Franchise Legend Explains Why Deep Space Nine Is The Best Star Trek Show

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 11 seconds ago

As a lifelong fan of Star Trek, I have plenty of hot takes about my favorite franchise. The hottest take, perhaps, is that Deep Space Nine is the absolute best show, hands-down. It had an admittedly rocky start, but after that, this spinoff consistently fired on all cylinders. It pushed the boundaries of Trek in almost every direction while exemplifying the spirit of this iconic sci-fi creation. Back in 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture’s marketing promised us that “the human adventure is just beginning.” In many ways, DS9 felt like the end of that adventure because it explored every facet of human nature in new and exciting ways.

Like I said, calling Deep Space Nine the best Star Trek series is a hot take, one that often has fans wanting to take out their phasers. And trust me, those bad boys are not set to stun! Because of this, I’m always happy when the actors involved with this show explain exactly what makes it so great. That’s exactly what Kira actor Nana Visitor did. When discussing “Necessary Evil,” one of the show’s best episodes, she pointed out that Deep Space Nine doesn’t spoon-feed its audiences neat, happy conclusions. Instead, the show embraces messy characters and messier relationships while crediting the audience for wanting more than another fake, happy ending.

A Major Kira Episode

“Necessary Evil” ended up being a very important episode for Nana Visitor’s character. It begins with Odo investigating a mysterious list of Bajoran names that was stolen by a violent criminal. Interspersed throughout the story are flashbacks to one of Odo’s earlier investigations, back when Cardassia owned the station. He is trying to learn who killed a Bajoran man, and the deceased’s wife thinks Kira did it. Odo initially clears Kira and, in the present day, discovers that the list contained names of Bajorans who collaborated with the Cardassians. Furthermore, he learns that she has been using that list to blackmail former collaborators into giving her money.

Case solved, right? At least, in the present day. But Odo’s current investigation also helps him belatedly discover that Kira really did kill that Bajoran man years ago; it was self-defense, but she was trying to get the same list of names. She had hidden the truth from Odo out of an attempt to protect their friendship, and when she asks if he will ever be able to trust her again, he doesn’t have an answer. It’s a very real, very brutal moment between two beloved characters. And according to Kira actor Nana Visitor, it’s a moment that helped exemplify why Deep Space Nine is such an amazing show.

A Friendship Ruined?

Looking back on “Necessary Evil,” Visitor said (as recorded in Captains’ Logs Supplemental–The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages), “What I loved about that show is that it was left ambiguous between [Kira and Odo]. Odo doesn’t trust me the way he did and he never will, and that’s so truthful to me.” Finishing her thoughts, she summed up exactly why Deep Space Nine is the best Star Trek show. “That’s real life, and that’s one of the things this show does very well. It doesn’t tie things up in nice, neat little bows for the audience. It gives them more credit than that.” 

She’s right, of course: DS9 distinguished itself from most shows in that regard, including other Star Trek series. If something like this had happened in The Next Generation or Voyager, the two characters would have mended things with a quiet, gentle conversation. If it had happened on Discovery or Strange New Worlds, they would have mended things with a conversation featuring loud crying and lame jokes. Only Deep Space Nine, however, would let both the characters and the audience sit in ambiguous dread, wondering if an important relationship has been completely ruined.

The sad resolution of “Necessary Evil” makes it that much sweeter when Odo and Kira not only restore their friendship but become the cutest couple on the show. Like Visitor said, though, that’s real life. No relationship exists in a vacuum; instead, it’s built on a shared past that includes rocky memories, and overcoming those obstacles makes the two of you even stronger. Sure, Deep Space Nine may be a show featuring exotic aliens and mind-bending cosmic phenomena, but it’s the best Star Trek show in part because of how well it understands the most grounded, human thing of them all: true love, baby!