Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we review Ikat'ika, a Jem'Hadar soldier and recurring character on Deep Space Nine.
Most Jem'Hadar characters show up only once on DS9, with the one exception of Ikat'ika. Ikat'ika was the leader of a Dominion Internment Camp that is featured in the episodes Purgatory's Shadow and By Inferno's Light. He oversees and participates in brutal combat with prisoners of the camp, which is done so that the Dominion can better understand the fighting tactics of their enemies.
Ikat'ika allowed for a glimpse into an interesting comparison of the warrior races on both sides of the Dominion-Federation War. The fact that a Jem'Hadar and Klingon could respect each other in deathly combat provides another layer of depth to the front-line soldiers that the Dominion uses in all conflicts. Other than the episode Rocks and Shoals, this is probably the best story for building the character of the Jem'Hadar, and it all comes back to the portrayal of Ikat'ika.
The battles we see in these DS9 episodes include fights with General Martok and Lieutenant Commander Worf. He maims Martok's eye in one of the fights, leading to the well-known eye patch appearance of this character moving forward in the series. In the fight with Worf, he cannot force the Klingon to submit, and that earns his respect as a fellow warrior race.
QUOTE
"I yield. I cannot defeat this Klingon. All I can do is kill him, and that no longer holds my interest."
Of course, this decision goes over like a lead balloon with Ikat'ika's boss, the Vorta Deyos. Predictably, Deyos has Ikat'ika executed for failing to kill Worf, but this leads to Worf surviving long enough to be rescued by the good guys.
James Horan played Ikat'ika in all appearances, and he's the only Jem'Hadar character to appear in more than one episode. Horan has enjoyed a long acting career in several soap operas and other TV shows, including bit appearances in all four Star Trek series. He continues to work in voice acting, particularly in video games like Everquest II and Knights of the Old Republic, and also in his original love of stage play acting. He met his wife at a Star Trek convention in 2004 and they've been married since 2005, which just goes to show you never know where a soul mate will be found.
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