Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - 10 Best Episodes Not About The Main Cast
7. Defiant
Thomas Riker is the accidentally created clone of William Riker, who arrives in Deep Space Nine in the third season episode Defiant. Jonathan Frakes effectively gets to play a mirror version of his usual character, tricking Major Kira into giving him control of the USS Defiant, shooting her with a phaser, and taking the ship to warp. Only then does he peel away his mutton chops, revealing the evil goatee underneath.
In truth, Riker has joined the Maquis, the terrorist organization hell-bent on freeing the Demilitarized Zone from the Cardassians. Along the way, however, he runs the risk of starting a full-scale war between Cardassian and the Federation. Taking the ship, under cloak, into enemy territory, they are able to score some devastating hits against them before their luck begins to run out.
The episode is both a 'there but for the grace of God' story and a revisit of The Wounded, the fantastic episode of The Next Generation that saw Captain Maxwell take a similar stance against the Cardassians. It also drops hints for the Obsidian Order's activities in the Orias Sector, which would come to fruition later in the season.
This is the last that the audience has seen of Thomas Riker, though as ever, no body was shown, meaning there's every chance he is still alive in a labour camp somewhere, just waiting to return in Star Trek: Picard.