Was Ro justified in betraying them?
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Preemptive Strike
She had her reasons, while I may not agree with them all, some were valid. The Cardassians did not want former Federation colonies near their borders, which is the newly designated DMZ. They were also covertly supplying weapons to their own people in the DMZ. Also some people lost their homes, land, and a history of colonization because their world was now Cardassian.
Ro hated Cardassians. In what was a most vile act; as a little girl she was given some candy by a Cardassian and brought to a room where her father was. She watched him being tortured. I don't think I could ever forgive any species/race/religious group/country or whatever that did that to me.
Her past experiences with the Cardassians made her a poor choice for the mission. Starfleet should have known better than to use any Bajoran for that mission. She quickly began to sympathize with the Marquis. And when the Cardassians opened fire on a group of civilians and killed the man she looked up to, she was lost.
By the definition of her mission, by her oath to Starfleet and by the trust placed in her by Picard she was not justified.
In my opinion, she was fighting the war the Federation refused to fight. The Federation needed to make sure that the Cardassians were not arming their civilians. The attack that killed Ro's friend was a prime example of the Cardassians not adhering to the treaty. In that sense she was justified. Once that attack happened, she should have been pulled out right away and presented that evidence to Starfleet. Picard would have backed her up. This could have forced the Federation, and its ally the Klingon Empire, to force Cardassia to obey the treaty; or to meet them in battle and leave Cardassia no other choice but to accept the treaty or lose systems to the Klingons and Federation.
She had her reasons, while I may not agree with them all, some were valid. The Cardassians did not want former Federation colonies near their borders, which is the newly designated DMZ. They were also covertly supplying weapons to their own people in the DMZ. Also some people lost their homes, land, and a history of colonization because their world was now Cardassian.
Ro hated Cardassians. In what was a most vile act; as a little girl she was given some candy by a Cardassian and brought to a room where her father was. She watched him being tortured. I don't think I could ever forgive any species/race/religious group/country or whatever that did that to me.
Her past experiences with the Cardassians made her a poor choice for the mission. Starfleet should have known better than to use any Bajoran for that mission. She quickly began to sympathize with the Marquis. And when the Cardassians opened fire on a group of civilians and killed the man she looked up to, she was lost.
By the definition of her mission, by her oath to Starfleet and by the trust placed in her by Picard she was not justified.
In my opinion, she was fighting the war the Federation refused to fight. The Federation needed to make sure that the Cardassians were not arming their civilians. The attack that killed Ro's friend was a prime example of the Cardassians not adhering to the treaty. In that sense she was justified. Once that attack happened, she should have been pulled out right away and presented that evidence to Starfleet. Picard would have backed her up. This could have forced the Federation, and its ally the Klingon Empire, to force Cardassia to obey the treaty; or to meet them in battle and leave Cardassia no other choice but to accept the treaty or lose systems to the Klingons and Federation.
It made sense to the character. I think, as a Bajoran, she was justified even though it meant betraying Picard. I felt the same way about Tasha Yar's sister in that episode set on Yar's home planet. When loyalties conflict, sometimes "our" heroes should lose.
In other words, she used poor judgement (no doubt due to some of her past experiences) and chose the more impulsive course of action rather than the action that would result in the most benefit to the Federation as well as the Maquis.
Was she justified? I'm not sure, but what she did was at least understandable. Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, I'm very glad that she did betray them. I think it was one of the best things the writers of TNG ever came up with - Starfleet are so virtuous and heroic that it was refreshing to have the show suggest that maybe they actually aren't always in the right. Ro was a great character - someone who couldn't fit in with the squeaky clean world of Starfleet - and the show was better for having her. The moment she pulled a phaser on Riker is probably one of my favourite scenes in Star Trek.
I love this episode. This is one of those that harkens back to TOS, where the muddled episode promotes some great discussion and acting from the characters because of the gray areas.
Did Ro suffer? Yep. Were her actions acceptable? Probably not. But that's also what got one of the best scenes from Picard ever in the show as well. As a person, I don't think I could let Ro slide. As a character, I like her that much more, and Picard is (justifiably) intense as a result.
Did Ro suffer? Yep. Were her actions acceptable? Probably not. But that's also what got one of the best scenes from Picard ever in the show as well. As a person, I don't think I could let Ro slide. As a character, I like her that much more, and Picard is (justifiably) intense as a result.
But would ultimately be a fatal choice when the Dominion helped in that particular fight.
This episode was well before any known encounter with the Dominion. They didn't think about dealing with the Federation for another 200 years, but constant AQ intrusions into the Gamma Quadrant (again, well after this episode) accelerated the process.
Had the episode turned out differently, it's entirely possible that the Dominion War could have played out in other ways.
I'll say it : The DMZ was a naive treaty driven by goals and ideals, rather than the reality of dealing with the Cardassians. Nechayev built their policy not around reality, but around making her look good. Why else were the gum n' hairpins Maquis treated as the worstest threat ever? They weren't like the militia groups here in the US, actually seeking the overthrow of the government. I'm as far from being a Reagan-booster as you get, and yet I will say : Trust But Verify. The UFP never did with the Cardassians and the DMZ treaty, and the results were the defections of otherwise fiercely loyal officers. Not to mention those who stayed but shook their heads at it. Is it any wonder that, in Sisko's Vorta-directed fantasy, it was Nechayev who cheerfully signed away Bajor?
As to Ro herself, she did betray them. That is a fact. But she tried to not take the mission, and tried like hell to back out when she felt she would blow it. Picard worried about tea and pastries for Nechayev, and threatened Ro with arrest when she needed him. He and Starfleet were still betrayed, and if she lived, Ro should expect arrest. But no one had better dare be shocked that it happened. This wasn't Wes at the Kolvoord Hearing, and Picard insisting his way to victory bit back at him this time.
As to Ro herself, she did betray them. That is a fact. But she tried to not take the mission, and tried like hell to back out when she felt she would blow it. Picard worried about tea and pastries for Nechayev, and threatened Ro with arrest when she needed him. He and Starfleet were still betrayed, and if she lived, Ro should expect arrest. But no one had better dare be shocked that it happened. This wasn't Wes at the Kolvoord Hearing, and Picard insisting his way to victory bit back at him this time.
Given everything we knew about the character, it was certainly justified from her point of view. Her superiors failed her in every sense of the word. Indeed, I'd say they set her up in a way that just about ensured this outcome. While she bears some responsibility for her choices, those who should have (and I would argue did) know better, are the ones who really own that debacle.
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