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 EPISODE REVIEWS | ||
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Blaze of Glory Airdate: Week of
May 12th to May 16th, 1997
Written by: Robert
Hewitt Wolfe & Ira Steven Behr
Directed by: Kim
Friedman
In-Short:
Brilliantly following up the events of For The
Uniform, the heroics of the Starfleet officer turned Maquis
leader Michael Eddington powerfully come full circle in
Blaze of Glory.
Brief Summary:
When Federation/Klingon intelligence intercepts a Maquis signal
claiming that a final assault in the form of guided missiles has
been launched against the newly Dominion protected Cardassia,
Sisko must enlist the help of the Michael Eddington to prevent
the outbreak of war with the Dominion.
Review
As its title
suggests, Blaze of Glory sends the tale of the
Victor Hugo-spouting Maquis freedom fighter Michael
Eddington out with a bang! As a follow up to one of the season's
best shows, For the Uniform, this episode had a lot
to live up to and from my perspective it accomplished its goal
with flare. In part one to this story (FTU), we were
exposed to an Eddington who passionately led the Maquis in their
struggle against the Cardassians. However, we learned that his
motives might not be completely based on his loyalty for
the cause. Rather, like so many great leaders in history,
Eddington was fascinated by the heroics of his
position; the prestige of leading troops into battle;
the idea of leading an almost hopeless fight all in the name of
one noble cause- freedom. Blaze magnificently
explored Eddington's character in regard to this previously
established persona.
The thread tracing
the deception, defection, capture, and eventual death of Michael
Eddington has always been a favorite of mine especially because
of its' initial unpredictability and powerful overtones. These
overtones were truly brought to the forefront with the events of
FTU and the personal rift between Benjamin Sisko and
his former officer. This enormously complex and tangled story arc
is brought to an end in Blaze of Glory, but only with
well thought and carefully calculated style. Not only was the
relationship between Sisko and Eddington enflamed throughout, but
by the end of the show a sense of reconciliation had taken place
between the two.
Every exchange
between Sisko and Eddington possessed strength for both men. The
former with a job to do, the latter pleading his case right up
until the end. Let's take each encounter one at a time: First,
aboard the penal station; here Eddington spoke of his cause, of
the annihilation of his comrades, and the indifference he held
for the rest of the Federation. We see him as a defeated man
without regard for his own life let alone the lives of millions
in an ensuing Federation/Dominion war. Although later his
character changes, this initial exchange was important to set the
stage. If I could have changed one thing about it however, I
would have had Sisko make the case that: We're all human
damnit! Maquis, Starfleet, Federation. We share the same culture,
the same heritage. What about your duty to your people and to
Earth?! I was hoping Sisko would verbalize that connection
at some point, but the idea of separation from the Federation
remained throughout.
The next major
argument between the two was in the runabout. Again, Eddington
points out the differences between himself and Sisko, citing the
death of a close friend of the Captain's in an attempt to
emotionally connect with Benjamin. The passion inside the man is
a brilliant contrast to Sisko's intense focus on the mission at
hand. Kenneth Marshall brings Eddington to life so dramatically
that he almost gets you pulling for his character. In an
interesting plot device, Sisko severely tests his adversaries'
own convictions. This sequence in the Badlands was very
interesting to me because it defined Sisko's adamant position and
revealed Eddington's true colors. Despite his remark that he
couldn't wait for the Jem'Hadar to blow him to bits,
Michael Eddington obviously wasn't looking forward to death alone
in a quiet space encounter. The enormous egos of both men
effectively lifted the tension level a few notches, almost like a
car game of chicken.
It gets even
riskier when Eddington pledges to kill the Captain after Benjamin
won the argument about revenge, which embarrassingly depicted
Michael's desperation. This threat made the following scenario in
which Sisko had to trust Eddington to escape from the
Jem'Hadar all the more intoxicating. But when faced with the
question of whether or not Eddingon would kill him, the Captain
silently let Eddington know that he wasn't afraid of him by
taking care of business.
The final
exchanges took place on Althos Four in the Maquis refuge. It was
here, first during the fight with the Jem'Hadar and later when
Eddington decided to remain, that we see the relationship between
Sisko and Eddington begin to be reconciled. This fight, and the
fact that Eddington couldn't bring himself to kill the Sisko when
he had the chance foreshadowed the notion that Eddington might
not intend to leave and showed how (as he articulated later) he
wasn't sure if killing Ben would make himself feel better. The
fire fight was very captivating but like I said above, the power
emanates from Eddington's struggle about whether or not to kill
Sisko.
Another brilliant
scene was the once in which Eddington grieved for his fallen
comrades. The crisp dialogue and superb performance from Marshall
again had me sympathizing with Eddington's position. He was their
leader and he had failed them. This realization was very
powerful, and might be what finalized his decision to die for
them.
This story was
really about the dedication and loyalty of Eddington, which was
clearly confirmed by the interesting plot twist. This one came
out of nowhere for me, and when I realized what was going on, it
all seemed to fit together so well. Eddington had proven his
loyalty to the lost cause of the Maquis by coming back to rescue
them. Michael Eddington's glorious sacrifice was not only
perfectly in character, but held me in awe. Although some have
criticized the way in which he died, I found his final words and
actions particularly moving. With his back against the wall,
injured, and defeated, he redeemed himself by biding time for his
comrades to escape. My only complaint is that the director
should've had him knock off most of the Jem'Hadar in a fit of
rage, only to be killed in the same manner by dozens of Jem'Hadar
reinforcements that he could not hope to stave off.
Unfortunately, he only got the satisfaction of nailing one before
falling, a Maquis martyr.
Sisko's
reflections afterward were very well presented. The Captain
finally understood Eddington and even praised him. This was very
touching and a fitting grand finale to the death of Michael
Eddington.
The sub-plot was
also very entertaining. I find myself enjoying Nog's appearances
more so each week. This episode had special meaning for him,
successfully achieving respect from the Klingons. This story was
very humorous at times, but the higher meaning is well received.
Although I am wondering... a point was made about General Martok
acknowledging Nog's presence and vice versa, but didn't that same
type of exchange take place at the beginning of Soldiers of
the Empire?
Some Smaller
Observations:
- One more TINY
nit: Eddington's comment that he would've volunteered
for the mission had Sisko not forced him belittled much of the
initial scene between the two. Please writers.... don't do that!
- The Klingon
donation of cloaking devices to the Maquis was an interesting
revelation, but I agree with many on the net that had this been
introduced earlier, it could've been put to better use.
- I liked how the
Defiant's use of the cloaking device in the Badlands was cleverly
dismissed.
- Quark's comments
to Morn, and Morn's successive outburst seem like STRONG signals
of the coming war in A Call to Arms.
- I wonder if the
Dominion activity might lead any surviving Maquis to return to
the Federation and join the fight?
Writing:
Excellent. Powerful, emotional, and fluent, the writing closes
the Eddington thread brilliantly.
Directing:
Very powerful, but I think the death of Eddington could've been
enhanced considerably.
Acting:
Kenneth Marshall steals the show, as he did in For the
Uniform, convincing the audience of Eddington's motives and
evoking a sympathy for his cause.
Rating: 10
out of 10. (I really stand behind this, a superbly done
installment)
Quote
You have
SHARP eyes!
Not really.
I just waited to see which one of you was knocked down first, and
then shot the one still standing.
Thanks for
your vote of confidence!
-Eddington
antagonizes Sisko in one of MANY keen exchanges between the two.
Next Week: Empok
Nor looks dark,
scary, and mysterious... I'm looking forward to an enthralling
mystery.
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