Was Garak an evil character, or a shade of grey?

[indolover]

I think life is more complex than labelling people as good or evil, but DS9 is art and in most artistic works there are protagonists/heroes vs. villains. Sisko obviously is the hero/protagonist, and Dukat (plus Weyoun and the Female Changeling) is the villain.

But Garak, I'm not sure. I think Garak is the opposite of Dukat in some ways. Dukat could do good things, when needed. He loved his people, loved his daughter, etc. But the bad things, such as overseeing the rape of Bajor, wanting to destroy the Federation and joining with the Dominion, seeking to destroy Sisko via the Pah Wraiths, etc. Garak on the other hand was willing to help the Federation fight against technically his own people, was a good friend to Dr. Bashir, etc. He could kill when needed, but not in a sociopathic or wanton way.

What say you, is Garak evil?

 

[Galileo7]

What say you, is Garak evil?

No

 

[TedShatner10]

I would say he was the very definition of shades of grey: he had a very scary, murky past, and it sometimes bubbled up to the surface, and he was more inclined to kill in cold blood than the other "good guys", but essentially towards a good cause.

 

[AJBryant]

I agree with Galileo.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I would say he was the very definition of shades of grey...

I'm w/ you, TedShatner.

 

[Kai Winn]

I think life is more complex than labelling people as good or evil, but DS9 is art ...

art? in a way. much of it is also absurd. what we can learn from garak is that evil is good if it serves the cause of good, and godawful smalltalk raises your pain treshold if you learn to tolerate it.

 

[Tosk]

Garak was grey in every way possible.

But seriously...like many people, he may have done evil things, but he himself was not evil. (IMO)

 

[DonIago]

Garak was a Cardassian patriot. He was "good" because he ended up aligned with Our Heroes. If he'd supported the Dominion annexation of Cardassia he would have been "Bad". Anytime the Fed's interests didn't align with Cardassian interests he became shadier because he had his own agenda.

 

[Myasishchev]

He was pretty nasty. He attempted genocide twice. Not that he wasn't evidently good company.

 

[Bob Karo]

He was pretty nasty. He attempted genocide twice.

Not toward humans. That has to count for something.

 

[Gul Re'jal]

^Not, if you were non-human.

Genocide is genocide, doesn't matter who's the candidate.

Garak was every possible shade of grey. With a smile

 

[Roboturner913]

Certainly not evil.

Toward the end I really began to love Garak. In a lot of ways he was a very admirable character. Strong-willed, willing to do what had to be done no matter what hurt it caused him personally. I think out of the last 2-3 seasons Garak was the one character who really grew.

 

[C_Miller]

He was pretty nasty. He attempted genocide twice.

Not toward humans. That has to count for something.

And that is why dehumanization is such a massive step towards genocide. In every genocide throughout human history one of the first signs is the agressor trying to dehumanize the out-group. It happend with the armenians, the Jews, the Serbs, the Kurds, ect, ect.

 

[indranee]

He was complex and complicated. Just like Dukat. Well, maybe Dukat was a tad more "pure evil".

 

[DS9 Gal AZ]

Garak was gray in every way. Everything about him was ambiguous and mysterious - just the way I liked it!

 

[MHT1138]

Garak was not pure evil. Sometimes his interests lined up with the Federations, sometimes they lined up with the Cardassian government, sometimes they lined up with the Cardassian people. And very occasionally all three I hope that wasn't too simplistic of an explanation. Garak's motivations is an interesting topic.

 

[Supernuke]

Yeah I agree. Garak was a man who looked out for himself. The Federation helped protect him from his past for most of the series, but by the end he's back fighting for Cardassia in a different way. His character was one of the most complex on the show, but he definitely had good intentions for the portion of his life we see on screen. We know that he has done things in his past that he cannot handle anymore. We see this in the episode where Tain orders him to torture Odo and he struggles with the decision. Garak is changed by his time on DS9, but not so much so that he forgets who he was and what he really cares about. He does lose a taste for his past, though and I think at the end he is trying to make amends for the things that he did. He is definitely the most complex character on the show.

 

[TheGodBen]

I think that Garak can be accurately described as being #4B4B4B.

Not toward humans. That has to count for something.

In that same way that the KKK not being racist towards white Protestants has to stand for something.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I think that deep down he did believe in justice though he did have a very cynical nature.

Definitely a gray character.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Was Garak pure evil? I don't think so. But I do not believe the man had a conscience--at least not one that he acknowledged most of the time. The only time I ever thought I saw him face his conscience was after he went on that drug-fueled rampage on Empok Nor. I think he started to wonder if that was his true, essential nature. Maybe, maybe again after Cardassia was destroyed (and so much of his identity was tied to that, that I think he saw himself and it as almost being part of the same soul). But other than that? No conscience, no mercy.