Overall: 6.7
And thus endeth the saga of Michael Eddington, wannabe hero and sanctimonious prig. Alas, it's an anti-climax.
Plot Synopsis:
Memory Alpha has a full recap here.
The Skinny:
You know what really kills this episode? The acting. 'Tis true enough that there are also flaws in the writing -- flaws I will discuss below. But in the end, I am forced to conclude that Kenneth Marshall simply isn't up to the task of carrying what could've been at least a somewhat dramatic plot. As Eddington, Marshall needles Sisko and mourns over the loss of his friends in the same exact tone of voice -- a kind of flat line reading that bleeds any emotional power out of the whole story.
Of course, as other reviewers have already observed (most notably, SF Debris), it also doesn't help that writers Wolfe and Behr elected to offer the Maquis a "death by exposition." Okay -- I understand that DS9's creative staff was really eager to put the whole Maquis arc aside so that they could focus all of their energy on the coming Dominion War. And it certainly makes eminent sense that the Cardassians would use their new alliance with the Dominion to take care of a problem that has been a thorn in their backside for quite some time. But killing the Maquis off screen feels like a huge missed opportunity.
I also didn't like that final scene between Dax and Sisko just out of general principle. As you all know, I sympathize with the Maquis' grievances (if not their methods). The Federation definitely handed those Federation colonists a crappy deal. But Eddington? Eddington is a terrible standard bearer for the cause. I think he's a jackass, truth be told -- a man who thinks way too much of himself. Whenever he opens his mouth and starts droning on about the marvelous and "authentic" lives of his Maquis fellows, I want Sisko to punch him in the face just to shut him up. So when Wolfe and Behr spend the last scene of this episode trying to argue for Eddington's status as a romantic figure, it inspires my inner contrarian. I don't like it when writers try to tell me what to think. I never have. Is Eddington ever right? Yes. As I just noted, I think the Maquis' complaints are legitimate. It is also undeniably true that Eddington is the White Whale to Sisko's Ahab. But only someone with an ego the size of insert-a-suitably-enormous-thing-here would therefore conclude that Sisko takes the existence of the entire movement personally. In reality, the truth is far more complex. Remember, after all, that Sisko let Cal Hudson go. Eddington the romantic hero? No -- Eddington the arrogant ideologue who, like a broken clock, is occasionally correct is more like it.
Writing: 7.0
I complain a lot in my summary comments above, but this script really isn't completely terrible. Again, I think killing the Maquis off screen is a cheat -- and at times, the writers become a little too intrusive for my taste. But this episode probably could've made it into the 7's if it weren't for the...
Acting: 6.0
Kenneth Marshall in particular sounds like he's reading off the menu at McDonald's.
Message: 7.0
If you ignore Dax's rhapsodizing over Eddington's supposedly "romantic" attributes, this episode is an okay exploration of the dangers of ideology. Sisko does get the opportunity to point out that Eddington's filling his compatriots' heads with dreams of victory also contributed to their eventual demise, and that's a definite plus.
Highlights:
QUARK: Did you catch him?
ODO: We caught him. Or rather, I should say Major Kira caught him.
KIRA: I didn't really do anything. I was in the Bajoran shrine, meditating, and he burst in stark naked, and fell to his knees crying out to the Prophets for protection.
BASHIR: Morn, of all people. Who would have thought he'd just snap like that?
ODO: Certainly not me. Which makes me wonder what could've pushed him over the edge?
QUARK: Why are you looking at me? I'm the victim here. He hit me with a barstool.
KIRA: Why did he hit you?
QUARK: I don't have the faintest idea.
KIRA: Think harder.
ODO: Witnesses say you were talking to him right up to the second he went berserk.
QUARK: Of course I was talking to him. That's what bartenders are supposed to do, talk to their customers.
KIRA: What exactly was it that you were talking to him about?
QUARK: All I said was that the military personnel on this station were starting to look a little nervous. When they get nervous, I get nervous.
ODO: And that's all you said?
QUARK: Basically. I might've done a little harmless theorizing.
BASHIR: About what?
QUARK: Oh, something like it was only a matter of time before the Dominion launched a full-scale assault against the Federation and when that happened the station would undoubtedly be their first target. And I might've idly suggested that there wasn't a chance in hell that any of us would get out of here alive.
ODO: And that's when Morn hit you with a barstool and ran out onto the Promenade screaming, 'We're all doomed!'
QUARK: Some people just don't react well to stress. (LOL!)
EDDINGTON: I told you when you dragged me out of my cell that I wasn't going to help you. I meant it then and I mean it now.
SISKO: I am trying to prevent a war.
EDDINGTON: You're the one who set the ground rules when you came after me, Ben. You're the one who made it personal. You could've looked the other way. You could've left the Maquis alone, but you didn't do it. You hunted us, hounded us, fought us every chance you got. And in the end, you set us up for the slaughter. I expected better of you than that. So did a lot of people. People like Cal Hudson. I bet you haven't heard that name in a while.
SISKO: You're right about that.
EDDINGTON: He told me the two of your were friends at the Academy.
SISKO: And a long time after.
EDDINGTON: Until he joined the Maquis.
SISKO: He betrayed his oath to Starfleet.
EDDINGTON: If it makes you feel any better, he paid for his sins. He was killed in a skirmish with the Cardassians.
SISKO: He was a good man.
EDDINGTON: He felt the same about you. He thought you were wrong about the Maquis, but he forgave you, which is ironic considering you never forgave him. You can't forgive any of us. And not because we betrayed Starfleet or the Federation, but because we betrayed you. That's what this is all about. Your ego. Where Benjamin Sisko leads, all must follow.
SISKO: Is that what you really believe?
EDDINGTON: It's the truth, isn't it? The Maquis were never much of a threat to the Federation, but we were a threat to you. We were a stain on your record and you couldn't have that. Not when you were so busy measuring yourself for an admiral's uniform.
SISKO: You want to blame me for what happened to the Maquis? Fine. Go ahead, blame me. Blame Starfleet. Blame the Federation. Blame everyone except Michael Eddington.
EDDINGTON: The Maquis won its greatest victories under my leadership.
SISKO: Your leadership. Your shining moment of glory. Michael Eddington gets to take off his gold uniform and play hero. That's what you always wanted, to lead troops in a glorious cause. Well, you had your chance and look where you led them. Right into their graves.
EDDINGTON: They died because I wasn't there when they needed me most. Because you put me in jail.
SISKO: They died because you filled their heads with false hopes. Sold them dreams of a military victory when what they needed was a negotiated peace.
EDDINGTON: We had the Cardassians on the run.
SISKO: And they ran right into the arms of the Dominion. End of story.
EDDINGTON: Not quite the end.
SISKO: That's right. A few survivors of your noble crusade have decided to launch a pointless retaliatory strike against Cardassia.
EDDINGTON: It's not so pointless. If you can't have victory, sometimes you just have to settle for revenge.
SISKO: Is that what you want? To be remembered as the man who helped bring about the worst war in Federation history?
EDDINGTON: Not quite the legacy I had in mind, but I can live with it.
SISKO: Can you?
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