Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (TV Series) To the Death (1996) User Reviews

Humanizing the Jem'Hadar....just a teeny, weeny bit.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 4 January 2015]

"To the Death" is a surprising episode because it involves the Federation and Jem'Hadar working together--at least temporarily. It all begins with the Defiant returning to the station--only to find that it's been attacked by Jem'Hadar. However, in pursuing the attackers back through the wormhole, Sisko finds a Jem'Hadar ship-- stricken and on the verge of implosion. The surviving Jem'Hadar soldiers are beamed aboard and that is when they learn that the ones who attacked DS9 are renegades--Jem'Hadar who are independent of their overseers and who COULD take over the entire quadrant. So, to prevent this, the new passengers on the Defiant and the Defiant's crew must work together to stop the renegades.

Much of the show consists of the Federation and Jem'Hadar learning from each other. The Jem'Hadar are clearly super-arrogant and consider humans, Klingons and the like to be wimps--and they cannot understand how these inferior begins could be of any value. Jadzia Dax is surprised to learn how incredibly efficient the Jem'Hadar are. They never sleep, never eat, have no need for procreation or women BUT it comes at a price--they only live to be, at most, about 15!

What follows is good but surprisingly easy. After all, these Jem'Hadar are supposed to be the greatest warriors in the universe and you'd think the battle with the renegades would be a lot tougher! But, given all you learn about this race and the action, this is a very good episode and well worth seeing.

Working with the angry space dinosaurs.

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 9 July 2021]

It is risky for a writer to pull back too much of the curtain when it comes to trek antagonists but this episodes manages to add some depth to the Jem'Hadar yet still manage to elevate how dangerous they are.

My main takeaway is that Jeffery Combs can act his ass off. He's just great in every scene and is so expressive with his facial acting. It's great how he has completely checked out of the white ceremony --- he's like a guy who gave his 2 week notice and is putting in the minimal amount of effort.

Nothing profound to takeaway from this episode but it was a well executed action episode with some great moments.

An alliance with the Jem'Hadar

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 15 June 2010]

After returning from a mission in the Gamma Quadrant the crew of the Defiant are shocked to discover that DS9 had been subject to an attack from the Jem'Hadar while they were away, several people were killed and various pieces of equipment were stolen. Sisko immediately returns to the Defiant along with Worf, Dax, Odo and O'Brien and heads back to the Gamma Quadrant in pursuit. They soon find a Jem'Hadar ship, this isn't the one that attacked DS9 however, indeed it has been attacked and is about to explode. The crew are beamed to the Defiant and their leader, a Vorta called Wayoun informs them that they were attacked by the same renegade Jem'Hadar group that attacked DS9. When Sisko learns that the renegades are in control of an Iconian Gate which they are trying to repair. These gates were constructed millennia ago by a long extinct species which allow the users to transport across the galaxy. If the Jem'Hadar were to gain control of such a gate they could use it to instantly transport millions of troops to any planet they wish to invade. As they prepare to attack the renegades' base it is clear that the Jem'Hadar have a very low opinion of the fighting abilities of the Star Fleet officers but after fighting side to side on the raid the develop a grudging respect.

This was a pretty good episode which is notable for being the first to feature Weyoun, played by Jeffrey Combs who had previously appeared as the Ferengi Brunt. The raid while exciting was over quite soon but the build up was interesting and gave us plenty of good scenes showing the interaction of the two groups. The only scene that was a little weak was the holodeck simulation which was introduced as if it were the actual raid, this seemed a somewhat clichéd trick, I'd rather the viewer knew it was a simulation from the start, still that is a small gripe about an episode which was of a high quality overall.

A Temporary Alliance

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 25 October 2018]

Here, the Federation officers find themselves allied with the Jem'Hadar to go after a group of rebels who have attacked the station, killing several people. These odd fellows train together. The Jem'Hadar are humorless figures who are only wishing to kill. They don't tolerate rebellion within their own ranks. There is lots of action in this episode. What isn't mentioned are the numbers of bodies lying on the ground, many of them young soldiers (red shirts, so t.o speak). Like so many shows, if it's not a main character, the others are treated as cannon fodder. The next time these forces meet there will be hell to pay

No wonder you're so angry

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 5 November 2022]

Sisko commands a joint mission between the Federation and Dominion.

This is an entertaining episode that lays the foundations for future episodes involving the Dominion.

What is does well is expand further on the Jem'Hadar as a resident of the Star Trek universe and develop them as an antagonist. The scenes of macho banter depicted between these characters and the likes of Worf are an enjoyable build up to some fun action spectacle.

Clarence Williams and Jeffrey Coombs are memorable guest stars and regulars like Rene Auberjonois, Michael Dorn, Colm Meaney, Avery Brooks and Terry Farrell are on good form.

For me it's a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.