This isn't the greatest episode of the series. But I feel a lot of the criticism of it is unfair. Previous reviews have pointed out possible ways that Worf could have saved Jadzia and accomplished his mission. But he chose not to. This isn't a plot hole. It's a choice. Worf makes a decision. Just because it isn't the best or most logical choice doesn't make it a failure on the part of the writers. The entire point of the episode is to show how Worf has grown and changed because of his love for Jadzia. For the first time in his life there is something that matters to him more than a duty. This isn't a video game. The point isn't to solve a puzzle. It's a story about a man who has spent his whole life denying his own desires in favor of his duty. And he finally finds someone he loves enough to break him out of that pattern. Who wants to see a story about someone doing what they've always done, and will do again?
13 Reviews
One life or millions?
Tweekums18 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
When a Cardassian who has been passing on vital information to the Federation says he needs to make contact in person Worf and Jadzia are sent to meet him. When they make contact he tells them that he is being transferred to a base inside Dominion territory and that they are to rendezvous with him in three days to extract him. They manage to get through the planetary defences but while walking through the jungle they come across a Jem'Hadar patrol, they defeat them but Jadzia is seriously wounded, she tells Worf to go on without her. He does but doesn't get far before he realises he must return and save her. Once back on DS9 he learns that the Cardassian was killed and that he had information that could potentially have saved millions; was the life of one woman, even if it was his wife, worth that price? Some comedy relief was provided by Chief O'Brien being determined to see Quark be defeated at the Ferengi game of Tongo.
This was a good episode was pretty good, for a while I could almost believe that Jadzia might die. Terry Farrell and Michael Dorn put in fine performances as Jadzia and Worf; there was a real chemistry between them even when the characters were arguing.
This was a good episode was pretty good, for a while I could almost believe that Jadzia might die. Terry Farrell and Michael Dorn put in fine performances as Jadzia and Worf; there was a real chemistry between them even when the characters were arguing.
Love or Duty?
spasek9 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This episode gives us an interesting platform for debate: which would you choose? Love or Duty? It might seem "obvious" to someone who is not serving in the field with a spouse, and it tends to be those who find it easy to judge Worf for his actions...or inaction, depending upon your perspective.
Captain Picard faced a similar challenge when he sent someone he loved into a dangerous situation that might have resulted in her not coming back. Only after she did come back did he realize that he couldn't be impartial as her captain, and they agreed that she should transfer.
Dax is injured, to the point where her prospect isn't hopeful that she will survive without intervention. Worf has to decide which is most important: his wife or the mission. It doesn't matter that the mission wouldn't have succeeded anyway as Worf did not know that at the time. It still makes the viewer wonder...what if the mission could have succeeded? What then? How would Sisko and Starfleet have dealt with Worf?
Captain Sisko puts it to Worf perfectly...first, as his captain, and then as a man. He understands and even appreciates the quandry that Worf was in, and he cannot judge him for what he did as Sisko admits that he would have done the same thing had it been Jennifer.
Worf isn't sorry for his decision, as he tells Dax that he would have made the same choice again. You have appreciate someone who is willing to live with their choice. After all, isn't that what everyone ultimately does in life?
Still, Sisko makes the wise choice of letting Worf know that he and Dax can never again serve together on their own. Frankly, this is something that should have been implemented the moment Worf and Dax married. Kira should have assigned someone else in place of one of them. However, that is "neither here nor there." The premise is to make one reflect and offer the choice: what would YOU have done? That is what makes this episode so compelling.
Captain Picard faced a similar challenge when he sent someone he loved into a dangerous situation that might have resulted in her not coming back. Only after she did come back did he realize that he couldn't be impartial as her captain, and they agreed that she should transfer.
Dax is injured, to the point where her prospect isn't hopeful that she will survive without intervention. Worf has to decide which is most important: his wife or the mission. It doesn't matter that the mission wouldn't have succeeded anyway as Worf did not know that at the time. It still makes the viewer wonder...what if the mission could have succeeded? What then? How would Sisko and Starfleet have dealt with Worf?
Captain Sisko puts it to Worf perfectly...first, as his captain, and then as a man. He understands and even appreciates the quandry that Worf was in, and he cannot judge him for what he did as Sisko admits that he would have done the same thing had it been Jennifer.
Worf isn't sorry for his decision, as he tells Dax that he would have made the same choice again. You have appreciate someone who is willing to live with their choice. After all, isn't that what everyone ultimately does in life?
