The Maquis: Part 1 - A Cardassian freighter departing the station explodes, after a Starfleet officer does something suspicious. Command Cal Hudson, a wooden old friend of Sisko's, come to the station to find out what's going on. Hudson't isn't happy that Federation citizens are living on the Cardassian side of the border (thanks to Picard in TNG's 'Journey's End.') A Vulcan woman (Sakonna) goes to Quark and he flirts with her. The suspicious man from the start of the episode is captured by two aliens. Gul Dukat goes to the station to talk to Sisko in private. After making sure Duktat hasn't kidnapped Jake, Sisko is willing to listen to him and they had to the DMZ together. Dukat tries to be friendly but Sisko doesn't trust him. They find two Cardassian ships attacking a Federation merchant ship. Dukat tells the Cardies to stop firing and is willing to shoot on them himself, but a mysterious Federation ship shows up and destroys them itself. It's pretty lucky all this happened, really, as it demonstrates to Sisko that there's a secret war going on in the DMZ. Quark and Sakonna have dinner and she's impressed by the Rules of Acquisition. Then she tells him she wants to buy lots of guns.
Sisko and Dukat arrive on a colony world during an argument between Gul Evek and Hudson. Evek has a recorded confession from the guy who blew up the Cardassian freighter at DS9. The terrorist commited suicide in his cell and the human leader of the colony attacks Evek. Hudson defends the terrorist in a badly delievered speech about how he was just a farmer who lost his land to the Cardassians. He says the Cardassians are arming their colonists but Sisko asks if the Federatiion colonists are organising a terrorist campaign. Dukat tells Sisko he's disappointed that Evek let the terrorist die, because it meant Evek lost his advantage. Dukat swears on the lives of his seven(!) children that the Cardassian freighter wasn't running weapons. Kira warns Sisko not to trust the Cardassians no matter what and argues that the colonists have the right to defend themselves, if Starfleet won't. Sakonna and her friends kidnap Dukat. Odo moans about the Federation not letting him turn the station into a police state. A group named "The Maquis" take credit for kidnapping Dukat. Sisko, Bashir and Kira track the kidnappers to near The Badlands (Sisko mentions that some ships have disappeared there lately, THE FIRST VOYAGER REFERENCE IN TREK HISTORY) and beam down to an asteroid. They're quickly captured by the Maquis and their leader...Cal Hudson.
It's a very strong set-up episode. The best parts are all the scenes between Sisko and Dukat. It's the first time Dukat's been shown as something other than a total villain and the dialogue is very good. Quark and Sakonna are a good pairing too. There's a lot of strong political arguments with no easy answers presented. What hurts the episode is the guy playing Hudson. He's quite possibly the worst guest star in Trek history, or at least the worst one with a major part. Avery Brooks can be wooden at times, but never so bad that he really hurts the episodes. This guy is so bad that his scenes talking to Sisko are hard to get through. It's a shame because otherwise this is very good!
SCORE: 8.5/10
The Maquis: Part 2 - Hudson and Sisko have a fairly friendly chat to start, until Sisko asks where Dukat is. Hudson can't believe Sisko would side with a Cardassian over him. Hudson stuns Sisko, Kira and Bashir and leaves. Admiral Nechayev is on the station and asks Sisko if he wouldn't rather have a Starfleet head of security than Odo (foreshadowing?) Sisko doesn't tell her about Hudson being Maquis. Sisko feels Nechayev is out of touch with what life is like in the DMZ and makes his "it's easy to be a saint in paradise" speech to Kira. Odo arrests Quark and he spills everything about the weapons. A fat Cardassian Legate arrives on the station and tells Sisko and Kira that Dukat was part of a group of rebels who were supplying weapons to colonists in the DMZ. It's all bullshit, of course, the Central Command really were smuggling weapons and are using Dukat as a scaepgoat. Sisko heads out to save Dukat anyway, because that's what Starfleet does, despite Kira saying he should be left for dead. Sakonna tries to mind meld with Dukat but his mind is TOO POWERFUL and he mocks her efforts and all of the Maquis. I like how in two episodes they've got me cheering for Dukat. Sisko shows up. He doesn't want a fight with the Maquis but Dukat punches Sakonna and they have no choice. Sisko lets their leader go, telling him to tell Hudson there's still a chance for him to return to Starfleet. Dukat has a big meal back on the station and tells Sisko that on Cardassia the verdict is always known before the trial and the trial is just for show. They could do an episode about that! Sisko drops the news that the Central Command blamed Dukat for everything and he's shocked. Dukat says he fell out of favour because the Central Command thought he was too kind to the Bajorans and is sad that they never bothered to tell him that they were arming the colonists. This scene is great.
