Ties of Blood and Water

DVD, DS9 S5 (Ties of Blood and Water)

This is one that improves with age; my age. When I was younger I used to think of this as the one where Kira talks to a boring old Cardassian for a whole episode, but in more recent years I've been old enough to appreciate the weightiness of the subjects, something that children couldn't understand. It brings home the vast change to Kira since we've known her, by having Worf ask the question anyone in the audience that hadn't seen (or had forgotten), the third season's 'Second Skin,' would like to ask (Kira was abducted by the Obsidian Order and made to believe she was actually a Cardassian spy, eventually forming a bond with the man who believed she was his daughter), proving that even with some of the sequel stories the writers tried to bring newcomers up to speed. Usefully, the earlier episode occurred before Worf came to the station so giving them that opportunity to question Kira's attachment to a Cardassian.

It's been a long process for her to overcome her racial prejudices and become friendly with some members of the race that oppressed her people for so long. It began as early as Season One when she was confronted by a man that wanted to take his superior's guilt upon himself, and continued throughout the series as Kira became a calmer, less violent person, culminating in her surrogate pregnancy for the O'Briens. That experience changed her, as has working with Starfleet and their way of looking at things, her friendships with Dax and Sisko, and coming to terms with Bajor's leadership structure by (for the moment), learning to cooperate with Kai Winn and having Shakaar, her former resistance leader and now boyfriend, in the position of First Minister. It's not just outside influences that have formed her, but, as Tekeny points out, public perception of her as one of the most important Bajorans alive today. Being in such a responsible position has tempered her and softened her in equal measure.

That's interesting in an episode where we get our earliest picture of her to this point, seeing her memories of being in the Occupation and being absent for her Father's death. Quite apart from the themes of these sequences there's a lot to like in them on a purely visual level - it's amazing how they could make her look so much younger, and how Visitor could return to that angry, driven persona we saw so much at the start of the series. There's also the joy of having Furel back again (though I would have liked a young Shakaar, too), for his third and final appearance (though William Lucking would return to Trek again), especially considering he'd died only a few episodes before! What's more, we see him with his arm intact, another visual marker to the time Kira's thinking back to. And Thomas Kopache was an excellent casting choice to play Kira's Father, Taban - a regular Trek guest star on all the modern series', his gaunt look and haunted eyes have always served to make him seem vulnerable and innocent. I got the impression that her Father was a gentle man, only interested in peace and the growing of his garden (like a Hobbit in all but form), who was naive enough to think he could talk to the Cardassians when they were destroying it. This view was enhanced when he returned to show an earlier part of Kira family life in Season 6.

Far more than a story about Kira talking to an old Cardassian, this is about the issues of guilt and fear, of overcoming hatred and forgiving the elderly their wrongs before they die. It's not really about Ghemor at all, he's the crucible within which Kira is forced to confront her past. That they could continue to reveal things about the main characters after five years of a series either shows that they didn't do enough backstory early on (it was much more 'TNG' in style in Season 1, with individual, science-based problems to solve), or that the characters were so rich that there could be these seams of gold to discover in the blanks that we knew still existed. A bit of both, and I like that not everything was revealed about them right away, but like real people we got to know them. Such a deeply personal experience as Kira goes through here is not something she would ordinarily speak of, and apart from us it's only Julian, who's administering care for Ghemor, who hears her story. I was surprised by the way I felt more for her own Father in the past than I did about the surrogate parental figure of Tekeny - the sadness comes after exhaustion and the necessary details have been worked out, waiting for him to die. That's when Kira shows how affected she's been.

The episode isn't one of the best of the season, and it may be that it doesn't feel as satisfying as many have done. That may be down to the tone or style that Avery Brooks chose to bring. I don't criticise his choices as being wrong, but I wonder if the way he did the episode was too clinical? He intended to create portraits, and perhaps that overtook the story a little, instead of simply telling it. Or maybe it was told too simply, I don't know, I can't quite express why the end product doesn't reach out as much to affect the viewer as Kira visibly is. I like Brooks and his way of doing things, having the 'Directed By' credit come up over him in frame, seeing some views of the bar that are uncommon (the part with Sisko bringing the kanar, in particular, as it looks fairly high up and towards the entrance, or Kira slumped against the railings when Quark speaks to her).

