Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine
Episode
Particulars: S2EP19, “Blood Oath”
Standalone
Thoughts: What really strikes me about this episode is that it’s a much
better showing for Dax than “Playing God” was. She still has Mary-Sue qualities
(skilled with a Bat’leth and helped to negotiate the peace between Klingons and
Humans), but more thought has been put into the conflict between Dax’s past
lives, and there does appear to be a struggle there. I don’t think it was
expressed to its best potential (Terry Farell’s acting doesn’t quite sell it) ,
but at least it felt more plausible than what we were told two episodes ago.
Definitely more “show” than “tell” on display here.
I also appreciate the scene where Sisko confronts Dax as
she prepares to head out, asking if her duty to Starfleet is less important to
her than a Klingon blood oath. It reminds her (and us) that actions have
consequences, and even if nothing really comes of it at the end, I appreciate
that acknowledgement. Besides, Sisko’s command style is on full display in that
scene, which makes it engaging to watch.
As for everything else…it’s hit and miss. I certainly
like the concept of people past their prime going out to do one last job,
working around their limitations and trying to maintain the codes they’ve lived
by all their lives, and the scenes that touch on that are good. On the other
hand, the episode kind of abruptly shifts from Dax’s conflict to the actual
fight, and I feel like there wasn’t enough of a transition. Plus, the fight
itself is a little too quick; there’s not a lot of time for anything to have an
impact on us, so it just feels rushed and a little anticlimactic. This one
might have benefitted from being a two-parter—the first part could be taken up
with Dax’s internal conflict, and the second with the preparation for the
fight/the fight itself. It might have helped the pacing more. As it is, I’ll
mark it as “good idea, mediocre execution.”
How it Relates to
the Whole: In relation to DS9,
the main contribution this episode has is to establish Dax’s familiarity with
Klingon rituals and customs, which will become somewhat important later down the
line. Other than that, though, it’s a stand-alone.
In regards to Trek in
general, Memory Alpha confirms what I suspected; Kang is a character from TOS, so his reappearance was probably
very exciting to older Trek fans. As
for people who have never seen the original series, or people like me who haven’t
seen them in years, the impact might be lost, but the story doesn’t require
knowledge of his past to be understood, so as nostalgia goes, it’s a decent
outing.
Other: *I
heard that “door whooshing” sound effect from TOS as Kor opened the holosuite door, sound designers. Nice touch.
*Quark says he got Klingon holo-programs from the last
group of Klingons who were headed to the Gamma Quadrant. Granted, a lot of time
has passed, so he could be talking about some group we never met, but the last
time we saw Klingons in the Gamma Quadrant was in “Dramatis Personae”. I’m not
sure if we’re supposed to infer that’s the group Quark got them from, but if it
is, it’s an interesting callback.
*“How did you get in here?” Odo asks Koloth, surprised
and outraged. Um, Odo…
…The door was wide open. Anybody could have just walked in. I know you’re upset at being
snuck up on, but you brought this one on yourself.
*This shot kind of bothers me;
That’s a real building and not a matte painting, but
something about the composition of this shot looks fake. It probably has to do
with the costumes; they’re too cheesy and incongruous with the setting. A
different outfit (or maybe even more appropriate coloring) probably would have
gone a long way here.
Best
Line/Exchange: This particular exchange is all about the delivery of one
word;
(Dax, trying to
decide what to do, is asking Kira about her experiences killing Cardassians
during the occupation)
Dax: Were they
all faceless Cardassians, or did you know who you were killing?
Kira: Why are
we talking about this?
Dax: If it
bothers you, we can stop.
Kira (immediately):
Yeah, it bothers me.
Dax: I’m sorry.
(gets up and moves away)
(Kira looks after
her for a moment, then heads to another station)
Kira: Why? Were
you thinking about killing somebody? (upset
laugh)
Dax (voice
shaking): Me…?
(Kira’s expression
changes immediately. She grabs Dax’s arm and leads her away)
Kira: Tell me.
First off, Nana Visitor’s acting remains incredible. The
regret and brusqueness as she’s forced to talk about her past feels real, and
her “upset laugh” makes her sound like she’s almost on the verge of tears. But
the real shining moment is Dax’s “Me”, because the way it’s spoken and the
shaking in her voice makes it really hard to tell if she means it as “You think
I want to kill someone?” or “I’m thinking of killing myself.” Now, there’s no
indication that that’s something Dax is thinking, but there’s been enough
ambiguity in the episode so far that that reading is plausible (and it could
also be interpreted less as outright suicide and more that she’s scared that
she’s heading into almost certain death). It’s a dark moment, but it’s handled
extremely well, and it’s probably the moment (other than Sisko’s confrontation
with Dax) that stood out to me the most.
After the Fact
Update: The DS9 Companion revealed
that in fact, all three Klingons had appeared in TOS episodes, though not at the same time. See what I mean about
not remembering the original series very well?
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