51. Second Skin

Summary

On her way to a holosuite appointment with Dax, Kira is contacted by the Bajoran Archives, who insist that she was once a prisoner at Elemspur, a Cardassian prison. Though Kira insists she was never there, evidence indicates that she was. She leaves for Bajor to investigate but never arrives. When she wakes up, she is shocked to look in the mirror to see a Cardassian face staring back at her. She is informed by Entek, an Obsidian Order agent, that she is, in fact, Ilyana Ghemor, an Order operative. She volunteered ten years ago for deep cover on Bajor, was surgically altered and had her memories erased and replaced with those of a Bajoran resistance fighter they kidnapped. While Ilyana's father, Legate Ghemor, treats her with the loving kindness of a father who's missed his daughter, Entek grows more and more impatient with her refusal to cooperate. She's been given drugs that supposedly will make her real memories resurface but they don't appear to be working. Back on DS9, Sisko and Odo coerce Garak into helping them get to Cardassia to rescue Kira. In spite of herself, Kira begins to have doubts...the evidence she's confronted with is very hard to deny, especially when Entek shows her the body of a woman who appears to be herself. Entek finally decides that he'll have to torture her to get what he wants, but Legate Ghemor won't allow it and tells Kira that he'll get her off the planet. Upset and unsure, Kira is amazed that he'd do that for her. When Ghemor is revealed to be a dissident, her suspicions grow...she realizes that the Order must suspect Ghemor of disloyalty and concocted this deception to trick him into betraying himself, knowing he'd never allow his daughter to be tortured. Entek enters and confirms her theory...but his attempt to expose Ghemor is thwarted when Sisko, Odo and Garak arrive and get Kira and Ghemor off the planet. Back on DS9, Ghemor and Kira bid a fond farewell as he leaves to seek political sanctuary on Mathenite.

Analysis

This episode is very interesting, but hampered by a coincidence-laden plot. Are we to think that the woman who contacted Kira about Elemspur worked for the Order too? If not, were they just going to wait until *someone* mentioned to Kira that she was supposedly at Elemspur? And why bother to get someone who resembles Ilyana when surgical alterations could make *anyone* look like her? Despite what Kira says, I have to believe that there could have been easier ways to expose Ghemor as a dissident. Perhaps the Order just likes to show off. We also can't help but think of TNG's "Face of the Enemy," another episode in which a female crewmember was altered to resemble an enemy AND was supposed to be a member of the intelligence branch. Ultimately, I think "Face of the Enemy" is more successful, but "Second Skin" is hardly a failure. It introduces a good character in Legate Ghemor, who would reappear in season five's Ties of Blood and Water, and for once the portrayal of Cardassians is multifaceted and not limited to strutting Guls or evil war criminals. Ghemor is a decent, honorable man, yet he seems to fit in well enough at the Central Command (aside from being a dissident, that is). The Ghemor family was obviously a close, loving one...and we can't help but wonder what's become of the *real* Ilyana. The connection formed between Kira and Ghemor is one of those happens-in-spite-of-yourself things and it's easy for us to see how it developed. Nana Visitor does a terrific job in this episode, just smashing, which isn't unusual...in my opinion she and Rene are the series' two best actors.

Rating: 7.0

Memorable Quote:

Sisko: If someone were in trouble with the Central Command, then a Bajoran space station under Federation command might just be the safest place in the galaxy.
Garak: This is extortion.
Sisko: Hmmm...yes, it is.

"Treason, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder." --Garak

Classic Scene:

Kira's breakdown in Ghemor's house as she finds herself beginning to think Entek is telling the truth is a truly emotional moment...for a second, *we* almost start to think she's Ilyana.

Sexually Slanted Line 'O the Episode:

"Nothing you can show me will make any difference." --Kira

The O/K Status Report

Nothing much. Odo's upset she's missing, of course, but no more than anyone else.

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