Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night

DVD, DS9 S6 (Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night) (2)

Why didn't Dukat tell her before? Kira and Dukat had had plenty of times together in which he could have told her that he knew her Mother very, very well, but he never did. And now he rings her up in the middle of the night to impart this to Kira. Can we say it's because Dukat's mad? Has his mind turned cartwheels on all the life he led previous to 'Waltz,' and now the inability to keep things to himself, or the lack of care he now entertains, the fact that he doesn't have to hide who he really is after he admitted to Sisko that he wants to kill all Bajorans, does all this mean he has no secrets? But why would he have kept such a thing hidden before? Ah, there we get to some real Dukat strategy - not only could he compartmentalise the different times and places of his life, which would mean that he could share so much with Kira, but never reveal anything about her Mother, he was also wise enough to realise, I think, that this little piece of information would devastate Kira's life and drive a wedge between them forever. And until he completely lost it, earlier in the season, he still had deluded designs upon her. Probably even told himself he was fond of her, and by not telling her this family secret of how deeply involved in her life he was, from almost the beginning, was protecting her in some way - in reality protecting his own interests! Aside from the fact the writers themselves hadn't known until this episode was written, and how great it is that we can still unearth fascinating backstories for the characters so far into the series!

This was the third part in the Terok Nor trilogy - episodes in which members of the current Deep Space Nine go back to the time of the station's life under Cardassian rule when still known by its Cardassian name. But this is actually the first time anyone's literally gone back, as in the first instalment, way back in Season 2's 'Necessary Evil,' we were treated to flashbacks of memories, and in Season 5's 'Things Past' we experienced that time through Odo's subconscious linking with others in a shared dream or memory, as the means. Not till this, another of the wonderfully poetic (and long), episode titles, of 'Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night' does someone, Kira, time travel to that period. It's not the setting's fault, or the actors, that this was the least impressive of the Terok Nor episodes. It falls down because there's very little consequence to what happens. Yes, Kira comes to see the 'saint' of her Mother for whom she really was, and yes she does have a nasty shock over how deeply entangled her worst enemy was in her family's life, and even worse, that it may have been Dukat, loosely, that was responsible for her and her families survival of the Occupation of Bajor. Because if he hadn't taken a shine to her Mum, Kira Meru, she wouldn't have been treated as well, though we don't know how much Taban and her young brothers got out of it, and presumably it was only until Meru died from an unspecified reason a few years later, that the 'aid' would have been given. Why did Meru die? We don't know, maybe Dukat lost interest in her.

My problems with the episode aren't to do with Terok Nor, though it did feel a lot less atmospheric than we'd seen before, perhaps because this was a number of years previous to our other visits there, when Odo and Kira were newly arrived (Quark's a missing element so it may be even before he came to the station), Kira but a toddler, and Odo probably still a gelatinous mass floating in space. The station hasn't become so smoky and grimy, the people aren't suffering quite as badly as they would, and things are newer, fresher and brighter. This loss of the harsh atmosphere of yesteryear brings the impression of the past to life in a less direct way, the location appearing more like it does in the present of the series, so losing a level of interest. But the story is the key, and before it gets going is where problems surface. For one, time travel is too easily discussed as an option. We're not in the 29th Century here, or even the 26th. Travelling through time is still a major event, even though we've seen it done on so many occasions and with various methods. The Orb of Time as a gateway to other time streams had been used before, notably to take the Defiant back to Kirk's time in 'Trials and Tribble-ations,' so it was an established component, but I just felt Kira too easily and flippantly suggested the idea of going back to check Dukat's story was true, and while I liked the scene in which she asks Sisko's permission, since she calls on him in his role as the Emissary, (something they've not really discussed together in quite a while), asking to go back in time felt too simple.

I'm not saying The Prophets couldn't send someone through time without any difficulty, as they exist outside time, but if this Orb is well known to permit such travel it would have to be guarded more than any other Orb, because numerous species, not least the Cardassians, would desire such power. Even if it were to be stolen it's up to The Prophets whether they send someone through time anyway, a bit like the Guardian of Forever, I suppose, and it's most likely the Cardassians either never got to open it, or were denied passage on principle! Time travel, it must be said, had become relatively easy by this time in Trek history - when it had been achieved in so many ways and by so many of our heroes, rather like the Holodeck stories or Transporter malfunctions, you either had to come up with a radical new angle, or you had to basically gloss over the mechanics as not being that important, and get down to telling your story which couldn't have been told any other way than with time travel, or else why were you using it as a narrative device? It's like that thing about other realities, and how characters in the period of latter nineties Trek would run through a list of possible scenarios that they might have landed in - we know all the angles so the writers get down to the story, and that's fine, it just wasn't the most fulfilling attitude to time travel, taken as done on a whim for the personal reason of finding out something that had happened.

