Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night (episode)
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
 |
| "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night" | ||
|---|---|---|
| DS9, Episode 6x17 Production number: 40510-541 First aired: 28 March 1998 | ||
| ← | 139th of 173 produced in DS9 | → |
| ← | 139th of 173 released in DS9 | → |
| ← | 511th of 726 released in all | → |
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| Written By Ira Steven Behr & Hans Beimler Directed By Jonathan West | ||
| Unknown (2374/2346) | ||
Dukat claims that Kira's mother was once his lover during the Occupation; Kira uses the Orb of Time to travel into the past to find the truth.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
In Quark's, Dax unsuccessfully tries to convince Worf to let her throw a party in their quarters. Quark saves them from an awkward silence by informing Worf that the holosuite is ready; once the Klingon is gone, he asks about the party. Dismayed at Dax's answer, Quark goes about his business and delivers a bouquet of Bajoran lilacs to a nearby Kira. This immediately catches Dax's interest, so she follows Kira out of the bar and onto the Promenade.
Kira has ordered the flowers for herself, despite the fact that she doesn't like getting flowers, to commemorate her late mother's 60th birthday. While she never knew her mother, she knows Bajoran lilacs were her mother's favorite. Later that night, Kira receives an encoded transmission from Dukat, who claims to have known Kira's mother. Rather than what Kira believes – that her mother died at the Singha refugee camp on Bajor – Dukat claims that her father told her that because he couldn't bear to tell his children that their mother left him for Dukat.
While Kira doesn't want to believe Dukat, too many things he claimed to know about her mother were true, and there is now significant doubt in her mind. She asks Sisko for permission to use the Orb of Time to find out for herself, because she knows the Vedek Assembly will allow her access to the Orb if the Emissary asks them. He is ambivalent about Kira's idea due to Starfleet's temporal displacement policy, but Kira firmly believes the Prophets will protect her and Sisko agrees to let her try.
Using the Orb, Kira finds herself at the refugee camp where she believes her mother died during the Occupation of Bajor. She finds her father, Kira Taban, and her mother Meru, along with herself and her brothers. A couple of Bajoran men try to force Kira's father to give them food, but Kira intervenes and is introduced to herself after she stops the men. Pressed for a name, she claims her name is Luma Rahl. Shortly thereafter, Basso Tromac, a collaborator, and two Cardassian soldiers come and collect various women, including Meru and Kira, to be "comfort women."
Kira, Meru and the others are taken to Terok Nor, where they are given fine dresses and told to clean up. In their quarters, they find fresh moba, katterpod beans, hasperat and more. Meru eagerly begins to eat but Kira wants no part of it and reminds her that she has a family back on Bajor. Kira wants to try to contact the Bajoran Resistance, which likely has a cell somewhere on the station. Meru begins to cry, as she misses her family, and Kira comforts her. It is then that Kira notices the scar on Meru's cheek from where she failed to show a Cardassian officer proper respect.
Later, Dukat welcomes the women and seems quite compassionate. When he sees Meru's scar, rather than have her thrown out he orders Basso to retrieve a dermal regenerator and fixes the scar, calling it a sign of the gulf between their peoples. The women are then taken to what will later become the wardroom, where a middle-aged Cardassian man has Kira sit on his lap and seems drunkenly amused by her visible hatred toward his kind. The other women are treated similarly. When Dukat enters, he finds a younger officer forcing himself on Meru and intervenes, apologizing profusely and having Meru sent back to her quarters. Despite the apparent compassion, the officer with Kira has seen the act before and is able to predict precisely what Dukat says to Meru, who he says is now "off limits" to the other Cardassians.
Meru is gone when Kira returns to their quarters, but Basso and two guards are there retrieving her belongings. Kira demands to see Meru and gets into a fistfight, which she inevitably loses. They take her to the fenced-off area of Terok Nor's Promenade, which is reserved for Bajoran slave laborers.
Two weeks later Kira is getting her soup from the server, who has heard word of Meru's whereabouts. He follows her to a table and claims Meru has been with Dukat on various trips. To the man, Meru is nothing but a collaborator and Kira has no reason to care for her, but Kira insists otherwise. He tries to get her to join the Resistance, but as she could affect the course of history, she does her best to stay out of such things. Their conversation is interrupted when Basso and a pair of guards arrive to take Kira away.
They take Kira through a security scanner and to Dukat and Meru's quarters, where Meru is waiting for her. Meru is the one who sent for Kira, as Kira is her only friend and she is lonely. She insists that Dukat is not a monster, making up excuses and repeating ones he has given her about the occupation. As disgusted as Kira is when Meru talks about Dukat's kindness, Meru insists that things are not so simple and that Kira does not know what she has been through. But Kira is disgusted and leaves.
