2x08
"Necessary Evil"
"I misjudged you, Major. You were a better liar than I gave you credit for."
-Odo
What words of inspiration can I muster to start this one off? The review was postponed because it was the first episode I really felt I needed to watch twice in addition to doing all my homework via various research sites afterward. It's brilliantly directed, features a strong musical score, shows off the best acting since the Bajoran trilogy, the writing is crisp and introspective... rest assured, "Necessary Evil" is a winner.
As the episode begins, we see a woman whose hairstyle and attire appear strangely dated; her stance beside a window during a thunderstorm all seems a bit old-school in execution. At first glance I thought it underwhelming, but as the hour progressed I steadily began to realize that so very much of the production form used here is 40's noir at its finest. In the first of many proclamations that she is innocent of a murder -- something I'd like to note is very relevant to the plot and execution, and clever -- we hear a haunting melody played in the background, something else we'll be exposed to routinely. We soon learn she's holding a conversation with Quark, who is tasked with the retrieval of a box from the spot on Deep Space Nine where her husband once ran a shop, five years ago when the station was known instead as Terok Nor...
The first act opens to something quite entertaining: Commander Sisko has requested that Constable Odo begin a daily log of law enforcement affairs. Odo spends the majority of the short message explaining his views on why Sisko sees it as necessary despite his objections, and the dialogue here is really quite funny. When Odo gets to the part in which he'd actually begin recording, a very simple 'everything's under control' is all he mentions. Not only does this set something up that will be recurring throughout the episode -- the security chief (detective) running a log (musing to himself during a case) in another nod to noir, but it's also a fine scene on its own.
As the lights go out for the day on the Promenade, Quark and Rom stealthily go about searching for the box Quark had been requested to retrieve. This scene is rather important in the grand scheme of things: it's the first time we're ever fully exposed to the notion that Rom may be significantly more intelligent than he lets on. It's also regarding mechanical contraptions and expertise, too, so it fits in perfectly with the development of his character throughout the seasons. Quark is thoroughly stupefied by his brother's know-how, and responds the only way he knows how to: threateningly. The box is successfully taken out, and ever-the-schemer, Quark opens it with the intent of resealing it before delivery. A list of eight Bajoran names on a piece of paper; hardly compelling merchandise for a Ferengi. Rom is sent to fetch something, and a man emerges from the shadows; sent by the woman from the teaser, Vaatrik Pallra, he'd been ordered to kill Quark if he opened the box. Quark is soon shot, the box's list is taken by the man, and Rom is flipping out.
Things progress routinely for a time, and a fount of good dialogue continues. Odo accuses Rom of being smarter than he looks, for example, but Rom vehemently refuses; this is the kind of stuff that gets me going, but only when surrounded by a more serious, gripping overarching plot. Soon enough, Rom is pressured into divulging the nature of the brothers' goings-on, and when he mentions the list was 'found' in what used to be the chemist's shop during the Occupation, Odo is visibly moved. Rom takes Odo to the spot, and the first of several flashbacks hits us.
These flashbacks are largely the hallmark of "Necessary Evil", and for good reason. Everything about them is handled superbly and altogether, they flesh out a new layer of depth in the show, letting us eager viewers glimpse into the station's past and the first meetings between various characters who had already been there before the time of "Emissary" the previous year. The dark, brooding environment that is Terok Nor comes through flawlessly, its harsh treatment of the Bajoran slave workers under one Gul Dukat enough to send a shivers down spines. Immediately into the first flashback, it's apparent that a separate filming style is used here: a silvery blue hue seems to saturate the imagery slightly, and it's a great touch. The noir continues.
It's five years ago, and Odo is an outsider here on Terok Nor. Far from the cunning constable, his eyes dart to and fro nervously. He's settled minor disputes between Bajoran workers since running away from the lab he was kept in on Bajor, his keen sense of justice without bias almost as well-known among certain circles as the 'Cardassian neck trick' he's been made to perform is among Cardassians. In short, he's not at all like the Odo we as viewers are accustomed to, and I write this all here for one simple reason: it's conveyed beautifully throughout the flashback. Gul Dukat would speak with him of enlistment in solving a recent murder, his personality seemingly rather unchanged in the years since the scene. Odo is quite hesitant to get involved, but made to do so when Dukat reveals the alleged fact that his superiors would have him round up ten Bajorans and kill them instead of find out who murdered the man, and that he's offering Odo a chance to get around that. It's a chilling line and Alaimo nails it. Odo's meeting with the dead man's widow reveals a man completely unsure with himself in this first of many investigations, who nevertheless manages to do a better job than most humanoids. The woman believes another female her late husband had been having an affair with is responsible, points her out, and it's... Kira.
There's a lot to like as the episodes moves forward, but once again I find myself skipping by necessity for brevity's sake. The investigation continues, and then another, much-welcomed flashback: Odo and Kira at first meeting. Kira immediately accuses the shapeshifter of attempting to solicit sexual relations; even now, ragged and dire, the young woman is fierce and bold. The direction by James Conway shines; the close-ups are well-shot and the atmosphere of the Bajoran ghetto is appropriately grim.