The other problem with the episode, if I can call it that, is Dukat. It was about time we had a follow up to the manic frenzy of 'Waltz,' as we'd been wondering what happened to him, where he was and what he was up to. By the look of the background from where he makes his communication, he must still be flying around in his personal Federation shuttlecraft, since you can see Starfleet signage and interface in the background. Unless he just wanted us to think that and it was an elaborate ruse… The thing is, after Dukat's complete disintegration and the powerful performance of Marc Alaimo in the former episode, it's something of a disappointment to get a calm Dukat who's happy to call up Kira in the middle of the night and tell her this thing. I can loosely buy that he'd either want to put her on edge (if he was somehow going to use that to get himself something), or that he genuinely wants to be completely honest with those of his past, and you can even point to his insanity as guiding him to do something odd like that which doesn't gain him anything. If he was in league with the Pah-Wraiths at this time you could imagine it to be part of their plan - maybe sending people back in time used up some power of The Prophets which made them open to attack for a window of opportunity? But Dukat doesn't get anything, and he's not yet connected with the Pah-Wraiths, so his motives are extremely weak, if not nonexistent. And when we usually see such strong motivation put in by the writers it's a little jarring to have a lack in that department.

I think it's also the expectation after Dukat was frothing at the mouth last time we saw him, that next time he appeared would spell disaster for someone, that something big would happen. In this case subverting expectations didn't work for me. Had Dukat appeared in Kira's quarters to relay his message, or kidnapped her, or been involved in the story in some way, I think it would have been better - about the only truly chilling moment is when Sisko says about the man that he probably knows a lot about Kira's family, adding that he probably knows a lot about all their families! This, for me, was when the creepy factor entered in, however briefly, with the thought that Joseph Sisko, Bashir's parents, and any number of other related members of the DS9 crew might be stalked, or watched, or who knows what, with a mad Dukat zipping about the quadrant. I'd like to know what the man had actually been up to in these weeks and months after his escape from Starfleet captivity. Does he just sit and stare into space for days on end or is he planning dastardly plots? Maybe his mind performs for his pleasure, bringing various different people to converse with him as spectres - it's not hard to see it being a short step from such madness to being in contact with the Pah-Wraiths, as would happen later.

Not to say there aren't unmissable moments in the episode: the breaking up of a family, with Kira's Father Taban crying despairingly as he holds his sons, Meru ripped away by Cardassians; Kira meeting her child self (a bit like Spock in 'The Animated Series' or Old Spock in 'Star Trek XI'); the opportunity to see the younger, less mad version of Dukat one final time… I used to think the episode was very average, but these points make it engaging and a reasonably good episode, so as a whole I like it. It's just the flaws or disappointments make the experience a little emptier than might be expected. It goes quickly, it's not a bore, but take Dukat, for example - his younger self seems tepid, whether because of the writing or because Alaimo didn't really have faith in creating that younger self when in the midst of re-imagining the character on a new path, I don't know. This was a sidestep for him as an actor, and I'd love to know what he felt about playing a regressed version of Dukat. There seems less ruthlessness in the man, whereas even when being tender and magnanimous before, you felt a steeliness underneath that could grip with a grip of iron if it chose. Maybe I'm being uncharitable, and it's down to what he was given to do, but he wasn't the usual compelling character we're used to, even in the other Terok Nor stories. He does display theatricality and a devious nature, as revealed by the Legate (played by Wayne Grace who'd been in 'TNG'), whom Kira entertains, pointing out he'd 'played' the gentleman role plenty of times before. We're seeing it exclusively from Meru's perspective, there aren't 'behind the scenes' moments in which Dukat discusses things with his subordinates and that kind of thing.

That makes it a unique perspective, but when we know how deep the rabbit hole of Dukat's mind goes, it would have been good to get a closer look at what he was really like at this stage of his career, instead of the outsider's view. His treatment of Meru's facial scar with a dermal regenerator made me question why she'd never been treated before. I came to the conclusion that either such technology was hard to come by at that time on Bajor, perhaps outlawed by harsh Cardassian rule, or that, because she was well known to disguise it behind her hair, it was never discovered by anyone that could have healed it. Probably a bit of both. Though Meru came across as a bit of an airhead, so easily influenced by good food and expensive clothes, it was a joy to get to meet her, if only to fill out Kira's background a little more. We'd seen Taban before, back in 'Ties of Blood and Water' in which we learn that Kira hadn't been there for his death, so it's a similarly tragic story that she'd been torn from her Mother at such a young age, and for such a purpose as providing 'comfort' to Gul Dukat. It gives greater significance to Dukat's interest in her life, beyond his attraction to her, and it must have given him great satisfaction knowing that this was the daughter of the Bajoran woman he, I assume, loved, maybe even reminding him of Meru. It's surprising that something so big between two characters we've seen so much had only now come out, and yet still made sense that it could have been kept hidden. If Dukat hadn't spilled the beans Kira would never have found out.

