{"id":5965,"date":"2016-11-16T13:00:15","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T21:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5965"},"modified":"2016-10-30T15:43:41","modified_gmt":"2016-10-30T22:43:41","slug":"mark-watches-deep-space-nine-s06e06-sacrifice-of-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/11\/mark-watches-deep-space-nine-s06e06-sacrifice-of-angels\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Deep Space Nine’: S06E06 – Sacrifice of Angels"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixth episode of the sixth season of\u00c2\u00a0Deep Space Nine<\/i>, how is this show real? If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re intrigued, then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>, and I love it. SO SO SO SO MUCH.<\/p>\n

The Battle<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll try to go through this chronologically because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much to cover. What a monumental story! Yet even the individual pieces are compelling and exciting, too. The opening of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sacrifice of Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u009d felt like one of the biggest battles in the entire\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0universe, both in terms of the effects and the sheer scope of it. It was just so\u00c2\u00a0pretty<\/i>, and even if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definitely achieved, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also accomplished through other parts of the story. Having Gul Dukat predict Sisko\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s move made this feel even more impossible.<\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re too late.<\/p>\n

But more on that specific plot in a bit. The point I wanted to make was that this battle doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t unfold unrealistically. The Federation is largely trounced by the Dominion forces, and if it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t for the Klingon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last-minute appearance, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that Sisko would have succeeded.<\/p>\n

Quark<\/b><\/p>\n

I am so pleased that this show is\u00c2\u00a0finally<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0pushing 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a stark moment in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sacrifice of Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hadar soldiers guarding the cells. He never knows the right thing to say, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not intimidating by any stretch of the word. This is all new to him!<\/p>\n

And yet,\u00c2\u00a0he still does it<\/i>. Not only that, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not an emotional victory after he kills the two Jem\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hadar soldiers. Again, that moment reminded me how new he was to this. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not used to killing as a last resort; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0never<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0been an option for him. I wonder, then, if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see the ramifications of this.<\/p>\n

Odo<\/b><\/p>\n

I had hoped that eventually, Odo would refuse what the Changeling offered him, and while I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not exactly the best reason for opposing the Changeling, you know? At least in Kira\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes, I suspect that Odo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship with her will be\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, complicated. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably the best word I can come up with.<\/p>\n

Ziyal<\/b><\/p>\n

What a tragic character, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Split between worlds \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and not accepted fully on either one of them \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Ziyal made a choice in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sacrifice of Angels.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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.<\/p>\n

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\u00c2\u00a0sad<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0thinking about Ziyal.<\/p>\n

The Emissary and the Penance\u00c2\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 appearance fits that, and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be right. But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sacrifice of Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u009d subverts this twice, and both times, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bewildering. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good thing, though! The story is not just more surprising because of it; we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re given depth that otherwise might not have been there.<\/p>\n

Firstly, Rom fails to stop the weapons on\u00c2\u00a0Terok Nor<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0in time, and the minefield is destroyed. IT WAS SUCH A DISTRESSING MOMENT. And without it, you wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the second subversion either! If the minefield had stayed intact, then Sisko would never have ordered the\u00c2\u00a0Defiant<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0into 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\u00c2\u00a0deus ex machina<\/i>, 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.<\/p>\n

Even then, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00c2\u00a0what<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0did they mean by penance??? What price will he have to pay???<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m scared. But by gods, that episode was a work of art, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so pleased by season six so far. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve just barely gotten started with it!<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sacrifice of Angels\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here 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":"