Star Trek: DS9 Made 1 TNG Character More Important (And It Wasn’t Chief O’Brien)

Chief O’Brien (Colm Meaney) wasn’t the only Star Trek: The Next Generation character to become a more important figure in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. DS9 made many improvements on characters and species first introduced in TNG, most notably the more nuanced development of the Ferengi as an alien species. Many TNG stars also joined the cast of Star Trek: DS9 on either a regular or recurring basis from Colm Meaney and Michael Dorn as O’Brien and Worf to recurring stars like Robert O’Reilly as Chancellor Gowron or Rosalind Chao as Keiko O’Brien.

Keiko first appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4, episode 11, “Data’s Day”, which depicted her marriage to Chief O’Brien. Rosalind Chao went on to appear in 27 Star Trek episodes between TNG and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Keiko was a botanist aboard the USS Enterprise-D in TNG, and became the school teacher when she and Miles moved to Deep Space Nine. On top of these jobs, Keiko also raised her daughter Molly (Hana Hatae) and provided support to a beleaguered Chief O’Brien. However, DS9 ensured that Keiko was never solely presented as a wife and mother, and made the character more important as a result.

Star Trek: DS9 Made Keiko O’Brien More Important Than In TNG

With some exceptions, Keiko O’Brien was often portrayed as the wife and mother in Star Trek: The Next Generation. For example, Keiko’s scenes in “The Wounded” revolve around her making dinner for Chief O’Brien as he discusses the ongoing situation with the Cardassians. While Keiko does get some moments of action, such as liberating the Enterprise from Ferengi in the episode “Rascals”, it’s not until Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that she takes a more active role. The most notable shift in Keiko’s importance is DS9‘s season 1 finale, in which she faces off against religious zealotry in the form of fearsome villain Vedek Winn (Louise Fletcher).

After holding her own against one of Star Trek‘s most complex villains, Keiko O’Brien starts to take a more active role aboard Deep Space Nine. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 13, “Armageddon Game”, it’s Keiko who realizes that the Kelleruns have been lying to Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) about O’Brien’s death. In the very next episode, “Whispers”, Keiko played an integral part in tricking a duplicate Miles into leading her to the real Chief O’Brien. In quick succession, these episodes from DS9 season 2 established that Keiko was not a passive wife who would simply sit worrying about her husband.

What Happened To Keiko O’Brien After Star Trek: DS9?

When O’Brien was promoted to Chief of Operations aboard Deep Space Nine, Keiko and Molly joined him on the station. However, it was immediately clear that Keiko was not happy about living aboard a rundown Cardassian space station. Fortunately for Keiko, she eventually found ways to get away from DS9, accepting a posting as Chief Botanist on a six-month expedition to Bajor. After Keiko was possessed by a Pah-wraith, she and Molly returned to Earth to stay with family, eventually moving there for a year at the height of the Dominion War.

After the Dominion War and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ended, Keiko was finally able to leave the station for good when Chief O’Brien was offered a post at Starfleet Academy. The new position allowed the O’Briens to finally settle down on Earth as a family, something that Keiko had clearly longed for. While O’Brien’s promotion to Starfleet Academy was a fitting end for the character, it felt like it was Keiko O’Brien who got the true happy ending in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.