Synopsis: Chief O’Brien and Dr. Bashir respond to a medical emergency on Bajor, while on Deep Space Nine, Commander Sisko is asked to mediate a land dispute between two Bajoran factions.
In this episode viewers get a glimpse of the power of a cultural unconscious shadow. On Bajor, this creates a physical monster, on Deep Space Nine it seeps into the negotiations of a land dispute. Just as individuals have bits of their unconscious that are suppressed because they are not valued by the culture that they find themselves in, so too entire societies also have elements of their collective unconscious that they suppress because they are considered negative. However, to come to acknowledge these aspects of society and come to terms with them, is the only way that the society can become stronger and more whole.
In “The Storyteller” it is much easier to see the manifestation of the collective shadow in the storyline on Bajor, because it is made physical. As Hovath, the apprentice to the Sirah, explains to Chief Miles O’Brien and Dr. Julian Bashir, the villagers’ thoughts of hate and mistrust created the DalRok, the monster that attacks them every five years. And the Sirah, the Storyteller, by leading the stories allows the villagers to become united in focusing on something other than their fears, thus defeating the DalRok. However, the villagers are never told that the monster is of their own creation, so at best, maintaining the status quo is all that can be hoped for, until they are made aware that they are the cause of the entity they fear.
On Deep Space Nine the cultural unconscious shadow is a little less obvious, but it exists in the leaders of the two factions who initially believe that the land in dispute is theirs and that any movement from their positions is a sign of weakness. However, a slight change of perspective from Nog, who asks Varis Sul, the young leader of the Paqu, if there is anything that her people want other than the disputed territory that the other faction would be willing to exchange for it, that sparks the idea of a compromise. In this way, the shadow element is addressed, and healing is possible.
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