Plot – One of the troubling aspects of a show like DS9, which was on the crest of becoming serialised in its early seasons and fully embraced it in its latter ones, is that it felt the need to catch the viewers up with the developments that lead to particular episodes before the ‘previously on’ became a thing. Which can lead to some really choppy and awkward exposition in certain episodes. However, the pre-titles sequence here shows you how to get it just right with Sisko and Eddington squaring off in fiery style whilst reminding one another of the indignities that they have had to face working together for a year and half. It’s very well done and kick starts the episode in dramatic style.
Character – Eddington is a great example of a DS9 secondary character that oughtn’t to have worked but ultimately yielded fantastic results because of some unexpected twists and turns. Initially introduced as a career Starfleet officer in season three, I think everybody (including myself) was convinced that he was caught up with the Dominion somehow (I genuinely thought he was a changeling for much of that initial season). He was too open, honest and, well, dull. Whilst he set the cat among the pigeons with Odo (vying for control of security on the station), he came across as a straight down the line Officer and there is nothing more suspicious than that on this show simply because nobody else fulfils that remit. When it was revealed that he was a Maquis agent all along and even worse, the head of the Maquis, it was one of the greatest character coups that DS9 ever pulled off. It came completely out of left field but made perfect sense. Who better than a career officer to sneak aboard DS9 and steal intelligence for the Maquis? He got close to the crew, was exposed to all the security secrets you can imagine and formed a relationship with Sisko. All false. All to steal dirty secrets. So when Sisko and Eddington face off in For the Uniform it is a stunning moment because it is loaded with betrayal, anger and disappointment. On Eddington’s side he feels entirely justified and displays a hatred for what the Federation stands for that completely contradicts everything that he has been promoting for a year and half. Sisko is understandably hurt and thoroughly pissed off. Which brings us to For the Uniform, the pinnacle of the Sisko/Eddington relationship and the episode that rides high with soaring emotions that burst from every scene. Given the two and half years’ worth of build-up this is some incredible pay off.
Odo reminding Sisko that Eddington was brought in because Starfleet didn’t trust him is another beautiful character beat and thoroughly well deserved. He’s such a bitch.
The look on Sisko’s face when he is taken off the Eddington case because he hasn’t gotten the job done and been played like a fiddle suggests that Reynolds is about to have a bloody jaw. Thank goodness he takes it out on a punching bag. Starfleet has never had to question the veracity of his work before…until Eddington. Now it’s really personal. Frankly Starfleet practically give him carte blanche to take the actions he does at the climax by suggesting he is incapable of outsmarting Eddington. My rebuff to a Court Martial would be: ‘Well, I got the job done.’ I love the way he uses the psychology of Eddington’s favourite book to bring him down. It shows how perceptive he can be, tapping into Eddington’s fantasy of wanting to be a hero. The scary thing is Sisko doesn’t have to push to hard to find his inner villain. I guess Avery Brooks had some practice as Joran in Facets and the fabulous Dr Noah in Our Man Bashir.
I don’t think I’ve ever been aware of just how vital the Dax/Sisko friendship is on this show. I love how honest and critical she can be of him, whilst supporting him at every step. They have a dynamic that is built on the respect of a friendship that has lasted over two lifetimes. We’ve earnt that beautiful scene where Sisko admits that he is behaving in the way that Dax usually does, going off on some half-cocked mission. She can’t help but admire him for it.
Performance – Avery Brooks. Wow. I know there are people out that who don’t rate his performance as Sisko but I am certainly not one of them. He’s an unpredictable, dangerous actor and in this time of television by committee it is becoming rarer to find performances that surprise you as much as this and so his willingness to get as close to the edge as he does is something to be celebrated. I could point to ten different DS9 episodes that showcase Brooks at his most surprising and affecting (The Visitor, In the Pale Moonlight, Waltz) and For the Uniform would certainly end up on that list. He’s extraordinary; enlivened by a script that allows Sisko to display venomous anger towards a man who has let him down so badly and betrayed all the ideals he holds dear. Picard could unnerve me when he lost his temper, Janeway can act in dangerous ways when pushed…but Sisko scares the absolute crap out of me when he loses it and at points in this episode I was left breathless at his intensity and wondering just who the hell is the villain and who is the hero. Which was rather the point. Kenneth Marshall can’t match Brooks’ passion but that is also the point; Eddington is a small man who thinks he is big. Sisko is the man, and flexes his muscles to prove just how weak Eddington’s convictions are. It’s a glorious dynamic, and electrifying viewing when they are on screen together.
