Intendant Kira. Yum.
Sorry, I can't be more articulate than that. Hats of to Nana Visitor though.
Sorry, I can't be more articulate than that. Hats of to Nana Visitor though.
I've returned to Deep Space Nine...
- Thread starter Quinton O'Connor
- Start date
Oh, yes. I was pleasantly surprised by Visitor's performance. I always remembered being wowed by it, but part of me figured maybe that's because I was of a certain influential age last time I watched. Now I know for sure the actress is just stellar.
Influential age, heh.
2x24
"The Collaborator"
"Relax, Quark. No one's accusing you of anything."
"The day's still young."
-Odo and Quark
"The Collaborator" is an impressive piece of work, using every opportunity to showcase the horrors of war and the less black-and-white aspects of the Occupation of Bajor. Kira's investigation is somewhat pedestrian, and the question of Bareil's guilt or innocence seems a bit forced and predictable. Despite a few shortcomings, though, this remains a strong episode and well worth a watch to see several characters grow.
It's the eve of the election of Bajor's new Kai, finally giving us some answers as to where things are headed in that department some thirty-plus episodes after Opaka's effective demise from the series' plotlines. Given his inherent popularity and probably his place in the downfall of The Circle earlier in the year, Vedek Bareil is a fan favorite for the position, but the return of Vedek Winn (and the welcome return of the talented Louise Fletcher) promises to upset the balance. Over the course of the hour, a tangled web of evidence will lead to the implication of Bareil as a possible collaborator -- a big-time collaborator at that -- during the occupation. Good stuff.
I like Bareil's orb experiences strewn throughout the episode. It's an interesting teaser, starting with his recurring character instead of anyone else. The first-rate direction of these insights is great; returning is the unique visual style of the visions as we've seen a few times in the past, and the eerie quality of the subject matter is well-crafted. The parallels in his quest from within to the goings-on of the investigation adds a certain level of vitality to the proceedings that wouldn't exist without them. Scenes that may have otherwise dragged are renewed as acute viewers keep tabs on everything. Kai Opaka coming into the fold is stunning, and it's great to have her actress back even if just briefly. I still don't understand the logic behind her departure in "Battle Lines" from a behind-the-scenes perspective, but it opened up things like this so I suppose it's worth it in the end.
The rest of the episode is somewhat mixed in delivery, but there's more than enough quality to keep "The Collaborator" above water, although I found much of it a little slow and plodding. I like how Kira's relationship with Bareil has developed, and her discovery that her lover may have been a collaborator is handled especially well thanks in large part to her behavior toward one Kubus Oak, collaborator, earlier in the hour. The deep, steady resentment toward anyone who would dare work with the Cardassians during the brutal rape of her world leads Kira to a dark corner upon the (admittedly predictable, but still intriguing) revelation that Vedek Bareil himself may have been involved in such unsavory activities.
There's a lot of heart here, and a lot of deep meanings. At one point, Odo brings up how the worst of situations can cause anyone to do the most terrible things. Not only is this, given his and Kira's shared look, likely a nod to the incredible "Necessary Evil", but it's also a very interesting statement to be making in a series that gets pretty damn dark as it goes on. It's a terrific line to look back on in light of such pieces as "Nor the Battle to the Strong", "In the Pale Moonlight" and "The Siege of AR-558" in the coming years. Speaking of Odo, there's also the often-cited genesis of the reveal of his true feelings for Kira, and it's a fun fact that writer Gary Holland never intended for things to appear that way. Rene Auberjonois' choice in acting the part led to rampant fan speculation, and the producers ran with it from there.
The tension in Winn's scenes with Kira and a standout scene with Sisko is completely justified and things would have felt incorrect otherwise. It's a good follow-up to "In the Hands of the Prophets" and continues to paint an unfavorable portrait of the scheming woman. It's great to finally see her again after her subtle move wayward of Jaro Essa's Circle, and it's very interesting and shows that Deep Space Nine wasn't totally afraid of the s-word (serialized) even in its founding seasons that she should be given the role of Kai.
Of course, the true star of the episode is Kira. Nana Visitor seems almost infallible in her continuing believability; the character has always been wonderful, but the actress has always been the most impressive piece of the puzzle here. As Kira is put through the wringer, Visitor successfully showcases a woman who doesn't want to connect the dots for fear of unearthing something profoundly disturbing, but must persevere for the good of Bajor. As I've already mentioned, seeing her so bitter and hateful toward a collaborator early on is a very wise thing for Holland to have done; seeing her shaken to her core at the prospect of Bareil being another, and being one of such magnitude, is outstanding television. Bareil's defense of the situation -- that he sacrificed forty-three lives to save twelve hundred -- is a frighteningly understandable kind of statement. The good of the many and all that.
Had "The Collaborator" ended on such a grim note, I think I might have liked it more. Make no mistake; I enjoy the insight into Opaka's character. The idea of Bareil withdrawing from the election and making the painful decision to go so far as to lie to Kira, all to protect Opaka, is a sound one. In theory, the turnabout that she was the one who made the decision, and the impact that she even sacrificed her own son in the process, should be thoroughly moving. To a point, it is, but the problem here is the execution.
I'm not fond of the execution in the last scenes because I've never rarely found the style of 'skipping something crucial to add momentum to a revelatory scene' particularly strong. What I mean is, Winn thanks Kira for doing her bit after Bareil withdraws, the moment is tense, Kira says something isn't quite right and she wants to see the records she'd been combing through again, and then... we fast-forward to a point in which Kira confronts Bareil with new evidence. I usually find this style a bit jarring; waiting for the Big Words (TM) to be uttered by the character we've otherwise been following the whole time seems gimmicky and a tad too cliche. So when Kira explains that she now knows Bareil was protecting Opaka's integrity, it's a good moment but it could have been that much better if paced somewhat differently. This kind of last-minute twist should have had a bit more to it. I expect that some might say this was the best way to go about doing things, and I'm willing to accept the style as something many enjoy, but for me it's detrimental.
"The Collaborator" is a quality episode with lots of future implications, chief among them how now-Kai Winn will develop down on Bajor and what antics she'll bring to the table. Bareil's visions, Odo's insights and Kira's personal struggle elevate it to a very respectable score, but some flimsy pacing particularly in its final few moments prevents it from securing a spot among the classics.
Rating: 8/10
"The Collaborator"
"Relax, Quark. No one's accusing you of anything."
"The day's still young."
-Odo and Quark
"The Collaborator" is an impressive piece of work, using every opportunity to showcase the horrors of war and the less black-and-white aspects of the Occupation of Bajor. Kira's investigation is somewhat pedestrian, and the question of Bareil's guilt or innocence seems a bit forced and predictable. Despite a few shortcomings, though, this remains a strong episode and well worth a watch to see several characters grow.
It's the eve of the election of Bajor's new Kai, finally giving us some answers as to where things are headed in that department some thirty-plus episodes after Opaka's effective demise from the series' plotlines. Given his inherent popularity and probably his place in the downfall of The Circle earlier in the year, Vedek Bareil is a fan favorite for the position, but the return of Vedek Winn (and the welcome return of the talented Louise Fletcher) promises to upset the balance. Over the course of the hour, a tangled web of evidence will lead to the implication of Bareil as a possible collaborator -- a big-time collaborator at that -- during the occupation. Good stuff.
I like Bareil's orb experiences strewn throughout the episode. It's an interesting teaser, starting with his recurring character instead of anyone else. The first-rate direction of these insights is great; returning is the unique visual style of the visions as we've seen a few times in the past, and the eerie quality of the subject matter is well-crafted. The parallels in his quest from within to the goings-on of the investigation adds a certain level of vitality to the proceedings that wouldn't exist without them. Scenes that may have otherwise dragged are renewed as acute viewers keep tabs on everything. Kai Opaka coming into the fold is stunning, and it's great to have her actress back even if just briefly. I still don't understand the logic behind her departure in "Battle Lines" from a behind-the-scenes perspective, but it opened up things like this so I suppose it's worth it in the end.
The rest of the episode is somewhat mixed in delivery, but there's more than enough quality to keep "The Collaborator" above water, although I found much of it a little slow and plodding. I like how Kira's relationship with Bareil has developed, and her discovery that her lover may have been a collaborator is handled especially well thanks in large part to her behavior toward one Kubus Oak, collaborator, earlier in the hour. The deep, steady resentment toward anyone who would dare work with the Cardassians during the brutal rape of her world leads Kira to a dark corner upon the (admittedly predictable, but still intriguing) revelation that Vedek Bareil himself may have been involved in such unsavory activities.
There's a lot of heart here, and a lot of deep meanings. At one point, Odo brings up how the worst of situations can cause anyone to do the most terrible things. Not only is this, given his and Kira's shared look, likely a nod to the incredible "Necessary Evil", but it's also a very interesting statement to be making in a series that gets pretty damn dark as it goes on. It's a terrific line to look back on in light of such pieces as "Nor the Battle to the Strong", "In the Pale Moonlight" and "The Siege of AR-558" in the coming years. Speaking of Odo, there's also the often-cited genesis of the reveal of his true feelings for Kira, and it's a fun fact that writer Gary Holland never intended for things to appear that way. Rene Auberjonois' choice in acting the part led to rampant fan speculation, and the producers ran with it from there.
