[DS9] CRITICAL COMMENTS: "Covenant"
Jose Gonzalez
***Spoilers***
...and not in any of the good ways.
Well, that was certainly one of the more lackluster (or worse)
three hours of television I've witnessed in a long while. For the past
several months, the gods of programming have made it so that I am able to
watch Voyager, Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine back to back to back on
Wednesday nights. On occasion (last week for example), this can make for
a very enjoyable evening in front of the boob tube -- but then there are
the weeks like this... First up was Voyager. While I don't feel Voyager
has ever been able to live up to the promise created by its first ten
episodes (or even come close really), it *has* been on the positive side
of watchable this year. "Infinite Regress," on the other hand, was more
typical of earlier Voyager: soaked in unending amounts of technobabble,
told in an uninteresting manner (at least to my tastes), and generally
undistinguishable from about two dozen other Voyager outings. I was glad
to finally get through it.
Then came Babylon 5, which it so happened was delivering its final
episode, one that had been much anticipated among B5 fans (having been
filmed over a year and a half before its airdate) and of which advanced
word was very positive. In the second unpleasant surprise of the evening,
I found "Sleeping in Light," despite some undeniable power in its final
moments, a sadly disappointing series finale (of an even more
disappointing final season). Feeling monumentally bummed by this point, I
thought surely, *surely* DS9 could salvage the evening; after all, the
previous week's "The Siege of AR-558" was one of the series' best episodes
and, in general, the show was on a roll. Perhaps it's only fitting then
that my hopes were dashed one final time, as "Covenant" actually elicited
the harshest reaction of the night from me. Rest assured, good people,
that this night of television was *not* one of the things I was thankful
for the following day. (:
DS9 earns the greatest proportion of my ire because, of the three
shows, this is the one that I connect with the most -- and the
no-longer-Gul Dukat has certainly gone a long way towards making that so.
I'm on record as being a big fan of both Dukat's descent into madness in
"Sacrifice and Angels" and his subsequent transformation into Adversary
Number One in "Waltz." There's no question that it was a very ambitious
move, but it was also one fraught with risk; you simply can't strip away
the motivational layers of this man and think that writing him
successfully is going to be an easy task. His next major appearance was
in "Tears of the Prophets," last season's finale ("Wrongs Darker..." only
featured the present-day Dukat for a few minutes); while portraying him as
something akin to a force of nature worked for that particular story, it
was starting to become more and more obvious that Dukat was not the
character he once was. He had lost something. When I heard that he was
scheduled to reappear in this season's ninth episode, I was both excited
and worried. Would "Covenant" return Dukat, as I hoped in my sixth season
recap, "to his former shaded and complicated glory," or would it only
damage the character further? I'm sorry to say that, on the whole, the
latter possibility won out.
Not that the episode doesn't (at least sort of) try to accomplish
the former goal. Not being privy to the conversations the writing staff
has engaged in regarding Dukat of late, I can only guess at their thinking
here. For a while now, it's been fairly clear that the series finale (if
not the entire final multi-episode arc) is going to have as one of its
most important elements the epic struggle between Sisko and Dukat over, at
the very least, the fate of all of Bajor. To have Dukat spend the entire
season seeking nothing but revenge for its own sake would be, well,
boring. And so I can see and appreciate the attempt in "Covenant" to
imbue Dukat with more complexity and nuance than he's had for nearly a
year now, to provide some motivating force behind his actions that goes
beyond just an EVIL desire to do bad things to good people. I also don't
object to the idea of taking Dukat along a path that transforms him into
something very close to the mirror image of Sisko (right down to both
men's religious positions and significance in segments of the Bajoran
faith).
I just don't think it's working. It took me the better part of a
day, however, to figure out just why it is I think that. (Hey,
*something* had to occupy my thoughts on the 6-hour round-trip drive to
the annual Thanksgiving feast at, you guessed it, Grandma's house. (-:)
In my tryptophan-laced stupor, I managed to narrow it down to two
principal issues. The first is the more important of the two: the *way*
in which writer Rene Echevarria attempts to add some layers back to Dukat
does not, I think, ring true for the character. Take Sisko as a contrast
-- for me, his is *the* character arc of the series. It resonates most
deeply and completely, and does so because Sisko's faith in the Prophets
has not come easily or quickly. We have seen every step of his journey,
every change in his outlook, inch by inch and year by year. When you look
at Sisko now, you see a man very different from the bitter, non-believing
commander we were introduced to in "Emissary." You could say much the
same for Dukat.
