‘THE SIEGE OF AR-558’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This episode is regarded as one of the best ‘DS9’ episodes ever in the series. It’s easy to see why. It’s full of tension, action drama and compelling storytelling. The performances of the cast are good too.
In the episode, the starship Defiant commanded by Captain Sisko is dispatched to deliver supplies to Starfleet soldiers on the planet AR-558. It’s the site of a captured Dominion communications relay. 😐
Accompanying the Defiant crew on their mission is Quark. He’s been sent on a ‘fact-finding mission’ to the front lines by Grand Nagus Zek. This is something that Quark’s not entirely happy about here.
It’s interesting to see how Quark interacts with his nephew Aron Eisenberg as Nog. In his Ferengi way, Quark is very worried about what being in Starfleet has done to his nephew Nog over the years.
Nog meanwhile is proud to be in Starfleet and is often embarrassed by Quark’s interfering ways of trying to make him remember what it meant to be a Ferengi. But how long can that pride last for? 😐
When on the front line, Nog looks up to the battle-hardened veterans as heroes. Meanwhile Quark warns Nog that humans deprived of their creatures comforts can be brutal, which is a fair argument.
Just to mention, Max Grodénchik guest stars as Rom in one scene at the beginning of the episode alongside James Darren as Vic Fontaine. Vic Fontaine’s Frank Sinarta music becomes essential in this.
Upon arrival to planet AR-558, Sisko leads the away team containing himself, Quark, Dr. Bashir, Ezri Dax and Nog. They find the Starfleet garrison in bad shape since 43 of the 150 soldiers have survived.
The survivors include Annette Helde as Lt. Nadia Larkin who’s in command, Raymond Cruz as Vargas, Patrick Kilpatrick as Reese and Bill Mumy (who was in ‘Lost in Space’) as Kellin. Many of these people are pretty much on edge. 😐
It transpires the remaining soldiers haven’t been rotated off-duty for five months and are badly in need of relief. However, Starfleet regulations insist that the infantry must be rested every 90 days. 😦
The group of Starfleet soldiers have also been plague by ‘Houdini’ anti-personnel mines that pass in and out of subspace at random and kill soldiers unexpectedly. These were created by the Dominion.
As the Jem’Hadar soldiers attempt to retake the installation on AR-558, Sisko soon takes command of the garrison, ordering the Defiant away to safety. This builds up to an epic battle in the episode. 🙂
Sisko soon sends Nog as part of a scouting party with Larkin and Reese to assess the Jem’Hadar’s strength. Quark objects to this since Nog is his nephew, but Nog knows his duty as a Starfleet officer.
The scouting party gains the intelligence they need about the Jem’Hadar, but they’re soon ambushed. In the process, Larkin gets killed and Nog loses a leg, which is pretty horrifying to view. 😐
Nog is brought back safely to base by Reese whilst Quark accuses Sisko for not valuing Nog’s life. But Sisko retorts to Quark that he cares all about the soldiers under his command and that includes Nog.
Meanwhile, Ezri assists the garrison’s engineer Kellin in working a way out to make the ‘Houdinis’ visible. This is so they can use the deadly mines to attack the Jem’Hadar instead of Starfleet officers.
This works in the Starfleet soldiers’ favour as the mines explode in the distance when the Jem’Hadar begins to advance. Very soon, the Starfleet personnel fight against the Jem’Hadar in an epic battle. 🙂
Beforehand, Bashir played Vic Fontaine’s rendition of ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’ to keep the morale up. During the battle scene, it’s epic music for our heroes fighting against the many hordes of Jem’Hadar.
Quark even gets to shoot a Jem’Hadar soldier in order to protect Nog in the infirmary. Seeing the Starfleet heroes and the Jem’Hadar troops fight each other put me in mind of a ‘LOTR’ battle scene!
Very soon, it’s victory for the Starfleet soldiers who defeat the Jem’Hadar, although many lives were lost. As Nog goes to get his leg ‘fixed’, Sisko reflects on the cost of many lives lost during the battle.
‘The Siege of AR-558’ is a very compelling and moving episode in ‘DS9’. It showcases the horrors of war as well as the determination and sacrifice of many Starfleet soldiers fighting to secure freedom.
‘The Siege of AR-558’ (DS9) rating – 9/10
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