Episode Spotlight: DS9's Duet

Episode Spotlight

DS9's Duet

On a seemingly run of the mill day on Deep Space Nine (at least as much as a day on Deep Space Nine can be run of the mill...) a freighter contacts Ops to dock and reports that they have passenger aboard needing medical attention for Kalla-Nohra syndrome.  The passenger is beamed to the infirmary and Kira asks to go see them, saying that the only known cases of the condition are from victims of a mining accident at Gallitep, a forced labor that she helped liberate in the resistance.  Arriving at the infirmary she is shocked to see that the patient is a Cardassian.  She calls security and orders Odo to lock him up in a security cell.  In Sisko's office Odo reports that despite Kira's claim of the Cardassian Aamin Marritza being a war criminal he cannot find his name on any official list.  Kira says that she doesn't care whether or not Marritza's listed, and emotionally describes the horrific brutal conditions at Gallitep.  Sisko decides to speak to Marritza alone.  In security he asks the Cardassian about his illness, to which Marritza answers that he has Pottrik Syndrome.  He also denies being at Gallitep.  Coincidentally a drunken Bajor in the next holding cell.  In Sisko's office Bashir reports that his scans proved that Marritza has Kalla-Norra, not Pottricks Syndrome, all but confirming that he was at Gallitep.  Sisko gets a message from Bajoran Minister of State Kaval congratulating him for arresting Marritza, though Sisko points out that Marritza has done nothing wrong, therefore cannot be legally held much longer.  The minster asserts that if Marritza was at Gallitep he will be brought to justice and points out that DS9 is in fact a Bajoran station.  In the Replimat Sisko informs Kira that Odo as security chief will take over the investigation, he believes that Kira can't be objective.  Kira promises to treat the case fairly and pleads with Sisko to let her handle the investigation.  Sisko reluctantly agrees.  As Odo releases the drunk Bajoran, who asks to know when they plan to "hang the cardassian", Kira begins questioning Marritza, who lies again about being at Gallitep, saying that he "missed that honor".  Kira sees through the lie and continues questioning him, after which he admits to serving at the camp as a filing clerk.  Sisko meanwhile has been contacted by Gul Dukat demanding Marritzas release, to which Sisko says that given the inconsistencies in Marritzas story they want proof of his identity.  After checking Bajoran Central Archives Sisko tells his officers that there was a filing clerk name Aamin Maritz at Gallitep and that he has been living at Kora II as he claimed.  However, the one image of Marritza sent over from Bajor reveals that the person in the holding call is not Aamin Marritza, but Gul Darhe'el, the infamous leader of the Gallitep labor camp "the Butcher of Gallitep".  Kira immediately confronts Darhe'el with this information, to which he admits, saying "you can only execute me once".  He goes on to belittle the Bajorans and brag about sending soldiers to wipe out "Bajoran scum", even deriding the Shakaar resistance cell of which Kira was a member.  Shaken Kira, now in Odo's office is given a drink by Odo, who suggest that she lie down and take a break, which she refuses to do.  She tells Odo about Darhe'el belittling the Shakaar, to which Odo responds that she shouldn't reveal personal information like that to Darhe'el.  Kira says that she didn't.  Odo begins investigating: Darhe'el as the commander of a labor camp likely would not have been privy to the knowledge that Kira was in the Shakaar-but a filing clerk would be.  Realizing that something is not right Kira questions Darhe'el again, asking how he knew.  Darhe'el claims he remembers her name from a report filed in Marritzas filing system.  He then challenges Kira to answer some of his questions.  In the infirmary Odo consults Dr. Bashir: 3 months ago a request was made from Kora II for information on Kira Nerys.  While Bashir looks at Marritzas' medical records Odo gets a message from Gul Dukat, denying him access to the files of Gul Darhe'el and telling him that Gul Darhe'el is dead, the body buried under one of Cardassias largest monuments.  Dukat is shocked and confused when Odo tells him that the person in custody claims to be Gul Darhe'el, saying that he attended Darhe'els funeral.  In security Darhe'el keeps asking Kira about how many Cardassians she killed in the resistance.  Kira says she didn't keep count and that she regrets many of her actions, but that the Bajorans were fighting for survival.  Darhe'el says that the Cardassians were doing the same, which Kira calls genocide.  Darhe'el responds "What you call genocide, I call a day's work".  Odo enters and pulls Kira aside, telling her that based on his and Bashir's research, the prisoner in the cell wanted to be caught.  In Sisko's office Odo shows Sisko and Kira the death certificate for Gul Darhe'el provided by Gul Dukat" Darhe'el died six years ago.  Kira says the certificate is a fake, but Odo presents records from Dukat that shows Darhe'el was not on Bajor at the time of the mining accident but on Cardassia receiving a proficient service medalion-therefore he could not have contracted Kalla-Nora syndrome.  Odo also reveals that over the past two weeks Marritza resigned from his teaching post, put his affairs in order and booked passage on a ship specifically destined for DS9.  Kira concedes that the evidence is interesting but insists that the prisoner will still be tried on Bajor, to which Sisko counters that is yet to be determined.  Dr. Bashir arrives with information from Marritzas medical records: In addition to treatment for Kalla-Nora, about five years ago Marritza began taking large doses of dermatiraelian plastiscine, a dermal regenerative medicine used to maintain skin resilience after major cosmetic surgery.  Marritza had his face altered to look like Darhe'el.  Back in security Kira confronts "Darhe'el", asking how he contracted Kalla-Nora when he was on Cardassia at the time of the accident receiving an award.  Marritza first calls the reports false, but Kira asks about the dermal regenerative.  Marritza becomes frantic and yells for Kira to leave.  Kira asks why he's pretenting to be Darhe'el, and Marritza continues to claim to be Darhe'el before breaking down, admitting to being Marritza and being a coward, unable to stop the atrocities being committed at the labor camp. Kira, sympathetic, lets him go free.  Marritza asks her not to reveal his identity and send him to Bajor for execution, for the crimes Cardassia committed against Bajor-but Kira says she won't help commit another murder.  Later, while Kira and Marritza walk along the promenade to a ship waiting to take him back to Kora II, the drunk Bajoran from earlier runs out of a crowd near Quark's and stabs Marritza in the back, killing him instantly.  Kneeling over Marritza's body a shocked and saddened Kira looks at the Bajoran, now in Odo's custody and asks "Why?  He wasn't Darhe'el!  WHY?"  The Bajoran answers "He's a Cardassian.  That's reason enough."  Kira, with tears in her eyes responds "No... it's not." 


Wow!  What an episode.  This one is often called one of the best of the entire series.  And rightly so.  The acting tour de force of Nana Visitor (Kira) and the late Harris Yulin (Marritza) totally made this episode.  Harris Yulin slays as both Marritza and pretending to be Darhe'el, the blustering, taunting Kira, bragging about the atrocities Darhe'el committed, then breaking down in the end and weeping, admitting that he was a coward, unable to stop the atrocities going on around him, While Nana as Kira holds her own against her own worst enemy, while slowly coming to some important realizations about herself.  A deep, thoughtful, heavy, sometimes dark episode looking at topics of Bajoran nationalism, Cardassian war crimes, justice, how the emotional wounds of war continue to felt for long after both sides.  This is also the first episode to really explore the Bajoran Occupation and the events that took place, the deaths, the torture, forced labor camps, the resistance and Kira's backstory, and the fact that the episode doesn't sugar-coat it and uses words like "torture", "rape", and "genocide".  This episode likens the Occupation to WWII era Japanese/German imperialism, fitting as the Cardassians have always been portrayed as "space fascists".  The idea of a Cardassian war criminal facing trials for war crimes has echos the Nuremberg Trials and the hunt for escaped Nazis.  I also loved the way Marritza's noble intentions and his death at the end of the episode make Kira, who fought Cardassians in the resistance since she was a child, reconsider her own feelings and prejudices toward Cardassians.  The last lines of the episode say it all: Bajoran: "He's a Cardassian.  That's reason enough."  Kira (leaning over Marritza's body): "No... It's not."  Such a powerful ending.  As Kira confided in Dax, in dealing with Marritza she came to realization that she didn't really care about the truth, but vengeance.  A very poignant, powerful, deep episode.


Favorite Quotes 

Kira: Commander, if you'd been there twelve years ago when we liberated that camp... if you'd seen the things I saw... all those Bajoran bodies, starved, brutalized.  You know what Cardassian policy was?  Oh, I'm not even talking about the murder, murder was just the end of the fun for them; first came the humiliation.  Mothers raped in front of their children, husbands beaten until their wives couldn't recognize them, old people buried alive because they couldn't work anymore!

Kira: Marritza says I don't care about the truth.  That all I want is vengeance.
Dax: Are you worried that maybe he's right?

Kira: Nothing justifies genocide!
Marritza (pretending to be Darhe'el): What you call genocide, I call a day's work.

Kira: Why?  He wasn't Darhe'el!  WHY?
Bajoran: He's a Cardassian!  That's reason enough.
Kira: No!...  It's not.