"Cardassians"
(Oh, boy...Garak's worst outfit. Thank goodness that's not a forecast as to the content of the episode, for the most part.)
Please know from the start that while I really respect Una McCormack as a writer, I simply cannot draw the same conclusions that she did from this episode, when she wrote
The Never-Ending Sacrifice. And that is a good thing: this one definitely makes you think.
From the very beginning, we know that something is very, very wrong with Rugal, that he--a
teenager--would actually bite someone. Something about his upbringing is very much not right. And I guess I approach this like Cardassian literature: someone is guilty. We need to know who it is. Unfortunately, it's Dukat who makes the correct point here, which is not good considering what we'll find out about Dukat...
There are definitely some security leaks aboard DS9--both Garak and Quark, now that we know
It seems to me that Proka is raising his child to hate Cardassians. While I think historical accuracy is important, if it's crossed the line into instilling self-loathing, failure to deal adequately with bullying, or physical abuse, as the freighter captain alleged, that is completely unacceptable. And to me, we at least have evidence of verbal and psychological abuse, judging from Proka saying, "They won't hurt you--they're humans, not
Cardassians." And then we find out that he's been taught it's something
bad to be a Cardassian.
Now, did anyone hear any results from a physical or psychological exam, which I would have expected as part of a thorough investigation? We have a brief allusion to finding "no evidence" of the freighter captain's claims, but if the claims of physical abuse were indeed dispelled (possible) that does
not rule out the psychological abuse for which I think we saw sufficient evidence right onscreen. Not to mention what a thorough psychological exam would've revealed!
Something that
is interesting about this episode is trying to figure out what Garak's motivation here: getting back at Dukat, or helping the children. Admittedly I tend to be on the skeptical side and I think he's just getting back at Dukat...except for that moment when he appears genuinely shocked and saddened by the Cardassian orphans. That was one emotion that I believed to be genuine.
As for O'Brien...he shouldn't have made that really awful, racist remark. But does Keiko not realize she engaged in her own form of racism by assuming Rugal would automatically like Cardassian food, which he is
not at all accustomed to, and probably taught to hate?
At least we did see O'Brien have to realize it was wrong. And I wonder if part of him was remembering Glinn Daro.
Then Pa'Dar enters the picture and we get into a really tricky dilemma where neither option is good. If there's one thing I think is true about Pa'Dar, it's that he truly cares for his son, though he's (understandably) idealistic about the psychological damage Rugal has suffered. And he blames himself horribly for what happened. When he sees Rugal, his eyes and features almost remind me of Tekeny Ghemor. You can see how terrible he feels. And he is willing to accept Sisko's decision--to take that risk even knowing that Bajor and the Federation are allied. Politics just don't matter to him and it seems to me he's willing to do
anything for his son.
Morally, I don't think sending Rugal back to Cardassian territory is right. Going from a free world to an oppressed one isn't right and should be opposed. The Cardassian Union as it exists during the DS9 era is
not a good place--one that tortures its own citizens. And Rugal in particular would be a particularly likely victim.
Yet to my mind, sending him back to Proka wouldn't have been acceptable either given the obvious evidence of psychological abuse.
However...I think there's a solution that could have worked, but it rests on the fact that Pa'Dar is willing to do anything without regard for his political career or any other matter of personal reputation. I think if Rugal was his only son, and his wife was killed in the attack, he could have been convinced to take up residence in Federation or Bajoran territory to raise his son. That would have ensured both a father who actually loved his son
unconditionally, and an environment where Rugal would not have to fear torture by the authorities.
(Set glitch: Why were the Bajoran/Cardassian computer displays in the orphanage in English while Garak was reading them?)
From a character standpoint, we see our first flash of the darker, more mature Bashir, when he shuts down the engines of the runabout and pushes Garak to answer his questions. I'm sure the power of that scene influenced how his character developed.
And of course we have some awesome acting from Marc Alaimo. "Oh, think of the children!" Oh, how slimy he comes off there. Very well done!
)
