Two thing I’d add... *Garak* tells *Sisko* how all of his agents died getting the data rod. *Garak* later tells him to tell *Vreenak* that several Star Fleet officers died getting the rod in order to sell the lie. *_Perfection._* The jump to black at the end after _”computer, erase that entire personal log.”_ is one of the greatest endings in live tv... we had watch parties in college and we were literally jumping out of our chairs at that cut cheering.
Kirk gave flintlock rifles to the mountain people to offset the Klingons doing the same for the village dwellers so even Roddenberry's Trek wasn't without moral ambiguity.
Some of the dialogue is brilliant, I forgot about this episode but distinctly remember seeing original airdate episode, loved it! Telling all my fam to watch this one episode to get them hooked!
This is my favorite Garak ep. He completely plays 'The Sisco' from start to finish. It's really the only time we get to see him in full Obsidian Order mode. And its glorious. On the data rod; it was his, that's how he knew it was genuine. Back when he was number 2 in the Order he had the opportunity and authorization to snag a few for himself. The payment of bio gel was so that he could fake a Romulan bio signature in order to covertly board the shuttle and plant the bomb without tripping the shuttles intruder alert system.
Scott Ross In the episode right before where Garak interrogates Odo in the Romulan Warbird, Garak tells Dr. Bashir to eat his optolythic data rod if he isnt back within 78 hours, I think that that is what Garak used for the forgery.
The episode also states that the gel could be used to make organic explosives, which was probably how he was able to place a completely undetectable bomb on Vreenaks shuttle.
And in a later episode when he was at his father's deathbed, he consoled him by saying that "All your enemies are dead" and he named that Romulan senator as one of them.
That makes more sense than Garak handing over a potential bioweapon in biomemetic gel... Garak hates loose ends & that would be a big one. Garak could have actually made a deal for a rod...then killed the supplier rather than hand over the gel... to use for himself. He blew up his own shop while he was in it... what would be "a bridge too far" for Garak anyway?
The first DS9 mini review for one of its best episodes of all time and one of the most controversial Star Trek outings period. What makes this episode for me is not because of the dark subject matter, because this story could easily have been done in Trek already. Its its style of storytelling of Sisko’s one man confession against the backdrop of his conspiracy with plain simple Garak. For me In the Pale Moonlight can easily tie with Duet as the best episode of DS9.
I love this episode. It perfectly shows why I love Sisko, DS9, and Garak. It even has Meme factor and Sisko punching somebody. It is nearly a perfect episode.
I was a DS9 fan from the start. Don't get me wrong, I was around when TOS had just ended it's run and lots of Saturday mornings were spent in front of the TV watching reruns. And as a young adult, I enjoyed TNG. Sure the first couple of seasons were rocky, but not intolerable like Voyager. DS9 though was a breath of fresh air. Not on a starship flitting around, but anchored in on place, which gave their fight to protect something more gravity. Sure, you can flit to planet AB9YZ and stop the Kurmuttians from killing off the Dinjos, but it's one and done. DS9 offered the complexities of protecting the Bajorans, helping them rebuild their world, having to deal with being their Messiah, and suffering through a nasty war that would make the main character understand that to uphold his ideals, he'd have to betray those ideals. And have another character be maimed and deal with PTSD, and a lot of other things along the way. This episode was the turning point for a buddy of mine who thought that TOS ruled and DS9 was probably number 2-ish. After though? He changed his mind and put DS9 at the top.
to add to this i feel like DS9 was the only one to go so far in depth with other alien races such as bajorans, cardassians, ferengi, and klingons, trills etc. Other shows explored them, but i don't think near as often.
Let's not forget that the episode right before this one introduced Section 31. These two episodes did more to change Star Trek than any others (with the possible exception of the Chain of Command two-parter). In the Pale Moonlight is still the finest 45 minutes of television ever!
Honestly, it's my favorite episode of the show, and all of Star Trek. It's basically the lofty ideals of Starfleet and Roddenberry tested by the warped realities of war, and the fact that sometimes pragmatism wins out over philosophical dogma.
In The Pale Moonlight is my favourite DS9 episode. An amazing piece of character performance from both main actors. I love the intrigue of the episode. The amazing twists and the almost mystery novel element to the episode. My critique for the commentator is you described the story, but very loosely gave your analysis. Anyway I'm happy someone even made a video on this subject. ---I'd love to get a comment from anyone else who thinks this is possibly the best episode of DS9.
i didn't see this episode until a couple years ago and i was not current with the story at the time. i wasn't a big fan of ds9 when it was airing for the first time. big tng fan since it originally aired. i have been watching all the treks on a cable channel called heros and icons and it has got me interested in ds9 and Voyager. i watched all of enterprise back in 2009 or so when i ran across it in syndication one day. when i watched this episode in context i thought it was very good. the best? i couldn't tell you my favorite tng episode. top 5 maybe. and thats probably where this episode sits for me.