Still, Sisko makes the wise choice of letting Worf know that he and Dax can never again serve together on their own. Frankly, this is something that should have been implemented the moment Worf and Dax married. Kira should have assigned someone else in place of one of them. However, that is "neither here nor there." The premise is to make one reflect and offer the choice: what would YOU have done? That is what makes this episode so compelling.
It's got heart.
thevacinstaller26 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This episode would have benefited from it being focused on Jadzia/Worf for the entire 45 minutes. The highlight of the episode is Worf's inner conflict between choosing duty or Jadzia and it has a satisfying conclusion. I wanted more of this or even introduce the importance of duty to Jadzia through some story that she tells Worf over a campfire before the attack by the Jem H'Dar ---- give the climax of the episode even more punch, y'know?
The B-Plot of Bashir losing at Tongo due to Quark exploiting his unrequited love for Jadzia is providing us with information we already know. It does tie-in to Jadzia/Worf but this time should have been spent hammering home what duty means to Jadzia/Worf.
This could have been a great episode but it required a few alterations.
The B-Plot of Bashir losing at Tongo due to Quark exploiting his unrequited love for Jadzia is providing us with information we already know. It does tie-in to Jadzia/Worf but this time should have been spent hammering home what duty means to Jadzia/Worf.
This could have been a great episode but it required a few alterations.
Yes. Some Serious Plot Holes
Hitchcoc7 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Worf and Jadzia are chosen, due to circumstances, to take on a serious endeavor. They need to meet with a Cardassian spy who has to be extracted. He has tons of information that is critical to the Federation. But it gets down to sacrifice, personal sacrifice. When Jadzia is injured, Worf must choose between her and the mission. He must also choose between any serious future in the Federation and his love for this woman/trill. One thing that has been set up are some absolutes. It gets down to a choice between one and millions. Is this true. Are millions automatically dead due if Worf makes a contrary decision. That's pretty simplistic. It seems that it might waylay some Federation action, but it isn't necessarily imminent.
The needs of the few
snoozejonc27 May 2023
Worf and Jadzia go on a mission to find a Cardassian defector
This is a good Worf and Jadzia romance episode.
It has an enjoyable character-driven story about the strength of their love with one big dramatic moment, but the general tone and content involves relationship humour. You have to like the banter between the two if you are to take anything from it and fortunately I do. I think it is nicely written and both Michael Dorn and Terry Farrell are on top form.
There are some contrivances and implausibilities, with the main one being the decision to send them alone on a mission together. If anyone should have been facing reprimand near the end it should have been Kira for poor judgement.
The subplot is reasonably good and has some good banter between Bashir, O'Brien, and Quark. However, it's in the grand scheme of Star Trek it will likely be forgettable to me.
This is a good Worf and Jadzia romance episode.
It has an enjoyable character-driven story about the strength of their love with one big dramatic moment, but the general tone and content involves relationship humour. You have to like the banter between the two if you are to take anything from it and fortunately I do. I think it is nicely written and both Michael Dorn and Terry Farrell are on top form.
There are some contrivances and implausibilities, with the main one being the decision to send them alone on a mission together. If anyone should have been facing reprimand near the end it should have been Kira for poor judgement.
The subplot is reasonably good and has some good banter between Bashir, O'Brien, and Quark. However, it's in the grand scheme of Star Trek it will likely be forgettable to me.
Now that's what I call a true connection between Worf and Jadzia
yincognyto-9171831 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I already said in one of my reviews on a previous episode that the romance between Worf and Jadzia Dax is pathetic, for the simple reason that the characters didn't seem to connect in a proper and believable way until this point in the series. This episode however was something else, and in a good way: we finally see a proof of their true love when Jadzia risks her life to be up to Worf standards and Worf risks his career to try and save Jadzia from a certain death. Because, make no mistake, it wasn't just Worf who risked something in this episode, but Jadzia as well.
This leads me to the plot hole identified by another reviewer, that Worf should have let Jadzia right where she got injured, complete the mission on his own and pick her up on his return (since the path they were supposed to take was the same on their return). I agree that this is indeed a plot hole, but furtunately, unlike other episodes where the characters made absurd (read stupid) choices that couldn't be explained in another way than by the inept writing, this time there were mitigating circumstances for the characters' behavior: Jadzia, as I mentioned before, wanted to show Worf that she's up to the task and a worthy Klingon wife (risking her life in the process), and Worf couldn't let her in the vicinity of the killed enemies since she would have been easy to find and capture when the rest of the enemy troops searched for the missing personnel. So, at least this time, there were at least two (more or less) logical explanations to the actions of the characters - it's wasn't just stuff thrown out of the blue by the writers in order to come up with a certain resolve in the episode (like so many times before in the series).
