4-14. Return to Grace.

Kira and Gul Dukat, reluctant allies.

THE PLOT

Kira has agreed to go to the Cardassian outpost Korma to attend a Bajoran/Cardassian conference about the Klingon threat. She is startled to find that her escort is none other than Gul Dukat. Dukat was disgraced and demoted with the exposure of his half-Bajoran daughter, Ziyal (Cyia Batten). He now commands a lowly freighter, with no realistic prospect of anything better to come.

Dukat's ship reaches Korma without incident. But the outpost is a lifeless shell, both Cardassians and Bajorans wiped out by a Klingon attack. One Klingon vessel is still in the area - but it ignores the freighter, as the vessel is no threat to it and there is no honor in destroying it.

It's a dismissal that Kira and Dukat are determined to punish. But first Kira will have to teach the stubborn career military man a few things about fighting effectively against a stronger enemy...


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: Barely present, though his reaction to Gul Dukat's arrival at Deep Space 9 is amusing.

Major Kira: She tells Ziyal that she can never forgive Dukat for his actions during the Occupation. Even if he regrets those deeds now, something Kira isn't particularly convinced of, she cannot forget how many innocents died at his hands or on his orders. She can put it to the side when they work together, as long as they are focused on the work. She even seems to enjoy having someone with a similar ability to solve problems on hand to push her to solutions that much faster. But then he'll say something to remind her of the Occupation, and she sees the devil who tormented her people once more. She does recognize that Dukat's love for Ziyal is real, however, and she respects that and his loyaey lty to his people. They will never be friends, but they are something other than enemies at this point.

Gul Dukat: "Everything I have lost, I will regain. It is only a matter of time." Dukat continues to be arguably the show's most compelling character (him or Garak - I go back and forth). On the one hand, he is genuine in his love for his daughter and in his loyalty to his people. He is also fierce in his ambitions, however. Having lost all his former influence, he sees all his actions against the Klingons through the prism of restoring his own lost glory. In quiet moments, he reflects on ways he might revenge himself on rival Cardassians - That is, when he isn't pursuing his futile (and more than slightly creepy) attempts to charm Kira. Much like a scorpion, his nature is such that Kira is right not to trust him, not even when he's an ally.


THOUGHTS

The season's second Kira/Dukat episode directy follows up on Indiscretion, showing that Kira's intervention did have consequences. Everything Dukat feared when he decided to kill Ziyal is borne out in the wake of his choice to spare her. This kind of use of continuity is one of the key elements that distinguishes DS9, for me, from its other Trek contemporaries.

I found this to be a better episode than Indiscretion. Though I enjoyed that episode, Kira was allowed to get too comfortable with Dukat, apparently forgetting all about their past in the middle part of the show. This episode is much stronger in balancing their current alliance against their bitter past, a past which is constantly present. This brings an extra level to their interactions, by keeping Kira uncomfortable even as she assists him in achieving his goals. That Dukat is right about them being a good team is evident, and it's equally clear that Kira hates how right he is about that.

The tension with the Klingons was established in The Way of the Warrior, but has since been relegated to a largely static background element. Return to Grace brings the tension back to the fore, showing that the Klingons are continuing to intrude on Cardassian space in a highly coordinated way. We don't know where this is going yet, but the events of this episode and the choice Dukat makes at the episode's end seem to indicate it will be going somewhere.

All told, I found this to be a fine episode, with excellent character interplay between Kira and Dukat and some real tension. Season Four continues to show DS9 at its best.


Overall Rating: 8/10

Previous Episode: Crossfire
Next Episode: Sons of Mogh

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4-5. Indiscretion

Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) faces a difficult decision.

THE PLOT

Kira is contacted by Razka Karn (Roy Brocksmith), a Bajoran smuggler who assisted the Resistance during the Occupation. Razka has a lead on the Ravinok, a Cardassian ship that disappeared six years ago while transporting Bajoran prisoners - including the man who recruited Kira into Shakaar's resistance cell. Though it's unlikely there are survivors after all this time, Kira cannot ignore the possibility of finding out what happened.

