6-8. Resurrection.

Vedek Bareil's mirror universe counterpart
looks into the Orb of Prophecy.

THE PLOT

It's a typical day in Ops... right up until the moment that a transporter activates, beaming a very familiar figure onto the station: the late, lamented Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim)!

This is not the Bareil Kira had been in love with, the man who died making (an ultimately temporary) peace with the Cardassians. This Bareil is from the Mirror Universe, and is a petty thief fleeing across the border between realities in hopes of a better life. Much to Sisko's concern, Kira takes the man under her wing, introducing him to Bajoran religion and culture. She finds the lines increasingly blurry between her Bareil and this very different yet strangely similar, man, and the two soon become lovers.

After Kira shows him the Orb of Prophecy, the Bajoran artifact that allows glimpses of possible futures, Bareil becomes moody and starts lingering outside the Bajoran temple. Kira believes he's just wrestling with his first "Orb experience," but Quark has a very different take on his behavior: A thief, casing the site of his next robbery.

After all, who knows a thief better than another thief?


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: Given that his last involvement with the Mirror Universe involved the Mirror version of his dead wife, he has a strong understanding of what Kira is going through. "I knew she wasn't my wife. But sometimes she would smile at me a certain way, and then the light would hit her eyes, and it was my Jennifer. At least, that's what I wanted to believe." He is the one member of the crew who can really understand what Kira is going through - which makes it all the more disappointing that he's barely seen again after this. I would at least have liked one scene between Sisko and Bareil, as I suspect a conversation between them would have been interesting.

Major Kira/The Intendant: Nana Visitor is terrific, as usual, and does much to keep this weak script afloat. Kira's confusion, then enthusiasm, over spending time with this alternate Bareil is very clear throughout. Though she sleeps with him, and clearly grows fond of him, there isn't much sense that she is even close to loving him. He's an echo of something precious that she lost three years earlier. Like any foray into the DS9 Mirror Universe, we also get to see the Intendant - but in this case, the episode probably shouldn't have bothered, as this script gives us a flattened cartoon version of this previously multilayered villain. Gone is the sense of danger, that she might turn on a dime from kittenish to murderous. Gone also is the sense of need, the craving to be adored and admired. All that's left is a strutting, purring sex kitten - basically, a more violent version of Jessica Rabbit.

Quark: His work with the Resistance seems to have raised him a bit in Kira's estimation. In previous seasons, had he intimated to Kira that her love interest was planning to rob from the Bajoran temple, she probably would have threatened him and almost certainly would not have taken him seriously. Now she does take him seriously, and her following up on his words is what prevents the temple from being robbed.

Bareil: This episode returns Philip Anglim to the series for the first time since Season Three's Life Support. He does a fair job of playing this very different Bareil, a thief who wears the face of a widely respected holy man. It's a concept that could have been richly mined, had this new Bareil been retained in the recurring cast. Sadly, this is a standalone, so we simply get a standard conflicted scoundrel, though Anglim and Nana Visitor still play well off each other and make a convincing screen couple - which strongly highlights what a weak replacement Shakaar was, even on the rare occasions he was genuinely present.


THOUGHTS

Resurrection is the first "filler" episode since before the Dominion War started. Save for a quick reference to a lack of Dominion activity, this is unconnected to the larger events of the preceding episode. It's also a Mirror Universe episode, one which attempts to do something different with the concept by having a Mirror character come to the "prime" universe.

Sadly, despite a few bright moments, this is the first Mirror Universe episode that I would describe as a failure, and is easily the weakest episode of what has been to this point an outstanding season.

This cannot be laid at the feet of the actors. The regulars are in good form, and Philip Anglim does a solid job of making the Mirror Bareil just enough like "our" Bareil that we can see how Kira sees her old lover in him, but different enough that we never make the mistake of seeing him as the same character. Levar Burton's direction isn't terribly atmospheric, but it is competent for the demands of the episode.

No, the problem is the script. Having established the concept of the Mirror Bareil coming to our universe, writer Michael Taylor's story fails to do anything to capitalize on it. The first half tries to be a character piece, and has some good moments. I enjoyed the dinner scene with Bareil and Kira joining Worf and Dax. Bareil swipes Worf's sword to prove his prowess as a thief, earning Worf's respect (it was probably a choice between that and killing him, and Dax would have likely disapproved of the latter). The relationship material between the two characters works, in large part because of the chemistry between Anglim and Visitor, and Bareil's discomfort at being recognized as a man he is nothing like works reasonably well, though like too much here it is under-explored.

Then, a little past the halfway point, it turns into a caper comedy. A bad one. There's nothing clever about the caper. Bareil's plan to steal the Orb of Prophecy appears to amount to nothing more than "walk in and take it," with no sign of any real security for him to bypass and no sense of danger whatsoever. He is conflicted after looking into the Orb and seeing his "prime universe" self... but nothing terribly interesting is done with that idea, either.

Had the episode been content to be a character piece, with the new Bareil either adjusting to a life in this universe or having to go back to his own, it might have worked passably well. Had the entire piece been a caper story, with a bit more life and cleverness to the caper, that might also have worked. One could certainly imagine Mirror Bareil pairing with Quark and possibly Garak to make a tidy profit. But by trying to be both, it succeeds as neither.

That's not even mentioning the scene in which the Intendant tries to impersonate Kira, not very convincingly, and the Bajoran guard isn't even slightly suspicious. This episode takes place in the context of a war with shapeshifters, and a member of the station's command staff was already impersonated by a changeling. Upon seeing Kira behaving out of character and unable to provide her security code, surely the guard should have responded in some other way than giving her a neck massage?

I could gloss over that bit of stupidity if the episode itself was good. But in an already weak episode, such a poorly-judged moment stands out all the more.


Overall Rating: 4/10.

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5-21. Soldiers of the Empire.

Worf begins to doubt Martok (J. G. Hertzler)'s resolve.

THE PLOT

General Martok (J. G. Hertzler) extends an invitation to Worf: Join him as first officer on the Rotarran, a Klingon Bird of Prey. The Rotarran has been assigned to find the B'Moth, a battle cruiser that disappeared near the Cardassian border. It is a great chance at redemption for both men: Martok, to prove that he remains a strong leader after two years in a Dominion prison camp; Worf, to earn honor in the eyes of the Empire that disbanded his House. Dax also insists on coming along as Science Officer, determined to protect Worf from a crew that she can tell is dangerous.

Dax is right: The crew of the Rotarran is in a dark state. Ever since the Cardassians allied themselves with the Jem'Hadar, the Klingon ship has suffered one defeat after another. The Klingons are hungry for a victory, any victory. When Martok plots a course designed to avoid battle, insisting on focusing on the mission, the atmosphere goes from dark to dangerous. And when Martok plays it safe a second time, passing up a potentially easy kill for fear of a Dominion trap, the crew starts to hover on the edge of mutiny!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: Talks with Worf before granting the request to temporarily release him to be Martok's first officer. He mainly wants to make sure that Worf genuinely desires this. When Worf explains why he feels loyal to Martok, he adds that he isn't sure Sisko, a human, can understand. Sisko's expression says otherwise, and he grants the request with no further questions.

Worf: His loyalty to Martok stems from his time in the Jem'Hadar prison camp. When the Jem'Hadar forced him to fight in their arena, he could see no end to the cycle and considered letting them win. Martok recognized his intent and stopped him with a single look, saving Worf's life and allowing him to eventually escape. His defense of Martok even when it becomes clear that the general is going out of his way to avoid a fight feels more like something from his human upbringing than from the Klingon values he has always prized. When situations force him to finally confront Martok, that loyalty is still in evidence - something Martok again recognizes, fortunately for Worf.

Dax: With Worf behaving more like a human, it falls to Dax to be "more Klingon than Klingon" this week. She bonds with the crew quite quickly, having calculated exactly how to ingratiate herself: Her first day in the mess hall, she picks just the right fight as a prelude to delivering three crates of blood wine. She quickly recognizes that the crew is in despair over their string of defeats. Worf sees this too, but Dax sees what he does not: Namely, the danger to Worf and Martok in this situation. She pushes Worf at every turn, reminding him that this is not a Federation ship: "If you think the blood looks bad on my uniform, wait until the decks are dripping with it!"

Martok: "Broken" by the Jem'Hadar, just as the crew of the Rotarran has been. Like the crew, he needs a victory to restore his confidence. But he's too fearful of the Jem'Hadar to actually get one. Having fallen victim to them once, he sees Dominion traps in every situation. His first choice, to avoid a nebula where warships are certain to be, is sensible: Their mission is to find the B'Moth, not to endanger the ship needlessly. But when he avoids a fight with a Jem'Hadar ship directly in their path just because a trap is possible, it's clear that he is afraid. Once again, his crew directly reflects him, as we see one Klingon officer drunkenly talk about how the Jem'Hadar's lack of honor makes them "better... they're faster and they're stronger than we are!" When Martok refuses to rescue the ship they've been sent to retrieve just because it drifted across the border, he sparks a challenge - and when Martok wins that challenge, his crew begin chanting his name, then singing as he recovers his Klingon blood lust and presses forward into the very battle he (and the ship) have dreaded.


THOUGHTS

In terms of developing the Klingons, Soldiers of the Empire doesn't add anything new to Trek lore. The Klingons live by a warrior code. There is a very specific structure to the way in which a Klingon warrior may advance by challenging his superior, and that structure and code keep the society from chaos despite the chaotic way their culture may appear from the outside. An honorable victory is what a warrior lives for, and defeat is ignominy... All of which is ground tread by previous TNG and DS9 episodes many times before.

What keeps this episode from feeling like a stale retread is the way it is framed. Putting our regulars on a Klingon ship, serving with a Klingon crew, heavily recalls TNG's A Matter of Honor. But the ship Worf and Dax serve on is a ship that has endured a series of defeats, to the point at which the crew now goes into battle expecting to be defeated. This gives it a different flavor from other Klingon episodes, as Worf and Dax must watch their backs around this dangerously demoralized crew even as Worf slowly comes to realize that he will have to challenge Martok for the captain's seat.

Like many Klingon episodes, this is very broadly played, almost operatic in tone and style... Which works, because the Klingons feel right and the dimmer lighting and more claustrophobic set design of the Bird of Prey interiors adds an atmosphere well-suited to the proceedings. It isn't actually an action episode - A brawl that's cut short by Dax and a knife fight at the climax are the only two "action" pieces in the show. But Moore's script and Levar Burton's steady directing keep the tension of the situation tangible, with the viewer left waiting right along with the characters for it to reach its boiling point.

What keeps this from reaching the heights of the best Klingon episodes, such as TNG's Sins of the Father or DS9's The Way of the Warrior, is the guest cast. The crew of the Rotarran are a bunch of one-dimensional "types." There's the drunken one, there's the dangerous one, there's the sympathetic woman... I couldn't even tell you any of the characters' names unless I wanted to look them up. The script is effective in having the crew's fractured state reflect Martok's fractured state, and in bringing the crew together as a unified force just as Martok recovers his old Klingon fire... But I can't help but think that the same could have been accomplished while making at least one or two members of the crew into layered characters.

The weak guest characters are made up for by very strong characterizations of the regular and recurring cast. Moore's script gives Worf and Dax very strong material, with this being one of the best Dax episodes in a while. Martok continues to develop as a memorable and interesting recurring character, and his friendship with Worf promises to become another of the several wonderful character relationships this show has created.  That's more than enough to make this a good episode... Even if it leaves it short of being a great one.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

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5-8. Things Past.

Odo is forced to face a secret from his past.

THE PLOT

Sisko, Odo, Garak, and Dax are returning to the station after attending a Bajoran conference devoted to the Cardassian Occupation. Garak drew some attention by ill-advisedly discussing the benefits of the Occupation, but the real star was Odo. His even-handed stewardship of the security of Terok Nor (as Deep Space 9 was then known) earned him the respect of both Cardassians and Bajorans - respect Odo isn't entirely comfortable with.

By the time their runabout arrives at the station, the four are in a comatose state, and Dr. Bashir's attempts to revive them prove futile. He observes that their neural activity indicates that they are actually conscious...

...And so they are, but not of Deep Space 9's Medlab. They awake on Terok Nor, under the Cardassian Occupation. They are dressed as Bajorans, and despite being members of various races they are perceived as Bajorans. Dax catches the eye of station commander Gul Dukat, who has her brought to him to relieve his "loneliness." Meanwhile, Sisko, Garak, and Odo discover the identities of the Bajorans whose place they have taken.

They have assumed the identities of three men whose names Odo knows all too well. They were three Bajorans who were executed for a crime they didn't commit: Attempting to assassinate Gul Dukat. And the day of the attempted assassination? This very day...


CHARACTERS

Capt. Sisko: As soon as he realizes where and when they are, he focuses on the immediate priority of not attracting any Cardassian attention. Once out of sight, he allows the others to discuss what could be occurring - but again moves them on once Dukat makes his appearance. It doesn't take long for him to recognize that Odo is agitated, but he doesn't press him until late in the episode because there is always a more immediate priority. When he does confront the constable, however, he does so with such fire that Odo is actually grateful when the Cardassian security chief, Thrax (Kurtwood Smith) comes for him.

Odo: Uncomfortable with the degree of respect he is given for his role during the Occupation. "I tried to bring order to a chaotic situation, that's all," he protests, bringing to mind what we already know about the Changeling predisposition to maintaining order above all. It's an early hint of the revelation to come, one that Odo tries very hard to keep his friends from learning and that he seems to even be trying to deny to himself. Rene Auberjonois is excellent as usual, and his pleas with Thrax to conduct a more thorough investigation (pleas he knows are doomed before he makes them) are particularly effective.

