Visitor and guest star Yulin imbue performances with powerful emotion

Rhonda’s Take on Episode 18: “Duet”

Much of this season has been about getting to know our station crew and, for our characters, much of that journey has been about coming to grips with the past. This journey has perhaps been toughest for Major Kira Nerys. After all, in just a year, she went from leading a violent resistance to accepting a post as liaison between a fledgling government and the intergalactic unifier known as the Federation of Planets. She has had to set aside many emotions resulting from post-traumatic stress in order to function.

The “Duet” of this episode’s title is between Kira and a Cardassian who is either a former file clerk or the Butcher of Gallitep. A ship arrives at the station with a passenger who needs urgent medical attention for Kalla-Nohra, a disease caused by exposure to a mining accident at Gallitep, a forced labor camp. Nana Visitor conveys her character’s mixed emotions of sympathy and excitement as she realizes this patient might be a survivor of Gallitep. She, of course, has assumed that she will see a Bajoran, but the heavy musical beats as a Cardassian is revealed signal the opposing emotions of fear and revenge that cross her face as the two glare at each other. She immediately calls for security, but then she, Odo, and Sisko must determine what, if any, crime the Cardassian can be held for. I love any appearance of Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat and he does not disappoint in his diplomatic negotiations with Sisko as he argues for the Cardassian’s release.

In case Kira’s internal conflict is too subtle (it is not), Kainon, the apparent Promenade drunk who needs to be locked up regularly to sober up, says all the things Kira is thinking, but cannot say as an officer. Throughout the episode, Kainon spits hatred for Marritza simply for his being Cardassian. It doesn’t matter whether he is a file clerk or a labor camp leader by virtue of his species, he is guilty. Kira will eventually recognize herself in Kainon.

Marritza clearly wants to get under Kira’s skin. He continually teases out her worst fears, such as the weakness of Bajor and herself. “Look at the hate in her eyes, she wants to kill me,” he says. Later saying that her search for vengeance is not her job, but her passion. He dismisses her attitude by calling her a “strutting little egotist!”

This episode plays with the audience along with Kira.

What burns deepest is that he isn’t wrong in any of his declarations. 

Kira argues with Sisko that while she may not have any legal grounds for holding the Cardassian, it is morally right that he be held and tried and ultimately punished for whatever crimes he might’ve committed.

Kira has been portrayed as an angry firebrand throughout the first season, but “Duet” forces her to keep her emotions restrained. Several times she must choke back tears as she lists the atrocities committed against the Bajoran prisoners at Gallitep. When arguing with Marritza, she must temper her anger. She knows he is trying to upset her, but she also wants him to feel guilty and remorseful and so she argues again and again that the Cardassians murdered Bajorans unnecessarily.

Marritza demands to know how many civilians she killed during her rebel campaign. She cannot deny that Cardassian civilians were killed, but she justifies these deaths as part of the cost of Bajor’s freedom. Marritza, of course, argues that his decisions were no different from hers. His choices were for the greater good of Cardassia, just as hers were a patriotic duty for Bajor.

The Bajoran government seems to support Kira’s interpretation of the moral right versus legal grounds as Minister Kaval thanks Sisko for the service he has achieved for Bajor in capturing and holding Marritza. Kaval demands that Sisko remand the prisoner to Bajor for trial because it is their purview, not the Federation’s, to punish Cardassians. Once again, Sisko and Kira wrestle over who has authority on the station. Earlier in the season, we imagine Kira would’ve continued to argue with Sisko in a raised voice with little reasoning. This time, she calmly promises Sisko that she is his First Officer and reminds him that he once called them friends. Both of these things combine for her to remain loyal and support his decisions. Earlier in the season, she might’ve made similar promises to Sisko, but the next scene would’ve seen her taking opposing action. Here her actions reinforce her promise. She began to win Sisko’s support with her promise, but it is her reserved emotional argument that she fights for “those who moved too slow and never moved again” that wins his support. I won’t say “full support,” because before the camera cuts away, we see Sisko’s thoughtful look and remaining concern over the decision to let Kira lead the investigation into Marritza.

Huge props to guest star Harris Yulin for this complex performance!

This episode plays with the audience along with Kira. Marritza’s lies twist and turn, yet are continually easy to see through. At first, he denies having Kalla-Nohra, blaming his ailment on a similar disease, but Bashir easily confirms that it is Kalla-Nohra. He claims to only be a file clerk at the camp and it is confirmed that he has been teaching filing at a university for the last five years. Yet, when the Cardassians finally provide documents, his face is revealed not to be Marritza’s, but Gul Darhe’el, the Butcher of Gallitep. He vacillates between denying knowledge of any atrocities, “vaguely recall hearing screams,” placing blame on Bajorans killing each other, perhaps over food or other resources, and actually admitting that he committed the atrocities with glee for the deaths of “Bajoran scum.”

In a contemplative moment between rounds with Marritza, Kira stares longingly at the wormhole. Dax approaches and asks the telling question, “What are you looking for?” Kira’s response is honest: she doesn’t want Marritza to only be a file clerk. She wants him to be something more so that his punishment might bring Bajor some comfort. Dax yet again delivers wisdom as she reminds Kira that she knows “vengeance isn’t enough.”

By the end of the episode, Kira clearly sees the difference between justice and vengeance. When it is revealed that Marritza underwent surgery to appear like Darhe’el, when it is clear that he wants to sacrifice himself because he feels his inaction makes him guilty, and when we understand his desire to be a martyr so that Cardassia may begin to pay for its crimes against Bajor, Kira recognizes another tortured soul. When she returns to his cell to confront him with the evidence that he is not the Butcher, we see compassion in her eyes. His veneer is also cracked. In previous scenes, Marritza maintained manipulative control, but now his eyes, like those of any liar, cannot rest and dart around at anything but Kira. Finally, he breaks down in tears and covers his ears as if trying to drown an ocean of cries for help. (Huge props to guest star Harris Yulin for this complex performance!) Kira will not let him be punished for crimes that he could not have stopped as one man against a corrupt regime, even when he declares that they are all guilty. This had been Kira’s belief, but now, she refuses to commit another murder by punishing an innocent man.

Unfortunately, Kainon takes matters into his own hands and the final scene depicts Kira recognizing the danger of her previous notions as the camera pan away from her bent over Marritza’s body.

Return to Jim’s Take: Deep Space Nine at its very best

Continue to Ray’s Take: “Intricate and Intriguing Interplay with Layers of Misdirection and Mistrust”

Skip to Matt’s Take: “A Thematic Masterpiece and Tour De Force for Nana Visitor”

Return to Episode Logs or Episode 18 Guide