10 Most Inappropriate Moments In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season seven's "Covenant" shifted the already-villainous Dukat from egomaniacal opportunist to pure evil. By leading the Cult of the Pah-wraiths, Dukat is given a free rein to engage in the predatory and controlling behaviour characteristic of movements like the Peoples Temple and Manson Family. For someone like Dukat, that kind of all-consuming power is a recipe for disaster. The ensuing episode is chock-full of gag-worthy moments inspired by real-life tragedy. Was it in poor taste? Does a targ s**t in the woods?

For starters, when the product of Dukat's affair with Mika is born half-Cardassian, he declares it a sign the Pah-wraiths have blessed his covenant with his Bajoran followers. It's a Pah-wraith miracle! But like a bad episode of Maury Povich, the truth that Dukat's the real father is bound to come out, so he tries to murder Mika by opening an airlock. It's pretty low, even for him.

Realizing the jig is up, Dukat then tells his followers the Pah-wraiths want them to reclaim the Celestial Temple by shedding their corporeal bodies. That's right, mass suicide. Thankfully, most of Dukat's followers refrain from drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid when Kira proves he has no intention of killing himself. So much for their covenant.

While Dukat's actions in "Covenant" nicely showcase his re-emergence as the show's primary villain, the episode's riffing on the tragic impact of cult movements comes across as tasteless. Only a year before the episode aired, a mass suicide claimed the lives of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult. Exploiting a tragedy still fresh in the popular imagination crossed the line. And that's no miracle.