Twenty-six years ago today, deep space nine The knife was delivered under covert inspection Star TrekWartime morals are as delicate as a sewing needle: the incredible “In the Pale Moonlight” is not just one of them DS9 or Star Trekbest time, but one of the greatest TV episodes of all time. But the best moments in an already flawless show are how effortlessly violent it is.
“In the Pale Moonlight” follows a sentimental Captain Sisko as he recounts recent events in his personal journal after a long day, telling the story of how far he was willing to go as one of the vanguard of Starfleet. More moral compromises. The war intensifies Against the Dominion. When Sisko sees an opportunity to draw one of the Federation’s most ruthless enemies, the mysterious Romulans, into a war in which they have remained neutral, he finds himself caught up in the charms of a simple tailor, and occasionally a variety of Master of espionage skills, Garak the Cardassian ClothierThe two conspired to artificially construct evidence of a Dominion conspiracy to invade the Romulan Star Empire and pass it to the Romulan Senators.
The tension of this episode runs through every circle of hell Cisco is willing to put his soul through. For the noble and powerful values of the Starfleet officer class, even the mere first step of working with Garak on such a plan would have been outrageous enough, but gradually Sisko began to see the proverbial blood River, he had to wade to get out of trouble.There’s even one on the other side Chance Romulus joins the Dominion War. Using a criminal to fabricate evidence, crafting a perfect hoax, and placing it in the hands of Senator Frenaker, all of which amounts to the worst moral price our hero could ever pay… And then, when Frenaker It all blows up in Sisko’s face when K calls out his bluff, realizing that the data stick he received showing the Dominion’s alleged plans was fake.
Anything else will be here Star Trek The show will plant its flag at the lowest possible moment for its heroes: They’ve played dirty and now must face the consequences of taking the low road.but deep space nine yes no other Star Trek exhibit, so it prepares the bayonet. The next day, as senior staff monitored the casualty lists and Sisko braced for the fall, a report from Starfleet Intelligence confirmed that a Romulan Senator had exploded a shuttle engineered by the Star Empire using Dominion ruse. Killed. It’s Verinak: He’s dead, Sisko’s moral price for him is a secret, and Sisko knows exactly who was responsible for the explosion.
When Cisco bursts into Garak’s store, we get it: this is the best moment ever. deep space nine. We see time and time again on this show, in both big and small ways, that Benjamin Sisko is not a man who punches, metaphorically or otherwise. From the moment when he tried to mold the then-commander into another Picard, to his dogged determination to root out the Maquis’ anti-Cardassian rebels, Sisko has always acted like he is here: swinging indefinite.he deck Garak walked him across the room. He yelled at Garak – he killed Verinac, he killed the criminal they were using to forge the Data Rod; he killed Garak. It was a lie all along that he knowingly led the Romulans into the deadliest war in the Alpha Quadrant in generations. Even when he wasn’t throwing punches, Sisko wasn’t passionate, tenacious or determined.he is furiouswe’ve seen this emotion in him before, but now it’s fully unleashed.
But Garak never fought back. He caught Sisko’s punch, became furious, and went to block the second punch, but he was no match for Sisko’s bragging. He waited. Then, in cold, calculating fashion, he turns Sisko on him – listing all the evidence the Romulans will now have, from dead senators to an imperfect, damaged scepter, including Contains the faintest trace of evidence of a Dominion conspiracy and guides Sisko all the way to the conclusion that was present at the beginning of the episode.Sisko will see what Garak predicted the Romulans would see and enter war against dominion, just as they wished. Garak didn’t even need to say it, he just let Sisko say it out loud himself, without even pushing him… because no matter his posture, they both had the same idea about the fist he was swinging. If anything, Cisco is dirtier than that because he already knows that in going to Garak, he’s going to find someone who’s willing to get his hands dirty for him and let him have him Want to win – at any cost, no matter what. Otherwise what would he claim.
And so, as Sisko ultimately descends into the depths of Hell, he and Garak become kindred spirits in this espionage game and morality play.This is an extraordinary moment, a moment worth remembering Star Trek Twenty-five years since it first aired, because of the way it misrepresented the series’ purported Enlightenment legacy in this context An elegant and eye-catching way. In the years leading up to this, Starfleet and its officers had been depicted as rising above such dastardly manipulations—our heroes fought their way out of combat, maintaining the moral high ground even as they faltered , when they play a little bit dirty, but with gangster charm, in heroic fashion, the small, innocent price paid for the greater good is always worth it. It’s never meant to stain their souls, because in the end, it always works in the hero’s favor – and their sense of justice in the universe.
Sisko’s greater interest is to slaughter hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to prevent the total destruction of Alpha Quadrant power as we know it, and it’s all based on lies. Eventually, he gets it, but not in the most noble of ways like the heroes before him, but through deception with cloak and dagger and a knife in the dark. Because, with his back to the wall, he was always willing to throw a punch—and because Garak knew it, he never had to do it himself.
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