The Pale Moon light great episode!

[fireproof78]

I enjoy this episode a lot. I've always appreciated tales of hard men making hard choices in hard times. Trek should do this kind of stuff more often.

Kor

I agree. Things don't tend to be black and white. As much as I love TOS, the black and white morality tales (some times literally) could be too simplistic at times.

 

[kkt]

Come to think of it, It's almost a shame the founder disease wasn't a plot element yet. Then they could also have turned it around, by feeding the Dominion false clues that the Romulans had engineered that disease.. increasing the chance that at least one of the two plans would work ...

My, you're devious...

 

[phantomeagle]

One of the best episodes of Trek ever produced.

and "It's a faaaaaaaaaake" is just fine.

I've always loved that line. It was so well delivered, with passion and reality. could feel the anger and feelings of being deceived.
Easily one of my all time favorites.

 

[kkt]

Yes, I loved the contrast between him being snotty about Starfleet when they first meet and how awful Starfleet officers are... and then he's really angered and shocked when a Starfleet officer ACTUALLY tried to deceive him!

 

[Armus]

Maybe "it's a faaaaaake" will sound much better in an HD upgrade!

 

[Relayer1]

No, no it shouldn't.

Unless the point was to show how such moral abdication blows on the characters' faces.

This was a well made episode, but it basically ruined Sisko for me, and I didn't like that the murderous conspiracy ultimately worked and there was no comeuppance.

Sometimes murderous conspiracies ultimately work and have no comeuppance.

 

[Longinus]

Sometimes murderous conspiracies ultimately work and have no comeuppance.

Sure. But that's a shit moral for a Star Trek episode.

 

[Relayer1]

Sure. But that's a shit moral for a Star Trek episode.

I liked that. It may be fantasy, but I liked that bit of ambiguity. It's one of the reasons I'm first and foremost a Niner.

 

[Longinus]

I liked that. It may be fantasy, but I liked that bit of ambiguity. It's one of the reasons I'm first and foremost a Niner.

Right. And thus we fundamentally disagree on what Star Trek should be about.

 

[Tuskin38]

Right. And thus we fundamentally disagree on what Star Trek should be about.

Star Trek shouldn't be a perfect world.

 

[Longinus]

Star Trek shouldn't be a perfect world.

No, but the main characters should aspire for one, even if that might not be convenient.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Because the only motivation for doing the right thing should be fear of getting caught.

 

[Tuskin38]

No, but the main characters should aspire for one, even if that might not be convenient.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Nothing Sisko did was right, and the episode never defends what he did as right.

 

[Discofan]

Without Garak it would have been one of the worst episodes of the series, with him it becomes one of the best.

 

[Longinus]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

That's a bad moral. It's the sort of 'ends justify means' bullshit that leads to waterboarding random brown people and worse.

Nothing Sisko did was right, and the episode never defends what he did as right.

The episode is constructed so that it effectively justifies his actions. Sure he feels sorry about it, but the murder works and gets results he wants.

 

[Tuskin38]

The episode is constructed so that it effectively justifies his actions.

I don't see it.

 

[Discofan]

I don't see it.

The alternative is the end of the federation.

 

[Longinus]

I don't see it.

The plan works, the Federation is saved, Sisko is the hero, there is repercussions.

 

[Discofan]

The plan works, the Federation is saved, Sisko is the hero, there is repercussions.

That assumes that you believe in the "The end justifies the means" motto.

 

[Longinus]

The alternative is the end of the federation.

The alternative was for the writers to write a different story. In TNG this would have been about Picard foiling the crazy plans of some murderous rogue Strarfleet officer, thus gaining the trust of Vreenak, thus eventually getting the Romulans to help.