Indiscretion

DVD, DS9 S4 (Indiscretion)

Two episodes, both directed by 'Star Trek' actors and both featuring scenes on an alien world. I like the two episodes about the same, but with 'Hippocratic Oath' it's despite shooting soundstages for an external location, whereas the actual location shots in this one enhance it greatly. There's time for a beautiful evening sky to be seen, the illusion of a full-size crashed ship merged into a mountain of sand, and some proper desert scenes of Kira and Dukat stomping through the wilderness. The hook comes early: things start out as a one-woman mission to discover the whereabouts of a vanished ship containing a friend of Kira's, never explained who this guy was and what he meant to her, even though she was willing to drop everything and go looking for him. An oversight, or were they leaving things vague for a reason? The story soon takes a dramatic turn when Gul Dukat is introduced as the partner Kira's forced to take along, then changes again later, when we learn his personal reasons for embarking on this journey.

Books could be written about Dukat. He's very possibly the most complex character in all of Trek. Starting out as a simplistic villain, we gradually learned how this man who was in charge of the Bajoran Occupation didn't hate the people, but actually felt it was good for them as he declares to Kira here. Beginning with his rescue by Sisko in 'The Maquis' he started to appreciate Sisko and maybe even delude himself that one day he and the DS9 crew would see each other as friends and equals. This episode was the one to really turn a corner and show that there could be a heroic side of good in him, but with later developments that can easily be explained away. It's not so much that he was a hero for taking on a mission, we already know he's more than capable of handling himself and is a strong soldier. No, it's for the fact that he seems to go against the nature of his people and the strong duty he feels, to spare the outcast daughter rather than kill her.

Even in his most positive acts a selfish motive can be found. In 'The Way of The Warrior' he rescues the members of the new civilian government, but it's just so that he can remain powerful. In this he had Kira's weapon pointed at his back, so the cynically minded may cite this as a good reason not to carry out his mission, yet he seems to disregard Kira and it is Ziyal's puppy-like devotion to him that changes his mind. Even in this act of 'mercy' he's showing a deeper character trait than we may not understand at this point in the series: that his own desires will always, ultimately rule him. It's against Cardassian society to allow an illegitimate child, or a half-breed, to live in the family, but she is his child and the only connection to Tora Naprem, whom he claimed to love. Yes, he takes her back to Cardassia with him, and when she's with him in the future he does behave differently, but the darkness of his own mind always wins out in the end.

The episode itself isn't this dark whirlpool of emotion and evil waiting to be unleashed, it's a standard adventure story, but I'm seeing it with the eyes of later episodes to colour my view. I love it when someone goes off in a Runabout, and pairing Kira with her archenemy seems obvious, so why hadn't they done this before? Dukat always had a liking for Kira, she always had a disliking for him, but what once could have been described as hatred, has cooled so that she's even capable of having a laugh with Dukat. The thorn incident is hilarious and natural, but like Razka Khan, the old friend they meet in the Badlands to confirm the location of the Ravinok, says, it 'almost' makes you forget his crimes, but not quite. The meeting with Razka (played by the guy who was good as the Zakdorn Kolrami in 'TNG' Season 2's 'Peak Performance,' and is even better here) brings another side of Dukat to the surface. With Kira he's all jokey and pleasant, but as soon as Razka suggests he should have informed the Maquis so they could have captured him, his Cardassian strength comes to the fore and he takes over the conversation, referring to the arrest warrants for Razka. His eyes narrow and the steel in his voice makes it clear he's someone to be reckoned with, something that Kira doesn't completely realise until he refuses her order down on the planet. Then it hits home she has no real power over him.

Just as I like seeing an adventure off on an alien planet, something the other Trek series' could do, I also like to see life on the station, and the B-story fulfils this wish. It gets a little overly soapy with Sisko having said something wrong to Kasidy and not showing the necessary enthusiasm when she tells him about a Bajoran job offer meaning she'll be able to stay in the area. It's hardly the fate of the Alpha Quadrant hanging in the balance, but the advice from various people ("At least you didn't say it's a very big step"), and the general humour of his situation (he listens to the advice then leaves them all hanging), makes it palatable, but once we get down to the real reason he lacked joy at the prospect, we find a deeper meaning to his reticence - he doesn't want the same the same thing for Kasidy that happened to Jennifer. It makes the storyline worthwhile. That, and Jake reprising his manly advice from last season when the subject of girlfriends came up - he and Nog sort out all Sisko's problems, it's so simple, why can't he see that!

