Penumbra (2)

DVD, DS9 S7 (Penumbra) (2)

Having the series tie up with a nine-episode serial (technically ten if you count the two-part finale), was more than poetic: it was necessary. While 'TNG' had left pretty much everything for its two-part finale to conclude, hopping straight into a new beginning with the film series, and 'Voyager' would narrow it down to the last few seconds, just to be different, 'DS9' required hours to bring all those threads of plot and character (sounds like an episode title in itself!), to a conclusion. Because they wouldn't have the luxury of continuing into films, a sad oversight, but unsurprising given the fragmented nature of the Trek brand by this time, sprouting spinoffs and all media and merchandise. It may have been disappointing to know we weren't going to see (most of), the characters again, but it also afforded the writers the great luxury of making things final. They'd had experience with serialisation before: first with the convention-breaking three-parter at the opening of Season 2, and then the even more impressive six-parter (or eight if you count the Season 5 finale and the celebratory seventh episode of Season 6 in which all the cares of the war fall away to gather everyone for the wedding of Worf and Dax). The last two seasons had featured increasingly interwoven connectivity, too, but for this last third of the last season they chose to make a 'ten-hour film' (as Patrick Stewart would put it now), long before serialised TV, and especially serialised Trek became standard.

I remember being mildly disappointed on original viewing back in summer 2001 when BBC2 finally got to these episodes. Partly it was that summer isn't the natural time to be watching space drama with all its dark exteriors, and even more 'DS9' with its dark interiors (and yes, I know I'm writing this in summer, but I'm talking about first impressions), but also it was holiday time, not the moment to be invested in a TV show. I always loved the level that 'DS9' worked at on an ongoing basis - that of having continual resonance for the characters and an overarching view of the station and beyond, but occurring as a backdrop or a foreground to the story of the week. That was truly the best of both worlds as you had development and callbacks that meant something for those that watched in sequence, but also an immediate development and closure for that story, allowing for many more stories to be told and many more viewpoints to be explored than telling one continuously, even one that was made up of multiple plots. I still feel that way to this day, that 'DS9' had the perfect mix of singular and continuous drama, but I concede that it made sense for such a vast number of threads to be tied up with this mini-arc in the season rather than continuing to knock out individual stories as they had for most of the year. But controversially I feel that means we got a few episodes of lesser quality because in order to wrap up, they also had to craft one big story, and it may have been too wide.

Take this first entry in the saga: it's not a bad episode, and has a number of special moments, but when viewed as a separate entity it doesn't have the satisfaction level you'd expect from the series for its last few seasons. It's gone back to more of a Season 1 or 2 style where the main story is less significant. I don't mean it's not important, but Ezri feeling bound to go off and rescue Worf is a relatively small scale in the general scope of proceedings. Not that it's unimportant or doesn't take the characters further, but both this and the B-story of Sisko and Kasidy deciding to get married exist in a somewhat detached atmosphere. The reason is that the majority of this one is setup, planting the seeds that will eventually pay off in a big way. That's to the glory of the latter episodes in the run, but to the detriment of these first few, which took a bit of time to migrate into the stunning behemoth of storytelling that, for example, the Season 6 arc was able to jump right into. At that time they had the pieces all set up with the Season 5 finale, so it was a different case. Here, we're right in the middle of a season and it's like they're scrabbling around grasping at the various pieces they need to reel this thing in, and perhaps some characters slip through their fingers at this early stage. Well, many of them do, to be honest: Bashir, O'Brien, Kira, Odo, Quark, and most of the recurring characters barely feature. Perhaps this is one source of the detachment, hence my comparison with the early seasons where they would methodically take a couple of characters and get to know them.