The tension in Winn's scenes with Kira and a standout scene with Sisko is completely justified and things would have felt incorrect otherwise. It's a good follow-up to "In the Hands of the Prophets" and continues to paint an unfavorable portrait of the scheming woman. It's great to finally see her again after her subtle move wayward of Jaro Essa's Circle, and it's very interesting and shows that Deep Space Nine wasn't totally afraid of the s-word (serialized) even in its founding seasons that she should be given the role of Kai.
Of course, the true star of the episode is Kira. Nana Visitor seems almost infallible in her continuing believability; the character has always been wonderful, but the actress has always been the most impressive piece of the puzzle here. As Kira is put through the wringer, Visitor successfully showcases a woman who doesn't want to connect the dots for fear of unearthing something profoundly disturbing, but must persevere for the good of Bajor. As I've already mentioned, seeing her so bitter and hateful toward a collaborator early on is a very wise thing for Holland to have done; seeing her shaken to her core at the prospect of Bareil being another, and being one of such magnitude, is outstanding television. Bareil's defense of the situation -- that he sacrificed forty-three lives to save twelve hundred -- is a frighteningly understandable kind of statement. The good of the many and all that.
Had "The Collaborator" ended on such a grim note, I think I might have liked it more. Make no mistake; I enjoy the insight into Opaka's character. The idea of Bareil withdrawing from the election and making the painful decision to go so far as to lie to Kira, all to protect Opaka, is a sound one. In theory, the turnabout that she was the one who made the decision, and the impact that she even sacrificed her own son in the process, should be thoroughly moving. To a point, it is, but the problem here is the execution.
I'm not fond of the execution in the last scenes because I've never rarely found the style of 'skipping something crucial to add momentum to a revelatory scene' particularly strong. What I mean is, Winn thanks Kira for doing her bit after Bareil withdraws, the moment is tense, Kira says something isn't quite right and she wants to see the records she'd been combing through again, and then... we fast-forward to a point in which Kira confronts Bareil with new evidence. I usually find this style a bit jarring; waiting for the Big Words (TM) to be uttered by the character we've otherwise been following the whole time seems gimmicky and a tad too cliche. So when Kira explains that she now knows Bareil was protecting Opaka's integrity, it's a good moment but it could have been that much better if paced somewhat differently. This kind of last-minute twist should have had a bit more to it. I expect that some might say this was the best way to go about doing things, and I'm willing to accept the style as something many enjoy, but for me it's detrimental.
"The Collaborator" is a quality episode with lots of future implications, chief among them how now-Kai Winn will develop down on Bajor and what antics she'll bring to the table. Bareil's visions, Odo's insights and Kira's personal struggle elevate it to a very respectable score, but some flimsy pacing particularly in its final few moments prevents it from securing a spot among the classics.
Rating: 8/10
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Ooh, didn't know that part. Well thank you Rene Auberjonois for playing it that way. I loved Odo/Kira.
Yeah, so did I. Excellent couple with excellent chemistry brought to life by excellent actors in an excellent situation. I can't wait to start reviewing those later episodes. :P
2x25
"Tribunal"
"I regret that I have no teeth to offer your Bureau of Investigation."
-Odo
Miles O'Brien is about to start a vacation with Keiko, much-needed no doubt and no doubt his wife would agree. In a fun opening scene, the good chief is finding it very difficult to let go of his position for a few days, and he's effectively pushed out of Ops by Sisko and Dax. On his way to the runabout to meet his wife and depart the station, he bumps into an old friend from his time serving on the Rutledge -- Raymond Boone. They exchange pleasantries, and then Boone enters a secluded section and plays back O'Brien's name; he's recorded everything in their conversation. Cue opening credits.
"Tribunal" is a bit strange; it's exceedingly effective in several things it does, but its resolution leaves quite a bit to be desired, hurting the episode. Despite this significant shortcoming, which, had it been severely modified, could have propelled the hour into 9+ territory, this is still an episode that is immense in much of its proceedings.
Shortly into the beginning of their vacation together, which is well-played for all it's worth as, amusingly enough, Miles has brought some work along with him, the couple find their runabout boarded by Cardassians. Lo and behold, one of those Cardassians is Gul Evek, who I'm officially nominating for the award of Most Gets-Around Character of 2371.
"You have the right to refuse to answer questions, but such refusal may be construed as an act of guilt," Evek informs O'Brien in the first of many grim, Orwellian things to come. Keiko will be taken back to Deep Space Nine; Miles O'Brien will stand trial for crimes he's wholly unaware of. And we as viewers will get to see the Cardassian homeworld, Cardassia Prime, for the first of what will end up many times.
What emerges from here is twofold. On the one hand, there is the outstanding work (by the actors, writers, and freshman director Avery Brooks, Commander Sisko himself) on Cardassia. Broad strokes of genius can be found in the unforgettably dank environs of the courtroom, the 1984 homage of the 'processing' scene before that, the stalling and frustrating tactics of Odo upon his arrival, the visible plight of the innocent man, O'Brien. It's all very impressive.
And above all else, the introspective on the Cardassian legal system, itself a giant nod to 1984, is stunning. We probably learn more about the drive of Cardassian culture here than anywhere else before it, just from witnessing the methodology of their trials. Everyone is guilty; the trial stands as a reminder to all citizens of the futility of standing against the State. Everyone is guilty; the emotional breakdown of the accused is a crowd-pleaser as well as a deep, cunning reminder to that end.
Unfortunately, the fairly pedestrian station-side investigation, coupled with the all-too-easy deus ex machina ending that follows, threatens to tarnish the good name of the brilliant scenes played out elsewhere. It's not without its moments; for the large part of the episode, the team is following a very convincing but naturally misleading trail implicating Chief O'Brien as a Maquis spy working against the Cardassian government.
The choice of O'Brien for this role is perfect; there's a long-standing history dating back to the very first episode we got much insight on the man (TNG's "The Wounded", which also introduced the Cardassians) showing that he and those Cardies don't have the best history together. He served against them during the Border Wars, and a degree of hostility has always remained.
Equally strong is Bashir's surprise visit by an actual, in-the-shadows Maquis member, who tells him in no uncertain terms the Maquis have no place in the ordeal. This not only reinforces O'Brien's innocence -- he sure as hell wouldn't be helping anyone but the Maquis outside of Starfleet, that's for sure -- but it adds a thick layer of intrigue to the scenario. The real strike against this spot of the story is the ease of ending. Boone replaced by a Cardassian eight years prior is fascinating enough, but the jarring arrival of Sisko and Boone to the courtroom drama at the last minute, followed afterward by an explanation, not only renders the 'shocked face' of Makbar, archon (judge) of the trial who knows the truth, rather meaningless for first-time viewers but it also makes the entire finale a simple matter of watching Odo drag things on against the archon's wishes until the eleventh hour save out of nowhere.
And what is that truth the archon knows? The Cardassians deployed the false Boone to get an innocent man -- O'Brien is a prime candidate -- implicated on anti-Cardassian charges as a 'justifiable' prelude to all Cardassian citizens for Central Command to destroy the Federation colonies on their side of the Demilitarized Zone. This is all well and good, and yet another dark scheme on the part of Central Command to destroy that tense setup we've been following for a while. Yet it's all so powerless in the wake of an abrupt, confounding finish placed before Sisko's 'this is what happened; listen up, audience, this is for you'-style epilogue. It's a damn shame, too, because as I'll investigate for the rest of the review, "Tribunal" really has a lot going for it.
I've mentioned the shades of 1984 (fully admit to borrowing that term from Jammer; he's terrific, check out his reviews, too) a couple of times now, but they really are just that, and for anyone who's read the book, it's a great thing to model the Cardassian judicial system after. There's some seriously first-rate art direction across Cardassia, too. We get our first glimpse of the 'televisions effing everywhere' style of the outdoors, as Cardassians stop to view the proceedings of another guilty trial with enthusiasm. We see a return to the dim, chilling (yet probably quite warm indeed) chambers highly reminiscent of what Terok Nor itself looked like just a few years prior. This is how Cardassians like things of this nature to appear: hopeless. And yet that's not even the real reason behind it. In the extraordinary "The Wire" a few weeks back, Garak points out that the lights are too bright on Deep Space Nine. No doubt he's more at-home with the style seen in "Tribunal", something dark, something jaded, something bad for human eyes.
Avery Brooks directs several episodes in the show's third season, and while I have no official basis for this, I have a feeling a big part of the reason he gets that opportunity is thanks to his directing here in his first outing. The processing scene, where Miles O'Brien is undressed, violently thrown about, sent to a machine... all under a pale light with a Cardassian soldier staring menacingly at him... this is intense. It may not be in any way original, but it's highly effective in two key ways.
For one thing, it's very emotionally resonating watching O'Brien, the 'everyman' (and that's the reason for all the 'O'Brien Must Suffer' episodes, is that very quality) put through all this terrible turmoil. Colm Meaney had to raise the bar in this episode from his already-great performances, and he succeeds through and through.
It's also incredibly effective for those of us who have seen all of TNG as well. "Chain of Command, Part II", with Gul Macet's cruel psychological battle with Picard, coupled with "Tribunal", with O'Brien's horrible treatment, come together to forge a very sharp, twisted and yet mercilessly orderly Cardassian image.
