After a brief break, I have "Sacrifice of Angels" on and honestly Dukat is such a fascinating character to think about. Like, I dont like that they fudged their own timeline on this series to do some things but in this episode you get the Weyoun talking about eliminating ALL of Earth and Dukat immediately being all "wtf no".
His plan isn't better obviously, dude wants to subjugate as Cardassia is inclined to do. It's the contrast though in that moment I'm looking at. The Dominion has the mindset of "burn everything down immediately, only keep what will accept occupation" while we already know Cardassia much rather use and abuse the places they take over. Neither of these are GOOD. We have been seeing this up to this point as well with the Dominion playing nice with Bajor, all "we shall bring you supplies now that you are cut off from everyone due to us and only have us to rely on, aren't we so kind". Both are games of manipulation and enforcement via fear and terror.
I think it's such a great way to show who Cardassia was before the fall of its government in the early seasons of DS9 by having them right beside another dominating force. It's similar to how we get Romulans and Klingons and the ability to contrast them in previous series. Difference here is those two hated each other, and Cardassia allied with Dominion.
Anyways, like we get told a lot of horrible things that Cardassians did (including Garak) throughout DS9. We even watch as Garak tortures Odo at one point (yes there is a do it so others don't in play here but it's a glimpse at who Garak was before exile). We even get told about the file clerks and scientists and so on ... DS9 works to broaden the species that TNG introduced and the thing is ... It ALWAYS holds to the idea of a society that is constantly monitoring itself and raising its children in a sort of loyalty to state above family. It holds to the isolationism of the society - gives us a style of literature that is about families just serving the state generation after generation - while doing everything to expand that society within the galaxy.
Then it gives us a character who father was put on trial - having trusted another Cardassian of course - due to his own ambitions seeming to outweigh his patriotism. We then learn that Cardassian trials have families present so that they can essentially disown the family member before execution thus putting state above family (as only a good Cardassian would do). Then we further watch as this Cardassian has to be around the very Cardassian who their father trusted (so much so that when that character got exiled they were station - likely again given they'd been to Bajor as assignments as well - where the first character is in command). Then years later, this character finds out that a child of theirs (one that due to circumstances of Cardassian culture is heavily not approved of by family value or "the state" - duel issues their basically) is actually alive and they intend to rectify this. Only to end up bringing that child home which ruins them in the eyes of family and state but they put that child first. At least ... As much as they can when ambition and patriotism is still deeply engrained in them.
This same individual then strives to bring Cardassia back to what it was. To honor what they were raised in (working for the state, honoring the state, making Cardassia stronger, etc). They are basically a Cardassian novel being exposed before us. .... So much so that we then watch this character finally get to reconnect with their kid only to find out their kid picked a different side and have that kid killed on front of them. It's no wonder they snap.
Like no really Dukat had to go through his father being out on trial by Cardassia and executed - due to the Obsidian Order - and he holds himself deeply to serving the State. Ambitious and wanting power but be is always always clever enough to constantly point out it's for Cardassia. That is what being Cardassian is - you can want power, can be ambitious, can want to climb the ranks but it must ALWAYS be for Cardassia and nothing more. And Dukat embodies that aspect of Cardassian culture so much that it drives him to the point where he runs through a station during an evacuation as he realizes all he wants is Ziyal. Only for her to tell him that she helped Kira and for her to get killed in that moment. For him to once again lose someone he loves because the "State" deemed them a traitor. Only this time it's at the hand of the military not the Obsidian Order.
Dukat is the Cardassian epic warning that you can do anything and everything you can for the State and still lose it all. Raised on the propaganda, never questioned it, never went against it, and he ended up betrayed by it all anyways.
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