Deep Space Nine 3x9 "Defiant"

rating: ****

the story: Thomas Riker returns and defects to the Maquis.

what it's all about: One of the most unique crossover episodes in all of franchise lore, the transporter duplicate Thomas Riker from Next Generation's "Second Chances" returns, having once and for all decided the course of his own destiny, and it's one of the great Maquis episodes.

The Maquis were created for Voyager, and set up in Next Generation's "Preemptive Strike" and Deep Space Nine's own two-part "The Maquis," from the previous season.  In a lot of ways, "Defiant" is exactly the same story, but improved a thousand-fold, addressing the problem of trying to tell a story like this with an entirely new character, and even restating Dukat's role in it.  This time, as with the rest of the third season, he's so well understood, "Defiant" is as much his episode as Riker's, and even Sisko's.  That it works for them plus Kira, it's an episode that fires on so many cylinders, of course it's a classic.  There's just no question about that.

Much like Next Generation's "Chain of Command Part 2," it's also a peak into Cardassian culture, as the crisis of Riker's hijacking the eponymous ship causes Dukat to miss a crucial birthday celebration.  Dukat musing on how his son will react is a classic moment in and of itself, and it's another moment you see an alien culture becomes fully three-dimensional, a depth that was fast becoming a trademark of the series thanks to material like this.  While Dukat expresses his incredulity over this and other alarming developments (some of which is set-up for later episodes, "Improbable Cause" and "The Die is Cast," which earlier Garak material had also worked toward; this was the true beginning of serialized storytelling in the series), Sisko is witness to all of this, demonstrating his grace under pressure, his command ability, and his willingness to cooperate with anyone.  If you ever wondered how he stacks up with the leads from other Star Treks, this is a good episode to watch.

But this is really Riker's episode, and Kira's.  In his previous appearance, Thomas is merely a reflection of what Will Riker used to be.  "Defiant" finds himself as his own person, with all the complications therein.  While he's once again grappling with the notions of legacy, this time he's taking an active role, making his own decisions, forging his own convictions.  But Kira questions him at every turn.  This is her reflecting on past lives, too.  She knows what this sort of thing looks like, and wonders if Riker is making these decisions out of conviction or desperation.  Which she knows about, too.  She helps guide him into harder decisions, brave ones.

It's a bold episode, completely indicative of the best of Deep Space Nine.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - If this were the Avengers movies, this is a moment you'd really love.
• series - But as much as it's relevant to the greater franchise, it's also important to the series.
• character - Focuses on four different characters.
• essential - Brilliantly.

notable guest-stars:
Jonathan Frakes (Thomas Riker)
Marc Alaimo (Dukat)
Tricia O'Neil

Deep Space Nine 3x8 "Meridian"

rating: *

the story: Dax falls in love with someone on a planet that usually exists in a different plane of existence.

what it's all about: For a season I've always found to be among (if not the) best ones in the history of the franchise, there had to be an episode that just wasn't anywhere near par.  That's not to say "Meridian" is bad, it just seems pointless compared to nearly everything else in the third season.

But on the other hand, more casual fans of Deep Space Nine, which is to say Star Trek fans in general, will probably enjoy it well enough.  It's not a bad romance episode, which happens way too often in the franchise, although Dax's decision to quit Starfleet abruptly to pursue a relationship with someone she just met...stretches credulity no matter how you view it.

But the idea is pretty cool, like the classic musical Brigadoon, which was of course its original inspiration. 

Other than that, the B-story is actually a rare misfire for Quark, involving a seedy patron who calls on him to create a holographic Kira so he can...Yeah, so the tone just seems wrong.  But it at least means Jeffrey Combs makes his Deep Space Nine debut, before appearing later in the recurring roles of Brunt and Weyoun, both of whom are much better characters.

That's about it for this one.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - A rare chance for casual Star Trek fans to tune in and not have to worry about anything else.
• series - Which also means Deep Space Nine fans can probably tune out.
• character - Not a particularly good spotlight for anyone.
• essential - Even poor Jeffrey Combs!

notable guest-stars:
Jeffrey Combs
Brett Cullen

Deep Space Nine 3x7 "Civil Defense"

rating: ****

the story: A old Cardassian security program is accidentally triggered, endangering everyone in the station.

what it's all about: I consider this one of my favorite episodes, perhaps a little unreasonably so, much like "Conundrum" from Next Generation, a story that's so ridiculously clever and exceptionally executed, you can overlook the fact that it's a pretty throwaway experience in the grand scheme.  Although in that regard, its singular nature is right in line with classic episodic Star Trek storytelling, just not in the ways fans tend to think about it. 

