Past Prologue

[ddillard 2]

Season: 1

Episode #: 404

Episode Name: Past Prologue

 

Written By: Katharyn Powers

Original Air Date: 1-10-1993

 

 

Tahna Los, a Bajoran member of the Khon-Ma, is being pursued by Cardassian warships near the station. Tahna hails the station requesting assistance. He is beamed aboard the station, where he is recognized by Major Kira from her time in the Bajoran resistance.

 

Tahna requests that Sisko grant him a asylum aboard the station in order to evade Cardassian authorities. After speaking with Tahna and receiving pleas from Kira, Sisko grants Tahna's request. Sisko is also persuaded to grant asylum to two other members members of the Khon-Ma.

 

The Duras sisters, Lursa and B'Etor, arrive on the station causing Odo to become become uncomfortable with their presence. Odo follows the sisters to a meeting with Tahna in which he is able to find that Tahna has arranged to purchase an unknown item from the sisters.

 

Bashir then has an unusual encounter with Garak, the only Cardassian remaining on the station, in which he is urged to by a new suit at a specific time in Garak's shop. Bashir then excitedly informs the senior staff of the encounter and is ordered by Sisko to attend the meeting with Garak. Upon arriving at Garak's shop, Bashir is ushered into a changing room. Lursa and B'Etor then enter the shop and offer to sell Garak information to aid the Cardassian authorities in capturing Tahna Los. They also inform him that they are selling Tahna a cylinder of bilitrium, which is a component for a powerful explosive device. After the sisters leave, Garak informs Bashir that the Cardassian's were pursuing Tahna because he had stolen the remaining component for the explosive device.

 

The senior staff then meet to discuss the situation. It is decided that Kira will take Tahna in a runabout to make the exchange with the Klingons, and that Sisko and O'Brien will monitor from another disclosed runabout. After the exchange is made the Cardassians arrive and attempt to apprehend Tahna, but are forced to stand down when it is discovered that destroying the runabout would spread radiation throughout the system. Tahna then orders Kira to set a course past the mouth of the wormhole, which he plans to calapse with the bomb. Kira makes a sudden course change taking the runabout through the wormhole. a struggle between Tahna and Kira ends with the bomb being detonated safely in the Gamma Quadrant. Tahna is then apprehended and taken back to the station to face authorities.

 

 

Cast:

 

Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko

Rene Auberjonois as Odo

Terry Farrell as Jadzia Dax

Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko

Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien

Armin Shimerman as Quark

Alexander Siddig as Doctor Julian Bashir

Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys

 

 

 

Guest Cast:

 

Vaughn Armstrong as Gul Dunar

Susan Bay as Admiral

Barbara March as Lursa

Jeffrey Nordling as Tahna

Richard Ryder as Bajoran Deputy

Gwynyth Walsh as B'Etor

[VaBeachGuy 12]

This was a good, early episode that I believe had major implications for the course of Deep Space Nine.

 

It is in this episode that we are first introduced to the mysterious Cardassian tailor, Garak and it is in this episode that the seeds of his friendship with the young Doctor Bashir are planted.

 

It is also in this episode that we see that even though Kira is distrustful of the Federation, she is loyal to her government and in that she remains loyal to the Federation.

 

I've given this episode a rating of 4.

[ddillard 2]

I agree that this was a great episode for having introduced Garak. I also liked that Kira was forced to make a decision to show where her loyalties were and to revisit her view on things. It made her realize that the war was over and that the ways that she had become accustomed to in the resistance we no longer valid.

[GhostofMajorHayes 10]

I gave it a 3. Nice cameo by the Duras sisters though makes this of the standout eps from DS9's first season.

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

3. A really good storyline. And I loved the bait and switch with Tahna going for the wormhole instead of DS9. But this was really predicatble in its inner-struggle aspect, and quite frankly, I think they could have waited longer before forcing Kira to come to terms like this... give a little more time to create more friction between her and Sisko in order to make her inner struggle look more tumultuous.

 

The other major downside was that this episode makes Dr. Bashir look like a completely flaky DORK! If they want him to look respectable, especially since he's supposed to be a major character, they'd need to do a LOT better job with this guy, both on the part of the writers and on the part of Siddig.

[SeeingEyeBorg 0]

I said a 4. Would've said five if they had focused more on the Duras sisters and less on Kira.