We already know these people, and know them well, except for Ezri, whom, no matter how many episodes she had focused upon her character this season, was never going to catch up to the level of development that six years had given to the other main cast members. That's why some of her episodes proved to be among the less strong instalments. It was a natural result of the situation of having to bring in a new character in a final season, and I don't resent her for taking so much of the limelight, it's just that it does 'slow down' the season, for want of better words. I think it's also the fact that she's off alone in a Runabout until she finds Worf, and that dynamic of having one or two characters out in a Runabout somewhere was something less common during the latter seasons as war made the little ships more vulnerable and the Defiant had come into its own. Saying all that, it's paradoxically pleasant to have an episode like this that reminds me so much of the old half of the series, I just don't find enough compelling drama and the kind of excellent dialogue that became the series' norm. It may just be the chemistry of the characters they put together: Worf is typically gruff and a man of few words, and while chatty Ezri makes up for that, she's not Jadzia (well, not entirely, anyway, but more on that anon). And both Sisko and Kasidy are quite quiet and reserved in their scenes. It's definitely a more introspective story, and perhaps having two plots that are very similar (two people coming to a new understanding of each other), in tone and style, maybe makes the episode lack drive and variety, and Sisko having a nice time with Kasidy, musing on their future and not appearing worried about Worf after he's had to abandon the search, rings falsely to me.

The same can be said for the third strand, which is between Weyoun and Damar - Dukat was such a forceful personality, so manipulative and fascinating, and seeing him and Weyoun dance around the status of The Founders as gods, or the goodwill between the Dominion and the Cardassians, held great drama and nuance. There's still nuance between Weyoun and Damar, but it's a far different dynamic that well represents the position of Cardassia to the Dominion at this late stage. Weyoun looks down on Damar, is very firm, almost threatening, treating him like a dog that must obey. Damar doesn't have the ability to hide his displeasure of how things are going now, nor does he avoid questioning Weyoun's masters. But where he used to snipe across Dukat's head, and that man would smooth the diplomatic waters, and it was then in Weyoun's interest to maintain a sensation of equitability, things are much more one-sided now, so there isn't the same tension there was. It's more direct and clear. For a moment the old element returns in the form of Dukat, the last we see of him as a Cardassian, except for his final seconds at the end of the season, and he's almost like the old Dukat, the one before he was driven mad. He has the ability to get into the Dominion compound to ask Damar's help, without being seen by them, which is pretty cool - I almost wish we'd seen him going down hidden passages and such, but it's probably more effective for him to suddenly waltz (!) in and surprise his former subordinate.

Dukat going Bajoran makes perfect sense, and was a clever twist in the tale, but it was never one of the better parts of this arc. I missed the old Dukat, but we could never return to that because the fun was in seeing this fundamentally evil, pompous, arrogant man, delude himself into thinking he's the complete opposite. Though he talks of the 'love' of the Pah-Wraiths, and genuinely believes it, it's another sign of his delusion, but it's less interesting when it's a delusion played on him by other beings rather than his own contorted mind. But they had to find a way to bring him back in as Sisko's personal adversary, and they'd written themselves into a corner by taking him out of the main war picture, so I suppose it had to be this way. His devotion to these mythical beings is something else that acts as a detachment for us, however, because Damar doesn't truly connect with him any more, he doesn't respect him, and Dukat is intent only on his one goal now. It's one of many seeds planted in this episode - granted, Damar's dissatisfaction leading to excessive drinking, and now carousing, had already been happening across the season, but this is the first we hear of the illness affecting The Great Link, I believe. Typically, Damar is irreverent in his mention of the Female Changeling looking unwell, and 'hoping she's not ill,' and we get that carried through quite quickly, seeing her and having her talk to Weyoun about its effects. Her callous nature returns as she orders the Vorta doctors working on the cure to be executed and brought back as clones to encourage fresh perspectives!

I think one of things missing from the episode is a strong central theme. There are several there, mainly with the new understanding between two people I mentioned, but the closest I felt we came to something more specific was in Damar's talk about the losses of war, and how both Starfleet and Cardassians have lost people, while the Jem'Hadar are just born in hatcheries and are expendable. It's the first sign of the cracks we know are happening in the alliance rising to the surface when he's almost making an identification with the enemy and suggesting Cardassians are being used as cannon fodder, something confirmed to the audience in the Female Changeling's attitude to them. But again, it's more setup for the future rather than being a theme taken to its conclusion, something that's hard to do when you're making a serial. At the same time there's so much garnishing that you can almost forget that the main meal isn't going down quite right: the details are myriad, from Worf's son Alexander getting a mention as becoming weapons officer of the Ya'Vang, to some lovely ties back to previous episodes about Jadzia and Worf, including Captain Boday (the transparent-skulled Gallamite we'd never see), working as the grit in the Worf oyster, a return to the fiery beauty of the Badlands, as well as a strong connection to the film, 'Insurrection' that had come out a few months previous.

