The Sad Tale of Aamin Marritza - Star Trek Deep Space Nine

#startrek #ds9 #deepspacenine #mariitza #duet #trekkiestrek
The poor and sad episode about Aamin Marritza (played by Harris Yulin) and his attempt at achieving redemption for Cardassia after the occupation of Bajor ended.
This he does by pretending to be Gul Darhe'el (Darheel), also known as the butcher of Gallitep.
Star Trek Deep Space Nine
Season 1, Episode 19 -
Duet
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[@JettMann8]

"You have no idea what it's like to be a coward." - Spoken by one of the bravest Cardassians to ever live

[@hellfish2309]

It is a fascinating iteration of bravery, driven by guilt and shame… he intimately epitomized the coward having zero power to change his nation’s imperialism; that guilt and shame scarred into a desperate martyrdom to save his people’s soul

[@TheKyrix82]

The beautiful thing? This is the man who saved the Alpha Quadrant from the Dominion. How? This was the moment Kira discovered that Cardassians could be people...people worth saving. The Kira before Duet wouldn't have formed the bonds she dud with Ziyal and others...and she certainly never would have helped Damar. And with Kira's help...Cardassia never would have been brought to the alliance. Damar would have been executed, and Brica would have remained a loyal pet to the Dominion

[@JAEUFM]

@@TheKyrix82 Wonderful interweaving of tiny details of plots seemingly unconnected, until the final curtain is seen of the Dominion War.

[@Krocxigor]

@@TheKyrix82 Even if the writers did not think this far into it I will now until the day I die accept your post as a canon fact of the show.

[@TheKyrix82]

@@Krocxigor Best compliment I can get

[@GregRohr]

The truly crazy thing about this Amazing episode: They spent the Season 1 Budget and were one episode short. They had to write one on the fly with nothing in the way of Effects, so they had this 2-person drama - and it's easily the best of Season One and set so much of the tone for the entire series. First-Rate.

[@manicobservations9605]

This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series

[@derworfnet]

Yeah, after a strong Pilot, Season 1 did flail around a bit. I mean, it laid a lot of groundwork and did a good job at introducing the Characters and the Setting, preperation that would prove valuable later on. But many of the episodes were very middling. And then, with this and 'In the Hands of the Prophets', it suddenly recovered and set a standard that would more or less be held for the remainder of the Series.

[@jerk5959]

Star Trek is famous for its superior bottle episodes.

[@CrisisComics]

Limitations breed creativity, I always say.

[@shamusomalley4263]

Allamaraine

[@TheEightfoldWay]

One of the worst parts about all of this is that in some sense Marritza was absolutely right. Cardassia didn't have the reckoning this trial would have caused, joined the Dominion to reclaim their supposed glory, and 800 million of their civilians were killed at the end of it.

[@paulhunter1525]

Again, it was few members of the Cardassian miliary trying to recapture lost glory of their past who blindly followed the Dominion into conflict that brought downfall of their civilization

[@steampunker7]

@@paulhunter1525 Almost like there's a lesson to be learned in that. That grasping to the past for mythologized glories only ever leads one to ignore the present and deny the future. To one's own determent and loss.

[@ladymecha8718]

Unfortunately, it is hindsight, there was no way of these characters knew what the future would bring.

[@Wolf-ln1ml]

@@steampunker7 Sadly, there apparently always are some who just don't learn those lessons, and some of them even end up in positions of power and manage to cause immense harm... 😭

[@rt4rtl]

The irony is there was a dissident movement Marritza was apparently unaware of, but when this movement finally came to power the Klingons used that to invade Cardassia, setting the stage for the eventual alignment with the Dominion.

[@TheCormTube]

Marritza did achieve one thing in his sacrifice, Kira never thought of all Cardassians as evil after this. I think without Marritza, she may not have ever gone to Cardassia to help Damar bring down the Dominion.

[@TMSlovacek]

Or end up having a semi father-daughter relationship with Tekeny Ghemor.

[@Alvan81]

Changing the course of even one life, is an honor.

[@TheKyrix82]

I've been saying it for years, he saved the Alpha Quadrant

[@remrad4315]

@@TheKyrix82 I never even considered that... wow I feel smarter for finding out and dumber for not figuring it out sooner.

[@TheKyrix82]

@remrad4315 It's easy not to think it, he died a season before anyone knew the Dominion EXISTED. But without him...Kira wouldn't have learned the important lesson about Cardassians being people rather than monsters. Without him and Ziyal, and a few others...she NEVER would have helped Damar...and we know what that would mean

[@gunnerclark]

What impressed me is that the well known actor that played the role disappeared into the role. You saw the butcher at first...than you saw the tormented clerk. It wasn't a role, the character became real. Great acting.

[@gingergrant1057]

Couldn’t have said it better.

[@kenwshmt]

it wasnt an act. he knew him well enough to embody him. he was everything he claimed he was. with bells on, he wasn't gloating, he was magnificent at it. and it would take someone who truly hated him to embrace it so convincingly.

[@kevinknight9950]

Very few actors can pull it off.and be convincing as hell with it.

