Kira is abducted by a group of Pah-wraith cultists who have set up a small community on Empok Nor... and their leader is none other than Dukat. Kira seeks to expose how Dukat is using these people. (And he is.) But along the way, she discovers that Dukat may actually be a true believer.
Once again, the conceit of "a station just like Deep Space 9 that isn't Deep Space 9" saves the production a lot of money. But once again, there's a good narrative reason for setting this story aboard Empok Nor. Just as Pah-wraith worship is a perversion of Kira's faith, placing these cultists in a setting that looks just like her home makes that insult visible.
Dukat has a way of explaining Pah-wraith worship that does make some sense. If the Bajoran gods were so loving, why would they have sat idly by and allowed the Occupation? (It's a talking point paraphrased from real-world Satanic worship.) What's more, we learn in the course of this story that Dukat really does believe in the Pah-wraiths (and why wouldn't he, after being possessed by one): he prays to them in earnest, when no one is around to see him do so.
But above all of that, Dukat is as always an egomaniac, and this new incarnation of him is no exception. It just so happens that his new faith has led him to a role in which he gets to boss around Bajorans. And he's once again forcing himself upon women in no position to deny him. As ever, he needs to oppress people, and have them profess their adoration as he does it. And at the end of the story, his self-serving focus is exposed for all to see.
A life-long friend of Kira's, Vedek Fala, is included in this story as a way of shocking Kira: someone she's known forever, a spiritual guiding light in her life, has turned to the Pah-wraiths. Yet this is never a story about testing Kira's faith. Indeed, the episode lays out the theme clearly in the opening scene, in a conversation between Odo, Kira, Ezri, and Julian about religion. This is a test of forgiveness. Kira says to Odo that she'd be open to him exploring any religion, even if it's not hers -- and then along comes Vedek Fala with a religion that's definitely not hers. Perhaps this makes a liar of her, since she makes it her mission to "turn" these people. Then again, she's not looking to do that so much as she's looking to unmask their leader; you could argue that the question in play here is "does Hitler deserve forgiveness?" and I for one don't mind that the answer is a resounding "no."
The episode presents a pretty accurate picture of what it's like to be brainwashed by a cult and its influential leader. (Or by, say, a mainstream political party that has functionally morphed into a cult.) Every point of logic or reason Kira comes up with is turned aside by the Pah-wraith worshipers. Every ridiculous lie presented by Dukat is eagerly accepted over any more rational explanation that exists. Only when Dukat tries to kill them do they finally see -- and we the audience finally see that "I never meant to hurt anyone" really meant "I never thought this would hurt ME.") Even faced with irrefutable truth, some people (represented by Fala) would literally rather die than live with having been wrong.
Yeah, kind of reminiscent of current events.
Other observations:
- The Quark's bar set is redressed to serve as Dukat's temple, full of ominous reds and a fun twist on the usual Bajoran logo.
- By now, Deep Space Nine no longer worries about being self-referential, and so Kira can bring up things like the death of Jadzia, Dukat's relationship with her mother, and his disgusting obsession with her.
- Speaking of that obsession, it makes the moment when Kira awakens to find herself partially undressed especially skin-crawling.
Neither the stakes nor the danger feel especially high to me to me in this episode, and so I think for me it tops out at a B. Still, it sets the stage nicely for Dukat's role in the final arc.
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