Synopsis: Captain Sisko experiences a much needed victory in the war on one front, while there is a set-back for Starfleet allies on Deep Space Nine.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of the tension and ongoing balancing of energy between the Logos-driven rational conscious ego and the Eros-driven irrational unconscious.
In “Behind the Lines” Captain Benjamin Sisko learns from Admiral William Ross that Dominion forces have a sensor array that has been monitoring Starfleet and Klingon forces, which has given them an advantage in the war. Sisko is charged to devising a way to destroy it. Meanwhile, on Deep Space Nine, the Cardassian, Damar, has figured out a way to destroy the minefield that is keeping Dominion forces in the Gamma Quadrant, while Odo starts entering the Great Link with the female Founder. Major Kira Nerys has a plan to stop them, but Odo was in the Link when he was to do his part. Quark’s brother Rom is caught and sentenced to death.
In this episode, one way to perceive this is that the alliance between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire can be seen as embodying the psychic role of the rational conscious ego, while the Cardassian and Dominion forces, led by the shape-shifting Founders, can be seen as symbolizing the irrational unconscious. The unconscious being analogized to how the Founders and Dominion forces are from another Quadrant of the galaxy, and also how the Founders melt together into a Great Link, that itself can be seen as an illustration of the collected unconscious. Given that, Odo, can be seen as embodying a complex, a way in which the unconscious becomes perceptible to the conscious ego. When Odo chooses to unite with the Founder instead of conducting his duties, it is devastating to Kira and her allies. This can be analogized to how when a complex loaded with unconscious material can be distressing to the conscious ego.
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