To The Death

DVD, DS9 S4 (To The Death)

I saw the wall wobble. The blessing of DVD, its sharpness and vibrancy, is also its curse, as it shows up any flaws that would have been lost in the indistinct picture of video tape. I used to consider this one of the best ever episodes, but seeing that wall wobble (it's the one in the ziggurat when Worf runs in and dispatches a Jem'Hadar guard, bumping against the wall as he goes), was the final straw that edged it away from 'The Way of The Warrior' and 'The Visitor' into 'merely' classic four star status. This time I did notice the excessive cutting the creators complained about so much in interviews and it seems the episode has been cut three times now - for original TV release, for the video, and for the DVD, which was unnecessary. Trek at the time wasn't very violent in general and nothing has or should change there, but I never felt scenes here were worse than 'The Way of The Warrior.' Although I'm not an advocate of extreme or gory violence, this kind of action and fighting is fairly removed from that.

The cuts served to soften the Jem'Hadar a little, as did the apparent ease with which the DS9 crew dispatched the rebels, though I would suggest they were weakened by lack of white, or at the least, were on a tight ration. The moment where Jadzia advises a stunned soldier on the ground to run may have been funny, but it made him look weak and pitiable and the Jem'Hadar should never look weak, unless its done as it was in 'Hippocratic Oath,' to prove their dedication, to the death. Similarly Dax has a bit of banter going with Virak'kara, which is good fun, but makes him seem a bit Hugh-ish of 'I, Borg' fame, and the last thing the series wanted to do was make the race cuddly. Fortunately they didn't make the Jem'Hadar much more sympathetic in future episodes, but it does strike an odd note in the midst of what is the deepest look into their race so far, and was another reason not to award this the full five stars.

Now that I've got my qualms out of the way I must say what a well-written episode it is. I'd forgotten that an upper pylon gets mashed at the start, and I loved Levar Burton's directing of the scene when Sisko comes back to chaos, Quark wandering around shouting for his brother, casualties lying everywhere, smoke and debris scattering the corridors, Kira in the middle, ignoring her injury to coordinate damage control while the camera sweeps through and around the area. I'd have loved Kira and Bashir to go along on the mission to track down the renegade Jem'Hadar, (Bashir could have been running after them with his medical kit, patching up as he went, the Jem'Hadar on his side refusing treatment to his consternation), but someone has to stay behind with the station and presumably Lieutenant Reese (see 'For The Cause') was unavailable… Seeing Kira slashing through enemy soldiers side by side with Dax and Worf, would have been, in the Klingon's words, glorious, but the main roles were filled by Omet'iklan and Toman'torax (Brian Thompson back again after playing a Dosi in Season 2 and Klingons in 'TNG').

There are too many great lines from Behr and Wolfe to record here - just watch the episode: despite being cut to the death it's still one of the best this season and gives us what we've always wanted to see since he joined: Worf fighting Jem'Hadar. He stands up for O'Brien again, after saving him from a Klingon in the season opener, this time though I felt he wanted only the tiniest of excuses to lay into Toman'torax, and likewise, the Jem'Hadar wanted to fight a Klingon more than to obey his duty to the First. This is another example of the imperfect nature of the Dominion-bred warriors, that they can sometimes follow their own desires as few as those seem to be. It's also in the rebels who have set up the Iconian gateway and we'd already seen a nobler attempt at dissension from Goran'Agar earlier in the season. The Founders are proved not to be gods as the Jem'Hadar believe, but fallible beings that have had to control the loyalty of their imperfect creations with a drug.

I wonder what the process was that made the rebel Jem'Hadar rebel? Did they think by controlling the gateway they'd be able to get more white? Were they motivated by the desire to escape the Dominion, perhaps hearing about Goran'Agar and how he'd been free of the drug, or was it purely power? If it was power there's been no indication they have such thoughts, but as Weyoun finds out, his soldiers are more intelligent and far more loyal to the cause than he ever realised. Omet'iklan is honourable in his own way, wishing only to punish those that have broken their oath. He's quite the iciest member of the race we've seen, holding everything within, his eyes glittering (literally at one point he seems to have tears in his eyes as he threatens Sisko - was that because of the makeup or was he welling up with thought of how much joy he'd get from killing Sisko, or was it more like a madman foaming at the mouth, but it came out as watery eyes?). Because he speaks so softly he's much more threatening than Toman'torax, whose dominance and bullying gives Worf good reason to deck him, though we don't get to see who would win in a fight - it's stopped before it gets going.