The difference is that, in Dukat's case, this change strikes me
more as the result of the writing staff's search for a way to make him
compelling again rather than as a natural extension of his character.
It's not that this sudden conversion is beyond the realm of possibility
for Dukat (even though it seems rather unlikely). The question is, is
this a good dramatic choice for the character? That watching Dukat in
"Covenant" caused me, by the end of it all, to grit my teeth repeatedly
tells me that no, this isn't a good choice. Why isn't it, though? I'm
not one of those viewers who hates DS9's recurrent focus on religious
(it's one of my favorite aspects of the series, actually), so it isn't
that. And cults and leaders such as these are very much a reality, so
devoting an episode to the exploration of same, particularly in a context
important to the series, had definite potential.
But Dukat is someone who, despite being known to make the rare
gesture of generosity, the vast majority of the time (insane or otherwise)
has as his main priority his own well-being. Having him put aside that
priority in favor of a new one, allegiance to the Pagh Wraiths, just feels
wrong for *this* particular character (even taking into account that his
own failings keep getting in the way of his service to them). While there
*is* a certain fascination in watching a placid Dukat interact with his
followers and Kira during the first couple of acts, nearly an entire
episode of a Dukat who espouses only love and forgiveness ultimately makes
for, if you can believe it, one very bland Dukat. (The one moment that
*did* work for me was his final breakdown and subsequent outburst --
*that* was very much in the spirit of the character.)
I wonder if, just maybe, Marc Alaimo felt the same way. To bring
Babylon 5 back into the discussion for a moment, I read a recent interview
with Bill Mumy (the actor playing Kellin last week) wherein he discusses
something that his character, Lennier, does in B5's penultimate episode
that he as an actor was never able to internalize. In his mind, it was an
action so out of character (and left field) that Mumy simply could not get
to that point *as* Lennier. Marc Alaimo is, for lack of a better term,
somewhat "off" in "Covenant," never really selling Dukat's new status or
making it seem believable as a new facet of the character. Watching Dukat
conduct prayer service is something you might more readily expect to see
in a Mirror-Universe episode, and even there I'm not sure I could buy it.
(It doesn't help that there is little to no rationale given as to why all
of these Bajorans would allow Dukat, who likely caused the death of people
they loved, to lead them.) In this reality, it just seems out of place
and never clicked for me. Certainly the script deserves the bulk of the
blame for that, but I'd be curious to hear Alaimo's views on this episode,
and whether or not *he* was ever able to internalize Dukat in "Covenant."
As I said, I wonder.
My second complaint is a related one: the episode tells us in no
uncertain terms that Dukat's faith and transformation are genuine, not
just a means of gaining followers, and it's important for us to believe
that by the time we reach the coda. Why then, is that belief undercut at
nearly every opportunity? How does having the Bajorans call Dukat "The
Master" supposed to allow us to take any of this seriously? For the sake
of argument, say I accept that Dukat believes the Pagh Wraiths are the
true gods of Bajor and thus deeply cares about his followers; why have him
then turn around and be revealed to be a rapist, attempt to murder the
child's mother and then his own followers (some truly EVIL deeds if ever
there were some)? I know that DS9's writing staff sees this merely as an
extension of Dukat's character as he's always been, but this struck me as
evidence of an episode that wants to eat its cake and have it too -- I'm
supposed to see Dukat once again as complex villain, capable of a wide
range of actions, and yet hate him with a passion all the while.
Instead, to me at least, his complexity seems all too hollow and his
villainy *too* extreme, almost cartoonish.
What makes the demise (for the moment, anyway) of a once great
character all the more aggravating is that it takes place in a story that
*does* some have good ideas floating around in it. For one, "Covenant"
*was* set up earlier this season, and that is always a bonus. Kira's
rapport with Vedek Fala also has merit, and manages to touch upon some
intriguing issues regarding faith and religion. For example, does being
tolerant of others' beliefs mean giving up the right to tell someone else
that what they believe is "wrong" in your eyes? When your faith and
someone else's have irreconcilable contradictions, does "tolerance" permit
you to say so? In this age where simply stating what you believe runs the
risk of "offending" someone, those are interesting questions. Also, well,
"sweet" is Odo's desire to attend services with Kira, though I wondered
why Kira would be opposed to the idea -- if she believes Bajoran faith is
something Odo might benefit from, why not allow him greater exposure to
it? In any case, Odo's respect for Kira's faith (by not accompanying her
to service just to spend time with her) speaks very well of their
relationship.
