“Ties of Blood and Water” is a sequel to the third season episode ‘Second Skin” in which Kira was genetically altered to become the long lost daughter of a prominent, Ghamor, in order to expose him as a member of the dissident movement. He and Kira bonded in the ordeal. Since then, they have served as surrogate family for one another. In this episode, Kira brings him to DS9 in order to gather intelligence on the dissident movement since the Dominion takeover. Ghamor is dying, so he quickly has to impart all that he knows to Kira. As he does, Dukat and Weyoun arrive on DS9 to demand his extradition.
The story continues Dukat’s slide towards villainy after a long stretch of shades of grey in his morality. He and Kira have gone back to a personal animosity in which Dukat gets a perverse pleasure--words chosen deliberately, considering his physical attraction for her-- in tormenting her. Attempting to separate her from her surrogate father here is one of the most brutal.
He nearly succeeds by exposing Ghamor’s involvement in a monastery massacre during the occupation. Kira as appalled. She thought Ghamor was different than other Cardassians. Dax convinces her that no matter what he has done, he does not deserve to die aloe. Kira thinks back to how her father died alone because she was off on a terrorist raid and decides she cannot let Ghamor die without ’family’ present.
I suppose it is a sweet sentiment, but given the parallels between the nazis and Jews so often alluded to in the Cardassian/Bajoran relationship, I cannot help but think kira’s decision is like a Holocaust survivor befriended the Nazis who violently put down the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Sometimes forgiveness seems like a betrayal to those who have been wronged. Perhaps that feeling is a moral failing, but I have doubts.
Ghamor dies. Kira buries him o Bajor next to her father to keep Dukat from gaining any political advantage from bringing the body back to Cardassia. Again, that is awkward. Kira’s father died because of his imprisonment by Cardassians. He is probably rolling over in his grave in consideration of his new neighbor.
Weyoun makes a return appearance. The writers decided the Vorta clone themselves as a means of bringing back Jeffrey Combs to play the role. We have to overlook the fact that multiple cloning degrades each additional copy, but I am willing to do so since Weyound is such a amusing character.
“Ties of Blood and Water’ is not a bad episode. I can appreciate what the writers were trying to do with it, but I find the continued relationship between Kira and Ghamor, considering his atrocity, too disturbing to appreciate the message that anyone can be forgiven. Like I said above, maybe it isa personal failure, but I think the concept was a misfire.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
