Synopsis: Captain Sisko decides he will force the Romulans into the Dominion War.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of how the Logos-driven rational conscious ego has difficulties accepting the autonomy of the Eros-driven irrational unconscious, and how it will continue to believe it can control it.
“The Pale Moonlight” is framed as a personal log entry made by Captain Benjamin Sisko, in which he explains why he did what he did, causing the Romulans to declare war on the Dominion. It began with Sisko believing that the non-aggression treaty between the Dominion and the Romulans is one reason the Federation is losing the war. Sisko decides that the Romulans need to be brought into the war by convincing them that the Dominion is not an ally to be trusted. To do this, Sisko enlists the aid of Elim Garak, the Cardassian tailor/former Obsidian Order member. After Garak cannot obtain evidence of a Dominion plan to invade Romulan territory, he devises a way to manufacture the evidence on an official Cardassian data rod. The data rod is given to Senator Vreenak of Romulus. Vreenak discovers that the data rod is a forgery and tells Sisko he will expose him. However, as Vreenak’s vessel leaves Deep Space Nine, Garak arranges for it to explode. This causes the Romulans to declare war on the Dominion. At the end of the episode, after deciding that he can live with the consequences of his actions, Sisko erases the log entry.
In this episode Sisko is using his log entry to make himself feel justified in his actions. This is evidenced at the end of the episode when Sisko concludes it by stating: “I lied. I cheated. . . . I am an accessory to murder . . . If I had to do it all over again, I would . . . I will live with it. Because I can live with it” (Taylor & Lobl, 1998). Sisko needed to rationalize his actions, and that they were of his choosing, in a way similar to how the conscious ego needs to feel that it has maintained control of the psyche. In reality, Sisko had no control over Garak’s actions, just as the conscious ego has no control over the unconscious, even though it likes to believe that it does. What would arguably be healthier for the psyche would be for the ego to acknowledge what it does not have control over. That would be a truer integration of the unconscious into the conscious ego, making the psyche more whole.
Reference:
Taylor, M. (Writer), & Lobl, V. (Director). (1998, April 15). The pale moonlight (Season 6, Episode 19) [TV series episode]. In I. S. Behr & R. Berman (Executive Producers), Star trek: Deep space nine. Paramount Television.
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