The Maquis, part II

DVD, DS9 S2 (The Maquis, part II)

Of the two (or more)-part episodes so far in the series, 'The Maquis' comes across as the weakest. That's not to say there weren't plenty of things to enjoy, but, particularly with this second part, the fact that it's purely created as a set-up for another series, means there's a lot of exposition and posturing, and little in the way of action or paying off the characters and events depicted so far. Sisko says he'll deal with the Maquis threat, and claims that he has, only it's the all-out war that's been averted rather than an end to terrorism in the region. Cardassia makes Dukat the scapegoat, but when the embarrassing truth surfaces he's free to return home to Cardassia. It leaves everything feeling a little uneven, and doesn't fulfil the promise of the first half.

Part I had it's problems, but mostly they were deferred to this half, and the various conversations don't go very far. There are notable exceptions, with Quark giving a delightful lecture on logic to the captured Vulcan, in a way that only he could - seeing peace as a commodity. Most of the time is spent with Sisko trying to give Cal chance to return to Starfleet as if nothing had happened, which was never a likelihood. There was a moment of unintentional amusement that came to me when Ben enters the colonist's meeting room and slings a bag on the table which contains his friend's uniform. Whenever I see an alien object being carried or used by someone I immediately start to wonder if it's Odo in disguise, designed so that Cal will take the bag with him and Odo will do a bit of infiltration. This time the bag's vaporised by phaser so that put a definitive end to my theory! I've seen these episodes several times before, but over time I forget the little details. Odo does get to showcase a morph, this time using his arm as a tendril to stretch over and pull a fleeing Maquis from a ladder.

What there is to like, among the serious discussions, is Dukat who becomes almost a friend over the course of these episodes. For a change we see an honest reaction: his sadness and surprise over Central Command's willingness to ditch him as a scapegoat for the weapons. He and Sisko get on quite well, finding another commonality in their appreciation of a good meal. But Dukat returns to his low rank in the estimation of the Commander when he wants to blow apart the escaping Maquis raider, which Sisko allows to go free, hoping that Hudson will change his mind at some time. Dukat sees this as sentimentality and their brief alliance is ended. We don't know what the Cardassian returns to however, which is a bit of a loose end. The final shot of Sisko in his office, with the weight and lonely thought enhanced by the large oval window and the space around him, is one of the only great scenes of the episode.

I also enjoyed Dukat's earning a bit more respect from Kira - his Cardassian efficiency and personal authority forcing the Xepolite trader to comply with Sisko's demands. After that little display he allows himself a satisfied smile at Kira's surprise. The episode has another of the few, small skirmishes of these early seasons. We haven't really had one since Dax and Kira's dogfight in the atmosphere over Bajor at the start of the season. The battle between Maquis raiders and Starfleet Runabouts isn't as impressive, but there are nice shots showing the view from a Maquis ship as it weaves in and out. It seems most paltry compared with later, much more elaborate battles, but it gives us the chance to see all three current Runabouts (Orinoco, Rio Grande and Mekong) fighting together for the first time. Seeing more than one Runabout at a time is a rarity, so three was quite something, even if they turned out to be pretty weak, all so that Sisko could have his last conversation with Cal!

On top of Dukat's increased prominence (and getting to be the first to resist a Vulcan mindmeld, giving him more power as a character, something that was lacking for the regulars in this episode), we also have the first appearance of Admiral Nechayev from 'TNG' in this series, and another actor who'd already played a Bajoran this season, Michael Bell, was also the Xepolite - a good visual alien, with green reptilian skin, and black, scaly 'hair'. He is also known for the role of Groppler Zorn in 'TNG's first episode.

Where does the episode leave our characters? Not really anywhere, I would argue. Sisko's angry at Cal's betrayal of Starfleet principles, perhaps setting the seeds for his rage against Eddington. Apart from that nothing significant moves anyone forward, and in hindsight I think they really should have concentrated on hitting the marks for this series, rather than filling in some blanks for 'Voyager'. As great as a crossover storyline is, this didn't fulfil it's potential, leaving all that for another day, which is unselfish, and later episodes certainly run with the Maquis storyline, so perhaps we should see this as a primer for better things.

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