Perhaps, to some extent, though no one could know how much, Dukat genuinely, in some part of himself, wanted Kira to know and accept the truth. Unburdening himself from his past because he knew the future was limited? Is that feasible? I don't know, and probably neither did Dukat, but some tiny flame of decency may have been inside, wanting to make things right. It makes sense Dukat would be thinking about his past since that had been strongly on his mind after the row with Sisko - he even mentioned in 'Waltz' that for all the 'care' he gave the Bajorans they made an attempt on his life, so this could have been that, which would have made Kira's actions in trying to blow him and Meru up a pre-destination paradox. I think. I felt Kira's invitation to join the Resistance happened a little too quickly, but we don't know exactly how long she was in the ghetto side of the station before Halb Daier (Tim de Zarn who'd been in 'TNG' and 'Voyager'), made contact, and her recruitment made sense since she had rare inside information on the station's layout, and Dukat's quarters in particular (one thing that did make the episode feel like the past was the layout of the rooms, with Dukat's study round a corner, and the weapon detection forcefield outside his door). One thing struck me about Halb: his slight resemblance to Razka Karn from 'Indiscretion.' He could've been a younger version which would have neatly tied Kira and Dukat's stories together even more since that former episode had been all about Dukat's past with a Bajoran woman, as well as Kira's search for an old friend of hers. One thing I didn't commend Kira on was her choice of alias: Luma Rahl just didn't suit her, and it would have been a nice touch if they'd used the name of a friend that we knew about, like Lupaza (they sound similar anyway!).

Thomas Kopache as Taban gave perhaps his best (if short), performance in any Trek appearance he made, the horror of the moment as his wife is dragged away from their young family so strongly emoted. This was his last appearance in 'DS9,' though he'd be back for 'Enterprise' not too long after - he's one of those faces that appears in a variety of roles, and one actor I wish had been used as a main cast member as he was clearly a strong actor. It's also Taban's graciousness of spirit in the message he sends Meru that the episode hinges upon, with Kira's decision to blow up her Mother and Dukat changed by hearing how he's responded to the situation with gratitude and understanding rather than recrimination and bitterness. Where the episode again falls down for me is with an unfulfilling ending, because Kira ends up hating her Mother for what she did (and perhaps the attitude in which she embraced what happened), and it was simply that she was her Mother that she didn't blow her up and ignore the express wishes of Sisko that she not interfere with the timeline. The Prophets, I guess, wouldn't have allowed her to blow up Dukat because he was reserved for the Emissary to have a go at, but no one new that at this time. It's interesting that all these years Kira had wanted Dukat to die, and when the opportunity arose she couldn't go through with it. If there is a message, I can only suppose it would be along the lines of not expecting too much from your parents as they're only human (or Bajoran!), and even those people you think of as heroes, have their faults, some major.

It's just that none of what happened really made a huge impact and was more of a personal voyage of discovery for Kira, something I'd praise, except it's definitely not one to fire on all cylinders. Beyond Kira's story there are some little things to pick apart - it's mentioned that the Saratoga is coming to DS9. This must be the replacement for Sisko's old ship which we saw destroyed by the Borg in 'Emissary,' but I wanted more information. How does Sisko feel about a name from the past coming to his station? Does he know the Captain? In the last episode he mentioned his wife Jennifer again, and now we hear of the ship she died on, or one carrying the same name, and such a thing should mean something. And what happened to the 'new' Worf of 'Change of Heart'? He was all upbeat about making adjustments and allowing Jadzia some latitude - maybe he was thinking of her rowdy pre-wedding party. Worf looked a bit like he'd had a heavy night himself, so maybe he was off parties! When he went to exercise in the Holosuite I half expected Morn to get up and join him! That's the kind of little detail we've come to expect and was missing from this episode.

I also wanted to know if the arrangement with Quark where he got Bajoran lilacs in for Kira on her Mother's birthday was a regular thing. He's not the thoughtful type who'd do something like that as a gesture, but if it was a business arrangement he'd never miss the occasion! And spare a thought for poor O'Brien who gets the full force of Kira's tension in Ops - he looks at her expecting some small retraction or explanation, but he's not getting a thing! If the events of this episode interest I'd recommend the 'Terok Nor' trilogy of books as this is another event and characters woven into that history of the station and it's occupants. Now all we needed was an episode in which Nog makes a cultural visit to Bajor, on the way reading up on the planet's history, then he could have said: "This picture of a Bajoran who tried to kill Dukat looks just like Major Kira…"

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