Star Trek: Picard Proves That This DS9 Episode Is More Relevant Than Ever
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard season 2
Star Trek: Picard season 2 has made some visual callbacks to a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 2-parter, suggesting that the story from 1995 is still painfully relevant today. In attempting to discover what Q has changed in the past, Raffi, Seven, and Rios come face to face with social injustice and poverty when they arrive in 2024. Raffi is almost mugged in a homeless camp, while Rios finds himself on the wrong side of immigration services. This reveals a clear connection to the tone and themes explored in the original Deep Space Nine episode.
Despite being set in Los Angeles 2024, rather than San Francisco 2024, “Assimilation” calls to mind “Past Tense”. In the third season 2-parter, DS9 portrays a timeline where the disenfranchised are housed in the ironically named Sanctuary Districts. There’s overcrowding, violence, and food shortages while social and medical welfare is practically non-existent. Arriving in their past, Sisko and Bashir must ensure that the devastating riots in the Sanctuary District run their course so humanity can make the sweeping social changes that lead to the founding of the Federation and Starfleet.
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While Picard season 2 doesn’t appear to be leading to Picard meeting Sisko during the Bell Riots, the social injustices and wealth inequalities tackled in “Past Tense” skirt around the edges. Following a global pandemic, and rising living costs, the world of «Assimilation» feels less like science-fiction and more like social-realism. 17 years after DS9 showrunner Ira Steven Behr and writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe wrote their stark warning about failing to address endemic social
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