3 in Past Prologue (Deep Space Nine S01-E03)

Would you blame Tahna's methods or think it justified because he had suffered?

Past Prologue dives into the adage ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’ by reuniting Major Kira Nerys with Tahna Los, a Bajoran and fellow freedom fighter. They fought against the occupation using many of the same methods against the Cardassians. There is no insurmountable difference between them if there is at all. 

And yet when the Cardassians left, Kira accepted a post with the provisional government while Tahna fights that same government under the Kohn-Ma. From 2 freedom fighters it is now a case of former freedom fighter reunites with terrorist.

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Captain Picard summarizes the Bajoran situation in the pilot episode, Emissary:

The ruling parties are at each other’s throats...factions that were united against the Cardassians have resumed old conflicts...

There is an unfortunate simplicity to war compared to peaceful administration hence the disunity. The question is why two people who have bled for the same cause end up on two sides; in fact, the two go back and forth the entire episode trying to convince each other there isn’t a side between them.

There are the 3 things that stand out in the episode.

I respect your opinion constable, there's never any pretense

Age of Talking

Tahna called Kira an ‘accomplished politician’; ‘I don’t think so’, she replies as if insulted. Bad politicians are cliché but that’s where the story leads to despite not going down and dirty with planetary politics. Federation presence is under debate and Kira and Tahna are on opposite sides of it.

Question is, who runs that government? I submit that the cause of Kira and Tahna’s divide and also the hope of Bajor lie in the politician or maybe the political skill set, if that is the right word. 

But first as the probable underlying cause, probable, because the episode never named a politician or jockeying political groups. Why did an isolationist policy – Bajor for Bajorans – lose? The way both of them agree passionately in some kind of isolationist position make it feel like it’s the most natural conclusion after an occupation. 

Anger and continued violence could be the inability to understand why anyone else wouldn't understand the beauty of Bajor for Bajorans. They felt betrayed.

But by who? Were the Kohn-Ma and like-minded groups ever consulted? Look how Kira and Tahna would agree on things, especially how she advocates for his freedom, her support for his character. She wants splinter groups brought back to the fold, as if she wants to stack up the deck with like-minded people. 

Kira separates from Tahna's way of thinking by protecting the wormhole

What type of Bajoran is unlike Kira and Tahna? I’m a believer that there’s no violent disagreement between friends, so the violence in the story may not be entirely due to policy disagreements but refusal to work with certain people. 

Maybe there are those of a certain class, or if experience during the occupation is to be any measure, there are those who’ve had a relatively neutral life in the occupation but rose to power only thereafter, which fighters in the trenches may resent.

Of course, there’s Julius Caesar way of looking at politics. Kira, broken up on choosing between Tahna and the provisional government, mentioned ‘not knowing who the enemy is’. Politicians will talk as they’re known to be and still manage to stab you at the back without losing a smile.

What the episode did tackle, and this is the good side of politics, is that the war is over. The simplicity is over hence the torturous complication of talking is in full bloom. Plus is it too much to ask to be able to breathe for a moment now that Bajor is essentially free? No more killing.

Politics always needs someone with a good heart who can play the game, and rightly so Major Kira was called out as at least having that capability. 

She managed to get needed votes in support of Tahna, and who knows how many more if he really wanted peace. She placed Deep Space Nine near the mouth of the wormhole anticipating its potential. 

Now, Kira defended the wormhole against Tahna, when military thinking would be about its destruction. Military thinking means: give as much walls between you and potential enemies as possible. The wormhole brings commerce, it brings potential friends and enemies alike. It's a risk being open, and it's worth taking. Alliances have to be made in order to be strong.

What’s interesting is that Kira didn’t dwell on the morality of killing in her final arguments with Tahna. It’s just that the old tactics are over and she wants more for Bajor.

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Watching Major Kira won't be Boring

Captain Picard’s ready room has no windows, and whatever disagreements he’d have with Commander Riker will be smoothed over by the chain of command. And Spock has always played the logical influence to the cowboy that was Captain Kirk.

I love this shot looking over Kira from Sisko’s office. It creates a divide relationship wise, talking about people behind their backs. It is a dimension never before seen in other first officers. And literally it means Major Kira Nerys is a colorful character to watch.

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Plain and Simple Garak

There are many Star Trek actors who have exaggerated delivery which I guess come from a theater background or they are overcompensating against the thick prosthetic make-up. I haven’t seen Andrew Robinson’s other works but who the hell trusts a smile like that? 

Andrew didn't really suspend by disbelief, I guess. Why don't people lynch him smiling like that, and he's a Cardassian no less? Strangely enough, over the seasons I would eagerly look out for Garak just to see him weave doublespeak with that smile.

Plain and simple Garak is fun to watch in this his first episode. He has a similar skill set to Odo but unlike the security chief, Garak brings in more tension.