‘FAVOR THE BOLD’/’SACRIFICE OF ANGELS’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
‘FAVOR THE BOLD’ (Part 1)
At last! We’ve come to the end of the six episode story arc where the Dominion and the Cardassians have occupied DS9. And it all concludes in an exciting two-parter that sees our heroes win the day. 🙂
In the first episode, Captain Sisko decides to retake DS9 in order to bolster up the sagging Federation morale. He made this decision before Jadzia faced Sisko on the issue after commanding the Defiant.
Sisko plans to send in a large battle force in order to retake the station. But it’s taking time to assemble. J.G. Hertzler as General Martok and his first officer Worf have problems with their forces.
It seems the Klingon High Council led by Chancellor Gowron isn’t willing to send so many ships to the aid of Federation ships heading for DS9. Martok and Worf have to go to Qo’noS to convince Gowron.
Meanwhile on DS9, Max Grodénchik as Rom, the Ferengi technician is sentenced for execution. This is for Rom trying to foil the Dominion’s plan to destroy the minefield that’s blocking the wormhole. 😦
That happened in the previous episode ‘Behind the Lines’. The minefield is the only thing that’s keeping the Dominion reinforcements from entering into the Gamma Quadrant. Things seem grim. 😦
Rom tries to persuade his brother Quark to finish the job he started whilst the Jem’Hadar aren’t listening. Chase Masterson as Leeta also appears in this story, very upset that Rom is to be executed.
Kira tries to persuade Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun to pardon Rom, but Weyoun is adamant that Rom has been branded a terrorist against the Dominion. Even Ziyal can’t convince her father Gul Dukat. 😐
The relationship between Melanie Smith as Ziyal and Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat becomes strained by this point. Ziyal wants Dukat to be a good man but his ties to the Dominion prevent him doing that. 😦
Ziyal becomes angry with her father, sharing it with Kira later on in this first episode of the story. Casey Biggs as Damar tries to bring Ziyal to meet up with her father, but Ziyal refuses to come along.
Kira intervenes, beating Damar up once he touches Ziyal. Damar and Kira haven’t been getting along since the Dominion occupation of DS9 began and it’s starting to reach its breaking point at this stage.
Despite this, Kira continues to lead the resistance against the Dominion occupation. Even she and Quark send a message to Starfleet via Morn in order to warn them about the minefield collapsing. 😐
Yeah, Cardassian officer Damar let slip to bartender Quark that the minefield will be eliminated in about a week. Damar is getting careless before Quark shares the information to Major Kira instantly.
Jake helps out too when he sneaks a message to his father via Morn which in turn has Kira and Quark give their message to Starfleet. I haven’t even got the episode ‘Who Mourns For Morn?’ yet. 😀
Odo is of no help to Kira and Kira is quite frankly furious with him over losing interest in station affairs. This is the fault of Salome Jens as the Female Changeling who’s been distracting him lately. 😐
That scene between Kira and Odo where he tries to say ‘sorry’ and she says “We’re way, way past sorry!” really hurt. I wondered whether Kira would ever forgive Odo for being distracted so severely.
Once Sisko and Starfleet hear the news about the minefield being deactivated in space, Sisko must take on the attack to recover the station. The fleet’s nowhere large enough, but they must chance it.
I’m reminded of ‘The Two Towers’ where Helm’s Deep’s soldiers were outnumbered by 10,000 Uruk-Hai. I wish we could have a similar ‘LOTR’ atmosphere in these ‘DS9’ episodes for the battle scenes. 😀
Meanwhile, Aron Eisenberg as Nog has been promoted to ensign from cadet and he truly deserves it. Andrew Robinson as Garak also joins the battle aboard the Defiant to retake DS9 from the Dominion.
As the fleet led by Sisko aboard the Defiant near DS9, things become pretty grim. They’re facing a Cardassian-Dominion fleet of 1254 ship. That outnumbers the Starfleet ships which happen to be 600.
And they’ve got no Klingons to support them yet. Sisko addresses his crew and says, “There’s an old saying. “Fortune favors the bold.” Well, I guess we’re about to find out.” Thus the action begins here!