The missing ship was Cardassian, so the Cardassian government insists on sending a representative along - the very man under whose jurisdiction the Ravinok operated: Gul Dukat. Kira is anything but pleased at working with her old enemy, but she accepts the diplomatic necessity. Then she discovers that Dukat has his own personal reasons for having come - reasons which may just re-ignite the old conflict between the two of them!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: Though he doesn't try to force Kira to accept the Cardassians' request, he does urge her to agree voluntarily.  He tells her that it is exactly on this type of mission that the two governments are going to have to work together to form any lasting peace. In a subplot, we see his relationship with Kasidy becoming increasingly serious - to which he reacts with cold feet, though not for the reasons we initially think. In an effective scene near the end, we learn that his nervousness comes out of fear of the dangers of his job hurting her, as had happened with his wife.

Major Kira: Kira has matured considerably since the first season. She still carries the mental scars of her experiences. When Dukat tries to turn on his charm, she cuts him off short, telling him that while Cardassia and Bajor may eventually become friends, the two of them never will. But while Season One Kira would have just seen him as a one-note butcher when he announces his intention to murder one of the survivors, this Kira can recognize that he doesn't actually want to do it. As such, she's able to help talk him down from his intended crime.

Odo: Gets a brief but wonderful scene in which Kira tells him that she has a lead on the missing Ravinok. Kira is all geared up for an argument about why she shouldn't pursue this. Instead, Odo just tells her "Good luck," pointing out that it doesn't matter how long it's been or how unlikely there are to be survivors: A friend of hers was aboard the ship, so of course she is going to go looking. A great little moment that shows how genuine Odo's friendship for her is.

Gul Dukat: The episode takes great pains to humanize Dukat, but even as he and Kira manage a respectable working relationship, the constant reminder of their backstory hangs over the proceedings. When meeting with Razka, the smuggler says of Dukat's charm that it "almost makes you forget that five years ago, he was working Bajorans to death in forced labor camps and shooting anybody who tried to stop him. Almost makes you forget."


THOUGHTS

The first Kira-centric episode since last season's Shakaar, and it's extremely welcome. Nana Visitor brings so much to an already well-scripted character, and it's always interesting just to watch her. That's doubly true when Kira is interacting with figures from her past.  By throwing her into a reluctant alliance with the man she had to have thought of as the devil incarnate, this episode guarantees itself some dramatic mileage.

For a while, the episode seems to over-humanize Dukat, allowing Kira to be far too comfortable with him far too quickly. Then we get a sharp turn, as Dukat reveals exactly why he is there and what he intends to do, which ignites the conflict between them all over again. This creates a final Act in which the two must work together to achieve their common goal (rescuing the survivors), they work against each other with regard to the fate of one specific survivor, which lays groundwork for a lot of conflict.

Unfortunately, the episode isn't quite as good as it might have been, and that's mostly because of the Sisko/Kasidy subplot. It's not that these scenes are bad in any way. Avery Brooks and Penny Johnson are terrific, both individually and together, and the subplot isn't at all badly scripted. It just interferes with the more interesting Kira story, distracting from it during the first half and robbing it of valuable time during the second half.

Time ends up being an issue, because the resolution feels rushed. Kira and Dukat defeat an enemy force with so much ease, that it's a wonder the survivors hadn't been able to do so themselves long ago. Then Kira talks Dukat down from his intended murder - again, too easily and with too little conflict. The ten minutes or so that was devoted to the Sisko/Kasidy material could have been far better used by the main plot. And given that those scenes were completely disconnected from the main plot, I'm sure they could have been inserted into a more appropriate episode down the line.

Without the subplot and with a better-developed finale, this would probably have been an "8." As it stands, it only just squeaks by with a "7."


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: Hippocratic Oath
Next Episode: Rejoined

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