Star Trek first officers ranked: is Riker better than Spock?

The captain gets the speeches, the glory and usually the best angle too. But someone has to keep the crew running smoothly when the captain decides to personally investigate the obviously dangerous space anomaly. I'm ranking the 13 best first officers in Star Trek on how well they do that job: leadership, judgment, and knowing when to tell the captain they're making the wrong call.

My number one is William Riker, with Spock a close second. Here's the full list, starting from the bottom.

13. Sylvia Tilly: Good with people, but still gaining experience

Tilly got the first officer post as a promotion that made you wonder how many people aboard Discovery turned down the interview. She was a lieutenant. There were officers on that ship with far more experience than her, and being a good person doesn't automatically qualify you to run a starship.

Once she was in charge, though, she took it seriously. When Osyraa targeted Discovery, Tilly found herself dealing with a threat that would have challenged a much more experienced officer. In the end, Discovery was taken over. That counts against her, but she didn't simply fall apart when things went wrong.

I think what earns her this spot is her understanding of people. Tilly listens. She cares if someone is struggling. She can admit she needs help. Those are valuable leadership qualities on a ship, where pretending to know everything could get everyone killed. I think 13th is right. She had the potential, but the experience was still taking shape.

12. Raffi Musiker: Seven of Nine's first officer comes with a big caveat

Raffi comes with a major limitation in this ranking. We barely saw her serving as Seven's first officer aboard the Enterprise-G. She got the post at the end of Picard, and then we were left to imagine what that command team would accomplish. So I'm estimating her abilities in the role, and I'm keeping her below officers with longer track records.

Raffi can connect information that others overlook. She can work under pressure. She can keep pushing on something when everyone around her would rather she let it go. She also knows Seven well enough that their working relationship won't just be quiet approval of every decision.

That could be useful, but it could also get complicated, because their personal history doesn't completely disappear when they put on the uniform. She makes the list as a capable, experienced officer. She stays near the bottom because rating an exciting assignment is easier than rating years of actual work.

11. Michael Burnham: High potential, but the Shenzhou mutiny counts

Burnham may have one of the highest ceilings on this list. Unfortunately, she also gives us one of the clearest examples of what a first officer should never do. You can't knock your captain unconscious, you can't try to take over the bridge, and you can't expect all of that to vanish from your performance review.

Her mutiny aboard the Shenzhou is a serious failure of judgment. Understanding why she believed she had to act doesn't make the decision sound. A first officer should challenge the captain, but there is a huge difference between challenging an order and forcibly removing the person who gave it.

Even so, Burnham is smart, resourceful and has an exceptional commitment to the people around her. It's easy to see why so much was invested in her. She earns her place because her abilities are beyond dispute. She lands at 11 because this is a ranking of first officers, and her record in that job includes a mistake we can't ignore just because she later became a captain.

10. Jack Ransom: Lower Decks reveals a better officer behind the swagger

At first, Ransom seems like someone Starfleet recruited straight from a gym. He's confident, and he knows it. He probably wants you to know it too. But Lower Decks gradually reveals a much better officer behind all that.

I think one of his strongest qualities is his attention to the junior crew. The way he handles Mariner is the best example. When she kept pushing herself toward punishment, he realized there was more going on. He refused to keep feeding that cycle and made it clear he intended to help her succeed. That takes more leadership than writing someone up yet again.

He's also physically capable, good at leading away missions and willing to put himself in danger. But the reason he earns a place on my list is that he understands developing officers is an essential part of the job. Ransom can be ridiculous at times, but he can also be exactly the person a struggling crew member needs.

9. Seven of Nine: A tough position aboard the Titan-A

This one might be controversial. Seven serving as first officer aboard the Titan-A puts her in a very difficult position. She has the ability to get the job done, but she's working under a captain who clearly shows his resentment of her. Shaw's insistence on calling her "Hansen" even though she prefers "Seven" tells us a lot about their relationship.

Seven doesn't handle every situation perfectly, either. Her decision to help Picard and Riker change the ship's course is a serious breach of her captain's trust, even if we understand her reasons. You can't seriously evaluate a first officer and pretend the chain of command only matters when you don't like the person breaking it.

But across the season, Seven showed courage, initiative and a deep understanding of her crew. Realizing that the apparent Tuvok was an impostor was a good example of her combining personal knowledge with judgment. In the end, Shaw recommended her for promotion, and that recommendation carries weight. She earned his respect in circumstances where it would have been easy for them to stay enemies.

8. Rayner: A seasoned captain learning to be Discovery's first officer

Rayner shows what happens when an experienced captain has to learn how to be someone else's first officer. At first, he wasn't comfortable with it, as you'd expect. He was impatient and blunt, and he did not like the idea that getting to know the crew required long personal conversations.

His twenty word introductions are funny, but they also reveal his problem. He wants the useful information immediately, without realizing everything he might miss along the way.

What makes him effective is that he learns and adapts. Discovery already has an established culture and relationships. Rayner gradually works out how to operate within that crew while still contributing his experience and tactical instincts. He doesn't suddenly turn into someone else; he gets better at leading the people he's been given. We only saw him in the role for a limited time, which kept him from ranking higher, but he made a strong impression quickly. I wish I'd seen more of that command partnership. I really do.

