LogFAQs > #979345572

Im copying over a post I made on the Star Trek board a few years back specifically talking about Dukat post-Waltz.

Alright, so this is coming from probably the only person in existence who actually liked the post-Waltz Dukat, and saw it as both a natural evolution of his character and a very good way to loop him into Sisko's plot with the Prophets and the Pah-Wraiths.

Dukat's rationalization for The Occupation wasn't limited to just Waltz. Bits and pieces of it were shown throughout the run of DS9 beforehand, especially with regards to how he thought he was a much more benevolent overseer than he was being given credit for. He thought he deserved the love of the Bajoran people for cutting back on the harsh punishments, providing more food, etc. Hell, he had a whole conversation about it with Weyoun during their stint on the station, where he asked with all sincerity why the Bajorans didn't have a statue erected in his honor. He'd always been delusional about his role in The Occupation, Waltz was just Sisko finally confronting him about it in a far more blunt manner than he'd been able to for the past five years. So as far as whether I liked Dukat's rationalization? Yeah, it fits perfectly with the character we'd seen for the previous five years, no question.

As for the aftermath, Dukat essentially gave in, and decided that if everyone was going to see him as the villain no matter what, then he might as well finally do something (in his mind) to deserve it. If he can't get the respect of Sisko as a friendly rival, he'll get that respect by achieving, to paraphrase a comment he made to Weyoun before they lost DS9, "A true victory by making Sisko realize it was wrong to oppose him in the first place. To force him to acknowledge his greatness." If he can't get the love of the Bajoran people by treating them marginally better than a brutish dictator would, he'll make them love him through the power of the Pah-Wraith. It may have been madness that drove him to that point, but everything after Waltz, to me, seems just as intelligent and cunning as ever. And that shows far more than his madness in future episodes after Waltz.

I don't think it was just the loss of Ziyal that drove him to that point either, it was more the straw that broke the camel's back. He was already losing it when he went looking for her during the evacuation of the station, ignoring Damar's pleas to leave as soon as possible. He had victory within his grasp, and it slipped through his fingers in mere seconds; the Cardassian people would almost certainly not back him after such a defeat, and the Dominion likely wouldn't allow him to keep his position as head of the Cardassian government for much longer either, if not outright execute him. Literally all he has at this point is Ziyal, there's nothing left. Hell, he even forgave her as soon as she admitted to playing a part in his defeat, and clung to her even after Damar shot her despite his insistence earlier that any traitor would deserve no mercy. Losing the battle nearly broke him, and losing Ziyal finally pushed him over the edge.

This is also why I like his involvement with the Pah-Wraiths. Up until now, the Bajoran religion was nothing but superstition, or at best primitive Bajoran culture trying to make sense of what are nothing but aliens dwelling in a wormhole. He paid them little mind until they handed him his greatest military defeat, at the behest of their Emissary Sisko. In this case, it was he that was forced to acknowledge the greatness of the Prophets, and see that they truly were a source of power. But, with at least a passing knowledge of Bajoran culture, he was able to find the Pah-Wraiths. And if they were as powerful as the Prophets and something that the Prophets themselves seemed to fear, then of course it makes sense to ally with them. If the Prophets were more powerful than even the Dominion military might, and the Pah-Wraiths as their opposition were equally powerful, then of course Dukat is going to pursue that power. Especially if it lets him deal a blow against both Kira, who he interacts with more than any Bajoran and is a deeply religious person that he wants to hurt for all the times she spurned him, and Sisko, the Emissary of the Prophets and probably the person who he wants to respect him more than anyone.