[@kenwshmt]

'I was magnificent!'. this just expresses his hate for him so very well

[@14MTH3M00N]

After two seasons of Ozark I heard his laughter and immedialy recognized him. Never seen him anywhere else I think. Such a good actor

[@alexhussinger3550]

"You have no idea what its like to be a coward". Still, to this day, one of the most iconic lines in Star Trek for me. There's so much meaning in so few words.

[@colinmerritt7645]

A coward doesn't stand in front of his enemies and say, "I was wrong."

[@ark1567]

@@colinmerritt7645 You are kind of right. But when you understand what people are doing is wrong, horrible perhaps and you know that you cannot find inside yourself the strenght to oppose that, you feel indeed useless and puny and irredeemable. You spend days and nights thinking of what you did, or more likely, what you didn't do and...If you are indeed a slightly decent person, you cannot simply swap it away. Maybe for a while! But not forever. His line is more than understandable, unfortunately 🥲

[@jeremysears4263]

@@colinmerritt7645 We will eventually. We can't STAND ourselves in our lack of courage. We will eventually give in to exposure to be redeemed of our sins .....letting evil happen while we did nothing haunts us endlessly....

[@youtubeviewer4472]

@@colinmerritt7645 "A true victory is to make your enemy see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. To force them to acknowledge your greatness." Gul Dukat

[@heartlessangel2910]

By referring to himself as a coward and deserving of death, I kinda interpret this as self loathing as much as guilt he felt over the horrors of the occupation. Like all Cardassians, Maritza is proud, loyal and dutiful to his people, hence I think his guilt was irreconcilable with his duty to his home and thus he feels shame and dishonour. Still, there is humanity and conscience within him to eventually redeem himself and fulfil his duty to his people.

[@The_Gallowglass]

He offered himself up like a lamb to the slaughter, to save the soul of his people and the Major was too principled to allow it.

[@0INFERNO1]

Sometimes the most noble thing one can do, is lay down their life to save the souls of their people.

[@someguy1747]

The Cardassian one of the most meticulous record-keepers in the Alpha Quadrant would eventually find out Darheel is Maritza then use the fact an innocent Cardassian was "falsely" executed for the crimes of another by the Bajoran Provisional Government worsening relations between Bajor and Cardassia Prime and using Maritza's execution as a rallying symbol and Central Command and The Obsidian Order ensuring him a Martyr's death to rally and inflame tensions for there own agendas.

[@joimumu]

I think in the end he did save Major soul at the start of the series she was a bitter and hateful woman that only saw the worst in alien species like Humans and after his death most of her hate was gone

[@cleanerben9636]

Although his cause was noble, it's biggest flaw was relying on "Cardasian justice" which was whatever the ruling elite said it was at any particular time to save face. Not a chance in hell the regular spoonhead would have even got wind of a trial and if they did they'd be told to say, "look at those pathetic Bajorans, pretending to try one of our greatest heroes who died over 6 years ago!".

[@nunya3163]

Don't forget, she was all too happy to see him punished when he first arrived. It was not until she came to see, that he was in some way a victim as well, and suffering just as deeply, that she came to see him as a person, and not just a Cardasian.

[@manicobservations9605]

Maritza finally revealing himself to Kira never fails to make me cry. Maritza was such a good man haunted by the Bajoran occupation.

[@twelve11]

Never fails, i shed a tear every single time

[@Eyesorecrymore]

I been crying over this for many years

[@JohnCastleSmokeless]

I'm a tough guy 99.99999% of the time, but this clip never fails to make me cry.

[@crowbar_the_rogue]

I find the moment when Kira lets him go and he backs away from her into a corner particularly moving. He's terrified of her forgiveness.

[@tekkphreke]

The saddest irony, in his own eyes he was a coward, but he stood up and was willing to perform a very courageous act on the hope of mending the bloody rift between Cardassia and Bajor, even knowing that, at best, he would always be remembered to history as a monster.

[@bookerlee8079]

This episode is one of the best pieces of art ever put to film.

[@rahave1]

No doubt

[@Aerojet01]

I agree. Brilliant performance. You can feel the emotions through the screen.

[@eleSDSU]

No, it's utter trash, very well acted trash tho. The idea that collaborators are not guilty is morally abhorrent nonsense.

[@dylanarmstrong8646]

@@eleSDSU wow okay Mr. Anonymous bad read expert. The collaborator is guilty, and lives with the guilt forever. The genocidal Cardassian empire never facing justice is how it joins an even more genocidal Dominion to reclaim its past glory, leading to the deaths of 800 million people. This show is about (non-earth) humans and their complexity. Something you clearly missed.

[@Crunkboy415]

@@eleSDSU Legally he did no wrong by standing by and doing nothing, morally he was guilty of cognitive dissonance. But that guilt can only be self-imposed. It's a well known plot device most famously used in the Scarlet Letter.

[@phuturephunk]

"You have no idea what it's like to be a coward. To see these horrors...and do nothing." One of the best lines in one of the best dialogues this franchise has ever produced. Visitor and Yulin in this episode were both just...masterwork.

[@joimumu]

In a way Jake Sisco went through the same as he admit later to Dr Bashir

[@mr.s2005]

so many people throughout the world no doubt asked themselves the same question

[@KNYHT.FIRE-1]

Many German soldiers during the Nazi occupation of their own land said pretty much the same thing as 10 million souls perished in the concentration camps.

[@uttermanbo]

One of the most compelling characters in DS9. Shame he was only in one episode. The way he shifted from villian, to egomaniac, to crying victim was seamless. He hated his cowardice, he was eaten up with guilt. To him this was his penance . One of the really emotional scenes that worked

[@Matrim42]

One thing I really loved about DS9 is they kept the Planet of Hats trope, but showed that there were many different ways of fitting into a society. Cardassian society is characterized by a devotion to the state and order. Moritza was just as patriotic and devoted to Cardassia as any other Cardassian, but he believed firmly that Cardassia could only endure if it owned up to its crimes

[@sacrecharlemagne2262]

Even if he was acting against the interests of the Central Command, Maritza's plan was completely in line with Cardassian culture. Unlike humans who hold trials to determine guilt, Cardassians already know the outcome of the trial before it begins. Only the guilty ever see a court in Cardassia and that is because the purpose of a trial is to allow the accused to publicly admit their guilt, receive a just punishment and remind all those watching that justice always prevails so do not do what the accused has done. Trials are not about determining truth but about imparting a moral lesson. For Martiza, the fact that he was impersonating a dead man didn't matter because Cardassian trials are not about what is true or false. Martiza, by representing Gul Darheel specifically and Cardassia in general would plead the guilt of Cardassia before the public, receive the punishment deserved for such heinous crimes and force everyone watching to acknowledge that Cardassia had done wrong and that justice had prevailed over them. Cardassia lost Bajor and it would continue to lose much more if it did not heed the lesson provided by Gul Darheel's death and continued to commit the same sins in the future. It might seem odd on the surface for a member of a patriotic and orderly species to lie about crimes he never committed for the purpose of subverting his own government but Maritza was Cardassian through and through and he acted exactly as his specie's conception of justice demanded him to.

[@uncletaylorify]

Up to this point Kira hated all Cardassians. This showed her some were good people.

[@pinkfloppyass]

And I love they just expanded on it with that cardissain who become like a father to her

[@devonburdeyney8555]

I feel her hatred for cardassian's died in this episode, and learned hate begets hate, espically when he is killed by a fellow bajoran, and when she asks 'Why? He wasn't Gar Dahel' and the bajoran says 'Hes a cardassian...that's good enough'. The cycle of violence will always continue unless we are strong enough to break it.

[@Wolf-ln1ml]

@@devonburdeyney8555 It wouldn't be so bad if that actually worked - but apparently, some people every now and then just will restart the cycle, so others will have to suffer the blow with their sole benefit being to break the cycle again...

[@bloodyidit4506]

It showed her something more important then that as well. That some people are forced into supporting cruelty by the cruel. That neither side in war is clean.

[@illam9500]

The cardassians are often said to symbolize the Nazi regime. And this perfectly symbolizes that most of the Germans then were good people too. What could any of them do when the most powerful nazis were the ones pulling the strings of their government?

[@DrForrester87]

I love how he broke character briefly when he blurted out "Why don't you ask me something intelligent?" and then quickly tried to shift back into it. But that game was already up and you can see it all over his face.

[@Alvan81]

A'mon Marritza one of the bravest Cardasdians ever. Brave enough to die anonymously, yet in infamy for all their sins, and arrogance. If you've ever stiod by and watch someone else being harmed, bullied, it's a punishment on its own.

[@devonburdeyney8555]

This was so heartbreaking. He wanted to do right by the victims of occupation but never got the chance. An honorable cardassian he was.

[@terranman4702]

He aint doing this for honor. This goes deeper.

[@AlyssMa7rin]

It wasn't honor. It was a man ravaged by guilt, and trying to make the pain go away by offering himself up as a sacrificial lamb. Maaritza was a broken man, utterly. He was able to so 'easily' inhabit Gul Darheel because the man he had been was destroyed by the things he saw.

[@sammessenger1170]

@@AlyssMa7rin I agree with this. I think Maritza is a great Cardassian, one of the most noble to ever live. But he doesn't sacrifice himself for honor, or even for the victims of the occupation. Its right there in the video. He's doing this solely, and in some ways selfishly, for Cardassia. He's doing it because he can't live with himself after what he witnessed and saw. But he's also doing it because he genuinely believes that it is the only way that Cardassia can survive. And in some ways, he's right. Without its moral reckoning, Cardassia goes on to join the Dominion and enact even greater crulties (though there is nothing to suggest that Maritza's sacrifice would have been sufficient to stop that). At the end of it all, the story of Cardassia is the story of how self-service can be turned to a greater cause. Throughout the series we see Cardassians always doing the best things for themselves, even our heroes such as Garak and Damar only act morally because the moral path is the most convenient at the time. This, no less, makes them heroes because it is still the conscious decision of putting the needs of others above one's own. Damar, Garak, Maritza, and other noble Cardassians are only ever willing to sacrifice themselves for Cardassia because it becomes the option with the most guaranteed rewards for the lowest cost. "It's the only way" is not a throwaway line. Maritza truly sees this path as the only correct one, from a strategic standpoint. God I love DS9.

