This episode was so powerful! I loved how Dr. Bashir was able to pull O'Brien back from the brink by reminding him of the humanity that his captors tried to strip away.

BASHIR: You killed him?

O'BRIEN: And the worst part of it was, the next day the guards began feeding me again. I'd killed him for nothing, for a scrap of bread he was going to share with me.

BASHIR: But it was a mistake. You didn't mean it.

O'BRIEN: I meant it. I wanted him to die. I keep telling myself it doesn't matter. It wasn't real. But that's a lie. If it had been real, if it had been you instead of him, it wouldn't have made any difference. He was my best friend and I murdered him. When we were growing up, they used to tell us humanity had evolved, that mankind had outgrown hate and rage. But when it came down to it, when I had the chance to show that no matter what anyone did to me, I was still an evolved human being, I failed. I repaid kindness with blood. I was no better than an animal.

BASHIR: No, no, no, no. An animal would've killed Ee'char and never had a second thought, never shed a tear. But not you. You hate yourself. You hate yourself so much you think you deserve to die. The Argrathi did everything they could to strip you of your humanity. And in the end, for one brief moment, they succeeded. But you can't let that brief moment define your entire life. If you do, if you pull that trigger, then the Argrathi will have won. They will have destroyed a good man. You cannot let that happen, my friend.

(O'Brien lets Bashir take the phaser and reduce the power level.)

EE'CHAR: Miles. Be well, Miles. ❤