The price , the forger's life, Senator and his aide's lives. The lives of all the Romulans dragged into the war vs all those who will die when the dominion takes over and of course with foreknowledge all the lives subsequently lost to the Borg takeover of the Galaxy . Now with that last part yes. Yes it is worth the cost.
Garak said that all his contacts were dead, but the problem is, garak said it, lol. Plus, garak wouldn't use all of his contacts. I've come to think that was just him saying that, as he told sisko later, 'make up a story, many brave people died, something like that like, to get this rod'. Exactly what garak told sisko. Blew my mind when I first saw it, lol.
I would argue that Inquisition, and the subsequent Section 31 episodes were made moot because of this one. It accomplishes everything Section 31 is meant to, without corrupting the Federation itself
My favourite thing about the episode is that Garak tells Sisko his contacts on cardassia died over this and then he tells Sisko to say that a good man died to get the rod
Senator Meme: Test this rod and tell me if it is legit. Romulan engineer: I cant tell, maybe yes maybe not, maybe it was made by that stabber in bar, who knows... Senator Meme: Well... fuck this.. i will try the most accusatory face expression and voice i can do to bluff Sisco and we will see...
Compatible with Roddenberry's ideals? In a way, yes: he does say somewhere that one of the horrors of war (that he would have liked to illustrate more in his work) is having to confront "the enemy within", which Sisko does in this episode.
That's why those of us that like _DS9,_ love it. As far as we can tell, it doesn't break Roddenberry's vision of the future; it reminds us that the road is never done. We still have, and always will have, demons. We will never be perfect and that the minute that we forget that and think that we are, is the minute that those demons within us will have the chance to get out.
Gene Roddenberry was the worst thing ever to happen to Star Trek. It started getting REALLY good once his hands were off of it. Then someone tried to steer it back to his vision and it sucked again.
Best episode by far and as far as I am concerned, Garak saved the federation and everyone else that day. I imagine Sisko in later episodes seeing Garak and thinking "this guy murdered two people and saved my ass at the same time.". And truly struggling with that.
Nothing is easy - especially in war. That great quote from "The Maquis" said it all. This episode is so honest and severe (and many aspects of the series in general are comparatively honest and not just declaring the "perfection" of our protagonists) that it elevates the whole experience to another level. Masterpiece.
I liked this review, not because it is a review of my favorite episode of DS9, but someone else's view on it and I enjoyed your different look on it. Also, this episode was the episode that made me say "Sisko is the best Captain in Star Fleet"
I just rewatched this episode last night. Love it. Thru and thru. Was also struck that New Trek could have an idea in that the episode begins with Dax remarking that a past instructor was lost in Romulan Neutral Zone. Seems like there is a story there begging to be fleshed out
Lorerunner made a good point about Vrenak. He really only comes off as Smug when they first meet, but when he sits down to talk, he is actually very matter of fact, thoughtful, even respectful, and also is doing whats best for his people, he is actually the good guy in this situation where as Sisko is the bad guy.
This episode is almost even more poignant today than in the pre 9/11 world it's from. I've been rewatching this series and it holds up better than most other Treks in my opinion.
this and the mentioned "Siege of AR558" are the top two episodes. both show that there may always be a need for good people to do bad things for the greater good. the problem is that both sides typically think of themselves as the "good" side.
Being enlightened doesn't matter when the other side has superior firepower and wants you either as an obedient slave or dead. They aren't going to care about your "vision". Ultimately what won the war for the Federation was this and Section 31 poisoning the Founders- the latter being effective when Bashir obtains the cure and Odo promises to spread it to his people for a cease fire. The Dominion was more than willing to level everything they could otherwise. This episode bought them time to survive until the end. The only alternative to preserve "Gene's vision"(honestly a thing I'm sick of hearing about when I read what Gene was really like) would be 100% surrender to the Dominion, meaning obedience- and simply hoping they uphold that agreement while the Federation slinks into a corner.
This is one of the most thrilling and tense episodes, in my opinion. One of my favorites. It's right up there with Magnificent Ferengi (S6, E10) and Move Along Home (S1, E9).
I’ve always interpreted this episode as Garak playing everyone from the beginning. He knew the data rod wouldn’t stand up to examination. He knew how proud the Romulans were. Vrenak was the *perfect* pawn, with his pro Dominion views making him essentially an enemy. Garak never intended to follow Sisko’s plan, but rather use it as a springboard to carry out his own. When he reached out to his contacts, they weren’t murdered… they were presumed murdered because they helped with the plot. Being “dead” means they couldn’t be questioned
Absolutely bar none the best DS9 episode ever made. The actor who played Vreenak was incredible. Presents very difficult moral choices - real people making real sacrifices to get through a horrible situation. A brilliant follow up would have been an episode where some people or race tried to hunt down Cisco for giving bio-mimetic gel to XXX and unleashing some horrible plague or planet wide genocide.
