‘VALIANT’ (DS9)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This is a Jake and Nog episode in the ‘DS9’ series! It’s a fascinating one as Jake and Nog meet an inexperienced Starfleet Red Squad cadet crew on board the starship Valiant that’s like the Defiant. 😐
Whilst en route to Ferenginar in a runabout, Jake and his best friend Aron Eisenberg as Nog get attacked by a Jem’Hadar ship in space. They’re soon rescued by the starship Valiant and its young crew.
Jake and Nog are surprised to find the crew are all members of Red Squad. This was the elite squadron of Starfleet cadets introduced in ‘Homefront’/’Paradise Lost’. The crew were on a training mission. 😐
Sadly, the Valiant was attacked by Dominion forces, resulting in the loss of the entire commissioned staff. Before dying, the late captain transferred command to Paul Popowich as cadet Tim Watters. 😐
As well as Tim Watters becoming acting captain of the Valiant, there’s also Courtney Peldon as Karen Farris, David Drew Gallagher as Riley Aldrin Shepard and Ashley Brianne McDonogh as Dorian Collins.
Nog is warmly accepted by Tim Watters, seeing him as a Starfleet member. He appoints him chief engineer, something which Nog has never had the pleasure of performing. Nog accepts this position.
Jake meanwhile is seen as an outsider. This is illustrated when Jake chats with Dorian Collins, who is the Valiant’s transporter chief. Sharing her personal life to Jake, she soon breaks down emotionally.
Watters gets wind of this and orders Jake not to talk to her further. Jake is also resented and disregarded by other Valiant crewmembers, including Karen Farris, since he isn’t a Starfleet member.
There’s growing tension between Jake and Nog, especially when Jake doubts Captain Watters’ commanding ability. But Nog is determined to keep his new position and not lose faith in Watters. 😐
Watters shares with Nog that the Valiant’s late captain was ordered to seek intelligence on a new Dominion battle cruiser. The Valiant has continued to pursue that mission under Watters’ command.
The reason for Nog’s appointment to becoming chief engineer was because the Valiant’s warp drive needed to be repaired after getting damaged in battle. Nog’s experience from Chief O’Brien is useful.
Nog manages to repair the warp drive engine with his expertise and the Valiant is soon able to scan the new Dominion battle cruiser. At this point, Watters and his Valiant crew can just go home now. 🙂
But Watters wishes to destroy the Dominion vessel and he encourages the Valiant crew in a attempt to doing this. Apparently there’s a weak point in the new Dominion ship’s design that can help them.
Despite Nog and the Valiant being willing to help out in the attempt, Jake Sisko is against the idea. He tells everyone that his father Benjamin Sisko would not engage in such a foolhardy attack as this.
But the cadets are won over by Watters’ enthusiasm and very soon, Jake is thrown into the brig. It isn’t long before the Valiant finds itself in battle against the terrifying Dominion vessel in deep space.
Apparently, the new Dominion battleship is rated for being the second most powerful spacecraft featured in ‘DS9’. It does look terrifying, although I wish we had more battles with Jem’Hadar troops.
The Valiant manage to hit the targeted area successful during the battle, but the Jem’Hadar ship remains undamaged. It isn’t long till the Valiant is assaulted severely and most of the crew are killed.
Even Watters gets killed off in the process as well as Karen Farris and Riley Shepard. Nog soon gets himself, Jake and Dorian Collins to leave as they escape in an escape pod before the ship explodes. 🙂
Thankfully, Nog, Jake and Collins are rescued by the Defiant commanded by Captain Sisko. There is an uneasy atmosphere between Jake and Nog over what happened with the Valiant and her crew. 😦
Collins, whilst she’s in sick bay, pleas that Watters was a great man. Nog answers by saying that he may have been a great man, but in the end, he was a bad captain. It is a sad truth to contemplate. 😦
‘Valiant’ is a very good ‘DS9’ episode featuring Jake and Nog aboard a starship full of inexperienced Starfleet cadets trying to fight the Dominion! I enjoyed the episode as it was very compelling indeed.
‘Valiant’ (DS9) rating – 9/10
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