Day 72: DS9, The Way of the Warrior

Show: Star Trek; Deep Space Nine

Episode Particulars: S4EP1, “The Way of the Warrior”

 A note: As this episode was a two-hour event, it technically counts as the first and second episode of the season. However, I will only be counting it as one episode, on the grounds that most people aren’t going to consider them separate episodes.

Summary: While DS9 is taking more precautions against the possibility of a Dominion invasion, they’ve got nothing on the Klingons, who show up to the station in huge number and immediately begin making life difficult. They suspect everyone of being a changeling, detain and search all vessels for suspicious people or cargo, and even beat up Garak for uncertain reasons. When pressed for details, General Martok (J. G. Hertzler), the leader of the Klingon armada, insists it’s just a precaution should the Dominion come through the wormhole, but Sisko has his suspicions. In an attempt to get more answers, he requests the assistance of one Lieutenant Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), the only Klingon in Starfleet and a familiar face from The Next Generation. Worf is uncertain about going against his people (especially since the Klingons seem to be slowly dissolving the alliance with Starfleet and the Federation), but when he finally learns the truth (which I won’t spoil entirely, but I will say that Cardassia is involved), he decides to inform Sisko. Quickly realizing that diplomacy isn’t going to work in this situation, Sisko and the station prepare for a fight. Given the reputation of the Klingons, they’re going to be in for one hell of a battle.

Standalone Thoughts: SFDebris, and possibly others, have described this episode as a “soft reboot” of the series, which explains the length (and probably the effects; even for the start of a new season, there’s a lot of expensive effects on display). While there may be some truth to that, I prefer to think of it as the writers and showrunners feeling brave enough to step out in their own direction, instead of following the “situation of the week” format that the other Star Trek shows had. After all, the three part arc at the start of Season Two showed the sort of things they were capable of and clearly wanted to do. Maybe now was when the Paramount executives finally let them have their way.

Regardless of what you call it, though, this is a pretty good episode, and while I don’t think it would work as a second pilot, it’s definitely an entertaining two hours of television. Much like the aforementioned arc of Season Two, the first half consists of setup, with the second half consisting of a lot of action scenes, of both the spaceship and fight scene variety. It can feel a little overlong at times, but mostly the pacing is good and the action never feels like too much of a muchness. All the main characters (and several supporting characters; Garak in particular is deployed to great effect at one point) get at least one moment to shine, and I’d probably say there’s very little extraneous material. And that extraneous material could be classified as a character beat, so they’re forgivable too.

The episode’s big claim to fame, of course, is the introduction of Worf to the cast, and I think it’s generally well-handled. He doesn’t appear until about the twenty-five minute mark of the episode, and while the episode showcases it a little (a slow pan upwards to reveal his face), they also resist dropping numerous references to TNG, or treating him with too much reverence. Indeed, anybody who watched DS9 without ever having seen TNG probably wouldn’t be too confused; we get enough exposition (which is delivered fairly naturally, all things considered) that they’ll be able to glean his backstory and figure out what’s going on. Also, while I don’t remember Dorn’s performance very well from TNG, he makes a good showing here, coming across as stiff, but also obviously undergoing a lot of inner conflict. If this keeps up, he’ll be a fine addition to the cast.

I’d say I only have two big issues with the episode. First, the whole “Worf must decide whether his loyalties lie with the Klingons or the Federation” aspect goes on a little too long. It makes sense to have that conflict, but there does come a point where it just feels like we’re rehashing the same ideas over and over. My other issue has to do with a key plot point, because it takes as fact an event that I remember playing out quite differently. We find out fairly early on that there’s been some political upheaval on Cardassia, which Garak says is due in part to the destruction of the Obsidian Order. I presume he’s referring to the events of “Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast”, which is good continuity, but there’s one little snag. The events of that episode were spearheaded by Enabran Tain, who was the retired head of the Obsidian Order, though he planned to retake that position once the mission was finished. While I have no doubt he was well-respected, I find it hard to believe that the entire Obsidian Order was willing to follow him for this mission, since he wasn’t technically their leader anymore. Besides, it is never a good idea to deploy all your troops at once, even if you think the mission is a guaranteed success. Surely the militaristic Cardassians would subscribe to the idea of leaving people in reserve, and to not put all their best men out on the front lines. While this appears to be taking the Cardassians in some interesting directions, the path they took to get there is a little sketchy.

That aside, though, this is a very well made episode, and it seems likely that we’re finally entering the really good years of DS9. But I’ll wait to definitively declare that to be the case until we’ve gotten a few more episodes in.