Production – ‘What do we use? Cups and a long string?’ Whoever had the idea of taking out the damaged Defiant to take on Eddington is a genius because it gives this episode a unique atmosphere as the crew all pull together their huge experience and expertise to deliver a working Ship that is fraying at the seams. Isn’t it great how everybody is barking orders at Nog and how Nog repeats those orders in the same tone to the appropriate departments?
Best moment – That final confrontation between Sisko and Eddington is possibly the most melodramatic moment in the entirety of DS9, and one of the most powerful. With all the discussion of Les Misérables (or is this really Moby Dick?) it practically gives the episode permission to go as theatrical as they like. I love how over the top some of the dialogue is (‘I’ll give you what you want…me!’) and how it completely gets away with it after the gradual built up of tension. Anything less dramatic would have felt like a damp squib. Sisko poisons an entire world and renders it uninhabitable for 50 years and turns a group of frightened people into refugees. And he does it all with a look of satisfied concentration. Is this the behaviour of the pride of the service? Does he deserve a bollocking for going this far? Who knows? But it’s still fantastic television.
I wish they hadn’t done that – Eddington could have shot Sisko in the very first scene and preventing all of this from taking place. But I think he knew that if he had then the full force of Starfleet would have brought the Maquis crashing down. Sisko even gives him the option of putting a disrupter bolt in his chest so Eddington can’t say he wasn’t given a chance.
The holo-communicator should have been utilised more than twice. It’s not like DS9 to try something and then back peddle. I’m glad this was one of the two episodes because it lends an intensity and intimacy to the confrontations between Sisko and Eddington that wouldn’t have been there if they had taken place over the viewscreens. This way Eddington can literally intrude on Sisko’s bridge and deliver a smug wave after delivering a phaser blast that cripples him. It makes it personal.
A reason to watch this episode again – When DS9 goes for the jugular it produces more muscular drama than any of other Star Trek series and For the Uniform is a very good example of that. Directed with flair, written with passion and played with an intensity rare for Star Trek, For the Uniform is superb drama. It’s DS9 at it’s prime at the heart of its best season. I have always prided this show for its character dynamics and this showcases them at their most penetrating. This is an episode that takes risks (I love the fact that it riles up hardcore Trek fans) and wins.
***** out of *****
Character – Eddington is a great example of a DS9 secondary character that oughtn’t to have worked but ultimately yielded fantastic results because of some unexpected twists and turns. Initially introduced as a career Starfleet officer in season three, I think everybody (including myself) was convinced that he was caught up with the Dominion somehow (I genuinely thought he was a changeling for much of that initial season). He was too open, honest and, well, dull. Whilst he set the cat among the pigeons with Odo (vying for control of security on the station), he came across as a straight down the line Officer and there is nothing more suspicious than that on this show simply because nobody else fulfils that remit. When it was revealed that he was a Maquis agent all along and even worse, the head of the Maquis, it was one of the greatest character coups that DS9 ever pulled off. It came completely out of left field but made perfect sense. Who better than a career officer to sneak aboard DS9 and steal intelligence for the Maquis? He got close to the crew, was exposed to all the security secrets you can imagine and formed a relationship with Sisko. All false. All to steal dirty secrets. So when Sisko and Eddington face off in For the Uniform it is a stunning moment because it is loaded with betrayal, anger and disappointment. On Eddington’s side he feels entirely justified and displays a hatred for what the Federation stands for that completely contradicts everything that he has been promoting for a year and half. Sisko is understandably hurt and thoroughly pissed off. Which brings us to For the Uniform, the pinnacle of the Sisko/Eddington relationship and the episode that rides high with soaring emotions that burst from every scene. Given the two and half years’ worth of build-up this is some incredible pay off.
Odo reminding Sisko that Eddington was brought in because Starfleet didn’t trust him is another beautiful character beat and thoroughly well deserved. He’s such a bitch.
