3x04 Equilibrium

[5.8/10] The Trill are one of the most interesting species in Star Trek. The combination of a joined species, a selective culture, and a cocktail of multiple life experiences represented within a single person makes them ripe for exploration and fascination. Throw in the a trans metaphor that more than one writer and fan latched onto, and there’s so much can be done when examining an individual Trill, or their community as a whole, within Star Trek’s pantheon.

But you have to actually capitalize on that potential! “Equilibrium” isn’t the worst episode of Star Trek there’s ever been, but it’s a deadly dull one, that buries or breezes by the most interesting elements of its story. After playing a particular melody even she doesn’t remember, Dax is sent into a spiral of hallucinations and illness that require Sisko and Bashir to take her back to her homeworld. As Dax’s condition worsens, the two are forced to play detective on this alien planet, uncovering the hidden secret that could be the key to curing her.

Mystery stories are nothing new for Star Trek. If I had a nickel for every time a member of Starfleet had strange visions that turned out to be a repressed memory, or some form of alien possession, or a bad guy messing with their heads, I could afford to pay of Morn’s tab at Quark’s. So when Dax starts hallucinating spooky things and acting testy toward her friends, it’s not hard to guess what shape the story is going to take.

That said, this one seemed pretty easy to guess. Granted, I’ve watched this show before, so while I didn’t remember this particular episode, maybe the knowledge was buried deep down in my brain somewhere and nudged me toward the correct answer. Or maybe I just know Trek tropes like the back of my hand so it wasn’t hard to figure out what was happening. Whatever the reason, the reveal that Dax’s anger and visions are the product of a vengeful, murderous former host she didn’t know about comes as something of an anticlimactic solution.

“Equilibrium” is also a very talky episode. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Despite the exhilarating start to the season, not every episode of Deep Space Nine needs dogfights and explosions. But the pace is glacial and the dialogue is full of ham-handed exposition, rather than philosophical explorations of the issues at hand. Ninety percent of the episode is Sisko and Bashir yakking their way through a pretty boring mystery, without anyone making choices that are particularly clever or surprising to solve it. For that matter, Terry Farrel continues to struggle to make her performance feel real, and so an episode founded on her emotional state starts at a deficit. The result is that there’s no zip or thrill to this one, which leaves even the theoretically interesting parts of the episode dead in the water.

That said, the episode does have a couple of things in its favor. For one, Dax’s hallucinations are nicely spooky. Showing a mysterious man who wears masks underneath masks is, perhaps, not the most original way to chill the audience or dramatize someone trying to remember someone they can’t quite dredge up. But even if these are standard devices, the execution of them is eye-catching and comes with a mood that buoys the proceedings.

For another, it’s just cool to get to visit Trill and see a little of the species’ society in action. Sure, the planet is basically just two soundstages, but getting to hear Dax reminisce about the tough life of an initiate and return to the lab where she was tested and trained helps add to the sense of place. Plus, as Star Trek settings go, the underground network of caves with freestanding symbionts swimming through milky goop while devoted attendants cater to their every need is a memorable one. “Equilibrium” starts to fully realize parts of Trill culture and community that would run from here all the way to Discovery decades later.

The problem is that the episode devolves into a tired conspiracy plot, the likes of which Trekkies have seen dozens of times before. Sure, there’s stakes when the Trill council would rather let Jadzia die than reveal the truth about them allowing the Dax symbiont to join with an unsuitable, unbalanced, violent host. But there’s very little in the way of captivating incident between the first hints of a problem and the big reveal to keep the audience invested and, frankly, awake along the way.

More to the point, “Equilibrium” doesn’t spend any time on the parts of his premise that are most compelling. Sisko and Bashir discover that, contrary to the Trill leadership’s protestations that only one in a thousand Trill can be joined, nearly half of their population is at least biologically fit for the task. But the Trill officials keep the lie going, lest symbionts be turned into prizes, or commodities, rather than the revered honor their longstanding system makes it out to be.

That’s tremendous fodder for one of the grand philosophical dilemmas that are the stock and trade of Star Trek! Is it right to lie to an entire population in order to protect living symbionts from being turned into chattel? Even if that were ethical, is it the Trill leadership’s place to decide who does and doesn’t get to have the honor, and are their standards fair? Even if it weren’t, would it be Starfleet officers’ right to interfere? And if they could, how do you weigh the need to save the life of an individual they both love and care for against the needs of an entire society?

“Equilibrium” engages in none of this. There are zero scenes of Sisko, Dax, Bashir, or anyone considering these issues. Benjamin simply says, “Don’t kill Jadzia or we’ll spill the beans” and that’s it. There’s some of that trademark Star Trek morality when Sisko insists that Jadzia be revived so she can choose for herself, but even that’s glancing.

Even there, the episode skips right over the juiciest part of the character work. The anchor of the episode has been Jadzia grappling with this part of her she doesn’t recognize or understand, something that haunts her. What must it be like, to learn that some part of you is a murderer, that a brief but meaningful part of your identity is as someone unbalanced and violent? Would you be able to cope with that, and if so, how would you find peace?

“Equilibrium” doesn’t care. All Dax has to do is wade into a milk bath, embrace her alter ego, and suddenly all is well. There’s no struggle, no difficulty, just one big soggy hug and everything’s better. Charitably, you can chalk it up the episode’s message of accepting your past rather than trying to compartmentalize it as the means to wellness, but it’s pretty thin.

The whole episode is. The conspiracy plot barely has enough material for a half hour, let alone a full hour. Farrell isn’t yet capable of carrying the episode through the emotions of her performance. And the languid pace and talky construction leave the story dramatically inert.

The only thing this episode has in its favor is that the Trill are inherently interesting. From the glimpse we have of their homeworld, to the questionable calls of their leaders, to the psychological impact of a sublimated identity, the heart of this species remains a treat for the mind. But even the most interesting species would be sunk by an episode this predictable and lifeless.