Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night

"Wrongs Darker than Death or Night" is the 141st episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 17th episode of the sixth season.

"Wrongs Darker than Death or Night"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 17
Directed byJonathan West
Written byIra Steven Behr
Hans Beimler
Featured musicJay Chattaway
Production code541
Original air dateApril 1, 1998 (1998-04-01)
Guest appearance(s)

When Dukat reveals to Kira Nerys that her mother did not die decades ago but was actually his lover, Kira goes into the past using the Bajoran Orb of Time to find the truth. This episode expands the story about the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, which in the Deep Space Nine story, ended just a few years before the main events of the television show but had lasted for decades. Cardassia had been fighting an interstellar war with the United Federation of Planets, but a somewhat fragile peace had been achieved relatively recently.

This episode had Nielsen ratings of 4.6 when it was broadcast in 1998, which equates to about 4.5 million viewers.[1]

Casting

This show introduces actress Leslie Hope as Kira Meru. Other guest stars include Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat, David Bowe as Basso Tromac, Wayne Grace as Legate Parek, Tim deZarn as Halb Daier, and Thomas Kopache as Kira Taban

Plot

On her late mother Meru's 60th birthday, Major Kira receives a transmission from Gul Dukat in which he tells her that Meru, who supposedly died when Kira was three, was actually his lover for many years and had left her family to be with him. When Major Kira's investigation fails to prove Dukat false, she asks station commander Captain Sisko, as the Emissary, to permit her to consult the Bajoran Orb of Time. He agrees, and she finds herself in the past, at a refugee center where she comes face to face with her long-lost family, who do not realize her true identity.

Major Kira (Nerys) and Meru are taken from the camp to become "comfort women" for Cardassian troops. The sight of her mother being torn from her children is painful for Nerys, and she vows to help her return to her family. The women are taken to the then new Terok Nor space station, where, despite her sadness, Meru is overwhelmed by the bounty of food and other comforts. Later, she is singled out for special attention by Gul Dukat, the new Prefect of the station.

Meru confesses to Nerys that she has what she always dreamed of — good health, beautiful clothes, enough to eat — but at the cost of her family. Later, Nerys learns that her mother has become Dukat's mistress. When Nerys confronts a guard and demands to see Meru, she is thrown out into the station's Bajoran ghetto.

Nerys befriends a member of the Bajoran resistance named Halb, who asks her to help attack the Cardassians, but she is suddenly summoned to meet with Meru. When her mother begins singing Dukat's praises, it is too much for Nerys to bear. She angrily reminds Meru that Dukat is not only responsible for killing innocent Bajorans, but also for separating her from her family. Meru explains that Dukat has promised to provide her husband and children with food and medical supplies. Nerys accuses Meru of becoming a collaborator and storms out, hatching a plan with Halb to smuggle a bomb into Dukat's quarters. Her mother could be killed in the blast, but Nerys no longer cares.

Pretending to have had a change of heart, Nerys returns to Dukat's quarters to apologize to Meru, then secretly hides the bomb. She is preparing to leave when Dukat gives Meru a recorded message from Taban, Nerys's father. He thanks his wife for what she has done, telling her that she has saved their lives. Kira realizes that if her father could forgive her mother, she can forgive her also. She warns Dukat and Meru about the bomb, and they escape just before it detonates. Major Kira returns to her current time with the painful knowledge that Dukat's story is true and that the line between being a good person and a collaborator is not so clear cut.

Episode Title

The title of the show was developed by Hans Beimler, and it was meant to contrast with prior titles.[2]

The phrase is in a passage in Prometheus Unbound by Percy Bysshe Shelley a drama published in 1820.[3]

   To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;
   To forgive wrongs darker than death or night;
   To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;
   To love, and bear; to hope till Hope creates

Connections

The Orb of time was introduced previously in Trials and Tribble-ations[4] (airdate November 4, 1996 / S5E6)

The Orb of Time is a time travel device, which is highly restricted in the Federation, but Bajor is not a part of the Federation so it is not against regulations for Major Kira but she does get permission from her commanding officer. The Orb is somehow connected to the Aliens that made the wormhole and part of a religion on Bajor, which connects to the overall plot of Deep Space Nine and the Ben Sisko character. From the Pilot and throughout the show, Ben must balance his Starfleet obligations, relationship with the Aliens, and spiritual role in Bajoran society

The franchise has presented Time-travel and its consequences in different ways, and shows can be as much an exploration of the implications of time travel as device to present another period or morale.[5] Some analysis of Star Trek time travel implications have categorized Trek stories as relying on the idea of a consistent universe, an ever-changing timeline, or new universe.[6] In some cases shows appear to create a new "branch" of time while in other cases they "overwrite" the events.[7] From a real-world science perspective, time travel is not considered to be possible based on studying current understandings of the universe.[8] Some real-world time concepts include the idea that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light, but on the other hand there is something called entangled particles and even Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrödinger did not come to a definitive conclusion.[9] In the 2010s, there was some indications that events in the present that entangles photons, may affect them in the past and the future.[10] In the case of "Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night", it seems to be similar to an observer style where visitors from the future do not significantly affect the timeline.[11]

Deep Space Nine also portrays the station during the occupation in the previous season Things Past (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), which had some similar themes including Dukat's taking of Bajoran woman, which also provides a back-story to his daughter Ziyal. In that episode it is Jadzia who is chosen, however, its more like re-living a memory than time travel and the Orb of Time may be misunderstood as time travel device when it more or less allows a user to have an interactive dream with past events. On the other hand, the Aliens that control the Orbs are willing to make limited changes if persuaded to do so as seen in Accession (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and they are willing to significantly alter the course of events as seen in Sacrifice of Angels (S6E6 / November 3, 1997)

This time period was explored earlier in the show's run in Necessary Evil (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) (S2E8 / November 14, 1993)

Reception

Wrongs.. was rated 6th in a review of the darkest themed Deep Space Nine episodes.[12] In 2018, SyFy recommend this episode for its abbreviated watch guide for the Bajoran character Kira Nerys.[13]

gollark: What? I'm pretty sure you can't just arbitrarily read input on other people's computers, unless they have really insecure wireless keyboards.
gollark: Yes, NSFW scanning is an extremely difficult unsolved problem.
gollark: Since when have English rules been *consistent*?
gollark: Both the probabilities he quotes are, as stated, for the same thing (ish); multiplication would be appropriate if they were two independent events, which they are not.
gollark: Additionally, neither of those are the odds of catching it.

See also

References
  2. "Writer-Producer Ira Steven Behr Talks Love & Hate for DS9, The Dominion War, Favorite Guest Stars, and His Relationship with Rick Berman". TREKNEWS.NET | Your daily dose of Star Trek news and opinion. 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  4. DeCandido, Keith R. A. (2014-10-07). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rewatch: "Wrongs Darker than Death or Night"". Tor.com. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  5. Rzetelny, Xaq (2016-09-10). "Trek at 50: The quest for a unifying theory of time travel in Star Trek". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
  12. CBR The 15 Darkest Episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 02.11.2017 by Alexandra August
  13. Krishna, Swapna (2018-01-16). "A binge-watching guide to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Kira Nerys". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
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