Monday, February 22, 2016

Character Insight No. 179: Damar

Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we profile Damar, a Cardassian recurring character on Deep Space Nine.

https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp179


Glinn Damar was a Cardassian government and military leader who served as the right hand of Gul Dukat during the early years of Deep Space Nine. He helped Dukat fight a one-ship war against the Klingons for over a year during Dukat's demotion and disgrace for rescuing his illegitimate half-Bajoran daughter Tora Ziyal. Damar was a by-the-book Cardassian, hating all things Bajoran. However, he tolerated Dukat's dealings with them in the name of restoring the Cardassian Union to power.

Damar supported and assisted Dukat with the entry of the Cardassian Union into the Dominion, although he quickly grew distrustful of the Dominion leadership. His most notable moments during his time under Dukat were helping take Deep Space Nine away from the Federation, neutralizing the self-replicating mines the Federation put around the wormhole, and killing Dukat's daughter Ziyal when she betrayed the Cardassians during a return of the Federation to take back the space station. Dukat was captured in this battle while Damar fled.

Damar then was promoted to legate and became the head of Cardassia while Dukat went through a nervous breakdown. Damar was unable to stop Weyoun and the founders from blaming many losses on the Cardassians and diminishing their standing even in their home quadrant. That led him to eventually rebel against the Dominion, an effort that led to the execution of Damar's family as well as the annihilation of one of the cities on Cardassia. However, those events caused Cardassians as a whole to turn against the Dominion and fully join the efforts of the Federation and the Klingons in defending the Alpha Quadrant.

Quote (from The Dogs of War):
Damar: Citizens of Cardassia, hear me! The Dominion told you that the rebellion has been crushed. What you have seen here today proves that that is yet another lie. Our fight for freedom continues, but it will take place here, in the streets. I call on Cardassians everywhere to rise up, rise up and join me. I need *you* to be my army! If we stand together, nothing can oppose us. Freedom is ours for the taking!

Damar died in one of the final battles of the Dominion War, in an assault on the Dominion Headquarters, ending a run of 23 appearances on the show. His efforts in turning Cardassia back against the Dominion were honored by the Federation and by the Cardassian Union.

This character was perhaps not as well-developed as Dukat or Elim Garak, but he was a memorable piece of one of the best story arcs the Star Trek series has ever seen. Plus, he got to experience the full villain to hero transformation, which is a fun development to watch.

Damar was played by Casey Biggs, who continues his stage and film acting career today at the age of 60. He has appeared in many TV shows like the X-files, and his most recent work will be released as the movie entitled Unbelievable in 2016. Ironically, he was also married to Roxann Dawson for a couple years in the 80's before they both got famous Star Trek roles.

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