The episode isn't purely concerned with Ghemor's decision to confide in Kira before he dies, it also features the final peaceful visit to the station by Gul Dukat, the return of Weyoun and the first showcase of the Dominion battleship, seen in long shots during the recent two-parter. Both stories are linked together quite tightly, since the reason for Dukat showing his face in the den of those he betrayed, is to prevent Ghemor from spilling any secrets that might endanger his recently manoeuvred position to leadership of his people. The discussion he has with Sisko via viewscreen regarding his decision to keep the rank of 'Gul,' points up some surprising parallels between the Cardassian view of captaincy, and the Starfleet one. So often Admirals have been a negative force for a Captain to butt heads with, while Captains are considered the heroic frontline. Dukat feels the same, his impression of the role being proactive ('Gul' being the equivalent of Captain and 'Legate' of Admiral), and at the same time getting in a dig at Bajor's First Minister and Sisko's status as Emissary for being pretentious titles!

Sadly, Dukat has lost something through gaining what he always wanted. We no longer have the grounds to respect him as we did when he was growing in fondness for his Starfleet enemies, eventually showing some good under the skin, hidden away. He does exude some ironic charm to Kira when she teases him, suggesting he's enjoying the new role he plays, and he, almost walking into the trap of believing she has an interest in him, even that she would talk to him at all, shows his bad guy grin and enjoys his smugness for all its worth. Only for an instant, as he fails to see that Kira is a coiled cobra, though fortunately for him, the worst sting he receives this time is a teacup hurled with unerring accuracy, speed and violence! Good shot, madam (the best use of a teacup since 'Flashback'?)! If only it had been full of hot tea at the time, that would have wiped the smile off his sneering face - though Cardassians love heat, so it may have been nothing but a warm shower for him… Kira stands toe to toe with him after that, and in future she may have wished she'd killed him there. What I really could have done with is a scene where he visited his daughter, Ziyal. Technically, he did disown her, so she has no reason to speak to him, but it's a missing piece of the picture, leaving us wondering exactly how they stand with each other. That would all change, of course, Ziyal's forgiving nature and Dukat's preening indulgence would bring them back together, but I wanted to see it now.

It could be said that this was a purely business visit, Dukat appearing officially as head of the government with his shadow, the Vorta Weyoun, meaning he had no time for pleasantries. Jeffrey Combs steals the show as Weyoun. He plays him a little differently to the previous version, or the way he would go on to play him in future. This makes sense from the perspective of the new details we learn about his race; how they're cloned by the Founders and have immunity to most poisons, leading to a funny moment to rival the teacup incident. It isn't just that, it's the way Sisko appears waving the kanar bottle and a glass around as if he's auditioning for advertisement rights on Cardassia! Then Weyoun (Combs was Brunt the last time he was in Quark's!), just gulps the glass of poisoned kanar down in one go, much to the surprise and concern of his onlookers. But right from the first time he's on screen, hopping out from behind Dukat's scaly form, he's full of joy, having the time of his cloned life as he experiences as much as possible, be it Dabo, kanar, or watching the insult-hurling between Dukat and Sisko, as if it's a scientific experiment. He's lost some of the suave salesman persona of the Weyoun we knew and would know again, coming across as a purely joyful, lighthearted creature, though he does jump in at Sisko's slight interest in the Vorta's version of immortality - did he really imagine Sisko could be bought by the offer of being cloned when he died?!

