“Necessary Evil” features a surprisingly successful ending to an episode that begins with a great deal of difficulty. The episode itself is loosely modeled after film-noir, with its murder-mystery, voiceover work from Odo, and austere lighting from flashbacks to the time when the Cardassians ran Deep Space Nine. But the setup is a bit too cliché and a bit too slow and a bit too awkward to convincingly pull the audience in to the story. The result is that by the time the episode really gets into its more worthy segments, too much time has passed to really capitalize on them.

The episode begins with Quark receiving a business proposition from a Bajoran woman whose husband ran a chemistry shop on DS9 during the Cardassian occupation. The husband had been murdered years earlier, but she wants something retrieved from the shop. Quark does the job and is promptly shot by a Bajoran accomplice. This sets Odo onto the trail of the would-be murderer. The present case bares some striking connections back to Odo’s first case as Constable on DS9 – the murder of the woman’s husband. And so the episode unfolds with both crimes as a focal point, making use of flashbacks. Of course, both crimes are connected – and solved – but the final resolution is what saves the episode and makes it a worthy installment.

The twist, of course, is that the original murder had been perpetrated by none other than Major Kira. Back during the occupation, she had managed to fool Odo into thinking her mission was one of sabotage, rather than assassination but, as it turns out, she was sent to uncover the names of Bajoran collaborators. The man had walked in on her and, in her own words, she “had no choice” but to kill him. Kira ends the episode by asking Odo if this means that their friendship is at an end. He says, “perhaps not” but it’s clear that the trust that the two had shared has become damaged. One wonders, though, if this moment will have any consequences beyond the episode.

Be that as it may, the character revelations and connections between Odo and Kira are certainly engaging enough – and worth exploring. Unfortunately the whole film-noir angle just doesn’t muster enough tension, suspense or even atmosphere to really be effective. Odo’s voiceovers seem unnecessary and out of place. And the lighting in the Cardassian flashback scenes is just too austere to be taken seriously – as if any large-scale operation could be successful or efficient under such conditions.

“Necessary Evil” is an episode more about style than it is about substance. The fact is, the episode takes far too long to really get into any deep character work. Even Odo’s comments about Justice don’t hold up because while they are interesting and relevant, they are conveyed against the backdrop of a near-comical presentation.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine