Past Tense, Part II

DVD, DS9 S3 (Past Tense, Part II)

Not quite as powerful as part one, but it covers the personalities and people very well and is a more up-close and personal tale. Sisko's command of people is shown to be more than the rank and respect he is owed as a Starfleet officer - in this situation he has neither at the outset, but shakes with passion for the cause, his cause, which is different from those around him. To counter BC's exuberantly violent persona he has to be even bigger, giving the young man the way out of being relaxed and unimpressed by anything that happens in response. But BC isn't a stereotype. He has murdered, but he is driven and though he covers up his real desires under bravado and lack of respect for authority even he sees the importance of what they're doing, if he doesn't think much beyond his own plans for freedom. I had forgotten who lived, and, if any, who died, but the farewell Webb gives to his son suggested that he was saying more than a temporary goodbye and it's sad that such a good man could die, but out of the deaths of the good and the bad came a time of social reform and the future was secured. Were their lives worth it? I don't know, but that was why the Federation had implemented a policy not to interfere in temporal matters - only what had been could be again, rightly or wrongly.

The story isn't as successful as the first part, mainly because much of the momentum is lost as they wait for the inevitable confrontation. The humour comes from O'Brien and Kira's visits to different time periods, and those moments are funny, but they don't quite suit the mood of the hostage room which is generally charged and testy. I felt their weary attitude to the last attempt at transporting to the right time was a bit too cavalier. I know they're tired, but this last try was going to decide the fate of the entire Federation. If they had thought too much about it they might have spent too long agonising over which period to use up the last chroniton particles on, so it could be a way to avoid that turmoil.

The police attack doesn't quite come across strongly enough and the force of these projectile weapons isn't as powerful as some phaser fights have been. I put it down to lack of experience with such things in the Trek universe, but the impact is lessened so the scene doesn't have the weight it deserves as the event that this was all leading up to. It isn't that Jonathan Frakes (back for his third episode behind the camera) directed badly, but the episode is much more introverted than others, so the camera is generally pushed up close to people.

This two-parter has been the least 'DS9'-like of the season - the station isn't seen, much of the action occurs in the past and the characters are pretending to be other people, almost like a parallel universe. Bashir and Sisko's inherent goodness and good intentions still come across however, so that the hostages learn to trust them. Vin is the staunchest critic of the District residents so it's quite something when his views are turned around. It may be ironic that it should be he, a guard, that realises the truth, but there is great satisfaction in it, completing the episode. You're left wanting to see the fates of these people, to view the changes that would take place in the coming years, and as often happens the episode ends too quickly. Sisko confesses he doesn't know how people let things get so bad and the episode doesn't have answers, but it does alert us to the dangers of forgetting or not thinking about the plight of people around us.

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