Although we are done with DS9 and are now in the Delta Quadrant with Voyager, that doesn’t mean you can’t go back and catch up on the episodes you missed. You can find the rest here!
Are you responsible for the crimes and actions of your past life? This is the question brought to bear in the episode that originally aired on February 14,1993. This is Dax.
The Episode:
Station Log Stardate 46910.1 Dax
Jadzia Dax finds herself accused of a crime her symbiotes previous host may have committed. Soon she finds herself facing the death penalty but there may be more to the story than she is letting on.
The Breakdown:
After Dax and Bashir prepare for O’Brien’s leave from the Station, Jadzia returns to her quarters only to be ambushed by a group of people asking for Dax. Just as she is being subdued, Julian arrives and is quickly knocked unconscious.
Julian awakes and alerts Sisko and the Ops team who immediately jump into action. The group kidnapping Dax work through the ship avoiding security but Odo manages to make it tougher for them using his security team. Just when it looks like the kidnappers have gotten away, Sisko manages to repair the tractor beams and snags the escaping ship. Getting them back to the station, the lead kidnapper identifies himself as Ilon Tandro and presents a warrant for Dax’s arrest. The crimes, murder and treason.
Upon investigating, it appears that Curzon, Dax’s previous host, has been found guilty of treason and the murder of Ilon’s father, Arelon while on Klaestron IV. With the warrant confirmed, Sisko visits Jadzia to get to the bottom of the issue. He finds that, no matter how hard he pushes, she is not willing to discuss the situation and tells Benjamin Sisko that his help is not wanted nor needed.
Ilon demands the release of Dax into his custody and Sisko pushes back indicating that he will not release Dax due to the extradition treaty not being valid on the station. According to the treaty, the Federation, not Bajor is the signing member and Bajor has not agreed with any extradition. Due to this, a hearing will be held on the station to determine if it is just. The only place large enough to hold a formal hearing? Quark’s Bar of course and Odo makes the arrangements to make it happen. Pleased with the location, Sisko asks Odo to visit Klaestron IV and do some digging.
The Arbiter for Bajor arrives and makes it clear that she is not interested in a lengthy trial. Sisko argues that Jadzia can not be held responsible for the crimes of a past host and, much to the Arbiter’s dismay. Agreeing that this makes a difference, the Arbiter will hold a formal hearing to determine whether Jadzia is guilty of any crime or not.
Preparing for trial, Sisko learns from Odo that Curzon Dax and Arelon Tandro were best friends. Visiting Arelon’s widow, Odo learns that she believes that Curzon is not guilty and is embarrassed by her sons actions. When she learns that Curzon is no longer alive but Dax is in the body of a 28 year old woman, she is visibly shaken.
Back at the hearing, Ilon calls upon a Trill expert to validate if a symbiote is guilty of crimes of their past. As more and more people testify for and against Dax, it seems that this is more than just a simple extradition. Medically, mentally and physically, each new host forms a new bond essentially forming a new person but when it comes down to it, Dax still looks guilty of something more than murder and treason. In fact, it seems that Curzon may have been having an affair with Arelon Tandro’s wife, Enina. She admits to the affair and, despite her husband’s legendary status of a hero, she indicates that he was not the person everyone thinks he was.
In the end, Enina Tandro arrives at the hearing to tell the truth about Curzon. When Arelon died, Curzon was in bed with Enina and could not have killed anyone or transmitted any data.
Later in confidence, Enina tells Jadzia that it was in fact General Tandro himself who sent the coded message to the rebels and they killed him for his favor, leading his people to win the war despite his betrayal, making him a hero. It is a secret that she will take to her grave but with the knowledge that she helped save a young woman from death.
Is this a ‘Good’ Episode:
This is a great episode that really explores the character of Jadzia and her symbiote Dax. While the debate of whether a Trill and the host should or should not honor their past selves comes up again, this is the first time that it is really explored on the series. The thing that really makes this episode worthwhile though is the exploration of Ben Sisko and Jadzia Dax’s relationship.
Curzon Dax was more of a mentor to Sisko, Curzon was someone who Sisko looked to for guidance and in time developed a deep lasting friendship with the Trill. When Dax arrives on the station, Sisko hopes to continue that friendship through this new host, Jadzia. While she makes it clear that she is not the same person, it is obvious that that friendship was a deep and important one to her symbiote. This allows for some very strong connection between the two with Avery Brooks and Terry Farrell doing an amazing job at appearing as age old friends. From the get go we see that these two people are more than friends, they have a familiar connection that is not easy to fake. This, in itself is a testament to the acting abilities of these two and will continue through the series.
Gleanings and Cool Bits:
Bashir once again tries to get with Jadzia only to crash and burn. Thankfully his tenacity pays off in this one, helping to prevent her kidnapping.
This episode establishes that Keiko O’Brien’s mother is 100 years old.
We learn about Raktajino in this one. I always thought that this Klingon Coffee would have notes of cinnamon, chocolate and cayenne pepper in it. More like a thick Mayan Coffee than anything else.
Odo gets a chance to stretch his detective muscles in this episode, something we will see more of in the future.
I did find it interesting that a station like this not have a conference room or a meeting room that could hold more than a few people forcing them to hold the hearing at Quark’s Bar. Maybe Cardassians don’t have large meetings or maybe someone booked the meeting room for a birthday party. I mean, I wouldn’t want to cancel my reservation if Quark is the one taking the money, you know you’d never get your deposit back.
Thanks for reading the Retro TV Review, I look forward to discussing the rest of the series with you, one episode at a time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Next Review: The Passenger
If you would like to read more reviews I have a weekly series called Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday and for more retro TV goodness check out the rest of the Retro TV Reviews here.
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Late To The Game 12/5/2020 (Originally published 3/11/19)
Special Thanks to Memory Alpha as they are one of the best sources for details on Star Trek information available. Although I have a pretty deep knowledge on the subject, they have proven invaluable as a regular resource.
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