How it Relates to the Whole: There’s a lot here, some obvious, some subtle. The episode makes it clear that Klingons are going to be more of a presence on the show from here on in, which includes the fact that Worf is now part of the main cast. But there’s also the first appearance of Martok, who turns into a recurring character, some slight groundwork being laid for the biggest relationship in the show, and a change in the Cardassian power structure that might contribute to a major plot development later down the line (and would be somewhat ironic to boot). I can’t remember for sure where everything is going, but it certainly looks like the show’s prepared to give it its all.

Other: *First order of business; the opening credits have changed slightly. The music is a little more bombastic, and the shots of the station now have spaceships and repair crews flying around it. It’s also inserted Michael Dorn’s name as one of the main actors (no surprise) and now lists Siddig el Fadil as Alexander Siddig (which I imagine was slightly more of a surprise when it first aired). As I tend to skip over the opening credits anyway, it’s not a tremendous deal to me, but I thought it was a point worth mentioning.

*As I said back in “The Search”, the start of a season is a good time to introduce new hairstyles. In the first few seconds of the episode, we see two of these on display. Kira’s hair is now unquestionably more styled, and it’s not a bad look, but will probably take a little getting used to. Sisko, meanwhile, has finally developed the look he’ll be famous for; bald with a goatee. The baldness is even (semi) commented upon in the show. This is also going to take some getting used to, but as often happens, you adapt faster than you think.

*While I have absolutely no problem with Bashir being the one giving out orders to the security teams during the changeling drill, I’m a little baffled as to why he’s the one in charge. Wouldn’t Eddington or another security guy be a better fit? Besides, as we see later in the episode, Bashir would probably be better off in the infirmary, where he could treat any wounded. It’s an odd choice, but again, not one I object to.

*We see Odo and Garak eating together at one point, thus following up on the events of “The Die is Cast”. It’s a small continuity nod, but I’m very appreciative of it.

*Since O’Brien and Worf served together on the Enterprise during TNG, they have a few exchanges over the course of the episode. During one such exchange, O’Brien makes a quip that they had trouble keeping the holodecks working. And thus begins the first of several amusing digs at some of the TNG conventions, including one that might just get Best Exchange when it shows up. It’s fun to see the showrunners not holding what came before in complete reverence.

Best Line/Exchange: There are a lot of good bits today. Moments of camaraderie, scenes of character development, humorous bits, Garak being gloriously snarky, and a metaphor involving root beer. If they’d been scattered through various episodes, each of them would probably have won Best Exchange. Trying to pick just one, therefore, is difficult. However, since this is Worf’s first appearance, I’ll give the honor to him;

Worf: I have decided to resign from Starfleet.

O’Brien: Resign? What are you talking about?

Worf: I have made up my mind! It is for the best.

O’Brien: Look, I know how much you miss the Enterprise, but I’m sure they’ll be building a new one soon.

Worf: It will not be the same. The Enterprise I knew is gone. Those were good years, but now it is time for me to move on.

O’Brien: And do what?

(Worf opens his mouth to speak, then hesitates. At last…)

Worf: I do not know.

Worf continues speaking after that, but this whole scene is great because it can work on multiple levels. It obviously works as character and plot development, as a lot of the episode has Worf wondering where he belongs. But it’s also a meta moment for Star Trek fans. There’s a reassurance that the movies with the Next Generation crew will continue in O’Brien’s line about building a new Enterprise (the old Enterprise was destroyed in Generations), but there’s also a request that the audience not dwell in nostalgia for TNG and be willing to “move on” to its sister shows. You can also read a tiny acknowledgement by the writers that once you’ve had a major role in a Star Trek series, it can be difficult to find work once the series ends. Yes, the whole thing is a little obvious, but it handles the situation pretty well. And given the good writing on display throughout the rest of the episode, it’s a good start to the season.

After the Fact Update: The DS9 Companion has a lot of interesting tidbits today. First off, the writers feel like this season focused too much on the Klingons and not on the Dominion, and they had to kind of wrest the show back on track come Season Five. Obviously, I can’t say whether or not I agree with that assessment until we reach the end of the season, but it’s an interesting perspective. Secondly, the writers actually sat down and started planning out what they wanted to do with Worf, to differentiate him from his role on TNG, which I think ultimately worked out in their favor. Third, Martok wasn’t intended to be a recurring character at this point in time, though I suspect I know when they decided to change that. Fourth, there is no explanation for why they decided to make this a two-hour episode. And finally, in case you wanted proof that the prop and effects department can get creative, a lot of the Klingon ships you see in this episode are actually toys and Christmas ornaments. There’s something charming about that.