Back in the ghetto area, Kira talks with the Resistance member again and gets a Bajoran earring with an explosive built into it. It has a 30-second fuse and cannot be disarmed once it has been activated. She then goes to the guards and tells them that she has decided which side of the fence she wants to be on, so they take her back to Meru.
Kira finds her with Dukat, who has a recording for Meru. As Dukat goes to an adjacent room and Meru prepares to watch the message, Kira casually slips the bomb into a flower vase. The message turns out to be from Kira's father, who talks about how well they have been treated since Meru was taken from them and how much he misses her and so on and so forth. As he talks, Meru begins to cry, and Kira realizes that her mother is not the collaborator she thought she was. Kira yells for Dukat and takes him and Meru out into the corridor, where they narrowly escape being killed by the bomb.
Suddenly, the orb experience ends and Kira finds herself back in normal time. She goes to Sisko's office, where she realizes that the line between a collaborator and a good person is not as clear-cut as she thought. In any case, her mother is a collaborator, not for sharing Dukat's bed but for enjoying it; however, she is still Kira's mother, and Kira loves her no matter what.
[edit] Memorable Quotes
"I only hope you won't condemn us all for the boorish behavior of one man."
- - Gul Dukat to Kira Meru
"Mind telling me what you're smiling about?"
"The Prophets – I never realized they had such a sense of humor. When I was a child, I dreamed of having food to eat and pretty clothes to wear, and now look at me – I have everything I ever wanted and I feel horrible."
"That is pretty funny in a horrible way."
- - Kira Nerys and Kira Meru
"I know what you're thinking – you can't wait to get us all drunk so you can kill us in our sleep."
"Are you sure you're not part Betazoid?"
- - Cardassian and Kira
"You Bajoran women are so bony."
"That's because you Cardassians eat all our food."
"I could have you executed for that kind of remark."
"And that's why we hate you all so much."
- - Cardassian and Kira
"Meru, I hope the Cardassians aren't lying to me, and that they really will send this message to you. I know it's only been a few weeks that we've been back home, but you should see the children. It's like they've been transformed. Reon and Pohl are laughing and playing together; they've never been happier, and I swear little Nerys must have gained five pounds. Of course, they keep asking for you. I've told them that you're still at the refugee center. I think that's best, at least for the time being. I can't believe how much I miss you. I think about you all the time. You've saved all our lives. I hope you realize that. Never forget it, not even for an instant. Every day, I pray to the Prophets that you'll find some peace in this new life of yours. I believe that even in the worst of times we can still find moments of joy, and kindness. If you can find that kindness, hold onto it. And remember, no matter what happens, I love you Meru. I'll always love you."
- - Kira Taban
[edit] Background Information
- This episode began life as a very different type of story than the one it ended up becoming. The original idea was to do a show about the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, who was notorious for performing bizarre and barbaric experiments on concentration camp inmates during World War II. In the episode, the ghosts of Bajoran children were to begin appearing on the station, and the crew would come to believe that they are the ghosts of children killed by a Cardassian scientist during the Occupation who carried out research on them. However, it turns out that they aren't ghosts at all - the doctor was in fact sending the children into the future to gather information for the Obsidian Order. However, the writers couldn't make the story work, and it was abandoned at the last minute. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- The writers next decided to do a show about Kira and the Occupation, which they hadn't touched on in some time, but they wanted to do something original, not just a flashback episode showing her activities during the Occupation (a la "Necessary Evil"), or a show where she meets up with some old acquaintances (a la "Shakaar"), or a show where her actions are brought to the fore (a la "The Darkness and the Light") but something completely different. At the same time, Ira Steven Behr hadn't been entirely happy with how the Kira/Dukat relationship had ended in "Sacrifice of Angels", and he began asking himself "How can we take Gul Dukat and bond him close to Kira in a way that would just make her insane." These two ideas coalesced when Bradley Thompson suggested "What if Dukat was making it with Kira's mother?" They now had a show about Terok Nor and about Kira, but from a completely new perspective. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- The title of this episode is a quotation from the 1820 Percy Bysshe Shelley lyrical drama Prometheus Unbound. The full quotation reads "To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;/To forgive wrongs darker than death or night;/To defy power which seems omnipotent;/To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates/From its own wreck the thing it contemplates;/Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent;/This, like thy glory, Titan, is to be/Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free;/This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory." It comes from Act IV, lines 572-580, serving as the epilogue of the play.