[@jeremysears4263]

@@sammessenger1170 Great breakdown 👍🏿

[@eleSDSU]

"Honorable", a literal fucking war criminal.

[@danieldickson8591]

"Marritza's dead, he deserves to be dead." That line just breaks my heart.

[@tilasole3252]

Everytime he breaks down and cries, I tear up a little...

[@aaroncorbett6352]

Same. It always gets dusty.

[@tilasole3252]

​@@aaroncorbett6352just happened again... Curse these allergies! ***Shakes fists***

[@mmjahink]

@@tilasole3252 Right? I wasn't expecting that to happen, let alone from a Cardassian

[@andrewmorales5485]

😢you and me both

[@happyninja42]

I remember seeing this when it aired, and the moment he breaks, saying "because he couldn't stand to hear the....screaams for mercy...." and just crumbles. That was so gut wrenching. It was one of the scenes that made me fall in love with DS9 as my favorite Trek show.

[@Nine-Signs]

Oh DS9 had by far the best written scripts and acting of any of the Trek shows to date. It was and is something special. All the Trek shows have some notable episodes for sure but DS9 has them by the absolute bucket load.

[@morbius109]

Harris Yulin gave one of the most powerful performances of any episode of any Trek series in this role. You feel so bad for Marritza, who wanted nothing more than for his people to face up to their sins and was willing to die to make it happen.

[@0INFERNO1]

A man who loves his world and it's people so much that he is willing to lay down his life....That is a true hero.

[@MySchoolProject15]

A perfect example of the difference between true patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism is loving your country (or planet) enough to admit when it's done wrong and try to make amends and improve it, recognizing that it's not better than any other country and loving it simply because it's yours. Nationalism is loving your country because you think it's better than other countries. By the end of his life Marritza loved Cardassia, not because Cardassia was "better" than Bajor, but simply because Cardassia was his home. By laying down his life he was trying to both recognize and validate Bajor's right to exist, as well as save the homeworld he loved by uprooting the fascism that was rotting it from within. He loved Cardassia enough to try to punish Cardassia.

[@inwyrdn3691]

He couldn't stop an atrocity so he decided to bear the weight and guilt of it. With all the scheming, lying, manipulating, and blustering of Garak, Dukat, and Damar, Marritza is the most incredible thing of all: An honest and noble Cardassian. It's amazing to watch these. You almost forget it's a television program.

[@scottdowney4103]

Absolutely incredible that Harris Yulin put in a once-in-a-lifetime performance on a syndicated sci-fi spinoff episode. If he had played the same character as a Nazi camp commander/accountant in a Steven Spielberg film, he would have won the Oscar - and we'd still be talking about it. Blistering performance.

[@Egilhelmson]

It would just be a repeat of Maximillian Schell in The Man In The Glass Booth.

[@GORT70]

I was thinking something similar.

[@peppyhare8458]

@@Egilhelmson In the words of Rod Serling, writer of the twilight zone, the strawman is the foundation of allegory. The point of this show, and his performance isn't to highlight the holocaust, it's to teach the moral lesson to a generation that is in fact two generations removed. The lesson is timeless in this format, period drama erodes. The fact that I, a descendant of a nazi fighter pilot, should be proof of that. Without a good allegory, I too could have been sucked into all sorts of poison philosophy., like so many of my relatives.

[@eschelar]

Exactly what I was thinking too. Growing up, we had a family friend who had served in the Nazi military - and his brother who had resisted. It was extraordinary to see the contrast. This story about Marritza really shows how my friend Franz felt about his time wearing the uniform he knew was evil.

[@Nine-Signs]

Its been 25 years, we are still talking about it, and more people watch Ds9 today than when it was first broadcast, oscars be damned, ;o) Best wishes.

[@matthewmason7792]

What I love is when he says “you have no idea what it’s like to be a coward” At first it would be easy to assume that he meant that he couldn’t stomach the atrocities being committed, that he wasn’t being a Cardassian, that he was too empathetic and therefore weak… cowardly. But when he follows up with “to see these horrors and do nothing” we get the full picture. It wasn’t his empathy he saw as cowardice. It was the fact he did nothing to stop what was happening because he was scared of the consequences. With that you see what he intends to do, how he sees himself. If he was too scared to face the consequences of his people’s actions while he was there then he’d face the consequences of what happened after by martyring himself. He was willing to die to not only ensure his people’s survival against the scrutiny of their actions but was willing to die to give the people that his people wronged solace, peace and justice even if it was fabricated. This man is an mvp for Cardassia and Bajour (sorry if I fumbled these spellings)

[@knighriderredux]

One of the most epic performances in Trek history. The "low budget" episodes always found a way to be one of the best. This is up there with "The Measure of a Man", if not better with the utter emotional twist Harris Yulin delivers. Phasers and Photon Torpedoes aren't always needed to make a great episode.

[@nickhale1052]

What I like about this episode is that it’s the first step in Kira’s journey towards accepting cardassians as people instead of brutal inhuman tyrants. She was, through her trauma, guilty of painting all Cardassians with the same brush, and slowly, Maritza, Zehal and Gamore, and even Garek and Demar, helped her to come to terms with her hatred of Cardassians, start viewing them as people, and eventually help liberate Cardassia from the Dominion. The way she held Maritza as he lay dying was a beautifully tragic first step on that journey, without which I’m not sure she could have truly embraced Zehal and Gamore the way she did.

