Ranking Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Seasons

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Ranking Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Seasons

Deep Space Nine was a show that took its time to reach the greatest storylines and characterization, which is why the second half of it is so much better than the first half. Still, all of its seasons are strong and they all have their special episodes and arcs. Here is my ranking of all seven seasons with the emphasis on arcs, characters and importance of its stories.

7. Season 1

The first season of DS9 took some time to get going properly. Yes, the first two-parter was amazing, but afterward the series struggled with developing truly great arcs and characters. Most of the characters were yet to be fully developed at this point and the show was yet to reach its most sophisticated, political tone, which is why it gets the last spot here.

Best Moment – With all of that being said, the episode Duet is not only a rare showstopper from this season, but it still remains the greatest DS9 episode of them all. The highlight was the twist revelation that made an already moving episode even more heartbreaking and incredibly complex and sophisticated.

6. Season 3

The third season definitely started introducing more epic, more connected story arcs that were absent in the previous two seasons and it has its fair share of classics, but it is also a season that is overly derivative and typical in many of its episodes with the Quark ones being overly grating and silly. This was the point where I still strongly disliked his character.

Best Moment – Sisko got a lot of solid development throughout this season. The highlight has to be his dealing with his emissary rank. That was fascinating to follow as it was so well explored while also making his character more complex and more human.

5. Season 2

The second season is also messy, there is no doubt about it. All three first seasons are very troublesome in pacing and scripts. Many episodes here are utterly forgettable. However, it’s also a season that benefited from some truly terrific mystery as well as thriller elements with some great episodes belonging basically to those genres.

Best Moment – The highlight of those was Tribunal. It was very entertaining and suspenseful following O’Brien dealing with the accusations against him in this episode that was very much inspired by courtroom dramas. He is always strong in these thriller episodes.

4. Season 4

The fourth season is a mixed bag as well, but definitely moving toward greatness more this time around. This season had its misses, especially in some overly action-oriented installments, but the episodes that worked were uniformly great and this is where the show truly developed all of its great characters for the first time.

Best Moment – There are quite a couple of highlights in this season, but the infiltration of the Changelings definitely has to be its most memorable moment. This entire two-parter was very thrilling and simply spectacular.

3. Season 6

The penultimate season has its fillers, but most are terrific. The reason why this one ranks among the best seasons lies in its war elements. This is where the Dominion War really began for real and the war and tactical episodes really worked as they were realistic and sophisticated.

Best Moment – How can you not go with the revelation about Kira’s mother? That moment was super dark and surprising. Every episode with Kira and Dukat is great, but Indiscretion still ranks among the most shocking of the bunch.

2. Season 7

The seventh season is superb. It started off somewhat weakly, but the second half of it was truly epic with the Dominion saga reaching its peak and ultimately the war ended in such a satisfactory manner. We got to say goodbye to all of the characters in such a moving, powerful finale. It’s such an emotional season throughout.

Best Moment – Kira and Odo. Each and every scene that has them in it is the best here. Yes, this couple is amazing and whether you are talking about Odo’s heartbreaking illness or their separation at the end, they continued to move the audiences on their incredible journey.

1. Season 5

The fifth season also started on a weaker note, but ended beautifully. The season became better and better until it reached true greatness later down the line. It has so many great episodes and stories in its roster, but it is to be appreciated the most for introducing us to DS9’s most enduring legacy – The Dominion War Saga.

Best Moment – The finale that started the war was amazing and every single scene there deserves a special mention, but I would actually say that the highlight here was the revelation about Bashir and his childhood. It made a lot of sense and it was superbly explored both thematically and within the context of his character.