History Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E13LifeSupport

* TakenOffLifeSupport: Vedek Bareil is seriously injured in a shuttle accident. At first he was thought to be dead after failed attempts to save him, but brain activity was found while an autopsy is about to be performed and he is saved. However, damage soon reaches Bareil's brain, and brain implants are needed to save him. After the the surgery, Bareil is alive, but a different person. Things only go further downhill from there, and the only way to save him is to add more implants. It's decided that it's best to let him die, even though Kira begs Bashir to save him. In end, he dies with Kira by his side.

* MoodWhiplash: An emotional episode rife with politics and quality of life discussions...mixed with Nog and Jake having girl trouble. This is also only two episodes removed from a comical plot in which Bareil tried to woo Dax and got beat up by her.

* TakenOffLifeSupport: Vedek Bareil is seriously injured in a shuttle accident. At first he was thought to be dead after failed attempts to save him, but brain activity was found while an autopsy is about to be preformed and he is saved. However, damage soon reaches Bareil's brain, and brain implants are needed to save him. After the the surgery, Bareil is alive, but a different person. Things only go further downhill from there, and the only way to save him is to add more implants. It's decided that it's best to let him die, even though Kira begs Bashir to save him. In end, he dies with Kira by his side.

As Bashir and his nurses do everything they can to save Bareil, Kai Winn explains to Sisko that she's here to conduct a secret meeting with a member of the Cardassian Central Command. Bareil has been communicating with them for months on a peace treaty, since the government is still provisional and the Kai is the only true authority on Bajor. With Vedek on the brink of death, it's likely these talks will never resume. Despite all they can do, Bareil dies. But just before the autopsy, Dr. Bashir sees brain activity, and using extreme treatment, he's able to successfully revive Bareil. Since the Kai is a very crappy negotiator, she's elated at this development, as is Major Kira due to her romantic relationship with the Vedek.

As Bashir and his nurses do everything they can to save Bareil, Kai Winn explains to Sisko that she's here to conduct a secret meeting with a member of the Cardassian Central Command. Bareil has been communicating with them for months on a peace treaty, since the government is still provisional and the Kai is the only true authority on Bajor. With the Vedek on the brink of death, it's likely these talks will never resume. Despite all they can do, Bareil dies. But just before the autopsy, Dr. Bashir sees brain activity, and using extreme treatment, he's able to successfully revive Bareil. Since the Kai is a very crappy negotiator, she's elated at this development, as is Major Kira due to her romantic relationship with the Vedek.

** The positronic matrix is of course a reference to [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Data and the other Soong-type androids]]. Appropriately enough, the positronic matrix half of Bareil's brain gets replaced with is looking quite similar to Data's brain.

* DeliberateValueDissonance: Nog claims that he did his best to accommodate Jake's sensibilities by not asking his date to chew his food for him.

Meanwhile, Jake tells Nog about his date, which causes the Ferengi to invite himself along and turn this into a double date. Naturally, this double date goes as well as you'd expect with a member of a species that practices government-sanctioned misogyny, as Nog is incredibly rude to his date. Both girls storm off, causing Jake and Nog to start yelling at each other. In the more serious plot, the Cardassians are able to exploit Kai Winn's uncertainty and indecisiveness to gain an advantage in the negotiations. Unfortunately, her constant meetings with Bareil from his hospital bed are putting a severe strain on his body. Bashir begs Winn to take responsibility for the negotiations and convince Bereil to stop sacrificing himself in the name of peace. Winn refuses, and Bashir realizes that she needs a scapegoat in case the negotiations fail. Same old Winn.

* MoodWhiplash: An emotional episode rife with politics and quality of life discussions...mixed with Nog and Jake having girl trouble. This is also only two episodes removed from a comical plot in which Bereil tried to woo Dax and got beat up by her.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Bashir calls out Winn when she refuses to help him save Bereil's life, saying, "You're a ''coward''. You're afraid to stand alone."

* TookALevelInKindness: Subverted. At the beginning of the episode, Sisko is surprised to hear Winn heap praises on her nemesis Bereil and humbly say that she could never conduct the negotiations without him. It seems that Winn has finally turned a corner. But then it becomes clear that she's just callously using him for his diplomatic skills and is perfectly happy to let him die to prop up her accomplishments. Bashir even accuses her of positioning him as TheScapegoat if the talks should fail.

* BittersweetEnding: Bajor has their peace treaty. But Bareil is dead.

* DeadpanSnarker: When Jake admits that he kinda forgot that Nog is a Ferengi. (He was speaking metaphorically and culturally, not biologically.)
--> '''Nog:''' You forgot? To most people, [[RubberForeheadAliens the lobes]] are a dead giveaway!

* DownerEnding: Good night, sweet Bareil, and flights of Prophets sing thee to thy rest.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Bashir, of course, is trying to save his patient as a doctor should. But Kai Winn [[JerkassHasAPoint isn't wrong]] when she points out that Bariel is freely choosing to prioritize the negotiations, and that Bashir is obligated to respect his wishes.

* MandatoryLine: Quark only appears at the end while catering the party and presenting Kai Winn with a new dessert he's named for her.
* MoodWhiplash: An emotional episode rife with politics and quality of life discussions...mixed with Nog and Jake having girl trouble.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: More of a statement than a speech, but Bashir cuts to the quick with it.
-->'''Bashir:''' You're a ''coward''. You're afraid to stand alone.

* ShipSinking: Kira/Bareil
* StupidSacrifice: If Bareil had simply delayed the negotiations and allowed Bashir to place him into stasis instead of insisting on jumping back in immediately, he most likely wouldn't have died.

As Bashir and his nurses do everything they can to save Bareil, Kai Winn explains to Sisko that she's here to conduct a secret meeting with a member of the Cardassian Central Command. Bareil has been communicating with them for months on a peace treaty, since the government is still provisional and so the Kai is the only true authority on Bajor. With the Vedek on the brink of death, it's likely these talks will never resume. Despite all they can do, Bareil dies. But just before the autopsy, Dr. Bashir sees brain activity, and using extreme treatment, is able to successfully revive Bareil. Since the Kai is a very crappy negotiator, she's elated at this development, as is Major Kira due to her romantic relationship with the Vedek.

Meanwhile, Jake tells Nog about his date, which causes the Ferengi to invite himself along and turn this into a double-date. Naturally, this double date goes as well as you'd expect with a member of a species that practices government-sanctioned misogyny, as Nog is incredibly rude to his date. Everyone calls him out on it and an argument ensues that ends with him storming off. In the more serious plot, the Cardassians are able to play Kai Winn's uncertainty and indecisiveness in order to make more serious demands. Unfortunately, her constant meetings with Bareil from his hospital bed are putting a severe strain on his body. Bashir is forced by Bareil to use an experimental drug which has been known to result in organ failure in order to keep the negotiations alive.

Eventually, the damage spreads to the Vedek's brain. Bashir replaces parts of it with a positronic matrix, but now, Bareil is merely a shell of what he once was. This is where the episode gets sad, so let's wrap up Jake and Nog's subplot by saying they are able to resolve their issue. With Kai Winn still keeping Bareil awake, they are able to conclude the talks and a final peace settlement is signed. Now that he's outlived his usefulness (literally), Kai Winn tells Bashir and Major Kira that it's time to pull the plug, as she goes off to accept her laurels. Despite Kira begging Bashir to keep going, he insists it's better this way, in that Bareil can die like a man rather than live as a machine. He permits Kira to stay by Bareil's side as his brain slowly shuts down, ending the episode on a very sad and tearful note.

* AwesomeByAnalysis: Nog gets a moment of them when he's arrested by Odo and celled with Jake for stealing from an ambassador. Nog remembers his father has warned about getting into trouble again, ''and'' he's late for work, but neither Rom nor Quark have come to see him. And Odo wouldn't lock up the station commander's son and accuse him of a crime without solid evidence. He quickly pieces together that Jake put Odo up to the "arrest" so they could have time to talk.

* VillainHasAPoint: Winn's determination to keep Bareil alive at any cost so he can help her with the peace negotiations is her being too cowardly to try and negotiate alone and to have Bareil as a scapegoat to blame if the talks fail. However, it's made clear that Bareil feels the same way -- he is comfortable dying if it means he can bring peace to Bajor, and he insists Bashir keep him alive so he can continue to aid Winn. Were he fully cognizant in his final hours, Bareil probably would have insisted on the same extreme measures to prolong his life that Winn did. It's what makes his death so tragic and her exploitation of him so heartless.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Winn only needs Bareil alive long enough to conduct the negotiations. Once the treaty is signed, she argues for pulling the plug on him. Unusually for this trope, Bareil agrees with her, accepting that his service to Bbajor and the Prophets has ended.

* DirtyCoward: What Bashir sees Winn as. She doesn't care about Bareil. She just needs a scapegoat if the discussion goes badly.

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Winn only needs Bareil alive long enough to conduct the negotiations. Once the treaty is signed, she argues for pulling the plug on him. Unusually for this trope, Bareil agrees with her.