“We’re not looking to destroy paradise, Mr. President. We’re looking to save it.”

“Homefront” is an episode that transcends not only its faults, but the Star Trek franchise itself. It is a story about terrorism — about the the fundamental nature of terrorism to evoke fear in a society as a means of affecting change from within — that manages to deeply resonate into the 21st century. All of the facets of the issue are represented and given voice — and plausibility. This is a complex morality and character tale which explores the depths to which people will go to protect not only their lives, but their ideals as well. This has become the fundamental conflict of *our* world since 2001. And to see these issues explored so fully, completely, and with such prescience in an episode aired half-a-decade before the turn of the century is yet another indication of how powerful and profound this story can be.

The episode begins with an act of terrorism — on Earth — perpetrated by a changeling. It’s the first act of abject violence on Earth since time beyond count (indeed, the episode explicitly describes Earth as “paradise”). The results are, as one might expect, transformative. Sisko and Odo are summoned to Starfleet headquarters to implement a new security plan — something to counteract the threat that changelings pose to the very fabric of the Federation, of Earth itself.

The central conflict, then, becomes how far one can go in the name of security. As Odo says to the President of the Federation, “We’re not looking to destroy paradise, Mr. President. We’re looking to save it.” The actions of those intent on saving their world from a shadowy threat — one poised to act at any possible moment — are certainly understandable. Sisko, who is placed in charge of security on Earth, is clearly invested in doing everything he can to protect the home he loves. This is reinforced by the character of his father, Jake’s grandfather, Joseph, who owns a restaurant in New Orleans.

Joseph is a cantankerous old man, who also conveys a wonderful zest for life. He is the embodiment of a free spirit. So when Benjamin Sisko authorizes a policy of testing Starfleet officers and their families, Joseph becomes the voice of civil rights — of those who refuse to have their privacy invaded, simply in the name of increased security. And what makes this conflict so powerful is how the tangible and plausible the Dominion threat is portrayed. Sisko’s actions aren’t those of a crazy fringe militant. Joseph’s objections aren’t those of a crazy fringe anarchist. These are two people who believe, strongly, in the “rightness” of their opinions.

To the credit of the episode, those opinions receive equal measures of support and doubt. And, really, this is what makes the episode so exceptional. It doesn’t so much as take a stand on the issues, but instead presents all sides so as to give the viewer a very clear lens through which the conflict can be viewed, and opinions can be formed. And while there may be some issues of pacing or acting or even plausibility, these minor blemishes aren’t nearly enough to detract from the deep meaningful moments of the episode.

And then there is the prescience of the story — told in 1996 — about a sleepy society, facing the aftermath of a traumatic, terrorist act; about the fight for the soul of the society (to what end does a society go to protect itself?).

Ben’s suspicion of his father

Nog’s travails at SF academy

blackout

changeling infiltration

“Homefront”

Filed under: Deep Space Nine