Plot – We should know the worst is going to happen when an episode of DS9 begins with all the characters smiling and having a good time. If there was ever a signal for trouble ahead on this show…
‘Starfleet has chosen you to plan the invasion of Cardassia’ – if there was ever a line that exposed how far DS9 has come from the Roddenberry dream it is this one. A Starfleet Captain, unmeshed in war, planning the bloody conquest of a non-Federation world. I hate to be that voice but this is exactly the sort of risk that Trek was crying out for.
Unmanned orbital weapons platforms. That is the height of cool. DS9 introduced some pretty awesome tech to the Trek universe (this is a great example, the TR-116 gun, the holo communicator). I like the race against time to get to Chin’toka before they are activated, it gives the episode a suspenseful air.
DS9 is the only show I can think in the Trek universe that spends this much time behind the lines with its villains and offers this kind of exposure and development. It is part of what made it such a rich show. The scene between the three of them is beautifully written with Dukat genuinely frightening as ‘a self-deluded madmen’, Damar in deference to him and Weyoun insulting him from head to toe.
Klingon/Romulan scowling is a treat too. I wish the show had explored this some more. It adds a lot of colour.
When did dialogue on Star Trek get so naturalistic? Essentially a scene between Dax and Worf goes ‘When you get back we’ve got a lot of screwing to do if we’re going to have a kid’ ‘I really love screwing you so that isn’t going to be a problem.’
Dax’s death is beautifully filmed and acted and looks painful (she’s essentially roasted alive) but I wish it had been more connected to the main plot that is playing out. It’s not an unmemorable death (because we’re certainly not allowed to forget about it) but it does have the dishonour of not being the most memorable death of the season (that goes to Ziyal by a long shot). At the time I found it to be anti-climactic but in retrospect it works fine and is handled very well afterwards in season 7.
The Orb going dark, Dukat screaming and laughing, the wormhole vanishing…this is some dark stuff. This episode ends with the Bajoran Gods dead and that’s about as sick a development as I could imagine.
In a season of defeats, it’s great that we end on a war victory but in true DS9 fashion that is cut down by the death of Jadzia and the crew’s reaction to it.
Character – I’m sure when people feared the direction the Kira/Odo relationship might go in it was probably bitchy domestics like the one they have here. The thought of Odo arresting a fundraising Vedek does make me chuckle though.
O’Brien is such a suck up to every Captain he serves under. ‘I bet even then he showed signs of greatness…’
Dax and Worf together at this point are just pure gold. ‘We’re thinking about having a baby!’ ‘It was a private matter’ It’s like Trek has its very own sitcom couple in the heart of it. The baby angle is slightly manipulative given where this episode goes but it does feel like a natural extension of their relationship at this point.
What a shame that the writers lost control of Jake in the final two seasons. I feel he could have had a major role in the Dominion war in his capacity as press reporter to the Federation but they never quite exploit this to the full. At least it gets some lip service here.
Check out awkward season one Sisko and listen to him here deftly negotiating a war footing with Klingons, Romulans and this own people and bask in the development of this incredible character. He began the show as an inferior version of Picard but come the latter seasons he is juggling countless problems adeptly that would have made Picard’s head spin. Every time he is plotting with a Romulan I am on edge because I recall In the Pale Moonlight. He can’t do right for doing wrong – if he hadn’t have gone to Chintoka he would have been stripped of command but because he did, he lost Jadzia. He couldn’t win in this episode and it leaves me asking question about the universe he lives in and how he keeps pushing him into impossible choices. It makes for great drama, but it’s also going to screw with your head. No wonder he needs some respite at the end of this episode and heads home to Pop.
Admiral Ross isn’t the most vivid of characters (more solid, reliable) but I really like how he chews Sisko out here and forces him to choose between being the Emissary or a Starfleet Captain. It’s a fine line Sisko has walked and finally, after six seasons, he’s being asked to choose.
Production – The CGI in the battle scenes might be a little dated but this genuinely epic television. You’re seeing war on a scale that we are unused to in Star Trek, and on television in general. This is the sort scale that Game of Thrones is working on. The battle tactics feel real, the technology is robust and does some real damage, people are dying in their thousands and the stakes are high. This is event telly.
Best moment – You might find yourself thinking those godamn Prophets always getting involved in episodes that aren’t about them…but they are vital here and set up a lot of what happens in the next two episodes. This is the point where I was wondering why they spend so much time mucking about in Sisko’s affairs and in the next episode that will be answered in a pretty major way that satisfies and surprises.
I like that this ends on a quiet character note after all the fireworks. Season five ended with a sense of optimism despite their losses and a feeling that the Federation was about to deliver the Dominion a bloody nose. Season six ends on a broken Sisko, sheltering at home on Earth and leaving the very precarious situation on DS9 to his crew.
Worst moment – This is the last time Dukat, Damar and Weyoun are in a room together. That makes me ache for series 7 because they are such a formidable trio.
I wish they hadn’t done that – I really like Vic Fointaine (mostly thanks to James Darren’s very likable performance) and the episodes that centre on him (particularly It’s Only a Paper Moon) but I wouldn’t have stopped the momentum of this episode to throw in a song. It’s a nice song, and it’s funny but in the context of this episode it is perhaps one ingredient too many.
The only element of DS9 I am completely ambivalent about (that is I cannot find myself loving or hating it) is the Pah’Wraiths. And so their huge impact on this story leaves me a little cold.
To say Dax’s death is signposted would be an understatement – especially her being left behind on the station whilst everybody else heads off to invade Cardassia (that would never normally happen).
Reason to watch this again - In a show where an awful lot happens this might be the episode that tries to squeeze in the most plot and relationship developments into 45 minutes. It does most of those things with the kind of skill I expect from DS9 but there is simply so much happening that some of these moments don’t have the impact that they might have in a quieter piece. Also DS9’s sixth season spends its last five or six episodes meandering a little and some of these developments could have been spread amongst those episodes. I’m not surprised that they had to have two episodes to deal with the fallout of this episode. Or rather, an entire season. There is a lot happening here but nearly all of it is incredibly rich.
**** out of *****
Clue for the tomorrow's episode:
https://www.theincomparable.com/randomtrek/
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