Trek Thursdays: Trekking Towards Sixty #15 — “The Siege Of AR-558” And “It’s Only A Paper Moon”

On September 8th, 1966, an intrepid crew of explorers boldly went where no one had ever gone before on television. At that moment, Star Trek was born. A series that launched a franchise that has kept a firm grip on audiences for decades.

As the sixtieth anniversary approaches, we here at Comicon are ready to celebrate one of the greatest science fiction franchises. While Star Trek has graced the silver screen, most of its life has been on our television screens. So, that’s where our focus shall remain.

Every week through September 8th, we’ll be spotlighting two Star Trek episodes, from any and every iteration, that we feel are some of the greatest. At this point there are over 950 episodes of Trek, so it goes without saying some favorites won’t make the cut for this list of 60.

At its core, Star Trek has been an exploration of humanity and our flaws, our intricacies, our desires to explore, and how we could strive to become something better. Very hopeful and opportunistic in its vision, both for the best and the worst.

As the franchise aged though, those visions began to change. There is no utopia or paradise that doesn’t have cracks and issues that still bubble up. There are those who will do anything to tear down the so-called utopia to replace it with their own vision.

While it’s the other fandom heavy franchise in space that has war in its title, Trek is no stranger to dealing with war. Nowhere was that clearer than Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the first series that really took a hard mirror to the Federation, Starfleet, and their whole universe.

This week we look at some of those hard-hitting war focused episodes. One of them is a bleak look at the human cost that comes with war and the other deals with the painful traumatic aftermath. That focus comes through not one of the main stars of the series, but one of the amazingly acted supporting characters who rose to great heights.

-RED ALERT: SPOILERS FOLLOW-

“The Siege of AR-558”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Season 7, Episode 08 (11/18/1998)

Synopsis: During a supply run to the battle-torn AR-558, the crew of the Defiant finds a defending Starfleet unit with dwindling numbers and morale. An attack on the ship leaves part of the crew on the planet to help prepare to fight off a large contingent of Jem’Hadar soldiers.

There is nothing soft or hopeful about this episode.

By the time this episode was set, the war had been waging for some time. There had been major wins and major losses on all sides as more systems and people were toppled. The Dominion’s foothold in the Alpha Quadrant had moved beyond Cardassia. Even the Romulans’ entry into the conflict hadn’t evened things out enough, with the threat of the Breen entering the picture not to far off.

We feel the weight from the beginning of this episode as Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) solemnly stares at the growing list of the dead. Telling Odo (Rene Auberjonis) that he once tried to memorize their names, like a tribute, but there are too many to keep it straight anymore.

Everything about this episode stands as a reminder of how truly brutal and unforgiving wars are. Not everyone is the commanders who run around and get glory for things and often are safe (like a main cast’s plot armor). At the core of every battle are the soldiers, the infantry who take on all the risk, death, and losses in successive fashion. The Starfleet officers we meet on AR-558 are not in clean cut uniforms living on a starship. They’ve been in the thick of this battle on this planet for five straight months, two months longer than regulations stipulate.

Invisible mines. Taking trophies from fallen foes. Attacks in the night. Soldiers at the end of their wits and sanity.

Like I said, there is nothing pretty or utopian about this particular episode.

All to protect a captured Dominion communication array, that if it can be cracked would give access to their comm traffic from the whole sector. It’s this “prize” that the Starfleet officers of this regiment, and then the characters we know risk their lives for.

After becoming a massive fixture, even joining Starfleet, Aron Eisenberg’s Nog gets some big character changing moments here. Sent to help find the enemy camp because of his superior hearing, the Ferengi ensign comes under fire and eventually has to have his left leg amputated, leading to a heated argument between Sisko and Nog’s uncle, Quark (Armin Shimerman), with both actors leaning into the fury and the emotion behind their sides.

Forced to use the weapons of their enemies, the Starfleet officers showcase how far people will go to win when all odds are against them. In war, morals and other elements can become seen as a luxury, no matter how right or wrong that might be. We see more of the officers die in this battle, some of the people we know coming close to going down as well.

In the end, the Starfleet forces, despite their losses, are the “victors” and the communication array is fully captured and work begins to decode — a hollow victory with the cost of blood. It leaves Sisko wrestling with the weight of it all, further emboldened to never forget the casualty list names. Because each one was a person whose sacrifice must be remembered.

“It’s Only A Paper Moon”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Season 7, Episode 10 (12/30/1998)

Synopsis: After taking a brutal loss on AR-558, Nog makes a return to Deep Space 9. Unfortunately, some scars aren’t easily healed and finding himself uncertain about life, the young Ferengi seeks shelter in the fictional world of Vic Fontaine (James Darren) and Las Vegas, 1962.

Sometimes in war there is no actual winning, even if you achieve what should be a victory. That was what was at the core of the aforementioned “AR-558” episode. Those effects don’t just go away though. As the survivors, especially those that are injured, must carry those pains and emotions with them forever. A realization that their lives were fragile and almost ended can do things to any person.

Eisenberg owns this episode.

There are quite a few episodes where Nog is a tremendous presence and the actor nailed it. All the way back in third season episode “Heart Of Stone,” we saw Nog plead his heart out with then Commander Sisko to join Starfleet — speaking about how much wasted potential his father has stuck under the rules of being a Ferengi. Nog doesn’t want that and convinces the Commander to endorse him. We feel every bit of it as Eisenberg unleashes pure emotional energy the whole way through.

Those days of a mischievous Nog having to prove that he had more within him are gone. Instead, the Nog here is battle-hardened and weary, dealing with traumatic feelings from his brush with death on AR-558. Finding reality too hard to cope with and return to, he begins living in the Holosuite after becoming hooked to the voice of Vic Fontaine after hearing a recording during the AR-558 battle.

For those not in the know, Vic is a sentient hologram who knows that he is a hologram living inside of a simulation. During these last seasons his lounge became one of the regular hangouts for the crew. Having a charming singer full of wisdom and wit came in handy for a lot of major relationships and series moments following his debut.

There is a lot explored in this episode as those around Nog have very different feelings about what is happening. His father Rom (Max Grodénchik) and stepmother Leeta (Chase Masterson) just want him back and safe. Others are upset with his behaviors, some worry about the effect of living in the simulation, and those like counselor Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer) are willing to let the situation work itself out.

As Nog spirals deeper, Ezri’s feelings begin to change. As Nog begins fights with friends and brushes off things he’s missing that family tell him about, it’s clear that something must be altered. There is a whole bit where Ezri finally convinces Vic to let Nog go back to reality, and the hologram gives some tough love, shutting down his own program to force Nog back into reality, kicking and screaming.

Watching Nog break down and finally admit what has been bothering him was heartbreaking. Eisenberg emotes so much as we see how Nog went from someone that wanted to eagerly make a difference to a battle-weary scarred person. His own mortality is something that he fears now as it was on the brink of being ended. Darren adds back just as much with Vic being the one to convince Nog that hiding away was another form of dying…

Just a slower one that takes you piece by piece leaving those that love and care about you adrift.

There is no easy fix here though, which is a masterstroke for the episode. As Nog leaves and meets Rom, Leeta, and Quark downstairs they ask if he is okay. He tells them that he is not at the moment, but he will be. Speaking to how these types of mental and emotional wounds are slow to heal. Sometimes they never fully heal, but we learn how to cope with them and find some normalcy in our lives.

Come back next week as we dive into two more of Star Trek’s greatest episodes.