S06.E19: In the Pale Moonlight

[John Potts]

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Captain Benjamin Sisko works with Elim Garak to trick the Romulans into joining the war against the Dominion.

I could say a lot about this episode... in fact, I already have  (staring at the 45 minute mark). Whatever anyone else says, I'll always regard this as the most definitive DS9 episode for its relentless adherence to not having truth conquering all, but saying sometimes, good people have to do bad things. And rewatching the series live, I had forgotten that this comes straight after Inquisition, so they really were committing to the cynical theme rather than Trek's more utopian ideals. However, the intrusion of "real world" ideas into the Trek-verse does pose one problem: there is absolutely no way Sisko's plot would remain secret in anything but the very short run - there are just too many people that are involved in (at least part of) the conspiracy for it not to be exposed by any competent intelligence agency and we are led to believe that the two parties who would be pouring over it (the Dominion and the Tal Shiar) are very competent indeed. I guess Garak does sort of cover that when he says that Dominion denials will only serve to confirm that the were responsible and once the Romulans attack the Dominion, they would be committed to pursuing the war, even if they realised they'd been duped into it - however much it might poison Romulan-Federation relations afterward (very like the USA-USSR post war relationship, although that wartime Alliance occurred purely thanks to the hubris of their enemies, not some devious (British?) plot to bring them into the Second World War).

Also, there are so many great lines in this episode:

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Benjamin Sisko: My father always used to say that "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." I laid the first stone right there. I'd committed myself. I'd pay any price, go to any lengths, because my cause was righteous, my... intentions were good.

 

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Elim Garak: I've locked him in his quarters. I've also left him with the distinct impression that if he attempts to force the door open, it may explode.

Benjamin Sisko: I hope that's just an impression.

Elim Garak: It's best not to dwell on such minutiae.

 

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Vreenak: So... you're the Commander of Deep Space Nine and the Emissary to the Prophets, decorated combat officer, widower, father, mentor and oh yes, the man who started the war with the Dominion. Somehow, I thought you'd be taller.

Benjamin Sisko: Sorry to disappoint you.

Vreenak: To be honest, my opinion of Starfleet Officers is so low, you'd have to work very hard indeed to disappoint me.

Edited July 5, 2017 by John Potts

[BigBeagle]

My favorite DS9 episode, for many reasons, mostly because it was such a left turn from so many Star Trek episodes, but also because it was just so damned good.

While we're talking about quotes, my favorite from the episode:

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Garak: That's why you came to me, isn't it, Captain? Because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? Well, it worked. And you'll get what you want: a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain.

Edited July 6, 2017 by BigBeagle

[Melgaypet]

That was a great speech by Garak. Garak was brilliant this episode. (The nitpicker in me has to point out that Garak is not counting the deaths of Vreenak's aides/bodyguards in his tally, though it wouldn't change his point.)

This is one of my favorite episodes, not just is DS9, not just of Star Trek, but of television.

[John Potts]

20 hours ago, BigBeagle said:

While we're talking about quotes, my favorite from the episode:

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Garak: That's why you came to me, isn't it, Captain? Because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? Well, it worked. And you'll get what you want: a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal, and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain.

Weird - I could've sworn I'd included that in the submission, but while I DID clip the start of that Garak speech, it cuts out before that bit (I guess that's what I get for using YouTube as my source).

As a Nitpicker, I would point out that Sisko protests that there aren't 200 litres of McGuffin in the Sector... and yet he expects Bashir to produce 85 litres in a couple of days (which he does, under protest), so either the Federation has stockpiles of EVIL chemicals (available to Medical Officers "just because") or it's pretty easy to make (which seems doubtful or the guy wouldn't want it so much).

But that's not going to stop me loving it!

[readster]

Same here, still a favorite of mine. It is still a well done episode from writing to acting with just a few nitpicks. 

[iMonrey]

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 I'll always regard this as the most definitive DS9 episode for its relentless adherence to not having truth conquering all, but saying sometimes, good people have to do bad things. And rewatching the series live, I had forgotten that this comes straight after Inquisition, so they really were committing to the cynical theme rather than Trek's more utopian ideals.

I agree with this completely. These sorts of episodes set DS9 apart from the other Trek shows (which is why I am frustrated more often than not by it when it devolves into tedious character study episodes). It also shows how much they can do with limited budget. This episode did not need expensive CGI battle scenes and a lot of ships firing at each other. It worked behind the scenes with people rather than special effects and moved the war in a new direction without the muscle or the flash. 

I do have to confess, though, that some of Sisko's monologues expose the weaknesses in Avery Brooks. There are times he tends to over-emote, and long-winded, exposition-heavy monologues are not his forte. There was some serious over-acting going on at times here that kind of made me cringe a little bit.

[rmontro]

On 7/7/2017 at 7:12 AM, John Potts said:

I would point out that Sisko protests that there aren't 200 litres of McGuffin in the Sector... and yet he expects Bashir to produce 85 litres in a couple of days (which he does, under protest)

Well, I'm not sure exactly what a "Sector" is, but maybe DS9 is the only Federation facility in this particular Sector, and therefore Bashir has the entire supply?

I'm glad Sisko told the computer to erase his log entry at the end, because I kept thinking that it was going to be incrimination.  I was also wondering how he was going to explain ordering Bashir to give him that "micromimetic gel" or whatever it was.

Another way to look at this is perhaps Sisko did the Romulans a favor by dragging them into the war?  If the Dominion conquered the rest of the Alpha Quadrant and then decided to go after the Romulans, they would have no allies to support them.   

[MisterGlass]

I believe it was biomimetic gel.  It's been mentioned in other episodes as a medical supply.  And I agree, the station is the primary Federation outpost in the sector, so the supply would be concentrated there.  In fact, the station is probably a major resupply hub, and that would explain why there was as much as there was on hand.

It's interesting to consider what this episode and the conspiracy look like from the outside.  The Klingons know that they released a prisoner to the Federation.  Bashir knows he was ordered to give up a potentially dangerous medical supply for classified reasons.  Quark knows the Captain covered for an acquaintance.  Station security knows that a ship on a secret mission docked at the station.  Knowing only one piece of the puzzle, it's hard to imagine what the rest of it looks like.  In time of war, there would be many possible explanations for each item.