“PENUMBRA”
“How do I look, Damar? Think I’m a sexy-ass Kai magnet?”
“You look even scarier as a Bajoran than a Cardassian.”
“Really?...”
“Good!”
And so it begins—the end, that is. I always get excited when I come to this closing set of episodes because there’s a whole lot of meat to be found and some excellent episodes ahead. That said, however, I generally find “Penumbra” a little disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, it does the job, and sets a number of important plots in motion, but it’s uneven and I’m afraid I didn’t altogether enjoy its central focus: Worf and Ezri.
Let’s start off with that. This has actually been building up all season and I am glad the writers deliberately kept it on the back burner, giving the two only a couple of brief scenes together following “Afterimage”. Any other Trek show would probably have quickly reset the relationship by the end of their first episode together. On DS9, however, it was only a matter of time before the two were forced to confront their relationship—which is, if you think about, hellishly awkward, particularly for Worf. How can you truly get over the death of a loved one when there’s a part of them still alive and living and working in the same place. Although it’s been mentioned in passing, the writers have completely bypassed the issue of Trill reassociation since Ezri showed up. Whereas Jadzia would have faced exile—and the eventual death of the Dax symbiont—if she “reassociated” with Lenara, there don’t seem to be any consequences whatsoever for Ezri. In fact, this episode kind of shows how, oppressive though it may at first seem, the reassociation taboo is actually a fairly sensible thing because the potential for confusion and messiness is extreme. One of the episode’s more effective scenes shows Ezri wandering through the old quarters she/Jadzia shared with Worf, and hearing snippets of Jadzia’s voice in her mind as she relives old memories. It’s a wonderful sequence, although, sadly things go downhill from there.
While Ezri’s impulsiveness does seem to be a Dax trait, as Sisko notes, I found the Ezri/Worf scenes a bit of a slog. Michael Dorn and Nicole deBoer simply have no chemistry and it’s not helped by some substandard, hackneyed writing and only so-so performances. Both characters are petulant and whiny and the ridiculously cliched scene where their heated argument turns to a passionate kiss—and more—is simply eye-roll inducing.
With hindsight, I can say I like where their relationship ends up by the end of the series, but it is, frankly, rather painful getting to that point. There’s a real lack of weight and emotion to what ought to be a dramatically compelling arc; it’s all just standard soap opera and while I feel I ought to be more sympathetic to Worf’s grief, he comes across as wholly unlikable here. I can’t help but feel that, like many other characters, Worf has been sidelined substantially this season. The seventh season ought to have given him a solid arc following the death of Jadzia, but there’s been nothing of the kind. Why the heck didn’t he take off to find and kill Dukat for Jadzia’s murder as he did with K’Ehleyr’s murderer, Duras? As far as I can recall, Worf has never even lifted Dukat’s name once.
Speaking of Dukat, he’s back of course, and it’s an intriguing start to what at least starts off as a compellingly perverse new storyline. It’s unsettling seeing him surgically alter himself to appear Bajoran (and, frankly, no offence to the brilliant Marc Alaimo, but he almost looks even scarier) because clearly he’s up to no good—being truly eeevil and all. Interestingly, by this point, Damar—who started off as basically an extra in “Return to Grace”—has become a more compelling and nuanced character. He’s drinking like a fish, having sex like a bunny, and clearly having difficulty dealing with his role as subordinate to Weyoun and the Dominion, and not oblivious to the fact Cardassia has suffered greatly during the war. His gradual redemption arc will prove one of the most compelling and satisfying arcs in these final episodes, and in the series as a whole.
The other main storyline involves Sisko and Kasidy getting engaged. This was probably the strongest part of the episode for me and I loved seeing Sisko design his dream home on Bajor—the doll’s house was quite adorable. Avery Brooks and Penny Johnson have such wonderful chemistry it’s always a joy to see them share the screen, even if I find it amusing that Sisko actually puts the ring on Kasidy’s finger BEFORE he asks if she will marry him. I’ve never been married admittedly, but I was pretty sure you were meant to ask “will you marry me?” before you put the ring on the finger. I know she already basically said yes, but, I still found it funny.
Of course, the closing scene with the Prophets suggests that the happy couple may not be happy for long. Unfortunately, this didn’t work quite as well as it could have; the main reason being Deborah Lacey’s surprisingly terrible performance as the Sarah Prophet. I wonder if this may have been the result of some bad directing because she was definitely better before and since. Here she’s less “mysterious” and “aloof” super-being and more lobotomised zombie. This really blunts the impact of the climatic revelation: that Sisko will know only sorrow if he marries Kasidy. Poor Kasidy...and you thought YOU had problems with your mother-in-law.
Oh, we also get a surprise appearance by the Breen and, boy, do they have one of the ugliest starship designs I’ve ever seen. Do their ship architects work blindfolded? Maybe they can’t see properly through those RETURN OF THE JEDI-esque helmets? Their arrival is an intriguing turn of events, yet, as I’ll no doubt explore in subsequent reviews, their sudden rise to prominence after several years of being an unremarkable background element is more than a little forced. Anyway, wrapping up: as a start to this closing ten episode arc, “Penumbra” does an adequate, workmanlike job. It’s both compelling and uneven, hampered by being all set-up with no payoff and some tedious Worf/Ezri interplay. But I’m nevertheless excited for what is to come. Rating: 7
“How do I look, Damar? Think I’m a sexy-ass Kai magnet?”
