Summary

• Major Kira Nerys was initially overlooked in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1 but quickly became one of the show's most important characters.
• Kira's past as a former freedom fighter and her struggle to reconcile her prejudice against the Cardassians were integral to her character arc.
• The episode "Progress" was specifically written to refocus on Kira's character and explore her inner conflict regarding the future of Bajor and the role of Starfleet and the Federation.

After a strong start, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 1 forgot about Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) but swiftly fixed this oversight by making her one of the show's most important characters. Kira was a groundbreaking Star Trek character because not only was she not a Starfleet officer, she was a former freedom fighter with a very dark past. Kira's past would inform many of her best episodes, forcing her to reconcile her prejudice against the Cardassians, and confront the consequences of the violence of the Bajoran resistance movement.
Kira is at the center of the classic Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Duet," but it's a lesser known season 1 entry that would re-establish her character arc. In the episode "Progress", Kira struggles to convince aging Bajoran farmer Mullibok (Brian Keith) to leave his home. It's a quiet character piece that's largely forgotten alongside similar, superior examples elsewhere in the DS9 canon. However, "Progress" was written by Peter Allen Fields with the specific intention of putting the focus back on Major Kira after she had been overlooked for too long.

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