2.05 "Cardassians"
A Cardassian boy with a Bajoran adopted father comes aboard DS9 and attacks Garak when the tailor tries to talk to him. That event triggers a series of political machinations involving Gul Dukat and a custody battle over the boy between his adopted Bajoran parents and his biological Cardassian father, with Sisko arbitrating and Bashir and Garak working to figure out what is really going on.
This is an absolutely fantastic episode. The acting and dialogue are off the charts great, which is to be expected when both Dukat AND Garak appear in the same episode. The stakes are high, the political maneuverings are complex and interesting, and the consequences are profound. This is essentially a perfect DS9 episode.
We also get our first glimpse of the hatred and rivalry that exists between Dukat and Garak. The glee that Garak shows while knocking Dukat down a notch is beautiful, and the long hard stare they exchange when Dukat knows Garak has beat him is one of the best parts of an episode that is filled with great parts. You are left with a feeling of satisfaction, while also knowing that this is a story that is FAR from over.
On another note, even though O'Brien was forced to confront his racism once already in TNG's "The Wounded," we see here how he still hasn't gotten over his hatred of the "bloody cardies," and considering what he went through in the war with them (and what they inflict on him in some later episodes of the series), it's doubtful he ever will totally get over it. Keiko is right in a sense to call him out for his hateful comment, but she also shows a distinct lack of understanding for what her husband has had to endure in his life. Her cushy life as a Federation botanist and schoolteacher does not qualify her to judge Miles for reacting the way he does after the horrors he has witness and been a part of in war, and she should be slower to judge and quicker to empathy for him.
That said, it's very powerful to see him struggle with his racism. He knows it's wrong to judge an entire race based on the actions of some individuals (he even tells Rugal that, almost like he's reminding himself), but he's been so strongly affected by what he has experienced that he can't help his racist reactions. It really gives the character an incredible amount of depth and humanity, and is a big part of why I think O'Brien is the most relatable, real, and likable of all the characters in Trek lore.
O'Brien's struggle also highlights the best part of science fiction as a genre--it can address real world issues that would otherwise not be permitted to be discussed honestly. If you tried to write an episode of television set on Earth that addressed racism with the same honesty that this episode (and "The Wounded") does, you would get instantly burned at the proverbial stake by the forces of political correctness. "All racists are evil people, period," is the dogmatic teaching of modern political correctness (to which Hollywood is enslaved), and any message that deviates from that is not permitted. But because the setting here uses fictional races in a far distant fictional setting, racist motives and feelings can be examined honestly without the PC police persecuting everyone involved. This is yet another reason why this episode gets a perfect score--it addresses important social issues in an open and honest way that only science fiction is capable of doing.
THE GOOD
-So many amazing scenes. The opening and closing scenes of Bashir and Garak talking in the Replimat, Garak fixing the computer on Bajor ("It's no more difficult than sewing on a button"), O'Brien with Rugal in his quarters, the arbitration scene, etc. There's too many great moments to go into them all in detail, but the best one is the scene in ops with Dukat talking to Bashir and Sisko over the viewscreen. The way Bashir and Dukat exchange dialogue there (as well as in the arbitration scene), each trying to outmaneuver the other with words, is like watching chess masters battle each other. Absolutely top notch.
-Oh also: "Don't apologize, it's been the high point of my day. Don't. Do it. Again." I freaking love Sisko.
-Acting, writing, directing, pacing, suspense, mystery, dialogue, and intrigue are all flawlessly executed.
-Alexander Siddig has already improved his acting immensely since season 1. Here he effectively holds his own against the great performances of Marc Alaimo, Andrew Robinson, and Avery Brooks. A+ job by him.
THE BAD
Nothing to note here
THE UGLY
-10 million Bajorans murdered during the hundred-year occupation is pretty mild by the standard of Earth's authoritarian regimes. The Nazis killed 12 million in only 15 years, and Stalin's communist regime murdered 20 million over the course of 30 years. And those regimes only ruled over areas containing fractions of the world population--Cardassians occupied an entire planetary system for far longer and killed fewer people. Maybe they should have hired IBM?
-It's easy to overlook in the details of this complex plot, but we can infer that the character Zolan was hired by Dukat to lure Rugal and his father to the station and then make up lies about how Rugal was being mistreated. That also explains how Dukat immediately knew that Rugal had attacked Garak--Zolan notified him. Although why exactly Rugal needed to be on DS9 for the plan to work is unclear, and that part ended up being Dukat's downfall since it drew Garak into the plotting.
-Bashir retcon watch (WARNING: this section contains major spoilers for a future story arc): there are times in this episode where I feel like I can see Bashir flipping a switch from "pretty darn smart" to "superhuman genius." I know it's just in my mind because the showrunners had no idea yet that they were going retcon Bashir in a genetically engineered supergenius, but his dialogue scenes with Dukat it almost looks like he decides to stop pretending briefly and just unleash the full force of his intellect on the Gul.
