“Covenant” is a fascinating effort to bring Dukat back to the forefront as a major villain He had gotten lost in the Dominion War storyline over the last season and a third. I am a big Dukat fan and he makes the episode for me, it is not without its flaws. The episode feels…disjointed.The first half involves Dukat arranging for Kira to be kidnapped and brought to Empok Nor where he has established a cult worshiping the Pah’Wraith. Kira is appalled Dukat has convinced a large group of Bajorans to join with him as their spiritual leader uder the guise the Pah’Wraiths are the true prophets of Bajor because the Prophets abandoned them during the Occupation.
Never mind that Dukat was in charge of Bajor during the Occupation. The cult stresses forgiveness and redemption, even though the situation is the Equivalent of Adolph Eichmann eing accepted as leader of a colony of Holocaust survivors.
All this is what Dukat always wanted--to rule Bajorans with a firm hand and have him love him for it. As a sign he has gathered the cult together as a slap against Sisko, he even refers to himself as the true Emissary. In that sense, “Covenant” edges us even closer to the final battle between Sisko ad Dukat as representatives of good and evil.
Kira cannot bring herself to accept Dukat’s good intentions. Neither can we, of course. Eevnts fall apart when it is revealed Dukat got a woman pregnant, claimed it was a miracle the kid is half Cardassian, and then tried to kil her to keep the truth from being revealed.
Here is where the episode completely shifts from dealing with the issues of blind faith, forgiveness, and redemption--all compelling--and instead becomes an homage to the Heaven’s Gate cult.
You remember them. The cult of androgynous eunuchs lead by Marshall Applewhite who committed mass suicide in order to join aliens when the Hale-Bopp comet was burning brightest? The Heaven’s Gate cult suicide happened about a year and a half prior to “Covenant.” Nichelle Nichols’ brother was among the dead. There is your obligatory trek connection.
Dukat has no intentions of killing himself along with the rest. Kira exposes him for a fraud. The cult rebels, but he escapes to further his plan to be empowered by the Pah’Wraith.
I like "Covenant.” I would have preferred if it had kept on its original track instead of heading off into a direct rift of an event most people think is a sad tragedy only in the sense people were misguided ito believing something crazy. I thought the episode really had something with its exploration of faith and character study of Dukat. The episode turned out fine, but it could have been more to my liking had it remained on its original path.
The Heaven's Gate web site is still up. Web Design certainly has come a long way since then. The page remembers me of theearly days of Geocities.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
