The Jem’Hadar were the loyal foot soldiers of the Dominion and genuinely one of the fiercest warriors in Star Trek, but how high was the price for their collective loyalty? During Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the United Federation of Planets and its allies went to war with the Dominion. It was long, bloody, grueling, and took the lives of many Starfleet officers as well as those who stood beside them. While the Changelings who founded the Dominion started the fight, they left the Vorta in charge. The latter then sent the Jem’Hadar to get their hands dirty.
Most allies of the Dominion were under some form of manipulation or coercion. However, the Jem’Hadar had no choice but to be the foot soldiers of the Dominion. The Founders may have treated the Vorta like disposable clones of each other, but they held important administrative positions that allowed them to lead the Jem’Hadar into battle. These warriors were strong, well-trained, and prepared to die for a cause most of them didn’t even understand. The Jem’Hadar became vital to every victory until they weren’t needed anymore.
The Jem’Hadar Were Made to Kill
The Jem’Hadar are characterized by their lizard-like facial features and bumpy, gray skin. The small horns protruding along their jaw and in three rows along their scalp lead to a tuft of black hair, longer in some than others.
The Jem’Hadar are the only species in Star Trek that only exists due to genetic engineering. The species was created by the Vorta to fight on behalf of the Dominion. The Jem’Hadar are hatched in birthing chambers and consist only of men. It only takes them three days to mature, during which time they are programmed with elite fighting capabilities. This is what makes the Jem’Hadar such a terrifying presence in Deep Space Nine.
These soldiers are ruthless masters of hand-to-hand combat, and they don’t care whether they live or die. While the growing Jem’Hadar youth needs food to support their unique metabolism, adult Jem’Hadar needs neither food nor sleep to survive as seen in season 3, episode 6, “The Abandoned.” They instead get their necessary nutrients from a drug called ketracel-white, also known as “the white.” The Jem’Hadar become addicted to “the white” because it provides the key enzyme that the Vorta purposefully remove from their genetic makeup when they’re first created. Worse, the Jem’Hadar being addicted to “the white” further limits their chances of ever fighting back against those that oppress them.
Jem’Hadar: Tools of Destruction
The Vorta created the Jem’Hadar to be living, breathing weapons. They’re never unarmed, and their mastery of the tools at their disposal made them formidable opponents. Questions about the Dominion’s ability to win a fight against other villainous species in Star Trek all come down to the Jem’Hadar’s capabilities, of which there are many. Their vision and strength are much more effective than that of humans. The Jem’Hadar are even stronger than Klingons. Their ability to cloak themselves to the point of invisibility is intimidating. Their tough skin forces their opponents to shoot to kill rather than negotiate for peace, as is the Star Trek way.
Yet, like their humanoid peers, they also perpetrate discrimination among their own ranks. The Jem'Hadar had customary military-style titles, but they also made distinctions between different factions based on where they were created. Those of the Gamma Quadrant were known as ‘Gamma Jem’Hadar,’ and were seen as inferior. They even have a slightly different appearance, with darker complexions and a ridge going down the middle of their heads. Those of the Alpha Quadrant were known as ‘Alphas,’ and were seen as superior. They were also more willing to use individual tactics to subdue their enemies, which didn’t always work out in favor of the Dominion.
Hidden Complexities Of The Jem’Hadar
Star Trek has delivered some mind-blowing fight scenes over the years. However, the primary objective of the series has always been more about asking philosophical questions. The Jem’Hadar were introduced in Deep Space Nine as cold-blooded killers without mercy or independent thought. Later appearances, however, revealed that the Jem’Hadar weren’t completely without honor or a will to survive. Rather than mindlessly violent beasts, Star Trek made the Jem’Hadar complex, even showing them practicing rituals before boldly going into battle.
In season 5, episode 15, “By Inferno’s Light,” Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) goes hand-to-hand in a fight against First Ikat'ika (James Horan), an Alpha Jem’Hadar, after being kidnapped. Worf fights tirelessly and is prepared to die in combat, as all Klingon warriors are. However, Ikat’ika displays a rare showing of mercy and spares his life.
Even earlier, in season 4, episode 4, “Hippocratic Oath,” Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Chief Engineer Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) meet a group of Jem’Hadar trying to free themselves from their addiction to “the white.” Their leader, First Goran'Agar (Scott MacDonald) was able to escape it and hopes that by freeing the others from the drug, he can help them escape the Dominion.
The Jem’Hadar were the face of the Dominion War because they were the first weapons thrown at enemies of the Founders. One would think the portrayal of them would be one-sided and focused on the victors who took them down. Instead, Star Trek fans were confronted with the disturbing lives led by the Jem’Hadar. The more they learned, the more the Jem’Hadar became deserving of sympathy and understanding.
The Jem’Hadar were physically around 15 years old during the height of the Dominion War, which meant the Federation and its allies were technically fighting children in adult bodies. The result was that most of them died before they even saw 20 years old, and those who did were seen as ‘Honored Elders.’ None of the Jem’Hadar were known to make it into their 30s.
The greatest tool used to keep them in line was their genetically-engineered faith in the Founders. On the one hand, this gave Odo (René Auberjonois) the power to influence the young Jem’Hadar who literally grows up in his short custody. On the other hand, it leashed them to a master who didn’t care about their well-being. In the end, the Jem’Hadar were a complex warrior species that reminded Star Trek fans that no enemy is beyond compassion – no matter how hardcore their beliefs.