A little throwaway line from Weyoun about the Son'a was balm to my ears as I love it when they try to tie the disparate pieces of Trek together. We hear that they're in the war effort on the side of the Dominion, which shouldn't be a surprise (just like we'd hear a cool mention that Shinzon and the Remans fought the Dominion, in the next film, 'Nemesis'), since they were so corrupt. But it gives us new information on this race that were all but dying out, their quest for the fountain of youth Ba'ku planet a last hope that was crushed by Picard and crew, though some came back into the fold. It shows that enough of the Son'a rejected the offer of redemption with their Ba'ku relatives and now their bitterness has driven them to the wrong side in the war. They didn't need to throw in that reference, but through it we can extrapolate all this, making it so much more delightful than if they'd mentioned some new race. And it fits with their character. The only disappointment is that we never saw any Son'a characters on the series (apart from one of the races they'd subjugated). Another previously created race does make an appearance: the Breen. These masked menaces of mystery were an intriguing addition to the final arc because they'd really been fleetingly used - I think it was just a couple of stories, the one where Dukat and Kira rescue his daughter, Tora Ziyal, from their clutches in Season 4, and a lone Breen prisoner in the Dominion prison camp of Season 5. They were an unexplored piece of Trek lore.

Somehow I should have felt more excited at seeing their reemergence onto the stage, and especially for having a first sighting of one of their strangely asymmetrical ships, but I don't feel that they were ever really developed in the arc, another example of one of the pieces that wasn't quite put in place correctly, something of a rarity for the series, but added to the sense of disquiet about the nine-parter. It may be that it was just too much for them to take on at the time, and that stories aren't best served when they're so spread out. Six may be the best number for a multi-part story? But what of those elements that did work, and did work specifically for this episode? For one, I liked Quark's own unique logic about how Worf wasn't dead, when he comforts Ezri: he doesn't believe the Klingon would go to Sto-Vo-Kor owing his bar bill because he couldn't enjoy the afterlife knowing Quark had something on him! It's typical of the Ferengi, and I wish he had more to do, but that's yet another thing about the serial that lessened by enjoyment of it, because my favourite character wasn't given enough screen time. It was an issue throughout the war seasons, and became a joke with the actor wondering what drink he was going to serve each episode as that's what he was reduced to. A small detail that shows how much attention these writers gave to the production was having the little Bajoran girl, Sahgi, who had been in the Season 6 finale, 'Tears of The Prophets,' asking the Emissary to find The Prophets, return to shed light on how far-reaching Sisko and Kasidy's decision to marry would be.

It seems Sisko was able to wriggle out of a great fanfare and procession after all, as this was young Michelle Horn's last appearance as Sahgi, the only new-ish character in a long list of recurring ones (Dukat, Damar, Weyoun, Female Changeling, Kasidy Yates, Sarah Sisko), but I can't remember exactly how the wedding played out, it's been so long since I've watched these episodes. Without the blessing of The Prophets I suppose Sisko wouldn't have felt right giving in to the Bajoran people's demand for a mass celebration. The vision in which he meets his 'Mother,' the Prophet Sarah, was one of the best scenes of the episode because it's such a key moment for him to talk with the Mother he never knew, and yet it's also a harsh meeting because she denies him the one thing he really wants, warning of sorrow and that his greatest trial is yet to come. With hindsight we can see that the sorrow is being parted from his new family, including an unborn child, as The Prophets recall him to be with them, but it's vague enough here, and portentous, that you're left pondering the words. You'd think after the events of 'Tears of The Prophets' when he went against The Prophets' wishes, leading to the death of Jadzia and the closing of the Wormhole, that he'd be quicker to respond to their warnings now, but he feels too strongly that his decision for a permanent commitment to Yates is right.

