12 Most Underrated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Episodes
While "Star Trek" is seeing a television resurgence via Paramount+, the venerable science fiction franchise's '90s series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" has since been reappraised as one of its best. Running for seven seasons from 1993 to 1999, the show follows an eponymous space station held by Starfleet as it monitors a wormhole near the planet Bajor. Across the series, Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) is tested by growing aggression from a hostile military alliance known as the Dominion, culminating in an all-out war in the program's final half.
Though there are plenty of episodes that have been widely regarded as prime "Deep Space Nine," there are also numerous installments that are often overlooked and unappreciated. And they offer everything from diversions to the grim Dominion War storyline to providing its main cast with strong character moments. Here are the 12 most underrated episodes of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," all worthy of a rewatch.
Shadowplay (Season 2, Episode 16)
"Star Trek" has been playing with realistic holographic constructs that come to terms with their own autonomy since Professor James Moriarty (Daniel Davis) escaped the holodeck in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." "Deep Space Nine" offers a more hopeful take on this trope in the Season 2 episode "Shadowplay," as Odo (René Auberjonois) and Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) make a surprising discovery. While investigating a planet in the Gamma Quadrant, the two encounter a holographic village that has begun to grow and thrive on its own, with its denizens quietly building lives for themselves.
In contrast to the villainous Moriarty, Odo and Jadzia feel that the village deserves a right to life as much as any organic lifeform and they work to ensure it survives. For a franchise that champions the right to autonomous existence for all beings, "Shadowplay" beautifully illustrates those themes while also depicting a more compassionate side to Odo. One of the series' most serene episodes, "Shadowplay" avoids being overly heavy-handed with its messaging as it establishes Starfleet as defenders of life in all forms.
Blood Oath (Season 2, Episode 19)
"Deep Space Nine" famously delivered a direct homage to "Star Trek: The Original Series" in the classic episode "Trials and Tribble-ations," but this wasn't the only time "DS9" honored the '60s series. The Season 2 episode "Blood Oath" brought back three "TOS"-era Klingons, with the original actors reprising their respective fan-favorite roles as the aging warriors visited DS9. Taking cues from "The Seven Samurai" and "The Wild Bunch," "Blood Oath" gave each of these Klingons a glorious sendoff as they assembled for one last honorable cause.
Klingon veterans Kor (John Colicos), Koloth (William Campbell), and Kang (Michael Ansara) are linked to Jadzia in a blood oath to avenge the Klingons' murdered sons. After Kang successfully tracks down the culprit decades later, he reunites with the others to carry out their vendetta, despite the Klingons' advancing age and a virtual guarantee of death. Though "Blood Oath" takes itself a bit too seriously, it is great to see all three actors — who clearly enjoyed themselves — reprise their Klingon roles while giving Jadzia her own morally ambiguous mission.
Civil Defense (Season 3, Episode 7)
More than just a run-of-the-mill space station, DS9 was created by the Cardassian Union during their brutal occupation of Bajor (prior to the event of the series), before ceding the installation to Starfleet and the Bajoran government. This troubled history comes to the forefront in the Season 3 episode "Civil Defense," with the Cardassian failsafe security program reactivating, effectively turning the station against its current inhabitants. With the station on a self-imposed lockdown and those aboard recognized by the security system as intruders, Sisko must turn to Cardassian commander Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) for help.
Dukat – an antagonistic presence long before "Civil Defense" – relishing in finally having the upper hand over Sisko and the new leadership of DS9 provides Alaimo with a deliciously wicked showcase for his character. This dynamic is turned on its head when Dukat visits the station, only to find that he too is seen by its systems as a hostile figure. There's a reason why Dukat sizzles so effectively as the series' primary antagonist, and seeing him compelled to collaborate with his adversaries in order to survive informs so much of their relationships moving forward.
Hippocratic Oath (Season 4, Episode 3)
"Deep Space Nine" brought about a greater sense of moral ambiguity to the "Star Trek" franchise and that distinction is clearly articulated in the Season 4 episode "Hippocratic Oath." Still acclimating to life on DS9, Worf (Michael Dorn) realizes that the usual protocols he followed on the Enterprise don't necessarily apply to the space station. Elsewhere, Dr. Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) are captured by a rogue faction of Jem'Hadar and asked (so to speak) to cure them of their chemical dependency on the Dominion.
