Return To Grace

DVD, DS9 S4 (Return To Grace)

It's good to talk. Cardassians believe this wholeheartedly, and none more so than Gul Dukat. He bends Kira's ear right off throughout this episode, and we learn a fair amount about him, including that he'd previously been promoted to Legate with his military advisor role, which I hadn't realised before - he mentions the possibility of the reinstatement of this title which he's now lost. This is pretty much a sequel to 'Indiscretion,' the story in which Kira unexpectedly found herself getting along with the Cardassian who had formerly been responsible for overseeing the terrible Occupation of her planet. In that, she was forced to take him along for diplomatic reasons when he showed up at the station, and the same kind of thing happens here, Kira getting a surprise visit from him in her quarters, somewhere you would not have expected Dukat ever to set foot. But it's not the same Dukat we saw earlier in the season (and I'm not talking about any shapeshifter-related shenanigans - I'm sure even they would have a hard time figuring out an accurate impersonation after all the turns he's taken), he's lost practically everything and to some degree it was down to Kira who persuaded him not to kill his illegitimate daughter Ziyal, but to take her with him.

His Mother's disowned him, his wife's left him, taking his children, and another Gul has moved into her affections while he sits in a rust bucket Cardassian freighter reduced from military advisor to the Detapa Council to menial cargo captain of a transport which barely has any weapons at all. The Groumall isn't a rust bucket really, the first time we see it is the best, gracefully exiting the station's environs it looks beautiful like a frozen centipede, it's ribbed design almost undulating and the length giving it a majestic air. The inside is almost as interesting, with a bridge that features a curved ceiling like a tunnel and cargo bays that are high and narrow (a clever reuse of the station's Cargo Bay set). We don't get a sense of the size of it from the sets, unfortunately and it would have been nice to see Dukat and Kira actually walk the length of it which could have been achieved by cutting as they entered each bay, the existing set disguised to look like the next in sequence and so on, but it's not a problem. I preferred being on the Groumall to the Klingon Bird of Prey because we've seen that design so many times (and would continue to do so!), yet we've not seen a lot of internal Cardassian views.

Though he's lost everything, the professional military man Dukat shows his training and exacting standards. Never has a freighter been so smartly operated, Dukat the king of his castle, making the best of it. It could be an act for Major Kira in order to impress her, or perhaps so that Ziyal will have something to respect if she wasn't already enthralled by her Father for rescuing her and going against tradition to allow her to live with him, but more likely is that Dukat doesn't allow himself to get too downhearted because, as he states early in the episode, he plans to restore everything that's been lost to himself. That ruthless streak, maybe not even small enough to be called a streak, more like a state of mind, allows him to destroy the Klingon crew with one blast when he has them in his power, or idly plot revenge on Gul Marratt, sending him in his mind to Breen where he hears it's very cold. "…And we Cardassians do so hate the cold," he smiles. He's set on regaining his status and longs to be feared again by his enemies, quite a different sentiment to the side Ziyal tells Kira about: that he regrets the Occupation.

The major missing link of this episode is to see Dukat with his daughter, who comes across as an extra limb when the story is really between Dukat and Kira. There are barely any scenes with them together, and certainly none where it's just them, as Kira has with both Ziyal and Dukat. He's a different man around Ziyal, a softer person that allows his inner feelings to mould his persona, he's discovered how much he enjoys this aspect of his personality so he lets it run, yet more self-centredness in the guise of care, but we only see the pirate. He's not a pirate to begin with, but a man plotting and thinking, biding his time. It's Kira that changes his mind and gives him new horizons in which to operate. No one else could tell him all that she does and be listened to, but because it is Kira and he has such a connection to her, he takes notice. She appeals to his vanity, while also inadvertently feeding his delusion that she could ever come to feel affection for him. These things combine to spark his ambitions and under the cover of striking out against the Klingons for his people, he desperately wants Kira to join him, passionately invoking her to join his cause and return to the life that she knew as a terrorist.

Dukat makes some major errors in his recruitment drive. For one thing he constantly criticises her new boyfriend, calling Shakaar a lumbering field-hand, while attempting to aggrandize himself in her eyes and appeal to her former nature without realising how much she's changed. Bajor has hope and a future, Shakaar is First Minister, not only special to Kira's heart, but her people's political leader, and she has an important position on DS9 where her fire has been channelled into her work. She's not the angry former terrorist any more and his appeals could never work on her. Even if he'd made this offer a couple of seasons ago, perhaps even Season 1 if that had been possible, back when she was still a whirlwind easy to stoke up and had less ties, she could never have found the zeal for fighting the enemies of Cardassia that Dukat has. In a way he's become her - railing against his own shortsighted government, a powerless spoke in a defeated people, angry, righteous, needing to fight. He came far too late to ever snare Kira even if she could ever fully forgive the atrocities he presided over.