There's similar resolve in Ezri Dax' mind when she visits Worf's Quarters and we hear her memories of the lovely times of old regarding Worf babysitting Kirayoshi O'Brien in 'Time's Orphan,' or his and Jadzia's goodbyes when they're separated by war assignments ('Sacrifice of Angels' or was it 'Call To Arms'?), his talk of battling Kelvans twice his size (love that 'TOS' reference!), plus the actual marriage in 'You Are Cordially Invited' which prompts Ezri into action. But as we know, in times of war, the laws fall silent, and she goes off as a renegade to rescue Worf against Sisko's orders (I feel like a character pretending to have difficulty with the comm system had been used before), whom she'd vowed to protect. Except it wasn't her, it was Jadzia, and she's still getting mixed up in her past lives, probably brought on by the strong emotion of the time. It's something she does again when she's talking to Worf in the Runabout, forgetting to place her own and Jadzia's identities separately and further aggravating the Klingon's displeasure. I don't know why he didn't go and hang out at the back of the vessel as we know from 'TNG' there's a large room back there, but probably no insignificant tasks to keep him occupied. It's great to have another Runabout, this time the USS Gander, for one episode only. There's some controversy over the name because in the latest 'Star Trek Encyclopedia' they have it as USS Ganda, while the 'DS9 Companion' and Memory Alpha have it as Gander. The second would make more sense as it continued the naming convention of Earth rivers, while the former was a name for the Bantu people, but in the 'Companion' we learn that it was originally to have been Ganges, which had long ago been destroyed and the name had to be re-dubbed, but the model, according to 'The Encyclopedia' was labelled Ganda! It does admit that it could go either way, though!

Another little continuity note is that Worf got to be in command of the Koraga, but we know from 'Change of Heart' that he was unlikely to become a Captain because of the permanent mark on his record from the events of that episode. It can be explained away as being a Klingon ship (K'Vort-class Bird of Prey according to the graphic), and a Captain's rank and being in command of a ship are two different things, so no harm done, and I'm sure he's taken command of the Defiant since that time, but it stood out as something of interest. Another one of those is how Sisko was able to purchase the twelve hecapates of land in Kendra Province since he doesn't use money. That's always a tricky proposition, but it may be that he had Bajorans that wanted to buy him something as a gift for being the Emissary (though in that case you'd think he'd have said the land was a gift from the people). It's very fitting that Sisko the Builder, as he's always been, not to mention a man who loves physical projects (as early as Season 1 he built that alien clock, and in 'Explorers' he recreated a Bajoran solar sailing vessel - another connection to that episode was Ezri letting go of the steering to allow her Runabout to drift in the natural currents of the Badlands in order to replicate the journey taken by Worf's Klingon escape pod, just as Sisko allowed the eddies to take his ship to Cardassia!), should have plans to build a house on the planet he's come to love, but it's also a sign of the direction the series is going: plans for a future, but by the end of the episode that future is in doubt with a warning.

Destiny doesn't usually fit with Trek's view of things - the Kelvin Timeline films gloss over practicalities and good sense by spouting out about the 'Universe' wanting things to be a certain way, to cover a multitude of writing plot-holes, and I've felt a similar thing with 'Discovery,' but for once destiny does make sense for Sisko because we've had the revelations about his Prophet-based parentage, and we know he was planned to be where he is, in spite of his love of Bajor not being part of a master plan, as he puts it (wrongly). He's drawn there and wants to settle down, and as Kasidy said, when your Mum's part Prophet these words take on new meaning. It's both happy and sad that so much time has passed since this was made, but even in the relatively short time since I watched the previous episode, just over a year ago, major developments have occurred. The biggest thing must be that I've finally been able to see what modern, serialised Trek looks like, and I wasn't best pleased, though it wasn't the serialisation as such that got to me. Then the other major, momentous development has been 'Star Trek: Picard' and the words from Patrick Stewart that rather than it being a sequel to 'TNG,' it's a sequel to that era of Trek. Which means for the first time since 'Nemesis' there's the chance we haven't seen the end of the story for some of these characters. That's incredible and puts a new spin on what had become a 'dead' period of Trek since everything filmed post-'Nemesis' had been in the 22nd or 23rd Centuries, and now what is the end doesn't necessarily have to be absolute, something more poignant to watching these final episodes that spelt a conclusive finish to the series.

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