Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — 7x16 — Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges

Aired 1999-03-03

SpaceOpera.com rating:5

Average reader rating:6.27

Synopsis

On the eve of Dr. Bashir's departure for a conference on the Romulan homeworld, he's visited by Sloan, the director of Section 31, a secret and unsanctioned extremist entity within Starfleet Intelligence.

Filler rating: not filler

This episode picks up on the Section 31 plot line established last season.

Remarkable scenes

Bashir and Garak discussing Romulus.
Sloan predicting that in the aftermath of the Dominion war, the Romulans and the Federation will be the only major powers left.
An Intrepid class ship! A nice way to cut down on sets and ship models, just reuse Voyager's sets. :) A nice homage too.
Bashir's meeting with Koval.
Bashir discovering what's really going on.

Review

Dr. Bashir has really bad luck with medical conferences. He was captured by the Dominion on his way to one, he was captured by Sloan on his way to one, and now he is duped into participating in a spy mission on Romulus while on his way to one. So Section 31 finally has an assignment for Julian. I was wondering when the writers would revisit this. It's the usual complicated mess of politics one would expect from an organization like Section 31. Unfortunately, the actual story used by the set up in this episode isn't very good. There are interesting tidbits, such as seeing another Intrepid class ship, and seeing lots of nice shots of Romulus, and the political intrigue is even mildly interesting. But when you add it all up, you get something that barely measures up to average. I expected something more profound from Section 31. Not routine political meddling.

4 reader comments

I really enjoyed this episode, and I enjoy every aspect of section 31. I love how the theme of "the universe isn't pure and happy the way you'd like it to be" is visited by Garak at the beginning and by Sloan at the end. Kind of sums up Deep Space Nine. I LOVED Bashir lecturing Admiral Ross. The Cicero quote was extremely cool, and the fact that Admiral Ross had that on the tip of his tongue just ready to spit out as a justification shows what an asshole he is.
I loved Sloan complimenting Bashir at the end. I loved seeing Bashir at work as a spy, especially when he wasn't fooled by the "evaporation" of Sloan.
But above all, I loved Bashir calling security at the end, only to say "never mind. my mistake". HAHAHAHA!!! I give this episode a 9. One of my favorites.
by Pete Miller | 07/26/2006 at 4:08 am

A deeply troubling episode to be sure.
The tragic character here, of course, is Senator Chretak. In the first viewing, I thought she might have been involved in the Section 31 plot, and that Bashir, by approaching her, was playing right into their hands. Instead, she was the victim of the plot; removing her from the Senate ensures the Federation's unlikely ally will both head the Tal Shiar and enter the Romulan Continuing Committee unopposed, thus guaranteeing the Romulan war effort.
One can't help but feel uneasy after this episode. The Federation's…or rather, Section 31's ploy here is so very…Romulan. It's troubling that a Starfleet admiral would be so willing to enact a plan that puts an innocent woman in prison, or possibly to death. But, the episode demonstrates these are desperate times and the Federation cannot afford to lose the Romulans as an ally. Playing dirty politics and spy games to ensure Romulan support is apparently part of Section 31's game plan.
Overall, I found the episode very well acted…and I have yet to encounter a Star Trek Romulan episode that wasn't gripping. Still, I tend to avoid viewing this episode as it somewhat shatters the view of the Federation as the "good guys".
by MJ | 03/11/2011 at 8:19 pm

Loved this episode. The scene between Bashir and Ross was beautiful acted, demonstrating Alexander Siddig at the absolute top of his craft. The twist was well executed-even a smart viewer isn't entirely sure what's going on. It appeared to me, also, that Section 31 had crippled Ross on purpose to force Bashir to work with Cretak, who was going to be their secret operative. And having the head of the Tal-Shiar explain that Sloan had single-handedly invented Section 31 told the viewers, and Bashir, something they wanted to hear: that the Federation really wasn't betraying its ideals. It was enough to make you wonder what it would be.
Unfortunately, after an episode that was brilliant up until the end, the coda is weak. I'd give it a ten, but the conversations between Bashir and Sloan at the end didn't really wrap this up for me. Bashir's attempt to contact security and then deciding not to falls a little flat, since he'd already attempt to futilely chase down Sloan at the beginning. It's too much an echo of that to really convey the message that Bashir is slightly sympathetic to Section 31, which is what the writers had hoped for.
What works for me is the consistency of character, though. Bashir really does like to get up on his moral highground. It's basically a trait all the doctors in the various series share. But Sloon is also spot on about Bashir loving secrets, it's entirely consistent with how he relates to Garak, and the fact that he has his own secret agent holosuite program. He's also easily the most gossipy character on the show, generally curious about what his friends are talking about.
I give it a nine, but that's with an extra point for a smart reference to Cicero. I'm a sucker for a good reference to Roman history.
by Bronn | 07/26/2013 at 11:42 pm

This episode made me wish there had been another episode dealing with the back story on Koval. How the hell did the chairman of the Tal Shiar become a Federation informant? Was he working with the Federation before or after he came to that position? It would be an interesting storyline on its own. It hardly seems believable to me. After all, it would've been nearly impossible for the KGB or CIA to have a mole at the other's highest level. But then, maybe that's why it would be a good episode!
Overall, a decent next chapter of the Section 31/Sloan-Bashir arc. The Federation has really dirtied its hands during this whole effort to get and keep the Romulans in the war. But Bashir is the perfect character to involve in this whole thing. More than anyone, he represents the most principled, decent aspects of the Federation. We see throughout the series his idealism chipped away. It happens a little in his dealings with Garak, but mostly it happens in the dealings with Sloan and Section 31.
by Axel | 07/01/2015 at 3:24 am