Day 126: DS9, Behind the Lines

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S6EP4, “Behind the Lines”

 Summary: While the Dominion is still winning the war, Sisko and the Defiant have been fighting the good fight, and doing well enough at it that Sisko’s work has caught the attention of Admiral Ross (Barry Jenner). He tells Sisko that he wants him to stay at the current Starfleet base of operations, Starbase 375, and help Ross plan out battle tactics and various missions for the whole sector. Sisko agrees, but is pained that he’s not going to be there to look out for the Defiant and his crew. But at least it’s going better for him than it is on the station, where Kira, Odo, Jake, and Rom are pretty much the only members of the resistance on DS9. They’re still managing to cause some chaos, but they soon get two pieces of bad news. One, Dukat’s right-hand man Damar thinks he’s finally found a way to remove the minefield in front of the wormhole. And two, the female changeling has arrived on the station to spend some time with Odo and tell him more about his people, which Odo seems increasingly intrigued by. So intrigued, in fact, that he seems to be forgetting where his loyalties lie…

Standalone Thoughts: I’m not entirely sure what to make of my feelings for this episode. There’s definitely nothing seriously wrong with it, and it contains good plot beats and character development, but for some reason it lacks that something that makes me say it’s a good episode. Upper tier, to be sure, but not one I can wholeheartedly endorse as good.

Like I said, though, there’s good material here. Sisko’s frustration at having to be left behind is well-expressed, and is clearly the strongest part of the small handful of scenes involving him and the other Starfleet personnel. Clearly, though, the episode knew that the strongest material this time around was on the station, because we spend the majority of the episode there. And a large amount of that material is given over to Odo and his interactions with the female changeling. It’s a smart move, because that way we can see the gradual influence she has on him, understand why he’d be swayed by her…and also be horrified that a character we care about seems to be abandoning his friends. It’s a nice blend of good writing and acting, and the ending is just chilling enough that you’re left wanting to see the next episode just to see what direction it’s going to go from there. If nothing else, it’s a good way to keep the audience on their toes. Fortunately for us, we won’t have to wait a whole week to see how it plays out.

How it Relates to the Whole: Mostly this episode changes the dynamics a bit, with Sisko no longer in direct command and Odo being tempted by the dark side (to mix my sci-fi fandoms). It also introduces a new threat/ticking clock when it comes to the minefield that keeps further Dominion troops from entering the Alpha Quadrant. Plus, we start to get one aspect of Damar’s character (that he drinks a lot), although at the moment it could just be construed as a man who likes to have a beer after work. And while it may or may not have been intended, there’s a line that winds up foreshadowing the fate of one of the main characters, which is intriguing upon a rewatch. Though “intriguing” kind up sums up the whole show at this point, really.

Other: *The opening scene with Kira and Rom as Kira narrates what’s going on in Quark’s bar was probably meant to be a good moment, showing that the resistance was in full operation, but in practice, it comes across as a cross between an exposition dump and some sort of weird theater piece. Sorry, Visitor, I like your acting a lot, but it just didn’t work this time. You did redeem yourself later in the episode, though.

*The discussion about shapeshifters/the Great Link that Odo and the female changeling have is probably supposed to sound deep, but it’s got that “stoner philosophy” quality that led to me being unable to take Sisko’s monologue in “Rapture” seriously. The DS9 writers get a lot of things right, but this is one area they need to work on.

Best Line/Exchange: While the dialogue was fine this episode, there weren’t a lot of standout moments. The best I found was this;

(Admiral Ross is trying to convince Sisko to go to sleep)

Ross: I know how you feel about your crew, but you and I are responsible for an entire tactical wing. Thousands of lives depend on the decisions we make tomorrow. You can’t afford to be awake all night worrying about one ship.

Sisko: Admiral, you can order me to my quarters, but there’s no way I’m going to sleep. Not as long as the Defiant is out there.

Ross: All right, as you wish. (steps a little closer) But you should understand one thing. With any luck, we’ll be sending the Defiant on a lot of missions. And you’re going to have to get used to it.

This is another good example of “both sides having a point”. Plus, I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there; we know we’ve got something important that we need to be alert for, but anxiety or nervous anticipation keeps us from getting enough sleep. So if nothing else, this is a passage that rings true, with a little extra poignancy because in this case, lives are on the line.