6x06 Sacrifice of Angels (2)

[7.8/10] I always forget that Deep Space Nine is a spiritual show, one as steeped in religion and mystical elements as it is in the more traditional science fiction that’s been Star Trek’s usual trademark. I shouldn’t, though. The mysticism has been there from the beginning, and Sisko’s visions have only become more salient once the plague of locusts descended upon Bajor during this opening gambit of the Dominion War.

But the way that the spiritual element of Deep Space Nine tends to lurk as an undercurrent beneath major events, rather than an overwhelming wave, means the writers can still use that aspect of the show to surprise you. “Sacrifice of Angels” does that beautifully.

I’ll admit, I thought I had this raging climax pegged. Sisko makes his grand move. Dukat counters. The Klingon cavalry comes in to give the good guys the edge they need. The Dominion’s nonetheless ready to set off the mines and give themselves an insurmountable advantage. Kira, Rom, and the rest of the resistance act to sabotage the occupiers. Badda bing, badda boom! Sisko and company storm in and retake the station. All is well again.

Would it be a little too tidy? Sure. But Deep Space Nine had laid enough groundwork to where it would still come off like an earned victory.

Instead, “Sacrifice of Angels” zigged where I expected the story to zag. The moment where Rom declares he’s successfully thwarted the Dominion from destroying the mines, only to realize that he’s a second too late, and Damar has now removed the only impediment to thousands of Jem’Hadar ships pouring through the wormhole, is a genuine shock. A loss like that, a failure with so much on the lines, is a big gut punch, one that took me aback given how much the show seemed to be setting up Sisko’s victory.

That’s a good thing! It’s nice to be surprised, especially when the surprise isn’t some out-of-nowhere twist, but rather the bad guys being (gasp) competent enough in their own right to stave off our heroes’ last minute rally. Sometimes in real life the villains have their stuff together too and pull out a win, however demoralizing it may be. It’s nice to see the antagonists’ planning, preparation, and strategic acumen pay off too, and not just the courage and boldness of the characters we’re rooting for inevitably winning out.

Enter the Prophets. While savvy watchers could predict a last minute save from the Klingons, the involvement of the wormhole aliens caught me by surprise, at least. In hindsight, it seems natural that eventually they’d get involved somehow, given that the Dominion invasion was proceeding through their “celestial temple”.

I appreciate the fact that, as usual, they’re generally detached and unconcerned by our corporeal squabbles. True to form, their only concern is for “The Sisko” trying to sacrifice himself to protect his allies and “end the game.” While a daring gambit to retake the station would have been plenty satisfying, there’s something much more true to the spirit of Deep Space Nine in the fact that it takes more than a sharp military maneuver, instead a plea, nay a demand, made upon disinterested gods, to save the Federation’s bacon.

Most of all, I love how much of it hinges on Bajor, the planet and people who have always been the linchpin of the series. Sisko’s case to the Prophets isn’t merely founded on his own life; it’s founded on the idea that these beings, however disconnected from temporal existence they claim to be, are “of Bajor,” and must act to protect it. The Emissary commanding them, through both logic and emotional appeal, rather than merely reacting to them, marks a vital new phase in his relationship with the Prophets. It takes courage and an attempt at self-sacrifice to get their attention in the first place, and then a willingness to stand up to gods themselves to claim their intervention.

So when the 2,800 Jem’Hadar ships disappear into thin air, rather than arriving to strengthen The Dominion’s hold on the Alpha Quadrant, that development manages to feel earned too. It would be easy for a divine thumb on the scale to come off like a deus ex machina. But in addition to Sisko’s attempt at martyrdom and advocacy to the divine to make it happen, their aid comes at a cost.

In just the last episode, we heard about how Benjamin intends to make his home on Bajor. The price of the Prophets’ assistance is that he’s now fated to “find no rest there.” In that, Benjamin Sisko becomes a Moses figure, someone able to lead his people to the promised land, but not able to enter it himself. If you invoke the gods on their side, or other fantastical happenings, there has to be some cost or limitation, otherwise the victory feels cheap. Deep Space Nine knows that, and makes sure this supernatural victory comes both with some legitimate dangers and some real strings attached.

