Television Review: Cardassians (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, S2x05, 1993)
Cardassians (S02E05)
Airdate: 24 October 1993
Written by: James Crocker
Directed by: Cliff Bole
Running Time: 46 minutes
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s second season commenced with a remarkable burst of creative energy, delivering four standout episodes that established the series as a formidable force in the franchise. However, maintaining such a high level of consistent quality is an arduous task, and by the time the fifth episode arrived, the show was beginning to show signs of strain. Cardassians might have looked promising on paper, dealing with the intriguing subject of post-occupation trauma and the complex legacy of war, yet it ultimately served as a bit of a disappointment. While the narrative certainly deals with socially relevant themes regarding racial hatred and identity, the execution often feels hamstrung by a rushed second half and a narrative logic that struggles to fully land its emotional beats.
The episode opens with a scene that immediately introduces the central conflict through the charismatic figure of Elim Garak. The Cardassian tailor approaches a young Cardassian boy on the promenade of Deep Space Nine. The interaction is brief and tense; the boy (Vidal Peterson), bites Garak’s hand, prompting an immediate and gentle medical attention from Dr. Julian Bashir. This violent incident serves as a catalyst, revealing that the root of the boy's aggression lies in his tragic and unusual background. Rugal, the boy, was orphaned during the brutal Cardassian occupation of Bajor. Despite the understandable hatred his adoptive Bajoran parents hold for their former occupiers, they took him in, raised him as one of their own, and instilled in him a deep devotion to Bajoran religion and culture. Consequently, Rugal has completely internalised a Bajoran identity, despising everything Cardassian and rejecting any connection to his biological heritage.
As Sisko investigates the incident, he discovers that Gul Dukat has taken a keen interest in the case. Following the Cardassian withdrawal, a significant number of Cardassian orphans were left behind on Bajor, creating a diplomatic and humanitarian dilemma. Dukat proposes bringing these children back to Cardassia, a move that threatens to tear Rugal away from the only family he has ever known. To mitigate the situation and test the waters, Sisko decides to place Rugal in the temporary care of Miles O’Brien. For O’Brien, this arrangement proves to be a crucible. Having actual Cardassians living in his household forces him to confront his own deep-seated wartime traumas and prejudices. He finds himself in a strange position, trying to deal with his internal hatred while ostensibly presenting a welcoming face to the child he is caring for.
Meanwhile, Garak also takes a personal interest in the mystery. With Sisko’s permission, he and Bashir travel to Bajor to investigate the orphanage where Rugal was found. This investigation uncovers a shocking twist: Rugal’s biological father is actually Kotan Pa’Dar (Robert Mandan), a powerful and influential Cardassian civilian politician. Rugal was allegedly killed by Bajoran terrorists during the Occupation years ago, but in reality, he had been taken to an orphanage. Garak’s keen deductive skills suggest that this is not a random occurrence but a calculated political maneuver. He hypothesises that Dukat, who harbours a bitter grudge against Pa’Dar—who played a pivotal role in ending the Occupation—has orchestrated a long-term plan to destroy Pa’Dar’s political career. By having Dukat find the son Pa’Dar thought he had lost, Dukat could compromise Pa’Dar, who was currently making inquiries into potential Cardassian involvement in a recent attempted coup on Bajor.
The political intrigue comes to a head when Pa’Dar arrives at the station for a custody hearing presided over by Sisko. In a parallel investigation, Garak and Bashir locate Joman Lumat (), Bajoran social volunteer, who reveals that Rugal was brought to orphanage by a female Cardassian officer. Through this revelation, the duo deduces that this officer was acting on direct orders from Gul Dukat, validating Garak’s theory that Dukat was planting Rugal to be found later as a political weapon. Dukat’s scheme to use Rugal as a pawn to discredit Pa’Dar is thwarted, but the emotional damage is done. After careful deliberation, and despite Rugal having loving, adoptive parents who have raised him as their own, Sisko ultimately rules in favour of reunifying the boy with his biological father. The decision, while legally sound, results in a devastating outcome for the young Rugal, who is forced to choose between the family that nurtured him and the lineage he has spent his entire life trying to suppress.
The script by James Crocker is undeniably ambitious, attempting to tackle head-on the thorny issues of racial hatred and the long-term psychological effects of occupation. The episode is set against the backdrop of a brutal conflict, exploring how the aftermath affects the most vulnerable—those torn between two worlds. There is an attempt to introduce some much-needed complexity to the Cardassian characterisation. While the show never doubts the Cardassians' capacity for oppression, Cardassians hints that the Cardassians themselves might be victims of their own history and the prejudice of others. The episode even canonically acknowledges the immense suffering of Bajorans, stating that ten million Bajorans were killed during the Occupation, yet it suggests that Cardassian orphans left on Bajor have become collateral damage of these decades of accumulated hatred.
However, these nuanced themes are slightly overshadowed by a contrived scene that serves to underline the episode’s anti-racist message. The scene in question features Miles O’Brien attempting to convince Rugal that he does not hate Cardassians. There is a dark, ironic humour to the situation: O’Brien is struggling to overcome his own bias, yet the "true Cardassian" in the room is Rugal, who vehemently rejects his own Cardassian identity. It is Keiko O’Brien who navigates this awkward tension with practical wisdom, acting as the moral compass of the household and ensuring that the children’s emotional needs are prioritised over political posturing.
Given the setup, Cardassians had the potential to be another grand classic of the series. Instead, it feels slightly underwhelming, undercut by a complex political intrigue subplot that is rushed in the episode's second half. The pacing suffers significantly, particularly in the transition from the Bajoran investigation to the station-based resolution. The actual ending, which looks devastating for young Rugal, is delivered with a sense of finality that feels unearned given the rushed nature of the preceding plot. The emotional weight of the separation is diminished by the speed at which the political mystery is solved.
The episode does benefit immensely from the return of Andrew Robinson as Garak. His reappearance after a long absence adds a layer of mystique, and his character is given tantalising hints of his mysterious agenda, which would later be explored more deeply in the series. Robinson’s performance is magnetic, anchoring the episode's intellectual weight. Unfortunately, his presence makes the young Vidal Peterson appear somewhat stiff and unconvincing in comparison. The casting choice for the young actor results in a visual and performance disconnect that pulls the viewer out of the moment.
Ultimately, Cardassians is a solid episode of Deep Space Nine, but it is a frustrating one. It could have been much better, exploring its themes with a slower, more deliberate pace. Apart from establishing some valuable worldbuilding and setting the stage for the character development of Pa’Dar, the episode does not look particularly important or memorable in the grand scheme of the series. It serves as a reminder of the show's potential when dealing with its most complex political and social narratives, but as a standalone piece, it struggles to leave a lasting impression.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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