42. The Wire

Summary

While talking with Julian, Garak suddenly seems like he has a terrible headache but refuses any medical aid. Puzzled and concerned, Julian overhears Garak arranging to have Quark get him some merchandise, some kind of Cardassian medical technology. The next day he finds Garak drinking himself into oblivion at Quark's and being rather offensive...but soon enough he collapses into some sort of seizure. In sickbay, Julian finds some kind of implant inside Garak's brain. Neither he nor Odo have any idea what it is, so they decide to spy on Quark as he arranges to buy the merchandise, but his Cardassian contact finds out that the item Garak wants is classifed by the Obsidian Order, the ruthless Cardassian intelligence bureau. When Julian gets back to sickbay Garak's gone. He finds him in his quarters anesthetizing himself and persuades Garak to talk...he tells Julian that the device is an endorphin generator meant to help him withstand torture, but he's been operating it continuously to withstand life on the station. Julian talks him into letting him deactivate the device, and he stays with Garak as he goes through a painful withdrawal. As his symptoms worsen, Garak tells Julian why he was exiled...he destroyed a Cardassian transport in order to keep six stowaway Bajoran prisoners from escasping. Later, he changes his story and tells Julian that his real crime was letting six Bajoran children, prisoners he was interrogating with his aide Elim, go free. When his condition worsens, Julian takes him to sickbay...where he tells him yet another story of why he was exiled, this one the truth. Elim was more than his aide, he was his best friend...when the six children escaped, he and Elim both pointed fingers at each other but Elim got to it first, so Garak was exiled. Julian needs Cardassian medical information to treat Garak, so he goes to Cardassia to consult with Enabran Tain, the former head of the Order and Garak's mentor. Tain gives him the information, but when Julian asks him about Elim, Tain just laughs. Elim is Garak's first name.

Analysis

At last, the first real dyed-in-the-wool Garak episode. Our curiosity about Garak seems to know no bounds, especially since the writers delight in feeding us teensy bits of tantalizing information about him which may or may not be true. We are every bit as frustrated as Julian at the mystery surrounding this man...yet he wouldn't be nearly as fascinating without the mystery. This episode accomplishes the not inconsiderable feat of purporting to answer questions about Garak when in fact it answers none and only poses more. This was the first mention of the sinister, all-knowing Obsidian Order and the first hint that Garak was one of their operatives...a fact he always manages to simulataneously admit and deny. His three contradictory stories explaining why he was exiled grow a bit tiresome...how many times will he change his mind?...yet when Tain delivers the final coup de grace, we realize that none of these stories was in fact true, or perhaps they were partially true. You just never know with Garak. Andrew Robinson turns in, as usual, a terrific performance as Garak, a truly multifaceted character who's immensely charming and cultured and smooth, yet always has an underlying danger lurking about the corners of his eyes. The way he's written is sheer brilliance. He tells you so much, yet he tells you nothing. He's so open and friendly, yet you only know of him what he lets you see. On top of everything else, this episode is a veritable slash-fest for what is without a doubt the most popular slash pairing since K/S...even I can see that and I'm not really into slash. Bashir shows unusual backbone here, and one might point to this episode as the beginning of the maturation of his character. The plot has a few problems. They build up this implant as being the big MacGuffin yet after it's shut off they fall back on some weak medical technobabble. Bashir's trip to Cardassia seems tacked-on, like an afterthought, and the introduction of Tain, I think, would have been best kept for a later episode. Nevertheless it's a very interesting episode....and very illustrative of the fact that the more we know of Garak, the less we know, and the more we want to know.

Rating: 8.0

Memorable Quote:

Several.

"That's what you get for dealing with a culture that refuses to even acknowledge the concept of time, though I must admit they make lovely sweaters." --Garak

Bashir: Do you have one of these little [surveillance] bugs planted in *my* quarters?
Odo: Should I?

Tain: He doesn't deserve a quick death. I want him to live a long life and grow old on that station surrounded by people who hate him, knowing he can never come back to Cardassia.
Bashir: What a lovely sentiment.
Tain: And it comes from the heart.

Classic Scene:

Garak's final descent into withdrawal-induced dementia, in which he throws things and attacks Bashir, is a chilling reminder that underneath his charming veneer lurks a totally different person.

Sexually Slanted Line 'O the Episode:

"Garak, what are you doing up?" --Bashir

The O/K Status Report

I don't believe Kira's in this episode for more than two seconds.

Special Alerts

• Alienglish Alert