Apart from the grand triumph, there are, as expected, some wonderful character moments sprinkled into the proceedings. In contrast to past episodes where Quark sold out the good guy in order to line his pockets with latinum, here he’s the last line of defense when Damar throws Kira, Jake, and Leeta into a holding cell with Rom as a “precautionary” measure. Seeing him step up to the plate to help his friends, and his flabbergasted catatonia after he takes out a couple of Jem’Hadar guards, is an altruistic high point for the character.

There are smaller moments that still leave an impression. There’s a nice contrast between Dukat counting his victory chickens before they’ve hatched, while Weyoun counsels caution, knowing the variable possibilities of war and the challenges of holding a “prize” like the Federation, in a sign of who’s blinded by ambition and self-satisfaction and who sees the situation with more clarity. There’s a plain difference between them, in how Weyoun puts on a bright smile but isn’t afraid of wholesale slaughter, while Dukat talks a big game but ultimately wants to be loved by his people, not seen as a conqueror.

Of course, one of the most powerful moments here comes from Odo, who switches sides again at the last minute when he realizes what siding with the Founders would mean. I still wish he’d been a bad guy for more than a few scenes to make his heel turn and face turn come with more meaning. But it’s still a hell of a moment when Kira and Rom get their bacon saved from the Jem’Hadar by mysterious Bajoran gunfire, only to see that Odo’s come to rescue them.

And even if it doesn’t excuse his betrayal in the first instance, the fact that Odo is willing to give up, or at least delay, his entry into paradise, if it comes at the cost of Kira’s life, is a sign of his abiding love for her. There is, as always, much more that needs to be worked out between the two of them. Odo’s treachery can’t be swept under the rug despite his good acts right now. But saving the galaxy, and doing not for a general good, but to save Kira’s life specifically, is a big first step.

The first step back onto DS9, though, belongs to Captain Sisko, who earns a barrel of bloodwine from General Martok for the honor, something that cements the camaraderie they’ve developed after charging into battle and achieving great victory together. In an amusingly ironic note, Dr. Bashir and Chief O’Brien are still keen to playact the Battle of Britain after fighting in a real war. Dax and Worf are blissfully reunited with a wedding on the way.

You will find few moments more triumphant in all of Star Trek than Benjamin retaking the station to the raucous cheers of his comrades, entering as the champion liberator of a home he once wanted to abandon as quickly as possible. The victory is joyful and jubilant, in a way that only comes with a commitment to challenging the status quo for a long stretch in a way that makes this homecoming as glorious as it should be.

Well, not for everyone. By the end of things, Gul Dukat is a mess. He has been a brutal villain here: commandeering our heroes’ home, being a creep with Kira, selling out Cardassia’s civilian government to a bigger conqueror. Yet, in a tribute to both Deep Space Nine’s writing, and Marc Alaimo’s performance, Dukat is full of genuine, pitiable pathos amid a loss so devastating.

Because in the final tally, Dukat has lost everything. He was so close to the victory he’d long wanted, and it took a literal act of god for it to slip through his fingers. He wants desperately to be loved, to have the power to force his people to respect him, and on the brink of success, he is instead brought low and humiliated again.

And if that weren’t enough, he loses his daughter too. I’ve never been a big fan of Ziyal as a character, but it’s undeniable that she’s carried meaning for Dukat. She is a daughter whose existence threatened his position, but whose status as his own flesh and blood he could not turn away from. She is the last vestige of a relationship with someone he loved. And she is the symbol of belief in the good of him, in forgiveness and love despite, albeit not because, of what he’s done.

So when Damar kills her for her treachery, the last stable part of him is shattered. All he can do is mutter his forgiveness to a dead girl. Marc Alaimo gives the performance of a lifetime, of a wounded animal whose soul is shattered in a matter of hours. He is not just defeated in all of this; he is well and truly broken. And as much as the series makes this victory feel triumphant for those who ought to come out on top, it also sells the personal tragedy of someone who thought he’d finally achieved his dreams, only to lose everything he hoped for and held dear, in a few miserable moments.

The Prophets work in mysterious ways. A terrible villain becomes a sympathetic broken man. An amoral swindler becomes the hero the station needed in its most desperate hour. An ageless being divorced from the concerns of mere mortals becomes their champion due to his love of one of their number. A hopelessly overmatched military commander becomes the lever of the gods. There is a certain magic in the storytelling of Deep Space Nine. Always has been. And in one of the show’s brightest hours, it’s made manifest once more.