DS9 - Things Past

Plot – The conclusion that DS9 draws over and over again is that war is ugly and sometimes you have to get your hands dirty. I’ve summed up the show in a single sentence there but it tackles that huge theme in so many fascinating ways, from the psychological, to the emotional to the visceral. Characters that you would expect good things of (like Kira’s mother) turn out to be collaborators. People you would expect nothing of (like Quark) would give the Bajorans a little extra when doing business with them. The show began in the aftermath of a conflict, and spend a good few years showing what happens afterwards and how you heal the wounds and come to terms with what you did in that time. But at the same time it was setting up a war of its own and in its latter years it explores in some depth the lengths you have to go to to ensure that that you win. Things Past is at a fascinating cross roads between the two. Exploring the occupation has becomes a staple of the show now and in just a handful of episodes time the Dominion ships would come pouring through the wormhole. This is one of the last times the show would look back, before definitively looking forwards.

Character – Trust Garak to head to a Bajoran conference and for the Cardassian tailor to try and defend the occupation of their world. No wonder they gave him a name tag that said ‘Elim Garak, former Cardassian oppressor.’ Aside from Andrew Robinson’s usual charismatic presence, there really isn’t much point in having Garak here but perhaps the fact that he lights up the room every tine he appears is enough.

I love seeing Quark during the Occupation because we are so used to enjoying the company of this lovable rogue but during this time he was an exploitative and sadistic boss, selecting Bajoran slave workers to work in his establishment with little pay or rest. He comes off as sadistic and abusive. It’s ugly and unpleasant and feels very real.

Dukat has always been presented as a man who thinks he was doing a service to the Bajoran people and so it makes perfect sense that he would take a Bajoran woman into his confidence. This is a pre-cursor to us learning that eventually he took a Bajoran woman as his lover (and Kira’s mother, no less) and I’m sure he would never look at it this way but it almost feels as though he is trying to gain the acceptance he craves from the Bajoran people as a whole from the few women he chose to confide in. He’s not without charm or persuasiveness, that’s all part of the problem. You want to hate Dukat for everything that he represents, but he knows how to seduce.

Performance – The usually unflappable Odo is reduced to a man who is full of doubts and insecurities, and wanders through the episode finding menace in his own shadow. It’s a great chance for Rene Auberjonois to show what he is capable of and he seeds Odo with a disturbing nervous energy that all the other pick up and comment on. Just what is Odo hiding about this time that he doesn’t want his friends to find out about? In a moment of supreme psychological depth, Odo attempts to desperately plead with his younger self to examine the evidence in more detail and to realise that the three men who are about to sentenced to death are innocent. If only we all had that opportunity to go back and point ourselves in the right direction during our worst moments. I know the writers had an issue with Odo working for the Cardassians and the Bajorans as Chief of Security and this is the story that explicitly states that his need for order in a time when morals were less clean meant that he was (is) capable of morally questionable behaviour. ‘There is more to life than the rule of law,’ Odo implores to himself, with a desperate need to convince in his eyes. He’s learnt a lot since the Federation moved in and this episode throws a light on that too.

You only have to spend a few minutes with Kurtwood Smith’s Thrax to realise that there are disturbing similarities with Odo. It’s a stunning interpretation, albeit without any of the humour or sensitivities that make Odo such a likable character. The Odo during the occupation was a menacing character and Smith embodies that completely.

Great Dialogue – ‘How much damage would it do to the timeline if Quark were to suffer a little accident?’ ‘I don’t know but maybe we should conduct a little experiment.’

‘My heart is too big…’ ‘…and so is your ego.’

Production – How Levar Burton directs the sequences of the crewmembers in their comatose state gives the episode a Twilight Zone feel, it feels as if something very weird and off kilter is going on. How he has the station redressed and lit to bring the Occupation to life is worthy of comment too because this episode has a dark and dank visual style like no other in DS9. The lighting is especially atmospheric. This episode was jokingly titled ‘A Nightmare on Odo street’ by Burton and you can see why, some of the imagery is haunting and frightening. Odo bumping into the corpses of the men who he had murdered is a very effective moment.

Best moment – The public execution sequences with Odo watching on dispassionately is one of the darkest moments in all of DS9. And given how much this show spends in the shadows, that is quite a statement.

The final scene, mirroring a much stronger moment in Necessary Evil but still extremely powerful, features Kira trying to come to terms with the fact that Odo wasn’t quite the man she thought she was. If it was anybody else, this scene wouldn’t have the impact that it does. But because their friendship has been built up throughout the series and because it has been gently implied that he has feelings for her, this scene is loaded with subtext.

A reason to watch this episode again – I never quite know what to think about Things Past because it is an episode that comes along when DS9 is at the height of its powers (look in one direction and you can see Trials and Trbble-ations and the other and you can see In Purgatory’s Shadow) and it has all the requisite elements that I consider to be essential for this show; superb performances, a dark tone, morally ambiguity, terrific art direction, witty lines and sense that we are really getting into the heads of the central characters. Literally in this case and that might be a part of my problem. Because (technically) none of this ever happened it is basically an extended therapy session for Odo with no real consequences for anybody else. If the characters were aware they were in his head then there would be no drama at all but instead they present the story as a mystery and as though they really are on Terok Nor in the past. Once the twist reveal hits, I’m always left thinking ‘excuse me?’ But this is a character assassination of Odo and so there’s bound to plenty of worth involved, and it features a stunning turn from Rene Auberjonois. Garak is in on the fun, Dukat turns up and as slimier than ever and Levar Burton delivers some of his best ever direction. Whatever I think of the premise, there is plenty to enjoy.

***1/2 out of *****

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