“Ties of Blood And Water” is an episode heavy on emotion and drama. It fits nicely into the larger continuity of the series and features some strong performances from its cast. And while it’s not a perfect installment, all told, it’s a classic.

As the episode begins, Kira welcomes back to DS9 Legate Ghemor — the Cardassian with whom she bonded so strongly in “Second Skin.” She hopes his knowledge and charisma can be used to spark a new dissident movement on Cardassia to cast off the Dominion. But it’s not to be. Ghemor has a terminal illness and he has come to DS9 to die, to be with the closest thing he has to a family before he passes on: Kira.

The surrogate father-daughter angle of Ghemor’s relationship to Kira is well used in this episode. Kira is overjoyed to be reunited with Ghemor and, for his part, Ghemor seems to be at peace with life, knowing that Kira will be there for him to talk to. In fact, their bond is so strong that Ghemor decides he wants to share *all* of his Cardassian secrets with Kira as part of a Cardassian ritual near the end of one’s life. The ritual itself is a bit of a plot device. And Kira’s hesitation at accepting Ghemor’s offer is likewise a bit of a contrivance. But the setup allows for an important reality: Kira will be sitting vigil at Ghemor’s deathbed while both shares information and passes away.

To add to the dramatic heft of the episode, we get a number of flashback scenes which parallel the death of Kira’s real father, who had been wounded by Cardassians during the occupation. Kira’s discomfort over her father’s fear and imminent death are palpable and they nicely dovetail into her stoic resolve to be at Ghemor’s side. Of course, there’s much more to the conflict than this. After taking a mission to dispose of some Cardassian forces, Kira returns to find that she was not present for her father’s death — that, in essence, he died alone, calling Kira’s name.

With Ghemor, she has a second chance to make the right decision.

But it’s not that simple. After learning that Ghemor is on DS9, Gul Dukat rushes off (in a Dominion battle cruiser, no less) to the station in order to retrieve the elderly Cardassian before too many secrets are shared. Sisko puts up a spirited verbal fight against Dukat’s advances, resulting in some of the episode’s most amusing scenes. Though, the most hilarious moment is reserved for Weyoun, the Vorta (brought back through cloning). After Sisko discovers some poisoned wine intended for Ghemor, Weyoun simply downs the drink, commenting, “Oh my! That is quite toxic, isn’t it?” before explaining that, as a Vorta, he’s virtually immune to poison. Very funny.

But Dukat does manage to halt Kira’s sessions with Ghemor through a more devious tactic: He shows Kira a record indicating that Ghemor was present at a monastery massacre back during the occupation. Furious, Kira leaves Ghemor’s bedside and decides to let the man die alone (as she feels he deserves). One problem with the episode is with how quickly and completely Kira turns on Ghemor. His past actions aren’t any worse than any other Cardassian and, as Odo explains, she could have looked them up at any time. I get that, like with her own father, she was afraid to face the death of someone she was close to. But this angle isn’t given enough prominence before hand to make Kira’s action as plausible as they may be in fact.

As it is, Kira decides, at the last possible moment, to return to Ghemor’s bedside and stay with him until the end. It’d seem a kind of anticlimactic ending, if not for the coda in which Kira essentially bares her soul to Bashir. She relates Ghemor’s final moments, how he refused to give up on life. She explains her own fears and regrets. It’s a powerful and wonderfully acted scene. And it’s this kind of “after the fact” attention that gives this episode much more credit than those which wrap things up neatly and tidily.

“Ties Of Blood And Water” gets high marks for its emotional impact and its attention to detail, particularly in the realm of emotions, consequences and regrets. A few questionable decisions and a relative slow pace hold it back a little, but the continuity between this story and others is enough to make it a true classic.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine