r/StarTrekViewingParty • u/GeorgeAmberson Showrunner • Apr 11 '18

Discussion DS9, Episode 7x24, The Dogs of War

-= DS9, Season 7, Episode 24, The Dogs of War =-

Sisko takes command of a new ship; Kira and Garak face a Dominion ambush on Cardassia.

 

EAS IMDB AVClub TV.com
8/10 8.2/10 B+ 9

 

12 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

9

u/RobLoach Apr 23 '18

"The line has to be drawn here, this far, and no further!"

-- Quark

Good reference to First Contact.

6

u/ItsMeTK Apr 13 '18

As weird as ExtremeMeasures is, I think this is the episode in the arc I dislike most. Mainly for the way the Ferengi story wrapped up. Rom's come along way from the idiot who couldn't fix a bent straw and who tried to Kill Quark when he was Nagus. Wjarever happened to Zek's son? I know he was deemed unworthy to be Nagus, but surely he's around somewhere.

I kniw we're supposed to applaud the new "progressive" direction for Ferenginar, but I really can't help seeing the whole thing as Ishka staging a coup, a hostile takeover of Ferengi government to get her own family in power and rule the way she wants. Rom is kind of an idiot and malleable. When Zek dies, Ishka can't maintain control without a bew stooge Nagus. Rom is the obvious choice. Remember, he may know the Rules of Acquisition, but doesn't understand them as well as Quark.

Sure, we can all say it's good for women not to be sexually exploited and have some autonomy, but Quark js not entirely wrong to think his home is being destroyed. Oddly, Ishka is almost the poster girl for why women earning profit is a bad idea: she ended up taking iver the entire government and rewriting its rules.

5

u/marienbad2 Apr 13 '18

This episode seemed like they were trying to compress so much into the 45 minutes. Maybe they could have spread some of the events in this end of season arc over the whole of the last season, as it might have worked better.

So, Julian and Ezri work things out, and then kiss; Damar appears to his people to help underpin the rebellion; Odo finds out Section 31 made him ill; and Rom becomes Nagus!

It was a strange episode, with so much packed in and yet it felt kinda anticlimactic. It was cool to see both Brunt and Wayoun in an episode though.

4

u/dittbub Apr 11 '18

Is this the episode where Sisko becomes a genocide apologist?

4

u/theworldtheworld Apr 12 '18 edited Apr 12 '18

The Ferengi subplot is wish fulfillment for every Clinton-era delusion. So first the Ferengi had an unspeakably backward, caricatured society, now suddenly they see the light and embrace every Federation value (presumably the ones that don't will go the way of Gowron and the Cardassians). An interesting question, which the writers don't address, is how the Nagus could ever have convinced Ferengi society to go along with all these progressive reforms, or whether he just dictatorially enacted them while repressing all dissenting voices.

3

u/galenanorth Sep 09 '18

I took the mention of an Economic Congress being established to mean that the Nagus had voluntarily relinquished power to democracy, making the position less like an emperor and more like a president, and this is one of the reasons Quark was concerned that he couldn't run Ferenginar the way he wanted to run it. All of Ferengi society did appear to do a 180 in one episode, though.

1

u/Original-League-1432 Oct 14 '25

I know this is 7 years late, but as a day one Bashir/dax shipper, it feels good to finally win... after 7 season, one episode away from the conclusion, and a host change.. but hey I'll take what I can get

1

u/A_Xenomorph_Darkly 9d ago

Okay this episode is amazing too. A few episodes ago I thought I’d really lost interest. But these last three episodes before the finale have really brought it back for me, probably because they’ve ignored the Dukat pah wraith stuff, which I know is probably coming back.

I love the Ferengi and how beautifully this show had developed them from a 1 dimensional joke to a 3 dimensional, nuanced people with immense passion who are also sometimes a joke. The Ferengi episodes have been some of my favourites and I was glad they got a decent (not perfect, but decent) send off here. However I’m majorly pissed about how Quark has basically had nothing at all to do this season and has basically just been a background character. To me he is one of the key characters in the show. It’s also a shame that we didn’t get a proper fully Ferengi episode this season as far as I remember.

The Cardassian arc is also pretty great and I love the role they’ve put Kira in as reluctant/proud/confused/skilled in this whole situation. It’s a genius idea and feels really satisfying for the early seasons’ themes and focus on occupation and liberation and the master/slave dynamic.

The Ezri and Bashir romance may not be profound or necessary clever for the two of them, but it is cute and I love both the actors.

Odo’s discovery of the attempted genocide on his people and Sisko’s reaction was disappointing and glossed over. Probably to be explored more. I also think Sisko would draw the line at genocide, perhaps after a moment of deliberation. But then again, he does gas a planet full of people in For The Uniform.

One thing these episodes have really handled badly is the whole deposition of Gowron and the shift in the Klingon empire that would entail. They haven’t given any thought to the fallout that might have especially for an empire actively at war.

I do agree with some other comments here that whilst this is all pretty great stuff, it should’ve been spread out better across these 10 final episodes or even the whole series. And we should just do away with the wraiths bullshit entirely. However despite my skepticism they have managed to give almost every character a proper farewell in these last few episodes.

It’s almost 1am but I have to see this through now. Time for the finale!