Reviewing this as a complete 90-minute movie rather than two separate episodes. "Worf... WOOOOOOOORRRRRFFF!!!!!!" - Gowron
It's hard to talk about 'The Way of the Warrior' without acknowledging what a kick in the arse it was for DS9. It can be seen almost as a second pilot for the show given how it changes things up so much. It sets in motion a massive story arc and gives us a new main character by bringing Worf over from TNG. It gives us a modified title sequence and reworked version of the theme tune, both of which are more active and less forlorn. There are people who claim that this is where the show really begins, and in some ways it's hard to argue with them. Myself, I think the previous three seasons have been instrumental in building up to this, though.
Klingons. That's what we get here, a lot of them, and we're going to be seeing them for quite some time. It's a big move to make them the Federation's enemy again and also very exciting. From the off, it's clear that action is going play a bigger part in the show than it has previously, but we're also shown that it's not going to do that at the expense of character. Each person here is engaging in the action scenes specific to their own character's strengths and it's allowing their individualities to show. That ranges from Jadzia allowing her knowledge of Klingon combat to come through to Garak teaming up with his greatest enemy and making snarky comments while fighting side by side.
If the show does anything a bit wrong, it's that it might focus a bit too much of making it all about Worf. He's bringing a lot of baggage with him, and his past dealings with the Klingon leaders are crucial to why he's there. For all that, I do feel that Worf fits perfectly on the station and integrates very well with the rest of the crew. Garak also seems to fit in better than previously, and we see that he's dining with Odo as was once hinted at. It's also great the way the crew inform him that his homeworld is about to be invaded.
Sisko also seems to have kicked things up a notch. His shaved head makes him feel like even more of a force to be reckoned with, but he goes toe-to-toe with the Klingons and doesn't back down an inch. His talks with Worf about staying in Starfleet show how at ease he now feels with his role in command of the station. I like our introduction to Martok (whom, if you've seen the show before, you might know that he is actually a Changeling, which makes things even more interesting in retrospect).
The battle with the Klingon fleet still remains impressive, if quite small scale by today's standards. I remember watching this in the '90s and being blown away by how good it all looked and how exciting it was. I hadn't really seen stuff like it on television before. I love that the station is now decked out with an arsenal of weapons and it says that this place is now prepared for full on war. An action packed and beautifully involved piece of television, this is essential viewing. Maybe way too much exposition in the dialogue, especially at the start, but that's just how Trek does things.
Review by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2017-10-06T15:19:01Z
Reviewing this as a complete 90-minute movie rather than two separate episodes.
"Worf... WOOOOOOOORRRRRFFF!!!!!!" - Gowron
It's hard to talk about 'The Way of the Warrior' without acknowledging what a kick in the arse it was for DS9. It can be seen almost as a second pilot for the show given how it changes things up so much. It sets in motion a massive story arc and gives us a new main character by bringing Worf over from TNG. It gives us a modified title sequence and reworked version of the theme tune, both of which are more active and less forlorn. There are people who claim that this is where the show really begins, and in some ways it's hard to argue with them. Myself, I think the previous three seasons have been instrumental in building up to this, though.
Klingons. That's what we get here, a lot of them, and we're going to be seeing them for quite some time. It's a big move to make them the Federation's enemy again and also very exciting. From the off, it's clear that action is going play a bigger part in the show than it has previously, but we're also shown that it's not going to do that at the expense of character. Each person here is engaging in the action scenes specific to their own character's strengths and it's allowing their individualities to show. That ranges from Jadzia allowing her knowledge of Klingon combat to come through to Garak teaming up with his greatest enemy and making snarky comments while fighting side by side.
If the show does anything a bit wrong, it's that it might focus a bit too much of making it all about Worf. He's bringing a lot of baggage with him, and his past dealings with the Klingon leaders are crucial to why he's there. For all that, I do feel that Worf fits perfectly on the station and integrates very well with the rest of the crew. Garak also seems to fit in better than previously, and we see that he's dining with Odo as was once hinted at. It's also great the way the crew inform him that his homeworld is about to be invaded.
Sisko also seems to have kicked things up a notch. His shaved head makes him feel like even more of a force to be reckoned with, but he goes toe-to-toe with the Klingons and doesn't back down an inch. His talks with Worf about staying in Starfleet show how at ease he now feels with his role in command of the station. I like our introduction to Martok (whom, if you've seen the show before, you might know that he is actually a Changeling, which makes things even more interesting in retrospect).
The battle with the Klingon fleet still remains impressive, if quite small scale by today's standards. I remember watching this in the '90s and being blown away by how good it all looked and how exciting it was. I hadn't really seen stuff like it on television before. I love that the station is now decked out with an arsenal of weapons and it says that this place is now prepared for full on war. An action packed and beautifully involved piece of television, this is essential viewing. Maybe way too much exposition in the dialogue, especially at the start, but that's just how Trek does things.