Extreme Measures (2)

DVD, DS9 S7 (Extreme Measures) (2)

Extreme is the ideal word to use for the pared down nature of this one, standing sets only, two characters for most of the time, and an impression of a slight story being padded out. But that would be to miss the point: this is a last look at the great friendship of two men, and if some scenes aren't really necessary (such as in the Turbolift when they keep dropping, or the slow discussion in the Defiant's corridor of the love between friends being stronger and deeper than that between a man and his wife), they are there to give us this gift of seeing the partnership of O'Brien and Bashir as the sole focus of an episode one final time. It's also the chance for the series to do one last sci-fi story, one more weird reality to explore, with the stakes as high as Odo's life on one hand, O'Brien and Bashir's in another, and the potential to take down the immoral Section 31 to cap it all. The balance couldn't be hanging more! You could say it's a stage play, and while it doesn't have the power and drive of some that stuck a couple of people in a room for the duration to hash things out, as seen in a number of Treks, it's a gentler, quieter story that is perhaps fonder of the two men at its centre, showing why they work so well as a team: Julian with his genetically advanced abilities (he can control his vital functions as a switch to get them out of the mind of their enemy; can work out the complicated diagnostics of the fancy equipment the use; can keep track of exact time without the aid of a timepiece; can get past Quark's lock on the bar, and score a bullseye on the dartboard from distance), and O'Brien with his common sense and grounded nature.

Both need each other's skills as they take on one of their biggest challenges: to enter the compartmentalised mind of a villain of the highest order, a man for whom morals have no absolute, except for the mandate to preserve the Federation. Section 31's goal are laudable, it's just their method that is at fault, their willingness to go against everything the Federation stands for in order that it can keep standing. There's much debate to be had about whether it is better for such an august organisation with such great goals of peace and an intergalactic community to survive at any cost, or whether the change that is constant in a shifting universe means the Federation, like all other empires before it, would eventually fall, and should be allowed to - as Bashir predicted in his wild future imaginings in 'Statistical Probabilities,' even if the Dominion conquered the whole galaxy, at some future date a rebellion would rise up to overthrow it. It's just that the Federation's principles are upheld in secret by a rotten core, a controversial, though fascinating reveal during Season 6 of this series, and one that has run and run through every incarnation created since 'DS9' ended.

It is sad, in a way, that the 'perfect' humanity of Trek that Roddenberry strived for, should be admitted to be supported by the actions of a deviant few that will stop at nothing to preserve it, though all too realistic. It's not that secret services are wrong in themselves: Starfleet Intelligence isn't vilified, but is a useful data-gathering organisation that combats known threats and uncovers unknown ones. Section 31 goes deeper, taking proactive steps to ensure threats are dealt with as early as possible (but they were still found wanting on many occasions when you think of the terrible events throughout Federation history). Hence the infecting of Odo way back in Season 4. At least that's what Bashir and O'Brien had surmised, but we can't know for absolute certainty that that's when it happened. The case is strengthened in this episode, however, by the surprise, and obscure mention of the former Federation President of the time, Jaresh-Inyo, who was in the very two-parter that Odo was supposedly infected - 31 had one of their men in his cabinet according to data Bashir unearths in Sloan's mind! How much of what happened in there was fiction, though, that's the question? A mind as devious and complex as that of the agent, could be full of falsehood and deception so that we don't know what's true or made up. That last scene in the room with all the Padds and papers scattered around the reclining Sloan, flashes rending the air every few moments, was the most dramatic and exciting visual, but it means even more when seen as a trap for Bashir's curiosity.

The Doctor was so intent on taking down 31 that he would have stayed to his doom, greedily sucking up Sloan's secrets, except for O'Brien's straight and steady presence, there to remind him that Sloan wants him to die and will use any bait to keep him there. So Section 31 is not destroyed as Bashir hoped - the main goal was to retrieve the cure for Odo's disease and save his life, taking out 31 was merely a secondary objective, one that would have been an uphill struggle, a tacking into the wind, but if possible, a major moral victory. So 31 is still there to be used in future productions, something I wouldn't be surprised about 'Picard' getting to eventually, in keeping with 'Enterprise,' the Kelvin Timeline films, and 'Discovery.' There's even supposed to be a series coming focused on this errant cabal (set in the 23rd Century), which shows how far things have gone in our world: that Trek would happily create a series based around this evil spectre at the base of the Federation's white tower, rather than concentrate on the evil in the galaxy which our heroes oppose, suggests a move away from the idealistic, utopian, uplifting, optimistic worldview (or universeview), that Trek had portrayed before, shows how low our view has become that so many audiences crave wrongness and characters that are essentially evil - the success of major TV shows featuring such things as sympathetic points of view bears out the point, but it's chilling to think of even Trek being sucked into this black hole of baseness when it at least was a beacon of light.