It's also a kind of reintroduction of Gul Dukat, a character who had made a few appearances in the early seasons, but who hadn't really distinguished himself from other Cardassians who had appeared in Deep Space Nine or Next Generation yet.  "Civil Defense" defines his charismatic arrogance to a "t."  He's such a unique character in franchise lore, almost as if Q were mortal instead of insufferably all-powerful, but not really interested in what other people think about him despite how he can sometimes pretend otherwise.  Q's insatiable need for approval was the secret underlying fact about him, something I bet few fans realize even now, but not just his relationship with Picard, but even the later one with Janeway, betrays this over and over again.  There's no reason at all for Q to care about either of them, except he needs their acceptance, something he never gets from the Q Continuum, for example.  Humanity's ability to look at his meddling with irony intrigues him.

But why am I going on and on about Q in an episode that doesn't even feature him, in a series that featured him once, and failed to establish any such connection as I was just talking about?  Because of Dukat, of course, and the irony of the situation he finds himself in, which takes a "Disaster" (Next Generation) scenario and grounds it thoroughly in series lore, something that by the third season had become a trademark of Deep Space Nine, and in Dukat finds its best material.

Watching the station turn on everyone is fun enough (no, really!), but when Dukat shows up and then realizes he'd actually programmed the defense subroutines to ignore his attempts to disable it, thereby putting him in the same jeopardy as everyone else...It's classic.  It turns a good episode into a great one.  You don't even need to know where the character goes later in the series, his overall significance, to enjoy his role in "Civil Defense."  In a way, it's an allegory for failing to realize the traps we set for ourselves in our limited thinking, which we do all the time.  But even Q frequently got himself into trouble.

But I'll mention "Conundrum" one more time.  Like "Civil Defense" it's all about taking what we normally take for granted, the regular operations of the crew, and throws it into delicious chaos.  Reason enough to love both of them, really.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Harkens back to fond memories of other episodes.
• series - But embedded directly in its own surrounding material.
• character - Turns into a terrific character study of Dukat.
• essential - Manages to introduce him all over again, like the whole season a new starting point.

notable guest-stars:
Marc Alaimo (Dukat)
Andrew Robinson (Garak)

Deep Space Nine 3x6 "The Abandoned"

rating: **

the story: The station inadvertently becomes home to a Jem'Hadar youth.

what it's all about: A bit like the Next Generation classic "I, Borg," "The Abandoned" unexpectedly introduces sympathy for the devil via an innocent.  But the comparisons end there.  Where "I, Borg" was a stark contrast to every other Borg appearance (until Voyager's Seven of Nine, of course), "Abandoned" actually introduces a lot of interesting wrinkles, many of which would be improved upon later, to the concept of the Dominion.

This was still early in the existence of the Dominion in the series, mind you, and so "Abandoned" is also kind of a cheat and/or placeholder until someone decided just how far the story would really go.  Where "I, Borg" felt momentous (even if followed up poorly in the "Descent" two-parter), "Abandoned" in retrospect feels like it doesn't really belong in the greater arc except as a matter of convenience to establish a few basic elements of Dominion lore. 

As the first manifestation of the Dominion, the Jem'Hadar were immediately presented as formidable warriors, the first true rivals to the Klingons for this class in Star Trek lore (this wouldn't go unnoticed later, trust me), but they were also instantly presented as virtually interchangeable, guided in all things either by the Vorta or Founders.  In fact, "Abandoned" begins to establish just how guided, whether by genetic engineering or drug addiction (an interesting social commentary I'm not sure the series ever really did enough with).

But the real benefit of the whole experience is what all this has to do with Odo.  As established in the two-part "Search" season opener, Odo's people are the Founders, and as such anyone from the Dominion has to defer to Odo or risk offending their "gods."  (Deep Space Nine's commentaries on religion, begun with the Bajorans, are thus ratcheted up an impressive degree.)  The rebellious Jem'Hadar youth can only be contained in his violent impulses by Odo, which actually makes this more of an Odo episode than an exploration of the Dominion.