Apart from that, it really was a touching example of true love between two characters that didn't seem really connected before in the series (I'm mainly talking about acting, not just about events like their wedding). I don't know about you, but I liked this episode - the first time I was convinced that what they had was love and not just a one night stand between "the beauty and the beast"...
This leads me to the plot hole identified by another reviewer, that Worf should have let Jadzia right where she got injured, complete the mission on his own and pick her up on his return (since the path they were supposed to take was the same on their return). I agree that this is indeed a plot hole, but furtunately, unlike other episodes where the characters made absurd (read stupid) choices that couldn't be explained in another way than by the inept writing, this time there were mitigating circumstances for the characters' behavior: Jadzia, as I mentioned before, wanted to show Worf that she's up to the task and a worthy Klingon wife (risking her life in the process), and Worf couldn't let her in the vicinity of the killed enemies since she would have been easy to find and capture when the rest of the enemy troops searched for the missing personnel. So, at least this time, there were at least two (more or less) logical explanations to the actions of the characters - it's wasn't just stuff thrown out of the blue by the writers in order to come up with a certain resolve in the episode (like so many times before in the series).
Apart from that, it really was a touching example of true love between two characters that didn't seem really connected before in the series (I'm mainly talking about acting, not just about events like their wedding). I don't know about you, but I liked this episode - the first time I was convinced that what they had was love and not just a one night stand between "the beauty and the beast"...
Excellent episode!
rskolek10 November 2020
I had to write a review, seeing as other people have commented on this episode and said that it was bad. It is great! To see a character who values honor so much sacrifice that honor for his wife... What a show! How can you dislike this? They have not felt like a couple, not really, but this was really touching and beautiful.
A diamond in the rough
cliffo-15 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This episode started out as a somewhat boring character development piece. The love affair between Worf and Jadzia is explored as they are sent on a mission together. While enroute they discuss their honeymoon plans. There is also a side story about Chief Obrien and Doctor Bashir wanting to beat Quark's winning streak at Tongo. But the Tongo story really gets in the way of what turns into an interesting interplay between the newly married couple. Worf admits to trying to modify his personality to be "compliant" to Jadzia's wishes. When the Jem Hadar catch them off guard in the jungle and Jadzia is critically injured, Worf takes it personally. He decides that his attempt to modify his personality was a mistake and he must fall back on his warrior roots to complete the mission. Duty comes first and Worf must leave Jadzia, who is near death, for 44 hours in the jungle to make the rendezvous with an important Federation spy. Ultimately, Worf abandons his duty to the federation (quite surprisingly for Worf) and takes Jadzia to safety instead. The spy is killed along with his knowledge that could have saved millions of lives.
For what appeared at first to be another puff piece, this episode really put some depth into the relationship between Worf and Jadzia. A welcome change over the usual Bajoran orb stories...I was impressed.
For what appeared at first to be another puff piece, this episode really put some depth into the relationship between Worf and Jadzia. A welcome change over the usual Bajoran orb stories...I was impressed.
Writers dropped the ball on this one
vercinger26 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This is probably one of the worst episodes of DS9. The reason is a critical plot hole. Now, I know plot holes are quite common and usually too insignificant to notice or be bothered, but this one is so jarring that it made me yell at the screen.
What am I talking about? Basically, Jadzia and Worf have to go on a 2-day, 20km trip through a jungle, meet up with someone, and return the way they came. Jadzia gets shot a third of the way through the first trek, with a wound that gets worse if she walks. The patrol that found them is entirely eliminated. That's where the writers demonstrate a complete lack of spatial orientation and/or common sense.
What happens in the episode: Worf and the seriously wounded Jadzia continue towards the rendezvous point at a slow pace. Once they're nearly there, Jadzia becomes unable to walk further, so Worf has to continue without her. They exchange goodbyes, making it clear that Jadzia is being left to die. But almost as soon as Worf sets out, he has a change of heart, goes back, and carries Jadzia all the way back to their entry/exit point. The spy they had to extract is executed and information that could save millions is lost.
