Improbable Cause

DVD, DS9 S3 (Improbable Cause)

Another turning point in the series, this was the first to hang an episode on a recurring character instead of the regulars, and while Odo shares the storyline about equally with Garak, it's still all about the Cardassian tailor. It also shows the possibilities of the series for a continuous story to run through. That had been a part of the series from the start, with Bajor's problems, Sisko's new role and the politics of the situation, but now we come across a season-spanning plot that began, without us realising it, right back at the first episode when Odo and his comrades discovered the Founders homeworld, shared that information with the Romulans, and inadvertently, as we learn now, with the Cardassian Obsidian Order and more specifically Enabran Tain, Garak's former mentor, turned nemesis, turned ally. Unanswered questions such as the unidentified Cardassian ships in 'Defiant' and that mysterious build-up in the Orias sector become clear like the reveal of a magician's trick. In the Companion book the writers claim they didn't have a strong arc laid out, but that only makes the tying up of threads more impressive.

A layer of Garak's personality is uncovered, but with each detail revealed his uneven state of mind, or the face he shows to people, becomes even more hazy. The moment we think we are getting to know him he becomes more indistinct than ever, ranging from friendly banter with Bashir, to repartee with Odo, to surprise when Tain offers him a position, anger at Odo's unfeelingness and blank unresponsiveness when questioned directly about his history by Sisko. It's what we wanted all along, to have the question of his past life out point blank, but as usual he dodges the questions, always playing the game, but what they don't realise is that Sisko and the others have been made part of the game and Garak is using them all along. He only occasionally allows himself the luxury of expressing true feelings, but Odo's musing that someone could care about the former spy as Tain's housekeeper seemed to, or that Garak cares about the mentor that tried to kill him pushes him into real irritation. Odo's evasiveness and sarcasm soon reminds him of his own buffers and the gracious and self-satisfied smile flickers back onto his lips in short order.

Odo too, is shown at his best, uncovering plots and seeing through motives, his best scene is probably the encounter with the 'innocent' Flaxian salesman, in which he plays the fish-like alien (complete with tendril-like whiskers coming from face and hands) expertly. There's so much double-talk in the episode that by the end, aboard the Romulan Warbird Tain is even making double-talk about the double-talk much to Odo's disdain. Thanks to this wonderful wordplay and trickery the episode flys by despite a lack of energetic action, aside from Garak's shop exploding (just as the schoolroom had done in Season 1 - maybe that's where he got the inspiration from?) or the Flaxian's ship doing the same. Odo and Garak are off all over the place, but though we hear of where they're going we don't see much indication, though it's wonderful to have the Runabouts so clearly in use again, the Rio Grande being mentioned by name. The Runabout they're aboard when captured by Tain isn't named, but you can bet it isn't the Rio Grande as that ship always gets its owners back in one piece.

The only unconvincing moment is the scene in the cave when Odo meets his Cardassian contact. The floor is level, there's plenty of light and the man's voice doesn't give away his lofty position? Yet he throws down the padd which Odo catches and then the constable resumes peering into the darkness as if he's going to spot the contact. Light in dark places is a common problem in screen dramas. If it was true to life it would be too dark to see anything, so there has to be some illumination. It's just one of those things we take as read, much like artificial gravity or ships travelling the 'right' way up whenever they meet each other. I thought it would be more suitable for the contact to tell Odo he'd transferred the names to his Runabout instead of chucking down the padd. A minor stump in a heartily well-written forest.

The potential for an extreme turning point in the series is not just in the characters (will Garak leave his role aboard DS9 now he's accepted Tain's offer?), but in the stability of the quadrant. The Tal'Shiar and Obsidian Order may be happy to throw everything into a war with the Dominion, regarding Starfleet as an unconcerned neutral, but the Gamma Quadrant enemy will strike back, and that strike will come through the Wormhole dragging the Federation in since they're not going to abandon Bajor. But Tain and his allies are so confident in their power they see only a first strike and victory.

With no 'part I' in the title in the style of all the other two-parters on the series (and in 'Star Trek' in general) the ending catches the viewer off guard. It's not so much a cliffhanger in terms of danger and suspense, but it leaves us with plenty to cogitate over. With all the information that seeps through about Garak, it appears we have concrete details about him at last, but how many cracks are in that concrete? Avery Brooks does another star turn as director, keeping the mystery and pace in so many dialogue-heavy scenes (and still showing the desire to experiment - I love the move into the frame along the wardroom table as we slowly creep towards the Flaxian, showing off the makeup department's triumph as much as anything). Quark and Jake don't feature, but that's the price of an included wider cast, the soundtrack is assured (the music coming across very strongly in the way that later season's would do), even the babble of the Promenade somehow sounds more 'three-dimensional'. Garak gives us at least two thoughts to stay with us: a Nausicaan in wedding clothes for one, and for another, that he definitely isn't as fond of his tailoring life as he makes out!

****