Summary
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke boundaries by exploring life outside the Federation and tackling contemporary issues like racial injustice.
- Iconic DS9 episodes like “Duet” and “Necessary Evil” delve into complex themes of morality and justice, pushing the Star Trek universe forward.
- The show’s ability to tell huge, sweeping epics while maintaining nuanced character development sets Deep Space Nine apart in the Star Trek franchise.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had an incredible hit rate across seven seasons, making it difficult to choose the best episode per season. Premiering in 1993 and clocking up 173 episodes over seven years, DS9 broke new boundaries for the Star Trek franchise. Set aboard a former Cardassian space station rather than a Starfleet vessel, DS9‘s cast of characters hail from a diverse range of backgrounds. This allowed Deep Space Nine to tell new stories that explored life outside Star Trek‘s Federation. For example, many of the best episodes about Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) focused on her problematic legacy as a freedom fighter.
Led by Avery Brooks as Captain Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine never shied away from tackling contemporary issues like racial injustice and social inequality. These themes and the sweeping Dominion War arc earned Star Trek: Deep Space Nine a label as the “dark” heart of the franchise. However, more than any other Star Trek show of the time, DS9 is a show about family and community, putting a focus on the lives of those on the fringes of Starfleet’s ongoing mission. Many of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s best episodes are a testament to the show’s diverse community of Starfleet officers, Bajoran militia, and Ferengi bartenders.
7 Star Trek: DS9 Season 1’s Best: Episode 19, “Duet”
“What you call genocide, I call a day’s work.”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1 struggled to find its feet at first, as it often relied on stories that felt more appropriate for Star Trek: The Next Generation. “Duet”, however, marks a watershed in the development of DS9 as a unique Star Trek show. Inspired by Robert Shaw’s play The Man in the Glass Booth, “Duet” explores whether there’s any appropriate punishment for crimes that are beyond comprehension. When she suspects Aamin Marritza (Harris Yullin), an ailing Cardassian of being the war criminal Gul Darhe’el, Major Kira interrogates him, but soon finds that the truth is much more complex.
Leonard Nimoy had previously played the title role in the 1971 production of The Man in the Glass Booth at the Old Globe Theater.
Written by Peter Allen Fields, “Duet” is a gripping morality play that is among some of the very best Major Kira episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It’s the first time that Kira is forced to confront her prejudice against the Cardassians for their brutal subjugation of the Bajorans. Her interrogation of Marritza, and the revelations it brings out, makes her realize that she simply cannot blame every Cardassian for the crimes of the Occupation. The final scene, in which Marritza is brutally killed, feels like a tonal shift for the Star Trek universe that helped to guide DS9 into more complex thematic territory in future seasons.
Honorable Mention: Episode 20, “In The Hands of The Prophets”
6 Star Trek: DS9 Season 2’s Best: Episode 8, “Necessary Evil”
“I misjudged you, major. You were a better liar than I gave you credit for.”
“Necessary Evil” is Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s first visit to a time when DS9 was Terok Nor. It’s a chilly film noir homage that forces Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) to revisit his very first case. Shifting between past and present via Odo’s flashbacks, “Necessary Evil” reveals how he first met Quark (Armin Shimerman), Kira, and Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) during a murder investigation. “Necessary Evil” reveals that it was Kira who was the murderer, another bold step forward for the Star Trek franchise.
There are no easy answers to how Odo and Kira can move on from the revelations of “Duet”, nor will anyone be pressing Star Trek‘s reset button.
The closing scene in which Odo and Kira discuss her past crimes and her reasons for keeping them secret further proved that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was a more morally complex show than Star Trek: The Next Generation. There are no easy answers to how Odo and Kira can move on from the revelations of “Duet”, nor will anyone be pressing Star Trek‘s reset button. It’s a landmark episode that showcases DS9‘s ability to examine the nuances of morality through a Star Trek lens.
Honorable Mention: Episode 22, “The Wire”
5 Star Trek: DS9 Season 3’s Best Is: Episodes 20 & 21, “Improbable Cause” & “The Die is Cast”
“Do you know what the sad part is, Odo? I’m a very good tailor.”
“Improbable Cause” and “The Die is Cast” is a two-parter that really shows off the dramatic scope of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. What begins as an investigation into the attempted murder of Cardassian tailor Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson) becomes an intergalactic battle for survival. Garak’s trajectory in DS9 is utterly fascinating, and this two-parter is crucial to his character arc. Given a chance to be accepted back into Cardassian society, Garak is manipulated into inflicting horrific torture on Odo. Meanwhile, Sisko and Starfleet race against time to stop a joint Cardassian and Romulan fleet from declaring war against the Dominion.
Writer Ronald D. Moore insisted on a change to the Romulan costumes, stating that he hated the “Big shoulder pads, the quilting” of the TNG ones.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s predecessors would have been happy to explore just one of those story strands, but DS9 gamely throws itself into tying the attempted murder of Garak into the political maneuvering of the Cardassians and Romulans. Better yet, neither strand of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3 two-parter feels like it’s being short-changed. It’s an early example of how DS9 could tell huge, sweeping epics that still manage to give each member of the show’s expansive ensemble their own big moments.