Everyone I have ever discussed this episode with (perhaps only 20 or so, small sample size) falls on the side of It being awesome, and none have ever indicated they felt it betrayed Roddenberry's 'vision'.
Taylor ex machina. I literally laughed out loud at that one. And I think this is one of the greatest episodes in all of Star Trek. The meme moment notwithstanding
The cheap powerpoint presentation sound effects and stitched together music at the beginning belie the quality of the content. What a welcome surprise to viewers new to sfdebris who ignore those initial impressions. ;)
No one addresses the issue that Doctor Bashir was not shy in his disapproval of having to provide that Biogel and he would put it in his report to Starfleet. Was that a loose end or should Garak have killed Bishir too?
@@IloveElsaofArendelle Was Nog and Odo a friend? He didn't mine causing them discomfort. What do you suppose he would have done if he needed to torture Kira or Dax. Probably the same thing, torture them now and apologize later. When Garak threatened the life of the forger to Sisko and Sisko questioned him on it Garak said; "Best not to dwell on those things".
@@yaj280 Bashir knew something was up which is why he reported it. the question should be, what happened to the report and what happened because of the report.
@@yaj280 I don't remember Starfleet approving the plan. If they did, it would have vindicated Sisko. The best part of the whole plot was that he took it upon himself to commit a criminal act and he accepted what he did.
Gotta face facts. If Sisko kept fighting this war the Federation way...they were going to lose. The Dominion on the other hand had been adhering to the one rule of warfare "All's fair in Love and War" deception, infiltration, etc. The way how they manipulated the Cardasians into joining them as "allies" or as Damar once said "Conquering them without firing a single shot" for example. But thats why this is such a great episode. A man of conscious and principle having to betray everything he stood for to save everything that he loved.
You can't fight a war and keep your principles intact because war is ugly and dirty meaning nobody regardless of how pure their soul is, will never never come back clean.
Lol. I JUST rewatched this episode and decided to rewatch your original and follow up review. For the record, I'm in the "love it" camp because of the uncomfortable positions our protagonists are in. It's an amazingly well crafted episode. My comment: I can excuse Sisko's treatment of Grathon Tolar, not because he was a criminal. I just think Sisko dropped the hammer cause he knew his threats were probably enough to keep Tolar in check. Honestly, I would have preferred Tolar actually been a little more selfless, and not such a miscreant. Neither the senator or Tolar are easy to care about, so if one of them was a little more altruistic, their death might be more significant. A cool short story idea might be a follow up to what happened to the 85 liters of bio-mimetic gel. Some kind of blow back, maybe, for DS9 or the federation. Something behind the scenes. Just thinking.
The gel was probably entirely for Garak's purposes. He could have used it to fake Romulan biomarkers and get onto the Senator's shuttle without tripping any sensors so he could plant the bomb. The rest, well, if you're able to get some highly-controlled substance and you know how to hide stuff from sensors, get as much as you can and stash it for later.
The gel was used as the bomb. It is mentioned somewhere that bio-memetic gel leaves no residue or traces when used as an explosive. It was the perfect way to take out the senator and pin it on the Dominion since the Romulans would have no way of linking the bomb to anyone else.
This was a pretty good mini-review, but I think the full review is better: sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/d543.php I understand why it is not on his UA-cam channel, but others might like to see the full review and follow-up.
One of the great things of this episode was hearing Starfleet personnel complaining about how the Romulans are just sitting about doing nothing. Because it’s only okay when the Federation does that. At least when the Romulans do it they’re not hiding behind some pretentious hypocrisy about how it isn’t their place to interfere.
The Fed sitting there is what keeps peace. The Roms would conquer without mercy, same with Klings and Cardassians. The Fed is the most powerful force around, and them bust sitting there doing diplomacy is mostly enough, and keeps people alive
He uses them when he does movie reviews. On the site today he posted a review of Watership Down for example. CBS has got UA-cam's content ID on their side so rather than get flagged he posts the full review on his site. This just keeps up the Saturday Star Trek reviews.
I only lament that this mini review has to cut out the best badass Sisco joke ever made. "The list of reasons why I'm awesome is so long that the only surface large enough to write it down on is my dick!"
The issue with people who are critical...they dont understand the reality. I call it the heros dilemmas...the hero will always lose against the bad guy in reality i they cannot do what they need to do to win. You can die with your morals and the rest of the federation...but as Garak said....it saved the quadrant. As I stated.....there are thing us primitive humans have are all bad.
No matter how much I read history and watch reviews of this episode, I cannot help but laugh when its brought that the Romulans government thought the Dominion was not a 'threat'. The Founders had long made clear what their view towards solids were and they would just let one of the top three Alpha powers act independently once they beat the Feds and Klingons? I only hope they were just waiting so that they would be the top postion before Sisko's actions to join...otherwise the leadership is just idiots.