For a 'Deep Space Nine' episode that isn't set on the station and features the chase of a Klingon ship by a Cardassian one, this is severely lacking in excitement. The episode is much more geared to the summary of a gentle personal tale on a travelling freighter which it begins as, than what it ostensibly becomes: a piratical adventure against the odds. Too much time is given over to Dukat's musings, and usually I'd be only too happy to listen to his self-deluded ramblings, teasing and speeches, but there's nothing between. All we have are a couple of asteroids being shot at (like the bored Captain Klaa in 'Star Trek V' who blasts up an old Earth satellite. Another film's also referenced: in 'Star Trek III' Kirk switched crews with a Klingon ship before it was blown up, just as Dukat does here). I was complaining in 'Homefront' that there wasn't enough sense of progression in terms of travel and time passing, but it seems all of that was sucked up and injected into this episode instead! Even the attack on the Klingon vessel is nowhere near as exciting as it should be: Dukat and Kira beam over, shoot a couple of Klingons, fight a couple more, then fiddle with the console. They should have had Klingons pouring into the room with Dukat having to shoot them down before they can get to Kira as she works away, like in the Bond game 'Goldeneye' when you had to protect Natalya from soldiers advancing from several directions at once.

I did like the utter humiliation from the Bird of Prey as it sweeps menacingly over Dukat's freighter, displaying it's belly in derision, not even wasting a disruptor blast on an unworthy enemy, a far cry from Dukat's decorated military career. You actually feel sorry for him! They've manoeuvred his character from a basic baddie to someone that can be sympathetic thanks to his heroic actions of this season and the smoothing of his edges by giving him such a gentle daughter. This was Cyia Batten's second and final appearance as Tora Ziyal, and I can see now why she was replaced - her doglike devotion and gentleness worked wonderfully when she was a pitiful captive about to be killed by her own Father, but in this story a stronger, slightly harder performance was necessary, and she remains too meek and mild for someone who's willing to follow her Father into battle. When Kira and she butt heads ever so slightly over their feelings toward Dukat, she can't really stand up to the Major and just looks unhappy rather than making an impassioned case.

She does try to get into the spirit of things by learning some combat moves and wanting to try them out on Kira like an excited child that's just learnt a new skill, but wants to show it off to a friend who's already a master. Kira doesn't pull her punches because she doesn't want Ziyal to be disillusioned about what she may be facing. She tells her she'll have to hate the Klingons as much as she hated her Breen captors (in the second mention of that race in the episode!), but even then, I can't imagine Ziyal actively hating anyone, she was too compassionate and tenderhearted to feel that kind of bitterness or rage. Watching this one is a bit like seeing episodes from Season 1 in relation to the main characters - this is the 'Season 1' for Ziyal and Damar and they seem as unfinished and not quite there as the main characters did at first. It's really weird to hear that Damar's taught her some moves and to see him on the bridge interacting with Dukat, considering later developments. It's such a small role, but even the writer's could never have conceived how big it was going to become, and that's what I love about this series, often there can be a minor character that's gradually built up and up, further than you'd expect and it's one of the things that make it so special.

I have to say this is the first episode that has the glimmering of weakness about it. While 'Paradise Lost' wasn't great, it still had enough to secure itself as a good episode, but this one is tricky to quantify. On the one hand it delivers Dukat's most featured performance so far, informs us on his continuing story and sets up so much for the future, but there's a feeling of dissatisfaction thanks to the action not balancing out the talkiness. Yet it is Dukat, and his monologues are entertaining, as are his constant advances at Kira, veiled as gushing compliments. It's interesting to see her stuck on this ship with a man she used to consider a monster, but has since been tempered with some goodness and rightness. Dukat would love nothing more than for Kira to think she could change his mind and make him a better person, evidenced by her agreement to help attack the Klingon ship, and if it served his purpose I'm sure he would have done almost anything to convince Kira of his noble intentions.

I think Dukat's anger against his government is genuine, but it comes from his innate belief that his people are, and should be seen, as superior to everyone else, so even his righteous indignation comes from a bad place. His charisma carries the episode and even though this feels a little weak compared to other 'DS9' episodes, it's still quite good in comparison with other series' such as 'TNG.' It's strange that there's no B-story to take us away from the ship, instead it goes from one scene with people talking on board, to another, and while Dukat is extremely watchable and stops the episode from becoming boring, it lacked impetus. It looks good, the lighting noticeably strong, probably because Director Jonathan West was usually Director of Photography so was more aware than most directors. One shot that stood out for me was the final frame which showed the full length of the upper part of the Promenade, something not seen often.

It ends like 'Indiscretion,' Dukat once again happily noting how his and Kira's lives have become intertwined, much to her displeasure. If anyone ever wondered why Kira gave so much thought to helping Ziyal she mentions in this episode it's because the girl reminds her of herself. She was the person that got Dukat to spare the girl's life and so she probably feels responsible, and at the back of her mind, wants to save her from Dukat and his way of life, though she can't deny he's been a good Father to her, and would never have guessed he would give up everything for her sake. Maybe on Dukat's side it's partly due to the memory of Tora Naprem, and because it means he has a personal connection with Kira, something he's thrilled about. Having Ziyal live on the station was quite a development and not something you'd see on the other series' too much, but they were happy to shake things up a little on 'DS9,' and while Ziyal's hardly the type to cause ripples, it leaves all kinds of questions about how she'll fit in, how Garak will react, not to mention what Dukat's status will is now. He's become an outlaw so will he be welcome on a Bajoran station which has a treaty with his people? That's an easy one to answer: he's never been welcome there, but he doesn't mind, and he has a legitimate claim on visiting now that his daughter's there. It's just sad that we're left to imagine Dukat's one-man battle against authority and the Klingons rather than see it in succeeding episodes.

***