Capt. Jonathan: Stardate: Sept. 8, 1966 [<–IT’S LYING] As we were enjoying a romantic dinner, engaged in flirtatious banter and constant, preventative, dear-God-is-that-spaghetti-sauce? mouth wiping, a question came to mind: “Did you ever notice that there is a *lot* of war, genocide, and murder happening right now?” “Yes,” Capt. Tracy responded, “Let’s make sure we watch a TREK episode that gets us away from all that. How about ‘Duet’? With that kind of title, it’s probably a musical with lots of *On the Town*-type scenes featuring Nog, Rom, and Jake!”

As it turns out, “Duet” is the one about war, genocide, and murder. Specifically, DS9 takes in a Cardassian named Marritza so as to give him medical care. It turns out he has Kalla-Nohra, which he could have only contracted at a particularly brutal Bajoran labor camp.

Marritza is interrogated, where it turns out that he is Gul Darhe’el, who was not a lowly filing clerk at the camp (which was Marritza’s cover), but the head honcho himself. But then it turns out that that’s actually not true, and Marritza really *is* Marritza, and he believes so strongly that Cardassia needs to stand trial for their war crimes that he altered himself to look like Gul Darhe’el in order to bring Cardassia the guilt it deserves.

The noble cause is snuffed, though, when a random Bajoran essentially Jack Rubys Marritza in the episode’s final moment, thus harshing Kira’s mellow that maybe, just maybe, one Cardassian could possibly be sponge-worthy.

Capt. Tracy: This episode kept me slightly off-kilter the entire forty minutes, which is definitely a compliment. Once I got the background on the whole Kardashian/B’joran thing (thanks Captain Jonathan!), I expected a pretty straight-up Judgment at Nuremberg retelling–how responsible were the “filing clerks” for wartime atrocities? Nope.

Then I thought it was going to go the route of odious (no offense, Odo) Holocaust deniers.

Marritza spins a very different version of the labor camps to Kira. It was disease and infighting that killed all the B’joranians! We left on purpose! That sort of thing. Nope.

What the episode ends up arguing for is the South African (and, later, Rwandan) model of truth and reconciliation.

Marritza believes his guilt, and the collective guilt of all Kardashians, can only be assuaged, and their crimes adequately punished, through transparency. A trial of Darhe’el would force Kardashia to literally articulate, and thereby make visible, the many crimes of the occupation. And it would allow the B’jorans to bear witness to their own victimization and reclaim a degree of power. Speaking the unspeakable, as counterintuitive and psychically difficult as it is to do (and to hear) is one way to affirm the reality of trauma, and possibly make space for healing. This episode is a powerful argument for due process and against vengeance. When the system works, of course.

Capt. Jonathan: I think Marritza also brings with him a powerful statement about the hegemonic quality of Masculinity. Of course, here, I’m talking about big-M Masculinity, the textbook stuff, the machismo “guy” that’s supposed to fight the wars, stare death in the face, and never crap his pants.

Marritza tells Kira that he had to shun his own identity and take on Darhe’el’s because Marritza was a file clerk who hid from the screams of innocent Bajorans, and Darhe’el was a Man, willing to do Manly things like kill and look like Doug Rosselli from *Training Day*.

The great thing about the character of Marritza is that he holds a mirror up to Masculinity, and reflects back every wart that we have placed upon its face. Marritza *could* have made a difference another way, but, in order to do that, he’d need to feel like his Manhood could not be defined by others, and certainly not defined by others who insist Manhood comes from power, bloodshed, and violence. This realization is key if Men – generalizing, here – are going to truly change the dangerous ways traditions are permitted to define the gender.

Capt. Tracy: Another interesting angle to the episode is that Marritza is, for all intents and purposes, acting. He’s playing the role of Darhe’el, and, if his plan had worked, would have been performing when on trial for the other man’s (is that the right terminology?) crimes. Another moment where DS9 champions the power of theatre and fiction to do real good in the real world. And as I was watching one of Marritza-as-Darhe’el’s monologues, before I knew it was an act, I said out loud, “he’s a tour de force!”

And he was remarkable at inhabiting the language and consciousness of a megalomaniacal self-righteous prick. Must be all that practice he got playing Quentin Travers, the smug Senior Watcher and Director of the Watchers Council on Buffy!!!!

Capt. Jonathan and Capt. Tracy: The only gripe that we both had with this one is that Bashir really does *nothing* this whole time. In the opening scene, Marritza evades Bashir in Sick Bay by running past him with the vigor of a hungover Bob Dole. Later, when his identity is called into question, Bashir doesn’t perform a blood test, which, unless Marritza’s cosmetics also gave him Gul Darhe’el’s blood, could have solved the whole thing in like two seconds. In fact, it would’ve been better if Bashir *had* known from the start, and then the rest of the episode was just a series of meetings about The Real Identity of Marritza where Julian can’t get a word in edgewise. Kinda like:

SISKO: We have to figure out if this is the real Marritza.

BASHIR: Uh, I could help you with/

KIRA: We’ll never know for sure. We need more interrogations.

BASHIR: Well actually we ca/

ODO: Commander. It may take weeks to find out who we’re dealing with.

BASHIR: No, it won’t, because I/

SISKO: I’m inclined to agree, Odo, but it’s all we’ve got. Begin your interrogation. Dismissed.

(Everyone leaves but BASHIR.)

SISKO (Cont’d): Ah, Doctor, good. Let’s get to work on that prostate exam.

BASHIR: But Commander I figured out/

SISKO: Doctor I don’t have all day! Now help me out of this jumpsuit.

BASHIR: I suppose it wouldn’t do me any good to tell you that this is the 24th Century and you no longer have to be naked for any basic medical exam.

SISKO: Zipper’s on the back.

And now, a little Q&A!

Capt Jonathan: Q: This episode was all about “duets.” What is one “duet” you’d do with your partner?

A: Waterboarding. Or “I Got You Babe.” Love that fucking song.

Capt. Tracy: Q: What relationship advice can we take from Bashir in this episode?

A: When there’s a conflict occurring you don’t quite get, just stand around, look confused but concerned, and no one will expect you to do anything.