“INQUISITION”
Trying to convince someone you’re not a villain might be more effective if you...didn’t dress like this.
“Inquisition” will forever be a Star Trek milestone, not so much for the episode itself, but what it introduces into the Trek universe: namely, the nefarious Section 31. In a way, I’m almost rather sad that DS9’s legacy in the franchise is not the remarkable Dominion (which were name-checked once in the film “Insurrection” but never again outside the series), the Dominion war, nor the cataclysmic developments that took place in the Alpha Quadrant during the show’s seven years (indeed, I’m still rather bitter that STAR TREK: PICARD didn’t reference DS9 at all, apart from one mention of Quark). Nope, DS9’s biggest legacy seems to be Section 31, which was used in no less than three subsequent shows and movies (all prequels as it happens): ENTERPRISE, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS and DISCOVERY), with an entire spin-off series focused on SECTION 31 apparently still on the cards.
I’m honestly not sure how I feel about that. I liked the idea when the show first aired, even if the Trek purists and gatekeepers were foaming at the mouth. Gene Roddenberry would have been spinning in his space grace, no doubt, but it almost seemed the natural extension of DS9’s more pragmatic and un-romanticised take on the Trek universe. I know some people who happen to be anti-military, which I guess I can understand, but what those people don’t seem to realise is that we enjoy so many freedoms in our society because we have others willing to fight and potentially die for us in order to uphold that freedom. It’s an unhappy truth, but a truth nonetheless. In a world in which many countries still live under tyranny, it’s important to recognise that sometimes freedom must be fought for and defended. It’s not entirely unreasonable that the Star Trek utopia remains a utopia because there are people who, behind the screen, are working to keep it that way.
This, of course, leads to a fascinating discussion of whether the ends justify the means, and we again see Bashir’s doe-eyed idealism of earlier seasons challenged. Sloane clearly isn’t a “good guy” (he’s dressed in black leather—so, of course, he’s bad!), but he does make some points that aren’t easily dismissed. I enjoyed the nuance and the fact the episode raises questions but leaves the viewer to answer them. At the same time, it is a direct challenge to the Star Trek utopian ideal which began really in TNG’s early seasons (TOS didn’t have much evidence of Roddenberry’s “evolved human” schtick—in fact, Kirk more than once argued that man was inherently “savage”). Maybe this is still controversial after all these years, I’m not sure. On one hand, it is a bit of a downer. In these dark and dismal days I’m not entirely sure I need to see the dark underbelly of Starfleet exposed; something that didn’t bother me in the 90’s when the series aired—a much simpler and easier time, indeed. It also feels rather late in DS9’s run to be introducing a new element like Section 31. If I’m honest, since the end of the Occupied Station arc, the series has felt a little stretched and directionless, with no real advancement in the war storyline (thankfully, something that would be remedied in the very next episode). You could argue that perhaps this was over egging the pudding.
I’ve spoken a lot about the Section 31 twist, which only occupies the episode’s final ten minutes. What about the rest? I’m happy to say that, while it’s not as strong upon repeat viewing when know the twist, it’s still a nicely claustrophobic, engaging and taut little episode. With strong shades of season two’s “Whispers”, it feels rather like a “torture O’Brien” episode, only with Bashir taking the heat. Bradley Thompson and David Weddle turn in one of their better scripts and Michael Dorn does a great job directing, creating a tense and unsettling atmosphere right from the start. To begin with, there’s something of a BODY SNATCHERS feel as people begin behaving suspiciously around Julian, and there are some neat little touches—such as Bashir receiving Worf’s gagh instead of scones—that create little ripples of tension and unease. Soon, we begin wondering if it’s perhaps Julian that’s the BODY SNATCHER himself, as Sloane begins relentlessly interrogating him. Both William Sadler and Alexander Siddig are excellent, and the interrogation sequences make superb use of continuity, and I love how the writers incorporate plot holes and inconsistencies from past episodes (such as the Dominion leaving the runabout in orbit of the internment camp in “By Inferno’s Light”) and make them seem as though perhaps they were intentional. To the episode’s credit, we
almost get to the point where we wonder if Bashir just in fact MIGHT be a spy. I’m not sure whether the writers would actually have been bold enough to do that—although, even if they did, they probably would have tried to reset it and sweep it under the carpet as they did with Odo at the start of the season.
It’s a talky episode, to be sure, and once you know what’s coming it loses something upon subsequent viewings, but it still holds together as an effective and nicely handled psychological/political thriller. The conclusion almost makes it feel like the first of a two-part story, although there wouldn’t be any follow up until the latter end of the seventh season. On the whole, I think they pulled this one off nicely and it’s kind of nice seeing Bashir’s spy fantasy come to life in an altogether more uncomfortable and unpleasant way.
Rating: 8
