Mark Watches ‘Deep Space Nine’: S06E06 – Sacrifice of Angels

In the sixth episode of the sixth season of Deep Space Nine, how is this show real? If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek. 

What do I even say about this show at this point? It just feels so much bigger and scarier and bolder than the rest of Star Trek, and I love it. SO SO SO SO MUCH.

The Battle

I’ll try to go through this chronologically because there’s so much to cover. What a monumental story! Yet even the individual pieces are compelling and exciting, too. The opening of “Sacrifice of Angels” felt like one of the biggest battles in the entire Star Trek universe, both in terms of the effects and the sheer scope of it. It was just so pretty, and even if I didn’t see thousands of ships on the screen, it certainly felt like it. The show had a responsibility in those sequences: to get the audience to feel like this was a David vs. Goliath kind of combat, the sort of thing where one side was the clear underdog. Visually, that’s definitely achieved, but it’s also accomplished through other parts of the story. Having Gul Dukat predict Sisko’s move made this feel even more impossible.

That’s something that happens over and over again, though. As Sisko tries to break through the blockade, we discover that Damar has Kira, Leeta, and Jake locked up, eliminating practically every chance they have of sabotaging the plan to destroy the minefield. Later on, when Quark finally jumps into the action and frees the others, we tragically learn that they’re too late.

But more on that specific plot in a bit. The point I wanted to make was that this battle doesn’t unfold unrealistically. The Federation is largely trounced by the Dominion forces, and if it wasn’t for the Klingon’s last-minute appearance, I don’t know that Sisko would have succeeded.

Quark

I am so pleased that this show is finally pushing Quark in a new direction. He already had to question his morals last season, but this episode shoves him off a cliff and into an entirely new world. Sure, he still frames much of the action in terms of his own business, but there’s a stark moment in “Sacrifice of Angels” that demonstrates a change in him. As he watches Leeta, Kira, and Jake escorted out of his bar (which is just after he dismissed Kira’s bomb idea!), he realizes that he is the sole person left who might be able to stop the destruction of the minefield. The writers brilliantly portray Quark not as the suddenly-heroic-savior, but instead paint him as uncertain. Frightened. Awkward. He has an idea, but no idea how to execute it. Watch his scenes as he tricks the Cardassian guard with Ziyal, or where he confronts the two Jem’Hadar soldiers guarding the cells. He never knows the right thing to say, and he’s not intimidating by any stretch of the word. This is all new to him!

And yet, he still does it. Not only that, but there’s not an emotional victory after he kills the two Jem’Hadar soldiers. Again, that moment reminded me how new he was to this. He’s not used to killing as a last resort; it’s never been an option for him. I wonder, then, if we’ll see the ramifications of this.

Odo

I had hoped that eventually, Odo would refuse what the Changeling offered him, and while I’m pleased that he did, I also hope that this show addresses the ramifications of his reluctance. He still betrayed those close to him, and many of his friends could have died if he hadn’t betrayed the Dominion at the last moment. At the same time, manipulation is a hard thing to shake. Odo was so horribly indoctrinated by the Changeling leader, though thankfully, it could never completely erase his desire for Kira. While that may have been his saving grace, it’s not exactly the best reason for opposing the Changeling, you know? At least in Kira’s eyes, I suspect that Odo’s relationship with her will be… well, complicated. That’s probably the best word I can come up with.

Ziyal

What a tragic character, y’all. Split between worlds – and not accepted fully on either one of them – Ziyal made a choice in “Sacrifice of Angels.” She sacrificed a potential relationship with her father so that she could do the right thing in her eyes. She helped Quark break his friends out of Security, and in doing so, she guaranteed the fall of Terok Nor. In making this choice, though, she had found somewhere she belonged. She wanted to be on that station, a place full of varied species and people who cared for her and fought for her. (Admittedly, I completely forgot about her infatuation with Garak until the show reminded me of it.) That was where she belonged.

AND THEN DAMAR HAD TO EXECUTE HER FOR TREASON AND I AM BACK TO WISHING KIRA WOULD HAVE MURDERED HIM BECAUSE I HATE HIM SO MUCH. My god, I just get so sad thinking about Ziyal.

The Emissary and the Penance 

It’s fairly common in military battles like the one we see here for there to be some last-minute solution that pulls our heroes out of hell and puts them on the path to victory. You could argue that Worf and the Klingons’ appearance fits that, and you’d be right. But “Sacrifice of Angels” subverts this twice, and both times, it’s bewildering. That’s a good thing, though! The story is not just more surprising because of it; we’re given depth that otherwise might not have been there.

Firstly, Rom fails to stop the weapons on Terok Nor in time, and the minefield is destroyed. IT WAS SUCH A DISTRESSING MOMENT. And without it, you wouldn’t have the second subversion either! If the minefield had stayed intact, then Sisko would never have ordered the Defiant into the wormhole. There, he never would have had that mind-blowing interaction with the wormhole aliens, the Bajoran Prophets. See, you could easily categorize their interjection into the action as a deus ex machina, which is intentional. But the writers take it a step further: if Sisko invokes the gods to solve his problem, then he has to pay a price later.

Even then, it’s not that simple. Yes, the wormhole aliens state that Sisko will pay penance later, but the whole thing is technically their fault anyway. The only reason this conflict arose is because they refused to let Sisko sacrifice himself to save Bajor and Deep Space Nine. Of course, I have to wonder: exactly what did they mean by penance??? What price will he have to pay???

I’m scared. But by gods, that episode was a work of art, and I’m so pleased by season six so far. And I’ve just barely gotten started with it!

The video for “Sacrifice of Angels” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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