Why it doesn't make sense: This is a 2-way trip! They're going to be pretty much retracing their steps on the way back! So Jadzia could just have stayed where she got shot, minimizing the bleeding, and waited for Worf and the spy to get there on the return trip! Worf would then clearly have no trouble carrying her along the rest of the way back. At most, he would have to, before leaving, carry her a kilometer or so away from where they encountered the patrol, so she isn't found by whoever is sent to search for the missing patrol. And, not being slowed down by a wounded Jadzia, he would still make it to the rendezvous point in time. And thus, both the spy and Jadzia get to live.
But the writers, in their desire to shake things up by having the hero not get both the girl and the mission done for once, failed to notice that all the tension and drama relies on an obvious plot hole. Quite disappointing.
The rest of the episode - the Tongo plot line and Worf & Jadzia's married life interactions, is pretty good. But the episode overall leaves a bad taste due to the script stupidity described above.
What am I talking about? Basically, Jadzia and Worf have to go on a 2-day, 20km trip through a jungle, meet up with someone, and return the way they came. Jadzia gets shot a third of the way through the first trek, with a wound that gets worse if she walks. The patrol that found them is entirely eliminated. That's where the writers demonstrate a complete lack of spatial orientation and/or common sense.
What happens in the episode: Worf and the seriously wounded Jadzia continue towards the rendezvous point at a slow pace. Once they're nearly there, Jadzia becomes unable to walk further, so Worf has to continue without her. They exchange goodbyes, making it clear that Jadzia is being left to die. But almost as soon as Worf sets out, he has a change of heart, goes back, and carries Jadzia all the way back to their entry/exit point. The spy they had to extract is executed and information that could save millions is lost.
Why it doesn't make sense: This is a 2-way trip! They're going to be pretty much retracing their steps on the way back! So Jadzia could just have stayed where she got shot, minimizing the bleeding, and waited for Worf and the spy to get there on the return trip! Worf would then clearly have no trouble carrying her along the rest of the way back. At most, he would have to, before leaving, carry her a kilometer or so away from where they encountered the patrol, so she isn't found by whoever is sent to search for the missing patrol. And, not being slowed down by a wounded Jadzia, he would still make it to the rendezvous point in time. And thus, both the spy and Jadzia get to live.
But the writers, in their desire to shake things up by having the hero not get both the girl and the mission done for once, failed to notice that all the tension and drama relies on an obvious plot hole. Quite disappointing.
The rest of the episode - the Tongo plot line and Worf & Jadzia's married life interactions, is pretty good. But the episode overall leaves a bad taste due to the script stupidity described above.
Not horrible....
planktonrules22 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This is an episode considered by at least one reviewer to be among the worst of the series. I didn't love it but that seems a bit harsh. The show has the usual two plots. The main one involves Worf and Jadzia Dax. They are en route to their honeymoon when they receive a distress call from a Cardassian spy--and they have to race there to try to rescue the guy before his own people kill him. Naturally, the mission does NOT work like clockwork and soon Jadzia is shot and might not survive. So what is Worf to do? The other plot is very lightweight--even more so than usual. It seems that Quark has become unbeatable at Tongo. Even Jadzia has lost to him. So, for some inexplicable reason, O'Brien is determined to see Quark fall.
Neither plot is all that interesting. The one involving Worf is a bit interesting, though I was surprised by his actions. As for the other, it was underdeveloped and not particularly interesting.
Neither plot is all that interesting. The one involving Worf is a bit interesting, though I was surprised by his actions. As for the other, it was underdeveloped and not particularly interesting.
Yet again. No consequences!
iblack-236109 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Im sick to death of characters in these shows acting completely abysmal and reckless yet only getting a slap on the wrist and sent to bed without their dinner!
Worf condemns a brave agent to certain death that had vital information to save millions of people because of his spiritual connection with Dax.
So what does Sisko do after Worfs betrayal? Files a report, blurt's out afew new rules about he and Dax are not allowed to work together anymore and then he sympathises with Worf's decision! Effectively giving Worf the thumbs up!
I love this series but it truly lets the vast majority of characters get away with way way to much! This episode and many others should be renamed "Crime swept under the rug".
Worf condemns a brave agent to certain death that had vital information to save millions of people because of his spiritual connection with Dax.
So what does Sisko do after Worfs betrayal? Files a report, blurt's out afew new rules about he and Dax are not allowed to work together anymore and then he sympathises with Worf's decision! Effectively giving Worf the thumbs up!
I love this series but it truly lets the vast majority of characters get away with way way to much! This episode and many others should be renamed "Crime swept under the rug".
