Has it really been 25 years since Star Trek: Deep Space Nine premiered?!? Yes. Yes it has. And, for fans, it’s an opportunity to remember, and even re-watch the show that redefined what Star Trek could be. A few of us at Geek Girl Authority are DS9 superfans. So, we compiled a short list of our very favorite episodes, and why we love them. Here they are in running order.
DUET – Season 1, Ep. 18
Kira confronts a Cardassian war criminal about the atrocities he’s committed. During the investigation she’s forced to look at what she did in the war and consider that she isn’t innocent either. She finally discovers that the prisoner is not who he says he is, and finds in herself the forgiveness that they both need. It’s a fascinating episode about war and it’s effects. I love it because it embodies what is unique about DS9. It’s ambiguous. There is no shining right or darkest wrong. It’s gray. Everyone is capable of wonderful and terrible things, and having to admit that you are both wonderful and terrible is one of the hardest, most human, most universal struggles of all. – Jenny Flack: Co-Founder, Senior Contributor
CROSSOVER – Season 2, Ep. 23
This is the episode where Kira and Bashir travel to an alternate dimension and they meet up with evil Kira who has taken control of Bajor and has basically enslaved the humans. Sisko is her little crony but he’s not necessarily on her side. This was a fantastic episode because it was one of the few DS9 episodes that went into another dimension. We got to see a different Kira that was conniving, ruthless, and intimidating. We saw a world that was full of greed and power, a great departure from what we were used to. – Renee Lopez, Contributor
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FAMILY BUSINESS – Season 3, Ep. 23
Quark and Rom return to the Ferengi home world because their mother has broken the law – by wearing clothes and earning profits, forbidden for women in Ferengi society. I really enjoy seeing Quark perplexed and agitated… add to it the story of a woman breaking the rules to do what she wants – even better than a man, at that! – Talyna Morrison: Contributor
FACETS – Season 3 Ep. 25
Dax goes through a Trill ritual called the Zhian’tara, wherein she gets the chance to commune with her symbiote’s previous hosts. The entire concept of the ritual, having the essence of a person telepathically imprinted into another, intrigues me on its own. But to have the chance to get to know someone that is long dead that helped shape you on an unconscious level? What an opportunity! The range on the actors that bring the previous hosts to life is amazing, too! – Talyna Morrison: Contributor
THE VISITOR – Season 4, Ep. 2
I love any episode that plays with time and space. This one is great. Commander Sisko and his son Jake are on the Defiant to witness a once-in-50-year inversion of the Bjoran wormhole, and that causes their warp drive to go down. They fix it, but a shock from the drive strikes Commander Sisko and he disappears into a subspace dimension where he’s stuck in time. Everyone thinks he’s dead. But, they discover it’s not that easy when he keeps reappearing for short periods of time as Jake grows older. Jake becomes obsessed with getting his dad back. We follow him into old age, he discovers a way he might be able go back and change things, when he reunites with his father one more time… watch to see the end. It’ll make you cry. – Jenny Flack: Co-Founder, Senior Contributor
OUR MAN BASHIR – Season 4, Ep. 10
A transporter malfunction leads to a DS9 + James Bond adventure in the Holosuite with Garek and Bashir. What more needs to be said?! – Talyna Morrison: Contributor
FAR BEYOND THE STARS – Season 6, Ep. 13
In this episode Sisko finds himself in the 1950s and he’s an aspiring science fiction writer. Throughout the episode he has to deal with outright racism as he tries to pursue his passion of storytelling. Everyone else is in it, and they do their best to shatter his spirit. It is one of Avery Brook’s best performances and it’s relevance to modern times does not go unnoticed. This is up there as one of the best DS9 episodes, in my opinion, even though it is a stand-alone episode. You can see Sisko’s frustration and hopelessness throughout and you can’t help but feel all the feels. – Renee Lopez, Contributor
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IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT – Season 6, Ep. 19
This one goes without saying. In this episode Sisko recounts how he effectively got the Romulans to join in the Dominion War. Through heavy scheming with the help of Garak, Sisko completely blurs the lines between right and wrong to secure a strong ally for the Federation. As he says in the episode “So… I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover up the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But most damning of all… I think I can live with it… And if I had to do it all over again… I would.” We see that Sisko would do anything to preserve the Federation and the Alpha Quadrant. While other captains might have struggled with these decisions, Sisko shows us that he will do whatever it takes. This is the best episode of DS9 to me. The whole story of the Dominion War was such a departure from other Star Trek series. This is when things go very real and the stakes were unbelievably high. I didn’t think there could be a adversary as dominate as the Borg, but the Jem’Hadar and the Dominion proved that wrong. – Renee Lopez, Contributor
TAKE ME OUT TO THE HOLOSUITE – Season 7, Ep. 4
Sisko and the the crew of DS9 are challenged to an old fashioned game of baseball in the Holosuite by a vulcan captain with a big ego and a disparaging attitude toward Sisko. It’s a great episode about pride taken too far, underdogs, misfits and the underdogs still losing but winning at the same time. Plus, there’s so much comedy! Like, when Sisko picks Odo to umpire, knowing he’s the only one he can trust to be impartial. Sisko pokes him and Odo throws him out of the game! None of Sisko’s team understands baseball and Worf had the best lines ever, like ‘We will destroy them.’ – Audrey Kearns: Founder, Editor-in-Chief
Actor, Improviser, Comic.
I like to like things and talk about them.
I like to pretend.
I like to make things.
I like to write things down.
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