Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 2.05

Cardassians

Garak interrupts his conversation with Doctor Bashir to try and talk to a Cardassian teen who is traveling with a Bajoran man. The teen bites Garak’s hand when he touches him on the shoulder. 

Doctor Bashir reports the incident to Commander Sisko. It quickly becomes clear that Rugal, the teenage Cardassian, is a war orphan who was left behind on Bajor when the Cardassians cleared out. The Bajoran with whom he is traveling is his adoptive father. Sisko sends Rugal to live with Chief O’Brien and Keiko, his wife, after Gul Dukat calls Sisko and expresses an interest in having Rugal repatriated to Cardassia.

Doctor Bashir questions Gul Dukat’s sincerity when it comes to the repatriation of Cardassian war orphans. Chief O’Brien is forced to interact with Rugal while he is quartered with himself and Keiko.

Sisko learns from Gul Dukat that Rugal’s biological father is a prominent leader on Cardassia. Rugal was thought to have been killed by Bajoran freedom fighters along with his mother. Doctor Bashir and Garak make a trip to Bajor to look for information about the circumstances of Rugal’s adoption.

Ko’tan Padar, Rugal’s biological father arrives on the space station. He meets with Rugal. He wants to take him back to Cardassia but Rugal doesn’t want to go. 

Commander Sisko holds a hearing to determine whether Rugal should go back to Bajor with his adoptive father or to Cardassia with his biological father. During the hearing it becomes clear that Gul Dukat was responsible for the coverup that led Ko’tan Padar to believe that his son had been killed. Sisko decides that Rugal should return to Cardassia with his biological father. 

Thoughts

Kira, Odo, Quark, and Dax are all in this episode but this episode is mostly Doctor Bashir’s episode with a side helping of Sisko. It is a bit odd that Jake, Sisko’s son, is not seen in this episod3 considering the central theme of it.

Something feels wrong about the way this episode ended. It’s more than just the fact that Rugal is sent back to Cardassia. It is also the fact that neither Rugal nor his adoptive father or anyone else for that matter seems to object to the decision that has been made. I’m not sure how I would have preferred to see this episode end but I don’t like the way it ended. 

This isn’t a bad episode but the way it ends keeps me from giving it higher marks.