From Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Part of what Star Trek makes so rewarding is that it is full of tropics, including episodes in which Picard acts like a lawyer or episodes in which the HoloDeck tries to kill everyone. However, one of the best tropics of the franchise is one that most fans have never noticed. This trope is the Cardassian monologue, and everything started with the excellent Deep Space Nine Episode “Duet”.
The Cardassian monologue
“Duet” is the episode in which Major Kira has to investigate a potential Cardassian war criminal to determine that he is an innocent man who hopes to be put to court and executed so that the citizens of Bajor can be closed. It is an astonishing episode of the first season because it shows the serious acting coast of Nana visitor and Harris Yulin, whose Cardassian finally gives a moving speech about the horrors he had seen and the need for Cardassia to face justice . And after Deep Space Nine Showrunner Ira Steven Behr, this was the first example of the franchise example for the “Long Cardassian monologue.
If you are one Star Trek Fan and ask what is the devil of the Cardassian monologue trope, then it is official: you have to see more Deep Space Nine. How Behr explains: “Cardassians love to speak.”
He followed this with a long list of cardassians on DS9 who simply love the sound of their own voice: “Garak loves to speak. Enabran Tain loves to speak. Ducat loves to speak – very slowly – and Certainly Marritza loves to speak. “
In the course of Deep Space NineThe authors leaned into the idea that the Cardass Monologue was simply part of the culture of this aliens. Even characters on the show comment on how if gul dukat weyoun for “War is so thirsty work … would you not agree?” This prompted his Dominion allied to answer: “If you don’t speak so much, your neck would not Get dry. “
Most were very important for the long -standing sheet of the show, the interesting at the list of Cardassians Behr listed, who like to give long monologues. Dukat is, for example, the DE -Facto Big Bad in the series, and Garak is the shady ally of Sisko and Crew, who effectively embodies the moral unrest of the entire series. Tain now appeared in some memorable two -part episodes and was later revealed as Garak’s father, which illustrated the complex relationship that these two men share.
In comparison, the Marritza figure from “Duett” is relatively low, but it has left a big impact on the show. DS9 had a rough season 1, but this episode showed how great the show could be when it really shoots on all cylinders, and Harris Yulins performed an emotional anchor that gave this story the weight and the gravitas that she deserved . In addition, Yulin Pionier was the Cardassian monologue, which became a large trope that would influence the rest of the series for most of a decade.
As big fans of Deep Space NineIt is rightly impossible to imagine the cardassians without their monologues. These crispy dialogue parts not only show us the talents of the actors of these extraterrestrials and help us to learn more about the real motivations of our characters. To be honest, it is one of the best tropics of the best Star Trek Show ever made. And it would not be part of the franchise story at all if not for a single episode that DS9 defined for a whole generation of fans.
