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Jammer's Review
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
"Second Skin"
***1/2
Air date: 10/24/1994
Written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe
Directed by Les Landau
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
"Treason, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder." -- Garak

The Cardassians kidnap Kira and surgically alter her appearance into that of a Cardassian. Then they tell her she's really an undercover Cardassian spy named Iliana Ghemor, whose real memory had been erased and original appearance changed to Bajoran so she could infiltrate Bajor. Now they want the information she was to gather.

"Second Skin" proves itself as an atypical drama when it could've been a complete failure. The writers have crafted the story such that it appears to the audience the Cardassians might very well be telling the truth. While the episode is, in a way, a series of fabrications that try to convince us that it's going to completely rewrite Kira's backstory, it works because of its emotional sincerity. Sure, by the end we find out that, yes, the Cardassians were lying and, no, Kira isn't really a Cardassian. But the episode doesn't really rely on the identity gag because it reveals true substance as it unfolds.

It's a terrific story with some great dramatic moments, with the added bonus of a satisfying conclusion--a refreshing cheat-free venture into Cardassian political problems.

Although the episode spends plenty of time trying to convince us Kira is a Cardassian--and does so quite well by offering so much indicative evidence that even I was having brief second thoughts--the heart of the episode really lies in the characters.

It's really about how Kira finally accepts a lie after having it drilled into her head over and over. It also gives Kira a chance to develop a friendship with Cardassian Ghemor (Lawrence Pressman), who adamantly claims he's her father. The scenes between Kira and Ghemor are right on target, because they're both victims of the same deception--the underhanded plotting by Cardassian Entek (Gregory Sierra) to expose Ghemor as a traitor trying to bring change to Cardassian society.

Ghemor did indeed have an undercover daughter on Bajor named Iliana, and Entek uses Kira's resemblance to Iliana as a ploy to manipulate Ghemor.

Entek is a member of the Obsidian Order, a powerful, all-knowing Cardassian variation of Big Brother. He's the worst type of villain--the kind who claims to be your friend and then stabs you in the back. The Obsidian Order also has the resources to make a ruse seem disturbingly real, as Entek offers the initially disbelieving Kira so much evidence she eventually cracks and accepts the lies as truths.

Both Visitor and Pressman turn in moving performances, and newcomer David Bell's score is a majestic and emotional triumph, breaking the predominant monotony turned out many weeks by Trek music veterans McCarthy and Chattaway at the demand of the producers--music that, quite frankly, I'm sick of.

Further propelling the story is a B-plot with Sisko taking the Defiant to track Kira down with the help of Garak and Odo. Robinson, as always, gets some of the best-timed lines and most interesting dialogue. (His character has emerged as one of the cast's best, and I say it's time to put his credit in the opening title with everyone else's.) A scene where they charge in to the rescue works surprisingly well, and the potentially obvious gag where Odo uses his morphing ability to foil Entek is so well-executed that I almost wanted to cheer.Another interesting part of "Second Skin" is the rare look into Cardassian civilization, which, based on what Star Trek has offered so far, seems like a civilization inspired from Orwell's 1984. As seen here and before, the Cardassians' Obsidian Order bares many obvious similarities to Big Brother; those who oppose it are destroyed. As seen in "Tribunal," any innocent person can be guilty of a crime at the government's discretion. Subtle visuals such as a large telescreen mounted on the side of a Cardassian building are also reminiscent of Orwellian motifs. Picard's torture in TNG's "Chain of Command II" was nearly a total reenactment of Orwell's torture scene near the end of his novel. In "Chain of Command II," Gul Madred tortures Picard into believing there are five lights when in reality there are only four. In 1984, Orwell's hero is forced into believing his torturer is holding up five fingers when in reality he is holding up just four. Coincidence?

Very interesting. All around, a very well-done Trek.

Previous episode: Equilibrium
Next episode: The Abandoned

19 comments on this review
Jayson - June 8, 2008 - 09:18 pm (USA Central Time)
This was a steller outing for DS9 in that it plays to its true strengths, its characters and what makes them tick. It amazes me after two years we are still getting to know Kira and what drives her.

I also loved that we started getting more into Cardassian society which form me, its really wonderful getting to know an alien culture and have it seem creditble.

Finally, this episode sported another outstanding performance by Andrew Robinson especially when he kills Entek and simply says "What a pity, I rather liked him" and casually walks away.
Jakob M. Mokoru - January 11, 2009 - 12:05 pm (USA Central Time)
Really, really fantastic episode with outstanding acting. Especially the Cardies were great (I'll include Kira in this group for this episode). Nearly everything fits - although I'm still asking myself: Who was the dead girl Entek produced as evidence of the "real Kiras" death?
Jayson - June 20, 2009 - 01:56 am (USA Central Time)
I was recently reading through the DS9 Companion and apparently the original ending of this episode was more ambiguous in that Doctor Bashire couldn't determine with 100% accuracy that Kira was Bajoran.
Nic - October 28, 2009 - 08:39 pm (USA Central Time)
Yes, Robert Hewitt Wolfe said that originally he wanted it to be unclear to underline the theme of "it doesn't matter who you've been, it only matters who you are." (which contradicts Dax's line in the previous episode). I'm REALLY GLAD they didn't use this ending, it would be totally ridiculous for Bashir to not be able to tell the difference between a Bajoran and a Cardassian, it's probably the kind of thing a first year medical student can do.
James - March 4, 2010 - 04:23 am (USA Central Time)
@Nic : To be fair, he DID mix up a preganglionic fibre for a postganglionic nerve. I wouldn't put too much stock in Bashir's medical expertise... ;)
Nic - April 27, 2010 - 02:14 pm (USA Central Time)
I hope I'm not giving anything away, but Bashir mixed those up ON PURPOSE to avoid being first in his class.
double m - May 18, 2010 - 02:24 pm (USA Central Time)
Wow Kira was really hot as cardassiana. I like very much the cardi girls, they look somehow very perverse in their gothic emo look :)))
conroy - June 1, 2010 - 12:59 pm (USA Central Time)
I just watched this episode again for the first time in a year or two. It is still very entertaining and I was surprised to pick up on a few things that I missed the first couple of times.

Here's a sad thought that no one has mentioned so far, in regards to what has become of Gul Ghemor's daughter?

Perhaps, it is this obvious: The body of the "real" Kira, belongs to Iliana Ghemor, post surgery.

The idea didn't occur to me until I read Jammer's review.

"Entek is a member of the Obsidian Order, a powerful, all-knowing Cardassian variation of Big Brother. He's the worst type of villain--the kind who claims to be your friend and then stabs you in the back."

Iliana studied under, and trusted Entek - to her own peril. The Obsidian Order knows exactly where Iliana is, and has accounted for all of their agents.
Dan - October 7, 2010 - 01:14 am (USA Central Time)
Reasonably entertaining, but the utter implausibility of it all kept me from getting too excited. Kira accepts that the technology exists to alter a Cardassian's anatomy (external and internal) so completely that routine Starfleet medical exams reveal nothing amiss? The Obsidian Order prefers this complex, unlikely-to-succeed scheme to the many far-simpler alternatives (use an actor or a hologram; give the real Iliana a placebo; catch Ghemor by, I dunno, spying)? Bajor and Starfleet are willing to accept this major incursion into their turf with zero consequences? Not buying any of it.
Kei - December 2, 2010 - 01:15 pm (USA Central Time)
The DS9 Relaunch novels The Soul Key and Fearful Symmetry expanded on this episode quite a bit. It reveals where they got the body for the dead Kira, as well as what happened to the original Iliana Ghemor. Both are relatively short books -- you'll be able to get through them rather quickly. Don't wanna give any more spoilers here...
Elliott - December 12, 2010 - 01:15 am (USA Central Time)
Now here's an episode that's trying so very hard, and has the potential for a lot more than we get...

There's a lot that's good about this episode; much of the mood painting (Iliana's room is very carefully designed, the mirror in apposed to the window overlooking Cardassia); Garak as usual is far more interesting as a character and better executed as an actor than any of the main cast, but a lot is simply extinguished in terms of drama. First of all, the conversations between Ghemor and Entek clearly point the way at a deception. I can see in that instance it was the fault of the execution (wooden acting) which failed to convince. Since we had just gotten Troi made into a Romulan the previous year, it wasn't such a huge shock to see Kira as a Cardassian either, and the show relied too heavily on that shock-value reveal. The show should have been about Kira coming to terms with her hatred of Cardassians by standing in their shoes for a while, but it quickly goes to the old torture trick looming and becomes a story about how scary the Obsidian Order is. The result is a couple of overacted scenes with Kira meant to portray some sort of emotional schism which are severely forced and unconvincing. For a FAR better execution of this idea, see Voyager's "Faces." DS9 is unapologetic about it's increased sabotage of basic tenants of Star Trek premises. How is the world are we to be convinced that not only is Starfleet okay with Sisko's blackmailing and covert infiltration of Cardassia, they HELPED him by creating false records? What kind of twisted Starfleet is this? Kira isn't even a member of the Federation, how can this be justified? The issue is glaring, but doesn't get adressed at all. Now, the episode really doesn't have room for it, but it amounts to another unexplained change in the continuity of the Star Trek Universe to allow DS9 to make its point that Gene was wrong.
Nick M - December 13, 2010 - 10:02 am (USA Central Time)
double m said something I have been thinking for a while. Am I like the only person that has a thing for Cardassian women? There is a really odd sexiness to them, and Kira looked so amazing as a Cardassian! The jusge in the O-Brien episode was also quite sexy. I am not sure who I find more appealing, from a male-fantasy POV, Vulcan women or Cardassian women.

Any thoughts about this silly, yet valid question?
Jay - January 1, 2011 - 01:11 am (USA Central Time)
What is it about Star Trek women that makes alien races want to kidnap and surgically alter them?...first Troi and now Kira.
Jayson - January 1, 2011 - 01:52 am (USA Central Time)
Jay, in both cases there was a political motivation and in both said cases, the story for both woman was fairly good. Though for Kira it was nothing new but with Deanna it was very rare.
Nic - February 2, 2011 - 09:40 am (USA Central Time)
I'm still wondering how Entek knew about Kira accidentally killing a mother cat thinking it was a Cardassian.
Overthinker - February 22, 2011 - 10:46 am (USA Central Time)
Nic: Here's an interesting thought. Assuming that Entek was correct when he said they implanted Iliana with memories, why not implant Kira with this memory as well? In other words, Entek knew she had that memory as *he* gave it to her....

Nick M: You are not alone. Vulcans over Cardies, but Cardy women are disturbingly hot. More than Klingon, definitely, and the less said about Feregnhi women the better....
enniofan - April 9, 2011 - 08:41 pm (USA Central Time)
I freaking love Garak.
Jayson - May 4, 2011 - 12:43 am (USA Central Time)
"Pitty, I rather liked him" is the best Garak line in 7 seasons. Also, I recall reading at memory alpha about the producers really wanted to keep the actor and the character Entek around but if Garak doesn't kill him then it takes some of the edge away from Garak.
Captain Tripps - September 17, 2011 - 04:48 pm (USA Central Time)
I thought a major point was made that Kira never DID believe them, she never completely fell for it. She just softened up when she realized that Ghemor believed it.
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