There are some great scenes with Odo as well, including a lengthy one in which the constable first meets with O'Brien at his cell. The chief is suffering. He wants this all to end. And he's insistent that Keiko doesn't see him like this, a man beaten down by his oppressors. Odo is stalwart in his role as investigator, and gains new insights on his colleague as Meaney sells the performance of O'Brien in what might have been his absolute breakout episode had he not already had some stellar moments beforehand. After another bold insight into Cardassian customs is mentioned -- they're all required to give a molar to Central Command at the age of ten for quick identification -- Odo decides with an excellent line how things are going to progress from here:
"I want the archon to see the unwavering eyes of an innocent man."
Not to be forgotten, Rosalind Chao delivers some good stuff as the strong Keiko amidst the unfairness of the situation, and Caroline Lagerfelt is the unbreakable, consummate Cardassian Archon Makbar. And Fritz Weaver is Conservator Kovat, who I think most reviewers would have spent an entire paragraph on; I certainly almost did. In fact... what the hell.
Weaver's Kovat is ridiculous in all the right ways. Assigned to O'Brien as the Cardassian equivalent of a defense attorney, and priding himself on flawless service to the State, there's an air of hope for but a moment until O'Brien -- and the audience -- realize that Kovat is just so very Cardassian; he's never won a case, because that's simply not how things go. His job is to prepare the 'defendant' for their cathartic confession, one which he is so completely happy with. Incredibly flustered with Odo's attempts at proving his client's innocence, he wants nothing more than to escape what he views as an absolute travesty, and in the end, when (confoundedly enough, thanks to iffy momentum) O'Brien is released to cover up Central Command's schemes, this colorful exchange follows:
"What happened?"
"You won."
"...They'll kill me."
-Kovat and Odo
So there you have it, loyal Cardassian readers. "Tribunal" has a lot going for it, and is found to be a compelling tale on multiple levels. It will secure its place among the 8's of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but not before being sentenced for its crimes. Much like the wrong kind of Cardassian literary epic -- we've seen this kind of blunted ending before just last week -- "Tribunal" is found guilty of conspiring with the deus ex machina of confusing proportions seen in its closing statement. Its sentence is harsh. Like "The Collaborator" before it, "Tribunal" will live out the rest of its days knowing that it had the chance to be that much more than it was, and join the 9's in an even higher echelon of the annals of DS9. There will be no further trials. In Cardassia We Trust.
Rating: 8/10
"Tribunal"
"I regret that I have no teeth to offer your Bureau of Investigation."
-Odo
Miles O'Brien is about to start a vacation with Keiko, much-needed no doubt and no doubt his wife would agree. In a fun opening scene, the good chief is finding it very difficult to let go of his position for a few days, and he's effectively pushed out of Ops by Sisko and Dax. On his way to the runabout to meet his wife and depart the station, he bumps into an old friend from his time serving on the Rutledge -- Raymond Boone. They exchange pleasantries, and then Boone enters a secluded section and plays back O'Brien's name; he's recorded everything in their conversation. Cue opening credits.
"Tribunal" is a bit strange; it's exceedingly effective in several things it does, but its resolution leaves quite a bit to be desired, hurting the episode. Despite this significant shortcoming, which, had it been severely modified, could have propelled the hour into 9+ territory, this is still an episode that is immense in much of its proceedings.
Shortly into the beginning of their vacation together, which is well-played for all it's worth as, amusingly enough, Miles has brought some work along with him, the couple find their runabout boarded by Cardassians. Lo and behold, one of those Cardassians is Gul Evek, who I'm officially nominating for the award of Most Gets-Around Character of 2371.
"You have the right to refuse to answer questions, but such refusal may be construed as an act of guilt," Evek informs O'Brien in the first of many grim, Orwellian things to come. Keiko will be taken back to Deep Space Nine; Miles O'Brien will stand trial for crimes he's wholly unaware of. And we as viewers will get to see the Cardassian homeworld, Cardassia Prime, for the first of what will end up many times.
What emerges from here is twofold. On the one hand, there is the outstanding work (by the actors, writers, and freshman director Avery Brooks, Commander Sisko himself) on Cardassia. Broad strokes of genius can be found in the unforgettably dank environs of the courtroom, the 1984 homage of the 'processing' scene before that, the stalling and frustrating tactics of Odo upon his arrival, the visible plight of the innocent man, O'Brien. It's all very impressive.
And above all else, the introspective on the Cardassian legal system, itself a giant nod to 1984, is stunning. We probably learn more about the drive of Cardassian culture here than anywhere else before it, just from witnessing the methodology of their trials. Everyone is guilty; the trial stands as a reminder to all citizens of the futility of standing against the State. Everyone is guilty; the emotional breakdown of the accused is a crowd-pleaser as well as a deep, cunning reminder to that end.
Unfortunately, the fairly pedestrian station-side investigation, coupled with the all-too-easy deus ex machina ending that follows, threatens to tarnish the good name of the brilliant scenes played out elsewhere. It's not without its moments; for the large part of the episode, the team is following a very convincing but naturally misleading trail implicating Chief O'Brien as a Maquis spy working against the Cardassian government.
The choice of O'Brien for this role is perfect; there's a long-standing history dating back to the very first episode we got much insight on the man (TNG's "The Wounded", which also introduced the Cardassians) showing that he and those Cardies don't have the best history together. He served against them during the Border Wars, and a degree of hostility has always remained.
Equally strong is Bashir's surprise visit by an actual, in-the-shadows Maquis member, who tells him in no uncertain terms the Maquis have no place in the ordeal. This not only reinforces O'Brien's innocence -- he sure as hell wouldn't be helping anyone but the Maquis outside of Starfleet, that's for sure -- but it adds a thick layer of intrigue to the scenario. The real strike against this spot of the story is the ease of ending. Boone replaced by a Cardassian eight years prior is fascinating enough, but the jarring arrival of Sisko and Boone to the courtroom drama at the last minute, followed afterward by an explanation, not only renders the 'shocked face' of Makbar, archon (judge) of the trial who knows the truth, rather meaningless for first-time viewers but it also makes the entire finale a simple matter of watching Odo drag things on against the archon's wishes until the eleventh hour save out of nowhere.
And what is that truth the archon knows? The Cardassians deployed the false Boone to get an innocent man -- O'Brien is a prime candidate -- implicated on anti-Cardassian charges as a 'justifiable' prelude to all Cardassian citizens for Central Command to destroy the Federation colonies on their side of the Demilitarized Zone. This is all well and good, and yet another dark scheme on the part of Central Command to destroy that tense setup we've been following for a while. Yet it's all so powerless in the wake of an abrupt, confounding finish placed before Sisko's 'this is what happened; listen up, audience, this is for you'-style epilogue. It's a damn shame, too, because as I'll investigate for the rest of the review, "Tribunal" really has a lot going for it.
I've mentioned the shades of 1984 (fully admit to borrowing that term from Jammer; he's terrific, check out his reviews, too) a couple of times now, but they really are just that, and for anyone who's read the book, it's a great thing to model the Cardassian judicial system after. There's some seriously first-rate art direction across Cardassia, too. We get our first glimpse of the 'televisions effing everywhere' style of the outdoors, as Cardassians stop to view the proceedings of another guilty trial with enthusiasm. We see a return to the dim, chilling (yet probably quite warm indeed) chambers highly reminiscent of what Terok Nor itself looked like just a few years prior. This is how Cardassians like things of this nature to appear: hopeless. And yet that's not even the real reason behind it. In the extraordinary "The Wire" a few weeks back, Garak points out that the lights are too bright on Deep Space Nine. No doubt he's more at-home with the style seen in "Tribunal", something dark, something jaded, something bad for human eyes.
Avery Brooks directs several episodes in the show's third season, and while I have no official basis for this, I have a feeling a big part of the reason he gets that opportunity is thanks to his directing here in his first outing. The processing scene, where Miles O'Brien is undressed, violently thrown about, sent to a machine... all under a pale light with a Cardassian soldier staring menacingly at him... this is intense. It may not be in any way original, but it's highly effective in two key ways.
For one thing, it's very emotionally resonating watching O'Brien, the 'everyman' (and that's the reason for all the 'O'Brien Must Suffer' episodes, is that very quality) put through all this terrible turmoil. Colm Meaney had to raise the bar in this episode from his already-great performances, and he succeeds through and through.
It's also incredibly effective for those of us who have seen all of TNG as well. "Chain of Command, Part II", with Gul Macet's cruel psychological battle with Picard, coupled with "Tribunal", with O'Brien's horrible treatment, come together to forge a very sharp, twisted and yet mercilessly orderly Cardassian image.
There are some great scenes with Odo as well, including a lengthy one in which the constable first meets with O'Brien at his cell. The chief is suffering. He wants this all to end. And he's insistent that Keiko doesn't see him like this, a man beaten down by his oppressors. Odo is stalwart in his role as investigator, and gains new insights on his colleague as Meaney sells the performance of O'Brien in what might have been his absolute breakout episode had he not already had some stellar moments beforehand. After another bold insight into Cardassian customs is mentioned -- they're all required to give a molar to Central Command at the age of ten for quick identification -- Odo decides with an excellent line how things are going to progress from here:
"I want the archon to see the unwavering eyes of an innocent man."
Not to be forgotten, Rosalind Chao delivers some good stuff as the strong Keiko amidst the unfairness of the situation, and Caroline Lagerfelt is the unbreakable, consummate Cardassian Archon Makbar. And Fritz Weaver is Conservator Kovat, who I think most reviewers would have spent an entire paragraph on; I certainly almost did. In fact... what the hell.
