Movie Reviews

Im Glad Star Trek: DS9 Abandoned The Original Controversial Plan For Chief OBrien

Ita Precious3 weeks ago
238 4 minutes read
i m glad star trek didn t turn chief o brien into a cardassian

Summary

  • Turning Chief O’Brien into a Cardassian on DS9 was scrapped, avoiding a major storyline disaster.
  • Dropping O’Brien led to Major Kira having one of her best DS9 episodes instead.
  • The idea of O’Brien being a Cardassian would pose too many questions and undermine his character.



I’m glad that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine abandoned a plan to turn Star Trek veteran Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) into a Cardassian. It was revealed in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 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 in DS9 when 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 beloved Deep Space Nine character into a Cardassian in season 3.


The episode in question was an early version of what would eventually become Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 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 an O’Brien Must Suffer episode in which Miles 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 of DS9‘s best-loved characters.

Related

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 in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The revelation would have meant that the O’Brien we met in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s pilot, “Encounter at Farpoint”, was a Cardassian spy. Revealing this in DS9 season 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 the Chief Petty Officer of their flagship was actually a spy for the Cardassian Union?

Hewitt Wolfe’s idea was realized, in some form, in the
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
episode “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 in Star 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 of Major Kira’s best DS9 episodes. 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 in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

As well as reprising his role as Tekeny Ghemor in season 5, Lawrence Pressman appeared in
Star 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 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 5, “Second Skin”, which is a big moment for her. Like Chief O’Brien, Kira is also prejudiced against Cardassians, due to their Occupation 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+


Ita Precious3 weeks ago
238 4 minutes read
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