Despite my misgivings about Dukat, there are some fairly powerful
moments sprinkled throughout "Covenant" (particularly early on). There's
something unnerving about seeing Kira holding a phaser, screaming at
fellow Bajorans to get "down on the floor!" I was reminded of what Kira
must have been like as a resistance fighter, ruthless and frightening.
Watching the cult members place themselves between Kira's phaser and Dukat
was the best-realized moment in the episode (I wish there had been more
like them). Fala's eventual suicide (after he learns that Dukat had no
intention of following his followers into "heaven," or wherever they were
going) is a bit *too* ambiguous for my liking, though it might have worked
better in a more affecting episode. At the very least, "Covenant" should
be praised for *trying* to grey up the Pagh Wraith/Prophet conflict, but
placing Dukat in the center of that effort mutes the impact substantially.
Which brings me, finally, to what I'm afraid of. As I said
earlier, it seems all but inevitable that Dukat will play a major role in
DS9's final episodes. That was always a terrific and exciting prospect.
But now... now I have to say that, were Dukat not to be seen again, I
wouldn't be terribly upset over it. I *never* thought I would hear myself
say that (or even see myself type it). I'm also beginning to think that
removing Dukat from his position as leader of Cardassia was a mistake --
the result has been, for three consecutive episodes now, essentially
"Dukat's Crazy Scheme of the Week." The only way to resurrect the
character now may *be* to reinstall him as head of Cardassia. While that
would admittedly reset a major consequence of the Occupation Arc, I'm just
having trouble seeing what other effective use Dukat can put to as he
exists right now. If he continues along his current path, I'm afraid a
major portion of that final arc is already doomed to fall flat. I agree
with Kira's (all-too-obvious) sentiment that Dukat is "more dangerous than
ever," just not in the way she meant it.
I really do sincerely hope that either a) I'm dead wrong about
this, and Dukat's arc as a Pagh Wraith soldier will make for very
compelling drama when all is said and done, forcing me to reevaluate this
episode (I would love nothing more, believe me) or b) there is some
serious rethinking done regarding Dukat's arc, so much so that he can once
again become the fabulous character that he so much deserves to be. At a
time in the series when every week seems to feature some of the very best
characterization to date for so many characters, to see Dukat reach the
point where his presence is a *detriment* to an episode is very, very
disheartening.
On other fronts, while we know Dukat has a great need to be loved
by Bajorans, I don't think Kira is quite so aware of it. Hearing her
psychoanalyze Dukat to his face felt more like Echevarria telling us what
we should think of the situation, rather than showing it to us and letting
us draw our own conclusions... We finally got an onscreen explanation for
all those mysterious Dominion beam-outs over the years -- their
transporters have a *very* long range (no big surprise, but it's nice to
hear it stated for the record)... Two of the better moments in the episode
saw Kira helplessly banging on the door to her quarters. Not sure why,
but those images conveyed a lot... Noticed some deliberate echoes of
"Image in the Sand," including Kira's talk of people turning to "hate and
fear" and her comment that "that was some kiss" (referring to Dukat this
time)... I never realized how much a part of Dukat's character his
military uniform was. I rather miss it... Genuine or not, Dukat's
"Goodbye, Nerys" was rather touching...
It's tough for me to evaluate "Covenant" solely on the merits of its
story; I'm willing to concede that if I hadn't had such issues with
Dukat's portrayal, this may have made for a very strong story. (I
probably would have enjoyed it a great deal more if Fala had been leader
and Dukat had been excised entirely, for instance.) But Dukat *is* the
most important element here, and with that in mind, I have to call this
one of the most disappointing and *worrying* episodes DS9 has given us in
a very long time.
I hope the show can recover. I hope *Dukat* can recover. I suppose I'll
just be content to live in hope...
Grade: 3.75
..
Jose Gonzalez
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