Weaver's Kovat is ridiculous in all the right ways. Assigned to O'Brien as the Cardassian equivalent of a defense attorney, and priding himself on flawless service to the State, there's an air of hope for but a moment until O'Brien -- and the audience -- realize that Kovat is just so very Cardassian; he's never won a case, because that's simply not how things go. His job is to prepare the 'defendant' for their cathartic confession, one which he is so completely happy with. Incredibly flustered with Odo's attempts at proving his client's innocence, he wants nothing more than to escape what he views as an absolute travesty, and in the end, when (confoundedly enough, thanks to iffy momentum) O'Brien is released to cover up Central Command's schemes, this colorful exchange follows:
"What happened?"
"You won."
"...They'll kill me."
-Kovat and Odo
So there you have it, loyal Cardassian readers. "Tribunal" has a lot going for it, and is found to be a compelling tale on multiple levels. It will secure its place among the 8's of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but not before being sentenced for its crimes. Much like the wrong kind of Cardassian literary epic -- we've seen this kind of blunted ending before just last week -- "Tribunal" is found guilty of conspiring with the deus ex machina of confusing proportions seen in its closing statement. Its sentence is harsh. Like "The Collaborator" before it, "Tribunal" will live out the rest of its days knowing that it had the chance to be that much more than it was, and join the 9's in an even higher echelon of the annals of DS9. There will be no further trials. In Cardassia We Trust.
Rating: 8/10
I myself see it rather closer to The Trial by Franz Kafka than to 1984.
You are accused, tried, sentence dand there is really no need for you to know what for.
You are accused, tried, sentence dand there is really no need for you to know what for.
What an excellent counterpoint! That is so true. I hadn't read The Trial in quite some time and reread 1984 recently so I didn't make the connection.
Hear, hear!
Review for the season finale is forthcoming. I think I might do a comprehensive analysis of the first two seasons before getting started on "The Search" two-parter.
By the way, we can officially discount any hope of my reviews ever catching up to where the girlfriend and I are, currently. As she's taken quite a liking to the show, we just finished 3x22 last night! Oh yes, you can bet I have to go back and rewatch many of the episodes as I review them.
2x26
"The Jem'Hadar"
"You have no idea what's begun here."
-Eris
In an episode chock full of quality quotes, there was only one that had good right to beat out all the rest. That line up there is so indicative of the series' course from here onward that I think there's a certain secondary quality behind it; I contend that no one involved in the creation of Deep Space Nine realized what they'd started here, either. I've done my homework and it doesn't sound like even Ira Steven Behr knew what he'd gotten into. The Dominion was to be a 'face' for the Gamma Quadrant and a new set of antagonists to butt heads with, sure, but it doesn't seem like it was remotely planned that the Dominion would take Trek where it had never gone before -- deep, ceaseless serialization.
Back in 1994, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine might have already been described as such by first-run viewers. Kirk's Enterprise went all over the place, with recurring interactions with Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, even the most unscrupulous race of all, the one-man subspecies known as Harry Mudd. The second movie brought back Khan, and several films detailed Kirk's feelings concerning Klingons, but that was it.
Picard's Enterprise had a little more in the way of recurring arcs to be sure, with those same Vulcans, Klingons and Romulans, as well as the Borg, Data's quest for humanity, Worf's place in Klingon culture, and later the Cardassians and Maquis. But Deep Space Nine had so much of all that, including a much brighter spotlight on the Cardassians and Maquis. It had the ongoing struggle for the rebuilding of Bajor. It had characters who were flawed and very strong interpersonal connections. It had so much continuity. There were already many more cases of a line from one episode showing up with definition down the line than TOS and TNG ever did, and we were only finishing the sophomore season.
And then along came "The Jem'Hadar", and the face of Deep Space Nine would never be the same. Serialization was suddenly about to become a very serious word indeed, and this was only the beginning of the most astonishing, longest-running arc in the history of the franchise.
Things begin so simply, and I credit Behr's knack for that sort of thing. In a light and unassuming yet poignant string of opening events, Commander Sisko invites Jake on a camping trip in the Gamma Quadrant to help with a science project of his, and soon Nog is tagging along, followed by Quark who clearly wishes to sweet-talk the commander into giving in on a new business proposition of his. Neither was invited by Sisko, of course, but Jake convinces his father each time; Nog needs help with his grades or he'll drop out, and Quark... Quark won't let his nephew go without a 'traditional Ferengi values' uncle alongside him. And so they're off, for a camping trip. What a small, subtle prelude to a season finale. Oh, but that's no jab. It works wonderfully once it gets going.
The chemistry between Brooks and Shimerman has never been so outstanding. Shimerman's Quark is unrelentingly complaining, and Brooks' Sisko just wants to have a good time with his son. Yet there's more than just typical bickering at hand. On multiple occasions throughout the episode, Quark makes surprisingly solid points about the Federation's -- and humanity's especially -- clear and present issues with Ferengi and more broadly, with anyone who isn't like them. The way Quark sees it, 'hew-mons' used to be a lot like Ferengi, only worse. He then proceeds to cite examples of how worse humans once were, and it all goes a long way toward proving that the Ferengi have finally reached a point in which they can sometimes be taken quite seriously.
Quark is given a lovely role in "The Jem'Hadar"; among other, more action-oriented and also devious things, he plays the role of observer well. There are some old-school and well-documented reviewers, such as Jammer, who have an immediate dislike of most Ferengi close-ups throughout DS9, but this is the kind of thing that even many of them enjoy; the Ferengi used in a shockingly insightful manner, not just trooping about spouting one-liners and doing zany things.
Back to the episode, the camping trip quickly falls apart when Sisko and Quark suddenly find themselves short-lived hosts to a rather harmless-looking alien woman who blasts them with some form of telekinetic energy. (Before I go on, yes, I'm well-aware that the portrayal of this woman is hardly continuous with what we see of the rest of her kind in the future. The telekinetic work can best be excused as a unique style her creators have chosen with those of her cloning facility; the disregard of Odo when she lays eyes on him at the end of the episode is a bit tougher to swallow, but I guess it can be explained similarly.) The woman, whose name we soon learn is Eris and claims to be from a world called Kurill Prime, is the living embodiment of unease, like a deer in headlights. It's only moments before Sisko, Quark and Eris are detained by mysterious, strikingly fierce-looking soldiers with personal cloaks of a manner rather akin to those of Tosk and his people way back in "Captive Pursuit".
Jake and Nog manage to escape imprisonment and go off in an attempt to get back to the runabout Rio Grande they all arrived on, working as an unlikely young duo to figure out how to pilot the thing and warn the station. This is certainly their most relevant misadventure yet, and it's played for all the laughs it can muster while the more serious scenes play out as Sisko and Quark come face-to-face with the Jem'Hadar -- the soldiers who have taken them and Eris and placed them within a forcefield. Third Talak'talan, as he introduces himself, is a terrific guest character, full of menace and big-talking and a desire to have met the Klingons first, not this rabble.
As the first ever demonstration of the Jem'Hadar, Talak'talan's characterization succeeds. He obviously lives for battle and, a short time later when he arrives on Deep Space Nine (by literally beaming aboard from his vessel unannounced) and informs everyone at Ops of the destruction of several ships and the colony of New Bajor in response to Federation incursions,(earning Nana Visitor yet another star for her exemplary performance on reacting to that news) it's chilling how arrogant yet calm his delivery truly is.
The Odyssey, a Galaxy-class starship akin to the Enterprise-D herself, arrives with one Captain Keogh, a presumptuous man a bit too confident in his mission to take the Odyssey through the wormhole, assess the newly-obvious Dominion threat and rescue Commander Sisko and Quark. The seasoned television viewer will recognize such overconfidence as a signal that something is probably about to go wrong, but it's my understanding that the trailer for this episode showed the destruction of a Galaxy-class vessel and hordes of fans freaked out over the prospect of this episode daring to bring down the Enterprise. The battle that soon follows, featuring some of the most impressive special effects and elaborate twisting and turning of coordinates the franchise had seen up until its arrival, should then have brought little surprise to those folks when the Odyssey exploded, but the ease of her destruction is still a tremendous statement. Keogh came to assess the Dominion threat, and he was rather handily beaten down by it.
Props must be given for the episode's -- and the season's -- final scene, in which Quark has (off-screen) given Sisko the news that Eris' so-called control collar, which had to be removed by Quark in order to enable their escape, hadn't actually controlled her telekinetic abilities after all. In fact, it did nothing. In true Quark form, he wanted to replicate it for a handsome profit but discovered this in the process, and so Sisko arrives at Ops to confront their new guest. Molly Hagan delivers the goods as Eris throughout "The Jem'Hadar", tricking Sisko into believing her the victim. Her 'deer in headlights' glances, her mostly harmless demeanor, and then here in one fell swoop Hagan's acting transforms effortlessly into a conniving would-be spy who speaks those timeless words I used in the quote space and then vanishes off the station. Kira's convinced we'll see her again, and unfortunately, we won't, but the first battle of a Cold War -- and eventually a very hot one -- with the Dominion has been waged, and things will never be the same.