‘SACRIFICE OF ANGELS’ (Part 2)
In the second episode of this two-parter, Sisko’s fleet have eight hours to reach DS9 before the minefield in front of the wormhole gets destroyed. The Defiant leads the fight against the Dominion.
It was exciting to see our characters aboard the Defiant, including Sisko, Jadzia, Bashir, O’Brien, Garak and Nog in their fight against the Dominion. This is as the Dominion stop them getting to DS9.
Bashir and O’Brien quote from the poem ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, which gets on Nog’s nerves. It’s also intriguing how Garak shares with Nog what is happening with concerning the battle.
The battle sequences in space are impressive. Sisko orders the Federation fighters to engage the Cardassian warships. He hopes that the less discipline Cardassians will break formation in the fleet. 🙂
Thus a hole will be created in the Dominion lines. Dukat however seems to see through Sisko’s ruse. He deliberately allows some of the ships to open a hole as he forms a trap for the Federation fleet. 😐
Sisko also becomes aware that Dukat is setting up a trap for him and his fleet. Regardless, Sisko orders his ships forward, desperate to reach the station. Things are getting very heated at this point.
Aboard DS9, Dukat’s aide Damar has Kira, Jake and Leeta arrested, since he correctly surmises they’re part of a conspiracy against Dominion rule. Gosh, even the three of them didn’t start a fight.
The Female Changeling also attempts to break Odo’s bond with the ‘solids’ and have him return to his own people. She even tells him of Kira’s arrest. But Odo still has a sense of loyalty to his friends here.
The Federation fleet meanwhile soon becomes overwhelmed and it seems like there’s no hope. Thankfully, the Klingon fleet led by Martok and Worf arrive and they manage to flank the Dominion.
I cheered at that moment. It’s like a ‘Return of the King’ moment when the Rohirrim turn up in time to help the Gondorians in their battle against the Mordor Orcs, riding forth on the Pelennor Fields. 🙂
The Klingons clear a path for the Defiant to reach DS9, though the rest of the allied ships are unable to follow. Hopefully, the allied ships managed to sort out the Cardassian and Jem’Hadar ships here. 🙂
Back on DS9, Quark and Ziyal manage to set Kira, Jake, Rom and Leeta free from jail. I liked that moment when Quark shot those two Jem’Hadar guards dead when they refused to do as he said. 😀
Kira and Rom set off to sabotage the station’s weapons. They get corned by Dominion soldiers until Odo and his team rescue them. I did like Odo’s line, “Never underestimate the element of surprise!”
When asked why he helped them in the end, Odo tells Kira that she knows the answer. When she asks him about the Great Link, he tells her he’s not ready for paradise yet, which is a fair argument. 🙂
Rom manages to disable the weapons, but he’s too late to prevent the destruction of the minefield. Oh dear! The Defiant arrives just in time to see the minefield blown up whilst the Dominion is happy.
As the Dominion aboard DS9 call for reinforcements, Sisko orders the Defiant into the wormhole. They encounter a massive Dominion fleet where Sisko prepares for a desperate suicide mission here.
Just before that happens, Sisko receives a vision from the Bajoran Prophets. They’re upset that he’s planning to self-sacrifice himself before fulfilling their purposes, but Sisko has to stop the Dominion.
He pleads with them to help the Bajorans who have created a religion around them. The Prophets soon cause the Dominion ships to vanish, but warn Sisko that a penance will be exacted. A penance?
Gul Dukat is shocked to see the Defiant exiting the wormhole without the Dominion fleet behind them. Weyoun and the Female Changeling are shocked too. Very soon, the Dominion evacuates DS9.
There is a tragedy at the end of the episode. Dukat’s daughter Ziyal gets killed by Damar as she admits to her father that she helped Kira and her friends to escape. Dukat’s grief-stricken at the end.
The story concludes with the DS9 team back together again. ‘Favor the Bold’/’Sacrifice of Angels’ is a great conclusion to this six-episode story arc to start Season 6. It has been a thrill of a ride indeed. 🙂
‘Favor the Bold’/’Sacrifice of Angels’ (DS9) rating – 9/10
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