Reeling from his vision from the Prophets, Sisko calls off his wedding to Kasidy Yates. Ezri and Worf's relationship is affected by the latent feelings revealed under Breen interrogation. Damar is whisked away by Weyoun on a secretive mission. And in Bajoran disguise, Dukat arrives to seduce Kai Winn.
This is certainly a great episode in advancing the final story arc, and there are a lot of moments in it I like. But there are little things throughout that trip me up a little. Take the Worf/Ezri storyline. I've long supported the fact that Deep Space Nine doesn't need all its characters to be "likable" in a traditional television sense. Quark is perhaps exhibit A for this, an outright criminal who nevertheless has a key role on the show and is fun to watch. Or, at least, Quark was Exhibit A until the Deep Space Nine writers got their hands on Worf.
Worf, as written on Deep Space Nine, really is the worst. That doesn't mean he can't be put in a dilemma where you feel for him. But he's pretty terrible here, groaning one moment about the meaninglessness of dreams, then tearing into Ezri the next moment for the contents of her dreams (post-torture!). I mean, this is all in service of having Dax move on completely from him, so I guess "well done"? We all want that by the end of this episode.
I wish Kasidy had made Benjamin work a little harder to earn her back after calling off the wedding. I suppose I can respect that the writers didn't make this a protracted, made-for-televiion "manufactured obstacle" to uniting a long-running couple. But what he does to her here really has to hurt, and she's awfully quick to forgive. (It does help that over on the sidelines, Kira is clearly very upset/concerned that Sisko has chosen to defy the Prophets.)
Even though it's only one element of the episode, the hour is fairly dominated by the pairing up of Kai Winn and Gul Dukat. There's something appealing in the idea of uniting the two great villains of Deep Space Nine. But it's a pairing I don't find entirely successful for a few reasons. First, Gul Dukat simply knows too much. He knows exactly what to say, the precise phrases to use, to draw Winn into the trap. One could infer that the Pah-wraiths have coached him in this regard, but that seems like unusually direct communication from these supernatural entities. (I guess they really are nothing like the circumspect Prophets.)
Secondly, some details are glossed over quickly because they just don't make any sense. Winn is the head of the dominant religion for an entire planet. "Just some farmer" can get an audience with her? And while she's understandably vulnerable in the wake of her "Prophet vision," she has no curiosity at all about this man they've sent her? She's such a political animal, wouldn't she want to know everything about the "guide" she will now be linked with? Many details of Dukat's story could be checked -- the location of his farm, the weather in the area -- yet she doesn't even have her clearly suffering attendant do this for her?
Thirdly (and this is kind of an extension of "secondly"), because Gul Dukat is being set up to be the Ultimate Bad for the final episode, he naturally dominates the "team up." Winn is a complete dupe, completely clueless and manipulated at every turn of this episode by both the Pah-wraiths (who manifest to her as Prophets) and Dukat. At least it's being true to her character even if it does diminish her status as a villain. Winn's core trait is her profound neediness, and she knows deep down that she's a fraud. The fact that she's never spoken with the Prophets gnaws at her, leaving her vulnerable to being played in the way she is here.
The story also plays to a deep core in Dukat too: he needs to be loved by Bajorans, in every sense of the word. Of course he turns what could have been a simple con job into a romantic relationship. And he relishes the performance at every moment, taking perverse glee in telling a story that weaves in "Gul Dukat," as though daring Winn in that moment to figure out the truth -- because it will be better for his ego if she still embraces him even knowing who he is.
Other observations:
- I love how there are moments that cut directly from Weyoun and Damar's ship to the Breen ship, daring the audience to figure out before the final scene that the two are heading toward a rendezvous.
- It feels momentous that Dax isn't at Sisko's wedding. I wish there had been more comment on this.
- The dialogue spoken by Admiral Ross as he performs the wedding ceremony hews close to Picard's words in "Data's Day," which in turn were inspired by Kirk's in the classic episode "Balance of Terror."
- Worf claims that no one has seen what's under a Breen's helmet. But when Kira and Dukat stole the uniforms off of two Breen, surely they did.
I may have reservations, but "'Til Death Do Us Part" is nevertheless a very effective "yes and" to the ideas begun in this final story arc. I give it a B.
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