A Cardassian boy with a Bajoran adopted father comes aboard DS9 and attacks Garak when the tailor tries to talk to him. That event triggers a series of political machinations involving Gul Dukat and a custody battle over the boy between his adopted Bajoran parents and his biological Cardassian father, with Sisko arbitrating and Bashir and Garak working to figure out what is really going on.
This is an absolutely fantastic episode. The acting and dialogue are off the charts great, which is to be expected when both Dukat AND Garak appear in the same episode. The stakes are high, the political maneuverings are complex and interesting, and the consequences are profound. This is essentially a perfect DS9 episode.
We also get our first glimpse of the hatred and rivalry that exists between Dukat and Garak. The glee that Garak shows while knocking Dukat down a notch is beautiful, and the long hard stare they exchange when Dukat knows Garak has beat him is one of the best parts of an episode that is filled with great parts. You are left with a feeling of satisfaction, while also knowing that this is a story that is FAR from over.
On another note, even though O'Brien was forced to confront his racism once already in TNG's "The Wounded," we see here how he still hasn't gotten over his hatred of the "bloody cardies," and considering what he went through in the war with them (and what they inflict on him in some later episodes of the series), it's doubtful he ever will totally get over it. Keiko is right in a sense to call him out for his hateful comment, but she also shows a distinct lack of understanding for what her husband has had to endure in his life. Her cushy life as a Federation botanist and schoolteacher does not qualify her to judge Miles for reacting the way he does after the horrors he has witness and been a part of in war, and she should be slower to judge and quicker to empathy for him.
That said, it's very powerful to see him struggle with his racism. He knows it's wrong to judge an entire race based on the actions of some individuals (he even tells Rugal that, almost like he's reminding himself), but he's been so strongly affected by what he has experienced that he can't help his racist reactions. It really gives the character an incredible amount of depth and humanity, and is a big part of why I think O'Brien is the most relatable, real, and likable of all the characters in Trek lore.
O'Brien's struggle also highlights the best part of science fiction as a genre--it can address real world issues that would otherwise not be permitted to be discussed honestly. If you tried to write an episode of television set on Earth that addressed racism with the same honesty that this episode (and "The Wounded") does, you would get instantly burned at the proverbial stake by the forces of political correctness. "All racists are evil people, period," is the dogmatic teaching of modern political correctness (to which Hollywood is enslaved), and any message that deviates from that is not permitted. But because the setting here uses fictional races in a far distant fictional setting, racist motives and feelings can be examined honestly without the PC police persecuting everyone involved. This is yet another reason why this episode gets a perfect score--it addresses important social issues in an open and honest way that only science fiction is capable of doing.
THE GOOD
-So many amazing scenes. The opening and closing scenes of Bashir and Garak talking in the Replimat, Garak fixing the computer on Bajor ("It's no more difficult than sewing on a button"), O'Brien with Rugal in his quarters, the arbitration scene, etc. There's too many great moments to go into them all in detail, but the best one is the scene in ops with Dukat talking to Bashir and Sisko over the viewscreen. The way Bashir and Dukat exchange dialogue there (as well as in the arbitration scene), each trying to outmaneuver the other with words, is like watching chess masters battle each other. Absolutely top notch.
-Oh also: "Don't apologize, it's been the high point of my day. Don't. Do it. Again." I freaking love Sisko.
-Acting, writing, directing, pacing, suspense, mystery, dialogue, and intrigue are all flawlessly executed.
-Alexander Siddig has already improved his acting immensely since season 1. Here he effectively holds his own against the great performances of Marc Alaimo, Andrew Robinson, and Avery Brooks. A+ job by him.
THE BAD
Nothing to note here
THE UGLY
-10 million Bajorans murdered during the hundred-year occupation is pretty mild by the standard of Earth's authoritarian regimes. The Nazis killed 12 million in only 15 years, and Stalin's communist regime murdered 20 million over the course of 30 years. And those regimes only ruled over areas containing fractions of the world population--Cardassians occupied an entire planetary system for far longer and killed fewer people. Maybe they should have hired IBM?
-It's easy to overlook in the details of this complex plot, but we can infer that the character Zolan was hired by Dukat to lure Rugal and his father to the station and then make up lies about how Rugal was being mistreated. That also explains how Dukat immediately knew that Rugal had attacked Garak--Zolan notified him. Although why exactly Rugal needed to be on DS9 for the plan to work is unclear, and that part ended up being Dukat's downfall since it drew Garak into the plotting.
-Bashir retcon watch (WARNING: this section contains major spoilers for a future story arc): there are times in this episode where I feel like I can see Bashir flipping a switch from "pretty darn smart" to "superhuman genius." I know it's just in my mind because the showrunners had no idea yet that they were going retcon Bashir in a genetically engineered supergenius, but his dialogue scenes with Dukat it almost looks like he decides to stop pretending briefly and just unleash the full force of his intellect on the Gul.
