Summary
I’m glad thatStar Trek: Deep Space Nineabandoned a plan to turnStar Trekveteran Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) into a Cardassian. It was revealed inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 4, episode 12, “The Wounded” that O’Brien was a veteran of the Federation-Cardassian War, which meant that he was prejudiced against Cardassians. This prejudice became more pronounced inDS9when his anti-Cardassian sentiments were used against him in season 2, episode 25, “Tribunal”. To turn this prejudice on its head, writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe wanted to turn the belovedDeep Space Ninecharacterinto a Cardassian in season 3.
The episode in question was an early version of what would eventually becomeStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 3, episode 5, “Second Skin”. The finished version centered on Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) being altered to appear Cardassian as part of an elaborate plot by the Obsidian Order. However, Robert Hewitt Wolfe’s original version of “Second Skin” would have been anO’Brien Must Suffer episodein whichMiles discovered he was a Cardassian spy who had infiltrated Starfleet after the Setlik III Massacre. Thankfully, this never happened, as I’m sure it would have ruined one ofDS9’s best-loved characters.
DS9’s Chief O’Brien Called Out A Problematic Star Trek Blind Spot
Star Trek is all about inclusion and diversity, but it doesn’t always get it right, as DS9’s Chief O’Brien actor Colm Meaney once pointed out.
Star Trek’s Chief O’Brien Being A Cardassian Would Have Been A Huge Mistake
The ramifications for both TNG and DS9 would have been too large.
I can’t begin to get my head around the ramifications of revealing that Chief O’Brien was actually a Cardassian spy inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.The revelation would have meant that the O’Brien we met inStar Trek: The Next Generation’s pilot, “Encounter at Farpoint”, was a Cardassian spy. Revealing this inDS9season 3 would have asked too many questions to satisfyingly answer in the course of a 45-minute episode. For example, how would Starfleet react to the revelation that theChief Petty Officerof their flagship was actually a spy for the Cardassian Union?
Hewitt Wolfe’s idea was realized, in some form, in theStar Trek: Deep Space Nineepisode “Tribunal”, which revealed that O’Brien’s former colleague, Boone, was a genetically altered Cardassian spy.
Robert Hewitt Wolfe’s intention was to explore the idea of identity, with the moral of the story being that it only mattered who O’Brien was now. To me, that ending feels like a cop-out. At this stage inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s life, it’s hard to escape the feeling that this major revelation about O’Brien’s identity would be swept under the carpet in the following episode. To do something so massive in such a disposable way would have been an insult to O’Brien’s character, and the viewers that had been watching him since 1987.
Dropping O’Brien Gave Kira One Of Her Best Star Trek: DS9 Episodes
Robert Hewitt Wolfe decided to abandon the Chief O’Brien version of “Second Skin” when he couldn’t reconcile how a Cardassian spy could have a human daughter. By dropping O’Brien, Hewitt Wolfe ended up giving us one ofMajor Kira’s bestDS9episodes. Crucially, Kira isn’t revealed to be a Cardassian, but is instead an unwitting pawn in a plan by the Obsidian Order to expose the dissident Tekeny Ghemor (Lawrence Pressman). As she’s not actually a spy like O’Brien would have been, Kira’s experiences do influence her later development inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.
As well as reprising his role as Tekeny Ghemor in season 5, Lawrence Pressman appeared inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s season 3 finale as a Changeling infiltrator masquerading as Ambassador Krajensky.
Kira calls Ghemor an “honorable man” at the end ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 3, episode 5, “Second Skin”, which is a big moment for her. Like Chief O’Brien, Kira is also prejudiced against Cardassians, due to theirOccupation of Bajor. However, through Tekeny Ghemor, Kira gets to understand that not every Cardassian is a brutal dictator, some see another way forward. I can’t see Robert Hewitt Wolfe’s original version of “Second Skin” having this same impact on O’Brien, which is why the story works far better with Major Kira than the Chief.
All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Cast
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D as they embark on interstellar explorations, seeking out new worlds and civilizations.
