[DS9] Gary's Ranked Reviews: 09 "Covenant"
Gary Torborg
written by Gary M. Torborg
Copyright 1998 - All Rights Reserved
This review contains spoilers for
Deep Space Nine: Season 7, Episode 9:
"Covenant"
Gary's spoiler-free season 7 rank:
Rank Episode Title
1 The Siege of AR-558
2 Shadows and Symbols
3 Once More Into the Breach
4 Treachery, Faith, and the Great River
5 Afterimage
6 Image in the Sand
7 Chrysalis
8 Take Me Out to the Holosuite
[9 Covenant]
Previous season best (#1) ranked episodes:
Season Episode Title
1 Duet
2 Necessary Evil
3 Improbable Cause
4 The Visitor
5 In Purgatory's Shadow
6 In The Pale Moonlight
Series-to-date rank: top 10 episodes of the series:
(new additions marked with brackets as appropriate)
Rank Season Episode Title
1 4 The Visitor
2 1 Duet
3 2 Necessary Evil
4 3 Improbable Cause
5 3 The Die is Cast
6 6 In The Pale Moonlight
7 6 Rocks and Shoals
8 7 The Siege of AR-558
9 5 In Purgatoryís Shadow
10 6 Far Beyond the Stars
Covenant. In brief: disappointing, when it could have and should have
been one of the most important episodes of the season and series.
"Covenant" isn't a bad episode, but I can safely say it was a good story
badly written. Don't get me wrong - ranking this one below
"Holosuite" isn't so much a statement about this episode as it is a
statement about the "Holosuite" episode being better. But, Dukat
episodes are supposed to be a really big deal in DS9 because 1) Marc
Alaimo portrays the character so very well, and 2) the character is set
up as the principle "foil" for not one, but two of our main (protagonist)
characters, Sisko and Kira. It may not have been DS9's most original
idea, and it may not have been the best thing for the DS9 story line, but
casting Dukat as a "Jim Jones"-style cult leader is not, by itself, a bad
idea. It puts an interesting spin on a character who has not been much
seen since "Sacrifice of Angels". The problems stem for the execution
of those ideas, the acting quality (which was horrendous this week),
and some continuity errors that can't be explained.
After going bonkers in "Sacrifice" last season, a lot of questions got
asked (and didn't get answered) about the aftermath for this important
character. Dukat's first appearance after the breakdown was the
brilliantly realized "Waltz," a top 5 episode from last year that even
topped "Sacrifice". Much was revealed about Dukat's attitudes and
motivations in that episode, deranged though they may have been. I
thought then that it was going to be one of the most important episodes
of the season and series, and I was right. But, the followup didn't click
right with the words and events of that episode. For instance, we have
the situation of Dukat escaping in a Federation shuttle. Without a
cloaking device, he should have been easily caught and captured.
Apparently he wasn't. Did he ditch the shuttle? If so, when, and
where? Once the shuttle was abandoned, where did he go and how did
he get there?
Our first clue came in "Wrongs Darker than Death Or Night," next
week's repeat episode. Though we still didn't exactly know his
whereabouts, it was obvious that he wasn't far away, sending as he did
a message to Kira. A better answer came in "Tears of the Prophets,"
though still leaving a gaping mystery. We discover that he was
studying the Bajoran people further, and learning of the history of the
Prophets and their alter egos, the Pagh Wraiths. Using a Wraith as a
weapon, he sealed the wormhole and, in the process, killed Jadzia Dax.
But *where* did he gain this knowledge? Was Dukat hiding
somewhere on Bajor? If so, how did he get there and how did he then
get to DS9 and to the Cardassian moon?
Some more answers appeared here as we see Dukat having set up shop
on the Empok Nor station, identical to DS9. We don't know for sure
which came first (Dukat's arrival on Empok Nor or his Pagh Wraith
attack in "Tears..."), but we have an important clue: the long range
transporters used here to abduct Kira may well have been used by
Dukat to get to DS9 and to Bajor. One question I have is where did he
get the transporters, given that they are Dominion and not Cardassian,
but that was this episode's most minor nit.
