Keiko O’Brien is one of Star Trek’s more underrated characters and has proven it in some top episodes!
Played by Rosalind Chao, Keiko O’Brien started as a minor character, the love interest for transporter chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meaney) on Star Trek: The Next Generation. When O’Brien joined Deep Space Nine, Keiko, by now his wife, joined him. At first just popping up in brief scenes, Keiko got some nice spotlights helping O’Brien.
Many of her episodes are more about her supporting O’Brien during his many tribulations over DS9. Now and then, Keiko got more of a spotlight. She was part of one of the weirder Star Trek plot turns when she became pregnant, but an accident meant Major Kira had to carry the baby to term.
So, for those who do enjoy Keiko, here’s a look at her best showcases in Star Trek and a reminder of how she made the most of her time on the shows.
Data’s Day (TNG season 4 episode 11)
Keiko’s first appearance is in a great Data episode. As the title indicates, Data is the focus of several tasks, which include handling the upcoming nuptials of Keiko and Miles. Keiko is having concerns and Data accidentally pushes her to briefly call off the wedding.
Obviously, it comes about after all and Keiko and Miles tie the knot with her in a traditional gown. Even in this brief early performance, Keiko shone nicely and little wonder the writers found new ways to use her.
Disaster (TNG season 5 episode 5)
This is basically a Star Trek take on those old 1970s disaster movies. A wave of energy strikes the Enterprise, nearly wrecking the ship with several characters separated. We get multiple plots as Picard helps some kids, O’Brien and Geordi try to keep the core from overloading and Riker and Ro arguing on what to do.
Worf tries to keep order in Ten Forward, which gets worse when Keiko goes into labor. It’s a much-needed light-hearted bit with Worf hilariously trying to “order” Keiko to give birth. It all turns out okay, and Keiko and O’Brien celebrate their daughter Molly to be an essential part of their journey.
Power Play (TNG season 5 episode 15)
This was the first real showcase for how strong Keiko was. An accident on an alien world has Troi, Data and O’Brien possessed by entities who take over Ten Forward. Keiko is among the hostages as she tries to get into her husband buried inside this dark figure. It’s jarring seeing how cold O’Brien can be to his wife.
Picard matches wits with the kidnappers, seeing through their claims of being lost Starfleet officers. This builds to an awesome moment when Keiko proclaims she’s willing to die for her family. It truly bonds the O’Briens and shows Keiko is as strong as her husband.
Rascals (TNG season 6 episode 7)
This fun episode has one of wackier Trek cosmic accidents as a mysterious wave deages Picard, Keiko, Ro, and Guinan into twelve-year-olds. We thus get the comedy of O’Brien handling his much younger wife with Caroline Junko King doing a marvelous job replicating Chao so believable as a young Keiko.
Of course, it has a big turn as a crew of Ferengi take over the Enterprise and the kids have to save the day. It’s a comedic episode and throwing Keiko among the characters adds more fun to it.
In the Hands of the Prophets (DS9 Season 1 episode 20)
After being on the sidelines during DS9’s first season, Keiko got a good spotlight here. She decides to set up a school on the station, teaching the various alien kids. It goes well at first until Keiko starts discussing the Wormhole Prophets as aliens. That has her clashing with Kai Winn, who soon starts a crusade against the school that gets out of hand.
This was the debut of Louis Fletcher’s Winn and instantly makes the character a hissable villain even when she comes off as polite. Keiko holds her own against Winn with a powerful theme of the discussion of science and religion that Star Trek does so well. It also gave Keiko more material that she’d use during the show.
Armageddon Game (DS9 season 2 episode 13)
The bond between Miles and Keiko is key to this episode. Keiko is stunned when word comes of O’Brien and Bashir being killed in an accident on an alien world. Unable to believe it, Keiko examines the footage and because she knows her husband so well, is able to figure out it’s fake. Sure enough, the pair are alive and on the run from a conspiracy.
Keiko shows her own grit pushing the crew to believe her and go on a rescue mission. There’s also a funny touch at the end that provides the capper for a good O’Brien episode that also lets Keiko shine.
The Assignment (DS9 Season 5 episode 5)
This is probably Rosalind Chao’s best performance. Returning from a trip, Keiko reveals she’s been possessed by a Par-wrath demon and wants O’Brien to do a task to save his wife. Chao is magnificent as this evil creature who puts on a show of looking normal to others while making it clear to O’Brien she can kill Keiko at any point or their child.
There’s a method to her tricks and O’Brien has to work to figure it out and save his wife. It’s a thrilling episode that plays like a horror movie and gives Chao a meaty role to show off a more wicked side.
Time’s Orphan (DS9 season 6 episode 24)
While Keiko did show up in the DS9 finale, this was her last real showcase on the show. A family picnic takes a dark turn when Molly falls into a portal. When rescued, she’s now a teenager who’s spent a decade in a savage time and nearly a feral beast. The O’Briens don’t know how to handle it as they bring her home.
Keiko’s hopes of saving her daughter lead to conflict and her heartbreaking realization of losing so many years with her is palpable. Thankfully, it ends with the younger Molly returning and caps off a good episode that shows how important Keiko was to O’Brien and his good family.
Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine streaming on Paramount+.