Where it fails is, again, because it exists in a vacuum, because the Jem'Hadar youth really has no useful direction to go at the end of the episode except to disappear and never be seen again (which is actually a shame, and one of the great missed opportunities of a series that had few of them).  Why this happened in the third season rather than the first or second is only because the creators only thought of it then.  Otherwise it's an almost embarrassingly random event that's otherwise not indicative of how Deep Space Nine tended to work.

The perhaps better element of the episode is the B-story, in which Jake begins to exert himself by introducing Sisko to his risqué Bajoran girlfriend, who works at Quark's bar.  It's a hilariously awkward subplot that shows how much better the series had gotten at exploring this unique father-and-son duo, and actually does everything the main story did but, well, better.  A good setup for the later-in-the-season classic "Explorers."

criteria analysis:

• franchise - Superficial similarities to "I, Borg" not worth totally acknowledging.
• series - It does establish some useful things about the Dominion.
• character - It's a good way to further establish Odo's odd relationship with the Dominion, too.
• essential - But all of this would be done better later ("Treachery, Faith, and the Great River").

notable guest-stars:
Bumper Robinson

Deep Space Nine 3x5 "Second Skin"

rating: ****

the story: Cardassian agents try to convince Bajoran that she's been one of their own all along.

what it's all about: At first blush "Second Skin" probably looks all too similar to Next Generation's "Face of the Enemy," which was itself a classic episode.  But it's got far more in common with that series' "The Defector," and with Deep Space Nine's own "Duet" and "Necessary Evil."  In short, it's another textbook example of things being far more complicated than they seem.

And let's be honest, no one watching this episode will ever think Kira, a Bajoran if there ever was one, is really Cardassian.  So if that's not the point, what is?  To find out why they want her to think so, and the thing is, it's not even about Kira, but about the father of the woman they want her think she is.  Therein lies material for some truly heartbreaking drama.  One of the episodes of Voyager that fans never had a problem getting behind was "Resistance," in which Janeway is befriended by a man who confuses her for his daughter, which becomes achingly poignant by its conclusion.  That's exactly what "Second Skin" is all about.

It's also about how Cardassian culture works.  Cardassians should have been obvious clear-cut villains in this series; their horrid Occupation was the reason the Bajorans were in such a bad place at the start of it, and even in Next Generation had been fairly consistently portrayed as such ("The Wounded" is an exception, as is the ending of "Lower Decks"), and yet throughout this and the fourth season great pains are made in various ways to try and prove otherwise.  This is arguably the most successful such effort.

(It should also be acknowledged that a second season episode, "Second Sight," has an incredibly similar title, as you can see.  But the two stories couldn't be more different.)

Kira was always such an interesting character, and although she was portrayed as the consummate Bajoran (with all due apologies to Ro Laren) she had a remarkable ability to rethink her conclusions, and when I link "Second Skin" with the earlier "Duet" and "Necessary Evil," this is exactly what I mean.  It's sometimes so easy to focus on the things that create gulfs between us, but it takes real courage to admit it's just never quite that simple. 

"Second Skin" also tries to set up doubt about the character of Garak, because later in the season we seem to see that fulfilled.  You should have doubt about that.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - A true Star Trek classic study about prejudice.
• series - A crucial addition to Deep Space Nine's own legacy in that regard.
• character - So of course it features Kira.  They always seem to, don't they?
• essential - Don't let any confusion you might have over a similarly-named episode fool you, this one's as memorable as they come.

notable guest-stars:
Andrew Robinson (Garak)
Lawrence Pressman

Star Trek vs. Star Wars (2016)

One of the biggest geek debates of the last forty years has been which one is better, Star Trek or Star Wars.  Star Trek came into existence a full decade before Star Wars, but they remain inextricably linked, thanks to the fact that they corner the same market: large-scale sci-fi storytelling.  Now, a few years ago J.J. Abrams seemed to blur the lines between the two when he not only directed the first two reboot Star Trek movies, but the seventh Star Wars entry, too.  Fans cried foul that he made Star Trek too much like Star Wars in his efforts, too action-oriented.

