False Prophets, True Prophecies

"Till Death Do Us Part" Plot Summary:

As Benjamin Sisko tries to explain to Jake his message from the Prophets, Kai Winn arrives on the station to congratulate the Emissary and offer to perform his wedding ceremony herself. She expresses sorrow that the Prophets have never appeared to her, but as Kira escorts her to her quarters, she has a vision which resembles a summons from the Prophets. Beings who look like Sisko, Kira and some Vedeks tell her that the Sisko has faltered, so she must renew Bajor with the help of a guide with the wisdom of the land. A joyous Winn tells Kira that the Prophets have visited her.

Imprisoned on the Breen ship, Worf and Dax discuss the dangerous Breen, whom no one has ever seen beneath their armor. Worf enjoys Ezri's sense of humor and says that even if he lost Jadzia, he finds the new Dax host to be much like her; he is glad they will have many years together. Dax looks pensive at this statement. Later, Worf wakes her from a nightmare about Bashir which she interprets as revealing something she has repressed. Worf grouses that Jadzia did not talk about her dreams, but Dax reminds him that she is now a counselor; interpreting dreams is part of her job. As they begin to quarrel, the Breen come in, stun Ezri, and take Worf for questioning.

As Weyoun takes Damar on a secret mission, Dukat says goodbye to his old friend and heads to Deep Space Nine, where he uses the name Anjohl Tenan, a Bajoran farmer from Relekat. At an audience with the Kai, he says that he is a simple man of the land, leading her to grab his ear and admire his Pah. When he tells her of a blight on his farm, she recites an ancient apocalypse prophecy which sounds vaguely reminiscent of the situation. Telling him that she believes he has been sent to her by the Prophets, she asks him to walk the path with her.

Meanwhile, Sisko breaks the news to Kasidy Yates that his mother has told him he must walk his path alone. "I want to be with you," he tells her. "Then be with me, Ben," she begs, but he refuses to go against the will of the Prophets who see things they cannot understand. She removes her engagement ring and leaves his quarters, where Quark later delivers the nonrefundable wedding band which Sisko places on top of the model of his home on Bajor. Later he tells Kira of his decision and she is supportive, telling him that the Prophets were surely trying to save him from a mistake. Sisko complains that as far as the Prophets are concerned, he is only their servant the Sisko, but he is also a man, and this should be his own mistake to make.

Worf is returned to his cell, where Dax calms him from a nightmare about Jadzia and Alexander. He says the Breen probed his memory with a cortical implant but he does not remember what they wanted to know. Again they argue, this time about Klingon honor and the uselessness of resistance, then the Breen come again, this time to take Dax. When she is returned, she mumbles in her sleep about Garak, then says, "I love you...kiss me, Julian." Worf is furious, and Dax's later insistence that she does not love Bashir - nor did Jadzia - does little to placate him.

Kai Winn shares a bottle of Bajoran wine with Dukat, who says that the bottle - her intended wedding present for the Emissary - would not have been appreciated as Sisko is not "one of us," and does not understand how Bajor suffered during the Occupation. Dukat then spins a tale of how he narrowly escaped execution by the Cardassians because a driver read the order incorrectly. Winn exclaims that she personally bribed the Cardassians in Relekat to reroute transports. "You saved my life," Dukat marvels, taking her hands in his. That night he summons her in her nightgown, telling her of a miraculous development in his orchards on Bajor. She says that it is a sign from the Prophets that he should stay at her side, and tells him her first name - Adami. Then they kiss passionately.

Sisko stops Yates' transport minutes before it departs to tell her that he made a mistake - he wants to marry her no matter what the Prophets say. The crew rushes to the civil ceremony in the briefing room, but while most are happy despite the late-night haste, Kira is upset. When Odo jokes that he hopes the Prophets will forgive Sisko for choosing not to have a Bajoran ceremony, Kira shivers a little, "So do I." Admiral Ross marries Sisko and Yates "until death separates you," but just as Benjamin slides the ring onto Kasidy's finger, a vision of his mother Sarah appears to him again, warning him that he will know only sorrow if he goes through with the wedding. "Your path is a difficult one. I cannot change what is to come," she tells him. Sisko says that Yates gives him strength, embraces the vision of his mother, and returns to himself to complete the ceremony.

On the Dominion ship, Damar demands that Weyoun tell him where they are going, though the debilitated Founder had insisted earlier that the Cardassians not be told. Weyoun assures Damar that he will be pleased. The Breen take Worf and Ezri from their cell and beam as a group onto the Dominion ship, where Weyoun announces that they should be happy at this historic occasion: the consummation of an alliance between the Dominion and the Breen.

Analysis:

So the mysterious Breen - who look like Princess Leia disguised as the bounty hunter from Return of the Jedi - drop in for a guest appearance in the Deep Space Nine final arc. I admit I don't find this as satisfying as I might have found a more regular enemy - the Borg spring to mind, since I wonder whether they couldn't have assimilated the Great Link and might therefore pose no threat to them - but I guess there needed to be some new infusion of blood to keep the Dominion as a viable threat to the Federation, and here it is.

The memory-probe was a smart device for them to be using; gave Worf and Ezri a chance to air some things which otherwise would have seemed contrived if murmured aloud in dreams. I'm going to be quite disappointed if Ezri decides she does love Bashir, but it would be a roundabout way of giving the Julian/Jadzia fans what they wanted for all those years.

The farewell scene between Dukat and Damar - and I suspect it really is goodbye in this case, since I don't see them as likely to meet again - was oddly moving in a weird way. Damar is after all the man who killed Ziyal, Dukat's daughter. He really has fallen a long way; though I despise Cardassians as a rule, I wouldn't mind seeing this one get his spine back, at least long enough to wipe out this Weyoun and all subsequent clones.

Ah, to be Gul Dukat, who has gotten to bed some really amazing women in his life - it's hard not to find that sexy even if the man is Mordred, Judas, and Hitler all rolled into one. He and Winn make an absolutely lovely couple, surprisingly sexy in spite (or maybe because) of the fact that they're both such shameless, selfish, greedy devils.

I love getting to see the Kai as part of a major religious arc, but I don't really like to see Winn seem so naive and so misguided. She was a lot more powerful back when she and Jaro formed an unholy alliance to take over Bajor in full cognizance of their evildoing, even if that's not as interesting as her current would-be-messiah persona. On the other hand, she is undoubtedly getting the best sex she's had in years. Why ask questions when you find a guy who literally grovels at your feet? I wonder whether discovering her lover's terrible secret will enrage the Kai or just turn her on some more.

Considering that I didn't much like the Sisko/Yates relationship when it started, I was surprised at how moving I found their wedding. Maybe because the relationship is so obviously doomed - as would be any relationship into which Sisko entered, apparently, since the Prophets keep telling him that he must walk his path alone. Or maybe it's because the emotions are nicely underplayed, without any great scenes of lament on Kasidy's part - Ben was far more worked up than she was. I'm glad she has her own life, because Yates appears to understand that being the Emissary will always come first in Sisko's life - before herself and, apparently, even before Starfleet. I wonder what Admiral Ross would say if he knew?