7/23/2023 0 Comments Ziyal deep space nineThere's something compelling about a character who is so good at manipulation that he can acknowledge that he is manipulating you to your face and still succeed in manipulating you. The Garak/Worf stuff was fun not only for the dry humor, but I liked what it does for both characters. Seeing it play out against the tableau of the Dukat/Garak relationship gave it sufficient stakes for me. That's gotta be a full third of human literature right there. Young woman falls for least appropriate person she could pick. Kevin: I enjoyed the almost asburd levels of 'normalcy' to the story. I enjoyed the straight man humor with Garak, and I really enjoyed the setup work of Worf in the prison colony. After a series of bad showings for Worf, this episode is a lot better for his character. The Garak story also gave Worf some stuff to do. But overall, this was a weaker storyline. Dukat's tiff with Kira was also fine, if only because it included her witty retort about all Cardassians being ruthless killers. So the best part is the Ziyal/Garak "romance," and Dukat's intimations of Garak being a ruthless killer. It's been so long since we saw them together, that it is difficult ot feel terribly engaged by it. It had the unmistakable "they're setting up a longer-term story" flavor to it. Matthew: The Garak/Ziyal story was just sort of OK for me. It could have easily veered into soap opera territory with the reveal, but the work both the writers and actors put into every scene between the two made it feel like the natural resolution and not a cheap ret-con. Events are accelerating and getting a little out of control, and oh happy day, it's interesting. Also, the slightly overstuffed and chaotic plotting serves a larger purpose for the show. I don't think any suffered per se, and it means that we avoid the inexcusable dropping of a resolved plot, like Data's dream stuff in Birthright. Kevin: I actually don't mind the numerous story threads. His final scene with Enabran Tain was quite good - "it was the only day" was really sharp writing. Garak's motivation was discernible and effective. The Garak tale seems the primary one here, and overall it is pretty successful. if anything, the episode's structure suffers just a tad at having so many story threads crammed in, threads we hope will be resolved in the conclusion. We've got Garak searching for Enabran Tain, Worf discovering the real Martok and Bashir, the Jem'Hadar fleet traversing the wormhole to attack DS9, Dukat and Ziyal at odds over Garak. Matthew: Moreso even than most first parts of two-parters, there are a lot of balls being juggled by this story, and it's mostly successful. Garak is one of those guys you'd love to asphyxiate, for well or ill.
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