Star Trek: Necessary Evil

Episode: "Necessary Evil"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 2, Episode 8

Original Air Date: November 14, 1993

via Memory Alpha

A mysterious Bajoran woman hires Quark to steal something for her, a box hidden away on the station from the Cardassian occupation days, when Deep Space Nine was known as Terok Nor.  In the midst of the job, our favorite bartender is shot.  So begins a trip to the past when Odo first arrived at Terok Nor and Gul Dukat manipulated him into investigating a murder.

It's on now.

"Necessary Evil" takes Star Trek somewhere new.  The story could not have been told on The Next Generation or the original series.  This is not one of Picard's Dixon Hill adventures on the holodeck.  There's no telling the computer to end the program.  Odo's noir mystery is the real deal and the impact on his relationship with Major Kira by the end is not something either of the two previous series could have endured.  Particularly in NextGen, any interpersonal tension between the principals could always be explained away by possession by an alien entity or some other futuristic madness.  By the end of 42 minutes, all is forgiven.  Not so this time.  Odo, Kira and the audience are left to live with uncertainty.  In hindsight, we know those two have the most twisted road to travel of any pairing on DS9.  But none of that matters yet.  Now, there is only the damage and the questions.  

I perceive another, more subtle development as Deep Space Nine comes into its own.  The essential narrative of "Necessary Evil" has little to do with Sisko.  Even with the strongest Data and Worf stories, neither truly ends until the (temporary) protagonist makes good with Picard.  Once the captain declares you safe at home, we can all move comfortably on to next week's adventure.  "Necessary Evil" doesn't feel that way.  Odo, Kira, Quark and Gul Dukat share a complex history that predates Starfleet's involvement.  I don't see this as a weakness of the Sisko character - quite the contrary.  For whatever reason - superior actors, more confident writers, more consistent concept - the creative drivers of DS9 trust the secondary and even tertiary characters more than TNG's team ever did.  As such, even "stuck in one place," DS9's world expands more quickly and comfortably.

Acting Notes

via Marvel Animated Universe Wiki

Katherine Moffat played the role of Vaatrik Pallra, the aforementioned mysterious Bajoran woman.  Moffat was born July 8, 1958.  "Necessary Evil" was her second of two Trek appearances, having played the part of Etana in TNG's "The Game."  Her films include The Beast Within and Spy Hard.  Television guest gigs include Legend and Babylon 5.