10 Best Star Trek Villains In Only One Episode
A villain must be a thing of power, strong enough to arouse our fear and wicked enough to root for.
Star Trek has in its very long lifetime offered dozens of extremely memorable villains. We have characters like Khan, Duras, the Borg and Seska - all so great that they turn up multiple times.
But what of the bit-part baddies who don't get multiple runs?
There are many villains who pop up for a single entry only and yet still manage to establish themselves within the franchise. The strength of a villain comes from both the writing and portrayal - each entrant on this list is lucky enough to have an excellent mix of both.
There are so many supporting villainous characters that breaking it down to ten has been a challenge. How does one include X character but leave Y off? Well, a couple of criterea were used to select these examples. First, they must appear in a single episode only. That means no characters who were in two-parters or who would go on to reappear in the films, ala Khan or Gul Madred.
Second, they must have a tangible impact on the story, offering a distinct challenge to the main characters. The Albino from Blood Oath, while an interesting creation, is merely a plot device to get Dax and the Klingon trio back together.
Lastly, they need to be memorable. Some of the entrants on this list are among the most memorable characters and challenges that have been faced in Star Trek's history. With that in mind, let's begin.
10. Silarin Prin - Deep Space Nine, The Darkness And The Light
This fifth season villain of Deep Space Nine was an ethical conundrum for Major Kira to face. He is the victim of one of her terrorist attacks on the Cardassians during the occupation, hell bent on revenge.
He is brutally effective in his vengence. First, he kills Mabrin while praying, then Fala by scrambling her transporter signal. Perhaps the saddest deaths are those of Furel and Lupaza, coming hot on the heels of another member of the resistance cell, Mobara. They are killed when the window to the O'Brien's quarters is vaporized, blasting them into space.
Prin is devastatingly good at what he does and it is planned to the last. It all designed to get to Kira, as she is the one to whom his messages are sent. Driven mad by his injuries, he feels no remorse for the deaths of the guilty, as he puts it. In his mind, he is very much the avenging angel, striking those evil insurgents who did this damage to him.
He is of course eventually discovered and, after some tense back and forth between the two, where Kira expresses no remorse for her actions during the occupation, he prepares to cut the O'Brien's baby from her womb so that it won't have to suffer the same punishment as Kira.
Though she overpowers and eventually kills him, it is clear by the episode's end that Prin has left a very lasting assault on her, opening her eyes to the moral ambiguity of what was done in the name of freedom and the victims (and monsters) that her actions inadvertantly created.