Duet
- Thread starter Willieck
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"Duet" is the perfect example of why DS9, IMO, is the best Trek. Great writing, great acting, great everything. I believe Nana Visitor still answers "Duet" when asked what episode of DS9 is her favorite/that she's most proud of.
Its possibly my favorite episode from any series. I've never been a huge DS9 fan, the idea of lengthy plot arcs just didn't make me happy. But that is without any doubt better than most shows which bill themselves as dramas.
This episode absolutely brings me to tears...poor Marritza. He too was a victim of Gallitep, and then of racism. 
(I ended up writing an AU Marritza into my alternate Cardassia fanfic series, because I wanted so much to give this guy a second chance!)
(I ended up writing an AU Marritza into my alternate Cardassia fanfic series, because I wanted so much to give this guy a second chance!)
Duet is indeed very well written and one of the best eps IMO.
Not much more to add, but the moment when Marritza starts crying - the moment his ever more desperate "I'm the evil Gul Darhe'el!!" act breaks down entirely (and he breaks down entirely) is one of my "favourite" moments on TV. Definitely on my top 5 list for scenes that made me emotional, and emotionally involved. That moment when he starts crying is just perfectly portrayed.
Feel free to ignore this if you like...but I just finished a drawing of what Marritza could've been like in a universe where he would've been more able to function...
http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=131782
http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=131782
I cry everytime Maritza breaks down at the end of the episode. It's just such a powerful story; so well written and acted; it's dark and it doesn't have a bright happy ending. Not only that, but it's also a very DS9 kind of story in that it benefits from playing off other episodes earlier in the season (Dukat returns from "Emissary", Kira mentions Sisko's powerful speech to her in "Progress"). I love the complex endings of a lot of those Peter Allan Fields episodes ("Dax", "Progress", "Duet" "Necessary Evil"); they always end on a question or a moment that lingers. And the cameo inclusion of Neela is a nice setup for "In the Hands of the Prophets". In fact I've always felt like "Duet" - "The Siege" are a kind of 5 episode mini-arc of DS9.
i don't whinge about duet, not quite as perfect as the visitor, but close. two things i found a bit confusing, marritza can't seriously have tought his darheel guise won't be disclosed, the most superficial investigation revealed his identity. so, why make the bajorans believe they caught the big bad guy, only to find out he's a minor clerk on a suicide-sacrifice mission? if i were a bajoran, i would assume that's a plot to paint the bajorans as racists, and believers in kin-liability. seems to be counter-productive to his agenda. and why did sisko assign kira to investigate following her insisting request? odo is the man with that job on ds9, he's qualified, and he's not biased. are there no laws in the 24th century protecting the rights of the individual?
I suppose, given what we know from later episodes about Cardassian justice, Marritza may not have realized there would be a long investigative phase. Remember, where he comes from, the sentence is determined at the start of the trial; an outcome left to chance and lawyers' skill may not have been something he was fully prepared for. He probably expected to be declared guilty very quickly, and I'm not sure, from what we've seen of the character, that the idea of racist Bajorans would occur to him since he saw everything through the prism of his own feelings of guilt and shame.
As to assigning Kira the investigation of Marritza, I'd say that was a plot device, more than anything, to get those two talking, because of the effect that Marritza could have on Kira that he could not have on Odo.
As to assigning Kira the investigation of Marritza, I'd say that was a plot device, more than anything, to get those two talking, because of the effect that Marritza could have on Kira that he could not have on Odo.
That's what I said, that the sentencing and everything is announced at the start of the trial.
Again, a good reason why Marritza might not think to expect a detailed investigation that would actually pay attention to reasons that he was not Darhe'el.
Again, a good reason why Marritza might not think to expect a detailed investigation that would actually pay attention to reasons that he was not Darhe'el.
Really? When? I don't remember that...
I like Duet waaay better than The Visitor. But Kira is the second in command, if she wasn't capable of being objective, she couldn't have done the job. Everyone slips up at times. But she she knew a ton about the Cardassians and the Occupation, and had the responsibility to look beyond race to actual crimes- which she did in the end.
He was featured in a story called "The Guide."
He also appears as a minor character in a story I co-authored with Gul Re'jal, The Lightless Ends of the World.
There is a link to a thread where I posted a drawing of AU Marritza, as well, earlier in this thread.
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