Summary
- Commander Benjamin Sisko defied Starfleet's orders to save lives, setting the stage for Captain Picard's similar actions in Star Trek: Insurrection.
- Sisko's insurrection on Bajor had higher stakes and greater import than Picard's actions in protecting the Ba'ku people.
- Sisko's motivations for defying orders were rooted in the best interests of both Bajor and the Federation, unlike Picard's more suspicious motivations in Insurrection.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) defied Starfleet's orders to save lives, five years before Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) did the same in Star Trek: Insurrection. Picard and Sisko's differences were pronounced in DS9's pilot episode, in which the two men clashed over their differing perceptions of duty, and their contrasting opinions on what was best for Bajor. By the time of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, Sisko was fully invested in the future of Bajor, and defied Starfleet orders to secure it.
Prior to Sisko's season 2 insurrection, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1 established that the DS9 Commander was willing to bend Starfleet's Prime Directive. For example, in DS9 season 1, episode 6, "Captive Pursuit", Sisko aids Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) in interfering with a non-Federation planet's barbaric culture. This was in sharp contrast to Star Trek: The Next Generation's Jean-Luc Picard, who rigidly followed the Prime Directive, until he uncovered the Federation conspiracy to resettle the people of Ba'ku in Star Trek: Insurrection. While both Sisko and Picard led an insurrection, their personal motivations for doing so differed greatly.
Captain Sisko's 10 Best Star Trek DS9 Episodes
Benjamin Sisko was a father, a widower, a religious icon, a war hero, and a Starfleet officer, and his best DS9 episodes reflect his multiple facets.
DS9's Sisko Led An Insurrection 5 Years Before Picard Did
In 1993, five years before Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2 opened with a three-part political thriller about an attempted military coup on Bajor. In DS9 season 2, episode 2, "The Circle", it was revealed that the coup's leader, Jaro Esssa (an uncredited Frank Langella) was unwittingly being supplied with Cardassian weapons. By destabilizing Bajor, the Cardassians would be able to swoop in to retake the planet and Deep Space Nine. Sisko refused to let this happen, and found a creative way to stay aboard the station without exposing his intentions to Starfleet, ostensibly staying behind to uninstall all Federation technology.
In line with the Prime Directive, Starfleet forbade Sisko from getting involved in another planet's civil war, so the DS9 commander and his crew acted independently. They successfully held the line until Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) exposed the true identity of the weapons suppliers to the Bajoran government. By defying Starfleet's orders, Sisko cemented peace on the edge of Cardassian space and secured the future of Bajor's fledgling government. At this stage in Picard's career, he would likely have gone for a more diplomatic solution, but it was a different Jean-Luc who led the insurrection on Ba'ku.
Star Trek: Insurrection takes place during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Dominion War, and even featured Armin Shimerman as Quark, who made a cameo in a deleted scene.
DS9's Insurrection Was Better Than TNG's Movie Version
In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sisko defies Starfleet orders to prevent Cardassia retaking Bajor and bolstering their influence in the region. In Star Trek: Insurrection, Picard abandons his precious Prime Directive to stop the people of Ba'ku being resettled so that the Federation can benefit from the planet's healing powers. While it's certainly an abuse of the Federation's power, it doesn't have the same level of import as the Cardassian's manipulation of the crisis on Bajor in DS9. Picard's motivations were criticised by Star Trek: Picard's Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), who drew attention to Picard's Insurrection love interest.
Given that Picard was willing to oversee the relocation of Native Americans in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Journey's End", his sudden horror at the treatment of the Ba'ku feels hollow. It's undeniable that Commander Sisko defied Starfleet orders in the best interests of both Bajor and the Federation in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about Picard's more suspicious motivations for taking up arms to protect the Ba'ku people in Star Trek: Insurrection.
All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.
Star Trek: Insurrection is streaming now on Max.
