Summary
- Deep Space Nine accurately predicted the Klingon-Cardassian War two years before it occurred in season 4, destabilizing the Federation's relationships.
- The addition of Worf to the DS9 cast in season 4 marked a reboot for the show, improving public perception significantly.
- The conflict between Cardassians and Klingons in Garak's novel led to devastating losses for Cardassians, eroding their culture and autonomy.
The conflict with the Klingons was so severe that it inspired Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) to have Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) assigned to DS9 full time as both an advisor and tactical officer. The Klingon-Cardassian War, and the addition of Worf to the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in season 4 was a soft reboot for the show, that led to a significant improvement in public perception of DS9. However, a throwaway line in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 22, "The Wire", predicted the whole conflict, even before DS9's writers conceived of the Klingon-Cardassian War.
I Didn’t Know Where Roddenberry Got The Name Klingon In Star Trek Until Now
The Klingons are one of the most famous alien races from Star Trek, but Gene Roddenberry derived the name from his real life as a police officer.
DS9 Predicted Star Trek’s Klingon-Cardassian War 2 Years Earlier
"Who wins?" "Who do you think?"
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 22, "The Wire" centers on the friendship between Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) and Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson) as DS9's chief medical officer fights to save the Cardassian tailor's life. With Garak's condition stabilized by the end of the episode, Garak and Bashir resume their weekly lunch dates, where they discuss the merits of Federation and Cardassian literature. Garak lends Bashir a novel set in a potential future where the Cardassian Union is at war with the Klingon Empire. When asked by Bashir who wins the war, Garak wryly replies "Who do you think?"
"The Wire" is a pivotal episode for Garak and the Cardassians, as it introduces the Obsidian Order, and officially names the Cardassians' home planet as Cardassia Prime.
The Cardassian-Klingon war in Garak's novel was not intended as ominous foreshadowing by writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe. Instead, it was a joke about how Garak saw his taste in literature as more refined than Bashir's, despite it being jingoistic propaganda about the Cardassians' superiority over the Klingon Empire. It was only later, when Rick Berman suggested adding Worf to the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, that the idea of a conflict between the Klingons and Cardassians was devised as a way to justify bringing Michael Dorn's beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation character aboard.
Garak Was Wrong, The Cardassians Lost The Klingon War
"Please, Doctor. Spare me your insufferable Federation optimism. Of course it will survive, but as not the Cardassia I knew."
The war between the Klingon Empire and the Cardassian Union effectively came to an end when Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) negotiated for the Cardassians to the Dominion. In the short term, this meant that the Cardassians were able to repel the Klingon forces with the help of the Jem'Hadar in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5, episode 15, "By Inferno's Light". In the long term, it led to a longer conflict that ultimately decimated Cardassia Prime. The alliance with the Dominion cost the Cardassians dearly, as their autonomy was eroded by the tyrany of the Female Changeling (Salome Jens) and Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs).
Garak and Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) aided the Cardassian military in ri against the Dominion in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's finale, but their former allies unleashed devastating reprisals against Cardassia Prime. Eight hundred million Cardassians died, a combination of the losses incurred during the Battle of Cardassia, and those incurred by the Dominion's violent reprisals. Gul Dukat may have secured the Cardassians a momentary victory in the war against the Klingons, but he signed the death warrant for eight hundred million of his fellow Cardassians and erased much of the culture, art, music, and literature that was so beloved by Garak.
All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are streaming now on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Release Date
- 1993 - 1999-00-00
- Network
- CBS
- Showrunner
- Michael Piller, Ira Steven Behr
WHERE TO WATCH
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.
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