Episode #42: The Wire
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Episode #42: The Wire
THE WIRE (prod. #442; episode #22 of 2nd season)
written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe; Directed by Kim Friedman
In this one, we finally get the backstory on Garak (Andrew Robinson), the Cardassian tailor stuck on DS9 due to falling out of favor with Central Command years ago. Check that - we get the story as Garak tells it; we're never sure with Garak how much is truth and how much is fiction. Garak & Bashir talk about Cardassian books in the first scene; repetition is considered the most elegant form of Cardassian literature. I found this point ironic in that I find this to be a weakness to many TV series, including DS9 (that same station, those same characters...). Garak probably proved to be a popular guest character in his past appearances and the Trekmakers decided to expand on him here. The tale also turns out to be a 24th century version of drug addiction; instead of heroin or alcohol, the substance abuse involves an implant in Garak's brain.
When Garak was a full-fledged member of the Obsidian Order, this tiny gizmo was placed in his brain in the event he was ever captured & tortured. This implant suppresses pain in such a situation. But, Garak has been 'abusing' the device due to what he considers to be a painful existence on DS9 (his exile). The device was not meant for such long-term use and is now breaking down.
The first half of this episode is slow and very limited by its nature: it revolves around Dr. Bashir's efforts to help the Cardassian he has gotten to know a bit in the past year. And the viewer quickly realizes that it will soon focus on Garak going through withdrawal (like I haven't seen this on a hundred other shows). But the story does pick up some in the 2nd half with some revelations - Garak comes across as someone with a personality disorder; he's always two-faced (or even a split personality) and perhaps even deranged even though a relatively nice guy. That's what being in the Cardassian Order does to a guy, huh?
We're also introduced to Enabran Tain (Paul Dooley), former head of the Obsidian Order and Garak's old boss, now in retirement. I always thought being in charge of such an organization means you never truly retire; maybe there's something to that - I read somewhere that Tain would return in future episodes. BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10
Extra Deep Trivia: Garak's first name is revealed as Elim
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