[@dirdib69]

I always wanted them to touch back on Marritza's story in some way, in a later season. Maybe his former housekeeper comes to DS9 for some reason, or something like that. It was such a pivotal moment for Kira and such amazing acting from Nana and Harris Yulin that I wanted to revisit it, maybe show Kira's grief for him, and that it made her realize that the occupation had its Cardassian victims as well.

[@rharris4736]

I think there should have been a conversation between Kira and Damar, some time shortly after the "Yeah Damar, what kind of people give those orders" encounter, where she brought up Marritza.

[@dirdib69]

@@rharris4736 Or maybe she could have seen him again in an Orb experience. He was so important to Kira's development as a character.

[@georgj6304]

To this day I find it to be a miracle who they could produce such a magnificent episode so early in the series.

[@stevenwasserman9729]

DS9 goes where others fear to tread

[@beniboi6992]

I watched this scene hundreds of times and every time he breaks down i tear up. Now that's acting

[@vXArchonXv]

Same. It's even worse that he gets shanked at the end simply because he's Cardassian.

[@xandersnyder7214]

@@vXArchonXv especially Kira's line at the end and the absolute pain on her face when she replies "No, it's not" after that Bajoran kills him shows that she has changed. The rage and hatred toward all Cardassians is gone because she saw, through Maritza, that not all Cardassians are evil fascists.

[@vXArchonXv]

@@xandersnyder7214 Yep! Great bit of character development and an overall very powerful scene. Up until then Kira is shown as being very prejudiced against Cardassians, but that episode is a turning point. Her time with Ziyal furthers her change of attitude towards them to the point where she considers Ziyal to basically be a little sister. It says even more about her capacity for change that Ziiyal is the daughter of Dukat.

[@hurin1932]

Can you imagine if Rings of Power had this level and quality of writing and acting? It would single handedly be one of the greatest tv shows in the last 20 years.

[@nepntzerZer]

why are you even mentioning it?

[@eschelar]

Or indeed any other of the recent dreck that serves as Trek...

[@Stargazer-px7fw]

@@eschelarPicard is great 😌

[@yellowcard8100]

@@Stargazer-px7fw NOT

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

@@yellowcard8100season 3 has ended up being 100x times better than the absolute dogshit of season 1 or 2. Then again the standard is low but RLM, the greatest cynics, really enjoyed it, it even brought back Ro in a satisfying way.

[@mechengineer4894]

Spoiler alert - he gets murdered by a Bajorian after leaving the security office. The Bojarian knew he wasn't the butcher, but still killed him because he was Cardassian.

[@Frankie2012channel]

Actually that's not true. The Bajoran drunk who killed him thought he was DarHeel. When Kira proclaims that he wasn't Darheel, the Bajoran didn't care. Killing just another Cardassian was good enough. But the drunk at the time did NOT know that he was an imposter.

[@redpillfreedom6692]

@@Frankie2012channel What he says immediately after killing him renders that moot. Simply being Cardassian was enough justification in his mind.

[@Onigirli]

@@redpillfreedom6692 Still, that was only after the fact. People have a way of digging their heels in after they do something irreversible... It's not that meaningful a distinction but I think he would've refrained from murder if he knew he was an imposter from the beginning.

[@remrad4315]

Whats worse is if Kira didn't grow, she could have turned out to be just like that Bajoran.

[@martene.5624]

Still the best episode to this day of Star Trek.

[@ladymecha8718]

This episode still brings me to tears. It was so well written and acted out. Bravo DS9 team.

[@JnEricsonx]

A friend of mine did a play with Nana Visitor. I convinced him to at least see the pilot of DS9 and THIS episode, which he did. It was very nice meeting her at a convention and how she had remembered working with him on the play.

[@leex6576]

To this day, I’ve never been so effected by a scene from tv or a movie. There’s truly nothing like this performance.

[@exturiel5343]

DS9 had some of the best actors in the business. Best lines too. And this, this one one of the most powerful, heart wrenching scenes ever. Considering his people's literature, Marritza was a good Cardassian. Willing to give everything for the state. His life, his death, all for Cardassia.

[@eschelar]

And even when he was "betraying" Cardassian, he still did it for Cardassia. Superb writing.

[@barone8889]

@@eschelar He was a true PATRIOT!

[@Aeroldoth3]

To me this is mastercraft. Not only are the dialogs and performances amazing, but this was all done without car chases or explosions or fx. It was just two people in a room, talking, and it is SO unforgettable!

[@rharris4736]

Having lived in Ukraine and endured (briefly) Russia's occupation of the city I lived in, this episode hits a helluva lot different now than it did back when I was a teenage, theoretically asking "is this a Nazis-and-Jews reference or a Chinese-and-Tibetans reference" from a safe distance away.

[@augustday9483]

Incredible guest performance by guest actor Harris Yulin.

[@mikeingognito3171]

Kira found Compassion for one of her enemies and realized not all Kardassiand were evil

[@voljinshin]

Just like not all German people were Nazis.