The investigation in present-time also continues. Through an entertaining 'think back, come on now' kind of sequence, Rom remembers the first name on the list he and his brother retrieved. The name isn't exactly right, but close: Kira manages to get it right rather quickly indeed. Meanwhile, Odo presses Vaatrik Pallra for further information, but she's not particularly forthcoming. The web of intrigue grows ever-tangled as Kira informs Odo the man they'd gotten a positive ID on has recently died. Something doesn't add up, though. Kira was awfully quick in bringing forward such information, and making the leap from an incorrect name to a proper one; it all seems a bit suspicious. It's worth noting that no lines of dialogue directly hammer that over our heads, though. This is as good a time as any to bring up what is so commendable about this script: it doesn't treat its viewers like children. Picture, if you will, the average script making its point here:
Average script: Kira is caught off-guard and stumbles for words when Odo asks her how she acquired this information so fast and how her 'connections' she mentions came through for her. She makes something up on the fly, the camera races to Nana Visitor's face and eerie music plays in the background. The viewer now knows something crucial. The episode continues as per normal.
The script for "Necessary Evil": Rene Auberjonois makes a slight eye motion at the sight of Kira's ease of access to such information and in such a timely manner. The episode continues as per normal.
Subtlety. Subtlety, subtlety, subtlety. Perceptive viewers are now alerted to something devious; imperceptive viewers will not be. Some television scriptwriters wouldn't know subtlety if it were hit upside their heads; Peter Allan Fields is not one of them, and I have a feeling I'm going to miss him when he departs the show at the end of this second season.
Another flashback! It's Odo and Quark. Anyone who's followed my reviews up until this point knows I can't resist every opportunity to bring up their terrific dynamic, so it should come as no surprise that when Quark's first words to Odo inquire if the 'owner of this establishment owes him money', and doesn't reveal that he is, in fact, said owner, I was giggling madly. What's great here is that going into the scene, Odo is treating Quark with a neutral fairness, yet within moments he's grabbing the Ferengi by his shirt threateningly. Ah, the beginnings. On that note, there's a strong link as the flashback ends; Quark is laughing (so is Dukat, for that matter, but I only bring this up because it's funny) and then we're brought back to the present, and Dax sees Odo and proclaims that it looks like he just lost his best friend. The implication is Quark, and the desire to ensure he's still among the living. What a relationship those two do have.
We soon learn the eight Bajoran names are those of collaborators. These people sold vital information about resistance networks and the like to the Cardassians during the Occupation in exchange for comfort and coin. As Odo plans to bring Pallra in for questioning, his logs continue. The private, introspective musings continue. The noir continues. And then another flashback. And during this decisive scene between the Kira and Odo of five years past -- Kira's alibi cracked when Quark had revealed she hadn't been with him the previous night as she'd claimed -- I suddenly forget all the good acting Nana Visitor has brought to the table up until now, because she's never been better. Odo claims she's a bad liar, and Visitor's Kira visibly shatters, utters a meager 'thanks' and it's damn good acting. The kind I only hope I can get within miles of if I pursue a career in it. And a recurring statement from the younger Kira -- that regardless of his self-proclaimed neutrality during these proceedings, he'd have to choose sides, Cardassian or Bajoran -- is made once more. Kira now states the so-called 'truth' Odo would believe for the next five years, that she was responsible for a sub-nucleonic strike on an ore-mining facility the previous evening, and that's why she'd lied before, and though in retrospect she's lying even now, she's doing a much better job of it. Dukat enters, and Odo chooses sides. He won't let her be taken by the Cardassians. He lets her go.
More shenanigans in real-time. Trazko, the man who had been sent to shoot Quark when this all began, returns to finish the job before the Ferengi awakens. Thankfully, Rom is on the scene this time, and his absolutely hilarious screeching alerts Odo in time to apprehend the intruder. There's yet another awesome bit here and anyone who has recently seen the episode knows where I'm going with this: Rom stops screeching when he's told he's a hero, then Max Grodenchik's excellent acting shows us a sudden change in expression as he realizes this means he doesn't get the bar, and then he screeches again. Silly? Yes. Superfluous? Maybe. Hilarious? Oh yes. And Vaatrik Pallra makes her arrival, feigns ignorance to Trazko's presence, and remains adamant she didn't kill her husband five years ago. She stares at Kira; another hint instead of mallet concerning the true killer. Odo surprises the both of them. He says he knows that now. Kira is shocked.
And the last scene begins. No doubt my longest review thus far concludes on the most memorable part of an episode that stands up to close scrutiny. Kira asks Odo when he figured it out; Odo explains that when she had acquired information on the first name on the list so fast, the possibility had occurred to him. Here, the payoff for the observant viewer, and the eye-opener for the less so. He goes on; once he knew the eight names were collaborators, the murder made perfect sense. Kira is floored. She's accused of having been sent to murder him; that isn't true. She murdered him, alright, but she did so because he walked in on her searching for the list as she'd been sent to do. And Dukat? Dukat had Odo get involved because he couldn't risk doing so, himself: the man Vaatrik was his direct link to the collaborators. Kira solemnly, quietly, distantly asks Odo if he'll ever be able to trust her the same way again. In a better answer than any real answer could have provided, Odo simply does not give her one. And we fade out.
Nothing more needs be said.
Rating: 10/10
