4x11 Homefront (1)

[8.0/10] For my money, the 2003 Battlestar Galactica reboot is the definitive cinematic reflection of the War on Terror era. Series creator Ronald D. Moore got his start in Star Trek, and borrowed more than a few concepts from Deep Space Nine. The hidden enemies, the moral complexities of decisions amid war, the balance between military and civilian concerns present in an episode like “Homefront” all made their way to his later show. They had a particular resonance in an era where America was afraid of unpredictable terror attacks in the wake of 9/11, and the question of the day was how much liberty we would justify sacrificing for security.

So why is “Homefront”, an episode released six years before the September 11th attacks, so eerily prescient of all these topics? The best answer I have is that the issues Deep Space Nine raises are ones the United States has grappled with since its founding, and that humanity has contended with for much longer. What do we do in the face of threats that, for all our might, seem impossible to stop? What civil liberties do we preserve no matter what and which, if any, do we relax under dire circumstances?

If you didn’t know better, you’d mistake this episode as an allegory for the War on Terror, like much of BSG was. But like TNG’s “The Drumhead”, it is, instead, a sign that these concerns are sadly evergreen, as much a live concern in the era of world wars and red scares as in the one that followed the most shocking attack on American soil in modern history.

Here, the threat comes from Changelings who have used their shape-shifting abilities to infiltrate top-level meetings, blow up high-ranking diplomats, and impersonate senior Starfleet officers back on Earth. The President of the Federation must decide between maintaining the status quo on the earthbound paradise, or declaring a state of emergency and giving way to martial law. And given his experience with the Dominion (and with Odo), Captain Sisko is made acting head of Earth security, and implements phaser sweeps for all key sites and blood tests for all major Starfleet personnel and their families.

Just as, if not more compelling in my book is the fact that the return visit to Earth means that Benjamin reconnects with his father, Joseph, who runs a restaurant in New Orleans, played by the legendary Brock Peters (who, among other noteworthy roles, voiced Darth Vader in the Star Wars radio dramas). The performances are a little theatrical, but there’s such a lived-in sense of familiarity among Joseph, Ben, and Jake that makes this seem like a genuine family, with the joys and pains that come with any intergenerational visit.

Joseph Sisko lights up and his son and grandson’s arrival. Benjamin talks up his dad as someone who knows his cuisine. Jake reminisces about tall tales of a taxidermied gator being unleashed to guard the restaurant at night, all with the friendly affections of family. But Joseph also laments his offspring not spending enough time with him during their visit. Jake worries about being made to work in his grandfather’s kitchen. And Benjamin admonishes his father for not taking his health seriously enough. There’s enough recognizable bumps in the road in a way that makes the family dynamic feel real, not just warm.

Especially that last part. It’s sadly relatable to have to encourage and elderly family member not to second guess their doctor or push off legitimate concerns about their health with love and charm. Joseph Sisko is stubborn, which makes it tricky when he takes a stand on something with broader implications.

Frankly, my favorite choice in the episode is to have Joseph refuse to submit to a blood test to ensure he’s not a Changeling. It complicates things in a way that enhances the story. Your sympathies (or at least my sympathies) go both ways. In a single episode, Joseph has already shown himself to be a bit unreasonable. Benjamin’s concerns aren’t unfounded and his precautions aren’t unreasonable. You feel for Ben asking his dad to just go along with something for once, without putting up an unnecessary fight over it.

And yet, at the same time, Joseph raises good points. Even if Ben is trying to be reasonable by limiting these tests to the family of Starfleet personnel, people like Joseph are civilians. They didn’t sign up for this. They have civil liberties that shouldn’t automatically be outweighed by their association with folks who’ve made the admirable choice to serve. He’s not wrong that the Changelings could come up with a way to evade the blood test now that they (presumably) know from last season’s finale that the Federation is using it.

And most of all, he’s not wrong that something is lost when Ben cannot help but examine his dad’s chopping knife, to be certain that his father is not a shapeshifter in disguise. Justified or not, it’s a harrowing emotional moment. Whether the precautions are fair or not, the Founders do want to sow paranoia and mistrust within the Federation, and there’s legitimate questions, with no easy answers, about how much to give into that in the name of “protecting paradise” and how much to hold onto the principles and communal trust that made that paradise possible.

It dovetails with the subtle undercurrent of prejudice that runs through “Homefront.” Star Trek: Enterprise would explore similar ideas in its own (all but explicit) War on Terror allegory, but for all its supposed enlightened glory, Earth doesn’t seem like an especially hospitable place for aliens right now. Odo doesn’t feel comfortable going out and about given current circumstances. Though he denies it has anything to do with his Ferengi heritage, Nog is struggling to fit in at the Academy. And Admiral Layton damns Federation President Jaresh-Inyo with faint praise, calling him a fine peacetime leader, but someone who, given his status as a member of another species, doesn’t understand the need to protect humanity’s home. You can already feel the Federation losing a bit of what it made it the welcoming interstellar melting pot we all know and love.

In the end, Layton’s sentiment prevails. A power outage hobbles Earth’s defenses, and he and Captain Sisko persuade the Federation Presence to effectively hand over governance of Earth to Starfleet. For once, the appearance of Starfleet officers beaming into the streets doesn’t come with the rousing sense of “Help is on the way.” Instead, Jake’s gesture to his grandfather, the hum of the score, and the grave look on Joseph’s face give the arrival of militaristic-looking Starfleet officers a more ominous feel.

Calls have been made. The balance between the steps necessary to respond to an existential threat and a society whose liberties are worth preserving is starting to tip. The way it affects a planet, and a family, are held in equal regard. These are the types of complexities that would become Deep Space Nine’s calling card. The issues of how to hold onto your soul in the face of decision points that could prevent a war and save lives will abound over the course of the series’ run. And with that tack, the show will cut a path for others to follow, finding a strange resonance with events that had yet to come and, if past is prologue, will all happen again.