DS9 – The Changing Face of Evil

Plot – So the Breen have attacked Earth and it happens entirely off-screen. Take that in for a second. All we see of this potentially devastating drama is the wreckage of Starfleet Headquarters on a screen as Sisko and Martok discuss the attack. Some might consider that a wasted opportunity (although if anybody says that this episode ducks dramatic opportunities is getting a slap around the face) but I think it is the perfect response to the Breen joining the war. We needed to see, swiftly and terribly, what the Breen are capable of. But this show isn’t called Star Trek: Earth, it’s called Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which means the budget and the set pieces need to be saved for the plots and characters that we care about. They save the money for the devastating attack on the Defiant at the climax and that was a smart move. After showing the effect the Breen can have on the Quadrant, then the writers show the effect they can have on our heroes.

Prophecies of death and destruction on Bajor. An attack on Earth. Space battles. Revolution on Cardassia. The scope here is huge, unheard of anywhere else in Trek.

Character – In amongst all the huge plot developments that are taking place in this episode are a wealth of character nuggets that make all the plot turns count. I love Bashir’s insistence of how glad he is that Ezri is safe reminds us (at least once an episode in this final arc) that he is completely in love with her (and how awkward is it when he has to look Worf in the eye and embarrassingly admit he’s glad he is safe too). Martok admires the Breen for having the nuts to take on Earth’s defences. Weyoun is practically foaming at the mouth at the thought that the Federation has been made to feel weak and vulnerable. We learn one vital thing about Sisko here: nobody touches his peppers. After all the sitcom madness of the last three episodes, Ezri and Worf have emerged as great friends and have a gorgeous, relaxed chemistry. Worf insults Bashir knowing it will piss off Ezri and she defiantly defends him – they both banter with a twinkle in their eye. Solbor constantly looks at Dukat as though he has just bitten down on a cyanide pill. You know he is marked for death the second he disapproved of him. Listen to the witty banter between this crew on the Defiant as they take the ship through its pre-launch checks; it is a well-oiled crew acting as professionals but also behaving like people. ‘That’s what happens when you share your toys’ is one of the best ever Kira lines. Weyoun’s reaction to the Defiant being destroyed is priceless.

Sisko and Kassidy face the first kink in their marriage here where (in the wake of the devastating attack on Earth and uncertainty for the future) Sisko attempts to interfere with her career in order to keep her safe. I love Kassidy’s gumption and how she never takes any shit from the man she loves. It’s her way or no way when it comes to her career. He’s man enough to admit when he is wrong. The look they share when he realises he is heading into battle that might potentially separate them forever (and nearly does) is a great character beat.

Damar is one of the characters that the writers consider to be one of their greatest success stories and I can understand why. From Dukat’s lackey with a few lines to the man who determines the entire future shape of the Quadrant, he goes on an incredible and surprising journey. At the beginning of season six where he fights with Kira and kills Ziyal you would have thought he was irredeemable…well this is DS9 and the writers simply take that as a challenge to somehow make him a vital player in the Dominion War. They have to knock him down (he sinks into alcoholism) in order to build him up again. The fact that he does so knowing that he will probably die and he will sacrifice many of his own people by taking on the Dominion makes his stance all the braver. Casey Biggs plays the character perfectly, Damar is a man with fake confidence behind he is hiding in the shadow of greater men and when the spotlight is on him he crumbles…and he has to take him to a very dark place in order for him to really look at himself and start fighting back. When he makes his speech at the end of this episode it is played with the uncertainty of a man who has always been a number two and is now thrust into the limelight as a hero (or a terrorist, depending on your point of view). His last scene with Weyoun is especially wonderful because he exudes a quiet confidence knowing that that tables are going to turn soon but Weyoun misreads the situation completely thinking that he has a newfound self-assurance in the Dominion. After months of insulting Damar, Weyoun is about to get a sharp shock. How satisfying.

How glorious to be able to spend so much time in the company of Marc Alaimo and Louise Fletcher and the relationship between Dukat and Winn is the most seductively loathsome thing in this entire 10 episode arc. Dukat is really starting to show his true colours; doing everything but licking Winn’s face with pleasure as he manipulates her and beating up her aide when he gets in his way and Winn is so drunk on the possibilities of power that the Pah Wraiths will offer her that she can’t see straight anymore. Together their scenes are a real highlight, two marvellous villains chewing up the scenery and making every other performance seem less colourful as a result. You can’t top two monsters like this who are snogging one minute and murdering the next.

Performance – I’d say Casey Biggs tops this one, who has to given an impassioned but uncertain speech to the Cardassian people at the end of the episodes and makes it one of the most impressive moments in DS9’s entire run. Marc Alaimo is just behind, oily as he has ever been but seductively charming too.

Production – It’s quite an impressive rendering of Starfleet Headquarters in ruins with people milling about in desperation. I’ve seen CGI landscapes from Enterprise five years later that looked far less convincing.

At this point DS9 is juggling three Empires (the Federation, Bajor and Cardassia) and has plot threads taking place in three separate locations. It feels epic even though those plots are confined mostly to rooms (the matte paintings of Cardassia Prime at dusk and Bajor in brilliant sunshine help an awful lot). The art designer makes sure that each of these locations is distinctive visually and Mike Vejar keeps his camera moving and finding the most stimulating of shots. It’s one of the most ambitious and best-looking episodes of DS9. I especially like the lighting in the Bajor scenes, the passing of the day is judged by the sun streaming in through the windows at different intensities.

Best moment – The Breen attacking the Defiant at Chin’Toka is one of the show’s most impressive action set pieces because it manages to be both exciting, dynamic and personal. This is a ship we have seen through countless battles and it is taken out of action swiftly as though the Breen are swatting a fly. Vejar ensures there are enough fireworks taking place for the viewer to realise that this isn’t going to end well and as each system breaks down (the crew again are impressively in sync shouting out overlapping reports informing the Captain of how the ship is dying) and the CGI effects budget seems to have been saved for the heart-breaking final shot where the Defiant swings into view in the battle and is torn apart in what feels like slow motion. I’m not one of those people that comes to Trek for the hardware but this hurts, mostly because of the crews reaction (the look on Sisko’s face speaks volumes).

Damar’s speech and the crews reaction to it might just be the highlight of the entire run of DS9. It’s a powerful moment of transition, a pay off of great serialisation and all channelled through the characters. All the things that DS9 does so well. Weyoun’s reaction is the best.

A reason to watch this episode again – When I watch episodes like The Changing Face of Evil, I wonder how Voyager seasons six and seven and Enterprise seasons one and two turned out as they did because this is terrific example of a show that was taking risks in every direction, paying off long character and plot arcs and providing unexpected twists and turns. It’s fantastic television, not just fantastic Trek. The Changing Face of Evil takes three plots that have been bubbling away for three episodes already (Damar’s realisation that he has to fight the Dominion, Dukat seducing Kai Winn and the Dominion War itself and the introduction of the Breen to the conflict) and pays them off handsomely with a triple whammy of twists that play out one scene after another at the climax (the Defiant is destroyed, Winn discovers who Dukat is and Damar finally plays his hand). It’s breath-taking. Excellent writing. Excellent performances. Excellent direction. Excellent music. The franchise at its height.

***** out of *****

Clue for the next episode: