The Changing Face of Evil (2)

DVD, DS9 S7 (The Changing Face of Evil) (2)

It's good to be back. I don't just mean for Ezri and Worf, returning to the station at last, but everyone's back in their rightful places and it feels like we're returned to normality. As normal as life can be during a struggle for the liberation of the Alpha Quadrant from the tyrannical invaders of the Dominion, but at least it feels like 'DS9' again after the ups and downs, and impermanence of the various shenanigans drawn out over the past three episodes. Worf and Ezri are back, but we're not immediately thrown into a soapy plot around Bashir (although I would have preferred Worf to have more time away from Ezri - after spending so long together you'd think they'd be happy to go off and be with their friends, or in Worf's case, complete solitude, but then again they've both been through an ordeal that created a bond of friendship); Winn and Dukat are back on Bajor; Damar begins to put into action his plot to lead the fight for the freedom of his people; and Sisko and Kasidy… have a minor disagreement. The important thing is, everyone's where they should be. And also things are awakened, the hornet's nest is stirred up, setting in motion things which cannot be undone. The episode begins with the terrible news of a Breen attack directly on Earth. It's great that we actually get footage of the rebuilding efforts on a screen instead of leaving it all to the imagination: the Golden Gate bridge twisted and rent, Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco a ruin.

Earth, being the place we still live to this day, is obviously the most important planet in Trek. Mars being attacked wouldn't have nearly as much impact, and it if had been Pluto, well, perhaps it would be better for that to be destroyed entirely so we can stop being confused about whether it's even a planet or not! Attacks on Earth would come to define the greatest threat in Trek, to the extent that it's actually been overused. I think this was the first such attempt that succeeded (obviously the Borg in 'The Best of Both Worlds' didn't quite get to do any damage to the planet), barring 'First Contact' (the Borg again!), since it was all undone by time travel. I can't think of any other serious damage done on Earth prior to this episode, unless you count the Xindi attack of the 22nd Century (or V'Ger in 'TMP,' or the Probe in 'The Voyage Home'), which certainly occurred earlier in the timeline, but was not even a glint in Rick Berman's eye at the time 'DS9' was wrapping up. But there you go, Earth was attacked in 'Enterprise,' and again in the first two Kelvin Timeline films, and then 'Discovery' almost got in on the act by having a (tiny, unthreatening), fleet of Klingon vessels approach, only to be turned back because… well, it doesn't do much good to go into the illogical plotting and bizarre twists of 'DSC.' My point is that a threat to Earth, though not exactly personal in some ways (no Trek series is based upon it, even though Berman wanted the entire first season of 'Enterprise' to be set there), it still has relevance to us human viewers.

I think also that Earth of the 24th Century is the very heart and symbol of Roddenberry's ideal: a paradise free from all evils of our contemporary world, full of harmony, plenty and everything positive. So to strike at this core of Federation principles, perhaps the only place that gets it all 'right,' is to say that even those things which were striven for and won, can't be neglected or taken for granted. To change Sam Gamgee's words, there's some good in this galaxy and it's worth fightin' for! If the attack on Earth, as shocking and terrible as it is for our characters (and not just the human ones - it is the centre of both the Federation and Starfleet, and thus holds the distinction of being at least the second most dear place to anyone in Starfleet's hearts, after their own home worlds, of course), was a somewhat impersonal one in regards to the distance away from the hub of this series, DS9, than a far closer target of this episode, one which has great resonance to our characters, and to us, is a victim that rams home just how dangerous the Breen have become. I say become, because if they were really this deadly would they have remained such a small power in the Quadrant? Or do they so prefer their anonymous, mystery nature (added to this episode when Weyoun talks of how everyone assumes they wear refrigeration suits because of the frozen wasteland they come from, but actually it's quite comfortable there, so why do they insist on hiding their appearance?), that even domination wasn't on their agenda. (At least we learnt something about them: Thot must be equivalent to General as that's what Weyoun calls one, presumably Gor).

It's also quite possible that the Breen have been a small people in numbers and only joining the Dominion has brought them out onto the galactic stage. Maybe they preferred to go about their secretive business for as long as this because they were building themselves up for war and it was mere chance that the Founders threw out an invitation to join them. Or maybe they'd got to a point in their plans and technology that meant they were the ones who initiated contact with the Dominion themselves as part of their stepping stone to whatever their goals are. That's the point about them, they're completely unreadable so any motive ascribed could potentially be true. It could be that they saw the way things were going and didn't like the alliances of the Federation, Klingons and Romulans, scaring them into being on the opposite side fearing they might be the next target if the Dominion fell. Or it could even be that, though the Founders believe they're using the Breen, just as they used the Cardassians (something Damar warns Thot Gor about - I'm surprised he/she/it didn't immediately go and grass the Cardassian up to Weyoun!), perhaps the Breen believe they can use the Dominion. So little is known of them that anything is possible because we don't even know their 'racial character,' the simplified profiling of species that is one of Trek's great facets - you know how most Klingons will react. Or Romulans, Vulcans, Ferengi, etc, and knowing that adds reassurance and solidity, dependability to the fictional world, while also giving the writers an easy means to surprise us if they so wish, circumventing the expectations that have been built for decades on alien behaviour. But we can't understand the Breen because we don't know how they behave!

We learned in the Dominion prison camp during Season 5 that there's a saying: never turn your back on a Breen. Damar has a similar saying, and this time its aimed at the Breen themselves. It boils down to the Breen shouldn't turn their backs on Weyoun, because he's not to be trusted. Damar's displeasure with the man he's been forced to work with, and whom he's developed some insight into, doesn't know what's coming for him, and one of the joys of the episode is how confident Weyoun is, not just in the Dominion, but in his own ability to read people. Though we know he fails to understand some things (art for example, the Founders seeing fit not to give him much of an 'irrelevant' aesthetic taste, as we can see by the clothing he wears!), he thinks he's got Damar pegged pretty well, and it's his own unfailing loyalty to the idea that the Founders are gods that leads him to the wrong conclusions because the basis of his confidence is flawed. He sees everything through the eyes of victory or defeat for the Founders, so when he notices that Damar has stopped drinking, has regained his composure, has had a restful night's sleep, he interprets that as a newfound confidence in the Dominion's ability to win this war. Because, as Damar snorts, 'we're all one big, happy family, aren't we,' and even though he says it with the usual slightly sneering manner, Weyoun is so taken with his own ideas about Damar's returned confidence he doesn't even hear it this time! He could never fathom that Damar has decided on a course of action that is selfless for the good of Cardassia, he assumes he's just made peace with the Breen's inclusion, now having seen what they're capable of.

It's marvellously written stuff that makes you appreciate the complexities of the characters, while still bowing somewhat to the Trek 'simplicity' of each alien race having its own common ways and group character: the Vorta are always supremely confident thanks to the unerring dedication to their gods (explained by the genetic tinkering of the Founders that turned them into who they are today, so in a way, a godlike intervention, yet the Changelings remain fallible despite the Vorta's beliefs), while the Cardassians are arrogant - it is that arrogance that led Damar to think he could control the dragon, hanging onto its tail until it had roared flaming destruction down upon the enemies of Cardassia. Really, it was never his decision to make, he was just living with his former boss' results, and it was never working out to be ideal. But since Cardassia openly became second-class citizens, the strange bedfellows are parted forever by Damar's treachery to his 'masters,' and loyalty to his own. Again, it's Cardassian arrogance, but a good form: he had to be humbled before he could see plainly and know what must be done. In this case it was to turn on the occupying invaders that have conquered Cardassia, and it took a big man to wrestle with the truth of all that had happened, and instead of continuing along the path of least resistance, Damar stands up and is counted. That he's counted number one on the Dominion's Most Wanted list doesn't faze him in the least because, as he tells Gul Rusot, they'll be stronger because they're fighting for their families and their way of life. The tables have turned.

He won't be alone, either, because Cardassians value loyalty and family: ties are very important to them, which is why they introduced Damar's lieutenant, Rusot (who always makes me think of risotto), in this episode. It was important to show Damar isolated and alone previously, seeking solace in the bottle and the passing fancies of women when he should have been holding his own. He tried, but he knew he couldn't stand up to the Jem'Hadar, and if he had, he'd have been at best locked up, and at worst, killed without a thought. This way, surprising his enemies, he can do the most damage, and with the loyal soldiers under him, he can do even more damage, something that changes things immediately. I love the personal message he sends to Weyoun, indirectly, just like Sisko left his baseball on the desk in his office in Ops for Dukat to find when he was forced to abandon the station to Dominion/Cardassian forces at the end of Season 5 - Damar picks his first target, Rondac III, specifically because it contained the Vorta cloning facility, and Weyoun knows it was meant that way because, with no access to the Gamma Quadrant, it means he's the last of the Weyouns. It's a strong message, both pointed and effective, and is a triumphant sign of intent that Damar is determined to rid the Empire of the Dominion, with both a general and personal prejudice! Go Damar! This was where he went from being a conflicted villain to a hero of his people (how I'd love to see what state Cardassia is in now we know a time period twenty-odd years later will be shown on 'Picard'!).

With all these large scale politics coming out into the open like a glorious fireworks display, it would be easy to let the quieter, more personal side of things slide. After all, we'd had nothing but personal stuff for the first few episodes of the serial. But Sisko is very low-key in this episode, and I think it's more than just his shock at Earth being attacked. He's not usually one to be cowed by anything, and I'm not saying he's cowed here, but marriage has changed him, just as Quark observed to Odo in a very short scene that I just wished we could have had more of - Odo and Quark discussing anything is pure gold, so if there's a disappointment it's that Quark remains an outlier in the grand scheme (once again he's serving drinks, this time to O'Brien and Bashir as they cluster around the scale model of the Alamo they use to unwind, probably wanting something unsophisticated and hands-on, something I'm surprised Quark allowed in his bar since it takes up so much space, but it looked like it was in the area where they usually play darts so maybe that spot is unofficially theirs to do with as they will since they've been such regular customers?). But back to Sisko: he finds that trying to protect new bride Kasidy is impossible when he gets the Bajorans she works for to give her a month's paid leave (paid? So humans still take payment for their services, it's not enough that Kasidy is in a position of importance and is 'paid' in doing what she loves doing? Or maybe payment is in benefits, like visiting places on Bajor, being given special fruit, or whatever else is unique to the people?). It could be this that preoccupies him, or it could be that now he's stepped away from the guidance of the Prophets, he's walking on eggshells.

Great sorrow was promised, and he has no way of knowing what that will mean. Could it be the attack on Earth? Something worse? His conscience must be working overtime, and unlike Damar, I doubt he's having restful sleep, even though, like Damar, he decided on his course of action and has followed it. He's a stage along on the journey of choosing a path, Damar still has the losses to experience, and while Sisko is the only one actually married, he's experiencing something that both Damar and Kai Winn are, too. Damar is married to Cardassia, ready to sacrifice all for his bride, even at the expense of himself, a selfless love, while Winn has made a deal with the devil, has entered into communion with the evil ones' emissary, nothing dissuading her from her path. All three have been set on their courses, all three will end the same way (sort of), so there's a real poetry coming into play now, that elevates the rest of the arc when you know what's coming. But it's not the end exclusively where they'll be called to make sacrifices. In this very episode they all make such sacrifices, either for evil or for good. Winn's sacrifice is the last little bit of goodness in her rotten soul, represented by Solbor, her aged servant. I noted that however irritated she got with him, she still has a respect for his service, and perhaps his age, saying he doesn't make those kinds of mistakes when Dukat suggests he brought the wrong book. I'd love to know more about this man, how long he'd been serving her, whether it's a recent thing as it seems (since we've never met him before these episodes), or a year's service, or maybe he's been with her for many years and we just never saw him before?

I can't believe it can be that long because if he'd been there when Minister Jaro was doing exactly what Dukat did here, he'd probably have been spitting sarcasm even then (although I'd forgotten she wasn't actually Kai at that point), his caustic servility one of the things that makes him a real person beyond the robes. I would surmise it's most likely the Kai's servants are selected every so often from different Ranjens of the most important temple for a stint in service. Solbor is clearly devoted to the service of the Kai, even though he's exasperated by her actions and choice of company, and as things progress (or descend, to be more accurate), he tries to stop her from getting further into the mire. Of course, he doesn't realise what's actually happening, so I suspect he probably is a recent attachment to her retinue because although he has great loyalty to the office of the Kai, as soon as he sees her evil ways he threatens, no not even threatens, but warns he's off to tell the Vedeks what she's done. Not his wisest move, but then even he couldn't have foreseen the depravity she would stoop to: murder. Again, this is all so superbly plotted and written, it happens organically. It's not like Winn (Adami - notice how Dukat always refers to her first name rather than her religious office, like he's deemphasising her allegiance to the Prophets and focusing on her sense of self), would have killed someone in cold blood, but in her shock at Solbor revealing 'Anjohl' is actually their enemy, Dukat, she grabs a knife for defence against this intruder in her personal space.

This was the last chance she had for redemption. She could no longer avoid punishment. I imagine more than being stripped of her office, she'd probably have been personally exiled from Bajor forever, but she could have salvaged her soul, perhaps found a Bajoran monastery on another planet somewhere and spent the rest of her days in prayer and abstinence, whatever their equivalence to sackcloth and ashes would be. But even with the horror of realising such a vile enemy of Bajor had been allowed so intimately close to her, she still can't give up her dreams of avarice, whether for adoration or control. Even with a Cardassian war criminal, the big bad himself, his lies transparent, she won't give up. She is shown to be far less intelligent than we ever thought by her sharp wit and biting tongue, she's really a small, scared individual that craves power, perhaps coming from her experiences during the Occupation, maybe she's been turned by circumstance and experience into this twisted creature. But when Solbor resolves to tell all, she has to make a quick decision. If she'd had time to ponder and question her position, if Dukat had been taken away from her, if, if, if… but even then we can guess she'd probably always take the path of evil if it seemed to suit her. She'd rather listen to the twisting of the prophecies that Dukat spouts, than her entire life's faith, showing she never really had it. Again, it's all so natural and real the way these people behave - Trek could do realistic characters and drama at one time!

If Winn loses her conscience-in-Solbor (and even the foreshadowing of his demise is well exhibited by Dukat's beating of the old man when he finds him removing some of the evil books Winn has gathered around her), Damar loses his place at the top table of the Dominion. Unlike Winn he gives up what was a hollow position, a false power, in exchange for the ability to make real change: to appeal to the hearts and minds of his fellow countrymen in a fight against their Dominion overlords. He realised that a warm bed and a bottle of Kanar were nothing more than pacifiers, and he's a soldier, he doesn't need comfort, he thrives on hardship - being in a control room giving out orders, especially empty ones, wouldn't have been fulfilling. It's Sisko who makes the biggest loss this episode, however. As important as Winn's soul is, it's not something viewers are going to care about as much as the USS Defiant NX-74205. It was hard to lose her, though there have been times when we came close, from the beating it sustained at the Borg's sharp-edged Cube, to the only other time I can remember them actually abandoning ship ('The Search,' also the first time we met her). That time it was a boarding of unstoppable Jem'Hadar soldiers, this time it's the Breen Energy Dissipator, a hideously effective weapon that takes out everything, from shields to all systems aboard ship, rendering it useless. It's a terrible weapon that comes out of nowhere and it's only a small comfort that no one aboard Defiant was killed.

