the “main cast” and—as a study of the psychological motivations for one’s actions—there is no better puzzle to unravel than the one called Elim. In this episode of The Orb, hosts Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing are joined by Dr. Una McCormack, Star Trek author and lecturer at the Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, to discuss what makes Garak tick, how his interactions with others on the station changed him, and his path from exiled agent of the Obsidian Order led to life as a simple tailor and ultimately to redemption as a savior of Cardassia.