5-19. Ties of Blood and Water.

Kira and her Cardassian "father,"
Legate Ghemor (Lawrence Pressman)

THE PLOT

Tekeny Ghemor (Lawrence Pressman), the Cardassian legate who became the leader of the Cardassian dissident movement after Kira was kidnapped and surgically altered to resemble his daughter, visits the station. Kira is excited: not only is Ghemor the Cardassian best suited to lead a political opposition to the Dominion occupation, he is also someone Kira grew close to, close enough to see as a father figure.

Ghemor is terminally ill, however, and declining rapidly. He asks Kira to "be (his) daughter one last time," to perform the Shri-tal, a Cardassian tradition in which a dying man will tell closely-guarded secrets to his family. With his daughter still missing, almost certainly dead, Kira is the closest thing he has to family. For the Federation, it's a remarkable opportunity: A chance to gather an unprecedented amount of intelligence on the Cardassian government. For Kira, it's an ordeal she may not be ready to face.

She braves it as head-on as possible, conducting a series of exhausting interviews discussing various Cardassian Guls, including potentially corruptible political enemies of Gul Dukat. But Dukat is aware of Ghemor's presence on Deep Space 9. He attempts to intimidate Sisko into extraditing the dying man. When Sisko refuses, he makes a dramatic entrance in a Jem'Hadar warship - with weapons locked directly on the station!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: Deals well with Dukat's attempts at intimidation. He doesn't react with fear, nor does he lose his temper. He is firm but steady in rejecting attempts to make him surrender Ghemor. He does not block Dukat from seeing the dying Cardassian - but he does keep a watchful eye, and when Dukat makes an attempt on the old man's life, he responds forcefully.

Major Kira: The episode opens with Kira happy and excited as Ghemor arrives on the station. She reacts to him very much as if he was her father, spilling over with delight at seeing him and enthusiasm at plans that would involve him. When she learns he is dying, and that he wants her to act as his daughter and stay with him as he dies, she flashes back to memories of her actual father (Thomas Kopache)'s death. Her guilt at fleeing his deathbed fuels her rage at Ghemor when she learns of his acts during the Occupation - acts that would fall far short of "war criminal" status, as Odo points out, but which do give her an excuse to flee another father's deathbed. It's a tribute to just how sharp Kira's anger can be and just how much Deep Space 9 has kicked against the usual Star Trek "safeness" that, for just moment, I had doubts as to whether Kira would come back to him.

Weyoun: Why let a little thing like death stop you from bringing back a good guest character? Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs), the ill-fated yet delightfully slimy Vorta seen in To the Death, returns via the magic of cloning. Combs remains wonderful in the role, his flippant manner offsetting Dukat's more immediately imposing presence to entertaining effect. Particularly enjoyable is Weyoun's delight when Sisko confronts him over the attempted assassination of Ghemor. As someone who delights in games of all kinds, the Vorta enjoys the moves and countermoves between Sisko and Dukat - and he loves rendering all of it irrelevant with a dramatic gesture of his own.

Gul Dukat: Has retained the title "Gul," despite claiming rulership of Cardassia, because that title sounds "more hands-on." He takes a moment to savor a little dig at Sisko, observing that his own title is less pretentious than such alternatives as "Emissary." He insists that he is no Dominion puppet, and he is enjoying his newfound power - but he can't be unaware that Weyoun is perpetually attached to his shoulder. His only significant interaction with any DS9 regulars that doesn't include the Vorta is his scene with Kira, in which he knows exactly which buttons to push to spark the major's fiery temper.


THOUGHTS

Ties of Blood and Water is a direct sequel to Season Three's Second Skin. It reunites Kira with Legate Ghemor, and plays on the surrogate father/daughter dynamic of that episode to good effect. Better still, it does so while furthering the narrative arc of the season and while giving Kira yet another excellent character episode.

