Did Dukat Stall?

[Photon]

Did he stall about trying to bring down the cloaked mines . He had months and Carddies are very resourceful. It seems he was relishing in being the big dog back on Terok Nor and didn't want the masses of Jem ships parading through the WH so fast.
Just throwin' out there for food for thought

 

[Dancing Doctor]

That would fit in with his mentality.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

It certainly didn't help that he gave the task to a Dominion-loathing drunk.

 

[Navaros]

Interesting nuance you bring up there, Photon. Now that I think about what you said, I'm sure you are right. Dukat probably thought in his mind that by keeping the minefield up, the taking back of Terok Nor reflects better on glory for himself personally and Cardassia rather than glory for the Dominion.

In addition to this, of couse his arrogance also played a part in his inaction about the minefield. But that is the more obvious thing to notice; it's very cool when different people notice different layers about what is going on in the show. To think that secondary characters on a show have such nuances, it's shocking by "conventional TV wisdom". No wonder DS9 is such a great show.

 

[Anthony Sabre]

Been awhile since I've seen the episode, but didn't he and Damar share a conspiratorial conversation about stalling so that Cardassia could show it was strong enough to take on the alliance, w/o additional Dominion forces?

 

[All Seeing Eye]

I don't think he was stalling, Dukat genuinely seemed to find it difficult to take it down and Damar was very happy when he finally worked out how to do it, Dukat wanted victory against Sisko and the Federation above all else and knew they needed the Jem reinforcements as soon as possible in order to do it.

 

[Hermiod]

I am not sure. I can't believe that an intelligent man like Dukat would believe that the Cardassian Union would stand a chance against the Dominion if they had free access to the wormhole.

Remember, he made a number of comments to Damar suggesting that he wasn't planning for Cardassia to remain allies with the Dominion forever.

 

[scorpius1701]

In the novelization of these episodes, DUkat is shown not only a stalling for time so that he can keep Cardassia important, but he also delays attacking the Defiant so the mines can be put up in the first place. The aired episodes never mentioned this but i thought it was a really interesting nuance and kept the shades of grey alive in the show.

 

[shatastrophic]

IMO, he didn't stall. All he wanted to do was something that would personally rectify that he wasn't in charge of Terok Nor. He was never happy about leaving there. He thirsted for power and to, well as he said it best "a true victory is to make your enemies realize they were wrong to oppose you in the first place, to make them acknowledge your greatness." He was going to make those who were responsible for ousting him, and those who took his place, realize who they were messing with. Sure he sold out Cardassia to the Dominon, sure he made barbs to Damar about not fully appreciating the Dominon and Weyoun once they were partners, but in the end he was going to do whatever it took to make Bajor, and Sisko "understand" his greatness and that he is to be respected. He was going to tell anyone listening what they wanted to hear as long as he stood self justified for being rejected. In the end he was a sore loser and that was his downfall.

 

[erastus25]

In the novelization of these episodes, DUkat is shown not only a stalling for time so that he can keep Cardassia important, but he also delays attacking the Defiant so the mines can be put up in the first place. The aired episodes never mentioned this but i thought it was a really interesting nuance and kept the shades of grey alive in the show.

I think that would make Cardassia less important. By blocking the Dominion and basically either fighting the Feds to a standstill or losing ground, only to be bailed out by reinforcements, would imply that Cardassia couldn't handle things on their own.

 

[scorpius1701]

The idea was that the Dominion would be forced to rely on Cardassia for a period of time, solidifying them as allies. Dukat had hoped that the available ships would be enough. Remember too that initially, the Cardassians were doing very well.