"Second Skin" | |
---|---|
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode | |
![]() Kira consoled by her Cardassian "father" | |
Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 5 |
Directed by | Les Landau |
Written by | Robert Hewitt Wolfe |
Featured music | David Bell |
Production code | 451 |
Original air date | October 24, 1994 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Second Skin" is the 51st episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , the fifth episode of the third season.
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on Deep Space Nine, a space station near the planet Bajor, as the Bajorans recover from a decades-long, brutal occupation by the imperialistic Cardassians. In this episode, Bajoran officer Kira Nerys is kidnapped by the Cardassians and told she is an undercover Cardassian agent.
Major Kira is contacted by Alenis Grem, a Bajoran archivist who has discovered a computer record of Kira's time in a Cardassian prison camp; Kira is naturally skeptical, as she was never in Cardassian detention, but the records appear authentic. Kira arranges a meeting with Alenis to examine the files personally and leaves for Bajor, but Alenis soon contacts the station to report that Kira never arrived. Cardassian ex-spy Garak receives information that Kira is in the custody of the Obsidian Order, the feared Cardassian intelligence agency, and passes it on to Commander Sisko.
Awakening in a darkened room, Kira is warmly welcomed "home" by Entek, a Cardassian official. When she looks in a mirror, she is shocked to see that she has been surgically altered to appear Cardassian. She furiously rejects the idea that she is Cardassian, but is introduced to Legate Tekeny Ghemor, an officer of Cardassian Central Command, who claims that she is his daughter Iliana. Entek explains that she is a sleeper agent, altered to appear Bajoran and embedded in Bajor as part of a long-term covert operation.
Ghemor is upset that his "daughter" doesn't remember him, but is reassured by Entek that her memory will return, given time. Kira is upset and incredulous, especially when she is shown the preserved body of the "real" Kira Nerys. She declares the dead girl's body a fake, but begins to doubt her own memories, especially after viewing a video message recorded by Iliana before her mission.
After several escape attempts, she is interrogated by the Obsidian Order, but she refuses to provide them with information. Eventually, Ghemor, still believing her to be his daughter, offers to help her escape the harsher interrogation she will certainly suffer at the hands of the Order, revealing himself as a member of Cardassia's underground dissident movement. In a moment of insight, Kira realizes that the entire affair — her abduction, her "Cardassian" identity, her supposedly blocked memories — were all staged in an attempt to reveal Ghemor as a dissident.
Odo, Garak, and Sisko arrive in time to prevent the Order from taking Kira and Ghemor away for punishment. Garak shoots Entek, after remarking that "treason is in this eye of the beholder." Back at Deep Space Nine, tests reveal that Kira is definitely Bajoran. Ghemor understands that she is not really Iliana, but declares that he will never stop hoping that Iliana is alive and will return to him.
In 2018, Vulture rated "Second Skin" the seventh best episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. [1]
In 2018, SyFy recommend this episode for its abbreviated watch guide for the Bajoran character Kira Nerys. [2] They note this episode for its focus on Kira and her relations with the Cardassians; she awakes to find herself captive of these aliens and also looking like one. [2] They also note this introduces the character Tekeny Ghemor. [2]
The episode was released on June 3, 2003, in North America as part of the Season 3 DVD box set. [3] This episode was released in 2017 on DVD with the complete series box set, which had 176 episodes on 48 discs. [4]
The episode was released on August 3, 1999, in the United States on LaserDisc, paired with "The Abandoned". [5] The double sided optical disc had a total runtime of 92 minutes. [5]
"Second Skin" and "Abandoned" were released on VHS in the United Kingdom on one cassette, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 3.3 - Second Skin/The Abandoned. [6]
The Bajorans are a fictional species in the science-fiction Star Trek franchise. They are a humanoid extraterrestrial species native to the planet Bajor, who have a long-standing enmity with the Cardassians, owing to decades of subjugation under a military dictatorship which saw many of their species enslaved or forced into exile away from their homeworld. They were first introduced in the 1991 episode "Ensign Ro" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and subsequently were a pivotal element of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and also appeared in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard.
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise portrayed by Avery Brooks. He was the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), which was originally broadcast between 1993 and 1999. The character has also appeared in various books, comics, and video games within the Star Trek franchise.
Kira Nerys is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999). She was played by actress Nana Visitor. The character is from the fictional planet Bajor, a world which has recently emerged from a brutal foreign occupation. She was a member of the resistance, and the decades-long conflict has left her tough and uncompromising, but she is sustained by her strong faith in traditional Bajoran religion. She has been assigned to Deep Space Nine, a space station jointly operated by the United Federation of Planets and the new provisional Bajoran government, where she serves as second in command as well as the ranking representative of her people.
Elim Garak is a fictional character from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson.
"Cardassians" is the 25th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the fifth episode of the second season.
"Past Prologue" is the third episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, broadcast during the first season. It originally aired in broadcast syndication beginning on January 11, 1993. The episode was written by Katharyn Powers, with additional elements added by executive producer Michael Piller and co-producer Peter Allan Fields. It was directed by Winrich Kolbe.
"The Homecoming" is the 21st episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the first of the franchise-first three-part episode story arc, and the first episode of the second season.
"The Circle" is the 22nd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the second in a three-part story arc, and also the second episode of the second season.
"The Siege" is the 23rd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the third in a three-part story arc, and the third episode of the second season.
"Necessary Evil" is the 28th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is the eighth episode of the second season.
"Civil Defense" is the 53rd episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the seventh episode of the third season. The episode originally aired on television in syndication on November 7, 1994.
"Call to Arms" is the 26th and final episode of the fifth season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 124th episode overall. This episode marks the start of the show's celebrated Dominion war story arc.
"What You Leave Behind" is the series finale of the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 175th and 176th episodes, the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. The episode was written by showrunner Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler and directed by Allan Kroeker. It originally aired the week of May 31, 1999.
"When it Rains..." is the 171st episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the fifth of the final nine-episode arc of the series. This episode was directed by Michael Dorn and written by Rene Echevarria. It was first aired in broadcast syndication on May 3, 1999.
"Defiant" is the 55th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the ninth episode of the third season. This episode guest stars actor Jonathan Frakes, in the role he had originated on Deep Space Nine's predecessor series, Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode aired in broadcast syndication on November 21, 1994.
"Things Past" is the 106th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the eighth episode of the fifth season.
"Ties of Blood and Water" is an episode of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the nineteenth episode of the fifth season.
"A Time to Stand" is the first episode of the sixth season of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the 125th episode overall. This episode was broadcast on television starting on September 29, 1997.
Deep Space Nine is a fictional space station, the eponymous primary setting of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which aired from 1993 to 1999. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens. It is run by a joint crew of Starfleet and Bajoran officers and it is the home port of a number of Starfleet runabouts, as well as the starship USS Defiant.