{"id":6048,"date":"2016-12-23T13:00:06","date_gmt":"2016-12-23T21:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6048"},"modified":"2016-12-12T21:49:35","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T05:49:35","slug":"mark-watches-deep-space-nine-s06e19-in-the-pale-moonlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/12\/mark-watches-deep-space-nine-s06e19-in-the-pale-moonlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Deep Space Nine’: S06E19 – In the Pale Moonlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of Deep Space Nine<\/i>, I can live with that. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Allow me to get a lil’ philosophical and political about Star Trek.<\/p>\n

I can’t begin to claim myself as an expert of the show by any means. Just logistically, that’s impossible; I’ve still got less than half of Voyager<\/i> and barely over a season of Deep Space Nine <\/i>to make it through, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got all of Enterprise<\/i> to experience. All I can talk about is what I’ve perceived this far. For its time, The Original Series<\/i> was mind-blowing. (And hell, I even pointed out ways in which in remained ahead of its time.) it proposed a world free of racism and poverty and bigotry, which meant it inherently argued that these things were social ills, aspects of the world that we should strive to do without. You can see Roddenberry’s vision and tone all over The Next Generation<\/i> as well. Some of that comes from the same desire for parity in the world. (Though a desire didn’t always manifest as an actuality.\u00c2\u00a0 The road to hell…) But there’s a hopefulness spread across all seven seasons of that show. It’s a liberal fantasy in a number of ways, namely in that good intentions, a strong moral code, and democratic ideals can be wrapped in a military-esque structure to give us a utopia. The characters often sought out non-aggressive solutions to their problems; they believed the best of each other and the species and cultures they met; the end of Next Generation<\/i> is about the hope they all had for a better future.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not setting up a segue to talk about the grim nature of Deep Space Nine<\/i>, though. Roddenberry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hope and vision for the future still exists within this show. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just that the writers are so much more brutally honest about what that actually means. How does a force like the Federation deal with something as pure evil as the Dominion? Can they maintain their squeaky clean image in the face of absolute immorality and terror? And what does that say about humanity?<\/p>\n

Those are a lot of hefty questions to ask about the whole of Star Trek<\/i>, and yet I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but re-examine Trek<\/i> because of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the Pale Moonlight.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d There are elements of this that are unsurprising. Sisko has always been the riskiest leader of a Star Trek<\/i> crew. Need I remind you that he met Q and punched Q in the face? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also the kind of leader who is far more of a pragmatist than Kirk, Picard, or Janeway. (That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a negative feature for those other captains, for the record.) Seeing him take such huge risks to get the Romulans to join the war against the Dominion felt exactly like the character I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d grown to love over these six seasons. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the key here: at no point did I doubt his characterization.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also stated numerous times (probably much to the delight of all of you) that Deep Space Nine<\/i> has been willing to go to a much darker place than past Trek <\/i>shows. Again, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not into grimness for the sake of it, and I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t claim this show was truly dark at its core. Instead, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a show about good intentions and the sometimes horrific, messy things that come of that. These characters mean well, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re allowed to fail. To have very visible flaws. To disagree with one another, sometimes over multiple episodes. As the show became more serialized and more complicated, I became more impressed with the commitment we got from the writers.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the Pale Moonlight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is no exception, and if we hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t already gotten \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Visitor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Far Beyond the Stars,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I would have claimed that this was the best Trek<\/i> had to offer. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entertaining and pleasing to tell stories of hope and wonder. But what about asking how<\/i> that hope and wonder comes about? Coming off the heels of both of the previous two episodes, this is a trilogy: three stories that all ask difficult questions and given even more uncomfortable answers.<\/p>\n

Before I close this off with praise of Avery Brooks (I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ready!!!), though, I need to talk about context. What Sisko and Garak do here is horrifying in a number of ways, all of which are detailed in that excruciating scene at the end of the episode. Garak killed multiple people: Tolar, the criminal they used to fake the data rod. Vreenak, who was guilty of a lack of interest in the suffering of others; Vreenak\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crew and guards, who aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even mentioned in passing after Sisko discovers what Garak did. And at no point is Garak shy about what he did to guarantee that the Romulans would turn against the Dominion; why should he be? Sisko knew who he was enlisting to help him lie<\/i> to Vreenak.<\/p>\n

Thus, I feel this story is less about guilt \u00e2\u20ac\u201c though that plays a huge part in the framing of the fourth-wall-breaking logs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and more about complicity<\/i>. One of my big complaints about the rise and fall of the Maquis is how The Next Generation, Voyager, <\/i>and Deep Space Nine<\/i> failed to address accountability. (More so the former of the three.) The Federation was complicit in ruining the lives of everyone who suddenly found themselves in Cardassian territory because of a treaty, and thus, it always felt immensely unfair that the Maquis were never given their due for a very<\/i> justifiable grievance with the Federation. This episode does not make that sort of mistake. Instead of doing whatever they can to justify the heroes, the writers for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the Pale Moonlight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d just outright state that the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153heroes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d have done some deplorable in order to benefit the greater good. Their intentions might have been good, but the cost was multiple<\/i> lives.<\/p>\n

How does Sisko live with that knowledge? If the show never addresses this episode again, I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see that as an oversight. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see it as Sisko calmly compartmentalizing what was done, accepting the guilt as part of a grander scheme. Is that fucked up? Of course it is. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s real<\/i>. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I called The Next Generation <\/i>a liberal fantasy. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s much easier to never talk about these kind of decisions or stories because they muddle our understanding of reality. I meet progressive-minded folks all the time who prefer a more sanitized version of the world, who want to ignore how many people Obama has deported or bombed with drone strikes. They viewed radical critiques of Hillary as nothing more than misogyny or in-fighting. They see a political landscape of good intentions, catchy slogans, and moral detachment.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the Pale Moonlight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d allows no such aspirations. And I would be a fool if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t praise the major keystone to all of this: Avery Brooks. There is no finer actor in all of Trek<\/i>, and his performance here (and in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Far Beyond the Stars\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) is evidence that the production team for Deep Space Nine<\/i> found someone special and immensely talented in this man. The decision to film the logs with such an arresting and urgent framing made Brooks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s performance shine through, and it is all the more devastating because of it.<\/p>\n

I know for a fact now that Deep Space Nine<\/i> is my favorite Trek<\/i> series.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the Pale Moonlight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b>
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0 Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"