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Cardassia
Musings on Cardassian Scales

So, what does this mean? At first I thought that scales could be compared to body hair on humans, with some having very little while others have a lot. The other idea is that it shows racial differences. Cardassians from some areas might just be more scaled than others, just as humans from different regions have varied appearances.

Images of Cardassia

Garak
Garak's Evolution From Torturer

Tain said that he use to have to restrain Garak from interrogating subjects for even the most lightest of suspicions, even Garak he had to drum up charges to do it, because he was good at it and it was fun. And then, when he gets his chance, he can’t do it. Five or six years, four of them with the crew, and he barely go through with Odo’s interrogation.

What changed? It can’t have all been Julian, though goodness knows that boy will wear you down given enough time. Did Federation ideals of the sacredness of life seep in? Did he realize that it was empty power and unnecessary cruelty for its own sake, like in the story with the Bajoran children? Was it having to put a face and personal history instead of dry records and lifeless pictures to a subject that made him want to stop? Was it sympathizing with Odo as a fellow exile? Tain losing his luster as the center of his universe? Losing his desensitization of violence after living in relative peace for so long?

Garak versus Dukat

Sisko provides the goal and the resources during In the Pale Moonlight, but it’s Garak who does everything to bring the Romulans into the war. Yes, his methods are shady, and Sisko doesn’t appreciate it when Garak tells him “you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant”; but it’s interesting that Garak says YOU and not WE. You’d better believe that if Dukat had been the one involved it would have been at least WE, if not I.

Garak lives his life in the background, while Dukat demands the spotlight.

Garak, Lies, and Cardassia

The sad part? From a strategic and utilitarian point of view, Garak’s decision to destroy the Founder’s planet, even at the cost of his own life and the lives of his Federation comrades, would probably have been the correct decision. It might well have prevented the war and spared billions of people tremendous suffering.

This scene demonstrates to me that for Garak, pious phrases about duty and sacrifice and the ultimate good of the State aren’t just empty bluster. He means every fucking word, and he’s got the courage to stand behind his convictions (and the ruthlessness to break as many eggs as it takes to make that particular omelette).

Garak and Tain

And behold: the most fucked up way of verbally acknowledging your illegitimate son EVER.

And what’s amazing about this is that Garak gets it. Tain doesn’t come right out and say “you are my son” or anything so direct - he would never do that. So instead he says this awful thing that stabs Garak in the heart but makes him happy too, because he’s being acknowledged as his father’s son at last. (And in front of a witness, no less - even though Tain doesn’t know Bashir is there.)

Garak's Growth from Darkness

And once again Garak is in the infirmary. He looks so defeated here. Even his speech - a part of him that he so proudly cultivates and controls - fails him when he stutters while asking the Chief to deliver an apology on his behalf. The drug brought out the very worst of him, and he and the others are forced to acknowledge that his worst is quite horrific indeed. From moments such as his conversation with Tain (The Die is Cast) and lies and half-truths he told Bashir (The Wire) we know that Garak was capable of some rather vicious behavior, and he can still be ruthless when the circumstances are right (The Die is Cast, Broken Link). But perhaps he isn’t sure that this is the person he wants to be? In Season 5 we see him becoming more and more “helpful” (Things Past, In Purgatory’s Shadow, By Inferno’s Light), and despite the plausible deniability that his actions were motivated by self-interest, there does seem to be something genuine there too. (Especially when circumstances involve people like Bashir, Ziyal, or Odo.) This episode is a vivid reminder of just how dangerous Garak can be, and in this moment Garak seems singularly unhappy about that.

Garak and Odo

I know it was a means to an end, but I still think it’s sweet how Garak takes his assignment to entertain Odo very seriously. (I’m also rather fond of their odd little “friendship.” Even on a station full of outcasts, these two share a unique bond as outcasts in that they were both discarded by their people in some way - plus they seem to have a mutual respect for each others’ craftiness.)

Garak & Truth

you may think it strange that honesty would be a reason that I love garak given his penchant for telling, and encouraging bashir to tell, lies. however I believe him to be one of the most forthcoming people on the station. if you know what to look for you can look past the words. bashir figured this out in the end and became a much stronger person himself for it. and much like benjamin was angry that vreenak was killed, he was angrier with himself that garak was right and had been right all along. garak’s going to tell you the truth, it just may not be the truth you want to hear.

Garak lies by telling the truth

Garak's Development

Although he was Tain’s right hand, it’s likely he was never fully able to submerge his individuality, ingenuity or charm. And his motives are always complex and layered, and he is ultimately able to reconcile (as much as possible) his fervent patriotism with a recognition that loving one’s people/homeworld does not mean accepting it exactly as it is. For a Cardassian, especially one with his background, this is a pretty big deal, and Garak’s doubts and setbacks and conflicts about his loyalties are convincingly rendered.

JULIAN BASHIR
Garak & Bashir According to Andrew Robinson

But then it turned into a friendship.

Garak & Bashir According to Alexander Siddig

I think it's time to let it out of the bag that we had this huge homosexual relationship.

Chocolate

CLEARLY, THIS IS WITCHCRAFT AND I MUST LEARN HOW HE DID IT FOR THE GOOD OF THE STATE. BY CONTINUING TO STARE AT HIS FACE. YES.

Garak's sexuality

I started out playing Garak as someone who doesn’t have a defined sexuality. He’s not gay, he’s not straight, it’s a non-issue for him. Basically his sexuality is inclusive. But—it’s Star Trek and there were a couple of things working against that. One is that Americans really are very nervous about sexual ambiguity. Also, this is a family show, they have to keep it on the “straight and narrow”, so then I backed off from it. Originally, in that very first episode, I loved the man’s absolute fearlessness about presenting himself to an attractive human being. The fact that the attractive human being is a man (Bashir) doesn’t make any difference to him, but that was a little too sophisticated I think.

Cast & Crew

one of the writers has also admitted that he wrote Garak as attracted to Bashir.

re: Julian's genetic engineering
I haven't finished reading A Stitch in Time, so this could all be wrong. But taken outside of the context of the Dominion war, I don't feel like the revelation would throw Garak on that much of a loop.

It would a bit, of course. There's the element of wounded pride, and it certainly changes the power dynamic to have Julian actually be a better liar than Garak in certain respects. But he doesn't have the vanity of Gul Dukat, and unlike the Federation and Bajoran personnel, he places little value in trust or the truth. So while the sudden shift in their dynamic would certainly throw him a bit, I feel like under normal circumstances, Garak would just roll with it. After all, Cardassians don't have the same attitude towards genetic engineering as the Federation does. The Eugenics War that's the whole reason for the ban on genetic enhancement only happened on Earth, and in fact, Cardassia is well known for its genetic engineering. Garak wouldn't have the same visceral disgust and horror that the Federation personnel did.

I feel like a lot of Garak's poor reaction to Julian's enhanced status was simply the stress of the Dominion war. Not only is he still an exile, but he's an exile who is actively working against the government of a planet that he still adores. The work he does is killing his own people. He's surrounded by people who either hate him or distrust him or both. He's constantly cold and claustrophobic, and he no longer has the implant to make the pain go away.

He snipes at Julian for being genetically enhanced, because he knows that's a sore point for Julian. He's stressed out and lashing out and not bothering to pull his emotional punches. We see him do that same thing with Ezri Dax when she tries to help him. He finds her weak points and then he beats at them with a hammer because he's angry and hurting and if you dare come near him he will make you hurt too.