A quite excellent study of Dukat's character at this point in his overall storyline. It sometimes felt to me like the writer's didn't entirely know what they wanted to do with him, but whenever they made a choice they really went at it full force. This resulted in a number of really standout episodes that gave actor Marc Alaimo a lot to work with.
Right now, it seems that Gul Dukat is - kind of - a good guy, or at least he wants to be one. Ziyal suggests that he genuinely regrets all the atrocities he committed during the Bajoran occupation, and from what we see he appears quite genuine. It's quite clear that, no matter what Kira says, her hatred towards him is softening. Then she will suddenly remember and it flares up again. That's Dukat's real strength, he's disarming. He makes you want to like him. From a real-world perspective, it's quite insane that Dukat would be the one assigned to do this work, but from a storytelling perspective its gold.
Also notable for introducing the character of Damar, who is far more agreeable and laid back here than the character we will get to know in subsequent appearances. Some super dialogue between Kira and Dukat make this a pretty great episode all round. I like that the show is confident enough to pretty much ditch the entire regular cast outside of Kira.
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2017-11-03T13:39:57Z
I named my band after the title of this episode!
A quite excellent study of Dukat's character at this point in his overall storyline. It sometimes felt to me like the writer's didn't entirely know what they wanted to do with him, but whenever they made a choice they really went at it full force. This resulted in a number of really standout episodes that gave actor Marc Alaimo a lot to work with.
Right now, it seems that Gul Dukat is - kind of - a good guy, or at least he wants to be one. Ziyal suggests that he genuinely regrets all the atrocities he committed during the Bajoran occupation, and from what we see he appears quite genuine. It's quite clear that, no matter what Kira says, her hatred towards him is softening. Then she will suddenly remember and it flares up again. That's Dukat's real strength, he's disarming. He makes you want to like him. From a real-world perspective, it's quite insane that Dukat would be the one assigned to do this work, but from a storytelling perspective its gold.
Also notable for introducing the character of Damar, who is far more agreeable and laid back here than the character we will get to know in subsequent appearances. Some super dialogue between Kira and Dukat make this a pretty great episode all round. I like that the show is confident enough to pretty much ditch the entire regular cast outside of Kira.