Worf's addition to the "DS9" cast was a welcome one and that mid-series transition in incorporating him is beautifully illustrated here as he learns to live alongside shady figures like Quark (Armin Shimerman). This is juxtaposed by Bashir's own crisis of conscience, debating whether he should use his medical expertise to help the enemy, with O'Brien fueling his doubts. These themes would be elevated by the eventual start of the Dominion War, but it's "Hippocratic Oath" that helps establish where each of these characters morally stands.
For the Cause (Season 4, Episode 21)
Season 2 of "Deep Space Nine" introduced the Maquis, a splinter group of former Federation personnel who went rogue to fight the Cardassian Union without Starfleet approval. The Maquis' escalating activities sow distrust within Starfleet's ranks, leading to the search for a traitor in the Season 4 episode "For the Cause." Presented as a paranoia-fueled mystery, Sisko searches for a reported traitor who plans to steal a Starfleet shipment of replicators on behalf of the Maquis.
"For the Cause" demands that Sisko question his own personal feelings when his girlfriend Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson) is named as the prime suspect. The resulting intrigue and deception from this episode help inform the shifting alliances and spycraft during the show's Dominion War arc, while underscoring Sisko and Kasidy's romance. The Maquis and the true culprit, Michael Eddington (Kenneth Marshall, who appeared in a total of nine episodes), would figure prominently in Season 5, while Sisko would learn a painful but important lesson in trust here.
Apocalypse Rising (Season 5, Episode 1)
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" established a tenuous peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, personified by the presence of Worf as a prominent member of the Enterprise crew. However, in "Deep Space Nine," the Dominion's machinations cause a breakdown of diplomatic relations between the Federation and Klingons, leading to a devastating war between them. This conflict is resolved in the Season 5 episode "Apocalypse Rising," as Sisko exposes the Dominion conspiracy orchestrating the war from within the upper echelons of the Klingon Empire.
"Apocalypse Rising" rates as one of the more underrated episodes of "Deep Space Nine" because it gets lost in the shuffle of the larger Dominion War storyline, almost serving as an afterthought to resolving the Federation-Klingon conflict. Still, the episode is just as vital in the series' overarching story, while providing Sisko and his hand-picked team with a cloak-and-dagger mission in the heart of the Klingon Empire. This sort of high-stakes, clandestine storytelling would suffuse much of "Deep Space Nine" moving forward and the episode officially started the countdown to the full launch of the Dominion War.
Ties of Blood and Water (Season 5, Episode 19)
At the start of "Deep Space Nine," Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) harbored a deep animosity towards all Cardassians for the atrocities they committed during their lengthy occupation of Bajor. This stance softened as the series progressed, with Kira befriending several Cardassians rather than allow herself to be consumed by her personal vendetta. The Season 5 episode "Ties of Blood and Water" displays just how much Kira has grown as a character, as she finds herself in the middle of Cardassian Union intrigue.
"Ties of Blood and Water" spins a tale about fathers and daughters, including the regret that comes from not being there for loved ones as they pass. Considered family by visiting Cardassian Tekeny Ghemor (Lawrence Pressman), Kira agrees to hear his bedside confession, struggling with her own unresolved feelings about the Cardassian occupation and her late father. Among Visitor's finest performances as Kira, "Ties of Blood and Water" is overshadowed by the buildup to all-out war with the Dominion, but it remains a solid, character-centric episode.
Children of Time (Season 5, Episode 22)
If "Shadowplay" allows Odo to recognize the merit in letting a small community survive, the Season 5 episode "Children of Time" offers a much darker and more tragic meditation on this theme. The Defiant encounters a temporal anomaly where a variant of the Defiant and its crew crashed on a faraway planet and its descendants formed a society that has grown over 200 years. The only survivor from the original crash still alive to meet the Defiant crew from the prime timeline is Odo, due to his unique physiology.
