[DS9] Season 5, Episode 4: Nor the Battle to the Strong
Rating: 3
It’s good to get a ground level battlefront story at this point in Deep Space Nine, and the overall plot and theme is pretty well done. It’s too bad but expected that a story relying on the depiction of the horrors of war isn’t going to really hit as hard as it should with TV’s time, budget, and rating constraints. “…Nor the Battle to the Strong” does manage to pull off a cumulative weight by the end, in spite of some hammy performances and war story cliches. Jake’s struggle with his own fear and, ultimately, the big asterisk on his moment of bravery is what makes this episode work.
Jake has to write an article about Bashir and his dumb prion replication paper. Another episode where nothing happens??Oh but then they get a distress signal from a planet under attack. Jake thinks this will make for a much more exciting article!“Ew, the real world.” – Jake (paraphrasing)Tragedies compound on tragedies. Jake even runs into a pole dick-first.This is one of those episodes that might have benefited from not shooting in the same Southern California hills 90s Trek always defaulted to.This guy shot his own foot to get out of battle! Jake is the only one that gets what this guy is all about.Don’t worry, eventually they make it back for hugs.
