I'm writing this review to correct what I believe is a misconception I'm seeing in other reviews, so I'll be brief, but first a plot summary for those that haven't seen it.
"For the Uniform" is an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" in which Capt. Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) finally catches up to his former subordinate Michael Eddington (Ken Marshall) that betrayed his duties in a previous episode. He pursues in vain however, as the clever Eddington seems to have Sisko and his crew beaten at every turn, and continuous to conduct rogue activities with a rebel group. Eddington taunts Sisko throughout, forcing Sisko to take seemingly drastic action in order to bring the arrogant former officer to justice. Will Sisko's gamble pay off, or will he put his own ethics and duties in jeopardy in the process? That's the episode (making sure not to spoil anything).
I'm not writing this review to contradict anybody's opinion on the episode's quality, as taste is ultimately subjective, and you are all free to dis / like what you want. What I want to draw your attention to is a key scene, in which Sisko meets with Dax (Terry Farrell) and goes deep into Eddington's psychology. In that scene, Sisko realizes that Eddington sees himself as a Romantic hero, in the tradition of Sydney Carton of Charles Dickens's A TALE OF TWO CITIES or Rick Blaine in Michael Curtiz's CASABLANCA (1942). In other words, Eddington is willing to make a "noble sacrifice" in the name of being the hero and protecting the innocent, as a Romantic hero would do. I believe THAT is why Sisko does what he does, confirmed by the conversation he and Dax have to close the episode. As she suggests, Sisko gambles on Eddington not calling his bluff because in Eddington's mind, Sisko is more a villain than a Federation officer because Eddington sees himself as the hero. As a result, Sisko doesn't have to actually go to the extreme he suggests, because he knows Eddington's warped self-image will validate the sacrifice Sisko's forcing him to make.
Or put another way, it's called "For the Uniform" for a reason - Sisko's loyalty is to his; Eddington has proven that his loyalty is to that inflated sense of self. The crew go along with it because they're gambling on THAT.
"For the Uniform" is an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" in which Capt. Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) finally catches up to his former subordinate Michael Eddington (Ken Marshall) that betrayed his duties in a previous episode. He pursues in vain however, as the clever Eddington seems to have Sisko and his crew beaten at every turn, and continuous to conduct rogue activities with a rebel group. Eddington taunts Sisko throughout, forcing Sisko to take seemingly drastic action in order to bring the arrogant former officer to justice. Will Sisko's gamble pay off, or will he put his own ethics and duties in jeopardy in the process? That's the episode (making sure not to spoil anything).
I'm not writing this review to contradict anybody's opinion on the episode's quality, as taste is ultimately subjective, and you are all free to dis / like what you want. What I want to draw your attention to is a key scene, in which Sisko meets with Dax (Terry Farrell) and goes deep into Eddington's psychology. In that scene, Sisko realizes that Eddington sees himself as a Romantic hero, in the tradition of Sydney Carton of Charles Dickens's A TALE OF TWO CITIES or Rick Blaine in Michael Curtiz's CASABLANCA (1942). In other words, Eddington is willing to make a "noble sacrifice" in the name of being the hero and protecting the innocent, as a Romantic hero would do. I believe THAT is why Sisko does what he does, confirmed by the conversation he and Dax have to close the episode. As she suggests, Sisko gambles on Eddington not calling his bluff because in Eddington's mind, Sisko is more a villain than a Federation officer because Eddington sees himself as the hero. As a result, Sisko doesn't have to actually go to the extreme he suggests, because he knows Eddington's warped self-image will validate the sacrifice Sisko's forcing him to make.
Or put another way, it's called "For the Uniform" for a reason - Sisko's loyalty is to his; Eddington has proven that his loyalty is to that inflated sense of self. The crew go along with it because they're gambling on THAT.