Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine
Episode
Particulars: S7EP8, “The Siege of AR-558”
Standalone
Thoughts: I don’t know if I’d call this a great episode, but it’s a really,
really good one. You can see and feel just how drained and tense the soldiers
are, from their ragged clothes to their various attitudes. Even the lighting is
generally pretty dark (as my header shows), and while you can see what’s going
on, it contributes to the mood nicely. There’s also the fact that the action
scenes are fast-paced and brutal; this is not
an episode where pretty much every character gets out unscathed. Not even
our main characters are necessarily safe…
There’s really nothing to complain about in this episode.
None of the main cast feels out of character, and the soldiers feel believable,
at least from this non-military woman’s perspective. The atmosphere and action
do their job too, as discussed. About the only other observation I can make is
that it may feel like the episode borrowed some ideas from Aliens (especially the bits directly after the aftermath of the
first Xenomorph encounter) and possibly from Forbidden Planet again. That’s not a criticism, though; after all,
as the saying goes “Good writers borrow, great writers steal.” And I’d say
these writers used their stolen material in the best possible way.
How it Relates to
the Whole: This episode does two things. In the big picture, it shows us
how bad and demoralizing fighting the Dominion can get. In the smaller but more
familiar picture, it’s one of two episodes (the followup will be in two days)
that acts as pretty much the culmination of Nog’s character arc. I’ll discuss
it more when we get to the second episode, but it’s what happened in this
episode that makes me think he got the most development out of all the
secondary characters. And given how bad we feel for him, I’d say it was pretty successful
development.
Other: *I like
the fact that the writers managed to slip in a tiny bit of cursing by having
Vic say the line “a pain in the asometric photons”. Now there’s one use for
technobabble I don’t think anyone was expecting.
*This has nothing to do with the episode proper, but I
did have to raise an eyebrow at the fact that Reese’s actor is named Patrick
Kilpatrick. I don’t know if that’s his given name or a name he chose when he
became an actor, but someone had a very odd sense of humor when they came up
with that one. It’s not as bad as something like “Allison Wonder” or “Mary
Chris Mass” (two girls my Mom actually knew), but even so…
*This is probably just a personal thing, but the sight of
Bashir quickly and efficiently checking and loading his phaser rifle, to the
point where other characters comment on it, was oddly attractive. Given how
much I love it when generally mild characters assert their authority, maybe I
just have a thing for understated competence.
Best
Line/Exchange: This one may be a little on the nose, but sometimes things
are on the nose for a reason;
Quark: Take a
look around you, Nog. This isn’t the Starfleet you know.
Nog: Sure it
is. It’s just that these people have been through a lot. They’ve been holed up
here a long time. Seen two-thirds of their unit killed. But they haven’t
surrendered. Do you know why? Because they’re heroes.
Quark: Maybe.
But I still don’t want you anywhere near them. (Nog tries to stand up, most likely out of exasperation, but Quark
forces him back down) Let me tell you something about hu-mons, nephew. They’re
a wonderful, friendly people…as long as their bellies are full and their
holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of
food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period
of time, and those same friendly, intelligent, wonderful people will become as
nasty and as violent as the most bloodthirsty Klingon. You don’t believe me?
Look at those faces. Look at their eyes. (Nog
looks around at the nearby soldiers) You know I’m right, don’t you? (Pauses. Nog says nothing) Well, aren’t
you going to say something?
(Nog watches as Reese
cleans out his phaser rifle)
Nog: I feel
sorry for the Jem’Hadar.
(He gets up and
moves away. Quark, after looking around a bit, nervously follows after him)
Both Quark and Nog are right and wrong in their opinions.
Nog is right that these people are heroes, but they’ve reached a point where
they probably don’t see it that way, nor are their tactics necessarily to be
praised. And Quark is absolutely right that stripping away civilization and/or
putting someone under pressure will show you who a person really is, but
sometimes, people maintain their humanity despite everything. Still, as a quick
crash course on different perspectives about war and soldiers, I think this
exchange sums it all up pretty well. Then it comes down to which side, and how
much of each argument, you believe.
After the Fact Update:
Because the crew has a sense of humor, the reason the planet is called
AR-558 is because 558 was the episode number. Also, they don’t admit to taking
inspiration from movies (except the character names from Hell is for Heroes), but they did draw inspiration from personal or
family experience, like a father’s experience at Guadalcanal or someone who had
been in Vietnam. Perhaps that’s why the episode works, then.
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