This is one of the great episodes, but at the same time, I think that the show never succesfully incorporated it into the "Luther Sloan trilogy" -- "Inquisition" (the episode before this in production order), "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" and "Extreme Measures", although to a degree Bashir goes through a similar experience as Sisko, morally, but it's less nuanced. What Sisko does in this episode is only different in degree from what Section 31 does, but 31 tends to be written as uncompromisingly villainous.
This is a fantastic episode, one of the best in all of Star Trek...and I hate it. Because this is also the start of Darkness for Trek, the episode that began or at least codified the serious slide into cynicism and flawed futures that Trek has become with Discovery and Picard and, to a lesser but no less real extent (and yeah, I stand by that statement), the JJ Abrams films. You can draw a straight line from this episode to the torture drive on Discovery or the rampant conspiracy theories and Trutherisms of Picard. So yeah. In isolation, I adore this episode. Divorced from any context beyond DS9, it’s amazing. But when I look at the fallout it caused on one of my favorite franchises...
The problem is the very survival of the federation was at stake. Without the intervention of Section 31 and Garak/Sisko plan. The Federation would have been obliterated. As Sloan told Bashir, ‘ you need men like us to protect men like you ‘.
It's a brilliant episode with two fantastic central performances and a great guest turn from Stephen "Rosemary's Baby Grown Up" McHattie. The plotting, the dialogue, the direction and the acting are all top notch. But this is the episode that breaks Star Trek. It's never the same after this and we're still dealing with the fall out of a moral grey area Star Trek to this day.
I think it would be rather ridiculous to present a future where humans are virtuous and the ultimate good guys who do no evil. honestly if I had to choose between that extreme and the opposite being 40K. the grim darkness of the 41th millennium seems more realistic. there is no way humans would ever become virtuous good guys.
Wow...a SF Debris review of a Trek episode that is actually positive. Possibly a little harsh...but having watched a lot of his Voyager reviews lately (and he quite clearly had it out for that show from the beginning), only a little. Sick of his ranting about ''bad science'' in Trek when bad science in B5 or Dr. Who? Free pass and three free drinks at the bar!
Two thing I’d add...
*Garak* tells *Sisko* how all of his agents died getting the data rod. *Garak* later tells him to tell *Vreenak* that several Star Fleet officers died getting the rod in order to sell the lie. *_Perfection._*
The jump to black at the end after _”computer, erase that entire personal log.”_ is one of the greatest endings in live tv... we had watch parties in college and we were literally jumping out of our chairs at that cut cheering.
Kirk gave flintlock rifles to the mountain people to offset the Klingons doing the same for the village dwellers so even Roddenberry's Trek wasn't without moral ambiguity.
By far, the best DS9 episode. When he looks at the camera at the end and says he can live with it. Chills.
Totally agree.
Also the music was on point. This was a masterpiece.
I would argue that point but it is one of the best episodes of all of Star Trek.
My personal favorite is tacking into the wind
Some of the dialogue is brilliant, I forgot about this episode but distinctly remember seeing original airdate episode, loved it! Telling all my fam to watch this one episode to get them hooked!
This is my favorite Garak ep. He completely plays 'The Sisco' from start to finish. It's really the only time we get to see him in full Obsidian Order mode. And its glorious.
On the data rod; it was his, that's how he knew it was genuine. Back when he was number 2 in the Order he had the opportunity and authorization to snag a few for himself. The payment of bio gel was so that he could fake a Romulan bio signature in order to covertly board the shuttle and plant the bomb without tripping the shuttles intruder alert system.
Scott Ross In the episode right before where Garak interrogates Odo in the Romulan Warbird, Garak tells Dr. Bashir to eat his optolythic data rod if he isnt back within 78 hours, I think that that is what Garak used for the forgery.
Really didn't know it went that far
Oh shit that makes so much sense
The episode also states that the gel could be used to make organic explosives, which was probably how he was able to place a completely undetectable bomb on Vreenaks shuttle.
And in a later episode when he was at his father's deathbed, he consoled him by saying that "All your enemies are dead" and he named that Romulan senator as one of them.
Ultimately for me this episode is the pinnacle of Trek. A flawless piece of television.
In my top 10 probably about 6 imo
I can't shake the feeling that Garak probably had a box full of data rods.. he just wanted the bio gel for his own uses..
Richy you know what? I agree with you garak could of totally lied about that and instead used the gel for... idk... a bartering tool
Hell, I'm betting he needed it for the explosives to blow up the shuttle.
@@Ridgwaycer , or to cover up any DNA that is his, within the wreckage of shuttle. Probably both.
That makes more sense than Garak handing over a potential bioweapon in biomemetic gel... Garak hates loose ends & that would be a big one. Garak could have actually made a deal for a rod...then killed the supplier rather than hand over the gel... to use for himself. He blew up his own shop while he was in it... what would be "a bridge too far" for Garak anyway?
@@varianschirmer9375 Garak probably already had a rod and needed the gel for other purposes tied to the mission.
"Sisko puts two and two together, and heads to Garrick's shop where he can put fist and face together." 🤣🤣🤣. Awesome 😁
The first DS9 mini review for one of its best episodes of all time and one of the most controversial Star Trek outings period.
