Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV Series) Covenant (1998) User Reviews

The Cult of Dukat

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 8 January 2010]

After a few episodes concentrating on the war with the Dominion this one switches to the secondary story arc involving Gul Dukat and his involvement with the Pah-wraiths; the Bajoran prophets' evil counterparts. After a brief introductory scene Kira is pleased to get a visit from the man who was her spiritual adviser during the time of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. Her pleasure is short lived however when he transports her to a space station occupied by Gul Dukat and his Bajoran followers who have joined his cult. Once he has got his hands on Kira he attempts to convert her to his beliefs. He soon has problems of his own however when the first baby to be born on the station turns out to be half Cardassian... the Bajoran father is not convinced by Dukat's claim that the Pah-wraiths have changed the baby as some sort of sign.

The story itself was good enough and the regular characters did a good job, I did however find the cult members to be rather unconvincing; they spent most of their time milling around and when they learnt that Dukat was about to betray them they all reacted in the same way when I'd have expected a mixture of reactions.

Gul 'Jim Jones'

[phiburke · 7/10 · 30 November 2017]

This is an okay episode where we get to see Gul Dukat as a cult leader.

He kidnaps the now Colonel Kira and wants to bring her into the fold. This is where the plot gets shaky a bit. Dukat has a good thing going, so why on Earth( excuse the pun) would he risk being killed by Kira? Why would Dukat risk Kira unraveling his lies by bringing her aboard Empok Nor?

The devout believers were annoying as hell. Dumb and willing to believe anything their emissary says. However it does bring up the point about cults and why they are so effective at keeping control. Jim Jones basically did everything Dukat did and then some, IN REAL LIFE! So I can't fault the episode for portraying some of the dumber sides of humanity accurately. They were just a drag for me.

I was so ready to blast this episode with a 6, but the fact that Dukat actually believed parts of his own lies, and prayed to the Pa Wraiths means that it fits into the overall season 6-7 story arc. It isn't JUST a one-off cult episode with no impact on the story. We will hopefully see Dukat psychologically affected by this in future episodes.

Dukat--We Hardly Know You

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 10 November 2018]

Kira is kidnapped by one of the religious leaders from Bajor. She is brought to their haven. It turns out that they are the almost Satanic cult that has developed after the Cardassians lost control. Who should be their leader but Gul Dukat, who keeps up his Energizer Bunny being as a master. Of course, even though the planetary member fall for him, Kira knows what he is. The challenge involves her butting heads with her old friend who has fallen hook, line, and sinker for Dukat's gobbledegook. Also, the followers are unconvinced of her intentions.

Space Kool-Aid

[thevacinstaller · 6/10 · 13 April 2022]

The underpinning of the episode (Dukat wanting to convert Kira because if he can convert here then he can convert anyone) is barely passable but ... okay, why not?

This is one of those episodes that seemed designed to further establish that Dukat has truly gone crazy (or possessed I suppose) but it sends mixed messages with Dukat slithering out the ritual suicide ceremony. I guess he is both pre-possession Dukat and post-possession at the same time?

I did laugh out loud at the baby reveal. That's just classic. I wonder how many times that has happened on earth.

It would seem that the message of the episode is that having blind faith can set you on a path of self destruction. Was that message? Well, that's the message I am taking out of it.

Alamo is great as always but I am left puzzled at what was the ultimate point of this episode for his character development.

Great idea with a problematic execution

[snoozejonc · 6/10 · 2 September 2023]

Kira is kidnapped by a fanatical cult that worships the Pah-wraiths.

I think the concept of a certain character leading a fanatical religious cult is excellent and had a lot of potential. Unfortunately the plot stretches the credulity of certain characters a bit too much at times. Some very contrived events are included that make little sense. Especially when you consider the backstory associated with Cardassia and Bajor. The plot also suffers from predictability in certain scenes as they unfold.

