Synopsis: Chief O’Brien is put on trial by the Cardassians.
This episode is an illustration of what can happen when the Logos-driven rational conscious ego fails to acknowledge bits of material from the Eros-driven irrational unconscious.
In “Tribunal” when we first see Chief of Operations Miles O’Brien he is trying to take care of everything he can think of that may go wrong on the station before he leaves for a vacation with his wife, Keiko O’Brien. Seemingly as a coincidence, on his way to meet his wife, O’Brien runs into a former shipmate from his time on the Rutledge, Boone. Boone surreptitiously records the conversation and O’Brien then finds himself facing a Cardassian trial being tried for aiding and abetting seditious acts.
What this episode illustrates is the conscious ego ignoring actions which it would not do, but that are done all the time by the unconscious. This is illustrated in O’Brien’s not understanding how Boone could be a Cardassian imposter and also, along with all the other individuals on Deep Space Nine, not understanding that the unconscious has its own form of justice, just as the Cardassians do.
This is most clearly evidenced in O’Brien’s belief that he deserves what he rationally believes will be a fair trial. In the eyes of the Cardassians, their trials are fair. All crimes are solved and all criminals are executed, which for them is considered a happy ending. From an opposite perspective this is equally fair, even though it seems irrational to the conscious ego. Anytime we cannot imagine a position contrary to something we believe, we should understand that quite often there can be an opposite point-of-view, and to the holder of this perspective our belief may seem unimaginable. This is how the relationship between the human psyche’s conscious ego and unconscious can be explained. However, if the conscious ego makes an effort to acknowledge and integrate bits of unconscious material, it becomes stronger and the psyche more whole.
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