What makes this episode for me is not because of the dark subject matter, because this story could easily have been done in Trek already. Its its style of storytelling of Sisko’s one man confession against the backdrop of his conspiracy with plain simple Garak. For me In the Pale Moonlight can easily tie with Duet as the best episode of DS9.
Agreed. I absolutely love Duet and find it more of my favorite episode of the show.
Duet is a great episode but this is amazing.
DS9 became my favourite series of Star Trek even above Next Generation.
I love this episode. It perfectly shows why I love Sisko, DS9, and Garak. It even has Meme factor and Sisko punching somebody. It is nearly a perfect episode.
Garak already had the data rod. He didn't trade the gel for it. Instead he simply used the gel to make the bomb.
"Did that stop the Sisko?
No! Garak just said,
'If we can't find the evidence
We'll make some instead!"
I was a DS9 fan from the start. Don't get me wrong, I was around when TOS had just ended it's run and lots of Saturday mornings were spent in front of the TV watching reruns. And as a young adult, I enjoyed TNG. Sure the first couple of seasons were rocky, but not intolerable like Voyager.
DS9 though was a breath of fresh air. Not on a starship flitting around, but anchored in on place, which gave their fight to protect something more gravity. Sure, you can flit to planet AB9YZ and stop the Kurmuttians from killing off the Dinjos, but it's one and done.
DS9 offered the complexities of protecting the Bajorans, helping them rebuild their world, having to deal with being their Messiah, and suffering through a nasty war that would make the main character understand that to uphold his ideals, he'd have to betray those ideals. And have another character be maimed and deal with PTSD, and a lot of other things along the way.
This episode was the turning point for a buddy of mine who thought that TOS ruled and DS9 was probably number 2-ish. After though? He changed his mind and put DS9 at the top.
to add to this i feel like DS9 was the only one to go so far in depth with other alien races such as bajorans, cardassians, ferengi, and klingons, trills etc. Other shows explored them, but i don't think near as often.
What’s TOS ?
Let's not forget that the episode right before this one introduced Section 31. These two episodes did more to change Star Trek than any others (with the possible exception of the Chain of Command two-parter). In the Pale Moonlight is still the finest 45 minutes of television ever!
Honestly, it's my favorite episode of the show, and all of Star Trek. It's basically the lofty ideals of Starfleet and Roddenberry tested by the warped realities of war, and the fact that sometimes pragmatism wins out over philosophical dogma.
pragmatism should always win.
In The Pale Moonlight is my favourite DS9 episode. An amazing piece of character performance from both main actors. I love the intrigue of the episode. The amazing twists and the almost mystery novel element to the episode. My critique for the commentator is you described the story, but very loosely gave your analysis. Anyway I'm happy someone even made a video on this subject. ---I'd love to get a comment from anyone else who thinks this is possibly the best episode of DS9.
i didn't see this episode until a couple years ago and i was not current with the story at the time. i wasn't a big fan of ds9 when it was airing for the first time. big tng fan since it originally aired. i have been watching all the treks on a cable channel called heros and icons and it has got me interested in ds9 and Voyager. i watched all of enterprise back in 2009 or so when i ran across it in syndication one day. when i watched this episode in context i thought it was very good. the best? i couldn't tell you my favorite tng episode. top 5 maybe. and thats probably where this episode sits for me.
Best DS9 episode of all time. Fight me.
I'll not fight you but submit it for the best Trek ep.
I agree completely! *punch*
IT'S A FAAAAAKE
Best Star trek episode of all time.
A little exaggerated, so sue me
Garak played Sisko.
Garak: all my operatives are dead.
Garak: tell Vreenak a story, ten good men died, that sort of thing.
The price , the forger's life, Senator and his aide's lives. The lives of all the Romulans dragged into the war vs all those who will die when the dominion takes over and of course with foreknowledge all the lives subsequently lost to the Borg takeover of the Galaxy . Now with that last part yes. Yes it is worth the cost.
Garak said that all his contacts were dead, but the problem is, garak said it, lol. Plus, garak wouldn't use all of his contacts. I've come to think that was just him saying that, as he told sisko later, 'make up a story, many brave people died, something like that like, to get this rod'. Exactly what garak told sisko. Blew my mind when I first saw it, lol.
Sisco:I can live with it.
Archer:I eat it for breakfast.
Let’s not forget the crew of Vreenak’s ship... no one considers their deaths.
The true genius of this episode is that it comes right after "Inquisition".
I would argue that Inquisition, and the subsequent Section 31 episodes were made moot because of this one. It accomplishes everything Section 31 is meant to, without corrupting the Federation itself
Sorry I gotta do it
ITS A FAKE!!!!!
ua-cam.com/video/UfWMBxuA_Jw/v-deo.html
Naw man. You got to stretch out the A. "It's a FAAAAKE."