Some things in the episode actually make more sense upon
examination, others break down. Some of the setup and most of the
basic story of "Covenant" is quite sound and logically portrayed.
Dukat's failure to enact his revenge on Sisko using the Pagh Wraith is
not due to anything he did wrong, but rather, due to Sisko's success
opening the Orb and getting the Prophets to expel the Wraith in
"Shadows and Symbols". Just because that failed does not mean that
the Pagh Wraiths don't still figure in Dukat's "master plan." From the
point of view of someone obsessed with hatred for Sisko, DS9, and the
Bajorans, it makes perfect sense to attempt to strengthen the "evil" side
of the faith that binds all these things together. Thus, Dukat capitalizes
on the already-started cult of the Pagh Wraiths, works his way up to a
leadership role, and tries to use the cult as a weapon against Bajor,
Sisko (through Kira), and thus win his personal little war.
Scene by scene, the best parts of the show are fairly close to the
beginning. The teaser was nicely done, particularly the entrance of
Dukat. The first act, featuring the longest of the conversations
between Kira and Dukat was also reasonably done. But, beyond the
basic setup of the episode, things began to break down. For one thing,
I was thinking Vedek Falla was going to be an interesting character to
watch, in the spirit of Bajoran characters seldom seen since the second
or third seasons of DS9. Once Dukat was cornered and the truth about
his motives exposed, Falla's suicide ceased to have any meaning, and
thus did nothing for me emotionally. The brief look we had at the
Vedek (name escapes me) who took her life on the Promenade of the
station in "Rocks and Shoals" had a much, much greater effect on me
than the almost 20 minutes of this episode that we got to see Falla.
Then there's the timing issue. The use of the Empok Nor station is
itself a minor nit for a setting as previously mentioned. What it means,
though, is that Dukat's arrival there had to take place sometime after
the events of the episode "The Magnificent Ferengi" and sometime
before (presumably) "Tears of the Prophets." This is assuming that
Empok Nor was his base of operations for transporting to DS9 and to
the Cardassian moon where he met Damar and Weyoun. There are
actually two incongruities here, though: given that Dukat's arrival on
Empok Nor took place after "Magnificent Ferengi," where did he go
and what did he do between "Waltz" and "Magnificent?" At what
point did he abandon the Federation shuttle? Still too many
unanswered questions.
The other incongruity stems from the amount of time it would have
then taken to ascend to a leadership role in the Pagh Wraith cult. That
is to say, there doesn't seem to have been enough time to rise to that
level and impose the rule of chastity that the cult members must
apparently follow, even given the relatively short Bajoran gestation
period. Even if Dukat's ascension to cult leader was extremely rapid,
there is one more problem: Dukat told Kira that he didn't even join the
cult until after the events of "Tears of the Prophets." That one is an
outright error in continuity and made the rest of the episode hard to
enjoy.
Another nit, though more minor again, is the apparent knowledge that
Dukat was responsible for Jadzia Dax's death. I re-watched some of
the tapes from "Tears" onwards and found no place where anyone on
DS9 spoke of Dukat being the one to kill Jadzia. The only person who
could have revealed that fact was Jadzia herself, as she was dying, and
the only two people who had a chance to speak with her were Worf
and Dr. Bashir. One can only guess that it is was Bashir who was told
about Dukat, but we never saw or heard about this. Yet, somehow,
Kira knows with certainty that it was Dukat that killed Jadzia. That nit
aside, it did bring up one of the more interesting elements of their
conversation: if it weren't for the timing and continuity errors, I would
think Dukat's statement about being a "changed man" would actually
be something fascinating to build on - particularly if he really is
sincere about what he now believes in regarding the Pagh Wraiths.
