Star Trek 328: The Maquis, Part II

328. The Maquis, Part II

FORMULA: Journey's End + The Wounded + The Circle

WHY WE LIKE IT: Dukat, Dukat, Dukat.

WHY WE DON'T: Cal Hudson - still the weak link.

REVIEW: While I still can't get interested in Cal Hudson despite the fact he's meant to be a mirror image of Sisko, Part II of The Maquis is a real winner. Sisko's world of grays is eloquently described in his "The trouble is Earth" speech, which also becomes a mission statement for DS9's darker vision of Roddenberry's future. In essence, while the frontier still falls short of Star Trek's ideals, this show's characters still try to do the right thing. It's not as easy for them as it is for previous crews, which makes their achievements all the greater. "It's easy to be a saint in paradise."

Again, Dukat makes himself a star of the show, getting his licks in when he's being "tortured" by the Maquis, or when intimidating a Xepolite ("Stop counting! Stop counting!") Indeed, the script is full of wit. "Vulcans appreciate good ears," and all that. But Dukat is essentially being sold down the river, and being a superman isn't necessarily going to save him. Nechayev's unreasonable demands seem tame in comparison.

The Quark/Sakonna subplot pays off here, with Quark's business sense overcoming the Vulcan's logic. This is a very good way to use Quark, I must say. He wins a small intellectual battle, but Sisko's victory is only ever pyrrhic. This is Deep Space 9 after all. Stuff to look out for includes the first description of Cardassian trials (which weakens Tribunal a little by revealing too much too soon, I'm afraid) and the Peregrine-class fighters (there's a nice shot with the camera mounted on its top).

LESSON: "And he was never seen again" isn't necessarily a negative comment.

REWATCHABILITY - High: If Deep Space 9 multi-parters are determined to have better pay-offs than set-ups, who am I to argue.