In the second episode of the fourth season of Deep Space Nine, I can’t even believe how far this show has come. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Star Trek.Â
WHEW, GOD, WHAT AN EXPERIENCE. WHAT A RIDE. WHAT A BOLD AND SCARY THING TO DO AT THE START OF THE SEASON. Hey, was the Dominion threat upsetting? Then how about A FULL-ON WAR that erupts IN A FEW HOURS and PERMANENTLY CHANGES THE FEDERATION’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE KLINGONS?
Yeah, that’s Deep Space Nine for you. I don’t even know where to start with the second half of “The Way of the Warrior†because there are just too many good scenes and moments. Excuse the list, which I haven’t done in a while, but my mind is a blur.
- Okay, so perhaps moving through this as chronologically as possible is the best thing for me to do. How about that scene where Worf rejects Gowron’s offer? Y’all, Worf worked so hard to navigate the complexity of Klingon politics and custom in order to retain his family name, to keep his house in honor, and get Kurn a seat on the High Council. It was a massive part of his development on The Next Generation! And yet, he sacrifices it all because he refuses to abandon his post and he refuses to be part of the invasion of Cardassia. Just like that, it’s all gone. His lands, his assets, his family name… gone.
- I love Worf so much.
- And I totally believed that this was going to be his sole appearance. I bought every red herring that he was going to bow out once this conflict was over, that he’d find some distant organization to work for. Sadly, the Klingon homeworld is no longer an option for him. (Forever??? Will he ever gain his rights back?)
- I’m convinced that this episode is pretty much perfect, but a flaw I found was the fact that we didn’t see the Detapa Council aside from when they stepped off the transporter. I suppose it’s not the most important thing, but it’s weird that this was a rescue mission for a group of people we otherwise never saw.
- KASIDY. SISKO. THEY KISSED. I DIDN’T HAVE TO BUST OUT THAT “… and now KISS†MEME AT ALL.
- (Is it sad that I immediately expected Kasidy to die because black women cannot stay alive on television. I swear, this show is not allowed to do anything to her.)
- I don’t know if this is the start of something for this show, but hear me out. Multiple times in this episode, Sisko is faced with a hellish moral dilemma, and he barely hesitates when he decides what to do. You see that the first time when he admits that using the cloaking device in the Alpha Quadrant is forbidden by the Romulans. He reasons that the rescue mission is more important. When the Defiant comes across the debris graveyard, he refuses to de-cloak and check for possible survivors, despite Julian’s protests. And then, for the entire second half of the episode, he orders the Defiant (and later DS9) to fire “at will†at the Klingons.
- SO
- MANY
- KLINGONS
- DIE
- IN
- THIS
- EPISODE
- This is not the first time that warfare has been portrayed on the show. Hardly! But oh my god, the battle sequences on this show are so much more violent and pervasive than they’ve ever been on Deep Space Nine or Star Trek as a whole. The fight to rescue Detapa Council was bad enough, but once they get back to DS9?
- I WASN’T READY
- YOU WEREN’T READY
- (okay maybe you were)
- THE UNIVERSE WAS NOT READY
- FIVE
- THOUSAND
- PHOTON
- TORPEDOS
- 5,000.
- look at all those zeros.
- I didn’t even know that DS9 had that kind of offensive power, but now I do! And what a time to reveal it! After a few dozen Klingon ships uncloak. HOW IS THIS EPISODE REALLY HAPPENING.
- Oh, was the battle outside space not good enough for you? Then how about COUNTLESS KLINGONS ALSO BEAMING ABOARD DS9 AND STABBING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE STATION.
- I feel like this show threw me into the deep end, and I have to remind myself: THIS IS THE SEASON PREMIERE. This is not some huge battle to end a season. This is how it’s starting!!!
- Like I said at least a couple of times on video, there’s no turning back from what happens here, and I was so pleased that the writers committed to what they’d written in the first half of this episode. The Khitomer Accords no longer apply; the Klingons now view the Federation not as an ally, but a future enemy. The Dominion most likely got exactly what they wanted, and both the Klingons and the Federation are vulnerable.
- This season is going to destroy me, I just know it.
- But there’s a silver lining.
- Lieutenant Commander Worf.
- FULL TIME DS9 CREW.
- IT WASN’T A GUEST APPEARANCE.
- OH MY GOD, HE’S ON THE SHOW.
- OH MY GOD HELP ME.
The video for “The Way of the Warrior, Part II†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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