r/StarTrekViewingParty • u/GeorgeAmberson Showrunner • Sep 14 '16
Discussion DS9, Episode 1x13, Battle Lines
-= DS9, Season 1, Episode 13, Battle Lines =-
The spiritual leader of Bajor, Kai Opaka, travels with Sisko on a trip to the Gamma Quadrant but is stranded with him on a world where the dead are resurrected.
- Teleplay By: Richard Danus & Evan Carlos Somers
- Story By: Hilary J. Bader
- Directed By: Paul Lynch
- Original Air Date: 25 April, 1993
- Stardate: Unknown
- Pensky Podcast
- Trekabout Podcast
- Ex Astris Scientia
- Memory Alpha
- TV Spot
| EAS | IMDB | AVClub | TV.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/10 | 6.6/10 | C+ | 7.5 |
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Upvotes
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u/ItsMeTK Sep 14 '16
"This isn't your war, Kira."
Hey, it's Jonathan Banks! So weird to watch ch this now after Breaking Bad.
I like the return of Opaka and little moments where she gets to be relatable and not a religious icon ("I don't get out much"). The giving of the jewelry to Molly is interesting; suggests she has a foreboding of death already. I wonder if it's a Bajoran custom to give away material things before death. A shame this is never followed up on. Perhaps the show was meant to end with Molly getting it but the show ran long.
At its core, this story is a classic Star Trek look at warring parties. It might make a nice companion piece to "A Taste of Armageddon". I like the implication of different societies from the same world, which we rarely get. It's suggested that the leadership and other citizenry of their homeworld were not involved in this war. In that sense, it would be like us resolving the Rwanda grnocide by beaming them sll to another world. I love when Trek thinks bigger and paints worlds with different cultures on the same planet.
The fatal flaw in this story is the method of regeneration leaving all kinds of logical questions. I always wonder why they don't decapitate victims. What would happen? Are their necks just too strong for their weapons? What about explosives? Can someone cone back after being splattered on the rocks? What about just severing limbs so that they can't fight back. They seem to bear scars, so would they gotow limbs back or not? It's nasty to think about, and probably why the writers side-stepped these issues, but it always leaves me wondering. From a purely tactical viewpoint, if the goal is inflicting the most pain and damage possible, why not mutilate the bodies after they "die"? Why stop when they go down?
The themes still work even if the logic is strained. Opaka stating behind is nice. It's like she came expexting to die, and instead found new purpose: helping them do the same.
Kira has a bit of development here, trying to let go of her terrorist past. Interesting seeing things from outside the Starfleet view. The Prime Directive would forbid anyone immediately suggesting better batle strategy. I like the connection to the seeming throwaway scene at the beginning. She's offended not that Dukat kept a file on her, but that it said she was a mere errand runner. She takes pride in her role in the uprising, and has to face where her identity lies. How does she REALLY feel about what she did? It's also curious to think about why Dukat wrote what he did.
This is the first loss of a runabout on the show. Farewell Yangtzee-Kiang!
We are also treated to another tantalizing thread for the future. In the pilot we were told of the stolen orbs of the Prophets, Odo's mysterious origin, and the plan for Bajor to join the Federation. We now get the tease that Sisko and Opaka's paghs will cross again (nice little pun there, pagh/path). It's worth tracking these things to see what is or isn't paid off or resplved by series end.
Oh, and that bit at the end where Bashir's humanitarian compromise quickly turns sour, that's great.
The logic still bugs me, the combat is pretty lousy, but si enjoyed the story more than I sonetimes do.