By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Star Trek is worth rewatching more than most franchises because there’s always something new to discover. Case in point: Kira has always been our favorite DS9 character, and she features prominently in some of the series’ best episodes. But we might never have had access to these great stories without a relatively forgotten episode, “Progress,” which helped make this character one of the most important parts of the series. New deep space.
A season 1 that stands out
“Progress” was a season 1 episode of Deep Space NinHe, then showrunner Michael Piller, later admitted that Kira sparked the need for this particular story. “Midway through the year, we suddenly realized that we had kind of lost Kira, which is immediately addressed with this episode and others as the season goes on,” he said. To understand why this episode is so fundamental to his character, it’s important to recap the content of this story.
The main story of “Progress” takes place on one of the moons of Bajor rather than New deep space. The Bajorans will mine the moon for energy, but this will make it uninhabitable for everyone, including a grumpy old farmer named Mullibok. Kira befriends the farmer despite being tasked with evacuating him from the moon, and most of their conversations highlight how Kira feels torn between her feelings and her duty.
Torn between worlds
Towards the end of “Progress”, this New deep space the character’s contradictory thoughts reach a very explosive point. Kira ends up bonding with Mullibok and she even puts her career on the line by supporting him against the Bajoran government. Mullibok is obsessed with completing a furnace he is building and claims he will not leave the moon while his house is still standing; Kira, despite their bond, blows up his oven, sets his cottage on fire, and orders him to teleport to the runabout.
What makes “Progress” so great? New deep space The episode for Kira is that it shows that she is almost always caught between different worlds. Here she is caught between her sympathies for Mullibok (who rightly points out that his stubbornness ultimately helped drive out the occupying Cardassians) and her duty to Bajor. Later episodes would explore how she balances her loyalty to Bajor and Starfleet, especially because the station commander is basically Jesus to her people.
The Kira-centric episodes are some of the best
Even among other Bajorans, Kira often doesn’t fit in as 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, complemented by a religion that often encourages peace and harmony. Compared to this kind of cultural ideal, Kira stands out as a perfect paradox: a spiritual devotee who is never afraid to get her hands dirty in the name of peace.
Ultimately, “Progress” helps highlight why Kira is New deep space‘s best character, one who became more and more fascinating as the series continued. But she might never have flourished without this first episode which allowed Star Trek producers to bring her to the forefront. And take it from some real DS9 fanboys: Kira being front and center is alwaysThis is a sign that you are about to watch a good episode.