‘THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
It’s time for Season 4 of ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’! This is where things become really exciting for the ‘DS9’ series from now on. Not only does the show feel brand-new in its fourth season – in the opening titles sequence and in the theme music – but a ‘TNG’ member joins the ‘DS9’ regular cast! 🙂
At the end of Season 3 of ‘DS9’, the threat of the Dominion seems to be more prominent with the threat of the Founders being everywhere. That’s why the episode begins with the DS9 crew in a training exercise to counteract any attacks made by the Founders should they visit the space station.
Odo acts as the attacking Founder with Sisko, Kira and everyone on the hunt for him. Their preparations for any Dominion attack have had trials and tribulations, but they hope to be ready. The DS9 space station has also had some new defences implemented which will be put to good use.
Sisko also continues to have a blossoming relationship with Penny Johnson as Kasidy Yates, the freighter captain. Sisko has also shaved his head. Kasidy seems to like it. I’m not sure I do. Sisko does not need to look like Picard. 😀 Sisko and Kasidy’s dinner date sadly gets interrupted by the Klingons.
Yes! A Klingon armada led by J. G. Hertzler as General Martok arrives at DS9. Martok says they’ve come to help their Federation allies against a potential invasion from the Dominion. Sisko says there’s no need for Martok and his armada to help them but Martok declares that it is all necessary.
Trouble ensues when the Klingons take shore leave on DS9. There are lots of Klingon ships in space and the Klingons themselves don’t seem to be friendly, being suspicious of everyone. Quark suspects something is wrong with the Klingons and he shares this with O’Brien and Bashir who aren’t worried.
The Klingons spread throughout the station and cause disruptions. This includes beating up the Cardassian tailor and former spy Andrew Robinson as Garak. A Klingon ship also detains Kasidy’s freighter departing from DS9 in order to search the ship for Changelings. Thankfully, Sisko stops this.
Using the Defiant, Sisko and his crew fire a warning shot at the Klingon ship to back off from detaining Kasidy’s freighter. As a result, Martok has the Klingon Commander – Christopher Darga as Kaybok – executed for disobeying direct orders from Klingon High Council. Things get pretty serious.
As the Klingons continue to detain ships outside DS9’s jurisdiction, Sisko decides to take matters into his own hands. Curzon Dax once told Sisko that ‘in the long run, the only people who can really handle the Klingons are Klingons’. Sisko decides to contact Starfleet Command to send in some help.
And thus we have the arrival of…Michael Dorn as Lt. Commander Worf from the ‘TNG’ series. Having Worf make an appearance in ‘DS9’ and become a series regular is a masterstroke. It was great to see Worf making his arrival on DS9; be welcomed by Chief O’Brien and meeting the rest of the DS9 team.
Worf soon meets Sisko in his office on DS9. Sisko tells Worf that he was sorry to hear about the Enterprise and that she was a good ship. From Worf’s perspective, this episode takes place after the events of ‘Star Trek: Generations’. The movie that saw the Enterprise-D being destroyed on a planet!
It turns out Worf is considering resigning his commission from Starfleet, since he feels he doesn’t belong in the uniform he wears anymore. The destruction of the Enterprise hasn’t made things easier. Despite that, Worf is determined to carry out his duty and to assist investigating the Klingons.
Worf hopes to find out the true purpose of why the Klingon taskforce is in this sector. He later meets Bashir, O’Brien, Kira and Dax in Quark’s bar as well as Quark. Worf also deals with Obi Ndefo as Drex, son of Martok, causing trouble in Quark’s. He soon steals Drex’s d’k tahg to get his father’s attention.
Once he gets Martok’s attention, Worf gives him back his son’s d’k tahg in his quarters. He demands to know from him why the Klingon taskforce is at DS9, but Martok is cryptic. Worf later lets out his frustration in a Klingon holosuite program created by Jadzia who he later has a bat’leth fight with. 😀
Worf has tried every avenue to find out information on why the Klingon taskforce is at DS9 but he’s had no luck. He then meets up with an old friend of his father’s, William Dennis Hunt as Huraga, who shares with him whilst drunk the real reason for the Klingon taskforce’s presence at DS9. It’s a shock.
