Elim Garak

Star Trek character|if=
bgcolor = #ddddff
Title = Elim Garak


Caption = Elim Garak
Species = Cardassian
Gender = Male
Planet = Cardassia Prime
Affiliation = Formerly the Obsidian Order
Posting = Cardassian Embassy on Romulus
Deep Space Nine "(exile)"
Portrayed = Andrew Robinson

Elim Garak is a fictional character in the television series "", in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassian nation and a former member of a prestigious Cardassian intelligence group called the Obsidian Order. Due to unspecified reasons, Garak was exiled to the space station that became known as Deep Space Nine, where he runs a tailoring business.

Role in the series

Garak is introduced in the third episode of the first season of "Deep Space Nine" "Past Prologue" (after the double episode ). In the episode, he appears in the replimat on Deep Space Nine, where he introduces himself simply as "Garak" to the station's discomforted doctor, Julian Bashir. In the same episode, it is discovered that Garak was simply known as "The Spy" to the crew of Deep Space Nine, being the only Cardassian left on the station after Cardassia withdrew their occupation from the nearby planet Bajor.

Over the course of the series, Garak at first denies involvement with a prestigious Cardassian intelligence agency called the Obsidian Order, only to later reveal his connections as he (as plot-development devices) deems necessary. As Garak's friendship with Bashir develops, it is revealed that he was one of the Obsidian Order's highest ranking operatives, and that he was exiled from Cardassia due to unspecified reasons. The details of Garak's exile are never revealed, but it is suggested that his exile was resulted from either letting prisoners escape during the occupation of Bajor, or betrayal of the head of the "Obsidian Order" named Enabran Tain, who is later discovered to also be Garak's resentful biological father. Garak's constant enigmatic secrecy keeps him a character of both interest and importance in the series, and he later uses his contacts with Cardassia and the training he received as an operative of the Obsidian Order to assist the Federation in the war against the Dominion.

Portrayal

Upon his introduction in the series, Garak was intended to be a one-shot character, and not a character that was to be developed or even appear in the series beyond a single episode. Robinson stated that he portrayed the character in the episode for the simple fact that he needed money for that month to pay his billscite web
url= http://www.greatlink.org/showtglinterview101.htm
title= Interview, Andrew J. Robinson
accessdate= 2007-12-10
publisher= The Great Link
first= Hartriono B.
last= Sastrowardoyo
date= October 26, 2000] . The producers were impressed with Robinson's performance as Garak, and decided to develop the character after Robinson agreed to return as the character for future episodes. The decision to incorporate Garak into more of the series actually resulted in Garak becoming a pivotal character—transforming him from a simple one-time character to one of importance and unusual complexity.

Robinson's initial performance as Garak received scrutiny as his portrayal was interpreted as Garak being homosexual or bisexual. Robinson denied that his portrayal was intended to portray Garak as homosexual, and, rather, implied that he was omnisexual. [cite web|url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/53485/|title=Tailor Made: Liz Sourbut talks to Andrew Robinson.|accessdate=2008-04-17] As a result of the controversy, Robinson removed the particular characteristic from Garak.

"I had planned Garak not as homosexual or heterosexual but omnisexual, and the first episode I had with Bashir played that way gave people fits. So I had to remove that characteristic from him."-Andrew J. Robinson

As the series continued, Garak transforms from a simple mysterious character to one of complexity and secrecy. Robinson stated that the complexity of Garak's character did not come from his lies, but rather his refusal to elaborate on himself.

"The important thing about Garak is that he lives in the subtext. Again, with the iceberg analogy, the substance of Garak is what you don't hear. It's what he doesn't say."-Andrew J. Robinson

Character overview

As the series develops, Garak's early life is revealed little by little to the audience and the other characters in the series. It is suggested that Garak was exiled from Cardassia due to the mercy that he took on five Bajoran children during the Cardassian occupation of planet Bajor. At the same time Garak had an antagonistic relationship with the prefect of Bajor, Gul Dukat, most likely because he was responsible for the execution of Dukat's father. As a result, he was sent to the Cardassian space station "Terok Nor", which later became known as "Deep Space Nine" when the Cardassians withdrew from the station, leaving it for the Federation and Bajorans. Garak remains there in exile, running his tailoring business, although many of the station's occupants suspect this is a cover operation and that he is still working as a spy; however, more information about his past is not revealed to the crew of Deep Space Nine until during and after the third season.

