Waltz

DVD, DS9 S6 (Waltz)

Dukat and Sisko go camping. That's the way Dukat would see it, anyway, and if Sisko thought having Quark and Nog along for a camping trip was bad in 'The Jem'Hadar,' he hadn't seen anything yet! The episode starts quite nicely on a Federation starship, the USS Honshu, speeding through space (the set designers can be either rapped for reusing the Defiant's corridors, or praised for showing that that ship's design has begun to spread into other classes, with the corridors in the same design, yet broader, which is a nice touch), when Captain Sisko goes to visit his 'old friend,' Prisoner of War Dukat (sounds like an action figure variation!). Otherwise known as Insane Dukat, since he really does see Sisko as his old friend as in his mind everything revolves around him - people live to serve his existence, and they're either pretending not to like and respect him, do respect him, or are waiting to come to their senses. That's the way his mind always worked, but now he's lost even that tiny barrier that stopped him from losing control of himself, and is at the mercy of mental phantoms; mocking, reassuring or goading. But this is all revealed later. At this stage, Sisko just sees a man to pity, who's lost the one thing he brought into the world that was good: Ziyal. I'm not sure if this is the last time her and her death are mentioned, but it's likely the last time Dukat speaks of her. She was the angelic force that brought out the best in her Father. He gave up his Cardassian family and position among his people, was more generous to those around him, and listened to his daughter's pleas (not always, she didn't turn him into a good man just by thinking he was).

If Sisko really understood the depths of this man's mind he might not even have paid him the courtesy of a visit, but Dukat's very civil, has a new calmness about himself and his situation, and, when Sisko first finds the Cardassian has rescued him, he's probably still grateful for the act, even if he never would trust Dukat. What would have happened if the Honshu hadn't been destroyed, but instead had successfully brought the war criminal to trial? Sisko would have testified against him, there's no doubt he'd have been sentenced, and probably ended up on some kind of penal colony. But what then? We like Dukat, even though he's done so much wrong and is a dangerous personality, because of his charm and his ability to appeal to our reason when not in full flow of anger. He has the gift of a silky voice that can sound so reasonable and bring people round, the persuasive and complete belief in himself and his point of view. Doubt is something Dukat does not know. It's a familiar trait in Cardassians, but he's a master, so I can imagine that wherever he ended up he'd somehow find a way to bring people to his side. Unless he was incarcerated alone, with no contact, that voice and cunning mind, even unhinged as it is now, would twist itself around his prison and start to shake the foundations. If anyone could pull a prison break from even the Federation, it would be him. If he'd been inhumanely locked away, something the Federation would never do, it would destroy him, but even then he'd have had to have visits from doctors and other medical professionals, and I have no doubt that somewhere along the line he'd have uncovered a weakness he could exploit.

What I'm getting at is that the end result of a wild and raging Dukat, loose in the galaxy, was always his destiny. Nothing could ever keep him down, which is why the ominous tone of the ending, setting he and Sisko up for their final confrontation, feels inevitable. He is the Anti-Sisko, everything that Sisko has striven for, and has slowly realised over the years, about his love for Bajor, how he now thinks of the world as home, how he would protect it with his life… All these things Dukat vows against: all Bajorans must die and he's the one to do it! For once in Trek, and more specifically, in 'DS9,' the nature of good and evil is laid bare without the shades of grey that come into perceptions so often: at its base, its core, its heart, evil is absolute and must be opposed - no yin and yang, no ends justifying means, just the ultimate battle. Except good is always ultimate victor because that was the way creation was designed. Evil has its time to run loose and seemingly free, to damage and destroy, to attempt to undermine, for a time. Dukat's time had come. He'd given himself over to his evil passions, and while he hadn't yet become the vessel for the enemies of Sisko's allies, the Prophets, allowing the Pah-Wraiths to have him, he had set himself on that path. He'd always had the opportunity for redemption had he chosen to pursue it, but he never could accept that he'd been wrong: it was the Bajorans' fault for not understanding their place as inferior race to Cardassia's superior. They should have welcomed their place and rejoiced when Dukat lightened their burden the tiniest bit because they didn't 'deserve' anything!

The Cardassians have always seemed to be modelled on the Nazis, the Bajorans filling the place of the Jews, and whether this was intentional or just a natural forming of opposites to conform to our own history, the parallels grew over time. Dukat's ranting at the end, appearing like a spindly spider, creeping backwards on all four of his limbs, the shot cutting off the ground so his limbs could be the same length, hair wild, teeth gritted and eyes narrowed like some monstrous insect, or Gollum himself, is a powerful image, the true rotten core of the former leader vomited to the surface, his civilised facade of culture and the enjoyment of finer things crumbled away, exposing the real Dukat to Sisko. It has even more impact (assisted by the lightning and dusty storm whipping around him), because of his excessive calm earlier in the episode, and his, at first, reasonable attitude to Sisko. He couldn't contain his fury any more, even blaming Sisko for the beating he administered, saying it was the Captain's own fault. That's the thing with Dukat, he refuses to take responsibility, his delusion at the strongest it had ever been, blossoming into deep insanity, hounded by the opinions of his mind, the constant need for acceptance and love, respect his overpowering obsession.

In all this why did he save Sisko's life in the first place? Because he respects Sisko and wanted the Captain to return that with his blessing for what he's done. So why did he look after him despite the Captain's refusal to give it? He must have broken the cast in his furious attack, yet when Sisko awakes, his arm is tied in a sling. Dukat could have left him to die on that unknown planet, but he sends the signal to let the Defiant know where to look. It's because he still wants Sisko to see him as an equal, and even in his rage it's like a game to him, and he can't let himself be denied the chance to beat Sisko when he's at full health and show him his great moment of triumph. Only then could he kill him. As he said to Weyoun when he was still commanding the station, a true victory is to make your enemy see he was wrong to oppose you in the first place. It's something that could have been written with this episode in mind, amazingly! I think Sisko would have soundly beaten Dukat in a fair fight - even with one arm shattered he was able to give a good account of himself, but a fair fight was never going to be the way Dukat took him on, and even at the end it would be with the supernatural strength of the Pah-Wraiths that he fought, Sisko having to sacrifice himself to take out the madman. If Dukat had planned to kill Sisko on that deserted planet I don't think events would have transpired as they did, because it's The Sisko he's dealing with, Emissary of the Prophets, and they wouldn't have allowed the 'game' to end in that manner. I don't know whether they'd have given assistance somehow, or simply made it so he couldn't travel on the Honshu, but death would have been prevented, of that I'm sure.

It's amazing that it had taken almost six years for the pair to come to blows and say what they really think. It's a shame, in a way, that Dukat had finally committed to one way or the other - not just that he'd chosen the path of evil, but that he'd lost the mercurial quality, the devious charm and delightfully deluded conversation in making his choice. Already he was less the man that he had been, his motives revealed, his hidden frustrations made clear. There's no room to like him any more, as in the series to this point you could sometimes laugh along with him, sometimes feel sorry for him - the reason he's lost touch with reason is because of a tragic event, the death of his daughter, and while it's ridiculous for him to really believe Sisko and the others are his old friends, you can sort of see where he's coming from, because he has been through several adventures with the crew of DS9, so much so that he genuinely considers them old friends. Not that he wouldn't murder them if it served his purpose, but to him that's all part of the game, all part of the race between the weak and the strong, and he considers himself to be strong. And in many ways he has been - he always knew which way to leap when it came to being loyal, and it eventually got him to the highest point: leader of his people with the prospects of being high up in the Dominion (or so he might have thought), and the ultimate goal, you sense, of overthrowing that empire and having his own dominion over the Alpha Quadrant, like all the worst despots of history!

When we first see Dukat talk to Weyoun we could almost believe we're in a prison Sisko's been brought to, held to be interrogated by Dukat, perhaps, but it doesn't take long before this supposition proves false as Weyoun behaves so strangely (you wonder if Dukat actually went back to the Dominion if they'd lock him up rather than allow this free, but crazy agent to go about his business and possibly interfere with their plans or be captured again to reveal their secrets). So rather than draw out an extended charade to keep viewers guessing about the reality of the situation they quickly reveal the truth: it's more unpalatable than Sisko being held prisoner by the Dominion, it's his personal nemesis that plans to persuade him he was right in what he did in siding with the Dominion, and more importantly, that he was right in what he did in the Occupation. A deranged enemy could be more dangerous than a sensible one! I like that we get a little history about Dukat with the story about his unsavoury job as a young Glinn on the Kornaire (and one of the only references to Orion slave girls pre-'Enterprise'). We know so little about Dukat's early life, mainly details on his time during the Occupation, so that was a little treasure. Sisko wasn't going to kick a man when he was down, which explains his generous attitude towards Dukat when visiting him in the brig - it really had been a privilege to have Ziyal staying with them. Dukat doesn't have the same qualms, and only his fervent desire for Sisko to see things his way keeps him from doing the Captain damage as he eventually succumbs in his rage.

Dukat's always milked the common ground he's found thanks to his daughter, whether it was with Kira, who treated him more carefully because of her friendship with the girl, Ziyal herself, and now Sisko. One of his phantoms could have been Ziyal herself, deriding him, but she would have had too much of the characteristics for the good, and the faces and voices he's 'chosen' from his subconscious are the three that mean most to him in his current life: Weyoun, his boss; Damar, his right hand man; and Kira, whom he wants by his side. But they're all exaggerated versions: Kira's got the flaming sarcasm she had in the first season, with the arrogance and irritation of the Intendant (such a shame that character never met Dukat as she's like the female version of him, and it would have been fascinating - they'd probably have plotted to take over both universes together, while never once trusting each other!), though without the self-centredness. Damar, appearing from an arch in the rock tells him what he wants to hear, soothing his mind and encouraging action against Sisko; and Weyoun just mocks in an incredible performance from Combs! If we're talking performances though, it is Marc Alaimo and Avery Brooks who get the credit for making this stage play episode a stand out (in a similar manner to 'Duet'). Brooks is at his best as he indulges Dukat, patronising and grinning incredulously, partly trying to say what Dukat wants to hear, but almost goading the man into ranting about all the goodness he's done and never been thanked for! And he really sells the pain of his arm as Dukat fights him by the shuttle.

Together they make an incredible counterpoint, Dukat going from helpful, soldierly camaraderie to offended reaction if Sisko ever says anything in opposition - even Sisko's suggestion he's putting too many herbs in the soup elicits a stern and surprised look (though how Sisko knew what the correct quantity for an alien plant would be, I don't know, unless they were herbs from the shuttle's supplies). Sisko soon realises how things stand, checking out Dukat to see whether he knows the communications array (the same thing Quark and Odo had to haul up a mountain last season!), is off-line, cleverly making himself appear weaker as he feebly stretches for water from the trunk, although the way he eases himself back against the rock made it look like he probably could have moved himself pretty comfortably! The only downside I see to the episode is that the planet surface looks like a set, in the same way that much of 'TOS' or 'TNG' used sets for their alien planets. The cave was fine - no matter how many times they used it, it looked like a real cave, but the horizon of the planet felt too close and artificial (a bit like 'Dawn' on 'Enterprise'), and it's so much better when they filmed on location. Not that it affected the episode adversely - thanks to the feel of a play, it was the foreground players we were concerned with, the background unimportant.

It was good to be able to see the Defiant sets again, with scenes in the Transporter Room and Sickbay. I also like that it was 'old man' Dax, someone who really was Sisko's old friend, whom he talks over the events at the end, a bit like they did after Eddington went out in his blaze of glory. Only this has a much more chilling conclusion, Sisko realising that from now on it's going to be 'him or me,' though in reality, and tragically, it would be him or Dax before the season was done. It marked the beginning of the end as we saw the final battle set up, though plenty more was still to happen before that. Although the Defiant-set part of the episode is barely a B-story, it still carries some dramatic weight, showing Worf with the makings of a good Captain. The usual cowboy-style reaction to orders when they threaten an important member of crew, is open to the Klingon as Bashir and O'Brien say they couldn't understand Kira's garbled message to prepare for their next mission to the Badlands (where they have to be to protect a convoy). Bashir almost has the Worf role in 'First Contact' where he stands up to the Captain on his own bridge ("If you were any other man, I would sedate you where you stand!" I can almost hear him say!), but Worf reacts calmly and sends him off the bridge without incident. I don't think Worf's honour was the issue as much as their duty as Starfleet officers, and it was ironic that Dukat should be the one to save Sisko. Saving him for a more meaningful, fiery demise…

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