26 Years Later, I Hate How These Great Star Trek Alien Villains Have Almost Completely Vanished

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine made these aliens complex and fascinating villains, and I wish they played a larger role in modern Star Trek. From the Klingons to the Borg, Star Trek has introduced some iconic and formidable villains. The Klingons and Romulans made their debut back in the 1960s in Star Trek: The Original Series and have both continued to have a presence throughout most of the franchise's history. The Borg did not appear until Star Trek: The Next Generation, but they, too, have maintained a steady presence.

Even the Gorn, who first appeared in the iconic Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Arena," have become major villains on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. With the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017, Paramount+ (then CBS All Access) brought Star Trek back to television in a big way. New Star Trek has been a constant every year since Discovery's premiere, and Klingons, Romulans, Borg, and Gorn have all made great Star Trek villains. But Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's most 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 in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 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 as TNG's Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) became one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's main characters, the Cardassians became primary antagonists for Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and his crew. Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) and Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson) both became significant characters on DS9, providing more insight into the Cardassians.

Considering how compelling Star Trek: Deep Space Nine made characters like Dukat and Garak, it's disappointing that the Cardassians have been largely absent from the Star Trek shows on Paramount+. Cardassians have only appeared in a couple of episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Federation President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) in Star Trek: Discovery is part Cardassian. But the Cardassians have not appeared as formidable villains since DS9, which truly feels like a waste of one of Star Trek's most 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 during Star 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, and the 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 some Star Trek shows not to include any Cardassians, others have no excuse for not bringing Cardassians back in some capacity. Star Trek has not established when exactly the Cardassians first made contact with the Federation, but it likely occurred after the events of Star Trek: Discovery's first two seasons, as well as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' 23rd century. While this means it would take some tricky maneuvering for the Cardassians to appear in Strange New Worlds, they could have had more of a presence in the far future of Discovery.

Star Trek: Picard focused 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 of Star Trek: Lower Decks, they were merely for fun. Perhaps the upcoming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will bring back the Cardassians, as it seems a shame to abandon one of Star Trek's most fascinating alien species.