Garak's character is elaborated on when his childhood abuse is revealed. Garak, whose father was the head of the Obsidian Order Enebran Tain, is seen to have an acute form of claustrophobia as an adult. His claustrophobia is strongly suggested to have resulted from his father locking him in a closet as punishment for him not doing his chores, often for hours at a time. Garak followed his father's footsteps and joined the Obsidian Order; at one point he was stationed on Romulus (and was involved in the deaths of several Romulan officials), until the Cardassians stationed him on occupied Bajor.

In the third season of Deep Space Nine, Garak is given the opportunity to return home by proving himself to Tain as a trustworthy operative of the Obsidian Order. As a result, Garak is assigned to interrogate and torture Deep Space Nine's chief of security, Odo, whose people had founded the Dominion. Garak is clearly distraught by his assignment, the primary reason being that Garak had considered Odo a close friend. Garak returns to Deep Space Nine with Odo after apologizing to him and the two form a unique friendship after realizing that they were more alike then they had originally thought [Star Trek: DS9, season 3: "The Die is Cast"] . Later, in a Dominion prison, a dying Tain finally reveals to Garak that he is proud of him as his son.

In the last two seasons Garak had shifted his loyalties completely towards the Federation, primarily because his old political rival, Gul Dukat seized control of Cardassia and aligned it with the Dominion [Star Trek:DS9, season 5: "By Inferno's Light"] . In these later seasons, Garak uses his knowledge to assist the Federation in its war against the Dominion and Cardassia. Garak developed serious psychological trauma knowing that he had contributed to the deaths of his fellow Cardassians [Star Trek: DS9, Season 7: "Afterimage"] . Towards the end of the war Garak served as a Federation liaison to Legate Damar and his Cardassian rebellion against the Dominion, along with the Bajoran Kira Nerys. In retaliation for the rebellion the Dominion killed 800 million Cardassians. As a result of the war, Garak's exile ends and he returns home to Cardassia [Star Trek, DS9, season 7: "What You Leave Behind"] .

A Stitch In Time

In a novel written by Andrew Robinson, Garak's life is further explored. The novel focuses on a letter from Garak to Bashir and suggests that Garak has become involved in the political and social rebuilding of Cardassia.

Personality

Garak's personality is complex. He is optimistic and polite, traits that he uses to obscure people's knowledge, or suspicion, of his work as a spy. Despite his image of an optimistic and well-mannered being, he is widely known to be deceitful, even to those whom he considers to be "friends," e.g. Doctor Julian Bashir. Garak is secretive, often creating elaborate stories about himself to avoid scrutiny about his exile. On several occasions, Garak discussed a friend named Elim, who was later revealed to never exist. Elim, in fact, was later revealed to be Garak himself, his full name being Elim Garak. As his father Tain once said of him, Garak never told the truth when a lie would do.

Garak on numerous occasions is seen to have internal conflicts between his morals and his obligations to the Cardassian central command. Despite substantial evidence to suggest that he was an operative of the Obsidian Order, Garak on several occasions denies having ever been involved with the group, claiming he is just "plain, simple Garak, a tailor on the Promenade" and that his difficulties with the Cardassian government stem from tax evasion. He repeats this story frequently, even to people that he knows are aware of the truth about his past.

Mirror Universe

In the mirror universe Garak is a vicious and sadistic Cardassian. He was Intendant Kira's second-in-command and resented her authority. Worf's mirror universe counterpart personally blamed Garak for losing the Terok Nor station to a Terran (human) slave rebellion, although Garak blamed Kira and attempted to manipulate him into trying to get revenge on Kira.

References

External links

* A brief [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/characters/DS9/bio/1071389.html Elim Garak Biography] at [http://www.startrek.com StarTrek.com]
* A list of 10 [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/specials/article/1664.html "Great Garak Episodes"] at [http://www.startrek.com StarTrek.com]