My point is, the choice is a false dichotomy, so what they choose is moot. It'd be like getting mad about whether some one answered red or blue when asked what their favourite food was.
That's...what I said.
Worst Character Assassination Episodes
- Thread starter Oddish
- Start date
My point is, the choice is a false dichotomy, so what they choose is moot. It'd be like getting mad about whether some one answered red or blue when asked what their favourite food was.
That's...what I said.
I just don't like that it happened and the way it happened.
Nobody else does either. But despite all that, it is still NOT out of character.
Icheb was an innocent victim in that scene, which is entirely in line with what he was in VOY.
See, Isaac, Orville.
Arrest Eddington. I highly recommend you watch it. Great episode. Not character assassination at all in my opinion.
I was always particularly disgusted by the thrashing Worf took in "Birthright, Part II." Intolerable episode. The way it dials up Worf's racism while also positioning it as a source of his strength and heroism is so vile that I was turned off his character for literally decades. (It was not until a DS9 rewatch around 2014 where I rediscovered an appreciation for Worf)
The weird thing is, they'd done other explorations of Worf's racism ("The Enemy") that were great and enhanced his character! But at the end of "Birthright, Part II", Worf was as pulped for me as if he'd been put through a wood chipper. It really is all in the details!
The weird thing is, they'd done other explorations of Worf's racism ("The Enemy") that were great and enhanced his character! But at the end of "Birthright, Part II", Worf was as pulped for me as if he'd been put through a wood chipper. It really is all in the details!
CLARIFICATION: I love "For the Uniform" and thought hard about whether Sisko's poisoning a planet with torpedoes counted as so immoral that it undid everything heroic about Sisko (even though he allows plenty of time for evacuations).
I conclude it doesn't. It doesn't mean he was heroic - maybe not even wise. In my head-cannon I always thought Section 31 might be looking at him closely but then drop him as a candidate for an ally because his actions in FTU was mostly due to solely Eddington - and really Eddington ALONE - getting into his head.
Therefore, these are not actions that he would normally do nor be willing to act like he would do in most any other situation.
It was a calculated gambit - specifically for Eddington's psychology - and not a new vicious modus operandi for any and all who do not do what he wants.
This also makes FTU character defining and not character assassination. All jmo as always.
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"Birthright" sucked so much I barely remember it.
But you are exactly correct in that character assassination is all in the details of how it is handled. DS9 handled points of departure so well it was always character evolution that made sense rather than a "shark jump" like Kes in "Fury" and so many other great mentions here.
Something that Eddington did first.
Granted. And by giving the Maquis a taste of their own medicine, he stops their biological war cold.
Each person can decide if this episode, as well as Pale Moonlight, are character assassination or not. There's a case either way.
Regarding S31... I think that in "Pale Moonlight", Bashir should have had a role of some sort in it. After that, "Inquisition" happens. At the end, Sloane reveals that S31 know about the operation to force the Romulans into the conflict... and they're impressed. Sisko, as a station commander and religious icon, was too visible to recruit. Bashir, because of his role and his relationship with Garak, is perfect.
That romance literally saved all biological life -- which is out of character for that show!
He does poison a planet for humans (but not for Cardassians) for fifty YEARS, so that means a whole planet of people who will be totally separated from humans for two generations!! and likely built up prejudice and maybe hatred, but as long as Sisko got his man...
Poison an entire planet just to get one man!!! If that's not character assassination, nothing is.
If nothing else, it indicates which captain handled the Maquis most effectively...
Picard: Sends a deep cover operative to infiltrate the organization. She promptly betrays him and joins them for real.
VERDICT: Accomplished nothing except costing Picard a valued officer.
Sisko: Loses one friend to the Maquis, then is betrayed by a colleague. Said colleague then causes so much trouble, Sisko finds it necessary to poison a planet to stop him.
VERDICT: Broke the bio-war plan and took a very effective Maquis member out of play, but... poisoning a freaking PLANET?!
Janeway: Added a ship with about 30 Maquis to her own ship's company. Had them eating out of her hand in a year.
VERDICT: I think we have a winner.
And as I said, Eddington did exactly the same thing, only in reverse: poison a planet for Cardassians but not for humans.
In the end, the colonists on both of those planets simply exchanged worlds. No casualties.
Janeway: Took a Maquis leader and turned him into her personal lapdog...
How is that an excuse? Edington was judged as a criminal, in all justice then Sisko should have been as well.
Extraordinary threats require extraordinary measures to catch said threats. Once Eddington and his ilk resorted to attacking innocent targets (re: the Malinche) and using biological weapons, they forced Sisko's hand.
Yes, Sisko used some of those very same weapons in response to Eddington's attacks. But as anyone who's seen the episode knows: he gave the Maquis colonists time to evacuate, and he knew that after it was all over, the two sides could simply live on each other's worlds. Sisko knew no lives would be lost. Eddington, OTOH, hoped they WOULD (Eddington wanted to kill Cardassians; Sisko did not want to kill Maquis). That's the difference.
Yes, Sisko used some of those very same weapons in response to Eddington's attacks. But as anyone who's seen the episode knows: he gave the Maquis colonists time to evacuate, and he knew that after it was all over, the two sides could simply live on each other's worlds. Sisko knew no lives would be lost. Eddington, OTOH, hoped they WOULD (Eddington wanted to kill Cardassians; Sisko did not want to kill Maquis). That's the difference.
Yeah, remember when Sisko lectured Worf? "We don't put civilians at risk to save ourselves... blah blah blah" and that was to defend against KLINGONS!!! Who for all intents and purposes are more ruthless than the Maquis.
Maybe Sisko should have been extradited so that the Maquis could explain a thing or two to him about attacking civilians...
It's funny how people who'll defend an episode that says something tooth and nail will, later on, defend one that says the exact OPPOSITE!!!