The Occupation and the things Kira saw, did, and saw done represent the most definitive aspect of her character, and the one most explored by the series. Which doesn't mean that the dramatic well has run dry. After all, the reason the Occupation so defines her is that it was a horrific experience to endure, and every time the show revisits it, we see yet another way in which it left its mark on her.

The flashbacks to the death of Kira's father initially come across as intrusive. They don't remain that way, however. Writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe and director Avery Brooks, both of whom have been consistently reliable behind the camera, let the flashbacks build in such a way that by the midpoint of the episode, we see the past story reverberating against the present. It results in something of a dual climax, with the tag scene nicely tying the two strands together.

The strong emotional scenes between Kira and Ghemor are the heart of the episode, but this is a character episode that also manages to build the background narrative. We get our first strong glimpse of the new Cardassian government. Despite Dukat's protestations, it is clear that he is exactly what Sisko accuses him of being: A Dominion puppet. Weyoun's interactions with Dukat strongly show this. The Vorta is quite open in telling Dukat in front of others that he will need to rehabilitate his image, or interrupting a confrontation between Dukat and Sisko to observe that using something fictitious as propaganda is merely "a small problem." I look forward to seeing more of the Weyoun/Dukat interactions; Dukat may be drunk on power for now, but I have to believe there will come a point when the Vorta will begin to seriously annoy him.

Most interesting is that the Dominion seem just about ready to move from Cold War to hot one. They may still playing at diplomacy for now. But their willingness to show up with weapons locked, all but daring Sisko to fire the first shot of the inevitable conflict, shows that the fragile peace may be about to shatter...


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: Business as Usual
Next Episode: Ferengi Love Songs


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3-26. The Adversary.

Sisko enjoys a long-overdue promotion.

THE PLOT

Krajensky (Lawrence Pressman), a Federation ambassador, arrives with news: There has been a coup on the homeworld of the Tzenkethi, a race whose relationship with the Federation is already strained. Without information about which faction is now in control, Krajensky asks Sisko to take the Defiant to that sector in order to "raise the flag" in order to discourage potential moves against nearby Federation colonies.

The Defiant is twelve hours from the border of Tzenkethi space when a transmission is received from a colony world. The colony is under attack. When the transmission cuts off suddenly, it appears everyone's worst fears have been realized. Sisko orders an immediate report to Starfleet, and that's when another horrible discovery is made: Communications have been tampered with, the control mechanisms blocked by force fields. There is a saboteur on board the Defiant, and it could be any one of them. Quite literally...


CHARACTERS

Commander Sisko: Is promoted to full captain. He appreciates the promotion and the good wishes of his crew, but he insists it doesn't actually change anything. "I have the assignment I want, the crew I want," he says, which means that rank isn't that important. Once he discovers there is a saboteur, and that the saboteur is a changeling, he focuses on dealing with the situation at hand. Every step he takes to counter his opponent is sensible within the situation, though the sight of security locking non-essential crew behind force fields is still disturbing.

Odo: Given that Eddington's arrival on the station almost caused him to quit, it's surprising how well the two security men work together here. It makes me regret once again how little we've seen of Eddington this season, as it would have been nice to have seen this working relationship evolve. Odo refuses to take a phaser to hunt the saboteur, telling Eddington that in all his years working security, he has never needed a weapon and has never taken a life. "I don't intend to start now," he declares - and this being a season finale, I knew as soon as he said it that the episode would end with him being forced to cross that line.

O'Brien: His friendship with Dr. Bashir has evolved to a point where the two men are almost like brothers. It is that level of loyalty O'Brien feels he is breaking when he tells Sisko that he saw Bashir in the conduits. He doesn't really believe Bashir is the saboteur (though his relief is visible when the doctor's innocence is confirmed), but he still feels like it's a betrayal to briefly make his friend into a suspect. At the episode's end, when there are two Odos facing off in Engineering, O'Brien refuses to be distracted from his efforts to regain control of the ship.  "I have more important things to do than play Choose the Changeling," he declares, sealing Engineering and then focusing on his work.


