"The Maquis" is a two-part episode from the second season of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures on Deep Space Nine, a space station located near a stable wormhole between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of the Milky Way Galaxy, in orbit of the planet Bajor. The episode focuses on maintaining a difficult peace between the Bajorans, the Cardassians and the Federation by trying to resolve a conflict that could lead to war.
These two episodes first aired in April and May 1994. The episode introduced the Maquis, a recurring resistance group that was used in further Star Trek episodes, including the first episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.
Part I was written by James Crocker, Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor, with the teleplay written by James Crocker, and directed by David Livingston. Part II was written by Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor and Ira Steven Behr, with the teleplay written by Ira Steven Behr, and directed by Corey Allen. The Maquis, and their dissatisfaction with the Federation, would recur in future Deep Space Nine episodes such as "For the Cause", "For the Uniform", and "Blaze of Glory", as well as one appearance in The Next Generation episode "Preemptive Strike".
The Maquis faction became a key component in the launch of the upcoming series Star Trek: Voyager, which used the Federation response to the group in its initial episodes leading to the Voyager and a Maquis' ship getting stranded in the Delta Quadrant. The two crews then had to work together to return to the Alpha Quadrant.
The episode was directed by David Livingston. Overall, he directed 62 episodes of Star Trek, including 17 for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Reception
Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club wrote: "as is so often the case with two part episodes, it’s hard to judge exactly how well this one works on its own" and while he enjoyed the adventures of Sisko and Dukat he felt there was no real tension in the cliffhanger ending. In his review of the second part, Handlen wrote: "As two-parters go, this serves its purpose, and the second half has some excellent moments. It’s just, without any real consequence" and that the story spends "too much time telling us to care instead of forcing us to" concluding that it was a missed opportunity.
In 2015, Geek.com recommended "The Maquis, Part I" and "The Maquis, Part II" as "essential watching" for their abbreviated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine binge-watching guide. In 2016, USA Today included this episode as must-watch for the entire Star Trek franchise for its introduction of the Maquis story, which would also be an element in Star Trek: Voyager. They note the interesting science fiction story elements of the Federation, Cardassians, Maquis and Bajorans playing off one another to create complex themes centered around Deep Space Nine.
In 2020, Den of Geek listed "The Maquis" as one of the best stories of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. James Whitbrook of Io9 said this was one of the "must watch" episodes from the series.
Releases
The two part episode was released in two separate LaserDisc releases. A double episode 12 inch optical disc with "Blood Lines" and "The Maquis, Part I" was released on October 6, 1998 in the United States.
This episode was released again in 2017 on DVD with the complete series box set, which had 176 episodes on 48 discs.