Dax: As far back as season One, I've been impressed by how good a nonverbal performer Terry Farrell is. She shows this very strongly in her scene with Dukat. She is "selected" by Cardassian guards and brought to him. She doesn't know what is about to happen - Cardassian interrogation, sexual assault, possibly both - and is visibly frightened. When Dukat presents himself pleasantly, even offering her a drink, her hand shakes as she is thrown by the incongruity of his demeanor. Then she sees that he wants her as a companion, wants her trust, and she smiles slightly, as she realizes how she can use his neediness to her advantage.

Garak: This is Garak's first Season Five appearance (presumably, after some time in the brig for his deeds in Broken Link), and both the character and actor Andrew J. Robinson are on terrific form. On the surface, Garak almost appears to be comedy relief, commenting sardonically on their situation and sniffing at his recollections of the Occupation being "tidier." But he never stops thinking. When Dax is "selected," he steps forward to attempt to bribe the guard out of taking her. That fails, and he earns a punch in the nose for his trouble... But being Garak, he takes advantage of the situation to pick the man's pocket for some gear that allows him to figure out a key piece of the puzzle. Also being Garak, he spends the time awaiting execution thinking up and evaluating excuses that might save his own skin.

Gul Dukat: It's a treat to see Dukat back when he was in power. As in Season Two's Necessary Evil, there are indications that he at least wanted to be a benevolent dictator to the Bajorans - likely for his benefit, however. His interactions with Dax show that he craves approval, not just of his men but of his subjects. He relishes holding the power of life and death over the Bajorans, but he also wants to be beloved by them. An unrealistic expectation, to put it mildly, but then he did go on to amorously pursue Kira, so it's not like he's ever been realistic in his self-image.


THOUGHTS

Things Past acts very much as a companion piece to the outstanding Season Two episode, Necessary Evil. That episode flashed back to the start of Odo's career on Terok Nor, the name for the Cardassian-run Deep Space 9 during the Occupation of Bajor. It also showed the start of his friendship with Kira, and revealed a secret about Kira's past.

Things Past returns us to Terok Nor through the magic of Technobabble, only this time it is Odo who has the guilty secret. The Terok Nor setting remains terrific, and director Levar Burton doesn't hesitate to go for broke with the grittiness of the setting. Everything is dark, varying shades of shadow punctuated by harsh shafts of light. Colors are subdued to the point of being a step removed from monochrome, and the Cardassian guards (usually seen overhead) are a near-constant presence. The atmosphere is superb, almost as strong as it was in the earlier episode.

Michael Taylor's script is a good one. The opening scene seems light-hearted, but it introduces the major idea of the episode: Odo's attempts to bring order to the station during the Occupation, and his discomfort, even guilt at the praise he receives. We get just enough scenes with Worf and Bashir to establish that the four are only mentally in the past but that damage inflicted there can affect them physically. But we only get those scenes, restricted to the episode's first half, with no other cutaways to dilute the tension. What humor there is is of the darkly sardonic variety. As even temporary victories, such as Dax knocking out Dukat and rescuing the others, are snatched away, the situation becomes ever more hopeless - and the visual style becomes ever more enclosed and claustrophobic.

Though Kira only barely appears in the episode, her one scene is a superb one, in a tag that mirrors the ending of Necessary Evil. In that episode, Odo confronted Kira with the truth. This time, it's Kira's turn to confront Odo with his shameful secret. There's even an oblique reference to the earlier episode, as she acknowledges that she's far from perfect and that "anyone who lived through the Occupation had to get a little dirty."

The episode ends perfectly, with the two on opposite sides of the room. Each has now had his or her worst secret revealed to the other, and each has now taken a turn disappointing the other. And it's on this note that we cut to the station exterior and the credits.


Overall Rating: 10/10.

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4-18. Rules of Engagement.

Worf, on trial for his life.

THE PLOT

Worf is in command of the Defiant as it escorts a Cardassian convoy to a colony suffering a plague outbreak. The colony is in the Pentath system, a strategically significant location near the Klingon border, and it is all but a given that the Klingons will try to stop the convoy. When the attack comes, Worf is ready and even eager for the battle - until he fires at the wrong moment, destroying what appears to be a Klingon civilian vessel that had gone off course into the combat area.