THOUGHTS

There are many reasons why Deep Space 9 is my favorite Star Trek spinoff. Its darker tone appeals to me.  I also love the way it keeps building on its own continuity, making events from episodes not simply pay off down the line, but resonate through multiple episodes and even seasons.

"No changeling has ever harmed another." This has been repeated all season long, ever since Odo first encountered his people in The Search. It's become an axiom, echoing through episodes such as The Abandoned, Heart of Stone, and The Die Is Cast. We've been told this is true in the season opener. We've seen its truth in the changelings' rescue of Odo in The Die Is Cast and in their multiple attempts to get Odo to join their Great Link.

It is the way in which this has been established as Fact, even as Divine Law, that makes the ending so devastating for Odo. Add in his own, perfectly in-character declaration of pride in never having killed, and the way in which this particular cat-and-mouse game plays out becomes all but inevitable. Since that axiom is the only absolute law established among the changelings, we also realize what Odo must realize: With this act, he has likely forever closed the door on any chance of joining Changeling society. Which, as The Die Is Cast revealed, has been his one great wish.

If the Odo material was all this episode had going for it, this would still be a very strong episode. But The Adversary is superbly executed on pretty much all levels. It starts off already looking like it will be a strong suspense/action piece. Then, at every Act break, the stakes are raised. It appears the Tzenkethi are attacking Federation colonies; the Defiant has been sabotaged by a changeling; the ship is out of control, and Sisko may be forced to destroy it to avoid starting a war. It's as if the characters are caught in a vice that just keeps slowly, steadily tightening. Kudos to writers Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe for such a superbly-structured script.

And also to director Alexander Singer, who amplifies the tension with judicious use of tight shots and sudden bursts of action. As the tone of the episode darkens, so does the overall lighting. As the tension increases, the camera frames the characters ever more tightly. Nor does it truly lighten at the end, the foreboding atmosphere maintained as Odo reports the changeling's final message:

"We are everywhere."


In the Hands of the Prophets, The Jem'Hadar, and now this episode. It must be said: Deep Space 9 definitely knows how to close out a season!


Overall Rating: 10/10.

Previous Episode: Facets
Next Episode: The Way of the Warrior


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3-05. Second Skin.

Kira as a Cardassian.

"Treason, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder."
-Garak, the most consistently quotable character in the whole Trek universe.


THE PLOT

Kira is contacted by a Bajoran scholar, who is researching a Cardassian prison camp from the Occupation. Cardassian records show that Kira was an inmate there - something she has no recollection of. She assumes a records glitch, until she contacts the sole survivor from that week. When the man confirms that Kira was with him at the prison, she decides to go to the prison's visitor's center to investigate. Are the records mistaken, or was something done to her memory?

She never reaches her destination. When she awakens, she is not on Bajor, but on Cardassia. She is told that she has been working undercover for the Obsidian Order, a ten-year mission in which her memories were altered along with her appearance, to make her an undetectable agent within the Bajoran resistance. It goes without saying that Kira doesn't believe a word. But if this is a deception, what could the Cardassians possibly hope to gain from it?


CHARACTERS

Commander Sisko: When he receives information that Kira is being held by the Obsidian Order, he doesn't dither around with Starfleet channels. I don't think he has any remaining faith in Starfleet's ability to act decisively. Instead, he goes straight to Garak, directly extorting the tailor/spy for his help. When Garak calls him on the extortion, Sisko barely hesitates in acknowledging it.  He doesn't even blink as he fixes Garak with a glare that makes sure the Cardassian knows that he is not bluffing.