[@Electricshrock]

Your spelling is ambiguous. To clear it up: The *Cardassians* are not all evil. The *Kardashians* on the other hand...

[@voljinshin]

@@Electricshrock hahaha evil to the core they are 🤣👍🏿

[@r.c.auclair2042]

@@Electricshrock, ah, you beat me to that joke.

[@andrewmorales5485]

This reminds me of how not All German people was like Hitler and his Nazis some of them tried to stop him and his madness freedom fighters who tried to assinated him a lutinent colonel gathering a group of people in the German army trying to take control of Germany and have Hitler killed and all those in his inner circle arrested I saw a movie about it starring Tom cruise's it was called Valkyrie but his plan failed but he came closer to stopping the war and taking him out he and all his followers were excuted for treason he is proof that not all Germans were antisemitic hateful or lovers of war he's proof that some of them were different from the rest and tried to do the right thing even if it cost them their own lives which it did

[@optillian4182]

The way he transitions from gloating like a cartoon supervillain to weeping over his guilt is some of the best acting I've ever seen.

[@fukyuyuetoob7663]

His performance was great. It moved me so much. i cried.

[@darrenskjoelsvold]

He was trying to do something incredibly noble. He thought himself a coward but he was the only Cardassian brave enough to admit the truth and attempt to atone.

[@andrewmorales5485]

I felt sorry for his character pretending to be someone who he wasn't almost getting himself excuted so his people would take responsibility for the war crimes they committed against the major kiras own people's

[@capndayafterday]

Ok, wow. I’ve watched this scene 100 times, and just noticed the subtle lighting change when Kira turns off the force field. The sudden shift to dark, the sudden desire to hide and cower. Then the sudden shift to full lighting, exposing the truth of the matter. It’s so unnoticeable but adds so much to the scene. DS9 was peak.

[@motoman2WH3]

Here's another: the episode where Dax meets the current host of a former spouse. In universe, the Trill have a strict moral taboo against continuing relationships after inhabiting new hosts; but as both Trill are now hosted by females, the show acts as a (somewhat before its time) parable on the then-current issue of gay rights & homophobia. In the scene where Dr. Bashir explains this taboo to Kira, the lights dim. Another subtle scene (wish I could find a clip, this is the wrong thread for these comments), when Dax "proposes" that her former partner remain with her on DS9: she moves from her chair to be closer, but in doing so, drops to one knee.

[@JohnLutherable]

this is the first episode that skyrocketed DS9 as one of the best shows I've ever seen. Just sublime all around

[@russell5078084]

These 2 deserve awards for their performance in this episode. This was True Trek writing at its best. We don't see good writing like this in any of the new trek series. With the exception of 1 episode of strange new worlds.

[@MrMTGPsycho]

"My death is necessary" he wanted to save his people by atoning for them. He wanted to be a sacrifice that led to a new Cardassia, a better people.

[@esinohio]

Hands down this is some of the best acting in any Star Trek series. I can never get over the sheer emotional power these actors managed to get across on screen. Just amazing.

[@Logicall_]

The more I think about DS9 the more it becomes one of my favorite Star Treks, I am shocked how well this show has aged!

[@remrad4315]

Its pretty good I know.

[@tookitogo]

Totally agree. DS9 has aged magnificently, being arguably more relevant now than when it originally aired. (In contrast, I loved TNG and VOY when they aired, but I don’t think they’ve aged well, especially TNG.)

[@lukegaul3995]

DS9 is a timeless masterpiece, and this episode will always be one of the greatest ever made. Harris Yulin, a breathtakingly incredible performance, that causes waves of compassion to come forth towards Marritza.

[@jatigre1]

When I first watched this episode, I think it was 97, and tears rolling down, I remember thinking: "What's going on? This is not supposed to happen? This is Star Trek!" That's how good the show was.

[@The1stImpish]

This episode is so important for Kira's character. When she starts out in the show her faith has been shattered by a lifetime of resistance, she hates the Cardassians not only for what they did to the Bajorans physically but also for what they showed about the Bajoran culture, its weakness and frailty in a dangerous galaxy. But as the show goes on, through this episode and others, she comes to have compassion for the Cardassians, and in doing so she understands her own strength. Because the abominable behavior the Cardassians showed as occupiers to the Bajorans wasnt nearly as bad as what the Cardassians had done to themselves, destroying their own sense of right and wrong and diminishing everything that was good and virtuous about Cardassia. And that Bajor had never been weak, that their refusal to ever stoop to the petty violence of the Cardassians was their greatest strength. And its for this reason, when the show enters its final chapters, she helps the Cardassians fight the Dominions occupation. Because the type of strength needed for a revolution is exactly what the Cardassians were never able to beat out of the Bajorans; their value for life.

[@Herowebcomics]

He was so complex! He said he was the villain so that he could set things right!😰

[@eschelar]

Back when Star Trek understood what principle meant and how to tell stories of real human tragedy through the surrogates of fantasy. I've met people who served in the Nazi military, even while knowing it was wrong. The guilt they carried for the decades that followed never left them. This scene brought that home for me in a way that few stories could. Well done Nana. Well done Berman. And well done to this fine actor portraying such a conflicted character.

