5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastic work of psychodrama, January 27, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 19: Duet [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Wow...this is "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" at its best. The plot is simple (Kira suspects that a sick man brought aboard the station is actually a notorious Cardassian war criminal), but terrific direction, great music, and fantastic acting from everyone involved make this episode totally riveting. Harris Yulin is arguably Star Trek's most impressive guest star ever, and his Dr. Hannibal Lecter-ish role is wonderful. The psychology of prejudice is examined in the simplicity of the interrogation scenes and comes to a head in an incredible ending. A nearly flawless and definitely recommended episode.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
harnessing hatred, October 29, 2004
This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 19: Duet [VHS] (VHS Tape)
A Kobherian freighter requests docking at DS9, requesting medical aid for a passenger who suffers from Kalla-Nohra syndrome. This perks up Kira's ears, as the only people who have ever contracted the disease were present at the Gallitepp forced labor camp during a mining accident.
In Star Trek lore, every race that we see on a recurring basis is based on a culture in Earth's past or present. Klingons were modeled after Samurai warriors, for example. Bajorans are clearly Star Trek's version of the Jewish people and the Cardassians are the sci-fi version of German Nazis. This is especially evident in the DS9 series in which we see a liberated Bajor, recovering from the cruel occupation of the Cardassians. Gallitepp is their version of Auschwitz. Bajoran women were raped in front of their children, men beaten until their wives could no longer recognize them and old people who could no longer work were buried alive as the Cardassians forced the Bajorans to strip-mine the resources of their own planet for the Cardassian cause and then were eliminated when they were deemed no longer useful.
Kira goes to sickbay to visit the patient, since survivors of the camp she helped to liberate hold a special place in the heart of all Bajorans. When she arrives, she sees not a Bajoran, but a Cardassian under the doctor's care. Since he clearly suffers from Kalla-Nohra syndrome, he clearly must have been present at Gallitepp, which makes him gulity of war crimes by default.
Kira's shoulder pads go into over-drive and her hair gets more spikey - she calls for Odo and the man who claims to be Aiman Maritza tries to flee. Odo subdues him and he is put into the brig. Sisko is frustrated - there is no "proof" per se that this man committed any crimes, but Kira has already contacted the provisional government on Bajor and they want to see this guy on the business end of a rope after a speedy war-crimes tribunal.
The Cardassian, masterfully played by Harris Yulin, claims he suffers from a different syndrome that is treated the same way as Kalla-Nohra and that he was on Cardassia during the accident at Gallitepp. After the doctor runs some tests, it is evident the man is lying. He then admits that he was at Gallitepp, but only as a filing clerk - a very efficient filing clerk, but he claims to have never heard of or seen first hand any atrocities at Gallitepp.
Maritza becomes increasingly abrasive and smug, and it really rubs Kira's fur in the wrong direction and she cannot wait to see this man die for his crimes. She and Odo continue their investigation to find more dirt on him and after they find an old photo of Gallitep, they see a photo of a man who is supposedly Aiman Maritza, and he looks nothing like the man in the holding cell. Further examination of the photo reveals a man he does resemble - and it's Gul Darhe'el - aka "the Butcher of Galliteep."
After pressing him, he finally admits that he is Gul Darhe'el and continues to be a burr under Kira's emotional saddle. He smugly recounts the "termination reports" that he claims encouraged him. He says his only regret was that he was unable to eliminate all of the Bajoran scum. Kira is almost vibrating like a tuning fork - this guy doesn't act scared and in fact doesn't even care that he will die. When she accuses him of genocide, he responds, "what you, my dear, refer to as genocide, I call a day's work."
This guy is like the captain of Hitler's bowling team - he is obviously pure evil and Kira admits that her only regret is that he can only be hung once for what he did and for what he ordered others to do. Recounting to Odo part of her conversation, Odo advises her not to share personal information with a man like Darhe'el and she says she hasn't - and Odo wonders how Darhe'el would know that Kira was in the Shakaar underground without her volunteering the information to him. "Something's wrong here," Odo retorts, and he gets back to his investigation.
Odo plays verbal chess with Gul Dukat concerning Cardassian files on Gul Darhe'el until he is able to get permission to view the files. He learns that Gul Darhe'el was buried in a big ceremony and currently his coffin is under a big statue in their capital city. Gul Dukat says he attended the funeral himself and that his body and for that matter, his face, was clearly visible to the entire planet as Cardassians watched the funeral via their version of television.
Why on earth - or rather, why on DS9, would someone claim to be the Butcher of Gallitepp? Why would someone with so many enemies on Bajor make a bee-line straight to DS9 to receive medical treatment when he could have received it anywhere else? Why would someone facing a death sentence do so gladly, keeping up the facade that they are someone they clearly are not?
The truth twists Kira's heart in a 180 - from harnessed hatred to tremendous admiration and a change in how she has previously felt about all Cardassians in the past. This is not a preachy story and doesn't try to send a "let's just hold hands and sing Kumbaya" message to victims of war crimes - quite the opposite, it talks plainly about the horrors of such heinous acts and the healing a nation can feel when a purpetrator is brought to justice - even when they denied justice to their victims. There were a few holes in the story here and there, but easy to dismiss considering the masterpiece this episode is as a whole. Excellent.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the series' shining moments, April 7, 2000
This review is from: Star Trek - Deep Space Nine, Episode 19: Duet [VHS] (VHS Tape)
It is rare that in a show's first year that it has an episode with such power and substance. "Duet" is just one of those teleplays that scores on all levels: fine acting, intelligent dialogue, and film-level direction. If this world were fair, both series regular Nana Visitor and guest performer Harris Yulan would have been dusting off their respective mantles for an Emmy award the initial year of this show's airing. The thespians, acting as the title indicates, in basically what is a two-person drama, complement and compliment each other in sincerity and execution of their craft. The twists and turns of the script keep the viewer mesmerized until the most tragic of all endings. I love Trek for the SFX, but the shows which deal with humanity at its best and worst are the ones that truly stand out! Series television has never been better than this installment.
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