It's not the fault of 'DS9,' either - they always made it clear Section 31 was a cancer that needed to be cut off, something that was created in a dark time, not something worthy of its own series where it could be all about the cool stuff these agents get up to. You could say it's too early to pre-judge a series that hasn't been seen yet, the only fact being that Emperor Georgiou of 'DSC' will be the main character, but even that one fact suggests the calibre of the series: she was the worst character in a disappointingly negative season of Trek (I haven't even seen Season 2 yet, where she's supposed to feature more). If the 'DS9' writers were tackling such subject matter I'd have hopes that it could be a fascinatingly deep study, but on the evidence I've seen of the current crop, it will likely be fairly empty action-based rubbish with a shiny surface. Not to say that 'DS9' didn't have its share of morally questionable people or acts. You only have to look at Garak as an expert example, but he was a truly compelling character for the good that he could do, which only made his abhorrent acts the more shocking. There is a certain type of glee to be felt when someone like that does something to the enemies of our heroes that we know they wouldn't dirty their hands with, but even that is a reprehensible attitude, as compelling as it can be. Sisko himself was famously led astray in the events of 'In The Pale Moonlight,' a fascinating study of what a good, upstanding Starfleet Captain would do, given the chance, but again, it's against his general tendencies, which is what makes it so surprising and shocking.

Bashir isn't a stranger to such acts himself - he kept his true advantages as a genetically modified individual a dirty secret for much of his life. But the hippocratic oath by which he practices has been something clearer and dearer to his moral compass. Sure, his House of Horrors chamber where important figures were lost in his care (usually through no fault of his, it should be added), can flippantly be brought up as a failure (and Odo's lying in that very room in which Vedek Bareil breathed his last, and even mentions the fact!), but how many times has Bashir actively laid aside his medical ethics? He does now, and there's a big question as to whether it was right for him to do so: to capture, then shoot an unarmed man, and subject him to Romulan Mind Probes (or Romulan Memory Scanner, or Romulan Mental Probes as various people call them!), eventually invading that mind with his own consciousness (shame there was no Vulcan he could call on to do the deed as that would have been easier, I'm sure, but is also one advantage to not having a Vulcan on your crew since there wouldn't have been an episode in that case!). We know he's doing it for Odo, and we know he's doing it to a villain of the highest order, but there's surprisingly little of the Trekkian exploration on the rights and wrongs of it all. It's just something that needs to be done, albeit off the record, without orders (though we have an early scene of handy exposition to explain to the audience, via Sisko's lack of knowledge, what's going on, that serves both the purposes of informing casual viewers, and getting the Captain into the episode).

Bashir is adamant that this thing that slithered into the Federation must be destroyed, but if a good man like the Doctor can be pushed to fight the unethical with unethical methods, doesn't that mean 31 has won? Their whole ethos is that the ends of keeping the Federation safe justify any means, and now a Starfleet doctor is using those exact same methods on them. 31 has taught Bashir that if the stakes are high enough, he should do as they do. Would Odo accept Bashir's loss of principles? He who has always been so heavily focused on justice? Then again, Sloan was dealt justice rather than the letter of the law, so he probably would support the Doctor's choice. It's a thorny problem, and not one this episode examines because it's more interested in looking at O'Brien and Bashir as friends and colleagues, their teamwork making victory possible. O'Brien couldn't have done what Bashir came up with, and Bashir would have been trapped without the Chief, and that's the message of the episode. Will we ever see Section 31 routed out? I doubt it, because the writers love using them, and on 'DS9' they were a truly fascinating component, so sparingly used, but with such far-reaching grasp on the major events of the series. It's funny that Sloan should be the man sent to stop them, I wonder what the assignment he had planned for Doctor was going to be? We never got the chance to hear it because he was easily caught. Granted, he couldn't know what Bashir was planning, but you'd think he'd always have a plan for every contingency.

In a way, he did, resorting to suicide when he realised there was going to be no threatening O'Brien and no reasoning with Bashir that would work. He was so dedicated to the cause that he killed himself! Up to that point I felt his character had been stripped of the greatness he first had - that mystery and awesome, all-knowing power that could twist facts and do whatever he wanted. I still wish to some degree that 31 had all turned out to be the imagination or games of this intergalactic playboy conman who, like Michael Eddington of the Maquis, made himself the hero of his story, and sacrificed himself as the final part of the game. I know we saw other operatives at different times, all wearing the signature, stereotypical black outfits (that now in 'DSC' have been made far more ludicrous by having a black badge for easy identification!), but these could all have been hired hands going along with what their boss arranged. I couldn't see that Sloan being trapped by a forcefield, he was too suave and cool to be tricked, always several steps ahead like an evil Jason Bourne. We do learn some (questionable, always questionable), new information on 31: they have no HQ, no room full of files, which exist only in the minds of a select group. Morsels of facts, but good to find out something new about them. Like Eddington, Sloan takes extreme measures to protect what he believes in.

