Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was not a perfect show but its treatment of imperialism, war crimes, and genocide was light-years ahead of some of the stuff coming out today (looking at you, Star Wars).
In DS9:
- Bajor, a world struggling to recover from decades of genocidal colonial policies, is front and center
- Bajoran characters, most prominently Kira, are allowed to grapple with their own trauma and their stories don’t revolve around making their oppressors, the Cardassians, feel better
- Kira’s history of violent resistance against the occupation is not sugarcoated, nor does the show shy away from the fact that she hurt innocent people in the process. But neither does the story condemn her for using violence to resist genocide
- Not only was Kira a terrorist, but a religiously driven one as well. Belief in the Prophets held Bajor together during the occupation, and is a major subject of exploration in the show
- Despite all that Bajor suffered, Bajorans are not relics of the past or a destroyed, defeated people–their culture is vital and alive, they are rebuilding against incredible odds, and are working toward Federation membership
- Bajorans themselves are not some misty spiritual cardboard cutouts, either. They are complex, they lash out, they are spiritual, they are lovers, killers, reactionaries, weirdos, mystics, the full range of experiences and personalities
- And then there’s Kai Winn, who is an entire book in herself. She is such a well-drawn female villain, a complicated portrayal of self-serving ambition, self-deception, and self-entitlement
- Because Bajorans are given their own stories, it actually works when some Cardassians–generally minor and one-off characters–are shown to be dissenters, or themselves traumatized from the occupation
- We actually see Dukat, the leader of the occupation, trying to play the misunderstood hero/redemption card only to get slapped down by the narrative time and again
- Dukat isn’t a one-note villain either; he is often charming and sometimes inspiring, as when he has a stint as a resistance fighter himself against the Klingons occupying Cardassian territory
- Ultimately, though, the story reveals Dukat to be a liar, a virulent racist, an abuser, and at heart an imperialist megalomaniac who almost destroyed the Alpha Quadrant with his lust for power
- David Brin was right and Star Trek is better
I love a good villain, I love to love a good villain, and Dukat fucked me up so bad. I was so on board with the charismatic asshole, even though he’s the bad guy, because he’s so well written and acted it was fun to see him be villainous, but then I got to the episode where his relationship to Kira’s family was revealed. Something about how well he lies, even to himself, was so fucking real it absolutely destroyed me. The rest of the show was so difficult to get through, but I mean that as the highest compliment- Dukat is possibly the best villain ever written. He’s absolutely vile and I like nothing about him except how insanely hateable he is. It’s SO GOOD how unbelievably bad he is
EDIT: unsympathetic is the word I’m looking for! I liked him for a long time because he exhibited empathy and regret, and then you get to that episode where you realize it’s all bullshit, and worse, he believes his own bullshit. It’s mind blowing how hard they bait and switched me with him.