User Reviews

'Hippocratic Oath'

Season four, episode four

I was about thirteen when I saw my first episode of DS9 and I'm rather ashamed to admit Bashir was my favourite character mainly because he was the only young reasonably attractive male in the cast. Thankfully, I quickly outgrew this shallow behaviour and, in turn, found Bashir's arrogant boyishness quite irritating in the first couple of seasons where he was portrayed to be much like a hyperactive puppy the others had to rein in. However, mid-way through the series, the character began to change, becoming far more interesting in his own right proving the DS9 scriptwriters had a talent for delivering character development. 'Hippocratic Oath' is a hallmark episode in the character's progress from moving away from being the fresh-faced kid of the main cast.

The episode sees Bashir and O'Brien crash-landing on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant where they are captured by a group of renegade Jem'Hadar who need a doctor to produce them more Ketracel White, the drug their bodies have been engineered to need for survive. But while O'Brien wants nothing more than to leave the Jem'Hadar to their inevitable painful deaths, Bashir feels that his duties as a doctor means he is obliged to help them.

This is a great episode in terms of character development and in excellent Star Trek storytelling where Starfleet officers are caught between doing what is right and their human impulses for revenge. It portrays the chalk-and-cheese friendship between the hardened, war veteran O'Brien, who is falling back into soldier mode as war between the Founders and Federation looks imminent, and the more idealistic, benevolent qualities that contribute to making Bashir a good doctor, who is torn between the Hippocratic Oath and the truth that the Jem'Hadar are a deadly race.

"Hippocratic Oath" is an interesting episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space 9". It also marks an apparent attempt to soften Major Kira, as Nana Visitor underwent some sort of makeover that seemed to feminize and soften her character a bit.

When the episode begins, Dr. Bashir and Miles O'Brien are on a mission using the runabout. Interestingly, Miles tells the Doctor that he sometimes wishes Keiko was a man...when the ship is suddenly diverted by what might be a ship in peril. Unfortunately for their bromance, the pair are suddenly taken prisoner by Jem'Hadar soldiers--and many of them seem very content with just executing them. However, their commander isn't so hasty--he NEEDS the Doctor's help. It seems that these super-soldiers CAN exist without the drug given to them by the Founders--or, at least, HE can survive without it. What makes this possible is what he wants to know and he's willing to possibly let the Doctor live if he can unlock this secret. Surprisingly, the Jem'Hadar actually DON'T want to serve the Founders--but without the drug they seem to be unable to say no.

This episode brings up a HUGE problem. As a doctor, Bashir cannot just ignore the Jem'Hadar's predicament. But, as a member of Starfleet, he really should NOT be helping. As for O'Brien--he has complete clarity and this clarity brings these super-friends into conflict with each other.

In addition to this plot, there is a lesser plot involving Worf--who behaves like a total idiot. While he is NOT in charge of security, he seems to think that Odo doesn't know how to do his job!

Overall, a pretty good episode with an interesting predicament. Worth seeing.

I enjoyed the presentation of Goran'Agar as being a representation of what the Jem' Hadar could potentially become if not addicted to the ketracel white. Unfortunately, Chief O'Brien missed this eye opening conversation and decides to sabotage Dr. Bashir from investigating Goran'Agar's lack of dependency. That's a real bummer for millions upon millions of future Jem 'Hadar soldiers. There's a bit of Stockholm syndrome happening with Bashir and that makes complete sense because he is a Doctor. The topic of the moral/ethical reasoning behind O'Briens decision is worthy of discussion and I can see his point. Maybe curing the space dinosaurs would cause them to become a galactic force even more ruthless then the Dominion? Maybe they would become artists and philosophers? Who knows, right?

Odo shows Worf that he is the big dog when it comes to security procedures. At this point I would be totally down for watching a mini series of Odo solving DS9 mysteries like Columbo or doing spec op work.

The highlight of the episode was Goran'Agar performance. He managed to make me empathetic to the plight of murderous space dinosaurs. They are more of a resource then an actual species and that might be a worst fate then even those who have been conquered by the Dominion.

When Dr. Bashir and Chief O'Brien investigate a reading which suggests there may be a crashed ship on a nearby planet in the Gamma Quadrant they find themselves pulled down to the surface where they find themselves prisoners of the Jen'Hadar. These aren't normal Jen'Hadar though, their leader has overcome his addiction to the drug used to control them and is convinced the answer to how he overcame that addiction is to be found on this planet. He asks the doctor to help him find the cure and he agrees both because it is his duty as a doctor to help the sick and also because he believes freeing the Jem'Hadar from their addiction will weaken the Dominion. Chief O'Brien sees things differently however and believes finding a cure would be aiding the enemy and that a Jem'Hadar free of Dominion control could be even more dangerous. Meanwhile back on DS9 Worf is unimpressed with Odo's failure to arrest Quark who is involved in an obvious smuggling deal, despite being told to leave security matters to Odo he attempts to stop the crime and in doing so spoils Odo's plans to find the people higher up the chain.

This was a fairly good episode which saw Bashir and O'Brien's friendship tested when they had opposite opinions on what their duty was. The issues were well handled and gave us a satisfactory ending where it was made clear that both thought their friendship would survive. The secondary story was also pretty good, showing Worf that he needs to realise he is no longer a security officer and that Odo is very capable in that job.

Among Star Trek fans this episode serves to empathize the difference between Doctor Bashir and O'Brien's approaches. Frequently the only question stemming from it is whether O'Brien was justified in doing what he did at the end.

Having learned a thing or two about TNG O'Brien since first watching the episode I know his straight-forward 'he's the enemy' perspective actually is true to the character. And personally I love every moment Julian learns another way in which the Jem'Hadar leader is different and this is something he wholeheartedly believes in and could follow. What makes everything work in the end, even after O'Brien destroys his research forcing his escape is the moment he tells Bashir why he did it. It wasn't because he wanted the Jem'Hadar to die or because he was a solider. It was because it was the only way he knew to save Julian's life. He flat out says that "Whatever else you may think of me or what I did; I hope you understand that." Which clears the air and makes forgetting this 'overstep' not only possible but the most natural thing in the world.

I was always with Bashir and O'Brien's stance always seemed unnatural to me. If his attitude here throws you for as much fo a loop, watch the season 4 TNG episode 'The Wounded'. O'Brien is a solider who has seen war and sees things with the simplicity of a solider. Adding all this together and the entire episode is superbly crafted and deeply awesome.

The Jen'Hadar kidnap O'Brien and Bashir. They never intended to go to that planet nor did they have an obligation to an organization who lives for the blood of anyone they encounter. They are a warrior race. Bashir and O'Brien would normally have been disintegrated immediately if they didn't provide something of value to these guys. Perhaps the Jen'Hadar should have sought out scientific help from some friendly (to them) agency. Some seem to think that Bashir has a moral duty to give up his life to save another one. Nowhere in the Hippocratic Oath is a doctor expected to do such a thing. We knew what the fate of the Federation men would be right from the start. Yes, O'Brien is a bit of a macho man, but he has a family and a pact with the Federation. If reality were consistent in this series, Bashir would have been dead numerous episodes ago. He is strictly emotional and others manage to save him time after time.