Day 41: DS9, The Wire

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S2EP22, “The Wire”

 Summary: When Garak starts acting odd (or at least odder than usual), Bashir tries to help, but is pushed away. At least until Garak collapses and an examination of him reveals an implant in his brain. Further investigation and a reluctant conversation with Garak reveals that it was placed there by the Obsidian Order, Cardassia’s equivalent of the CIA, as something that stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers to numb feelings of pain. Garak, however, has been using it to the point that he’s become addicted to it, and now Bashir has to try to help him despite Garak’s attitude and unreliable statements. With Garak’s commitment to secrecy and Bashir’s commitment to the Hippocratic Oath, things are all but guaranteed to get interesting.

Standalone Thoughts: Well, it’s a Garak episode, so of course I’m predisposed to like it. Still, it’s justified in this case, mostly because Andrew Robinson knocks this episode out of the park. Upset, drunk, angry, and of course sly…he does it all effortlessly. Siddig does a fine job too, playing Bashir as someone who understands that his patient isn’t in the best frame of mind, and thus doesn’t take their outbursts personally. Plus, we see the lengths Bashir is willing to go to to help a patient, and it gives him a hint of darkness that moves him even further away from what we saw in Season One. He’s also far more mature, with no real social awkwardness on display, thus proving that when he gets into “doctor mode”, he’s always on top of things. Robinson’s clearly the MVP, but he needed the right person to play off of, and I think Siddig was more than up to the task.

There’s really not a lot more to say on the subject. The story is fine, but the characters and the performances are what really drives the episode, and since I’ve already established that they’re good, I don’t know what to add. This is one episode where you’ll probably have to see it for yourself to fully appreciate it. And I heartily encourage you to do so.

How it Relates to the Whole: This is the first mention of the Obsidian Order, which is going to play a fairly large role going forward, at least where Garak is concerned. We also start to get a little more detail about Garak’s past, though naturally, none of it can be stated as definitive fact. The episode also introduces Enabran Tain (Paul Dooley), who makes several more appearances, which my memory suggests offers a very different portrayal than what we see here (he almost comes across as a jovial dad, not something you’d expect from Cardassians). It’ll be interesting to see if the change is deliberate or something the writers decided to retcon.

On a somewhat lighter note, this episode also introduces the idea that O’Brien dislocates his shoulder a lot, something that will become a bit of a running injury throughout the show. Not a major plot point, but something to look out for as we go forward.

Other: *According to Garak, this episode marks the first time they’ve ever done business together. I guess that means that Quark buying a dress for Lang and getting some advice from Garak in “Profit and Loss” doesn’t count as business. Then again, we never saw Lang wear the dress, so maybe Quark cancelled the order.

*We see Sisko briefly in this episode, getting treated for something. Said something involved him yelling at admirals, so I must assume he either lost his voice or strained a muscle in his neck while shouting. What’s more intriguing to me, though, is why he was yelling at Admirals at all. I wonder if this was a bit of continuity with the previous two episodes, where we did see him at his desk arguing with an Admiral over subspace. If so, I like it. Quiet callbacks are some of the best kinds of continuity, or at least the most satisfying for fans to pick up on.

Best Line/Exchange: There’s a lot of good material here, but very little that made the jump to great. So yet again, I resort to humor, mixed with a bit of darkness;

(Odo and Bashir are spying on Quark’s bar as Quark talks to a Cardassian contact)

Bashir: I hope you don’t have one of these little bugs hidden in my quarters.

Odo: Should I?

And then Bashir makes this face;

He smiles a few seconds later, so it’s clear the two of them are mostly treating it as a joke, but there is the faintest hint of “wouldn’t you like to know” in that expression, as well as “do you think so little of me?” Perhaps Garak’s having more of an impression on Bashir than he realizes.

More seriously, it’s an excellent example of the grey morality that exists on the station. When this was brought up earlier in the episode, Odo explained “It’s in the best interest of station security”, which may be true but can go very Big Brother very quickly.  And yet we support it in this case, because we want to know what’s going on with Garak. Besides, since the station isn’t Federation property, and they’re in an area of space where no one knows what might come through the wormhole, questionable precautions like this somehow seem slightly less questionable. Exchanges like this simultaneously keep things from getting too grim but also remind us that things could change if Odo felt someone posed a threat. A+ writing all around there, guys.