Disturbed by what he’s learnt, Worf is soon persuaded by Odo to reveal the news to Sisko about what he’s found out. It turns out the Klingon Empire is planning to attack Cardassia. There are rumours the Cardassian military government has been conquered by the Founders of the Dominion.
But the Klingon Empire doesn’t have any proof on that. Sisko and Worf meet up with Martok to warn him that an attack on Cardassia would jeopardise the Klingon’s alliance with the Federation. Despite saying he’ll consult with Chancellor Gowron, Martork orders the Klingon invasion fleet to proceed. 😮
The DS9 team along with Worf discuss the situation and what they’re going to do in whether to warn the Cardassians or not. Sisko then gets Garak to overhear the news about the invasion so that he can warn Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat that the Klingons are coming to attack Cardassia. Thankfully it works.
But once the Federation condemns the invasion, the Klingon Empire withdraws and ends their alliance with them. Robert O’Reilly as Gowron also invites Worf to join the invasion against the Cardassians. Worf refuses out of his loyalty to Starfleet, jeopardising his family in the Klingon Empire.
This is where Worf’s dilemma between being in Starfleet and being a Klingon comes into play once more. This double episode season opener also illustrates the Klingons’ desire to return to the old days of wanting to be warriors. They see the Dominion threat and invading Cardassia as that chance.
Sisko still wants Worf to help him and the DS9 team on sorting out the Klingons with invading Cardassia. They start by rescuing the Detapa Council members of Cardassia, who are suspected of being Founders, by fleeing and seeking refuge at DS9. They use the Defiant so they can rescue them.
This leads to an exciting space fight between the Defiant and the Klingon ships as the Defiant tries to save the Cardassian ship with its council members aboard. Dukat and the council members are saved as the Defiant returns to DS9 with the Klingons pursuing them. It all gets pretty intense from now on.
The Defiant returns to DS9, only to find a lot of Klingon ships waiting for them. Sisko tells Gowron and Martok that the council members aren’t Changelings as they suspected. But Gowron orders for his fleet to attack DS9 anyway. Thus this leads to the epic climatic space battle scene in the episode.
DS9 defends itself against the Klingon ships in space with its newly upgraded weapon systems. They destroy many Klingon ships in the process. Klingons also board the space station with our DS9 crew fighting them off. It was thrilling to see Sisko, Kira, Worf, Dax, Odo, O’Brien and Bashir fight Klingons.
Dukat and Garak also fight side-by-side against the Kingons when protecting the council members. The DS9 team soon regain control of the space station and soon Federation starships come to their aid. The Klingons however are unwilling to give up since they want to keep fighting to the bitter end.
Sisko warns Gowron and Martok that this situation is exactly what the Founders wants. “Klingon against Cardassian! Federation against Klingon!” He tells them that the more they fight each other, the weaker they’ll get and the less chance they have against the Dominion. A pretty good argument!
Despite Martok’s protests, Gowron calls off the invasion. But he refuses to forgive and forget since the Federation have sided against them in battle. Things don’t look too good with the Klingons now the enemies of the Federation here. Thankfully, the DS9 crew and the station soon return to normal(ish).
Worf also makes the decision to remain in Starfleet and accept the post of Strategic Operations Officer aboard DS9. Worf wears the red ‘DS9’ uniform instead of the yellow ‘TNG’ uniform from now on. The DS9 team still have problems as the Klingons plan to stay with occupying Cardassian planets.
‘The Way of the Warrior’ is a great double episode season opener. It’s a great episode to reintroduce Worf in the ‘DS9’ series as a main regular as well as featuring the Klingons who have become ‘Star Trek’ villains again. I wonder what will happen as the DS9 team tackles Klingons and the Dominion. 😐
‘The Way of the Warrior’ (DS9) rating – 10/10
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