[@Storytime4now6767]

This was a sad episode

[@TheTrekkiesTrek]

but a good sad...

[@Storytime4now6767]

@@TheTrekkiesTrek yes

[@michaelfiber4324]

This is one of the scenes from Trek that I still vividly remember watching the very first time. And thankfully one of the few times the ads talking up the episode didn't give away the REAL twist. They gave away that he wasn't who he seemed to be but then the episode was still an incredible kick in the gut.

[@robertszekely8686]

Definitely one of my favorite episodes of DS9.

[@Foebane72]

I always tear up when Marritza breaks down like that, it's so powerful.

[@donxavier10]

Powerful scene. Incredibly well written and acted by both performers. Maritza's tale is heartbreaking: the coward who died every night alone in his bunk.

[@nathanfitzgerald6651]

I got chills from Kira's quiet line: "What you're asking me for is another murder. And enough good people have died already, I won't help kill another."

[@SGrosch]

Watching this as an adult, understanding what was going on. Wow. DS9 was the best.

[@LapsedLawyer]

A real strength of STDS9 was the appearance of some really fine character actors in roles where their talents could really be showcased to their fullest extent. Harris Yulin had long been established as a good character actor in a variety of TV shows, but here he shows up as a great actor, period

[@sid2112]

Harris Yulin deserved an award from his peers for that scene. It's funny to watch this and then watch his judge scene in ghostbusters 2 where he hams it up for the comedic effect. Good actor all around.

[@AtlasBlizzard]

DS9 didn't exactly hit the ground running, but this episode is not only the clear best episode of Season 1, but one of the best of the whole series. It set the tone for the magnificence that it would rise to in later seasons.

[@tenofprime]

That is one thing I liked about the way Cardassia and Bajor were presented over the show. We start out with seeing the Cardassians as the bad guys who invaded Bajor but over the run of the show we see it is much less black and white. This episode in particular was a great display of how it is not as simple as good vs evil.

[@pb74205]

This episode was far and away the best of season one - it foreshadowed the incredible writing and acting that made Deep Space Nine stand out among Star Treks.

[@ZephyrBW]

What hit me in this episode was how both sides are a shade of good/bad. The man was killed out of rage by the past and Kira saw herself in that action, what a wake up call

[@ultramaximusreviews]

This is one of the best performances of an actor in all of television history

[@mynameizearl23]

Every time I watch this masterpiece I think “Dang and this is just season one”

[@wambutu7679]

Damn. This was one of the best shows ever. Not just scifi. All shows.

[@borischan5252]

If only JJ can do anything near this kind of artistry

[@andrewdevine3920]

He could do an episode where Gul Darheel was actually just pretending to be dead and comes back FOR REVENGE!!

[@GuineaPigEveryday]

Dude he just makes action films, tbf JJ’s films are better than like half the Star Trek films (e.g. The Final Frontier, Generations, Insurrection, Nemesis). They’re blockbusters, they’re not meant to be like the series, they’re just harmless fun

[@sykotikOG]

It's the way he kinda laughs, and starts to turn away from his own self, turns his head away in an effort to avoid seeing his own thoughts. He's squinting to avoid seeing his minds eye. He's trying to escape, but he's stuck inside himself, and we witness that happen over the course of a few seconds. We watch a man try to run from his own inner demons. And it's devastating to watch.

[@utkukaratas]

i watched this episode more than 10 years ago now; i still keep coming back to re-watch it every year or two. such acting! and when he starts crying there’s a lump in my throat too, every single time. hats off to mr. harris yulin!

[@durchhalter]

Definitely one of the absolute best episodes in ALL of Star Trek!!!

[@EamonThePhilogynistWalford]

When I first saw this episode, I was surprised that there was a character with a name that rhymed with mine, and just as he did in Ghostbusters II, Harris Yulin put in one hell of a performance here. 👍

[@NardoVogt]

Season 1 has its ups and downs. But I am so thankfull they gave us Duett.

[@davidlaney6153]

Forgiveness is the one lesson we most miss in our lives...

[@borgCube100]

It baffles me how people don't give these actors the recognition they deserve. I always come back to this episode. When I have to do presentations on things I enjoy (student about to head to uni) I always have this. Both in and out of the Star Trek Universe - I think people should watch this. Hate and justice are different. Kira set aside her hatred and grew. It's beautiful yet harrowing why it had to happen.

[@Gabryal77]

I remember there was a time when DS9 was criticized. It was seen as too much of a departure from the Utopian ideals that Star Trek represented. I always thought it humanized the series, showed us that it's not our "better nature" that must be depended on to maintain a society worth living in, sometimes it's dirty and messy and good men die. I always loved that about DS9.

[@dcasias708]

This is a powerful illustration of just how varied people's morals and sense of empathy can truly be, even within the same culture. Dukat had the blood of 5 million Bajorans directly on his hands and never stopped believing he was some hero or the real victim, never felt a sense of responsibility. Marritza never touched a single Bajoran and he thinks he deserves to die just for being there and not stopping the horrors. It just goes to show that for everyone, how good of a person we truly are is a choice. A monster like Dukat or a man like Marritza.

