Deep Space Nine Episode Saved Show’s Best Character
Star Trek is worth rewatching more than most franchises because there is always something new to discover. Case in point: Kira has always been our favorite DS9 character, and she features prominently in some of the show’s very best episodes. But we might never have gotten these great stories if not for a relatively forgotten episode, “Progress,” helping to make this character one of the most prominent parts of Deep Space Nine.
A Season One Stand Out
“Progress” was a season 1 episode of Deep Space Nine, and then-showrunner Michael Piller later admitted that Kira prompted the need for this particular story. “In the middle part of the year, we suddenly realized we had sort of lost Kira, which is immediately taken care of with this and other episodes as the season goes on,” he said. To understand why this episode is so fundamental to her character, it’s important to recap what this story was all about.
The main story of “Progress” takes place on one of Bajor’s moons rather than on Deep Space Nine. The Bajorans will be tapping the moon for energy, but that will render it uninhabitable to everyone, including a cranky old farmer named Mullibok. Kira bonds with the farmer despite being in charge of evacuating him from the moon, and most of their conversations highlight how torn Kira feels between her feelings and her duty.
Torn Between Worlds
Towards the end of “Progress,” this Deep Space Nine character’s conflicting thoughts come to a very explosive head. Kira ends up bonding with Mullibok, and she even puts her career on the line in supporting him against the Bajoran government. Mullibok is obsessed about finishing a kiln he is building and claims he won’t leave the moon as long as his cottage is still standing; Kira, despite their bond, blows up his kiln, sets his cottage on fire, and orders him beamed up to the runabout.
What makes “Progress” such a great Deep Space Nine episode for Kira is that it sets up that she is almost always caught between different worlds. Here, she is caught between her sympathies for Mullibok (who correctly points out that his brand of stubbornness helped eventually drive out the occupying Cardassians) and her duty to Bajor. Later episodes would explore how she balances her loyalty to Bajor and to Starfleet, especially because the station commander is basically Jesus to her people.
Kira Centric Episodes Are Among The Best
Even among other Bajorans, Kira often doesn’t fit in because she was a terrorist who fought the Cardassians and often clashes with those who never took up arms. We see that Bajor has a deep and spiritual culture, complete with a religion that often encourages peace and harmony. Compared to that kind of cultural ideal, Kira stood apart as a perfect paradox: a spiritual adherent who is never afraid to get her hands dirty in the name of peace.
Ultimately, “Progress” helps highlight why Kira is Deep Space Nine’s best character, one who only got more fascinating as the show continued. But she might never have blossomed if not for this early episode that allowed the Star Trek producers to put her front and center. And take it from some true DS9 fanboys: Kira being front and center is always a sign that you’re about to watch a great episode.
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