Right off the bat they start with a domestic scene with O'Brien and his new wife Keiko who was only introduced in the last episode. I assume it's because they'd originally intended for her to have more screen time, but also because the character of O'Brien is featured prominently in this episode. Some may consider it a pointless scene, especially if they're not a Keiko fan, but I still think little things like this are important to the big Star Trek picture. And it's just a way to lead into the action as their voyage of personal discovery is interrupted by an attack from a Cardassian vessel.
Cardassians. They only appeared in six episodes of TNG and became one of the primary races of DS9. The Enterprise is mapping near the Cardassian boarder and Picard is nervous because they've only recently signed a peace agreement with them. There's this vague talk of a former war of which there isn't a lot of detail, much like there was in Suddnely Human. And also like in that episode, there will be a conflict that threatens to shake the peace. However, in Suddenly Human, the race they were at odds with didn't look very menacing and the way their culture was presented was too much like Klingon culture which left it lacking, especially since the conflict was too isolated within those cultural parameters. When the Cardassian aboard this ship finally answers we're treated to something entirely different to look at. And a conflict that could realistically happen after a long war. The Cardassian claims that a Federation ship has been tearing through their space attacking their vessels.
Like all firsts, there are some things that don't make the final cut. When we first see Cardassians, they wear head gear in their crafts. They also have a small bit of facial hair. The headgear is unattractive and the hair doesn't really fit in with a reptilian look, so they're scrubbed in later episodes. The makeup, however, was created specifically for Mark Alamo who played Gul Macet in this episode and went on to play Gul Dukat in DS9. His long neck was what they made those ridges for and he wears it to great effect. Once again, without trying, they hit on something big. Picard confirms Macet's claims and offers to track down the renegade ship which Macet allows only if they can come aboard as an escort which seems reasonable.
There's the usual tension involved in the first briefing. Macet asserts that the Enterprise isn't really trying that hard. Riker gets huffy and Picard settles everyone down with his expertise in diplomacy. Then O'Brien is called on to give details about the captain of the Phoenix, Benjamin Maxwell whom he'd served under during the war. Maxwell lost his entire family and it would appear that he's on a vengeance rampage, although O'Brien refuses to believe that. It all makes good sense psychologically. Some people really can't let go especially after a war and then there are people like O'Brien whose loyalty to what was a model officer is unwavering especially after witnessing the atrocities of war as well. You then see him being cold and defensive to the Cardassians in the turbo lift but I thought this scene was a little too biased against "humans." The Cardassians would have people with the same attitude as O'Brien on their side as well so soon after a war and I think that they should've made at least one of them as unwilling to be civil as O'Brien was being instead of making them both seem like innocent bystanders of his wrath. It's smacks of the whole narrative that "intolerant America" theme that the liberal writers cling to. But the psychology is spot on. The scenes with O'Brien document that he's blind to the fact that he's prejudiced against the Cardassians, in denial since Maxwell would never act in vengeance and believes that if the Cardassians were investigated they'd find a reason that Maxwell is doing what he's doing.
But it looks bad. They come within range of the Phoenix which is pursuing a small cargo ship. Picard reluctantly gives Macet the ability to neutralize them with his own warship, and the Phoenix destroys them both. Naturally Macet is outraged and doesn't understand why Picard won't destroy the Phoenix himself, but only wants to hail Maxwell who keeps refusing to answer.
O'Brien finally unloads his feelings on the peaceable Cardassian from the turbo lift and it's a good scene. I guess I also get what I want when the other one is caught trying to access the weapons system in the computers. Macet reprimands him but Picard is just as suspicious of his and Macet's intentions as he is of Picard's.
They finally catch up to the Phoenix and beam Maxwell aboard. Even though all stories must yield to liberal values, I can't help but be proud of the way Star Trek really starts getting into the weeds and the gray areas of life at times like these. Maxwell is not portrayed as a bigoted psychopath bent on revenge. It turns out he does have an explanation for his behavior. He's under the assumption that the Cardassians are rearming. He can't prove it, but you get the idea that his instincts guided by experience are right. The loss of his family plays a part in his zealousness to act instead of waiting for the politics to sort it all out, or rather bungle it as politicians are so apt to do. The audience isn't brow beaten into hating this man as a war monger of some kind. Now that Star Trek was capable of this type of growth, the sky was the limit. And it's probably why the Cardassians caught on so well and spun off into the concept for DS9. This is good stuff.
Picard is ordered to preserve the peace at all cost which only confirms the ugly side of politics in these matters since you can tell that he suspects that Maxwell is right. Since he was at one time an exemplary officer, he allows him the freedom to follow the Enterprise back under his own volition. Of course he turns right around an starts his hunt again. He tracks another Cardassian ship but instead of firing, he waits for the Enterprise to come. He then takes it hostage, basically, threatening to destroy it if Picard doesn't beam over to see what's in it. It would've been that easy to prove him right. But Picard makes the hard choice of not doing that. He also finds a way of sneaking O'Brien over to his ship to talk him down so he won't have to fire on him. Maxwell has to surrender to the change in the political climate and it's a wonderful scene. He is willingly taken to the brig while his first officer follows Picard back.
But it doesn't end without Picard letting Macet know that he's well aware that Maxwell was right and that the Federation would be watching. The audience knows that the good guys had to take one for the team but one day they'll make it right. The details of the relations between the Federation and the Cardassian culture is still vague at this point, but the opened ending leaves room for follow up and expansion very similar to the way they left Worf's discommendation opened for more work. It opened doors while bringing the episode to a definite ending. Smartly written. Not perfect yet, but this is excellent work. Four stars
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