[@user-td3du7jk2x]

This is what Star Trek used to be, it was worth watching regardless of the series and the channel. And this is also a part of the blueprint of if you want to send a message the right way.

[@orboakin8074]

I am very much new to Star Trek and have not watched much of the series (though I recently bought them this year). The main reason I looked up this video was because I saw a KZbin account with the name "Gul Dar'Heel did nothing wrong" and I just on impulse searched up that name and came across this video. Man! I need to get into watching the pre-kelvin Star Trek soon.

[@Jamie_Pritchard]

Though you may enjoy the newer iterations of Trek (no judgement of course) it's great that you want to check out what I personally think was it's greatest period. Fantastic stories, great characters who had depth, and incredible acting.

[@orboakin8074]

@@Jamie_Pritchard Thanks, friend. Also, regarding my opinions on Kelvin timeline Star Trek, I honestly don't like it. It was how I got fully into the franchise in the first place (I initially saw a few episodes of Voyager when I was a kid back in my home country of Nigeria) by watching the Abrams movies but I ended souring on them when the consistency, writing, characterization, world building were done poorly increasingly. Plus, I absolutely hate how the recent shows like STD and Picard have opted for inserting divisive identity politics in lieu of good story telling and character development. Thankfully, a friend of mine who is more established Star Trek fan began nudging me to try the pre-kelvin stuff and I am excited to.

[@JasonJrake]

Once you get through “real Trek,” consider Babylon 5. The idea of Deep Space 9, a Trek show on a station, was from being pitched but rejecting Babylon 5. And while there were law suits and even some jabs at each other in the scripts, ultimately the writers competed to have the better sci-fi space show, and the audience was the real winner. The stunt double for the lovely lady in this clip was a regular (even more lovely) character on Babylon 5 at the same time. And the woman who did the computer voice for previous Trek shows had some cameos on B5 as well.

[@orboakin8074]

@@JasonJrake Thanks for this recommendation, friend. I am always looking for good sci-fi shows to watch, especially ones from when good writing were still the norm in hollywood.

[@CP-mb7ly]

​@@orboakin8074"Divisive identity politics" spoken like a true ignoramus. They're INCLUSIVE, to acknowledge that people are different, worthy of respect, love, and freedom. But what can I say to someone coming from a third world country. Educate yourself, kid.

[@davidtodd2104]

The job this guy did in this episode was truly masterful. This is one of the most emotional Trek episodes of all time.

[@Midnight.Shadows]

This episode was on point, everything, the score, the acting, the script, everything. It's up there as one of my top 10 episodes of trek overall for sure.

[@corbybrown3562]

I wanted to hug this guy’s character. Like damn he’s a broken man.

[@AppalachianCryptidDoge]

Absolutely brilliant, one of my favorite exchange in the entire show.

[@TrueYellowDart]

This show had no right - NO RIGHT - to be this good in its very first season. Amazing writing. Amazing acting. The best Trek series.

[@TXNICK96]

Powerful scenes like this is why DS9 is my favorite series in Star Trek

[@alexdavis7090]

It seriously takes a lot to bring me to tears. I rewatch this episode every once in a blue moon when I’ve had a really, really bad week and just need the flood gates to open so that I can finally feel some relief.

[@GORF_EMPIRE]

Can I just mention this is one of the best DS9 episodes ever? Possibly one of the best Star Trek Episodes? Harris couldn't have done a better job though...seriously. Bravissimo! Nana doesn't hurt it at all either. Serious beauty and talent. Even today she's still looks magnificent. Why she wasn't in many other shows is a shame. It's a shame this series did not go on longer. It could have done so many wonderful things.

[@tilasole3252]

Kira- "Enough good people have died... I won't help kill another... Now let's walk down this amazingly long open corridor, on a Bajoran space station, that used to use Bajoran's as slave labor in brutal conditions, with minimal security and probably have not even announced to the public that you are not actual the Gul Darhe'el... What could possibly go wrong?

[@scottmatheson3346]

one interesting thing about this is that up until the end it was possible that marritza was impersonating darheel for the inverse reason - that, ashamed of his weakness, his impotence as a filing clerk, he wanted to self-identify with the strength of darheel.

[@YD-uq5fi]

DS9 does not get enough acclaim. It had several of the most innovative episodes in all of Star Trek.

[@klatuk4u1]

This episode is so damned good. Truly some of the best of Trek.

[@talkaboutwacky]

Is someone cutting onions? Good lord this was such a fantastic episode. The acting was amazing

[@usov656]

One of the best performances in the entire history of star trek, superior to anything we get out of Hollywood nowadays, a real achievement for Harris Yalin.

[@russeltierra7636]

Just saw this episode. Such a powerful performance. This episode is standing out as one of my fav episodes of star trek.

[@johnbertrand7185]

Harris Yulin, one of the best character actors of all time. Awesome performance here.

[@swastikausa]

if marritza had fought out he would have been killed. lile a man i knew once called bruno. he was a guard at ravensbruck camp in germany. bruno tried to help the female prisoners cause they were all women but he was afraid. bruno went to his grave a broken man because he always said he should have done more but he was afraid.