The look on Sisko’s face when he is taken off the Eddington case because he hasn’t gotten the job done and been played like a fiddle suggests that Reynolds is about to have a bloody jaw. Thank goodness he takes it out on a punching bag. Starfleet has never had to question the veracity of his work before…until Eddington. Now it’s really personal. Frankly Starfleet practically give him carte blanche to take the actions he does at the climax by suggesting he is incapable of outsmarting Eddington. My rebuff to a Court Martial would be: ‘Well, I got the job done.’ I love the way he uses the psychology of Eddington’s favourite book to bring him down. It shows how perceptive he can be, tapping into Eddington’s fantasy of wanting to be a hero. The scary thing is Sisko doesn’t have to push to hard to find his inner villain. I guess Avery Brooks had some practice as Joran in Facets and the fabulous Dr Noah in Our Man Bashir.
I don’t think I’ve ever been aware of just how vital the Dax/Sisko friendship is on this show. I love how honest and critical she can be of him, whilst supporting him at every step. They have a dynamic that is built on the respect of a friendship that has lasted over two lifetimes. We’ve earnt that beautiful scene where Sisko admits that he is behaving in the way that Dax usually does, going off on some half-cocked mission. She can’t help but admire him for it.
Performance – Avery Brooks. Wow. I know there are people out that who don’t rate his performance as Sisko but I am certainly not one of them. He’s an unpredictable, dangerous actor and in this time of television by committee it is becoming rarer to find performances that surprise you as much as this and so his willingness to get as close to the edge as he does is something to be celebrated. I could point to ten different DS9 episodes that showcase Brooks at his most surprising and affecting (The Visitor, In the Pale Moonlight, Waltz) and For the Uniform would certainly end up on that list. He’s extraordinary; enlivened by a script that allows Sisko to display venomous anger towards a man who has let him down so badly and betrayed all the ideals he holds dear. Picard could unnerve me when he lost his temper, Janeway can act in dangerous ways when pushed…but Sisko scares the absolute crap out of me when he loses it and at points in this episode I was left breathless at his intensity and wondering just who the hell is the villain and who is the hero. Which was rather the point. Kenneth Marshall can’t match Brooks’ passion but that is also the point; Eddington is a small man who thinks he is big. Sisko is the man, and flexes his muscles to prove just how weak Eddington’s convictions are. It’s a glorious dynamic, and electrifying viewing when they are on screen together.
Production – ‘What do we use? Cups and a long string?’ Whoever had the idea of taking out the damaged Defiant to take on Eddington is a genius because it gives this episode a unique atmosphere as the crew all pull together their huge experience and expertise to deliver a working Ship that is fraying at the seams. Isn’t it great how everybody is barking orders at Nog and how Nog repeats those orders in the same tone to the appropriate departments?
Best moment – That final confrontation between Sisko and Eddington is possibly the most melodramatic moment in the entirety of DS9, and one of the most powerful. With all the discussion of Les Misérables (or is this really Moby Dick?) it practically gives the episode permission to go as theatrical as they like. I love how over the top some of the dialogue is (‘I’ll give you what you want…me!’) and how it completely gets away with it after the gradual built up of tension. Anything less dramatic would have felt like a damp squib. Sisko poisons an entire world and renders it uninhabitable for 50 years and turns a group of frightened people into refugees. And he does it all with a look of satisfied concentration. Is this the behaviour of the pride of the service? Does he deserve a bollocking for going this far? Who knows? But it’s still fantastic television.
I wish they hadn’t done that – Eddington could have shot Sisko in the very first scene and preventing all of this from taking place. But I think he knew that if he had then the full force of Starfleet would have brought the Maquis crashing down. Sisko even gives him the option of putting a disrupter bolt in his chest so Eddington can’t say he wasn’t given a chance.
The holo-communicator should have been utilised more than twice. It’s not like DS9 to try something and then back peddle. I’m glad this was one of the two episodes because it lends an intensity and intimacy to the confrontations between Sisko and Eddington that wouldn’t have been there if they had taken place over the viewscreens. This way Eddington can literally intrude on Sisko’s bridge and deliver a smug wave after delivering a phaser blast that cripples him. It makes it personal.
A reason to watch this episode again – When DS9 goes for the jugular it produces more muscular drama than any of other Star Trek series and For the Uniform is a very good example of that. Directed with flair, written with passion and played with an intensity rare for Star Trek, For the Uniform is superb drama. It’s DS9 at it’s prime at the heart of its best season. I have always prided this show for its character dynamics and this showcases them at their most penetrating. This is an episode that takes risks (I love the fact that it riles up hardcore Trek fans) and wins.
***** out of *****
Clue for tomorrow's episode:
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