Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine
Episode
Particulars: S2EP5, “Cardassians”
Standalone
Thoughts: Hello, Garak. I’ve missed you and your fantastically sly line
deliveries.
*Ahem* Now that that’s out of the way…if I’m going to be
perfectly honest, this isn’t the show’s strongest outing. Fans rewatching the
show will have a good time because it’s got Garak doing what he does best, but
I think a first-timer won’t be as impressed. Some of them might not even remember Garak, so they’ll be left
wondering who he is and why the crew is letting him get involved. Sure,
Robinson’s performance will probably win them over, but there might be an
awkward adjustment period.
Even if Garak wasn’t involved, though (which would be
difficult because he’s repeatedly responsible for the plot moving forward), the
episode has its problems. I think it’s trying to deliver a message, but I’m not
entirely sure what that message is.
Is it trying to say something about adoption? Is it about what happens when a
person is raised in a different culture? Is it about general prejudice? The
episode tries to juggle all these different elements, and as a result, they all
get mixed together and make it confusing. I mean, points for trying to give
every character their good and bad points (Rugal is hostile but also clearly
struggling with his identity, his adoptive father hates Cardassians but loves
Rugal, Pa’Dar is upset when things don’t go his way but also is obviously glad
that his son is alive, etc.), but it just winds up muddying the water further.
Then you’ve got the ending, which I guess is realistic, but doesn’t feel very
satisfying and kind of seems to undermine what we’ve seen so far. So while the
acting is good, it only serves to make the story seem better than it actually
is. Once you realize that, the flaws immediately become apparent.
How it Relates to
the Whole: We learn a little more about Dukat here, in terms of his
history, his position, and his way of handling things, all of which will become
more important as we go forward. We also get our first real taste of the
friendship between Garak and Bashir (there’s a lot of suggestion that the two
of them have been having lunch together regularly, but this is the first time
we’re seeing or hearing of it; it’s sloppy retconning, but at least the writers
are trying to suggest that life goes on on the station even when we’re not
watching), which will also be a big part of the show. And while it’s small, we
do see that O’Brien has reservations about Cardassians, something which I
believe comes into play a few times. As for if the actual events of this
episode will have any long-term effects, I can’t say, though I don’t believe
so. At least, not directly; there will be a situation in a few seasons that can
easily be related to what we see here, but I don’t know if the characters make
any mention of it. When it comes up, I’ll let you know.
Other: *I’m a
little surprised that Garak so boldly went up to Rugal and his father in the
first place. This very episode establishes that he tries to observe everything
around him, so surely he must have noticed that a) Rugal was wearing a Bajoran
earring, and b) that his body language suggested he was uncomfortable when
Garak approached him. Maybe it’s because I know more about Garak than the
audience (and possibly even the writers) did at the time, but it just feels
like a lapse in judgment here.
*What on earth are those people wearing in the background
of this shot?
It looks like they’re wearing Starfleet carrying cases on
their heads. I know TV shows often repurpose props, but this is ridiculous.
*Sisko tells Bashir at one point that he wants Garak in
Sisko’s office so they can have a talk. This never comes up again. I’m a little
sad, because I’d have loved to see Garak’s slyness vs. Sisko’s directness.
Mostly, though, I wish it had been addressed—even a mention that Garak begged
off would have been enough.
*Keiko very nearly had my sympathy this episode, when she
understandably shot O’Brien down for making a racist remark. Then she ruined it
by making Cardassian food for Rugal. Even if she didn’t talk to him about the
situation, surely it would have been nice to at least ask him what he wanted to
eat. He was just taken away from his father and told that there’s a possibility
that he might be sent to a place he’s been taught to hate; surely making him
feel comfortable should be the highest priority here.
*Speaking of O’Brien and his dislike of Cardassians, I
feel like that should have been addressed before
they sent Rugal to stay with the O’Briens. I can’t imagine that he’s been
keeping his dislike a secret, especially since he keeps making remarks about
Cardassian technology. Sure, Keiko’s the schoolteacher and therefore (in
theory) has the most experience with kids, but since everyone seems to be
harboring the belief that Rugal wants to go back to Cardassia, why stick him
with someone who doesn’t like Cardassians, which is almost certainly going to
end badly?
*While it is absolutely in character for Garak to just
waltz into Bashir’s room unannounced, the sound effects in the scene give me
the impression he literally just pushed a button and walked in. Is the
Federation utopia so perfect that they don’t even believe in locking their
doors? Or is Bashir just an idiot? Wait, don’t answer that; given how they’ve
mostly portrayed him so far, I think I know the answer.
Best
Line/Exchange: Unsurprisingly, Garak is responsible for this one;
Garak: I
believe in coincidences. Coincidences happen every day. But I don’t trust
coincidences.
It’s an understandable philosophy to take, in a way.
Coincidences do happen, but generally not in a very dramatic fashion. The
exception is in fiction, where it’s sometimes necessary for the sake of the
plot, but if the story has too many coincidences or overly dramatic
coincidences, the readers/viewers can get annoyed. So this is actually kind of
a meta moment. I’m not sure if that was the intent, but I still like it.
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