“A Call To Arms” features a long (almost too long) buildup to one of the best closing sequences we’ll see for a season finale in a Star Trek series. In many ways, the episode is a bit like watching a summer thunderstorm build and creep closer and closer before the torrent of wind, rain and lightning is unleashed. The one drawback to the episode, though, is that its opening paces stumble ever-so-slightly and, as such, the buildup isn’t quite as suspenseful as it might otherwise have been. No matter. The episode will be remembered much more for its final moments than the forgettable scenes which led to them.

It’s war. Finally. The Dominion has been sending wave after wave of reinforcements through the wormhole and Sisko and the Federation have finally had enough. They decide that the only thing they can do is mine the entrance to the wormhole and cut off further ships and supplies — knowing that such an act will clearly provoke war. The thing is, though, war seems to be the Federation’s best possible course of action. Left to itself, the Dominion has slowly wormed its way into the Alpha Quadrant. Not only have the Cardassians joined the Dominion, but the Dominion has signed treaties with countless other nations. And when the Romulans get on board with a non-aggression pact, the Federation realizes that it’s at a tipping point. Wait much longer, and the Dominion will be too well-entrenched in the Alpha Quadrant.

What’s enjoyable about how the Dominion conflict has been setup is in its long-term implications. The Borg were exciting because their invasion was an event — a do-or-die moment of armageddon. The Dominion on the other hand, has military and political acumen and uses their stratagems as a means of slowly coalescing their control over regions of territory. The result is a story that will have plenty of potential in the coming episodes and seasons.

But before war begins, the episode spends some time dealing with some last-minute character work. The result is something of a hodgepodge of sketches. Rom and Leeta pick out a wedding dress and are married. Odo and Kira come to terms with their feelings for one another (actually, they kinda put them on hold). Rom and Quark share a mutual respect. Jake becomes a war correspondent. And so forth. In a sense, the series is basically clearing the slate for the serious business of conducting a war. And its all necessary. But it doesn’t help the pacing of the episode.

Still, these events are all meaningful in some way. And so they have merit. At the very least, very few of them are superfluous. And when it all starts to come together, when the Dominion feint of diplomacy is brushed aside; when Sisko prepares his Order 197; when Martok sounds the alarm; and when Gul Dukat makes his illustrious appearance; there’s no question that this episode has been very carefully and thoughtfully planned. Everything fits as it should. And that makes the battle, the strategies, the final outcome so powerful — and not at all like a contrived bit of melodrama.

As it turns out, Sisko implores Bajor to accept the Dominion’s non-aggression treaty, safeguarding Bajor. So when the Dominion-Cardassian fleet arrives, all that’s left is for Sisko to hold off their fleet long enough for the Defiant to finish mining the wormhole. The sequence itself is breathtaking and cinematic. The fleet of ships pounding away at DS9 is terrifying. DS9′s spirited defense is inspiring. And Sisko’s final plan, to abandon the station (but not before sabotaging it), is utterly brilliant. By drawing the Cardassians and Dominion into a battle for DS9, Sisko allowed a Federation task force to strike at the heart of the Cardassian-Dominion war effort by obliterating a shipyard. It’s all nicely summarized by Sisko’s speech to the merchants and workers — including Quark, Rom, Odo, and Kira — remaining on DS9.

Nevertheless, DS9 surrenders to the Cardassians. Dukat nearly prances onto the station, rechristening it Terok Nor. And the meeting between him, Weyoun and Quark, Odo, and Kira is filled with enough dramatic potential that it’s easy to see why the writers chose to take the series in this direction. Plus, Rom stays behind (as a Federation spy, no less!) as does Jake, as a new reporter. Sisko is furious at his son’s decision, but he realizes that Jake has made his own decision as an adult.

And there’s time left over for one final poetic moment: Sisko leaves behind his beloved baseball as a message to Duakt: Sisko (like MacArthur, I suppose) will be back.

All told, “A Call To Arms” is a fantastic season finale — once you get past its nearly interminable setup work.

Filed under: Deep Space Nine