“For the Cause” turns out to be a very timely episode to review. The plot features Sisko’s love, Kassidy Yates, being accused of smuggling for the Maquis. She is, but sisko is manipulated into following her ship by Michael Eddington, who plans to steal a shipment of replicators being sent to the Cardassians and defect to the Maquis with them. Writer Mark Gehred-O’Connell’s motivation for the story was the public reaction after the Oklahoma City bombing. He was surprised in the early days how there was much suspicion about Middle Eastern men having been behind the terrorist attack when it was Tim McViegh, a supposedly all American boy and war veteran responsible. The shock is supposed to be that you never suspect what the people closest to you are capable of.
Fifteen years later, there is a failed car bombing in Times Square. A man of Middle Eastern descent takes responsibility and acknowledges he was trained in the art of explosives. The current reaction is that an MSNBC anchor laments he is not a white man and the mayor of New York City remained confident the failed bomber was a conservative upset over ObamaCare. Times have definitely changed for progressive guilt, no?
“For the Cause” is all about loyalty ad betrayal. Yates has been smugglig medical supplies to the Maquis out of a sense of duty, but returns to Sisko in order to face up to what she has done. Eddington also feels a sense of loyalty to the Maquis over the Federation. He offers up the most damning criticism of the Federation we have seen so far. They have abandoned the Maquis, former Federation citizens, to the Cardassians all the while making overtures to eventually bring the Cardassians into the Federation. Eddington compares the Federation to the Borg, but with the exception the borg annouce their intentions to assimilate cultures. The Federation is far more insidious.
Eddiington goes way over the top with his comparison, but he has a point. I have written numerous times about the underlying attitude that Federation ideals, which are identical to secular humanist ideals, are far superior to any alien culture. Said alien cultures are usually only applauded when they adopt humanistic philosophy. How is that different than Eddington’s accusation the Federation is taking great steps to bring Cardassia into the fold, even to the point of sacrificing some of their own to do so?
“For the Cause” begins the semi-regular arc of Sisko’s obsession with capturing Eddington for his betrayal. It is a fantastic start to wrap up the Maquis storyline, particularly considering they were introduced, not as a major part of DS9, but to introduce them in order to save time and space for the immediate inclusion on VOY.
Garak and Ziyal begin a friendship in the B-story story. Kira continues her protective role for her. A good story, but it does feel tacked on considering how much focus is on the main story.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