Rating: 9/10
And so ends a thrilling second season for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, one of ample substance. Throughout its twenty-six hours, it has fleshed-out every single character, enhanced the overall story and storytelling experience several times over and added various long-running dynamics to give DS9 real firepower as a dramatic television series to be reckoned with. Everyone feels rather real now, all the relationships are clicking into place, and on the other side of the wormhole, the Dominion awaits. Things are getting pretty interesting, indeed.
"The Jem'Hadar"
"You have no idea what's begun here."
-Eris
In an episode chock full of quality quotes, there was only one that had good right to beat out all the rest. That line up there is so indicative of the series' course from here onward that I think there's a certain secondary quality behind it; I contend that no one involved in the creation of Deep Space Nine realized what they'd started here, either. I've done my homework and it doesn't sound like even Ira Steven Behr knew what he'd gotten into. The Dominion was to be a 'face' for the Gamma Quadrant and a new set of antagonists to butt heads with, sure, but it doesn't seem like it was remotely planned that the Dominion would take Trek where it had never gone before -- deep, ceaseless serialization.
Back in 1994, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine might have already been described as such by first-run viewers. Kirk's Enterprise went all over the place, with recurring interactions with Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, even the most unscrupulous race of all, the one-man subspecies known as Harry Mudd. The second movie brought back Khan, and several films detailed Kirk's feelings concerning Klingons, but that was it.
Picard's Enterprise had a little more in the way of recurring arcs to be sure, with those same Vulcans, Klingons and Romulans, as well as the Borg, Data's quest for humanity, Worf's place in Klingon culture, and later the Cardassians and Maquis. But Deep Space Nine had so much of all that, including a much brighter spotlight on the Cardassians and Maquis. It had the ongoing struggle for the rebuilding of Bajor. It had characters who were flawed and very strong interpersonal connections. It had so much continuity. There were already many more cases of a line from one episode showing up with definition down the line than TOS and TNG ever did, and we were only finishing the sophomore season.
And then along came "The Jem'Hadar", and the face of Deep Space Nine would never be the same. Serialization was suddenly about to become a very serious word indeed, and this was only the beginning of the most astonishing, longest-running arc in the history of the franchise.
Things begin so simply, and I credit Behr's knack for that sort of thing. In a light and unassuming yet poignant string of opening events, Commander Sisko invites Jake on a camping trip in the Gamma Quadrant to help with a science project of his, and soon Nog is tagging along, followed by Quark who clearly wishes to sweet-talk the commander into giving in on a new business proposition of his. Neither was invited by Sisko, of course, but Jake convinces his father each time; Nog needs help with his grades or he'll drop out, and Quark... Quark won't let his nephew go without a 'traditional Ferengi values' uncle alongside him. And so they're off, for a camping trip. What a small, subtle prelude to a season finale. Oh, but that's no jab. It works wonderfully once it gets going.
The chemistry between Brooks and Shimerman has never been so outstanding. Shimerman's Quark is unrelentingly complaining, and Brooks' Sisko just wants to have a good time with his son. Yet there's more than just typical bickering at hand. On multiple occasions throughout the episode, Quark makes surprisingly solid points about the Federation's -- and humanity's especially -- clear and present issues with Ferengi and more broadly, with anyone who isn't like them. The way Quark sees it, 'hew-mons' used to be a lot like Ferengi, only worse. He then proceeds to cite examples of how worse humans once were, and it all goes a long way toward proving that the Ferengi have finally reached a point in which they can sometimes be taken quite seriously.
Quark is given a lovely role in "The Jem'Hadar"; among other, more action-oriented and also devious things, he plays the role of observer well. There are some old-school and well-documented reviewers, such as Jammer, who have an immediate dislike of most Ferengi close-ups throughout DS9, but this is the kind of thing that even many of them enjoy; the Ferengi used in a shockingly insightful manner, not just trooping about spouting one-liners and doing zany things.
Back to the episode, the camping trip quickly falls apart when Sisko and Quark suddenly find themselves short-lived hosts to a rather harmless-looking alien woman who blasts them with some form of telekinetic energy. (Before I go on, yes, I'm well-aware that the portrayal of this woman is hardly continuous with what we see of the rest of her kind in the future. The telekinetic work can best be excused as a unique style her creators have chosen with those of her cloning facility; the disregard of Odo when she lays eyes on him at the end of the episode is a bit tougher to swallow, but I guess it can be explained similarly.) The woman, whose name we soon learn is Eris and claims to be from a world called Kurill Prime, is the living embodiment of unease, like a deer in headlights. It's only moments before Sisko, Quark and Eris are detained by mysterious, strikingly fierce-looking soldiers with personal cloaks of a manner rather akin to those of Tosk and his people way back in "Captive Pursuit".
Jake and Nog manage to escape imprisonment and go off in an attempt to get back to the runabout Rio Grande they all arrived on, working as an unlikely young duo to figure out how to pilot the thing and warn the station. This is certainly their most relevant misadventure yet, and it's played for all the laughs it can muster while the more serious scenes play out as Sisko and Quark come face-to-face with the Jem'Hadar -- the soldiers who have taken them and Eris and placed them within a forcefield. Third Talak'talan, as he introduces himself, is a terrific guest character, full of menace and big-talking and a desire to have met the Klingons first, not this rabble.
As the first ever demonstration of the Jem'Hadar, Talak'talan's characterization succeeds. He obviously lives for battle and, a short time later when he arrives on Deep Space Nine (by literally beaming aboard from his vessel unannounced) and informs everyone at Ops of the destruction of several ships and the colony of New Bajor in response to Federation incursions,(earning Nana Visitor yet another star for her exemplary performance on reacting to that news) it's chilling how arrogant yet calm his delivery truly is.
The Odyssey, a Galaxy-class starship akin to the Enterprise-D herself, arrives with one Captain Keogh, a presumptuous man a bit too confident in his mission to take the Odyssey through the wormhole, assess the newly-obvious Dominion threat and rescue Commander Sisko and Quark. The seasoned television viewer will recognize such overconfidence as a signal that something is probably about to go wrong, but it's my understanding that the trailer for this episode showed the destruction of a Galaxy-class vessel and hordes of fans freaked out over the prospect of this episode daring to bring down the Enterprise. The battle that soon follows, featuring some of the most impressive special effects and elaborate twisting and turning of coordinates the franchise had seen up until its arrival, should then have brought little surprise to those folks when the Odyssey exploded, but the ease of her destruction is still a tremendous statement. Keogh came to assess the Dominion threat, and he was rather handily beaten down by it.
Props must be given for the episode's -- and the season's -- final scene, in which Quark has (off-screen) given Sisko the news that Eris' so-called control collar, which had to be removed by Quark in order to enable their escape, hadn't actually controlled her telekinetic abilities after all. In fact, it did nothing. In true Quark form, he wanted to replicate it for a handsome profit but discovered this in the process, and so Sisko arrives at Ops to confront their new guest. Molly Hagan delivers the goods as Eris throughout "The Jem'Hadar", tricking Sisko into believing her the victim. Her 'deer in headlights' glances, her mostly harmless demeanor, and then here in one fell swoop Hagan's acting transforms effortlessly into a conniving would-be spy who speaks those timeless words I used in the quote space and then vanishes off the station. Kira's convinced we'll see her again, and unfortunately, we won't, but the first battle of a Cold War -- and eventually a very hot one -- with the Dominion has been waged, and things will never be the same.
Rating: 9/10
And so ends a thrilling second season for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, one of ample substance. Throughout its twenty-six hours, it has fleshed-out every single character, enhanced the overall story and storytelling experience several times over and added various long-running dynamics to give DS9 real firepower as a dramatic television series to be reckoned with. Everyone feels rather real now, all the relationships are clicking into place, and on the other side of the wormhole, the Dominion awaits. Things are getting pretty interesting, indeed.
Great reviews. I can't add much more. I can try to explain away the nit of Eris not recognizing Odo though. The Changeling "look" is not really their preferred shape, but the other Changelings in The Search take that form because it is similar to Odo's look. At this point, in season 2, there is no reason for Eris to assume that Odo is a Changeling at all.
Ooh, at last, the review I've been waiting for! 
I did so love Eris and was disappointed we never got to see her again (though I believe she's present in some DS9 lit). You are quite right, Molly Hagan did a great job. According to what I've read, they actually tried to bring the character back twice - first in Episode 3X02, "The Search, Part II" and then in the Episode 5X02, "The Ship," but unfortunately, both times, the actress was unvailable. And your explanation for Eris' telekinetic abilities is very similar to what the writers have said (according to Memory Alpha). As for Eris not acknowledging Odo as a Founder, there are several plausible explanations. One could be that she was instructed not to react to his presence. Perhaps the Founders were aware of Odo's existence through some form of intelligence gathering and part of her assignment would have been to lure Odo back to his people without revealing herself as a Dominion spy. Another explanation could be that Vorta and Jem'Hadar don't automatically or instinctively recognize Founders unless they manifest their shapeshifting abilities. Thanks so much for doing these reviews, they are very fun to read!