Weyoun has good reason to be confident and full of fun, since he knows the Dominion has the upper hand, possibly even thinks that other races will follow Cardassia's lead, and in the immediate future knows he has the might of a battleship to depend on, our first good look at this fearsome vessel (though it had been seen as part of the fleet in the recent two-parter), with its huge arms and angry purple nacelles, rumbling into frame like a Star Destroyer at the opening of a 'Star Wars' film, and no doubt full of Jem'Hadar and Cardassian soldiers. Look out for the scenes with these soldiers standing in the background, supposedly side by side for the equal glory of their peoples, but notice that the Cardassian keeps glancing at his fellow member of the Dominion: nervously or suspiciously? It was a very minor precursor to indicate that not all Cardassians would have been terribly happy for their great Union to become underlings to a power from another quadrant, and that dissension and distrust was probably rife in secret, even if no one in the military was going to open their mouths.

Only the dissident movement would have stood up to such a takeover, and that was represented by a dying man, Tekeny Ghemor. Kira had such grand plans for him before she heard the news, but the best he could do was to pass on his internal knowledge and intelligence, hoping it could be used. I'm not sure it ever was used as part of a story, but I'm sure Starfleet found it useful during their struggle against the Cardassians. It was good to have an update on the dissident movement, even if it's a negative one, sounding as if it no longer has any chance after so much was accomplished to create a freer and more liberal Cardassia. Sadly, this just made Dukat's job easier and also gave him reason to want to take over and the confidence that it could be done so easily against a civilian government. With the full force of ships backing up Dukat in the Alpha Quadrant, you'd be forgiven for thinking things looked bleak for DS9, perched precariously near the Wormhole, but I noticed at least one starship orbiting, plus there's always the Defiant, and since the Klingon garrison was left aboard there were probably ships in the vicinity also.

It wasn't like Dukat and Weyoun had their full freedom on the station, either; permanently flanked by cool-looking Starfleet security officers, (though they didn't seem able to cross the threshold of any door - like a magnetic force they are spun round, backs to the wall whenever their charges walk into another room!). They should have realised that there was no way they were going to get to Ghemor before he got his secrets out - at first Dukat comes along threatening and posturing, then when that doesn't work he changes tack, offering full pardon and military honours, even tempting the whereabouts of Iliana, Ghemor's long-lost daughter. Dukat seems very earnest when he dangles this particular carrot, so much so that I half-believed he really did know where she was. Would he have arranged for Tekeny to meet her or would she have been used to torture the old man? It's difficult to say, but you wouldn't trust putting a patient into the hands of someone that tried to poison him, though the idea of Iliana's involvement in the series could have been a tremendous plot device (I believe they even used her in the novels).

If Ghemor had lived to stay on the station, becoming part of Kira's functional, though non-related family (I thought the bundle was a representation of Kirayoshi until they showed his little face, and I was glad they went to the trouble of getting a real baby), he would also have been the third Cardassian in that community - the Bajorans could have had some kind of display on the Promenade with young (Ziyal), middle-aged (Garak), and old (Ghemor), standing in a line. Art installation? In reality he might very well have fitted into life at DS9, except for the fact that life at DS9 was going to come to an abrupt and sorry end… One sign of things to come was in Quark's role in the episode - he just serves Kira a drink, something he'd be doing a lot for the rest of the series (not solely serving drinks to Kira - she wasn't a drunk!). Not to say he didn't get good episodes, but Quark's bar was going to become less the hub it used to be and with war looming, Quark himself was in less demand. It wasn't that he never served drinks before this season, but slowly, this part of his role was becoming more central to any appearances.

Ghemor was the second old Cardassian to die this season, following Enabran Tain. In a way, Kira and Garak now have something in common, both having lost a Father figure who wasn't exactly a Father to them, but at the same time, was. The symmetry of Kira burying this man next to her own Father's grave was a beautiful way to end the story, another in a long line of well-judged concluding scenes. The Bajoran headstone was of particular beauty, but what was more telling was the difference in landscape between the past and the present - when she dug her Father's grave in anger, the hilltop was barren and dark, but now it has blossomed with green grass and flowers all around, a sign of the scars of the Occupation receding from the land: a poetic finish.

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