“Wrongs Darker than Death or Night” is a powerfully emotional tale — one that is almost never comfortable to experience. But that is the point. It’s a story that forces the audience to look inside the mind of a “collaborator” and decide whether or not the ends justify the means. It’s very rare for a tale to eloquently make a case such as this one. But the truth is, this is an episode which is exceptional in its nuance and complexity, even if its setup and conclusion feel a bit too contrived.

As Kira prepares to “celebrate” what would have been her mother’s 60th birthday, she receives a message from Dukat informing her that her mother did not die as she had been led to believe, but was, instead, Dukat’s former mistress. The concept is the stuff of daytime soap. But what makes the episode is its ability to take what is, without question, a melodramatic concept, and turn it into a compelling, heart wrenching tale of character.

At first, though, the episode hardly seems poised to take such a spectacular leap forward as we’re forced to see Kira’s reaction to the news. In a nutshell, she simply berates and antagonizes everyone around her until she, finally, confides in Sisko The Emissary, in the hopes of using the Orb of Time to travel back into the past to learn whether or not Dukat’s claims are true.

And what makes all of this work is Dukat. His motivations, revealed to be truly evil, make his claims both entirely possible and entirely preposterous. He could simply be making it all up as a cruel joke to Kira. But even more cruelly, he could be telling the truth. It’s up to Kira to find out.

Using the Orb of TIme as a plot device, the episode finally gets us into the past where Kira does indeed meet up with her family. In short order she encounters her three-year-old self and witnesses the Cardassians kidnap her mother in order to “provide comfort” to Cardassian officers on the newly built Terok Nor. Because she’s in the past, Kira gets taken as well. And the rest of the episode chronicles how Kira’s mother handles the situation, and how Kira reacts to it.

What makes this such a compelling drama is in how plausibly it portray’s the motivations and decisions of Kira’s mother. She is, understandably, overwhelmed at the relatively luxury she receives for being a comfort woman. She is, understandably, motivated by the promise of food and care being given to her husband and children back on Bajor. And she is, understandably, conflicted by the young-Dukat’s advances and actions.

Kira is thoroughly appalled that her mother could even possibly consider being Dukat’s mistress. But the episode wisely presents a thoroughly balanced view of what Kira’s mother is facing. Does she resist and get executed, with who-knows-what happening to her family? Does she go along, unwillingly? Or does she convince herself that Dukat is an alright guy, knowing that succumbing to his advances will make the most unpleasant of circumstances bearable?

Truly, what is the right course of action for Kira’s mother to take? There is no right answer. Obviously, her actions allow Kira to survive for a while longer. She’s clearly torn by her situation. Should she have accepted death for herself, and possibly her family, instead of becoming Dukat’s willing mistress?

It’s this dilemma that is at the heart of the episode. And because we are so thoroughly invested in the characters of Kira and Dukat, the dilemma that Kira’s mother faces is all that much more poignant. And this is where the episode easily rises above its subject material. Does Kira’s mother’s ends (the well-being of her family) justify her means (willingly betraying her husband and sharing the bed of the man who exterminated millions of her race)?

In the end, Kira acts to save the life of her mother. But, like her mother, she’s deeply conflicted about the decision. Does that mean Kira, in the past, was also a collaborator? More questions. Deeper thought.

A fantastic, multifaceted episode. Even if the final coda is all too obvious and awkward.

“Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night” is a thoroughly uncomfortable viewing experience. Sexual slavery, mingled with an oppressed and demoralized people, mixed with personal feelings of betrayal and disgust. But it all works, almost masterfully.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine