‘SECOND SKIN’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
It’s time for another Kira-focused episode of ‘DS9’. This one was quite compelling as it has Kira ending up looking like a Cardassian. This shocks Kira to the core as she despises Cardassians in general.
It would’ve been interesting to have this episode begin with Kira seeing herself as a Cardassian. But they did the same thing with Deanna Troi waking up as a Romulan for ‘Face of the Enemy’ from ‘TNG’.
The episode actually begins with Major Kira being contacted by a Bajoran archivist who’s discovered a computer record of Kira’s time in a Cardassian prison camp. Kira does not recollect this event here.
Yet the record seems to be authentic. When Kira arranges a meeting with the Bajoran archives, she leaves DS9. Sisko is later contacted by the Bajoran archives who inform him Major Kira never arrived.
We then cut to the scene where Kira wakes up in a darkened room and looks in a mirror to see herself as a Cardassian. Kira is shocked about this and is convinced that she’s been surgically altered.
She’s welcomed ‘home’ by Gregory Sierra as Corbin Entek, a Cardassian official of the Obsidian Order. He tries to convince her she’s one of them, but Kira’s not buying the notion she’s a Cardassian.
Kira is eventually introduced to Lawrence Pressman as Legate Tekeny Ghemor. Ghemor happens to be an officer of the Central Command on Cardassia and claims to be her father, to which she denies.
Ghemor and Entek keep telling Kira that she’s Illiana Ghemor and that she was a ‘sleeper agent’ meant to appear Bajoran. She was placed in a position of authority as a part of this covert operation.
Whilst Kira refuses to believe any of this and whilst her ‘father’ is upset his ‘daughter’ doesn’t remember him, Entek reassures them that Illiana’s memory will return in time. Kira isn’t convinced of this.
But when she sees the preserved body of a young woman identified as the Bajoran terrorist Kira Nerys, Kira is more shocked. She even starts to doubt her own memories whilst all this is happening.
This was an intriguing depiction of Kira’s loathing of Cardassians and the possibility that she may have been a Cardassian after all and not a Bajoran. It permits some impressive acting by Nana Visitor.
In fact, Nana Visitor wears that Cardassian make-up well in this episode. I can imagine how tough it must’ve been for her compared to wearing the Bajoran nose prosthetic, but she pulls it off very well.
The relationship between Kira and her supposed Cardassian father is well-handled in the episode. Whilst Kira is denial about being her daughter, Ghemor doesn’t give up with caring for her daughter.
There’s even a scene where Kira is interrogated rather hard by Entek and Ghemor enters to interrupt and stop Entek tormenting her. The reaction on Kira’s face whilst she’s interrogated was very mesmerising.
It leads to Kira looking in the mirror and eventually smashing her fist on it, breaking the glass, before she too breaks down into tears. Kira is comforted by Ghemor when he sees her breaking down here.
Eventually, Ghemor offers to help Kira escape the harsh interrogation she’s receiving at the hands of the Obsidian Order. This leads to Kira suspecting her abduction had been staged to expose Ghemor.
This is because Ghemor happens to be a member of Cardassia’s underground dissident movement. Kira’s suspicions get confirmed when Entek enters in and reveals his true colours to expose Ghemor.
Thankfully, Sisko; Odo and Andrew J. Robinson as Garak arrive in time to stop Entek taking Kira and Ghemor away for punishment. A fire-fight breaks out, which all leads to Entek getting shot by Garak.
Ghemor leaves with Kira, Sisko, Odo and Garak back to DS9 and Kira has her surgical Cardassian make-up removed. She later says a fond farewell to Ghemor who still treats her as his own daughter.
I do wonder if that body Entek showed Kira earlier was actually Iliana in surgical Bajoran make-up. It’s not explained whether that corpse was a clone or not. In fact, why didn’t Kira says so to Ghemor?
‘Second Skin’ is one of the most defining ‘DS9’ episodes to feature Major Kira’s character. It was intriguing to see her in Cardassian make-up and how she copes with the possibility she might be one.
‘Second Skin’ (DS9) rating – 8/10
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