Dukat tells Sisko about aliens (I really don't want to have to look out how to spell their name) who have helped the Cardassians smuggle weapons in the past and goes with him and O'Brien and Kira to stop them. The alien Captain tells Sisko he isn't smuggling any weapons but Dukat gives him an epic dressing down and threatens to blow him up until the Captain gives up. Kira is reluctantly impressed by Dukat and he gives her a smug smile. Quark and Sakonna are in a cell together and Quark argues that terrorism is illogical because attacking the Cardassians will only make peace more expensive in the long run. Sakonna is won over by his logic and tells Sisko everything she knows. Sisko goes to the colony world and tells the Maquis he knows what they're planning and if they try it he will stop them. Sadly Hudson comes in to drag the episode down a bit. Sisko offers him his uniform again but Hudson vapourises it instead. Dukat's sources get the location of the weapons depot (on a civilian planet) that the Maquis are going to attack. Sisko's runabouts try to stop the two Maquis vessles with tractor beams but the Maquis fire on them. Sisko's runabout has a big phaser fight with Hudon's ship. It looks good, for this era of Star Trek. Dukat wants Sisko to destoy the feeling Hudson's ship but Sisko lets him get away. Kira congratulates Sisko on preventing a war but he wonders if he just delayed it.
It's a great second part, better than part 1 I'd say. Dukat is the highlight again as while he's still a bad guy in a lot of ways (his solution to most problems is just to kill people) there are points in the episode where he's correct or where we're even supporting him. Hudson isn't in it as much as part one, which is good, and the scene with him vapourising his unifrom actually works well. This is intelligent Star Trek for intelligent people!
SCORE: 9/10
The Wire - Bashir has been reading a Cardassian novel Garak recommended to him. He didn't like it because it as just seven generations of one family showing unwavering duty to the state but Garak thinks that's what makes it so good. Garak gets a headache and runs off without letting Julian examine him. Bashir tells Jadzia that he's annoyed Garak won't let him help him, even though he still doesn't really know anything about Garak. He spies Garak having a secret meeting with Quark. Bashir asks O'Brien to help him recover the old Cardassian medical files from the station's computer but it will take too long. Garak gets drunk and starts making a scene in Quark's. He has some kind of seizure when Julian arrives. He finds some kind of implant in Garak's head but can't tell what it does. He asks Odo to get informatiion from Quark as he suspects Quark knows something (I like how this episode is using all the other characters in logical ways!) Odo reveals that he always illegally monitors all Quark's communcations. Quark tries to buy another implant from a Cardassian friend, but the Cardassian panics when he sees what it is and says Quark has ended his career. It's classified technology made by the Obsidian Order, Cardassia's secret police and intelligence organisation. Bashir finds Garak getting high in his quarters. Garak won't go back to the infirmary despite being in obvious pain. He laughs when Bashir suggests the implant is a punishment device. Garak was given the implant by the Obsidian Order to make him immune to pain, but he's been using it constantly since he was exiled to the station and it's started malfunctioning. His body has became dependant on the implant so he can't turn it off. Bashir asks if he's just going to let "them" win but Garak scoffs at his smug Federation sympathy. He tells Bashir that he was a Gul during the Occupation and he murdered a ship full of escaped Bajoran prisoners, 97 Cardassian civilians, and his friend Elim. Bus Bashir still wants to help him and turns the device off, promising to help Garak through withdrawal. This is a really long scene of just two people talking and it's great.
Odo wants to question Garak about murders the Obsidian Order were involved in, but Bashir refuses to wake Garak up. Garak continues to go through withdrawal, getting angry at Julian and telling him he was the protege of Enabran Tain, the head of the Obsidian Order. He reveals that he actually let the Bajoran prisoners go because they were just children and hadn't done anything wrong. He can't believe he ever enjoyed having lunch with Julian and attacks him. Garak has another seizure and his heart stop for a moment. Bashir finds that he's dying and only turning the implant on could keep him alive for another couple of weeks. Garak wakes up and tells him never to turn it on again. He apologises for his behaviour and says he wants to tell Julian the truth: he and Elim were "closer than brothers" but he framed Elim for letting the Bajoran prisoners go. But Elim betrayed him first and he was exiled. He thinks he deserved it, for trying to betray Elim. He wants forgiveness from someone and Bashir holds his hand and tells him he forgives him...for whatever he did. Bashir manages to track down Enabran Tain (Paul Dooley), more easily than he expected. Tain knew he was coming and seems to know everything about Bashir. Tain agrees to give him the information that will save Garak's life, but not because he wants to help him. He wants Garak to live a long life in a station full of people who hate him. Bashir asks him about Elim and Tain reveals that Elim is actually Garak's first name. Garak is cured and acts like nothing happened the next day. He told Odo that he was never a member of the Obsidian Order. He gives Bashir another book, one set in the future where Cardassia is at war with the Klingons (FORESHADOWING?) Bashir asks him out of all the stories he told which ones were true. Garak says they were all true...especially the lies.
It's one of the best episodes yet, if not the best. Similar to 'Duet' in that much of it is just two people talking, this is an acting showcase for Andrew Robins. But Alexander Siddig holds up his end well too and it's the best Bashir centric episode yet as well. I really can't think of anything I disliked about it.
SCORE: 10/10