Why did the Dominion want the Iconian gateway destroyed? Surely they would have thrown everything they had into getting hold of it. There's never a satisfactory reason why they needed Sisko's help to hunt down the renegades and why they only sent one ship. Weyoun brushes it off by saying there wasn't enough time, so perhaps there are uprisings in the Gamma Quadrant of races under their control? We've seen enough of the quadrants races to suggest there are a lot of tough opponents out there, and if the Dominion is as vast as we can guess it is, they must have a lot of subduing to do, much like the Roman Empire which was stretched out across the globe. I still don't see why they wouldn't want the Iconian gateway, but I guess it must be a matter of resources. This should give Starfleet hope, and maybe they should have sent a fleet, but that's not the way they work. If only the Cardassians and Romulans had held off until this moment to launch their attack it might have been successful.

One of the best things about this one is the introduction of one of the greatest characters of the series in Weyoun. Unlike Martok and Damar's first appearances this season, he is fully formed right off the bat, obsequious and slimy, perhaps more than at any other time. He claims he's just doing his job, but he misjudges Sisko with his veiled offer of the Federation Presidency, though it comes out as rather a formality that he didn't expect to work but has to try. It's the same with his soldiers and the way he halfheartedly recites the various procedures he must do, making him seem as if he doesn't take the whole Dominion thing too seriously. The only time his inner intensity comes to the surface is in his approach of Odo when he claims the changeling's lying when he says he doesn't want to return to his people. This is supposed to be the moment when the Founder's virus is passed to Odo, though due to the head shot framing we can't see Weyoun touch him. I like to imagine the Vorta with his head pushed up against the door of his quarters, listening for Odo's footfall so he can jump out on him as he does!

I think another reason the episode didn't hit all the spots it used to was because of the machismo and posturing that pulses through the episode. It creates a lot of tension and leads to some great moments, but I no longer think of those things as impressive or clever. Throughout it all Sisko holds his own ground and authority, his hooded eyes just as threatening as Omet'iklan's icy voice, which is much more admirable than Worf who proves again that he's not fully in control, open to provocation, just as he was with advocate Ch'Pok in 'Rules of Engagement' - he hasn't learnt his lesson. Yes, the situation was different in that you could tell he was eager to prove himself and his people to the Jem'Hadar, but he'd do that much better in Season 5 and instead has to be pulled back by Sisko. It's still a good showing for Worf, especially as he manages to get out of staying in his quarters for the remainder of the mission for his breach of discipline - I expect Sisko meant to confine him during the journey, as who would want to pass up having Worf on their side, but even then he's allowed to join in the battle drills so he can't have spent much time in solitary!

Dax and O'Brien also get plenty of good stuff to do, most poignantly the conversation they have about recording messages for their families. We learn Dax does one for her Mother as O'Brien does for Keiko. Dax hasn't been very visible in the last few episodes, probably one of the lesser used characters of the season. I think she was better served in Season 5, but until then, this episode helps redress the balance a bit. It's still a supporting role, but she has fun, knocks a few heads together and provides some light relief. It's also through her that we find out the most about the Jem'Hadar: they don't eat, they don't sleep, they don't relax and they aren't born, they're bred in birthing chambers. They also don't have much of a shelf life, considering those that make it to twenty years old, honoured elders. But at least they don't have to go through school, maturing in only three days as we saw in Season 3's 'The Abandoned.'

I'm glad they included the Iconian gateways in the story, a great link back to Season 2 of 'TNG' (I'll bet Michael Dorn never imagined he'd be making a sequel six years later on another TV series!), but I felt it was just a piece of background - they never did explore the Iconians and use the gateways to create an episode all about them, but that may have been 'Stargate SG-1's' fault. They may have felt it would be too similar to the premise of that series which came along only a year or two after this episode. You can't go far wrong with Jem'Hadar however, especially when hand to hand combat is the only way to relate to them.

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