‘APOCALYPSE RISING’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
It’s time to begin Season 5 of ‘DS9’! In many ways, Season 5 builds up on what was great about Season 4 and takes the ‘DS9’ series into new uncharted territory. The season opener fits into that. 🙂
‘Apocalypse Rising’ takes place after the events of ‘Broken Link’ where Odo is made a ‘solid’ by the Founders and that Gowron of the Klingon Empire is a Changeling. This revelation must be sorted out.
Returning from Starfleet Command, Sisko has been ordered to expose the imposter who has taken control of the Klingon Empire. He, Odo, O’Brien and Worf must infiltrate Ty’Gokoar, the Klingon HQ.
They do that by disguising themselves as Klingons and bluff their way to be candidates for the ‘order of the Bat’leth’. It was amusing to see Sisko, Odo and O’Brien in Klingon make-up during the episode.
Mind you, I did wonder whether Worf being on the ride would expose their bluff to members of the Klingon Empire like Gowron and Martok. But Worf must’ve have been surgically altered in this story.
Also, it’s essential that Worf gives Sisko, Odo and O’Brien the know-how in being a Klingon. Sisko picks up on the Klingon behaviour well whilst Odo and O’Brien aren’t so keyed up being the Klingons.
I wonder why Bashir didn’t go as a Klingon in the episode. Mind you, he had to stay behind to look after Kira who’s currently pregnant with the O’Briens’ child and he has to check up on young Jake. 🙂
Sisko, Worf, Odo and O’Brien are given four devices which, when activated, will emit radiation that will force any Changeling nearby to revert to their natural gelatinous state. What could go wrong? 😀
The four heroes are helped in this venture by Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat. He escorts them to Ty’Gokor in his captured Klingon Bird of Prey, along with Casey Biggs as second-in-command Damar.
Dukat is clearly amused by the four Starfleet officers’ disguise as Klingons. He almost ruins the mission firing upon another Klingon Bird of Prey in space. He won’t even come back for our heroes. 🙁
Anyway, the four arrive at the Hall of Warriors on Ty’Gokor where an all-night party ensues before the induction ceremony for the ‘order of the Bat’leth’ has begun. They blend in as best as possible. 🙂
Very soon, J. G. Hertzler as General Martok arrives and begins to suspect the four Klingon infiltrators. The four scramble to set up radiation emitters before Robert O’Reilly as Chancellor Gowron turns up.
Gowron begins to issue the awards to every Klingon in the room. When Sisko gets called to receive his award, he attempts to activate the emitters, but he gets knocked to the floor by General Martok!
Martok works out who they are and soon Sisko, O’Brien, Odo and Worf are thrown into a security cell. It was all too good to be true. I suspected that this mission would not be as easy as they’d think.
After sending the guards out, Martok confides to Sisko that he too believes that Gowron is an imposter. Since the emitters are destroyed, the group’s only chance to expose Gowron is to kill him.
Martok helps Sisko and his group by freeing them, leading them back to the Hall of Warriors, where Worf challenges Gowron to a one-one-one duel. Martok wonders why Sisko doesn’t shoot Gowron.
Thankfully, Odo works out that Matrok’s behaviour doesn’t match to Klingons that have honour whilst Changelings don’t care for it. It soon gets revealed that Martok happens to be the Changeling.
Odo reveals the false Martok to everyone just in time before Worf is about to kill Gowron. Once exposed, the Klingons open fire, quickly destroying the Changeling Martrok. That was very fast work!
It seems Odo was fed false information when linked with the Founders about Gowron being the Changeling. This would’ve led to Gowron’s assassination by the Federation for the Dominion to win.
Gowron agrees to a temporary ceasefire in the war between the Klingons and the Federation. I don’t think things will be smooth-running though. Soon, Sisko and his men are returned safely back to DS9.
‘Apocalypse Rising’ is a good opening episode to Season 5 of ‘DS9’. I like how Sisko, Odo, O’Brien and Worf infiltrate their way as Klingons to expose the Changeling and how there was a twist to it here. 🙂
‘Apocalypse Rising’ (DS9) rating – 8/10
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