-Written by Kyle Bain.
Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) is forced to make an impossible decision, one that has the potential to shift the odds of the Dominion War. In the Pale Moonlight is Sisko’s recount of the most immoral of events.
This is my first encounter with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and this is the highest rated episode of the series. I was excited to dabble in something new, explore a new crew, new protagonists, antagonists, and more. I couldn’t have been happier with my experience with the crew of the Defiant, and what appears to be a thrilling series in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Aesthetically this is the most impressed that I’ve been with any Star Trek property up to this point (at least of the properties not considered a reboot of sorts). This episode feels incredibly 90’s, like all of its contemporaries–but it feels better developed. From set design to hair and makeup, I was thrilled with what the team behind Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - In the Pale Moonlight was able to accomplish. I was able to suspend disbelief and dive headfirst into this otherworldly series. I was engulfed in this episode from the start, and not a second of it passes in which it doesn’t continue to entertain.
Like the aesthetic of In the Pale Moonlight, the characters that I was introduced to were among my favorites in the Star Trek canon. Sisko is brilliantly conflicted in this episode, proving how intelligent this canon is as a whole–the thing that allowed me to fall with it in the first place. The attention to detail in regard to his struggle with morality and his complete character development throughout the course of the episode help to create something more than just a character–he helps to develop a connection between the series and viewers. And then there’s Garak (Andrew Robinson), my favorite character from In the Pale Moonlight. Reminiscent of Othello’s Iago, he’s brilliant, manipulative, and always in charge. His antagonistic ways draw viewers in, keeping us on our toes, wondering what exists just around the corner. In many ways Garak is Sisko’s foil, and he is what allows the episode to move forward. It’s relatively easy to understand in the early going of In the Pale Moonlight who and what Garak is, rarely needing any sort of development throughout–and he, like Sisko, is imperative to the plot, not just of this episode, but seemingly to the entirety of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
In the Pale Moonlight is bookended nicely, acting very much like a complete short film. With character development, a cohesive (and relatively contained) plot, and a beautifully immersive aesthetic, In the Pale Moonlight checks all the necessary boxes. This is my first time meeting a crew other than Kirk’s–and I was greatly impressed by the brilliance of both the characters and their story.
Directed by Victor Lobl.
Written by Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Michael Taylor, Peter Allan Fields, David Weddle, & Bradley Thompson.
Starring Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Michael Dorn, Armin Shimerman, Alexander Siddig, Nana Visitor, Andrew Robinson, etc.
9/10 = DROP EVERYTHING AND GET TO THE THEATER (PARAMOUNT+) RIGHT NOW
