Star Trek: 15 Most Culturally Significant Episodes

Chain of Command is the sixth season two-parter which of course sees Picard undergo horrific torture at the hands of the Cardassians. It is a fierce performance by Patrick Stewart, one dominated by both anguish and realism. Stewart, a long time supporter of Amnesty International, studied tapes of real life torture to best depict his treatment on screen.

The scenes between Picard and Madred are frighteningly intense. Two great actors face off against a table, one with almost total control over the other while one refuses to break.

The B-plot of episodes focuses on Captain Jellico, the oft-maligned replacement captain during the Cardassian negotiations. This is actually one of the elements that makes this story even more timely.

His entire arc is focused on keeping the upper hand in the battle of wills between Starfleet and the Cardassians. While Troi comments that he is most certainly not sure of himself, he is a man carrying billions of lives on his shoulders as he stares down the other party. He may be a hard-ass in his style of command, but he has a very serious job to do, one that has very far reaching consequences if he is to get it wrong.

The world is currently on very fragile footing. Jellico may not be the most popular man in the franchise, yet it is for exactly this reason that he gets his work done. Chain of Command is one of the darker stories in Star Trek, one that is getting closer to reality by the day.