Major Kira: It's been said that if a lie is simply repeated often enough, in the absence of the truth a person will believe the lie. Without rushing to any real-life examples, Kira's reactions to her situation are a disturbing example of this. She spends most of the episode stubbornly refusing to buy into her new Cardassian identity. The Obsidian Order never comes close to convincing her. But the decent Legate Ghemor (Lawrence Pressman), her counterpart's father, is so consistently good to her over the course of the episode that his gentleness makes her doubt. She never fully buys into the lie - Kira's simply too smart and too stubborn to stay broken long - but she does have a moment in which she seems to believe the lie more than the truth. Only when all the pieces finally come together does she realize what the Obsidian Order's actual agenda is. At that point, she figures it out very quickly - but still too late, had she been left entirely to her own devices.

Garak: Practically seems like a regular by this point. Even though he really hasn't been in that many episodes (even this season, he's only at two appearances out of five shows), he just makes such a strong impression every time he turns up. Here, we get more hints about his past.  It's indicated that he stays on Deep Space 9 because it is the only place he is safe. Julian jokingly wonders if the Obsidian Order would have him killed if he left the station. From the way Sisko blackmails Garak into assisting with the rescue, I'd say that's not far from the truth. The episode ends with a warning about Garak, from the honorable Legate Ghemor to Kira: "Don't trust him, Nerys, ever! He's a dangerous man, and he'd betray you and all your friends in an instant if he thought it would help him."

Cardassians: We continue to see how fragmented Cardassian society is. All the power is concentrated in the hands of the Obsidian Order and the Central Command. One senses that the Order would as soon see that balance shift firmly in its own direction. With dissidents clearly gaining some influential friends among Cardassian society, it is clear that something major will have to happen on Cardassia before the series runs its course. Either the dissidents will succeed in pushing for a more open society, or the Obsidian Order will clamp down harder on its own people - with a civil war seeming an almost certain result.


THOUGHTS

A Kira-centric episode, focused on the Cardassian Occupation, with a script by Robert Hewitt Wolfe (In the Hands of the Prophets, The Wire, The Collaborator, among others). The question was never whether Second Skin would be good. It was merely a question of how good it would be.

With a strong script and typically dynamic direction by Les Landau, the answer is: Very good indeed. The teleplay wisely doesn't overplay the question of whether or not Kira is a Cardassian spy. Obviously, she's not (heck, we've already seen that her mirror universe counterpart is a Bajoran). Instead, the episode plays with the question of why this game is being played on her. The result allows Nana Visitor to give a typically emotional performance, all without sacrificing Kira's inherent intelligence and wariness. The answers, when they come, fit perfectly with what we've seen and with what we've heard of the Obsidian Order in earlier episodes, making for a tidy structure.

Legate Ghemor (Lawrence Pressman) and his actual daughter show us a different Cardassian face than what we've normally encountered. Ghemor is, in Kira's words, "an honorable man," and clearly an excellent father as well. When Kira views the recording the real Iliana made prior to her assignment, she sees an earnest young woman, committed to doing what is right to stop the "terrorism on Bajor." Clearly, the terrorism and violence occurring on the occupied world were used by the Cardassian government to "sell" the Occupation back home. Though Iliana clearly bought that line completely, that makes her merely young, earnest, and naive. In her determination to simply make her parents proud of her, and her worries over her parents' reactions to her choice, she is instantly relatable even though we only see that one brief clip of her. It would be interesting to revisit this thread, to see what became of the real Iliana.

The episode falls short of full marks for two reasons. The set-up is unnecessarily convoluted. It would have been sufficient to have opened with Kira on Cardassia, with scenes on the station telling us that she had disappeared on Bajor. The "Kira's memory" bit does little except delay the real meat of the episode. Also, the timing of the rescue ends up being far too convenient to be entirely plausible. These aren't big issues - the opening is actually fairly well done, even intriguing, and credibility issues with the rescue are quickly glossed over when Garak begins being massively entertaining. But Deep Space 9 has set the bar pretty high for "full marks" episodes. Though still an excellent episode, this falls just short of that mark, leaving it with a still-strong:


Overall Rating: 9/10

Previous Episode: Equilibrium

Next Episode: The Abandoned

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