“Empok Nor” is the most intense, claustrophobic episode of DS9 yet. I have always enjoyed its creepy feel, but it is actually more famous for two reasos, both considered strikes against it. I will address them momentarily.O’Brien needs spare parts to repair DS9. He has nothing on hand to use as spare parts because the station is of Cardassian design. Why this problem has not arisen before now is a mystery. He decides to take a team to an abandoned Cardassian space station identical to DS9, Empok Nor, as a guide, his team takes along Garak.
Empok Nor is not abandoned, however. Some soldiers have been left there. They are the result of an experiment to use drugs to enhance the xenophobic tendencies of soldiers in order to make them more vicious fighters. O’Brien’s team gets picked off y the soldiers. Garak is also affected by traces of the drug. He kills a couple team members before being subdued by O’Brien. All is wrapped up with no lasting consequences.
But that is not one of the bad reactios to the episode.
The first is from Andrew Robinson, who plays Garak. Robinson is an avowed pacifist who had spent over two decades at this pint trying to live down his break out role as the psychotic killer in 1971’s Dirty Harry. He was not happy to see Garak turned ito a maniacal murderer. In a sense, neither was I. Garak had been a killer, no doubt, but there was a complexity to him normally that is missing here. He is nothing but a murderous machine in ’Empok Nor.”
The second is the use of a Trek racial slur. When the team is being stalked in the dark after a couple members have been killed, one refers to the Cardassian soldiers as ’spoon heads.” For whatever reason, some of the more idealistic Trek fans got upset that Starfleet personnel would use a racial slur, even if it only has negative meaning to fictional characters.
I think it is a dumb complaint on the surface, but it gets even worse when you think back to how many times O’Brien has used the term Cardies to refer to Cardassians. To me, that sounds a heck of a lot like Japs or Krauts. I have never heard a Trek fan complain about that ever. What gives? Given a real world allusion, Cardiessounds far more offensive than spoon heads. perhaps that is just me.
Regardless of the strikes against ’Empok Nor,” I like it. I am disappointed with Garak’s treatment because it isa stepback for his character, but the incident is hereafter ignored. I can personally ignore it because of how much I ejoy the dark, paranoid tone of the episode.
Ratig: *** (out of 5)