That being said it is entertaining to have Dukat involved in DS9 again as he is one of Star Trek's best villains. Marc Alaimo is on great form and together with Nana Visitor their performances elevate the material significantly.

The themes of fanaticism and cults are worthwhile topics for the writers to cover and it's a shame they did not go a step further by having a certain character question her own faith. Especially when the Bajorans in DS9 are generally portrayed as gullible sheep following their religious leaders.

I liked this side of Dukat...

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 27 January 2015]

When this episode begins, a Vedek friend of Colonel Kira's shows up on DS9 and he soon arranges to meet with her. However, completely unexpectedly, he has her transported off the station and onto an abandoned station far away. Here is the weird part. At Empok Nor, there is a cult of Bajorans that worship the Pah-Wraiths (beings who are sort of like demons) and their emissary is Dukat!! In this role, Dukat is all smiles, joy, forgiveness and love--which the Colonel knows is a pile of crap since this IS Dukat!! But oddly his followers believe in him completely--as completely as any cult you could find anywhere. Eventually, however, the smooth-talking Dukat ends up creating his own downfall. So how does he handle this? Yep--he arranges for a mass ritual suicide! Can the Colonel possibly stop these idiots from offing their sorry selves and get them to understand that the Pah-Wraiths are NOT the true gods of Bajor and that Dukat is just an opportunistic wiener?

I liked this episode a lot--particularly towards the end when Dukat suggests mass suicide! It was very timely in light of the recent mass suicides of the Heaven's Gate cult and it also opens up even more possibilities for Dukat to be a self-serving and evil slug. For more of this sort of nonsense which I love, be sure to watch the series to its conclusion, as Dukat and his insane message gathers a really, really interesting follower!

Another Character Failure by Rene Echevarria

[spasek · 4/10 · 17 April 2020]

Whenever you sacrifice character for the sake of making the plot work, you've already failed as a writer. Rene Echevarria doesn't seem to know the characters very well at all, which doesn't speak very well of him as a writer.

The best episodes tend to be the ones written by Ronald D. Moore, who wrote some great episodes for SNG and became the mastermind behind "Battlestar Galactica."

Here, we have Colonel Kira who is spirited away Empok Nor by Vedek Fala only find that he is a member of a cult that worships and follows the Pah-Wraiths. The leader of this cult ends up being Gul Dukat. Over the run of the series, Dukat has been on my favorite villains. He's played so well by Marc Alaimo. Ever since he was possessed by a Pah Wraith, Dukat believes he has found a new purpose, or has he?

Kira has always been one of more passionate and temperamental characters of DS9. She soon find herelf before the man who killed one of her best friends in Jadzia Dax, and there is little more than a protest by Kira. Given her character over the run of the series, I don't see Kira being so casual about it. But, if Kira were to express her anger more viciously and even try to take out Dukat, we'd never have the storyline that is so poorly put before us. How would most people react to being in the presence of someone who'd just killed their best friend?

Dukat comes off like the worst evangelical minister you've ever heard. Never mind that a Cardassian has found a way to bewitch over forty Bajorans into following him. It's as if no one had any ideas about what to do with Dukat, at his point in time, and decided to reduce the character in a religious, babbling-spouting fool. What a waste of a great character.

Dukat and the Pah-Wrath cult.

[Thecuchix · 9/10 · 19 May 2024]

After working for the Pah-Wrath, Dukat become the leader of a cult related to this evil spirits from Bajor.

We see Dukat first as another Gul, then we see more of how he was afected by the events of Klingon invasion and then the Dominion advance in the Alpha Quadrant, breaking the Cardassian Empire. The series show us how he was during the ocupation and how dastardly he was, finally we see how he become a religious leader after lost his mind.

Obviously Dukat is still an awful person and shame on you if you doubt for a minute.

This episode can remind to a real sect, like the tragedy of Jonestown.

I don't understand why this episode have so low rates, is a fantastic way to remember how manipulative can be the faith, a topic who was show in the series in past seasons.