I did so love Eris and was disappointed we never got to see her again (though I believe she's present in some DS9 lit). You are quite right, Molly Hagan did a great job. According to what I've read, they actually tried to bring the character back twice - first in Episode 3X02, "The Search, Part II" and then in the Episode 5X02, "The Ship," but unfortunately, both times, the actress was unvailable. And your explanation for Eris' telekinetic abilities is very similar to what the writers have said (according to Memory Alpha). As for Eris not acknowledging Odo as a Founder, there are several plausible explanations. One could be that she was instructed not to react to his presence. Perhaps the Founders were aware of Odo's existence through some form of intelligence gathering and part of her assignment would have been to lure Odo back to his people without revealing herself as a Dominion spy. Another explanation could be that Vorta and Jem'Hadar don't automatically or instinctively recognize Founders unless they manifest their shapeshifting abilities. Thanks so much for doing these reviews, they are very fun to read!
That's quite true and I feel a bit dumb for not thinking of it. Oh well, good point!
Ooh, at last, the review I've been waiting for!
I did so love Eris and was disappointed we never got to see her again (though I believe she's present in some DS9 lit). You are quite right, Molly Hagan did a great job. According to what I've read, they actually tried to bring the character back twice - first in Episode 3X02, "The Search, Part II" and then in the Episode 5X02, "The Ship," but unfortunately, both times, the actress was unvailable. And your explanation for Eris' telekinetic abilities is very similar to what the writers have said (according to Memory Alpha). As for Eris not acknowledging Odo as a Founder, there are several plausible explanations. One could be that she was instructed not to react to his presence. Perhaps the Founders were aware of Odo's existence through some form of intelligence gathering and part of her assignment would have been to lure Odo back to his people without revealing herself as a Dominion spy. Another explanation could be that Vorta and Jem'Hadar don't automatically or instinctively recognize Founders unless they manifest their shapeshifting abilities. Thanks so much for doing these reviews, they are very fun to read!
Excellent read. I didn't know Molly Hagan had been asked to come back twice. What a shame; at least we get a slew of other great Vorta (especially Weyoun, no doubt) to come in her stead. Great points, too.
Thanks for the kind words. It's a thrill writing these reviews. I hope you'll both check out the thread I'm about to make on a comprehensive analysis of the first two seasons. I'd post it here but I feel it deserves its own spot.
I have to imagine that your second choice for quote would have been Talak'Talan's chilling line...
"I hear they fought well... for a spiritual people."
"I hear they fought well... for a spiritual people."
That was a terrific one, and probably my second choice. My third would be Quark's monologue on humans.
Just wanted to pop in and let the regulars know that I apologize for the slow past couple of days, but I just started a new job and the training takes a lot out of me. It's a very physically intensive job so I've been relaxing, cooking dinner and watching some DS9 with the girlfriend the past couple of nights.
I'll be back with both parts of "The Search" sometime tomorrow!
I'll be back with both parts of "The Search" sometime tomorrow!
3x01
"The Search, Part I"
"Welcome home."
-Female Changeling
Beginning its third season -- and first season without the ever-popular TNG at its side -- with plenty of spectacle and zip, Deep Space Nine shakes things up on several fronts with one of the most crucial episodes to-date.
Providing the payoff to the gradual mention of the Dominion throughout the second year, "The Search" drops the hammer down hard; while its first hour doesn't do a whole lot to show us who exactly this mysterious organization is or how it functions, what it does do -- offer us plenty of excellent character moments in a thrilling, action-packed journey to toward those answers -- it does deliciously well.
Opening with a dispiriting discussion in Ops about the station's near-complete lack of defenses against Dominion incursions through the wormhole, and hey, Jadzia's hair is awful, Kira and the rest of the gang are in for a shocker when a ship decloaks a scant three hundred meters away from DS9. It's a Federation ship, and Federation ships carrying cloaking devices are illegal. On the viewscreen is none other than Commander Sisko, who's taken the ship -- the Defiant -- back from a two-month stint on Earth to surprise the Dominion with it.
The ship was originally designed to fight the Borg, but mothballed when that threat grew less immediate and several design flaws were discovered during testing. Sisko has volunteered for a mission to enter the Gamma Quadrant, seek out and enter Dominion space, and locate the so-called 'Founders', leaders of the Dominion, approaching them with diplomatic negotiations. The Romulans have lent the cloaking device to the Federation and dispatched someone from their side to gather information during the procedure, and she will be working the device aboard the Defiant.
Kira, Dax, Bashir, O'Brien -- everyone's going, even Quark, reluctantly, of course; his relations with the Karemma will be needed for attempting to open a dialog with the Founders. Michael Eddington is also going; Starfleet has assigned this new face to the series as a head of Starfleet-related security matters, much to Odo's significant chagrin.
A decent portion of the episode is dedicated to before the Defiant leaves for the Gamma Quadrant, and rightly so, given the serious risk the crew is about to face. They may be armed 'to the teeth' thanks to the Defiant's very impressive firepower, but they're headed directly into Dominion space, and that's damned dangerous. A scene between Sisko and Jadzia on the trouble with volunteering for anything is enjoyable, but what's most engaging is Odo's subplot involving the matter of effectively being replaced in many of his duties. Starfleet isn't happy with the way he's been running things, as I noted would become important in an earlier review. His response: resignation.
From Deep Space Nine to the Defiant, many of the stand-out scenes involve this matter. Kira and Odo share their usual above-par chemistry in a touching manner; she doesn't want him to go anywhere, and makes that quite apparent to Sisko as well, but his recent behavior is problematic to say the least. Odo's behavior toward Quark is atypical in its directness, too -- he very nearly growls his words at the Ferengi. There's a lot of angst going on here, and things only become all the more worrisome -- as well as incredibly intriguing -- when the Karemma associate Quark has beckoned aboard the ship (who sends the crew off to an unmanned subspace relay station, the closest thing to the mythical Founders he knows of) shows star charts and Odo reacts in a very strange manner to the sight of one particular location, the Omarion Nebula. He feels inexplicably drawn to it, and becomes all the more distant after that.
There's a lot of conflict and diversity going on in "The Search, Part I"; T'Rul, the Romulan, adds her own angle and priorities, while Michael Eddington gets off on the worst foot possible with the agitated Odo after being sent to effectively take his job from him. The real star here continues to be Odo, whose questionable actions continue to escalate.
In terms of shear pyrotechnics, there's a lot more explosive action going on here than what we're used to, including a pulse-pounding, narrowly-escaped first encounter with Jem'Hadar vessels and a much deadlier second encounter. After potentially losing Dax and O'Brien at the relay station, the Defiant comes face-to-face with more ships (which I believe will eventually be regarded as 'fighters', won't they?) and all hell breaks loose.
An impressive display of torpedoes and phasers, made all the more impressive by the Defiant's uncanny ability to fire in deadly volleys. People dying with burns on their faces. Consoles inevitably exploding for undetermined reasons. A Jem'Hadar boarding party soon arrives at the scene, and some stylized action sequences ensue. All of this is well and good, but what really ropes me in is Odo's dubious insistence to Kira, the pair separated from the others, that they take a shuttlecraft and escape instead of make way for the bridge. No doubt because he wishes to break for the Omarion Nebula, it adds tension and uncertainty to an already tense and uncertain ordeal. And when Kira is knocked unconscious, great camera work has her open her eyes in said shuttle, with Odo en route to his destination.
"You didn't object at the time," he notes, and Kira, overcome by the preceding events (the fate of the Defiant crew also hanging in the balance; when last Odo saw the ship, she was dead in space and surrounded by enemy craft) simply asks if he's found anything. A slow nod from the shapeshifter, and a rogue planet is their course.
In this thrilling final sequence, quiet and yet inescapably poignant, the shuttle lands and the pair step up to a shimmering golden sea of some sort, strangely familiar. Emerging in an all-the-more familiar way from that sea... are three more shapeshifters, their appearance akin to Odo's. Rene Auberjonois is at the top of his game all throughout "The Search, Part I", but the subtle drop of his jaw here speaks volumes for what fans from the first episode must be experiencing.
"Welcome home," a shapeshifter, female in appearance, speaks softly. And the episode concludes.
Action-packed, yet never losing sight of its characters, "The Search, Part I" takes us for a wild hunt with a hot new ride and plenty of heart. While the much more controversial portion of the two-parter is upcoming, and doubtless long-time fans of the series will be more interested in knowing which side of the fence I'm on for "The Search, Part II", I can safely say that the first hour is every bit as engrossing as the history books lay claim.
Rating: 9/10
"The Search, Part I"
"Welcome home."
-Female Changeling
Beginning its third season -- and first season without the ever-popular TNG at its side -- with plenty of spectacle and zip, Deep Space Nine shakes things up on several fronts with one of the most crucial episodes to-date.
Providing the payoff to the gradual mention of the Dominion throughout the second year, "The Search" drops the hammer down hard; while its first hour doesn't do a whole lot to show us who exactly this mysterious organization is or how it functions, what it does do -- offer us plenty of excellent character moments in a thrilling, action-packed journey to toward those answers -- it does deliciously well.
Opening with a dispiriting discussion in Ops about the station's near-complete lack of defenses against Dominion incursions through the wormhole, and hey, Jadzia's hair is awful, Kira and the rest of the gang are in for a shocker when a ship decloaks a scant three hundred meters away from DS9. It's a Federation ship, and Federation ships carrying cloaking devices are illegal. On the viewscreen is none other than Commander Sisko, who's taken the ship -- the Defiant -- back from a two-month stint on Earth to surprise the Dominion with it.
