Star Trek 397: For the Uniform

397. For the Uniform

FORMULA: The Wrath of Khan + For the Cause

WHY WE LIKE IT: Sisko becomes the villain.

WHY WE DON'T: Those ridiculous holo-communicators.

REVIEW: Sisko shows that he isn't just a sore loser when it comes to wrestling and baseball when Eddington returns to the show, and it occurs to me that we've rarely seen this kind of thing in Star Trek. When our heroes have to deal with their failures, it's usually under more tragic circumstances. But no one was killed in For the Cause when Eddington turned traitor. This failure is of a whole other nature. He put Eddington up for a promotion, didn't see it coming (still doesn't, as Eddington secretly sabotaged the Defiant and the station), and maneuvered events so that Kasidy Yates would go to jail. Very personal affronts.

So no, Sisko's not taking it well. But he's not taking it quite as badly as Eddington thinks, or else he couldn't make a believable villain. The interesting thing about the interplay between the two men is that each forces the other to be a hero: Eddington cripples a Cardassian transport to get away, and later, Sisko contaminates a planet's biosphere to get Eddington to give himself up. I'm not sure Sisko is actively OBSESSED with Eddington (or else the last 8 months would have been Maquis-driven), but he does become a priority as soon as he disables the Defiant.

That element of the story creates a nice moment for Nog, who gets to be a living com system (how many ways can you find to use the lobes?). Old school communications and reduced automation make the Defiant create a lot of atmosphere for the episode, a real bustle and plenty of tension. Speaking of communications, the new holographic communicator is less interesting. I'd even go so far as to call it stupid. I understand the dramatic reasoning, especially given the episode's script calling for multiple scenes over the com, but it's awkwardly staged (only Sisko ever sits through these meetings) and thoroughly useless in the world of Trek itself, definitely a gadget I don't care to see in the future. It's the only device not damaged by Eddington? He just stole one himself? Please.

As for Sisko's final solution, at least it's carbon neutral. It's the kind of cowboy stunt you'd expect from Kirk, which Sisko has just met, so it fits. Questionable, sure. But you have to admit that the idea was a lot of fun. We see bluffing all the time. It was refreshing to see a threat actually carried out.

LESSON: Dax and I have similar tastes in literature. Down with Victor Hugo!

REWATCHABILITY - High: Sisko at his most intense. Eddington makes a nice foil for him, adding a lot of texture to a previously unremarkable character.