The Defiant crew faces the ethical dilemma of whether or not they should break the temporal loop by preventing the crash from occurring in order to survive, knowing that doing so would erase a thriving community. "Shadowplay" existed in a moral vacuum where the decision to preserve the virtual colony came without consequence, while "Children of Time" puts the main characters' lives on the line to face this impossible question. Ultimately, it's Odo who makes the choice for everybody, while demonstrating just how unwavering his love for Kira is, in one of the series' most poignantly bittersweet twist endings.
One Little Ship (Season 6, Episode 14)
Not every episode set within the thick of the Dominion War weaves an intense, somber story. A few actually veer into the more outlandish potential that science fiction can deliver. The most effectively off-kilter of them all is the Season 6 episode "One Little Ship," which blends epic spacefaring action with minuscule scope. The episode never compromises the do-or-die stakes of the Dominion War but certainly has some fun with the ongoing arc for a strange side tale.
While the Defiant investigates a subspace anomaly, its runabout and manned crew are shrunk to several centimeters tall by the cosmic conditions. As the runabout attempts to regain its true size, the Defiant is commandeered by an attacking force of Jem'Hadar who seize control, leaving the tiny runabout to liberate the Starfleet vessel. A cross between "Deep Space Nine" and the size-altering sci-fi classic "Fantastic Voyage," "One Little Ship" demonstrates that the show still had plenty of offbeat tricks up its sleeve.
Take Me Out to the Holosuite (Season 7, Episode 4)
Sisko's lifelong love of baseball, underscored by the constant presence of a baseball in his office, helped ground the character in his own humanity — and beyond his usual no-nonsense demeanor. America's pastime finally got its chance at center stage in the Season 7 episode "Take Me Out to the Holosuite," with the crew taking advantage of a lull in the Dominion War to play ball. More than merely offering a distraction to the interstellar conflict, the episode showcases how much the DS9 crew has grown together as a family in their own right.
"Take Me Out to the Holosuite" works best in context with the rest of the wider "Deep Space Nine" series and its increasingly dark Dominion War storyline. It's a solid ray of sunshine in a season where lightheartedness becomes progressively rare. And, more than an athletically minded side story, "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" quietly weaves in a message about finding dignity in losing, providing greater insight into Sisko's mindset at the time. Deeper than its premise may suggest, "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" is an overlooked gem in the series' final season.
Field of Fire (Season 4, Episode 13)
Among the many personas that served as a host and bond for the Dax symbiont, serial killer Joran Belar (Leigh McCloskey) ranks as the most twisted past life. While Jadzia had her own confrontation with Joran, Ezri (Nicole de Boer) was forced to turn to the killer for guidance while solving a murder mystery on DS9. With no leads on the investigation, Ezri makes the dangerous decision to revive Joran within her conscious mind to act as a telepathic consultant.
"Field of Fire" feels like the series' riff on "Silence of the Lambs," with a young investigator deciding to put her trust in a convicted serial killer, all within the "Star Trek" universe. Though I feel the episode could have taken better advantage of this genre blend, "Field of Fire" provides de Boer great material to work with as Ezri. More than just a chance for Ezri to take point on a murder mystery, "Field of Fire" ventures into outright psychological thriller territory as Ezri confronts her own heart of darkness.
Badda-Bing Badda-Bang (Season 7, Episode 15)
Contending with the mounting pressures of the Dominion War, Dr. Bashir created an elaborate holosuite program resembling a '60s nightclub, complete with lounge singer Vic Fontaine (James Darren). More than just crooning period tunes, Fontaine shared life advice with anyone who visited Bashir's program, including Odo and Worf. In the final season episode "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang," it was Fontaine who needed the DS9 crew's help, as the holosuite program ran into an unexpected glitch.
"Badda-Bing Badda-Bang" gets a bad rap because it can feel like a seemingly frivolous romp that would better match the show's earlier seasons — but that's precisely why it works. Like "Take Me Out to the Holosuite," Fontaine's big score provides the show with one last foray into goofy fun — with the reminder that sometimes "Star Trek" doesn't always have to be so self-serious. Soon after "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang," the show would kick off a nine-episode arc culminating in its series finale, sidelining any further opportunities for escapist one-off stories.