As far back as season 1, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fixed the franchise’s notorious “redshirt” trope by giving death a greater meaning. Risking one’s life is part and parcel of Starfleet’s mission to seek out strange new worlds, but death very rarely had lasting consequences in Star Trek‘s early days. The deaths of David Marcus (Merritt Butrick) and Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in the Star Trek: The Original Series movies are notable instances of tragedies that impacted the journeys of the main characters. So too is the TOS episode “Obsession”, in which Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) seeks revenge for the tragedy aboard the USS Farragut.
All that being said, the “redshirt” trope exists for a reason, and it’s because of how frequently unnamed security and engineering officers were killed off in Star Trek: The Original Series. 55 crew members died during TOS‘ three-season run between 1966 and 1969. 24 of the 55 dead crew members were wearing red shirts, leading to the color red becoming a bad omen in the Star Trek universe. Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s major death in season 1 went some way to subverting this trope, when it killed off series regular Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby). However, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine went even further, ensuring that death in DS9 had consequences.
DS9 Fixed Star Trek’s “Redshirt” Death Problem
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1, episode 13, “Battle Lines” is all about death, as Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and an away team crash-land on a planet where nobody can die. This means that the war currently ravaging the planet will never end. It’s a classic Star Trek allegory about the futility and cyclical nature of military conflict, but it’s given extra meaning when one of DS9‘s recurring characters is killed off early in the episode. Originally, “Battle Lines” would have featured a “redshirt” character that would be killed off in the shuttle crash, but the idea was abandoned in favor of killing off one of the existing DS9 characters instead.
Kai Opaka (Camille Saviola) was selected as the recurring character who was “most expendable.” Opaka’s death gives “Battle Lines” way more impact than if a nameless “redshirt” had been killed instead. Both Sisko and Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) are rocked by the death, given Opaka’s position as Bajor’s spiritual leader. When she’s later resurrected by the planet’s atmosphere, she stays behind to negotiate peace, as she will die permanently upon leaving the planet. Opaka’s death hasn’t been magically “cured” by Star Trek science, it’s permanent, and it has a lasting impact on DS9.
DS9’s Big Season 1 Death Set Up Its First Star Trek Arc
Not only did Kai Opaka’s death lend “Battle Lines” more gravitas, it shaped Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s first big story arc. DS9 had been designed to better explore the consequences of Starfleet’s continuing mission. And so, the story of Deep Space Nine after “Battle Lines” is squarely focused on the political and spiritual vacuum created by Opaka’s death. It’s a storyline that would both bring DS9 season 1 to a close, and set up season 2’s three-part opener.
It’s therefore tempting to view the death of Kai Opaka and the ramifications for Bajor as a dry run for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Dominion War arc. In taking the time to explore the consequences of death in Star Trek, DS9 paved the way for its most acclaimed storylines. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1 established that this would be a show that would not take death lightly, and therefore added a weight and gravitas to the ongoing story of Star Trek that continues to drive it to this day.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
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.
