DS9 Flashback: A Time to Stand

Season six of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine began with a serialized story arc that was years ahead of its time for television. Reportedly conceived to be four episodes, then expanded to five and then six, it took advantage of all the recurring characters that had been created by not "boldly going" to new planets every week like the other Trek series. The first episode in the arc was "A Time to Stand."

Three months into the Dominion War, the Federation is losing ground and losing ships. Sisko and his crew are given a secret mission to try to turn the tide: taking a captured Jem'Hadar ship and destroying a ketracel-white depot. Meanwhile, on the Cardassian occupied station (rechristened Terok Nor), Kira worries the Bajorans are losing their voice... and sees Odo as a way of pushing the issue with Weyoun.

This six-episode arc is always mentioned as the moment the series embraced serialization. But this episode illustrates just how much it was already doing so, in smaller ways, before this. The Jem'Hadar ship our heroes use on their mission is the one they themselves captured in the previous season. Garak's closeted flirtation with Bashir, there since the Cardassian's first appearance, is on display in an early scene. Kira points out how much Dukat's behavior in this occupation is driven by the way he feels he was mistreated and misunderstood in the last one. We also get a return appearance from Captain Sisko's father Joseph, played by Brock Peters -- again showing one of the few healthy father/son relationships in all of Star Trek (with Ben and Jake being one of the others).

The Starfleet side of the episode is where the more self-contained plot is -- and certainly all the action. But while it's arguably more like conventional Star Trek, it contains many great moments. There's the exhausted banter between soldiers in the trenches. There's the moral dilemma of firing on a friendly ship (and abandoning it to enemy forces) in order to maintain their cover. And in the final scene, when they're actually trying to pull off their daring plan, the suspense really does work -- they do a great job of setting up how it should go, so that we know immediately when things start to go wrong.

Still, in this re-watch, I found myself more intrigued what was going on aboard the station. Kira understands the hit-and-run tactics of a resistance fighter very well, but here she must learn to be a more subtle and political actor. She identifies the friction between Weyoun and Dukat, and does her best to fan those flames where she can. She realizes that Odo has pull with Weyoun and uses her own pull with Odo to get him to use it. Through it all, though, Kira is still Kira, and can only sublimate her nature so much. She can't help but call Dukat on his delusions when he tries to get her to praise him.

Life under Dominion rule is interesting, from a number of angles. Quark, the voice of the frog slowly boiling to death, argues that it's not as bad as it could be. (Though he isn't wrong.) Jake naively assumes that freedoms he has enjoyed all his life are universal. Even the Cardassians, ostensibly allies of the Dominion, are shown to be under their thumb -- when Damar looks to Dukat as his leader, Weyoun is quick to assert his authority. Weyoun is quicker still when Odo confronts him, twisting the deference he must show a changeling into a subtle extortion of something he needs: the appearance of Odo's endorsement.

Other observations:

• The opening shot, showing a defeated fleet of damaged ships, is quite impressive. It was apparently an explicit repudiation of the final shot in the previous season finale. (The writers felt that shot had gone too far in implying a huge armada immediately ready to kick ass, which is not where they intended to take the story.) Reportedly, this shot was one of the last big armada shots to be achieved largely with old school model work. After this, most of the visuals would be created as the Defiant was here -- through CG.

• The references of Dax and Worf's planned wedding were inserted here by the writers in the hopes of reminding the audience that there would still be things worth watching on the show, even after the war arc was concluded.

• Dukat's Cardassian style log entry is a fun subversion of a Star Trek trope. Elsewhere, his assertion that he's "made Cardassia strong again," along with his desperate need to be liked and his constant focus on who's in charge -- well... it all feels prescient.

• This marks the first appearance by the character of Admiral Ross. The writers had apparently long wanted a recurring admiral character, but had never found an actor they liked enough to keep bringing back. Finally, they found what they were looking for in Barry Jenner.

• Joseph Sisko makes an observation that's almost hokey, yet earnest and poetic enough to work: if space is wondrous and infinite, "you would think there'd be more than enough room to allow people to leave each other alone."

This strong season premiere sets the table for a strong story arc. I give "A Time to Stand" an A-.