Star Trek: Deep Space Ninemade these aliens complex and fascinating villains, and I wish they played a larger role in modernStar Trek. From the Klingons to the Borg,Star Trekhas introduced some iconic and formidable villains. The Klingons and Romulans made their debut back in the 1960s inStar Trek: The Original Seriesand have both continued to have a presence throughout most of the franchise’s history. The Borg did not appear untilStar Trek: The Next Generation,but they, too, have maintained a steady presence.
Even the Gorn, who first appeared in the iconicStar Trek: The Original Seriesepisode, “Arena,” have become major villains onStar Trek: Strange New Worlds. With the premiere ofStar Trek: Discoveryin 2017,Paramount+ (then CBS All Access) broughtStar Trekback to television in a big way.NewStar Trekhas been a constant every year sinceDiscovery’spremiere, and Klingons, Romulans, Borg, and Gorn have all madegreatStar Trekvillains. ButStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’smost prominent villains, the Cardassians, have been largely absent.
I Hate How Cardassians Have Almost Completely Vanished From Star Trek After DS9 Ended
The Cardassians Are A Particularly Fascinating Star Trek Species
The Cardassians first appeared inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 4, episode 12, “The Wounded.” The Cardassians were complex and fascinating from their very first appearance, coming across as intelligent, ruthless, and mistrusting of other species. Just asTNG’s Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) became one ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’smain characters,the Cardassians became primary antagonists for Captain Benjamin Sisko(Avery Brooks) and his crew. Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) andElim Garak (Andrew Robinson)both became significant characters onDS9,providing more insight into the Cardassians.
Before Marc Alaimo took on the role of Gul Dukat inDS9,he appeared as Gul Macet inTNG’s"The Wounded," one of the first Cardassians to appear on-screen.
Considering how compellingStar Trek: Deep Space Ninemade characters like Dukat and Garak, it’s disappointing that theCardassians have been largely absent from theStar Trekshows on Paramount+.Cardassians have only appeared in a couple of episodes ofStar Trek: Lower Decks,and Federation President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) inStar Trek: Discoveryis part Cardassian. But the Cardassians have not appeared as formidable villains sinceDS9,which truly feels like a waste of one ofStar Trek’smost complex species.
What Happened To Cardassians After Star Trek: DS9’s Dominion War?
The Dominion Decimated Cardassia During The Dominion War
The Cardassians sided with the Dominion duringStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Dominion War, which turned out to be a terrible decision on their part. Although the Dominion initially seemed primed to win the war, the United Federation of Planets would not go down easily. Captain Sisko and his allies beat the Dominion back, and Dukat’s fortunes went from bad to worse. After the death of his daughter, Dukat suffered a mental breakdown, andthe Cardassians' position within the Dominion grew weaker.In the end, a Cardassian named Damar (Casey Biggs) helped lead a rebellion against the Dominion.
This rebellion led the Dominion to strike back with force, and although the Federation and its allies eventually emerged victorious, around 800 million Cardassian civilians lost their lives. By the time the war ended,Cardassia Prime was decimated, its economy in shambles, and its military crippled.The surviving Cardassians retreated to their planet to rebuild, facing a long and difficult road to restore their once powerful species. Not much has been revealed about the state of Cardassia since, and it would be interesting to see what became of the remaining Cardassians.
Why Cardassians Have Been Nearly Forgotten By Star Trek
Paramount+ Has Not Yet Found A Way To Reincorporate The Cardassians Into Star Trek
While it makes sense for someStar Trekshowsnot to include any Cardassians, others have no excuse for not bringing Cardassians back in some capacity.Star Trekhas not established when exactly the Cardassians first made contact with the Federation,but it likely occurred after the events ofStar Trek: Discovery’sfirst two seasons, as well asStar Trek: Strange New Worlds'23rd century. While this means it would take some tricky maneuvering for the Cardassians to appear inStrange New Worlds,they could have had more of a presence in the far future ofDiscovery.
Star Trekcould have introduced lone Cardassians who blamed the Federation for the Dominion War.
Star Trek: Picardfocused on storylines involving Romulans, time travel, and the Borg, so perhaps Cardassians would’ve added too much to the mix. Still, it does seem odd that no Cardassians popped up throughout the series at all. Even though Cardassians appeared in a couple of episodes ofStar Trek: Lower Decks,they were merely for fun. Perhaps the upcomingStar Trek: Starfleet Academywill bring back the Cardassians, as it seems a shame to abandon one ofStar Trek’smost fascinating alien species.