The subplot is just something to keep us waiting for developments in the real story. What should have been the most defining part of the episode, the revealing of the Breen for the first time, is actually quite minor. They are portrayed as merely aliens-of-the-week, not the culmination of years of references in 'TNG,' 'DS9' and even 'Voyager.' It's easy to forget how small a part they play in this story, basically a few soldiers guarding the prisoners. Their unknown nature is at least cultivated by the refrigeration suits they wear so we still don't know what they look like. The comparison with Princess Leia's bounty hunter disguise in 'Return of The Jedi' is valid as they do share similarities, but they look interesting and I think are the only Trek race to be constantly masked. The main thing was there was still enough about them to leave threads hanging, and if there were to be another TV series the Breen could easily be a race that to be developed - despite many references to them they remain a mystery. It can be pointed out that Kira and Dukat might have seen the contents of a Breen suit as they wear the outfit, but these were most likely extra garments in a locker or left in a corner.

The Breen voices didn't even get heard, just the grunts as they get whacked to the ground, and they actually seem quite ineffectual. My theory is that these were soldiers in disgrace, the reason they had to do duty on a hot planet when they prefer cold, overseeing a dilithium mine of forgotten prisoners. There didn't need to be many of them as it had been six years since the Cardassian ship had been shot down, and I imagine the Breen simply took advantage of the fact they found slaves to use, when they were probably surveying the planet to mine themselves. There was nowhere for the prisoners to escape to on the barren world, the prisoners would have given up hope of rescue after such a long time, and no doubt a ship would have arrived now and again to take the dilithium and perhaps change soldiers.

I'd be fascinated to know the story of Kira's friend, what Tora Naprem was like and how the Cardassians and Bajorans learned to coexist. It's clear they thought the Occupation was still ongoing, yet the Cardassians definitely spoke to the Bajorans since Ziyal was told she'd be killed rather than be accepted into society. They may have said it harshly, but I got the impression they were all equals and after such a long time probably had bonded into a group - they might have an easier time settling into the new societies of their respective worlds. It would be great to have a book written, like the Terok Nor series or 'The Never-Ending Sacrifice,' to tell the Ravinok's story. My theory about the Breen is that the main body is full of food items, like a fridge, and in the helmet is a little Tribble pulling levers to operate the body, with a long tube down to the food section. It's as credible as any other explanation!

The episode could have been improved with an injection of action. It doesn't have the same thrill as Kira and O'Brien's rescue of Bajoran prisoners from the Cardassian labour camp in 'The Homecoming,' although both episodes were filmed at the same place. The revelations about Dukat are what hold it all together. I actually thought this version of Ziyal was very good, and though it was a short scene, the best of the episode - Dukat sees his own flesh and blood and can't kill her. It was played as real love and shown to be so in his taking of the girl back to face the music. Perhaps in some long game in his mind it was all to show Kira what a good man he is so that she'll learn to respect, even love him in the future? At the end of the episode he enjoys telling her he'll be in contact when she asks about what will happen, and Kira doesn't quite know what to make of it. She's seen a different Dukat, someone with greater depth than she realised. She still doesn't like him, but she's surprised herself by actually gaining a measure of respect for him.

Unlike most Trek episodes in other series, which were capable of such a story as this, 'DS9' has the luxury of a continuing story. There are links back to previous episodes (the Klingon restaurant is still going on the Promenade; the Assay Office is mentioned; the Badlands visited; the Maquis are still around; the Dissident movement that created the new government), yet also lays groundwork for subsequent episodes that can run with the material begun here. That has always made this series unique and this episode showed how recurring characters can be picked up when needed, villains made sympathetic (now Dukat has eight children!), traditional planet-hopping can be done, and normal, day-to-day life could also be played with.

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