I noticed that rather than the Infirmary where you'd expect Bashir to do his research, it all takes place in some nondescript room, later revealed to be Science Lab 4 (though looking nothing like the kind of labs Jadzia used to work in during the early days of the series), by Sisko asking for a medical team to be sent there. I wonder if the fact that a male voice answers him on the comm, and then when Bashir and O'Brien 'come round' to find a couple of female nurses (one being Nurse Bandee, whom I'm sure has been mentioned before, though not seen), it was a clue to them still being in Sloan's mind (a trick played a few times on Trek, and one I always love - they're still in the Matrix!). Then again, the only nurse we see when they really do come round is also female, although she's different to the dream nurses, so… I suppose the Infirmary was too 'public' a place, what with Odo being in the operating room (something we'd only just seen in the previous episode when Martok was severely wounded), and other staff being about, and it seems somewhat more underhanded to be dealing with Sloan in a dark room somewhere. It was nice to see O'Brien's Quarters again with its beautiful sunset image on the wall, even though they were only in Sloan's mind - it made me pine for the days when we had the DS9 community, with Keiko, and Quark, and others showing up. This time, insultingly, the Ferengi doesn't even appear, though his bar is used a couple of time without his consent (and his liquor stolen!), and though Keiko's mentioned again, she remains unseen.

Perhaps the best moment of the episode is when O'Brien extols the virtues of having a wife, she's got his dinner on, even this late, and he's about to go off and enjoy it, when at the last moment he asks Julian if he'd like to come, too, and it's like a melding of the two lives, family and friendship, beautifully tying up the episode and the bond between these two great characters in Trek history. Bashir's still talking about Ezri (the real, physical book he's reading, 'A Tale of Two Cities,' was lent by her, and she apparently inherited it from Jadzia, which sounds odd since Trill don't have anything to do with a former host's life - likely Worf gave it to her), and he hasn't yet spoken to her properly, though she does appear as the person who watches over Bashir and O'Brien upon finding them in the lab. Interestingly, Worf is used as a mildly threatening character in Sloan's mind when the Doctor can't believe that Sloan's already dead and the burly Klingon stands over his shoulder and grabs his arm! Worf doesn't appear in the flesh, but this is very much the O'Brien/Bashir show. Odo's very important to the story as the main motivation, and he and Kira get an affecting scene where he has accepted his fate: one, possibly two weeks to live, and sends Kira away because he doesn't want her to see another man die, just as she witnessed Bareil's demise. It struck me, currently reading 'Far From The Madding Crowd,' that Odo is Gabriel Oak: the stolid, dependable suitor overshadowed by the better off Boldwood (Shakaar), or exciting Troy (Bareil), only for them to fall by the wayside over time and win over Bathsheba (Kira). Maybe it was the mention of another classic in the episode, and I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but the parallels suddenly became clear.

The good thing about going into Sloan's mind is that we actually get to know him a little - the 'good' part of him holds a sort of wake where we see his parents, possibly siblings standing behind them, his wife, Jessica and two children. Again, we don't really know how true all this is, it could be stalling for time, except that, just as when Bashir was running around in his own mind ('Distant Voices'), and the villain of the piece suddenly appears to drag Jadzia out of the room (it might even have been the same room!), the 'bad' Sloan pops up at the door to shoot his good self before he can pass on the cure. The scene was so reminiscent of that earlier episode (one of my absolute favourites), that I wonder if it was a deliberate tribute? Of course the major saving whenever they do this alternate reality thing (even 'DSC' with its mega-budgets did the same), is to use the series' standing sets to portray it. For one thing, they're recognisable, and take on a sinister aspect when we know that the familiar station they're walking around (and the Defiant's corridors, cleverly allowing us to be in the old ship one last time, in spite of its destruction), is not reality, so anything can happen, and the other main reason is to make us, or the characters, wonder whether they're out of it since it looks the same as true reality, which is why there's no B-story as we couldn't cut to something outside Sloan's mind without losing the tension. That's always been a creepy, but involving way to create tension, far more effective than if they were to spend millions on some elaborate alien world or CGI sets. Yes, it's a trope, and O'Brien even wonders why - rationalised by Sloan saying he wanted them to feel at home (while his evil side wanted them to be unknowingly still stuck in there).

One of the most standalone in the final batch, the episode isn't shy of connecting to the ongoing story arc, which is rapidly coming to a conclusion, referencing such things as the Breen weapon Kira and the underground were able to procure in the previous episode, which is why the Chief is still up and about at that hour of the night, as well as the motivation for all their actions being Odo's recovery from the brink of death. There are also many references to the state of their lives, whether it be Keiko and the family, or Bashir's infatuation with Ezri, and even a summing up of some of the things they have, or have had in common over the years: the darts, the racquetball (it's been a while since we've seen either of them with racket in hand!), Vic's lounge, their shared love of the Alamo), making it a perfectly comforting place to leave them as a part of the series. The same thing would be done with the Ferengi in the next episode, and to a lesser extent for all the characters in the finale. The real question, though, is whether Sloan really died. We'd seen him die the last time he cropped up, and yet here he was again. Always possibilities, and Sadler was one of the standout guest actors on the series (among so many greats), so if the actor is still acting, maybe 'Picard'? I'm going to be suggesting that about every last one of the terrific actors and guest stars from now until 'Picard' is done, and they probably won't happen, but I love the possibilities. Always possibilities.

****