The ship was originally designed to fight the Borg, but mothballed when that threat grew less immediate and several design flaws were discovered during testing. Sisko has volunteered for a mission to enter the Gamma Quadrant, seek out and enter Dominion space, and locate the so-called 'Founders', leaders of the Dominion, approaching them with diplomatic negotiations. The Romulans have lent the cloaking device to the Federation and dispatched someone from their side to gather information during the procedure, and she will be working the device aboard the Defiant.
Kira, Dax, Bashir, O'Brien -- everyone's going, even Quark, reluctantly, of course; his relations with the Karemma will be needed for attempting to open a dialog with the Founders. Michael Eddington is also going; Starfleet has assigned this new face to the series as a head of Starfleet-related security matters, much to Odo's significant chagrin.
A decent portion of the episode is dedicated to before the Defiant leaves for the Gamma Quadrant, and rightly so, given the serious risk the crew is about to face. They may be armed 'to the teeth' thanks to the Defiant's very impressive firepower, but they're headed directly into Dominion space, and that's damned dangerous. A scene between Sisko and Jadzia on the trouble with volunteering for anything is enjoyable, but what's most engaging is Odo's subplot involving the matter of effectively being replaced in many of his duties. Starfleet isn't happy with the way he's been running things, as I noted would become important in an earlier review. His response: resignation.
From Deep Space Nine to the Defiant, many of the stand-out scenes involve this matter. Kira and Odo share their usual above-par chemistry in a touching manner; she doesn't want him to go anywhere, and makes that quite apparent to Sisko as well, but his recent behavior is problematic to say the least. Odo's behavior toward Quark is atypical in its directness, too -- he very nearly growls his words at the Ferengi. There's a lot of angst going on here, and things only become all the more worrisome -- as well as incredibly intriguing -- when the Karemma associate Quark has beckoned aboard the ship (who sends the crew off to an unmanned subspace relay station, the closest thing to the mythical Founders he knows of) shows star charts and Odo reacts in a very strange manner to the sight of one particular location, the Omarion Nebula. He feels inexplicably drawn to it, and becomes all the more distant after that.
There's a lot of conflict and diversity going on in "The Search, Part I"; T'Rul, the Romulan, adds her own angle and priorities, while Michael Eddington gets off on the worst foot possible with the agitated Odo after being sent to effectively take his job from him. The real star here continues to be Odo, whose questionable actions continue to escalate.
In terms of shear pyrotechnics, there's a lot more explosive action going on here than what we're used to, including a pulse-pounding, narrowly-escaped first encounter with Jem'Hadar vessels and a much deadlier second encounter. After potentially losing Dax and O'Brien at the relay station, the Defiant comes face-to-face with more ships (which I believe will eventually be regarded as 'fighters', won't they?) and all hell breaks loose.
An impressive display of torpedoes and phasers, made all the more impressive by the Defiant's uncanny ability to fire in deadly volleys. People dying with burns on their faces. Consoles inevitably exploding for undetermined reasons. A Jem'Hadar boarding party soon arrives at the scene, and some stylized action sequences ensue. All of this is well and good, but what really ropes me in is Odo's dubious insistence to Kira, the pair separated from the others, that they take a shuttlecraft and escape instead of make way for the bridge. No doubt because he wishes to break for the Omarion Nebula, it adds tension and uncertainty to an already tense and uncertain ordeal. And when Kira is knocked unconscious, great camera work has her open her eyes in said shuttle, with Odo en route to his destination.
"You didn't object at the time," he notes, and Kira, overcome by the preceding events (the fate of the Defiant crew also hanging in the balance; when last Odo saw the ship, she was dead in space and surrounded by enemy craft) simply asks if he's found anything. A slow nod from the shapeshifter, and a rogue planet is their course.
In this thrilling final sequence, quiet and yet inescapably poignant, the shuttle lands and the pair step up to a shimmering golden sea of some sort, strangely familiar. Emerging in an all-the-more familiar way from that sea... are three more shapeshifters, their appearance akin to Odo's. Rene Auberjonois is at the top of his game all throughout "The Search, Part I", but the subtle drop of his jaw here speaks volumes for what fans from the first episode must be experiencing.
"Welcome home," a shapeshifter, female in appearance, speaks softly. And the episode concludes.
Action-packed, yet never losing sight of its characters, "The Search, Part I" takes us for a wild hunt with a hot new ride and plenty of heart. While the much more controversial portion of the two-parter is upcoming, and doubtless long-time fans of the series will be more interested in knowing which side of the fence I'm on for "The Search, Part II", I can safely say that the first hour is every bit as engrossing as the history books lay claim.
Rating: 9/10
Drat, duty calls. It may be that only the first part is posted tonight, but I promise the second by the end of tomorrow!
3x02
"The Search, Part II"
"I'm glad to see the plan is going as scheduled."
"What plan is that?"
"You mean no one told you? You see, I pretend to be their friend... and then I shoot you."
-Alleged Garak and Jem'Hadar Soldier
Ah, part two. I've seen plenty of conflicting viewpoints concerning this episode over the years, from those saying it's just as good as the first hour to those who claim it's utter filth and wholly unworthy. (And rather strangely, Empire Magazine ranked the collective two-parter as the best installment of DS9 when they ranked the Top 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. Now there's an opinion you don't encounter often.)
So where do I stand? Well, I'm of two very distinct mindsets on this one, and I blame everyone who I've ever heard or read state their opinions about it. That's right. I blame you.
"The Search, Part II" opens with the side of the cliffhanger most of us were hoping to see first -- Odo standing across from the first of his kind he's ever knowingly encountered. It's not that we don't want to know what's become of the Defiant crew, or of Dax and O'Brien who were separated and apparently captured, it's just that we know they aren't go to run off and kill everyone on us for shock effect, so we may as well get going with Odo's dialogue with the others.
It doesn't disappoint; from the first we can tell the Changelings -- the Female Changeling who takes a more up-front approach to things in particular -- are quite unique from the 'solids', as they refer to monoforms. Odo links with the Female Changeling in a beautiful scene, and Auberjonois continues to remind us that this is a powerful two-parter for him by playing out the scene gracefully; Odo has never looked so overjoyed, so freshly blissful. In fact, he appears downright reborn in his antics.
As the episode goes on, the scenes on the Changelings' world (which, of course, we learn are the Founders, and this is a planet they settled upon after escaping persecution by the solids) remain top-notch. Odo is a pleasure to watch, and between the compelling, revealing backstory of the other shapeshifters and Kira's sweet reactions to Odo's newfound life, there's little to dislike.
It also seems to move a little slowly and without anywhere near the urgency found in the first hour, but that can be reasonably explained given the difference in environment to be found here. The endgame revelation that the Changelings are the Founders -- that they are the Dominion -- in and of itself is a brilliant one. Magic eight-ball knowledge tells me this is going to provide for quite an intriguing canvas for the rest of the series, but I can't very well use that eight ball as an influence in reviewing a single episode, so I'd better stop while I'm ahead on that one.
That, of course, brings us to the other edge of "The Search, Part II", the area in which reviewers have blasted the episode as 'botched' and a 'great disappointment'.
Sisko and Bashir awaken on the Rio Grande, and after an amusing enough opening exchange, suddenly find Dax and O'Brien effectively at their doorsteps, the duo informing them they've made contact with the Dominion and 'big things' are about to happen on Deep Space Nine. Right from the get-go, things are too easy. Even had I not possessed the knowledge of how "The Search" plays out, I would have felt somewhat cheated at the easy arrival of the pair, but I would have already been suspicious. I can't say for sure whether or not we were supposed to be paranoid about events Sisko-side from the first scene, but considering how the Federation-Dominion Cold War plays out, I wouldn't be surprised. If so, this is a successful first scene, but considering the build-up we'd seen in "Part I", it's hardly riveting.
After arriving back on Deep Space Nine, Commander Sisko is greeted by Admiral Nechayev, who is a bit too cheerful for comfort. A 'Founder', Borath -- member of Eris' people -- is on the station with a platoon of Jem'Hadar to discuss terms of peace. Sisko is kept entirely too in-the-dark about things his crew brought forward and his station is in the middle of, and an odd mixture of eerie and typical ensues.
Jonathan Frakes' directing is not always outstanding here, with some questionable angles throughout certain scenes. Some great dialogue can be found, though; Borath is subtly menacing, Quark is ever the opportunist, and Garak gets some terrific lines. This is rendered somewhat meaningless as we learn in the ever-controversial conclusion that the group is just being played like rats in a test (more on that briefly) but as quite the Garak fan, I must say it's testament to his knack for saying the most delightful things that the Dominion apparently got him down pat based (presumably) on Bashir's memories.
And yes, the finale. Many have called it a total cop-out, and without unfairly addressing the series proper to put such fears to rest, it is within the context of "The Search, Part II" alone that their thoughts are rather justified. I wouldn't call it a complete cop-out like many have done; we learn that the Dominion is so frighteningly mighty that they would toy with the Federation to learn how they work, tinker with them and see if they'd go to great lengths to stop a war. In the process, we make the startling discovery that Odo's people are the leaders of this vast empire. Yet this does not go far enough to excuse the relatively anticlimactic feelings that are largely unavoidable to us viewers as 'it was all a dream' becomes the diagnosis for much of the second part of an otherwise-fabulous two-parter.
