Day 119: DS9, Blaze of Glory

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S5EP23, “Blaze of Glory”

Summary: Sisko learns that a small pocket of the Maquis escaped the mass purge the combined Cardassian/Dominion fleet enacted and have launched cloaked missiles at Cardassia in retaliation. In order to find and stop the missiles, Sisko pulls former Commander Eddington out of prison and forces him to help. Eddington proves how much he doesn’t want to be there by sniping at Sisko at every opportunity, in between avoiding the Jem’Hadar patrolling the Badlands. And honestly, that’s pretty much the episode in a nutshell.

Standalone Thoughts: How much you like this episode lives and dies on how much you like the interactions between Sisko and Eddington. For me, while Avery Brooks is in fine form, Kenneth Marshall has very much shifted to the ham side of the acting spectrum, with grand declarations and florid line deliveries that scream “trying too hard”. While I’m guessing some of that is intentional—it seems a natural progression from what we saw in “For the Uniform”, plus it’s possible he’s gotten a little unhinged ever since being caught and learning his friends have been wiped out—it’s still more annoying than interesting. You spend most of the episode really wishing Sisko would just punch him in the face (and SPOILER ALERT, it’s immensely satisfying when he does), which diminishes the impact of the material. If Marshall had been more subdued, it might have been a really good story where you remain riveted by the material even though it mostly consists of two people talking. Instead, it gradually becomes to too much of a muchness, which is a shame because the dialogue certainly has potential. And since Eddington and Sisko arguing with each other makes up the bulk of the episode, that means you’ll be in for the long haul.

That’s not to say that the episode is outright bad. Like I said, the dialogue itself is good, so you can at least appreciate it on one level. The third act has some interesting material that’s unexpected but (mostly) nicely handled. There’s a brief bit involving the antics of an offscreen Morn that’s good for a smile. And while it’s not given nearly enough screentime, the mini-subplot about Nog standing up to the Klingons, and Martok in particular, is very well done and is another indication of Nog’s excellent character development. I could see myself ranking this episode fairly high had things been just a little different. As it is, I have to place it in the “solidly mediocre” category.

How it Relates to the Whole: We tie up the Eddington story (for real this time, though I think I’ve made it obvious that “For the Uniform” would have been a better ending), and we even get some closure to the events of “The Maquis” to boot. There’s also a bit of development for Nog and Martok, though nothing that’s going to be of great importance later. It’s a little disappointing, but I’m also very aware that we’re now in the “calm before the storm” territory (since I’ve now finally pinpointed the moment when things take off), so the lack of big developments is probably for the best.

Other: *I do like the opening scene. Sisko’s treatment of Nog is wonderful, and I like that he’s trying to be inclusive by mixing Ferengi and Human food together. It might have set up some expectations for the episode that weren’t met, but I won’t hold that against it.

*The cinematography is all over the place in this episode. We get a shot of the prison where Eddington’s being held that looks like it was originally used in one of the older Star Trek movies;

 

But then you get a beautifully done shot of Sisko and a Jem’Hadar fighting in the fog (unfortunately, screencaps don’t really show it off properly). I suppose it fits my feelings about the episode, but like those feelings, I wish things had been more consistent.

*Even though I know they couldn’t have done it (copyright and all that), there was a fantastic opportunity to bring back the Les Misérables connection from “For the Uniform” and have Eddington start singing a song from the musical. I would have given the episode points for brashness if nothing else if that had happened. It’s certainly better than the more cliché scene that actually happened.

Best Line/Exchange: I spent most of the episode being irritated by Eddington’s smugness and therefore didn’t appreciate most of his dialogue, so my pick wound up being;

(Sisko and Eddington have located the room where the launch site is)

Eddington: That’s it.

Sisko: Are you sure?

Eddington: You want to stand here and argue about it? Come on, it looks clear.

(He starts to move forward, but Sisko grabs his arm)

Sisko: Wait.

(He fires a stolen Jem’Hadar weapon across the area, killing two cloaked Jem’Hadar warriors)

Eddington: Glad one of us remembered they can do that.

Mostly I picked this for the satisfaction of Sisko getting one up on Eddington, but it’s also a nice reminder that Sisko really is a good leader, examining the situation instead of just plunging headfirst into danger, and firing without hesitation. Both of these are going to serve him well in the stories to come.