‘NOR THE BATTLE TO THE STRONG’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This episode’s title is taken from the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9; verse 11. It’s also an episode that sees Jake experiencing what a real-life war situation looks like. And it’s not so pleasant.
In the episode, Jake returns from a medical conference with Dr. Bashir as he intends to write an article about the doctor. But Jake has trouble writing the article as he can’t find anything interesting.
Bashir isn’t of much help since he rambles on about intricate medical procedures which aren’t very interesting for Jake. Plus, Jake has no idea what Bashir is talking about explaining the procedures. 😀
Very soon, aboard their runabout, Bashir and Jake receive a distress call from a Federation colony. It has just been attacked by the Klingons. So much for the ceasefire between Klingons and Federation!
As Bashir responds to the distress call, Jake sees the potential for a good story as he persuades Bashir to take him along. But Jake should be careful what he wished for in getting into this situation.
Once they arrive at the Federation colony, Jake has trouble handling the chaotic emergency room situation at the hospital. Jake is told to keep out of the way whilst Bashir is attending the patients. 😐
One of the patients, a Starfleet officer, claims to have been shot in the foot by the Klingons. But Bashir deduces that the wound was self-inflicted, making the Starfleet officer get out of the fighting.
Jake is disgusted by the man’s cowardice. He also comes to realise that the real-life war scenario he’s found himself in is not like the holographic war scenario that many people have been trained up for.
Whilst getting to know the people at the hospital, Jake hears rumours that the Klingons might take over the settlement within days if no reinforcements turn up. Jake is pretty disturbed by this notion.
There are scenes set on DS9 where Captain Sisko becomes troubled by Jake being in a war situation with Bashir. Once reinforcements have been destroyed by Klingons, Sisko takes out the Defiant ship.
I like the scenes where Sisko expresses his concern about Jake to people like Odo and Jadzia in the episode. Hopefully, Sisko will make it just in time to aid the colony as well as save Jake’s life in this. 🙂
When power goes out at the hospital as a result of the Klingon attack, Jake and Bashir attempt to retrieve a portable generator from their runabout. They get attacked however by bombardments. 😐
Whilst on the run, they soon get separated as Jake abandons Bashir and runs away in terror. It was easy to relate to Jake in that moment since I’m sure I would be in a similar situation like him in a war.
After running away, Jake comes across a mortally wounded combat officer. Jake tries to help him, but the dying officer accuses him of merely trying to redeem his cowardice, which is pretty harsh. 😐
Then again, the dying officer wasn’t pleasant to Jake when they met. Jake soon returns to the hospital where he hides his cowardice and claims he’d been knocked out during the bombardments.
Thankfully Jake meets up with Bashir who is relieved to see him. Bashir blames himself for putting Jake in danger. Jake becomes rattled, lashing out at Bashir at one point, which is quite gut-wrenching.
Jake soon meets up with the soldier who shot himself in the foot as they compare notes of being in the terror of battle. Jake also gets upset and angry by how people can make jokes in this situation. 😐
Very soon, the Klingons attack the hospital whilst Jake is sleeping. As the medical team try to evacuate everyone, Jake gets attacked by two Klingons. He soon picks up a phaser from a dead guard!
He uses it to fire wildly and cause a cave-in, which knocks him out unconscious. Thankfully, the patients are able to escape and Jake is soon reunited with his father. He is considered to be a hero. 🙂
Jake however writes in his article that the line between courage and cowardice is much thinner than he thought. It’s intriguing Jake becomes honest about that in his writing as he shares it to his father.
‘Nor the Battle to the Strong’ is a good episode featuring Jake. I wouldn’t consider it a favourite episode of mine, but it does showcase Jake’s character really strongly when he’s in a war situation. 🙂
‘Nor the Battle to the Strong’ rating – 8/10
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