- It is revealed in this episode that Deep Space 9/Terok Nor was built in 2346. This contradicts Odo's statement in "Babel" that it was built in 2351.
- This show is a favorite amongst the writers and producers, not least because of the subtle ambiguity of the dénouement; the episode's refusal to 'push' the viewer towards a particular moral position as regards Kira Meru, the viewer is left to form their own views of her actions. According to David Weddle, "It was a muddy issue - did Kira's mother do the right thing or not? Or was it just a choice of survival for a Bajoran?" In the original version of the screenplay, there was no moral ambiguity at the end of the episode, with Kira clearly forgiving her mother and the viewers being encouraged to do likewise, but Nana Visitor argued that this wasn't true to the character of Kira, that there was no way she would be so clear about how she felt. As Visitor explains, "The writers originally had Kira feeling much more sympathetic toward her mother in the last scene of the show. Maybe Kira could be sympathetic about the subject in twenty years. But at the time, it was hard for her to deal with the fact that she hadn't killed her. In the end it is her mother. And Kira believed that the Prophets were guiding her, so I imagine she believes not killing her mother was in response to the Prophets telling her it was wrong." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- This episode continues the complicated arc dealing with the relationship between Dukat and Kira. This arc began in the second season episode "The Maquis, Part II", and continued through episodes such as "Civil Defense", "Indiscretion", "Return to Grace", "In Purgatory's Shadow", "A Time to Stand" and "Sons and Daughters". As she has always done however, Nana Visitor remains steadfast in her belief that Dukat can never earn Kira's trust or respect; "Kira can never forgive Dukat. I think it's been made very clear in the show that she's past the racist aspects of hating Cardassians. This is truly about Dukat, the individual. He's like Hitler to Kira, and there's no forgiving. She can never let go." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion) Dukat and Kira would interact once more, in the seventh season episode "Covenant".
- When Dukat tells Kira that Sisko allowed him to see behind the lies and face the truth about himself, he is referring to the episode "Waltz", where Dukat comes to realize that he truly hates the Bajoran people and he admits that he feels he should have exterminated them all during the Occupation.
- The assassination attempt to which Dukat refers in "Waltz" could be the one seen in this episode. He says it occurred on his one month anniversary, and, given the chronology established in this episode, that would seem to fit.
- Kira's two brothers were previously mentioned in second season episode "Shadowplay", although not by name.
- This episode is the first in which O'Brien and Bashir mention the Battle of the Alamo. Their holosuite recreation of this famous battle would become more important over the course of the following season.
- Thomas Kopache also played Kira Taban in the fifth season episode "Ties of Blood and Water".
- Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) does not appear in this episode.
[edit] Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 6.9, 7 September 1998.
- As part of the DS9 Season 6 DVD collection.
[edit] Links and References
[edit] Main Cast
- Avery Brooks as Benjamin Sisko
- Rene Auberjonois as Odo
- Michael Dorn as Worf
- Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax
- Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien
- Armin Shimerman as Quark
- Alexander Siddig as Julian Bashir
- Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys/Luma Rahl
[edit] Guest Stars
- Leslie Hope as Kira Meru
- Marc Alaimo as Dukat
- David Bowe as Basso Tromac
- Tim deZarn as Halb Daier
- Thomas Kopache as Kira Taban
[edit] Co-Stars
- John Marzilli as a Scavenger
- Marc Marosi as a Gul
- Judi Durand as the computer voice
- Wayne Grace as a Cardassian Legate
[edit] Uncredited Co-Stars
- Erika Guillory as a Bajoran woman
- Dennis Madalone as
- Tom Morga as a Cardassian guard
- Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn
- Unknown actress as young Kira Nerys
[edit] Uncredited Stunt Doubles
- J. Suzanne Rampe as stunt double for Leslie Hope
[edit] References
Alamo; Bajor; Bajoran earring; Bajoran lilacs; Bajoran Resistance; Battle of the Alamo; Betazoid; Cardassians; Cardassian Central Command; coil bracket; collaborator; comfort woman; deka tea; dermal regenerator; Emissary; hasperat; holodeck programs; holosuite; induction modulator; kanar; katterpod bean; Kira Reon; Kira Pohl; moba fruit; Occupation of Bajor; ore processing center; Orb of Time; Prefect; Promenade; Prophets; raktajino; Replimat; Saratoga, USS; Singha; sonic shower; soup; "spoon head"; Temple of Iponu; ultritium; veklava
[edit] External links
- Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night (episode) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Wrongs Darker than Death or Night at Wikipedia
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