The Klingons demand Worf's extradition, and Deep Space 9 becomes the site of a hearing to decide the matter. Sisko represents Worf, opposite the craftly Klingon advocate, Ch'Pok (Ron Canada). Ch'Pok does not dispute the Klingon attacks, nor does he dispute any of the official reports. Instead, he focuses on Worf's motives, claiming that Worf was possessed by Klingon bloodlust. It's an effective line of attack, with every witness seeming to confirm Worf's eagerness for battle. And all the while, as Sisko fights for his officer, he does so knowing that if Worf is extradited then the Klingons will press this as an advantage to further their aggression - possibly into all out war!


CHARACTERS

Avery Brooks' already commanding performance has really come into its own in Season Four. This year has seen him deliver one outstanding performance after another, effortlessly dominating every scene he's in. It's hard to remember how wooden he was, or how generic the writing for Sisko was, in early Season One - At this point, he's the most entertaining of all the Star Trek captains. He defends Worf with the expected vigor, and he relishes the moment at which he finally gets the advantage over Ch'Pok. But his best scene is the episode's final scene, as he and Worf have a frank conversation about the mistakes Worf did make in the mission, and about the complexities of command.

Worf: Stands by his decision to fire on the decloaking transport. He insists that had he hesitated, he would have been negligent and would have endangered both his crew and the entire convoy. He makes his case well when put on the stand - until Ch'Pok pushes just the right buttons to make Worf angry. Worf is able to stoically respond to reminders about the treatment of his House by Gowron and to accusations that he is not a "true" Klingon. But when Ch'Pok turns his verbal assault toward Worf's son, he cannot help but lash out, seemingly proving Ch'Pok's point about his innate violence (though, honestly, he was admirably restrained not punching Ch'Pok much earlier in his rant).

Odo: "I'm always suspicious of people who are eager to help a police officer." While Sisko defends Worf in the courtroom that is the front line of this engagement, Odo investigates the background of the incident. He looks into every person on the destroyed civilian transport. He initially discovers nothing, but he indicates to Sisko that he believes there is something there. People are "too eager" to talk, which encourages the shapeshifter to keep digging. Naturally, there is something significant for him to find, a detail which Sisko relishes brandishing against Ch'Pok in the episode's final Act.

Klingons: Ch'Pok (Ron Canada), the Klingon advocate, views the Starfleet hearing as a battlefield, and looks forward to combating Sisko on Starfleet's own terms. When Sisko protests that the hearing is a search for the truth, Ch'Pok replies that "the truth must be won." He is very candid with Sisko that, should the hearing go his way, the Klingons will exploit the sympathy that this victory would bring as an excuse to annex more Cardassian space. "Any move we make against you will be seen as a legitimate response to an outrageous slaughter," he tells Sisko, with a predatory grin on his face. Canada is excellent, presenting a strong and crafty adversary worthy of Sisko.


THOUGHTS

Star Trek has a pretty good track record with courtroom episodes, and Deep Space 9 has done particularly well by the genre. With a script by writer Ronald D. Moore, bringing his special affinity for the Klingons in general and Worf in particular, it's no surprise that Rules of Engagement is another solid entry in this tradition.

It's another episode developing the Klingon strand. We have seen in previous episodes that they have not given up their aggression, continuing raids against the Cardassians and sabre-rattling near the Bajoran border. Here, we see more increased aggression, with Ch'Pok openly admitting that the Klingons are looking for any advantage to pursue against Cardassia and the Federation alike. I'm starting to wonder how much further this aggressive Cold War can be taken before it erupts into a full-blown conflict. Deep Space 9 being the show it is, I don't think the Klingon aggression is going to go away quietly or easily.

Levar Burton directs with his usual competence. One noteworthy flourish Burton uses is to have the witnesses testify from inside their flashbacks, talking directly to the camera and delivering their accounts to the courtroom as the events they are discussing surround them. This is carefully introduced, being utilized in less crucial scenes in the first half of the episode (some exposition by Dax and Sisko, a comical bit with Quark) so that it doesn't jar at all when it is used in the second half during critical dramatic moments. It's hardly revolutionary stuff, but it's well done and brings added life to the witnesses' testimony.

There is an element of deux ex machina to the final stretch, with Odo finding a piece of evidence that has not been planted at any point early in the episode. The scene in which Sisko uses it against Ch'Pok is quite good, Avery Brooks selling it for everything he's worth, and it fits with the Klingons' motives. Still, it feels a bit convenient - a sense that might have been assuaged had any mention of it been made in the first half.

This is still a good episode, though, one that shows again how well Ronald D. Moore understands both Worf and the Klingons.


Overall Rating: 7/10

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