“You look even scarier as a Bajoran than a Cardassian.”
“Really?...”
“Good!”
And so it begins—the end, that is. I always get excited when I come to this closing set of episodes because there’s a whole lot of meat to be found and some excellent episodes ahead. That said, however, I generally find “Penumbra” a little disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, it does the job, and sets a number of important plots in motion, but it’s uneven and I’m afraid I didn’t altogether enjoy its central focus: Worf and Ezri.
Let’s start off with that. This has actually been building up all season and I am glad the writers deliberately kept it on the back burner, giving the two only a couple of brief scenes together following “Afterimage”. Any other Trek show would probably have quickly reset the relationship by the end of their first episode together. On DS9, however, it was only a matter of time before the two were forced to confront their relationship—which is, if you think about, hellishly awkward, particularly for Worf. How can you truly get over the death of a loved one when there’s a part of them still alive and living and working in the same place. Although it’s been mentioned in passing, the writers have completely bypassed the issue of Trill reassociation since Ezri showed up. Whereas Jadzia would have faced exile—and the eventual death of the Dax symbiont—if she “reassociated” with Lenara, there don’t seem to be any consequences whatsoever for Ezri. In fact, this episode kind of shows how, oppressive though it may at first seem, the reassociation taboo is actually a fairly sensible thing because the potential for confusion and messiness is extreme. One of the episode’s more effective scenes shows Ezri wandering through the old quarters she/Jadzia shared with Worf, and hearing snippets of Jadzia’s voice in her mind as she relives old memories. It’s a wonderful sequence, although, sadly things go downhill from there.
While Ezri’s impulsiveness does seem to be a Dax trait, as Sisko notes, I found the Ezri/Worf scenes a bit of a slog. Michael Dorn and Nicole deBoer simply have no chemistry and it’s not helped by some substandard, hackneyed writing and only so-so performances. Both characters are petulant and whiny and the ridiculously cliched scene where their heated argument turns to a passionate kiss—and more—is simply eye-roll inducing.
With hindsight, I can say I like where their relationship ends up by the end of the series, but it is, frankly, rather painful getting to that point. There’s a real lack of weight and emotion to what ought to be a dramatically compelling arc; it’s all just standard soap opera and while I feel I ought to be more sympathetic to Worf’s grief, he comes across as wholly unlikable here. I can’t help but feel that, like many other characters, Worf has been sidelined substantially this season. The seventh season ought to have given him a solid arc following the death of Jadzia, but there’s been nothing of the kind. Why the heck didn’t he take off to find and kill Dukat for Jadzia’s murder as he did with K’Ehleyr’s murderer, Duras? As far as I can recall, Worf has never even lifted Dukat’s name once.
Speaking of Dukat, he’s back of course, and it’s an intriguing start to what at least starts off as a compellingly perverse new storyline. It’s unsettling seeing him surgically alter himself to appear Bajoran (and, frankly, no offence to the brilliant Marc Alaimo, but he almost looks even scarier) because clearly he’s up to no good—being truly eeevil and all. Interestingly, by this point, Damar—who started off as basically an extra in “Return to Grace”—has become a more compelling and nuanced character. He’s drinking like a fish, having sex like a bunny, and clearly having difficulty dealing with his role as subordinate to Weyoun and the Dominion, and not oblivious to the fact Cardassia has suffered greatly during the war. His gradual redemption arc will prove one of the most compelling and satisfying arcs in these final episodes, and in the series as a whole.
The other main storyline involves Sisko and Kasidy getting engaged. This was probably the strongest part of the episode for me and I loved seeing Sisko design his dream home on Bajor—the doll’s house was quite adorable. Avery Brooks and Penny Johnson have such wonderful chemistry it’s always a joy to see them share the screen, even if I find it amusing that Sisko actually puts the ring on Kasidy’s finger BEFORE he asks if she will marry him. I’ve never been married admittedly, but I was pretty sure you were meant to ask “will you marry me?” before you put the ring on the finger. I know she already basically said yes, but, I still found it funny.
Of course, the closing scene with the Prophets suggests that the happy couple may not be happy for long. Unfortunately, this didn’t work quite as well as it could have; the main reason being Deborah Lacey’s surprisingly terrible performance as the Sarah Prophet. I wonder if this may have been the result of some bad directing because she was definitely better before and since. Here she’s less “mysterious” and “aloof” super-being and more lobotomised zombie. This really blunts the impact of the climatic revelation: that Sisko will know only sorrow if he marries Kasidy. Poor Kasidy...and you thought YOU had problems with your mother-in-law.
Oh, we also get a surprise appearance by the Breen and, boy, do they have one of the ugliest starship designs I’ve ever seen. Do their ship architects work blindfolded? Maybe they can’t see properly through those RETURN OF THE JEDI-esque helmets? Their arrival is an intriguing turn of events, yet, as I’ll no doubt explore in subsequent reviews, their sudden rise to prominence after several years of being an unremarkable background element is more than a little forced. Anyway, wrapping up: as a start to this closing ten episode arc, “Penumbra” does an adequate, workmanlike job. It’s both compelling and uneven, hampered by being all set-up with no payoff and some tedious Worf/Ezri interplay. But I’m nevertheless excited for what is to come. Rating: 7