DS9. The best Star trek series period.
My favourite thing about the episode is that Garak tells Sisko his contacts on cardassia died over this and then he tells Sisko to say that a good man died to get the rod
Senator Meme: Test this rod and tell me if it is legit.
Romulan engineer: I cant tell, maybe yes maybe not, maybe it was made by that stabber in bar, who knows...
Senator Meme: Well... fuck this.. i will try the most accusatory face expression and voice i can do to bluff Sisco and we will see...
defiantly the best DS9 episode. One of if not the best episode of Star Trek ever made.
I like 'defiantly'!
"Tailor ex machina" is the best description of Garak ever.
Compatible with Roddenberry's ideals? In a way, yes: he does say somewhere that one of the horrors of war (that he would have liked to illustrate more in his work) is having to confront "the enemy within", which Sisko does in this episode.
That's why those of us that like _DS9,_ love it. As far as we can tell, it doesn't break Roddenberry's vision of the future; it reminds us that the road is never done. We still have, and always will have, demons. We will never be perfect and that the minute that we forget that and think that we are, is the minute that those demons within us will have the chance to get out.
@@scaper8 goes with the Marquis episode. Earth is a paradise and it's easy to be a saint in paradise. The galaxy is not paradise.
Gene Roddenberry was the worst thing ever to happen to Star Trek. It started getting REALLY good once his hands were off of it. Then someone tried to steer it back to his vision and it sucked again.
Best episode by far and as far as I am concerned, Garak saved the federation and everyone else that day. I imagine Sisko in later episodes seeing Garak and thinking "this guy murdered two people and saved my ass at the same time.". And truly struggling with that.
And the promise Garak made to his dying father Tayne is fulfilled. I can watch this episode over and over again.
Good point ;)
Tain taught his son well. Tain would be proud of Garak.
Nothing is easy - especially in war. That great quote from "The Maquis" said it all. This episode is so honest and severe (and many aspects of the series in general are comparatively honest and not just declaring the "perfection" of our protagonists) that it elevates the whole experience to another level. Masterpiece.
I liked this review, not because it is a review of my favorite episode of DS9, but someone else's view on it and I enjoyed your different look on it. Also, this episode was the episode that made me say "Sisko is the best Captain in Star Fleet"
Best episode of ds9 hands down cause it showed that morality isn't always more important to save the many
This is one of my favorite episodes for many reasons.
The heart of DS9 is wrapped up in this episode.
I just rewatched this episode last night. Love it. Thru and thru. Was also struck that New Trek could have an idea in that the episode begins with Dax remarking that a past instructor was lost in Romulan Neutral Zone. Seems like there is a story there begging to be fleshed out
Maybe I'm alone but I really liked the Quark scene also.
I don't think there's a scene of Quark I dislike
Lorerunner made a good point about Vrenak. He really only comes off as Smug when they first meet, but when he sits down to talk, he is actually very matter of fact, thoughtful, even respectful, and also is doing whats best for his people, he is actually the good guy in this situation where as Sisko is the bad guy.
Wonderful episode!
My favorite and the 7th rule with Cirroc Lofton hosting a panel discussion on the episode. Pretty good discussions.
Sisko problem solution: Go to the tailor.
That's what my dad always taught me.
Star Trek did DS9 dirty... I'm a lifelong fan and DS9 is still the best series.
This is my favorite episode! It shows just how an imperfect human Sisko is and how desperate he was to try to end that war.
I can live with it.
This episode is almost even more poignant today than in the pre 9/11 world it's from. I've been rewatching this series and it holds up better than most other Treks in my opinion.
But wait I thought that in the future plutonium would be sold on every corner drugstore, it was only in 1955 it was hard to come by.
lol someday....
Best Star Trek series and episode ever.
Both insightful and thought provoking!
this and the mentioned "Siege of AR558" are the top two episodes. both show that there may always be a need for good people to do bad things for the greater good. the problem is that both sides typically think of themselves as the "good" side.
"seizing their vast storehouses of smug" :D
Being enlightened doesn't matter when the other side has superior firepower and wants you either as an obedient slave or dead. They aren't going to care about your "vision". Ultimately what won the war for the Federation was this and Section 31 poisoning the Founders- the latter being effective when Bashir obtains the cure and Odo promises to spread it to his people for a cease fire. The Dominion was more than willing to level everything they could otherwise. This episode bought them time to survive until the end. The only alternative to preserve "Gene's vision"(honestly a thing I'm sick of hearing about when I read what Gene was really like) would be 100% surrender to the Dominion, meaning obedience- and simply hoping they uphold that agreement while the Federation slinks into a corner.
DS9 had some great stories but this was probably the best of all.
Getting notes of Ross's Game Dungeon at the end there.
This by far my favourite ds9 episode! Ds9 is awesome to be honest
This is one of the most thrilling and tense episodes, in my opinion. One of my favorites. It's right up there with Magnificent Ferengi (S6, E10) and Move Along Home (S1, E9).
