Day 40: DS9, The Maquis (Part 2)

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S2EP21, “The Maquis, Part 2”

 Summary: To Sisko’s shock, his friend Commander Hudson has thrown in with the Maquis, supporting their efforts to defend their homes from the Cardassians. When reasoning with him fails, Sisko realizes he’ll need to do things a little differently. Somewhat fortunately for him, Dukat is around to help him out, and given the strong evidence that the Cardassians are supplying weapons to their own colonies, it’s in their best interests to work together and prevent war from breaking out again. With Dukat’s tactics, Sisko’s experience, and a little help from Quark (Odo having arrested him for helping get weapons to the Maquis), they should be able to foil the Maquis’ big plan. But this might just be a case of winning the battle and not the war.

Standalone Thoughts: Since we got all of the setup out of the way in Part 1, Part 2 is a much stronger episode. There’s some action scenes, which are ok, but what really makes it better is the conversations between various characters. Dukat and Sisko have a great dynamic here, working well together but clearly with very different viewpoints on the world that put them at odds with each other. Quark only gets one big scene, but that big scene involves him managing to out-logic a Vulcan, and while I don’t fully grasp his point, he argues his case very well. Avery Brooks does a fine job showing the conflict Sisko’s going through, with loyalty to Starfleet, the memories of his friendship with Hudson, and a little part of him that understands why the Maquis do what they do all fighting within him. On a writing and acting level, this episode delivers.

Even with all that, though, the actual Maquis-Cardassian conflict still feels rushed and a little contrived to me. Maybe I’m missing some of the politics involved because I can’t remember the elements set up in TNG, but while the situation’s definitely not black-and-white, we’re only really seeing the Maquis’ actions, with very little discussion or explanations for why the Cardassians are doing what they’re doing. I’m going to assume it’s about regaining power, but without that context, something feels slightly off here. Then again, maybe it’s just me; I can read between certain lines, but there are times when I can’t quite manage it.

How it Relates to the Whole: As I said in Part 1, the Maquis will continue to pop up occasionally, both here, in one episode of TNG, and (briefly) in Voyager. However, I don’t think we see any long term consequences for the actions taken in this episode. Quark is apparently released on a plea bargain, I don’t remember if Hudson ever reappears, and while Sisko obviously managed to save the day, he didn’t really get to the root of the problem, so the ending of this episode feels a bit hollow. Granted, I think it was supposed to feel hollow, and Sisko doesn’t have the power to fully solve the problem, but I feel like he could have done a little bit more. It’s kind of scary that I’m on Dukat’s side with this one, albeit wanting a slightly less violent option. Speaking of Dukat, we get to learn more about him and the Cardassian way of thinking, which will become a pretty big part of DS9 as we go forward. So that, at least, is satisfying.

Other: *To follow up from yesterday; no, Bashir doesn’t really do anything of note. I must presume he was brought along to deal with any injuries inflicted on Dukat, but while it makes sense in-universe, he feels kind of pointless from an audience perspective. I’ll give the writers some points for trying to think things through, though.

*We get a particularly egregious bit of set dressing error in the opening few minutes. Most of the space on the planet looks like this;

Then Sisko and Hudson have a conversation in a slightly less foggy area;

And then suddenly, this happens;

This section looks surprisingly lush and fog free, doesn’t it? And then, after about fifteen seconds…

…it’s foggy again. What, did the fog machine break down when you were filming that shot?

*At one point, we see Gul Dukat having a meal, complete with the most viscous looking drink I think I’ve ever seen. Different strokes for different folks, but I hope it tastes better than it looks. And out of universe, I hope it wasn’t too disgusting for Marc Alaimo to drink.

Best Line/Exchange: There’s a lot of good material here, but I decided to go with the bit that made a statement, in more ways than one;

Sisko: Do you know what the trouble is?

Kira (slightly confused): No.

Sisko: The trouble is Earth.

Kira: Really.

Sisko: On Earth, there is no poverty, no crime, no war. You look out the window of Starfleet headquarters and you see paradise. Well it’s easy to be a saint in paradise. But the Maquis do not live in paradise. Out there in the demilitarized zone all the problems haven’t been solved yet. Out there, there are no saints, just people. Angry, scared, determined people who are going to do whatever it takes to survive, whether it meets with the Federation approval or not.

Kira: Makes sense to me.

Sisko (calming down): I’m glad someone understands.

If you wanted a speech that said “This is a new Star Trek,” you couldn’t do much better than this. It’s acknowledging the utopia of the Federation, but it’s willing to admit to a darker side, and one that the bureaucrats in Starfleet don’t seem able to acknowledge. Sisko, however, does acknowledge it, and maybe even participates in that darkness from time to time. Given that TNG was only a few episodes away from ending, I feel like this was the writers stepping up and making their intentions clear. And good on them for being willing to try something different.