Going back a moment, the scenes with Sisko and the gang grow increasingly awkward as things transpire which we know simply won't happen. Even Battlestar Galactica plays within a certain set of parameters, and Deep Space Nine plays within a smaller set. We know the writers aren't going to kill Garak in an abrupt manner lacking overarching drama, because we just know they won't do it. We know the wormhole isn't going down, because we just know the writers won't get rid of such a plot device. And we even know Admiral Nechayev isn't so stupid as she appears here, because... she isn't.
Oh, and that Romulan, T'Rul? Well, she plays an important enough, albeit sadly brief, role in conveying the Romulans' disgust with the Federation in signing what our heroes immediately recognize as blatantly strange -- the Federation agreeing to ignore the Romulans' part in treaty-signing with the Dominion, even at the cost of a potential war with them. Then she gets shot, then when she wakes up we never see her again in the entire series. It's an aside, and it happens often in most shows, but it's unfortunate. Her character might have been great to have on the Defiant.
I also find it interesting that defiance is something addressed in multiple manners in this two-parter. We have the Defiant, of course, and we also have the 'defiance' the Female Changeling speaks of in biting back against the solids by founding the Dominion and controlling the fates of hundreds of races.
And that takes us back to the good aspects of this episode. Odo has always sought justice, yet the Female Changeling insists what he has sought is order. It ties in wonderfully with what we've seen of him in the first two seasons, and it's truly impressive work on the part of the writers and producers that this similarity works so well. Equally profound is the notion that the Changelings, so persecuted by the solids in the distant past, would take the slanderous name they'd been referred to by, make it their own, retreat and then craft something to send order to chaos across the Gamma Quadrant and eventually beyond. As the Female Changeling says:
"[...]What you can control can't hurt you... so many years ago, we set ourselves the task of imposing order on a chaotic universe."
It's a provocative twist that Odo's sense of justice is so intrinsically linked with such a Machiavellian search for order, made all the more interesting as Odo defies the will of his people, standing against them. His new 'acquaintance', telling him they will miss him, but he will miss them more, lets them go, for 'no Changeling has ever harmed another'; words we all know grow in significance.
Two mindsets indeed. There's so much to like here, but it's weighted down so dreadfully by just how much there is to dislike. What we're left with is something I hate to say about an episode with such long-term relevance, such splendid scenes, such beautiful moments and thought-provoking, well-conceived backstory. We're left with an average episode.
Rating: 7/10
"The Search, Part II"
"I'm glad to see the plan is going as scheduled."
"What plan is that?"
"You mean no one told you? You see, I pretend to be their friend... and then I shoot you."
-Alleged Garak and Jem'Hadar Soldier
Ah, part two. I've seen plenty of conflicting viewpoints concerning this episode over the years, from those saying it's just as good as the first hour to those who claim it's utter filth and wholly unworthy. (And rather strangely, Empire Magazine ranked the collective two-parter as the best installment of DS9 when they ranked the Top 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. Now there's an opinion you don't encounter often.)
So where do I stand? Well, I'm of two very distinct mindsets on this one, and I blame everyone who I've ever heard or read state their opinions about it. That's right. I blame you.
"The Search, Part II" opens with the side of the cliffhanger most of us were hoping to see first -- Odo standing across from the first of his kind he's ever knowingly encountered. It's not that we don't want to know what's become of the Defiant crew, or of Dax and O'Brien who were separated and apparently captured, it's just that we know they aren't go to run off and kill everyone on us for shock effect, so we may as well get going with Odo's dialogue with the others.
It doesn't disappoint; from the first we can tell the Changelings -- the Female Changeling who takes a more up-front approach to things in particular -- are quite unique from the 'solids', as they refer to monoforms. Odo links with the Female Changeling in a beautiful scene, and Auberjonois continues to remind us that this is a powerful two-parter for him by playing out the scene gracefully; Odo has never looked so overjoyed, so freshly blissful. In fact, he appears downright reborn in his antics.
As the episode goes on, the scenes on the Changelings' world (which, of course, we learn are the Founders, and this is a planet they settled upon after escaping persecution by the solids) remain top-notch. Odo is a pleasure to watch, and between the compelling, revealing backstory of the other shapeshifters and Kira's sweet reactions to Odo's newfound life, there's little to dislike.
It also seems to move a little slowly and without anywhere near the urgency found in the first hour, but that can be reasonably explained given the difference in environment to be found here. The endgame revelation that the Changelings are the Founders -- that they are the Dominion -- in and of itself is a brilliant one. Magic eight-ball knowledge tells me this is going to provide for quite an intriguing canvas for the rest of the series, but I can't very well use that eight ball as an influence in reviewing a single episode, so I'd better stop while I'm ahead on that one.
That, of course, brings us to the other edge of "The Search, Part II", the area in which reviewers have blasted the episode as 'botched' and a 'great disappointment'.
Sisko and Bashir awaken on the Rio Grande, and after an amusing enough opening exchange, suddenly find Dax and O'Brien effectively at their doorsteps, the duo informing them they've made contact with the Dominion and 'big things' are about to happen on Deep Space Nine. Right from the get-go, things are too easy. Even had I not possessed the knowledge of how "The Search" plays out, I would have felt somewhat cheated at the easy arrival of the pair, but I would have already been suspicious. I can't say for sure whether or not we were supposed to be paranoid about events Sisko-side from the first scene, but considering how the Federation-Dominion Cold War plays out, I wouldn't be surprised. If so, this is a successful first scene, but considering the build-up we'd seen in "Part I", it's hardly riveting.
After arriving back on Deep Space Nine, Commander Sisko is greeted by Admiral Nechayev, who is a bit too cheerful for comfort. A 'Founder', Borath -- member of Eris' people -- is on the station with a platoon of Jem'Hadar to discuss terms of peace. Sisko is kept entirely too in-the-dark about things his crew brought forward and his station is in the middle of, and an odd mixture of eerie and typical ensues.
Jonathan Frakes' directing is not always outstanding here, with some questionable angles throughout certain scenes. Some great dialogue can be found, though; Borath is subtly menacing, Quark is ever the opportunist, and Garak gets some terrific lines. This is rendered somewhat meaningless as we learn in the ever-controversial conclusion that the group is just being played like rats in a test (more on that briefly) but as quite the Garak fan, I must say it's testament to his knack for saying the most delightful things that the Dominion apparently got him down pat based (presumably) on Bashir's memories.
And yes, the finale. Many have called it a total cop-out, and without unfairly addressing the series proper to put such fears to rest, it is within the context of "The Search, Part II" alone that their thoughts are rather justified. I wouldn't call it a complete cop-out like many have done; we learn that the Dominion is so frighteningly mighty that they would toy with the Federation to learn how they work, tinker with them and see if they'd go to great lengths to stop a war. In the process, we make the startling discovery that Odo's people are the leaders of this vast empire. Yet this does not go far enough to excuse the relatively anticlimactic feelings that are largely unavoidable to us viewers as 'it was all a dream' becomes the diagnosis for much of the second part of an otherwise-fabulous two-parter.
Going back a moment, the scenes with Sisko and the gang grow increasingly awkward as things transpire which we know simply won't happen. Even Battlestar Galactica plays within a certain set of parameters, and Deep Space Nine plays within a smaller set. We know the writers aren't going to kill Garak in an abrupt manner lacking overarching drama, because we just know they won't do it. We know the wormhole isn't going down, because we just know the writers won't get rid of such a plot device. And we even know Admiral Nechayev isn't so stupid as she appears here, because... she isn't.
Oh, and that Romulan, T'Rul? Well, she plays an important enough, albeit sadly brief, role in conveying the Romulans' disgust with the Federation in signing what our heroes immediately recognize as blatantly strange -- the Federation agreeing to ignore the Romulans' part in treaty-signing with the Dominion, even at the cost of a potential war with them. Then she gets shot, then when she wakes up we never see her again in the entire series. It's an aside, and it happens often in most shows, but it's unfortunate. Her character might have been great to have on the Defiant.
I also find it interesting that defiance is something addressed in multiple manners in this two-parter. We have the Defiant, of course, and we also have the 'defiance' the Female Changeling speaks of in biting back against the solids by founding the Dominion and controlling the fates of hundreds of races.
And that takes us back to the good aspects of this episode. Odo has always sought justice, yet the Female Changeling insists what he has sought is order. It ties in wonderfully with what we've seen of him in the first two seasons, and it's truly impressive work on the part of the writers and producers that this similarity works so well. Equally profound is the notion that the Changelings, so persecuted by the solids in the distant past, would take the slanderous name they'd been referred to by, make it their own, retreat and then craft something to send order to chaos across the Gamma Quadrant and eventually beyond. As the Female Changeling says:
"[...]What you can control can't hurt you... so many years ago, we set ourselves the task of imposing order on a chaotic universe."
It's a provocative twist that Odo's sense of justice is so intrinsically linked with such a Machiavellian search for order, made all the more interesting as Odo defies the will of his people, standing against them. His new 'acquaintance', telling him they will miss him, but he will miss them more, lets them go, for 'no Changeling has ever harmed another'; words we all know grow in significance.
Two mindsets indeed. There's so much to like here, but it's weighted down so dreadfully by just how much there is to dislike. What we're left with is something I hate to say about an episode with such long-term relevance, such splendid scenes, such beautiful moments and thought-provoking, well-conceived backstory. We're left with an average episode.
Rating: 7/10
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