Changed man or not, Dukat still goes into the events of this episode
thinking he can just kill off anyone who would blow the whistle on his
little schemes. Following the Kira/Dukat talk and the surprisingly
uninteresting Kira/Falla conversation, things start to unravel for Dukat
as Kira bit by bit exposes the truth. The chastity rule did not surprise
me, as other cults have attempted similar rules. It's all a game of
control on the part of the cult's leader, and Dukat is the epitome of a
control freak. Kira's first encounter with Banyon, husband of the
communities first pregnant woman, Meka, laid the groundwork for
Dukat's demise as cult leader. However, no matter how devoted
Banyon seemed to be, you have to wonder if he ever suspected that he
wasn't the father of the baby about to be born. On top of that,
Banyon's behavior was not consistent with that of a cult member that
was as devoted and faithful as his words made him appear.
Two of the three worst overall scenes followed. The first was Kira's
completely unsuccessful attempt in securing the weapon and using it to
- to what? To escape? No ship to board and she would probably be
very suspicious of the transporters even if she knew how to use them.
To kill Dukat? As pointed out rather bluntly by Dukat himself, that
would just make him a martyr, and accomplish nothing. Dukat and
Kira have been adversaries for very long. They both have some very
interesting qualities as characters, and does not much matter which
"side" either is on in such a conflict. But for all the adjectives you
could shovel at either, one that never fits is *stupid*. And quite
frankly, Kira's little act of desperation was 1) stupid, and 2) totally
premature if desperation was indeed her motive.
Then there was the scene in Kira's "quarters" where Dukat tends to her
bruises. In a scene much too reminiscent of some of the more awful
moments in "Wrongs Darker ThanÖ", Kira complains and gets
suspicious of Dukat's motives when she finds she's been partially
disrobed. Of course, Dukat's motives are suspect at this point, but the
delivery of the lines and the lines themselves just made me cringe.
What's supposed to have been said are things to the effect that Dukat
was taking over where Falla (at that point) had failed: to convert Kira
to a belief in the Pagh Wraiths rather than the Prophets she's believed
in her whole life. Any other motive on Dukat's part or suspicion on
Kira's part at that point is just ludicrous.
The birth scene had some problems, but these were less troublesome.
Everyone from Meka to Banyon to Dukat himself is startled by the
appearance of an obviously Cardassian baby from the Bajoran woman.
Dukat's somewhat transparent lie about this being the result of a
miracle was not enough to remove suspicion from everyone. Some
weren't convinced, but you could already see the beginning of the
dissent. Cult members may be gullible and naÔve, but they're not
stupid either. Even the most faithful who didn't look at this birth as
something negative suspected (or at least should have) that Dukat was
the real father, and not Banyon.
Two people who *should* have been convinced of this beyond any
doubt were Banyon and Falla. Falla's reaction was really hard to
swallow, given what we know of his past during the Occupation and
his relationship with Kira. At the very least, he should have been
among those that realized that Dukat was really the father of Meka's
baby, for good or ill, and that this wasn't the result of some mystical
miracle. When you add the fact that Falla appeared to regret his
actions (in abducting Kira, etc.) and appear to be in doubt of his faith,
his steadfastness in this matter was out of place. Banyon showed at
least a little doubt in Kira's next encounter with him, but still remained
faithful to the cult. Thing is, we don't know if that's because he
genuinely believed in the miracle of "their" baby's birth, or if he
remains faithful out of fear of reprisal from Dukat.
The very fact that Falla allows Kira to embark on her little crusade to
expose the truth is also a problem. If Falla was so concerned with Kira
exposing the truth, then he either would not have permitted it all
(instead of just telling her to be discreet) or would have assisted Kira if
he believed she was right. Neither scenario works with Falla involved,
so it would have been better if Kira had simply escaped her
confinement to go tell Banyon and Meka what she wanted to say.
Kira's attempt to get to Meka was interrupted by her attempted murder.
It is obvious that Dukat was responsible for the attempt, not an
accident as Dukat later claimed. Dukat's conversation with Meka
showed that Meka was at least partially aware of this possibility for
quite some time. Was she, too, so blind as to believe that the half-
Cardassian baby she gave birth to was a miracle? Obviously she was,
and that nearly made the episode's high point a meaningless event
(more on this later). Dukat's lies get increasingly transparent when he
realizes his attempt to silence her failed.
