Overall: 8.8
This episode really ends on a high note.
Plot Synopsis:
Memory Alpha has a summary here.
The Skinny:
The last time I reviewed a Maquis-centric episode, I remarked that I generally disagreed with the Federation's policy in re: the DMZ. This remains true. What the Federation did when it signed its peace treaty with the Cardassians is analogous to what the major imperial powers did with Africa: they carved up the continent, creating national borders without regard for the people living in the region. That's why I find Eddington's final speech so compelling; in a way, he's absolutely right. All along, the Federation has been behaving something like a hegemony - a relatively benign hegemony that usually allows for self-rule, mind, but a hegemony nonetheless. The issue with the Cardassian border is only the most controversial demonstration of the Federation's imperial status in the Alpha Quadrant.
It's also interesting to watch Sisko's reaction to Eddington's broad indictment. Notice that Sisko never attempts to defend the Federation position; in light of the sympathy he expressed for the DMZ colonists in The Maquis, that wouldn't make sense. What really raises Sisko's hackles is Eddington's personal betrayal. Eddington fooled Sisko for months; whatever Sisko may personally think about his orders, the last thing he wants to do is let this intimate treachery stand unanswered.
On the whole, this is a very good episode that once again invests the DMZ issue with nuance. Again, we see our protagonists arguing amongst themselves over the rightness or wrongness of the Maquis' actions. Kasidy's role in particular even raises the very important question of whether providing humanitarian aide to the Maquis is tantamount to supporting their terrorism. Personally, I think Kasidy walks a dangerously thin line here, but I certainly understand why she got involved. That's part of the beauty of this script.
Writing: 9.0
Many of these points are earned by that last scene between Sisko and Eddington. Wow.
Acting: 8.5
Performances are solid all around. Even Avery Brooks avoids chewing excess scenery.
Message: 9.0
The writers avoid painting the situation in the DMZ in black and white. They also manage to raise quite a challenge to the Federation's heroic self-image -- and as a reviewer who is generally skeptical of fictional utopias, I find such a challenge extremely welcome.
Highlights:
KASIDY: You are evil.
SISKO: I am a Starfleet officer, the paragon of virtue.
KASIDY: You're more like a parody of virtue. (LOL! Cute.)
O'BRIEN: Say what you will about the Maquis, they're not stupid. Using the Badlands as their base of operations was a pretty smart move. Not to mention gutsy one.
WORF: They are terrorists, little more than criminals. And criminals always make mistakes.
O'BRIEN: They're just fighting for something they believe in.
WORF: They should be hunted down and destroyed.
O'BRIEN: What for? Defending their homes? Look at what's happened to those people. One day they're trying to eke out a living on some godforsaken colonies on the Cardassian border, the next day the Federation makes a treaty handing those colonies over to the Cardassians. What would you do?
WORF: I would not become a terrorist. It would be dishonourable.
O'BRIEN: I wouldn't say that around Major Kira if I were you. (I actually agree with O'Brien here on the matter of the Federation's failure to take the interests of the colonists into account.)
GARAK: I was going to cancel. I've had visions of Ziyal presenting my head to her father as a birthday gift.
QUARK: That's a little paranoid, wouldn't you say?
GARAK: Paranoid is what they call people who imagine threats against their life. I have threats against my life. (Heh. Classic.)
SISKO: Mister Eddington. I have just one question. Why?
EDDINGTON [on monitor]: Will knowing my personal motivation change anything at this point?
SISKO: No, I don't suppose it will.
EDDINGTON [on monitor]: Then let's table that for now. The only reason I've contacted you is to ask you to leave us alone. Our quarrel is with the Cardassians, not the Federation. Leave us alone and I can promise you you'll never hear from the Maquis again.
SISKO: Unless you see another shipment you want to hijack.
EDDINGTON [on monitor]: You keep sending replicators to Cardassia and you're going to have a lot more to worry about than hijackings.
SISKO: I don't respond well to threats. I thought you would know that by now. But I'm beginning to see that you don't know me at all.
EDDINGTON [on monitor]: I know you. I was like you once, but then I opened my eyes. Open your eyes, Captain. Why is the Federation so obsessed about the Maquis? We've never harmed you, and yet we're constantly arrested and charged with terrorism. Starships chase us through the Badlands and our supporters are harassed and ridiculed. Why? Because we've left the Federation, and that's the one thing you can't accept. Nobody leaves paradise. Everyone should want to be in the Federation. Hell, you even want the Cardassians to join. You're only sending them replicators because one day they can take their rightful place on the Federation Council. You know, in some ways you're worse than the Borg. At least they tell you about their plans for assimilation. You're more insidious. You assimilate people and they don't even know it.
SISKO: You know what, Mister Eddington? I don't give a damn what you think of the Federation, the Maquis, or anything else. All I know is that you betrayed your oath, your duty, and me. And if it takes me the rest of my life, I will see you standing before a court-martial that'll break you and send you to a penal colony, where you will spend the rest of your days growing old and wondering whether a ship full of replicators was really worth it. (Ouch! Fantastic scene on so many levels.)
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