Honorable Mention: Episode 5, “Second Skin”
4 Star Trek: DS9 Season 4’s Best Is: Episode 1, “The Way of the Warrior”
“Just what this station needs… another Klingon.”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has the best season 4 in the Star Trek franchise, so it’s incredibly difficult to choose which episode represents the season’s peak. It makes sense, therefore, to select the game changing DS9 season 4 premiere that brought Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) into the show. “The Way of the Warrior” is a thrilling Star Trek movie that just happens to have premiered on TV. Designed as a relaunch for DS9, “The Way of the Warrior” doubles down on the biggest successes of seasons 1 to 3.
… the destabilizing effects of the alliance being broken gave DS9 some of the best Klingon episodes since Star Trek: The Original Series.
Once again, season 4 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine shakes up the universe, by breaking the Federation and Klingon alliance. While it would later be revealed to be part of a wider Changeling plot, the destabilizing effects of the alliance being broken gave DS9 some of the best Klingon episodes since Star Trek: The Original Series. After almost three decades, Star Trek finally gave fans a Klingon action movie, and it was a bold statement of intent for DS9 season 4 and beyond.
Honorable Mention: Episode 3, “The Visitor”
3 Star Trek: DS9 Season 5’s Best Is: Episode 14, “In Purgatory’s Shadow”
“This is Internment Camp 371. You are here because you are enemies of the Dominion. There is no release, no escape, except death.”
Pairing Worf and Garak together was an inspired choice that makes “In Purgatory’s Shadow” the strongest episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5. Where characters like Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), Captain Sisko and Odo had indulged Garak to a certain extent, Worf is a more difficult proposition. Worf’s lack of trust in Garak, and the Cardassian’s attempts to win over his Klingon colleague inject some levity into an episode that includes two huge moments that change the course of DS9 season 5.
“In Purgatory’s Shadow” is notable for confirming that Enabran Tain (Paul Dooley) was the father of Garak.
Investigating rumours that General Martok (J.G. Hertzler) and Enabran Tain are being held in a Dominion internment camp, Worf and Garak become prisoners themselves. “In Purgatory’s Shadow” also has the incredible reveal that Dr. Julian Bashir was replaced by a Changeling impersonator in DS9 season 5. However, the biggest cliffhanger from the episode is the huge Dominion invasion fleet that emerges through the wormhole, into the Alpha Quadrant. It’s a thrilling hour of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that shuffles up character dynamics and sets up the second half of season 5.
Honorable Mention: Episode 4, “Nor the Battle to the Strong”
2 Star Trek: DS9 Season 6’s Best Is: Episode 13, “Far Beyond The Stars”
“I am a Human being, dammit! You can deny me all you want but you can’t deny Ben Sisko – He exists!”
“Far Beyond the Stars” is the best episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6, because it’s a powerful depiction of racism that doesn’t rely on the usual Star Trek allegories. Instead, the struggles of science fiction writer Benny Russell become an allegory for Sisko’s own crisis of faith. By seeing the harsh realities of segregation and institutional racism in 1950s America through the eys of Benny, Sisko is revitalized to keep fighting the good fight.
“Far Beyond the Stars” is only the second time that Michael Dorn appears in Star Trek without his Klingon make-up. The first time was when Worf was disguised as a Boraalan in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 7, episode 13, “Homeward”.
“Far Beyond the Stars” is a powerful reflection of how far race relations have come since the debut of Star Trek: The Original Series in 1966. However, the classic Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode is under no illusions that everyone watching must continue to fight the good fight for racial equality. Directed by Avery Brooks, and featuring one of his best-ever performances in DS9, “Far Beyond the Stars” is one of the very best episodes of any Star Trek TV show, and it still feels powerfully relevant in 2024.
Honorable Mention: Episode 19, “In the Pale Moonlight”
1 Star Trek: DS9 Season 7’s Best Is: Episode 22, “Tacking Into The Wind”
“The Klingon Empire is dying, and I think it deserves to die.”
“Tacking into the Wind” is another fine example of how Star Trek: Deep Space‘s writers are the masters of juggling a 45-minute runtime with big story ideas, character moments, and thrilling action setpieces. The episode tells the dual narratives of Worf’s attempts to bring the Klingon Empire back in line, and Kira, Odo and Garak’s mission to capture a Breen weapon from the Dominion. Both stories are utterly thrilling, but “Tacking into the Wind” isn’t just an action-packed adventure story, it has some genuinely moving character moments.
“Tacking into the Wind” was Robert O’Reilly’s final appearance as Chancellor Gowron in the Star Trek franchise.
Worf’s inner conflict as he considers how to deal with his wayward ally Chancellor Gowron (Robert O’Reilly) provides Michael Dorn with some of the best material he’s ever had in any Star Trek show. Meanwhile, Odo’s determination to complete his mission despite his worsening health is heartbreaking. It’s impossible not to hold back tears as Odo and Kira have what may be their final conversation together. “Tacking into the Wind” is the strongest episode in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s nine-part finale, and sums up everything that made it such a brilliant Star Trek show.