And so, nearly out of options, Dukat decides to pull a "Heaven's Gate"
stunt by having them all commit ritual suicide, and he with them. It
doesn't become obvious that Dukat didn't intend to die with the rest of
them until after Kira escapes her quarters (one of the few other nice
scenes) and interrupts the service. With Dukat's original crystal
dropped and lost after Kira tackled him, and a new one handed to him
by Falla, it's Dukat's hesitation with the new crystal that (pardon the
pun) crystallizes his fall from grace with the cult. At that point, with
Kira desperate to get the cult members to believe her, cajoles Dukat
into admitting that the crystal he was going to take was a placebo and
he never intended to die with them. Kira's goading of Dukat with
"they're all the same, aren't they?" was the last straw.
But what followed was quite probably the worst scene in the entire
show, as the angry community begins throwing the tiny crystals at
Dukat. Excuse me? Did anyone actually think these things were
effective as weapons? Or was the attack purely symbolic of a Biblical
stoning? Just exactly what did the angry crowd expect to gain? When
Dukat said (stupidly) that it was all a lie and that he was to remain
alive to do more work for the Pagh Wraiths, it just made his whole
stance meaningless. When it ended with his anger over the "broken
covenant" and that they would "never know the love of the Pagh
Wraiths," the statements carried no more meaning for anyone - not
Kira, not the Bajoran crowd, and not me. It also makes it obvious that
Dukat was *not* really working on behalf of the Pagh Wraiths,
making Kira's conversation with Odo at the end a joke, because Dukat
really isn't any more (or any less) dangerous than before just because
of this incident.
The high point, if you can call it that, was the attempted murder scene
in the airlock. What I liked about the scene was a subtle bit of acting
that many people either wouldn't notice or would actually criticize as
being incorrect: Meka was not blown completely out the airlock and
collapsed to the floor when all the air was gone. This portrayal was
much more technically correct than having her actually be blown out
of the lock into space. That would still be that possibility, and that's
what Dukat wanted to happen, but notice that she was standing by the
opening outer door as the air was escaping, and that the air was
completely gone before the door was all the way open. This was also
done correctly, as there was really not that much air in the small
airlock. Once gone, Meka would still remain conscious for a short
time, long enough for her to turn back towards the inner door and
finally collapse in the airlock's artificial gravity to the floor. She
would not drift out into space because there's no air to push her and the
artificial gravity held her in place. For all the things this episode got
wrong, I am pleased that at least *this* was done correctly from
beginning to end.
It is those errors, though, that make the episode hard to enjoy. For all
the good of the basic story itself, stupid errors in continuity or
characterization left me cold on this episode, and left it (for now) at the
bottom of the list. Dukat's departure by (presumably) Dominion
transporter at the end only made things worse by re-opening all the
mystery surrounding just what he's been up to for the better part of a
year. By escaping Empok Nor, we now know that his primary base of
operations is elsewhere - but where?
In six complete seasons to date, the lowest ranking episode each
season has included a Q episode ("Q-Less"), a Bashir love story
("Melora"), two pieces of Lwaxanna Troi stupidity ("Fascination" and
"The Muse" - in consecutive seasons, no less), a Worf/Dax bomb ("Let
He Who is Without Sin"), and the worst of the Ferengi garbage
("Profit and Lace"). Never in my life did I imagine that a Dukat
episode would be at the bottom of the list. "Covenant" will rank above
all those other bombs, but it is a little disconcerting when a Dukat
show, featuring a character whose episodes have been among the best
of the series, will rank at the bottom of the 9 episodes *so far*, and
stands a good chance (unless DS9's finale season really starts to go to
hell) at staying near the bottom for the rest of the season.
Next up: reruns, presumably until after the holidays, starting with
(ugh) "Wrongs Darker than Death Or Night". See you in 1999.
---
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St. Cloud, MN USA
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