Synopsis: Major Kira rescues a leader of the Bajoran resistance movement from a labor camp with unexpected results following his safe return.
In this episode there is an interesting tension between the idea of the need of a society to have a symbolic leader and the concept that a person is not always well suited to fit this role embodying archetypal energy.
In “The Homecoming” after Major Kira Nerys rescues Li Nalas, he seems baffled by the myth that has surround his fighting abilities. As he explains to Commander Benjamin Sisko, he merely shot an unarmed Cardassian who at the time was in his underwear. In one conversation, Li states to Sisko: “This morning I was a slave. Tonight, I am a hero” (Behr & Kolbe, 1993). Li’s perplexation is understandable. He was unaware that his actions had been interpreted as heroic. And as he arrived at Deep Space Nine after having been imprisoned in a forced labor camp his ego is deflated and not identifying with the inflation that could occur, and that I wrote about in my blog earlier this week about the episode “Descent, Part II” from the seventh season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Later in this episode Sisko tells Li: “Bajor . . . needs a symbol . . . and legends are as powerful as any truth” (Behr & Kolbe, 1993). This of course is true. It is perhaps even truer now than ever before, when legends can be made seemingly overnight, and a commitment to spreading truth is not as valued as expressing one’s opinion, and the lines between the two becoming more blurred each day.
In “The Homecoming” Li’s hesitancy to be honored as a great military leader is seen as puzzling by Sisko, and likely on Bajor as well. But in actuality, I believe it reflects a strength in character to not be completely consumed by propaganda surrounding one’s greatness. It will be interesting to see if this character maintains his equilibrium as he reenters the society that holds him up as a symbol of its own greatness, evidenced by how on Bajor, the planet’s assembly voted Li in as Navarch. As Li explains to Sisko: “Navarch, there’s never been one before. They felt any existing title was inadequate so they created a new one for me” (Behr & Kolbe, 1993).
Reference:
Behr, I. S. (Writer), & Kolbe, W. (Director). (1993, September 26). The homecoming (Season 2, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In M. Piller & R. Berman (Executive Producers), Star trek: Deep space nine. Paramount Television.
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