But I never bought it, because there is an essential difference between them that can't be ignored no matter how the story is told: Star Trek inherently believes in the establishment, and Star Wars doubts it.  There you have it, plain and simple.

So let me explain.  Star Trek is embodied by the hopeful vision of a United Federation of Planets, Star Wars by a rebellion against tyranny, which usually takes the shape of a galactic organization much like the Federation.  The Federation is usually represented by Starfleet, another mass-cooperation entity, while the rebellion is usually a loose collection of loners, sometimes represented by either the Jedi as a whole or a single practitioner.  Starfleet's ships are typically headed by strong leaders, but they always come with the full support of their crews.  The Jedi and their allies often clash on basic ideologies. 

Now, these are generalizations, but you get the point.  This year will have seen two movies released that drive home these points.  Star Trek Beyond is all about Kirk's fight against a founding officer of Starfleet who ends up being driven mad by the ideals he's forced to live with.  If this were Star Wars, Krall would be the good guy.  That's just a fact.  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story presents the origin of the crack team that helped bring about the destruction of the original Death Star, and everything you need to know about the team is in that title and in fact the first word, rogue. 

The struggle between Star Trek and Star Wars has also been exemplified by the 2016 presidential election, and what it once again helps illustrate: the persistent existence of two distinct segments of the population, one that believes in the system, and the other that constantly opposes it.  Actually, which is which tends to fluctuate, so don't bother trying to identify them, because it really doesn't matter.  Maybe it's a testament to what I've always said about myself as a voter, that I'm an independent, because I like Star Trek and Star Wars.  I sometimes wonder why this great divide exists, but I know that it does, and that's really enough. 

I think that's what makes them both popular, too, that they both exemplify the basic characters of the United States so well.  I mean, everyone knows Star Trek's origins were deeply immersed in the social turmoil of the '60s, but few stop to consider how ingrained Star Wars is in the culture, too, not just the concept but the idea of it, of the need to rebel, that has always existed in American life.  I tried for years to pin down what the analogy behind it was, what George Lucas was reflecting on, but maybe there really isn't any one historic struggle he was thinking of, but all of them.

It's certainly something to keep in mind.  Because there are always at least two ways to view things, and geek culture has been embracing them all along...

 

Deep Space Nine 3x4 "Equilibrium"

rating: **

the story: Jadzia discovers the existence of a hidden, unstable host of the Dax symbiont.

what it's all about: The idea of the joined Trill species originated in Next Generation's "The Host," which surprisingly in retrospect looks more like a bizarre case study in Star Trek intolerance than a preview of a major element of Deep Space Nine, so it's good that Jadzia and later Ezri Dax had so much time to explore the nuances of the concept in greater detail.  "Equilibrium" introduces a major wrinkle in the concept and also gives us a rare glimpse into Trill culture, which aside from Enterprise's Denobulans still stands as the most relatively unexplored aliens of the whole franchise despite plenty of exposure.  It would be like if Star Trek had stuck to Klingons as the enemy.  It sounds kind of inconceivable when put into words.

Granted, as "Equilibrium" makes pretty clear, being chosen to join is a big deal among Trill.  So much so (and this is better explored later in the season with "Facets," by the way) that we meet a renegade recipient who wasn't at all qualified for the honor who nonetheless hosted Dax for a short time, and was subsequently suppressed with the collective Dax memories, until he begins to resurface, unconveniently, for Jadzia.

That's actually how the episode falters.  This is weighty material, but much of it is buried under symbolism (the recurring image of masks) and admittedly catchy music, both of which make the intended bad guy seem a lot more sympathetic than either of his subsequent appearances (in the seventh season, "Field of Fire," plus a ridiculously creepy cameo in "Facets").  I get that this was a complicated subject, and that Deep Space Nine was known for nuance, but it just wasn't very successful this time.

As a soft exploration of Trill life, it's a welcome experience.  But it kind of degenerates into something that could just as easily not featured Trill life at all, even with the fun visit to the symbiont caves at the end of the episode.

criteria analysis:

• franchise - This one's weird, it's kind of series specific while at the same time...
• series - Not particularly adamant about it, either.
• character - But it's a good one for Dax.
• essential - And kind of important to the overall Trill portrait presented in the series.