Day 128: DS9, "Sacrifice of Angels"

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S6EP6, “Sacrifice of Angels”

 Summary: As the Starfleet forces battle against a Dominion fleet blocking the way to Deep Space Nine, Kira and the rest of the resistance try to find a way to stop the minefield from being destroyed. Which isn’t easy, because Damar suspects they’re up to something and has put them into holding cells for “questioning”. Dukat, meanwhile, is barely paying any attention to that, because his impending victory is leading him to increasing delusions of grandeur. Of course, as anyone who’s vaguely familiar with Greek myths knows, hubris very often comes back to bite you…

Standalone Thoughts: In some respects, this episode is a letdown. There’s no grand battle scene like there was in “Call to Arms”, no dramatic confrontation between Sisko and Dukat, and the major resolution can feel like a Deus ex Machina. But there’s still a lot of good here, like two perfectly timed arrivals of the cavalry, or Marc Alaimo’s acting, or Quark stepping up to the plate, or a subversion of expectations when it comes to the minefield. And by not going in the expected directions, it allows for more opportunities later down the line that might not have been possible otherwise. So while it’s not as good as we might want it to be, it’s still decent (I’d probably rank it fourth in the arc if you include “Call to Arms” in there). Besides, we’re only six episodes into the season. We need to save something for the finale, after all.

How it Relates to the Whole: SPOILER ALERT FOR THE EPISODE. Mostly what this episode does is allow Starfleet to take back the station and put the Dominion on the defensive, but there are a few noteworthy things here. Firstly, the writers kill off Ziyal, which will wind up contributing in part to the character development of both Dukat and Damar in very different ways. Secondly, the Prophets have become somewhat involved in the war now, which is going to have repercussions for Sisko down the line and draws that side of things into the overarching plot. If there’s any other followups, though, we’ll have to discover them together.

Other: *Not a lot to report this time, other than I couldn’t help but slightly roll my eyes at the fact that, when Quark is tricking a guard with food before knocking him out, that the guard faceplants directly into the food when he falls unconscious. I wouldn’t have expected DS9 to have a pie in the face joke, but life is full of surprises sometimes.

Best Line/Exchange: It’s not exactly the most comfortable exchange, but the bit that leaped out immediately was this one;

(Weyoun and Dukat are discussing taking over Earth to destroy the Federation resistance)

Weyoun: Then our first step is to eradicate its population. It’s the only way.

Dukat: You can’t do that.

Weyoun: Why not?

Dukat: Because! A true victory is to make your enemy see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place! To force them to acknowledge your greatness!

Weyoun: Then you kill them?

Dukat (makes a half shrug): Only if it’s necessary.

(Weyoun folds his arms, clearly not quite buying it)

Weyoun: I had no idea.

Dukat (sighs): Perhaps the biggest disappointment in my life is that the Bajoran people still refuse to appreciate how lucky they were to have me as their liberator. I protected them in so many ways. Cared for them as if they were my own children. But to this day, is there a single…statue of me on Bajor?

Weyoun (continuing to look skeptical): I would guess not.

Weyoun makes a great audience surrogate here, because Dukat’s perspective is warped as all get out (plus, Combs’ delivery adds some needed humor to proceedings). It’s memorable and realistic enough that you can completely believe that dictators like Hitler probably had this mindset, but there’s no way you can actually agree with it. It does shed a lot of light on Dukat’s character, though.

After the Fact Update: The answer to my questions about the swapping of “Rocks and Shoals” and “Sons and Daughters” isn’t all that exciting; it made more sense to shoot it third but air it second. However, the DS9 Companion did confirm that making that swap was hell on the writers as they tried to figure out what was happening where. So at least I’m not the only one that was confused.