A Filler Episode That Aims Too High
frankelee26 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I know fans of this show aren't going to like it, but this episode is boring. Worf and Jadzia walking through the jungle is boring. The writers' attempts to give them some snappy Joss Whedon dialogue is boring. Miles O'Brien and Doctor Bashir playing Quark in a game of cards is boring. Heck, watching Jadzia bleed out as Terry Farrell gets increasing amounts of gray makeup put on her face is boring.
Star Trek plots often require a lot of contrivance to work, that's not what makes them good, but they can be good in spite of that. This whole silly business of two low-level Starfleet officers who are supposed to be running a space station being required to take a shuttle deep into space on a top secret mission to extract a high value double agent to Starfleet Security that will involve walking through the jungle for two to three days like a low budget remake of The Predator is just bad. I get the writers don't understand how the military works, but come on.
This show doesn't even try to make an excuse for why a cast-member needs to get pulled off the station to do a job which they are manifestly unqualified for, a trick it pulls way too often. If the Cardassian had secrets that worthwhile, why didn't Starfleet Intelligence have a team to extract him? Why do they not have ships? We're told this is a post-scarcity society with hundreds of ultra-advanced worlds, and we're along the front line of an existential war... but they don't have any ships available. Why don't they have commandos specifically trained for this? Why two junior space ship officers? Why don't they have ships and technology specifically prepared to defeat this situations?
And if your answer is, because it's a silly TV show about space adventures and they set up ridiculous situations to create their plots, you'd be right. So this silly, boring episode shouldn't then turn around and try to pull of some eye-rolling ending about Worf making a tough call to save his wife instead of perform his duty... ughhh. No, he walked around a jungle set in a circle to fill time, had long conversations with his new wife to fill time, and it was all boring because it was just a way to cheaply fill time.
Also, Starfleet leaves men (or women) behind? Really? That's sad. Also, how dumb is it that Worf tries to bring a wounded Jadzia along with him for the rest of the trip instead of leaving her there or sending her back to the ship where more medical equipment is? He literally has no idea what he's doing because he's a space navy lieutenant trying to play military commando. He didn't even set up a contingency plan with the defector in case a Jem'Hadar patrol squad walked three days into the jungle to stumble on them and cause an interruption to the plan (great use of personnel by the Dominion by the way, that had to be the first time in a trillion patrols into surrounding jungles to ever actually accomplish something). Because he has no idea what he's doing. Definitely skippable.
Star Trek plots often require a lot of contrivance to work, that's not what makes them good, but they can be good in spite of that. This whole silly business of two low-level Starfleet officers who are supposed to be running a space station being required to take a shuttle deep into space on a top secret mission to extract a high value double agent to Starfleet Security that will involve walking through the jungle for two to three days like a low budget remake of The Predator is just bad. I get the writers don't understand how the military works, but come on.
This show doesn't even try to make an excuse for why a cast-member needs to get pulled off the station to do a job which they are manifestly unqualified for, a trick it pulls way too often. If the Cardassian had secrets that worthwhile, why didn't Starfleet Intelligence have a team to extract him? Why do they not have ships? We're told this is a post-scarcity society with hundreds of ultra-advanced worlds, and we're along the front line of an existential war... but they don't have any ships available. Why don't they have commandos specifically trained for this? Why two junior space ship officers? Why don't they have ships and technology specifically prepared to defeat this situations?
And if your answer is, because it's a silly TV show about space adventures and they set up ridiculous situations to create their plots, you'd be right. So this silly, boring episode shouldn't then turn around and try to pull of some eye-rolling ending about Worf making a tough call to save his wife instead of perform his duty... ughhh. No, he walked around a jungle set in a circle to fill time, had long conversations with his new wife to fill time, and it was all boring because it was just a way to cheaply fill time.
Also, Starfleet leaves men (or women) behind? Really? That's sad. Also, how dumb is it that Worf tries to bring a wounded Jadzia along with him for the rest of the trip instead of leaving her there or sending her back to the ship where more medical equipment is? He literally has no idea what he's doing because he's a space navy lieutenant trying to play military commando. He didn't even set up a contingency plan with the defector in case a Jem'Hadar patrol squad walked three days into the jungle to stumble on them and cause an interruption to the plan (great use of personnel by the Dominion by the way, that had to be the first time in a trillion patrols into surrounding jungles to ever actually accomplish something). Because he has no idea what he's doing. Definitely skippable.
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