Day 89: DS9, Hard Time

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S4EP18, “Hard Time”

 Summary: Falsely accused of espionage while visiting a planet in the Gamma Quadrant, O’Brien is thrown in prison for twenty years. Or at least, memories of a twenty year prison stint are implanted into his mind, while in reality he’s spent about a day unconscious while he mentally experiences it. That’s more than enough to mess him up, of course, and he finds himself having difficulties readjusting to life on the station, from getting back into the swing of things at work to having enough food to eat. To top it off, he keeps dwelling on his experiences in prison, from the harsh conditions to his interactions with his cellmate Ee’char (Craig Wasson). He wants to just put it all behind him, but he’s having trouble letting go, and pushes away the efforts of his friends and family when they offer their support. We know things will turn out all right in the end, but it’s also clear it’s going to take a lot of emotional upheaval before we get to the happy ending.

Standalone Thoughts: I won’t beat around the bush here; this may be the darkest episode DS9 has done so far. Showing harsh prison conditions is one thing, but the episode really digs into what happens when someone tries to recover from something traumatic, and how hard it is for both the sufferer and the friends, superiors, and family trying to help them. It culminates in a moment that is breathtakingly daring for a Star Trek show, and even though you know it’s going to turn out all right, the sheer fact that they’re going down this route is enough to get you tense. It’s shocking, but not in a calculated, “this will boost the ratings” way, and that probably gives it even more impact.

Even before that moment, though, the episode is excellent. You understand both O’Brien’s perspective (I don’t need to be coddled, just let me get back to normalcy) and the perspective of everyone else (you’re clearly not ok, let us help you), and that’s really what makes the episode work. That and Meaney’s performance, which is the perfect blend of anger, confusion, and buried pain. It’s hard for me to come up with much more to say about it; you kind of need to experience it for yourself to fully appreciate it. The only other thing I have to add is that I remembered the concept of this episode, but I clearly didn’t fully appreciate it the first time around. Thankfully, I had a chance to correct my opinion.

Now, all of that being said…I do have some questions about the hook of the episode. The idea of having the prison sentence take place inside your head is an intriguing one, but the technobabble they use to describe it makes it sound extremely complicated, and therefore increasingly implausible. If each prison experience is tailored to suit the personality of the offender, that has to take an insane amount of work to do, involving programming that I just feel would be impossible even in the 24^th century. The concept probably would have been stronger if they’d just kept the details of how it worked to a minimum, because the way it is now starts to break your suspension of disbelief. It also makes it easier to start asking other questions about the events of the episode. Even if he thinks it’s been twenty years, why would O’Brien think there wasn’t a home to go back to, or that he’d never see any of his loved ones again? Wouldn’t it make sense to suspend someone’s access codes if they were declared medically unfit for duty? And the big reveal at the end of the episode, while powerful, doesn’t make sense when you stop and think about it. None of these are dealbreakers, obviously, but they do stand out more thanks to the strength of the rest of the material. Consider this a note of caution rather than an outright warning.

This is not a fun episode by any means, but it’s extremely well-handled. You might want to have some more cheerful material on hand after watching this, but for all the darkness, it’s got good writing, good acting, and definitely paces itself just right. It’s another sign that DS9 is entering the golden age, and despite the content of the episode itself, that’s a very encouraging sign.

How it Relates to the Whole: This episode seems like it was meant to be fairly self-contained, but it will be interesting to see if this effects O’Brien for a while. But that’s something we’ll have to discover together.

Other: *Again, just one observation today, but it was an extremely memorable one for me. While O’Brien is readjusting to life on the station, he decides to test himself by trying to identify the items in a standard Engineer toolkit. And who is the one testing him on it? Jake, who started working under O’Brien way back in “Shadowplay”, and probably has experienced this test from the other end. It’s such a quiet, subtle callback, but I loved it. I think it was probably the moment when the episode went from “good” to “great” in my mind, and while that seems an odd thing to sway me, I’m not about to question it.

Best Line/Exchange: In keeping with the tone of this episode, I’m choosing a speech that once again shows that this is unlike any Star Trek that came before. That being said, while the speech doesn’t reveal specific details, you can probably infer enough that I’m marking this as SPOILERS, just in case;

O’Brien: When we were growing up, they used to tell us humanity had evolved. That mankind had outgrown hate and rage. (Breathes shakily for a few seconds) But when it came down to it…when I had the chance to show that no matter what anyone did to me, I was still an evolved human being…I failed. I repaid kindness with blood. I was no better than an animal.

This speaks for itself, really. Admitting that despite our ideals, some things never change, showing just what desperation can drive you to, while simultaneously showing how badly that can scar a person…I’m still kind of amazed the writers were willing to go this far. And even though it sounds kind of horrible to say it, I’m glad they did, because they handled it incredibly well. Even if the episode does put you through the wringer in order to get there.

After the Fact Update: Apparently writer Robert Hewlitt Wolfe’s wife is a psychotherapist and counselor, and helped make sure what O’Brien was going through was realistic. Which may explain why it’s so effective, and if so, I salute her efforts.