‘ROCKS AND SHOALS’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This ‘DS9’ episode follows directly what happened at the end of ‘A Time to Stand’. Captain Sisko’s crew on board their Jem’Hadar ship struggle to get back home when they don’t have any warp drive!
Eventually, they get attacked by Jem’Hadar ships as they go into a nebula. Jadzia Dax gets injured in the process and pretty soon, Garak sees that their ship is about to crash-land into a barren planet. 😮
They end up in the sea where O’Brien manages to tear his ‘pants’…or ‘trousers’ as surely an Irishman would say. I know this is an American TV show, but surely UK Starfleet citizens could say ‘trousers’. 🙂
Whilst marooned on the planet, a crew of Jem’Hadar soldiers are there with their severely injured Vorta supervisor, Christopher Shea as Keevan. They too have crash-landed on the planet very lately.
Keevan has troubles strictly rationing the limited supply of ketracel white, the drug that the Jem’Hadar are addicted too and need to survive. Keevan seeks his own ends in order to betray them.
When Aron Eisenberg as Nog and Andrew J. Robinson as Garak scout the area, they get captured by Jem’Hadar. Gosh, they got captured pretty easily. Keevan learns from that their crew has a doctor. 😐
Keevan decides to exchange Nog and Garak’s lives for the captain and the doctor of the Starfleet crew. He sends Phil Morris as Third Remata’Klan, the Jem’Hadar commander to deliver the message.
After a disobedient Jem’Hadar opens fire and a gunfight ensues between Jem’Hadar and Sisko’s crew, Remata’Klan later meets with Sisko to deliver the message. Sisko soon agrees to this arrangement. 😐
It’s interesting how Sisko takes the opportunity to try and drive a wedge between Remata’Klan and Keevan. There’s distrust between the Jem’Hadar and the Vorta. Remata’Klan remains loyal however.
When the exchange is made and Nog and Garak are returned safely, Bashir successfully treats Keevan’s wound. Keevan also shows Sisko that he has this broken transmitter to send a distress call.
This is an opportunity for Sisko and his crew to use it to call for help. The reason why Keevan is helping Sisko’s crew is because he doesn’t have enough ketracel white to sustain the Jem’Hadar. 😐
Keevan orders the Jem’Hadar to attack the Starfleet crew the following day. He gives this attack plan to Sisko before it happens in order for him and his crew to kill the Jem’Hadar easily once they attack.
At the end of this, Keevan will surrender himself and the transmitter to Sisko and his crew. Sisko accepts the offer whilst his crewmembers object to this, finding all of this really suspicious indeed. 😐
Before the lethal crossfire can begin, Sisko meets up with Remata’Klan to tell him of Keevan’s betrayal of the Jem’Hadar. Remata’Klan knows of this however, but the Jem’Hadar will keep fighting.
With that, the dramatic battle between the Jem’Hadar and Sisko’s crew takes place. The Jem’Hadar are quickly shot down by the Starfleet crew and very soon Keevan surrenders, giving the transmitter.
The episode ends abruptly with us not knowing whether Sisko’s crew was rescued or not. But I’m sure they got rescued in the end and I did look ahead to see how the next episode begins. Cheating! 😀
Whilst this is happening, on DS9, Major Kira finds that by not fighting the Dominion occupation, she’s become a collaborator, contrasting that with being involved in Cardassia’s occupation of Bajor.
The moment she realises that she needs to make a stand is when a Bajoran priest, Lilyan Chauvin as Yassim, hangs herself in protest as she declares “Evil must be opposed!” It’s pretty dramatic indeed.
Kira sees the monsters that the Jem’Hadar/Dominion and the Cardassians are when she’s working the next day. She confides to her friend Odo that she’s going to start actively resisting the Dominion.
I’m surprised Gul Dukat and Weyoun didn’t make an appearance in this episode since they are on DS9 already. But then again, Marc Alaimo and Jeffrey Combs are more the guest stars than regulars.
‘Rocks and Shoals’ is a pretty engaging ‘DS9’ episode to watch, especially when Sisko’s crew are stranded on a planet and they have to battle against Jem’Hadar. Hopefully they’re alright next time.
‘Rocks and Shoals’ (DS9) rating – 9/10
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