It was enough to take out the ship itself, because for most of the ships on Trek they are as much a main cast member as the characters: taking our people on missions, attacking enemies, defending the station, she was a fine ship, a credit to her name, even if the Constitution-class NCC-1764 is probably now better known, for appearing (in some form), in three different Trek series', while our NX-74205 only made one leap outside the confines of the series ('First Contact'), unless you count a Defiant-class vessel being seen in the welcoming committee for Voyager's homecoming, though that was still a couple of years off and couldn't be our Defiant. Apparently a Defiant ship was glimpsed in 'Relativity,' the time-jumping Seven of Nine episode, so maybe that counts, too. The point is, she was a unique addition to the mythos, a ship with the nacelles hunkered down within the body of the ship to create a sleeker, more streamlined beauty that also packed a punch with its pow-pow-powing blasts of Quantum Torpedoes. Usually I complain when Trek productions (usually the most recent ones), show ships to be like 'Star Wars,' thumping their way through battles, tearing into the enemy with blasts of energy rather than lancing them in the high-pitched screams of Phaser beams, but Defiant was the first to ever do such things, or to show such agility in combat, so it was exciting because it was the exception that proved the rule of starships being slow, stately, but nonetheless powerful creations. Defiant was unsubtle, but it worked because it went against the grain. Now the grain is all the same, so there's no novelty, no gracefulness to show the violence and bulldog tenacity of a great bruiser like Defiant.

But there it stands, no matter what additions are made to Trek canon, even the best can influence bad choices and decisions in future productions. The opposite can be said, too, and it's about how well the writers write, how well they grasp both general drama and specific Trek nuances, and the 'DS9' writers were simply the best at that, hands down. I'm sure Sisko didn't see it that way as he took a last moment to glance at the burning Bridge he'd commanded through five years of conflict and exploration, his Captain's Chair ripped out. They allow us a moment of personal remorse and grief and it's also rare to see a starship whose fire suppression systems are down, something which is actually stated. Perhaps it could be said that we were denied another great battle as it seemed we were geared up for one, but instead there's a different kind of drama from being so nonplussed at this weapon that can knock out a starship in one swoop. Even the justification of why the escape pods weren't picked off by Dominion forces was expertly included: the Founder wishes the scared and beaten Starfleet officers to return home and spread their fears and failures, dropping morale to a new low. Everything was thought of!

It's not been a good time for Sisko. I'm not sure what was worse for him, losing his long-captained ship to the Breen, or his long-grown peppers to Kasidy's mob-handed attempt at cookery! See, it's good that they can pull off the big things and the small, because it all affects the characters and creates a scale and reality to the world they inhabit. So of course Sisko would be upset that his new wife burned the peppers he'd painstakingly grown (did he have airponics or hydroponics bays installed on the station like Kes used to tend on Voyager, or did he have a little kit in his Quarters that enabled a small crop to thrive?), but it also suggests the idea that most people aren't naturally attuned to the natural preparation of food, and when they have access to Replicators, no wonder. Kasidy seems more like a TV dinner type of woman anyway, though she does value her independence, as demonstrated by the dissatisfaction of Sisko's plan to keep her safe from having to make her freighter deliveries. Like Keiko and her botanical leanings, Kasidy's role is very important to her, and to suggest it's not would be to condescend to the character. Only Sisko didn't think about such things, only keeping what was precious to him safe. It reminded me of the scene in 'For The Cause' when he knew she was working for the Maquis and suggested they both drop everything and head off on holiday. Back then she was too professional to shirk the responsibilities she'd taken on, and she hasn't changed. He knew he hadn't married the kind of woman that wanted to be kept, otherwise he'd never have been drawn to her, I suppose, and it's a fascinatingly believable little wrinkle they explore.

