War is something that the Star Trek universe never truly explored before Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the series truly took fans to where no Trek has gone before. “The Siege of AR-558” (ST: DS9, Episode 7×8) is one of Star Trek’s darkest episodes. Delivering a gritty, emotional, and compelling storyline, it gives audiences a look at ground warfare and the harsh realities of war.
An Emotional Rollercoaster
The episode begins witty, with Ferengi Rom (Max Grodenchik) auditioning for Vic Fontaine’s show as part of a holographic program depicting 1960s Las Vegas. When Vic turns him down for his questionable yet entertaining singing talent, Rom expresses, “Life can be so unfair.” This provides a realistic segue into the next scene as Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) stares at the newly posted Federation casualty list.
He tells Security Chief Odo (Rene Auberjonois) that the long casualty lists are the one thing he will remember the most about the Dominion War. Sisko further explains how he went from reading every name to honour fallen officers at the beginning of the war to the disturbing realization that now the names “blur together.”
The USS Defiant departs Deep Space 9 on its way to the front lines. Quark (Armin Shimerman), Rom’s Ferengi brother is on-board, and is anxious about visiting the front lines. He has little to no war experience, being Deep Space Nine’s bartender and an otherwise civilian. Explosions quickly rocked the ship as the Dominion’s fighting force, the Jem Hadar, attacked the Defiant.
A very nervous Quark scurries to the bridge out of fear of being alone. He is quickly dismissed after trying to visit his nephew, Nog (Aron Eisenberg). Nog is the first Ferengi to serve in Starfleet.
Captain Under Fire
Captain Benjamin Sisko was the hands-on type. He was never one to send his first officer to lead away missions. Sisko, along with Ensign Nog, Doctor Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), Counselor Ezri Dax (Nicole de Boer) and Quark beam down to the planet named AR-558. Incoming phaser fire quickly overwhelms the Defiant’s crew. Starfleet soldiers stationed on AR-558 weren’t made aware of the beam-in, and a cease fire was called.
When Starfleet soldier Vargas (Raymond Cruz) hears that Sisko is there delivering supplies, he becomes upset as they hope to be rotated off the front lines. He cites Starfleet regulations, which dictate that soldiers are to be rotated off of the front lines after 90 days.
Vargas and the rest of the Starfleet team had been on AR-558 for 5 months undergoing repeated attacks by the Jem Hadar while securing an enemy communication’s array. Only 10 minutes into the The Siege of AR-558, we’ve already been on an emotional rollercoaster. From anxiety and depression to the psychological exhaustion suffered by front-line soldiers exposed to prolonged poor conditions.
Bureaucracy vs. Reality
Sisko plays Starfleet’s messenger in a detached and stoic manner. He tells the ground team’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Nadia Larkin (Annette Helde) that Starfleet’s resources are spread thin and not to expect reinforcements in the near future. Doctor Bashir provides medical care to the officers stationed on AR-558.
Their declining mental health is apparent. Shortly thereafter, the Defiant comes under attack by enemy forces. Captain Sisko tells Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) to leave orbit and decides to stay on AR-558 with his team to help fight off newly landed Jem Hadar troops.
Ground battle quickly ensues, showing a vast array of strategies from both sides. Quark stays close to his nephew, Nog, and protests when Captain Sisko sends Nog on a scouting mission. He joins Lt. Larkin and Starfleet officer Reese (Patrick Kilpatrick). The team finds the enemy encampment. A skirmish ensues with the Jem Hadar. Then, the unthinkable happens.
Soldier Down: Nog.
Ensign Nog was shot in the leg. This scene shocked every diehard DS9 fan and pushed Star Trek’s boundaries of injuring the main characters. Aron Eisenberg had played Nog since the beginning of the series. He delivers a flawless performance showing the emotions of an injured soldier – regret, strength, fear and endurance of physical pain. Nog, ends up loosing his leg permanently and Dr. Bashir remains hopeful of fitting him with a bio-synthetic limb. A heated exchange between Quark and Sisko illustrates how much the Captain cares for every officer under his command.
As The Siege of AR-558 progresses, Sisko and the ground team engages in a fierce battle with the Jem Hadar. The winning Starfleet side suffers heavy losses. Quark, who had been tending Nog’s bedside was forced to shoot and kill a Jem Hadar to protect his nephew. After fighting alongside AR-558’s soldiers and experiencing the harsh conditions, Captain Sisko insists that Starfleet rotate the troops. Shortly after, the original group finally gets to go home.
Pushing Trek’s Final Frontier
The 2019 documentary “What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” explored the series’ differences. Instead of warping through space on a starship, ST: DS9 revolved around a space station. Instead of exploration, we saw religion and politics of the 24th century. Throughout the series, writers dealt with a lot of backlash from fans over these differences.
Then of course – the Klingon and Dominion War. Star Trek had never shown what war would look like in the future until this point. Aside from “The Siege of AR-558,” we also saw episodes like “Nor the Battle to the Strong,” (Season 5, Episode 4). Fans were accustomed to the warm, fuzzy, happily-ever-after feeling they would get after an episode of Star Trek. ST: DS9 changed that drastically, introducing drama and suspense to the Star Trek universe.
Although ST: DS9 took audiences to a different side of Star Trek, it was an important change. Episodes like “The Seige of AR-558” left viewers feeling the emotional exhaustion felt by the characters. Nog returned to Deep Space Nine two episode’s later in “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” The episode continued the exploration of the reality of war. We see the difficulties Nog had in coping and adapting with his injury.
What They Left Behind
This episode specifically brought attention to the struggles of war, and trauma felt by soldiers – whether today or in the 24th century. Being the newest and youngest Starfleet recruit on Deep Space Nine, his trauma was that much more impactful. The image of innocence, forever changed by war. His recovery and continued career success was then a source of great inspiration.
These episodes, although dark and heavy, were important to the Star Trek universe. They opened the door to sagas such as the Xindi conflict seen in Star Trek: Enterprise and the drama in Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. Series like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Prodigy, and Star Trek: Lower Decks still provide fans with the lighthearted classic Star Trek feel they’ve come to expect and enjoy.
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