DS9 Flashback: Destiny

Because Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was set on a station and couldn't as easily "boldly go" in search of stories, it more often generated them from the characters themselves. Sisko's role as the Bajoran Emissary was fertile ground that spawned several episodes, including season three's "Destiny."

Now that a treaty between the Bajorans and Cardassians has been reached, a pair of Cardassian scientists are coming to the station to assist in establishing a relay to aid communications through the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. But a Bajoran Vedek named Yarka warns that Sisko their work will fulfill a dark prophecy from the Prophets themselves.

According to the series' writers, this episode was an especially tough one to create. They'd bought a pitch in the second season from outside writers David S. Cohen and Martin A. Winer, and had even allowed the writing team to work on multiple drafts themselves. The initial take had a Starfleet executive coming to force Sisko out of his role as Emissary, fearing a Heart of Darkness/Colonel Kurtz sort of situation where Sisko had "gone native." It took into season three before the staff writers identified why they felt this story wasn't working -- it revolved around a miraculous, wonderful prophecy. If it was flipped around to be dark and ominous, then Sisko could be put at odds with his duty, with the Bajoran people, and with Kira in particular.

That sounds right on paper, but I think the final episode doesn't push far enough with this take. For one thing, the prophecy doesn't carry much force. Only this Vedek Yarka, specifically said to be out of step with most Bajoran religious figures, is arguing the apocalyptic nature of what's going to happen. For another, there really isn't much conflict for Kira here. She explains calmly to Yarka that she has little trouble compartmentalizing Sisko her superior officer from Sisko the Emissary. When Sisko tells her basically to keep religion off his bridge, that's that.

Sisko doesn't seem especially conflicted here, either. He never really seems to consider what it really means to have an entire alien world looking to him as god-adjacent, and how much responsibility he really bears for their well-being. He only goes down this road far enough to speculate how much his fate is fixed by the wormhole aliens who really can see the future, a notion Dax swats away for him pretty quickly. He just has to be himself, she says. But isn't the whole point of this story supposed to be that this is an identity crisis for Sisko and he doesn't know who he is?

But if this episode is a somewhat sad Christmas tree, lop-sided and sparse, it's still at least adorned with pretty decorations. The interactions between the two Cardassian scientists and the regular characters make for some really nice moments. They make a point of kindness toward Kira, recognizing how odd it must be for her to have them here. One in particular, Gilora Rejal, squabbles with O'Brien over differing approaches to engineering; later we learn that she thinks it's sexy that a man would know anything about engineering, and that he would stand up to her. Add the third Cardassian to the mix, the secret Obsidian Order overseer Dejar, and it makes for some fun commentary on nationalism. (She doesn't even like the other two enjoying non-Cardassian food.)

There are a few nice moments with Odo. His own take on Sisko as Emissary is an interesting one, as he's lived among Bajorans longer than anyone while still maintaining a distinctly "outsider" view (not just of Bajorans, but of all humanoids). On the comedic side, we get two new complementary Rules of Acquisition (both war and peace are good for business), and Colm Meaney's great reaction when O'Brien realizes Gilora is flirting with him. (It's probably not an easy thing for O'Brien to be lusted after by a Cardassian, but he handles it with more diplomacy than you might expect.)

Other observations:

• Gilora Rejal is played by Tracy Scoggins, who played a main character in the final season of Babylon 5.

• The episode ends with reference to a "fiery trial" prophesied in the Emissary's future. A few stories in later seasons could fit the bill (including the series finale), though it's hard to say whether the writers were later trying to connect with this episode, or if the deliberately vague nature of the average prophecy allowed connection without deliberate effort.

• One of the original writers, David S. Cogen, wasn't happy with how he was rewritten: "I still get a headache when I watch it." He once recounted a TV executive telling him that "Destiny" was his favorite Deep Space Nine episode, and was taken aback. "Hell, it's not even my favorite Deep Space Nine episode."

There are minor thrills in the sort of sci-fi predestination paradox presented here, but this is hardly a standout episode of the series. I give it a B-.