Life Support

DVD, DS9 S3 (Life Support)

I regret very little about the series, particularly Season 3, but one thing I consider a mistake is Bareil's untimely death and exit as a recurring character. He should have been in more episodes during the season, perhaps showing the preliminary meetings leading up to the treaty, and a greater demonstration of his negotiating skills which I can imagine were considerable. He gave us a different side of Kira to see, a looser, informal, even fun side when she was with him, without her usual guard up. He was one of the best characters, a wise, heroic, self-sacrificing guy who gives himself for Bajor's future. And what a potential future! A peace treaty between Bajor and Cardassia would have been unheard of, yet he engineers it. The impact of this is almost lost in the personal tragedy and we can forget the high import of such a moment in history. In some ways it was a cruel twist because we see Bareil die early on, and that's hard enough to accept, but then hope is reignited as he's brought back only to die a little bit at a time. On the other hand it gave Philip Anglim one last episode (or not...) to play the serene religious monk and display the calm air of one who was comfortable with his place.

Ironically, in the first episode we meet Bareil and Winn, she tries to kill him, and in this, his last appearance she's desperate to keep him alive. That is, until her purpose is served. I even considered whether Winn had engineered the accident herself to prevent a future threat to her position, but that would make no sense when Bareil was helping her and getting along well and even she admits she couldn't do without his insight and guidance. One of the best scenes is Bashir's informal confrontation with Winn in the wardroom - her veiled venom is potent when he shows her up as the coward and the manipulator she is, and she threatens to remember those words, to which Bashir replies he will too. Charged! Louise Fletcher's illness at the time of shooting is noticeable if you know about it, but otherwise you could put it down to the burden of office - she seems more reserved and tired, and less unpleasant - now she has what she wanted she doesn't need to dig her claws in any more.

It was the first major shock of the series, after Kai Opaka's departure, and in keeping with the serious nature of the story everyone is subdued - in the whole episode only Nog gets really animated. Some might feel the B-story, humourous as it was, detracted from the serious moments, but I think it succeeded in giving some relief as we took in the terrible ramifications. In fact Jake is quite quiet and mature, and the row between the two friends leads to a heartwarming mended friendship so it can hardly be called a frivolous indulgence, and addresses the human/Ferengi differences that haven't been much of an issue before, as well as the growing up of the young friends. It's surprising that Nog hadn't been seen for half a season, probably his longest absence from the show, but there were so many characters expected to be brought back after Season 2, and several big plots, not forgetting the main cast and the desire to show more of the Trek universe, that it shouldn't be so unexpected. They waited for the right story to feature him instead of squeezing him in without good reason. I'm still waiting for Eddington to show his face after being forgotten since the opening two-parter!

There are several references to other races in the episode (and first mention of Nog's Grandmother, though not by name, unless you count Rom calling for 'Moogie' last season), including the Vulcans and the Terellians. The best one is in Jake and Nog's supposed crime of breaking into the Tholian ambassador's quarters. When Nog is put in the holding cell he pleads that he's never even seen a Tholian, and at that point in the Star Trek saga, neither had we! Not a whole one anyway. I suppose the most thought-provoking question left by Bareil's death is what would the series have been like if he had lived?

With Bareil as a trusted advisor, only interested in Bajor's betterment would Winn have made better decisions? Would she have fallen from the Prophets or been encouraged by Bareil's faith? Would she have needed to seek solace in the Pah-wraiths? Or would she still have walked the dark path and closed her ears to Bareil? It seems likely there would have been a confrontation at some point, maybe the Vedek would even have realised he'd have to speak out against her, and so sealed his fate. In a way she was responsible for his death because she encouraged his zealous desire to remain active for the negotiations, and I can only see her doing the deed for real if she and Bareil had lost their joint goal when her ambition for power took over. It may have taken a season or so longer but in the end I don't think Bareil would have survived anyway.

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