I’ve always interpreted this episode as Garak playing everyone from the beginning. He knew the data rod wouldn’t stand up to examination. He knew how proud the Romulans were. Vrenak was the *perfect* pawn, with his pro Dominion views making him essentially an enemy. Garak never intended to follow Sisko’s plan, but rather use it as a springboard to carry out his own. When he reached out to his contacts, they weren’t murdered… they were presumed murdered because they helped with the plot. Being “dead” means they couldn’t be questioned
One of the best episodes of the series
"IT'S A STEAK!"
Best episode of DS9, if not of all Trek
My Fav Episode
Absolutely bar none the best DS9 episode ever made. The actor who played Vreenak was incredible. Presents very difficult moral choices - real people making real sacrifices to get through a horrible situation. A brilliant follow up would have been an episode where some people or race tried to hunt down Cisco for giving bio-mimetic gel to XXX and unleashing some horrible plague or planet wide genocide.
Everyone I have ever discussed this episode with (perhaps only 20 or so, small sample size) falls on the side of It being awesome, and none have ever indicated they felt it betrayed Roddenberry's 'vision'.
Taylor ex machina. I literally laughed out loud at that one. And I think this is one of the greatest episodes in all of Star Trek. The meme moment notwithstanding
Got the Romulans on your side...it just cost your soul...
Anyone else remember his guards? There were FIVE Romulans on that shuttle.
The cheap powerpoint presentation sound effects and stitched together music at the beginning belie the quality of the content. What a welcome surprise to viewers new to sfdebris who ignore those initial impressions. ;)
No one addresses the issue that Doctor Bashir was not shy in his disapproval of having to provide that Biogel and he would put it in his report to Starfleet. Was that a loose end or should Garak have killed Bishir too?
No, because Garak genuinely considers Bashir a friend and you don't murder friends, especially not those, who you see potential
@@IloveElsaofArendelle Was Nog and Odo a friend? He didn't mine causing them discomfort. What do you suppose he would have done if he needed to torture Kira or Dax. Probably the same thing, torture them now and apologize later. When Garak threatened the life of the forger to Sisko and Sisko questioned him on it Garak said;
"Best not to dwell on those things".
@@yaj280 Bashir knew something was up which is why he reported it. the question should be, what happened to the report and what happened because of the report.
@@yaj280 I don't remember Starfleet approving the plan. If they did, it would have vindicated Sisko. The best part of the whole plot was that he took it upon himself to commit a criminal act and he accepted what he did.
Gotta face facts. If Sisko kept fighting this war the Federation way...they were going to lose. The Dominion on the other hand had been adhering to the one rule of warfare "All's fair in Love and War" deception, infiltration, etc. The way how they manipulated the Cardasians into joining them as "allies" or as Damar once said "Conquering them without firing a single shot" for example.
But thats why this is such a great episode. A man of conscious and principle having to betray everything he stood for to save everything that he loved.
I swear that same actor pops up a few episodes later as another Romulan maybe the one where Bashir goes to Romulus...
One of the best episodes if not the best one.
best episode of the series !!
You can't fight a war and keep your principles intact because war is ugly and dirty meaning nobody regardless of how pure their soul is, will never never come back clean.
I think conquering Betazed was Weyouns idea. His reserves of Smug was running out, and he despised the Cardassian variant .
Gene Roddenberry's vision of humanity's future was naive and delusional.
I agree, people will always be people. DS9 and Babylon 5 had a far more realistic vision of the future.
His vision was bullshit.
Lol. I JUST rewatched this episode and decided to rewatch your original and follow up review. For the record, I'm in the "love it" camp because of the uncomfortable positions our protagonists are in. It's an amazingly well crafted episode.
My comment:
I can excuse Sisko's treatment of Grathon Tolar, not because he was a criminal. I just think Sisko dropped the hammer cause he knew his threats were probably enough to keep Tolar in check. Honestly, I would have preferred Tolar actually been a little more selfless, and not such a miscreant. Neither the senator or Tolar are easy to care about, so if one of them was a little more altruistic, their death might be more significant.
A cool short story idea might be a follow up to what happened to the 85 liters of bio-mimetic gel. Some kind of blow back, maybe, for DS9 or the federation. Something behind the scenes. Just thinking.
The gel was probably entirely for Garak's purposes. He could have used it to fake Romulan biomarkers and get onto the Senator's shuttle without tripping any sensors so he could plant the bomb. The rest, well, if you're able to get some highly-controlled substance and you know how to hide stuff from sensors, get as much as you can and stash it for later.
The gel was used as the bomb. It is mentioned somewhere that bio-memetic gel leaves no residue or traces when used as an explosive. It was the perfect way to take out the senator and pin it on the Dominion since the Romulans would have no way of linking the bomb to anyone else.
Good Romulan Ale, which is still illegal in the United Federation of Planets.