Kasidy doesn't have it all her own way, either, because just as Sisko would prefer her not to be out in the space lanes in wartime, she would wish for him not to be sent off on any more dangerous missions, only Admiral Ross has other ideas when the Breen break through in the Chin'toka system and Sisko has to make ready with his crew. It's lovely to see them all back together and going off on a mission, and while it's not quite at the level of great dialogue as we heard in the six-part war arc at the beginning of Season 6, it's still comforting and beautiful to hear them going about their business like any other Trek series, while also fitting in banter between the technical preparations. I suppose I could have done with more of a feeling that this was the last time they ever assembled on the Defiant's Bridge (even though a very similar thing would happen later, it's not the same ship), but the viewers don't know any more than the characters do that this will be the last time. That's the point, they always go into battle not knowing what will happen, and even having watched the episode several times, knowing that the Defiant was lost at some point, I'd completely forgotten about that, so it was a shock to me on this viewing. As Riker once said (and I can't believe we're going to see him again on Trek in the near future!), 'tough little ship,' but even she wasn't tough enough to go against technological advancements which could change the balance of power in the Dominion's favour.

The other thing that would change the balance was Winn's actions learning how to release the evil Pah-Wraiths from the Fire Caves. Bajorans must be expert bookkeepers, and I don't mean in the financial sense! It's said the book of the Kosst Amojan hadn't been removed from the archives for seven hundred years, and yet there is sits, never once falling apart. I imagine this great archive was kept hidden from the Cardassians during their Occupation, as while they'd be unlikely to show interest, they would most likely have burned the lot to the ground (and in this case, good job, too!). I still felt the Kai should have been wearing gloves when handling the crinkly old pages, but perhaps Bajorans were experts in making long-lasting material for paper, as well as being able to store it for centuries in perfect conditions? I noticed the devilish horns on the artefact behind Winn whenever she's sat at her desk with the book, a none-too-subtle reference to her position, Dukat on one shoulder, the Pah-Wraiths on the other. But these 'true gods' of Bajor aren't up to much as they need to be set free from their imprisonment, hardly a sign of powerful beings. Winn isn't thinking along those lines, however, she's drawn inexorably onward to her doom. I must say it's lovely to see her back on Bajor with the sun streaming in on those open-plan buildings they have, even if it does bring to mind her dalliance with Jaro in Season 2. She hasn't changed.

Nor has Dax, still as foolhardy and loyal as she ever was, going against all Starfleet regulations to go off and rescue a fellow officer. I'm glad they addressed this breach in protocol, Ezri herself admitting to Sisko that she left the station without permission and lost a Runabout, but this is another (the first), scene that shows Sisko is lower key form than usual, as he glosses over her infractions, more interested in the intelligence on the Breen. I do rather wish we could have had a representative of Starfleet Intelligence, or even Ross, to debrief her and Worf on camera as their insights and impressions were invaluable, not just in getting Ezri back in Sisko's good graces after her recklessness, but for the war effort. It's good that their rescue by Damar was the beginning of showing his change of heart in action, and the radical choice he made, which Sisko acknowledges could be the key to winning the war. Gul Rusot says he rejoiced at the news that Cardassia had joined the Dominion, initially, but then they became a conquered people. This isn't something Cardassians can live with, they aren't a race of cowards. Nasty sometimes, brutal, yes, but vigorous warriors with a code of ethics that can be brought out by their better examples when the occasion arises (like Tekeny Ghemor, or the times Garak has risen to the aid of his allies on the station). It struck me that this happiness in unification the Cardassians felt could be akin to the reunification of Paramount and CBS - we rejoice now because it seems good that the film and TV rights should no longer be split across two companies, but will we be regretting it one day? I don't know, it certainly seems ideal, but I await what new productions come into being because I miss Trek and I haven't seen any fully true, decent stuff since 2005. I'll always have 'DS9,' though, my desert island series, nothing else needed beyond it.

****