This was a pretty good mini-review, but I think the full review is better: sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/d543.php
I understand why it is not on his UA-cam channel, but others might like to see the full review and follow-up.
In wartime there is no good or evil there is strategy.
One of the great things of this episode was hearing Starfleet personnel complaining about how the Romulans are just sitting about doing nothing.
Because it’s only okay when the Federation does that. At least when the Romulans do it they’re not hiding behind some pretentious hypocrisy about how it isn’t their place to interfere.
The Fed sitting there is what keeps peace. The Roms would conquer without mercy, same with Klings and Cardassians. The Fed is the most powerful force around, and them bust sitting there doing diplomacy is mostly enough, and keeps people alive
Damn, an episode of this calibre didn't warrant a full length review?
He has done it before on his main site. Not sure what's up with these mini-reviews though.
He uses them when he does movie reviews. On the site today he posted a review of Watership Down for example. CBS has got UA-cam's content ID on their side so rather than get flagged he posts the full review on his site. This just keeps up the Saturday Star Trek reviews.
All you need to save the world is one good lie and a river of blood
I only lament that this mini review has to cut out the best badass Sisco joke ever made. "The list of reasons why I'm awesome is so long that the only surface large enough to write it down on is my dick!"
The issue with people who are critical...they dont understand the reality. I call it the heros dilemmas...the hero will always lose against the bad guy in reality i they cannot do what they need to do to win. You can die with your morals and the rest of the federation...but as Garak said....it saved the quadrant. As I stated.....there are thing us primitive humans have are all bad.
What happened to the original sfdebris reivew, posted years ago?
No matter how much I read history and watch reviews of this episode, I cannot help but laugh when its brought that the Romulans government thought the Dominion was not a 'threat'. The Founders had long made clear what their view towards solids were and they would just let one of the top three Alpha powers act independently once they beat the Feds and Klingons? I only hope they were just waiting so that they would be the top postion before Sisko's actions to join...otherwise the leadership is just idiots.
This is one of the great episodes, but at the same time, I think that the show never succesfully incorporated it into the "Luther Sloan trilogy" -- "Inquisition" (the episode before this in production order), "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" and "Extreme Measures", although to a degree Bashir goes through a similar experience as Sisko, morally, but it's less nuanced. What Sisko does in this episode is only different in degree from what Section 31 does, but 31 tends to be written as uncompromisingly villainous.
I think the concept of section 31 was pointless, because this episode does what that entire concept does, without corrupting the Federation
A that Romulan look like he just got some mid and thought it was loud and said this is midgrade
This is a fantastic episode, one of the best in all of Star Trek...and I hate it. Because this is also the start of Darkness for Trek, the episode that began or at least codified the serious slide into cynicism and flawed futures that Trek has become with Discovery and Picard and, to a lesser but no less real extent (and yeah, I stand by that statement), the JJ Abrams films.
You can draw a straight line from this episode to the torture drive on Discovery or the rampant conspiracy theories and Trutherisms of Picard.
So yeah. In isolation, I adore this episode. Divorced from any context beyond DS9, it’s amazing. But when I look at the fallout it caused on one of my favorite franchises...
The producers of STD and PIC never cared about what came before, so they surely never seen what best writing can be
The problem is the very survival of the federation was at stake.
Without the intervention of Section 31 and Garak/Sisko plan. The Federation would have been obliterated.
As Sloan told Bashir, ‘ you need men like us to protect men like you ‘.
@@mrdenson3101 Section 31 didn't really materially affect the war, actually.
I'm dying 1:48 haha
Yeah...this episode is good all...but its no "Prophet and Lace"
It's a brilliant episode with two fantastic central performances and a great guest turn from Stephen "Rosemary's Baby Grown Up" McHattie. The plotting, the dialogue, the direction and the acting are all top notch.
But this is the episode that breaks Star Trek. It's never the same after this and we're still dealing with the fall out of a moral grey area Star Trek to this day.
DS9... It was the best of Trek, it was the worst of Trek.
I think it would be rather ridiculous to present a future where humans are virtuous and the ultimate good guys who do no evil.
honestly if I had to choose between that extreme and the opposite being 40K. the grim darkness of the 41th millennium seems more realistic. there is no way humans would ever become virtuous good guys.
I keep saying that Roddenberry made a great show and franchise in Star Trek. But in the end, he was full of shit.
The story doesn't matter... it's a fake
You are giving an episode like this a mini-review? For shame.
He already did a full review on his site.
Romulans are so boring compared to Cardassians. Even in TNG they were less interesting. The Wounded is one of my favorites.
Your opinion buddy
@@stevenyia2778 That's obvious thanks Capt.
I'm the 999th like.
Wow...a SF Debris review of a Trek episode that is actually positive. Possibly a little harsh...but having watched a lot of his Voyager reviews lately (and he quite clearly had it out for that show from the beginning), only a little. Sick of his ranting about ''bad science'' in Trek when bad science in B5 or Dr. Who? Free pass and three free drinks at the bar!
2nd