7. Chakotay: Holding Voyager's Starfleet and Maquis crews together

Chakotay deserves more credit for something Voyager made look easier than it should have been: helping merge a Starfleet crew and a Maquis crew into one working ship. These people did not arrive with aligned priorities. Some of them had rejected the very organization Janeway represents. Then they were stranded together without so much as a proper transfer request.

He gave the Maquis someone they trusted inside the command structure. He also gave Janeway a first officer who understood the tensions she was trying to manage and was willing to challenge her. Scorpion shows a fundamental disagreement over the Borg alliance, with both officers acting on convictions they believe can save the ship. That disagreement has serious consequences, and neither of them can settle it just by being right about everything.

My problem is how often the show ignored that potential. There were stretches where he could have contributed more. But when we rate the officer himself, his ability to keep that crew together under those conditions is a major achievement.

6. T'Pol: Turning Archer's ambition into decisions Enterprise could survive

Imagine being assigned to the Enterprise and then realizing humans are treating interstellar exploration like they borrowed a boat for the weekend. That is T'Pol's reality at times. She brings experience, knowledge and an understanding of other cultures that Archer's crew badly needs. Early on, her caution can feel frustrating because we share the humans' excitement, but sometimes the person telling everyone to slow down has a good reason.

I think what makes her a strong first officer is how her relationship with Archer develops. She learns to respect his instincts without giving up her own judgment, and he learns that her objections deserve consideration. During the Xindi mission, that partnership is tested under enormous pressure. T'Pol stays essential even while dealing with personal struggles that make her responsibilities harder.

I think she deserves her place because the Enterprise needed someone to help turn its ambition into real decisions the crew could survive.

5. Saru: The Discovery officer who makes the crew feel they matter

Saru starts with a disadvantage most first officers on this list don't have: his background. His species evolved to live in fear. Even so, he leaves his homeworld and builds a Starfleet career exploring the unknown. That deserves respect.

As first officer, I think he brings patience, discipline and a sense of responsibility that help steady Discovery. He thinks about consequences and he cares about procedure, and on that ship in particular, someone sometimes needs reminding that procedures exist. He also grows. His early insecurity and his tension with Burnham give way to a much stronger professional relationship, and his development gives his confidence real weight.

We're rating his service as first officer here, but you can already see the qualities that make his eventual promotion make sense. Saru makes people feel their lives matter to the person giving the orders. When you're asking a crew to follow you into danger, I think that matters a great deal.

4. Una Chin-Riley: Making the job look easy on Strange New Worlds

Una makes being first officer look natural and effortless, so it's easy to overlook how much work she does. Pike can be friendly, chatty and willing to give his officers room because he has someone beside him who can uphold standards and keep the ship moving. She has authority without needing to announce it constantly. When she gives an order, she trusts the crew to understand why.

"Ad Astra per Aspera" adds something important to how we understand her. Her commitment to Starfleet exists alongside her knowledge that its rules exclude people like her. Serving under those conditions means her belief in its principles comes at a personal cost. And when a younger officer needs guidance, Una has the experience and personal understanding to offer something useful.

I ranked her this high because she seems trustworthy in every part of the job. She runs the ship, supports the captain and helps the people who may one day replace them both.

3. Kira Nerys: A first officer and a political partnership on Deep Space Nine

Kira's job as first officer comes with a diplomatic problem before the first staff meeting even happens. She's a Bajoran officer serving on a Bajoran station alongside the Federation after a brutal occupation. Her responsibility to her people isn't something she can set aside to make Sisko's day easier, and that creates fundamental disagreements.

Early Kira is angry, resentful, suspicious and fully prepared to say so. Over time, she grows into an exceptional leader without losing the convictions that made her valuable in the first place. Sisko earns her trust, and she earns his. I think their partnership becomes strong enough to handle disagreement without anyone treating it as a personal betrayal.

Her conduct during the Dominion occupation of the station shows how much courage and judgment she has gained. She has to navigate resistance, compromise and serious personal risk. She earns third place for me because her job demands more than organizing a crew. She has to help make an entire political partnership work while remaining someone her people trust.

2. Spock: Why Kirk's first officer narrowly misses the top spot

This is where the debate starts. Spock is second, and the case for putting him first is very strong. Then there are his scientific abilities: he saved the Enterprise again and again. He can command, negotiate and analyze threats, and he gives Kirk a perspective he might otherwise miss. Their partnership works because Kirk values what Spock brings. Even when Kirk chooses another path, Spock's advice still matters.

Spock's loyalty is real. He takes risks, accepts responsibility and ultimately gives his life to save the Enterprise in The Wrath of Khan. That is an incredible achievement.

He also has limits. Leading a crew of emotional people takes skills that don't always come naturally to him, and The Galileo Seven puts that difficulty front and center. That's part of what makes him interesting, and it doesn't take away from his strengths. He's one of the best people you could have beside you in a crisis. But for me, one officer's all around approach to this specific job gives him the slight edge.

1. William Riker: The Next Generation's first officer defines the role

Number one is the beard. It's William Riker. He is the position. Riker ranks first because we see him handle almost every part of a first officer's job. We see how much attention he gives the routine work. He manages teams, evaluates officers and deals with personnel problems. He knows when someone needs encouragement, and when they need a direct conversation they might prefer to avoid.

"Lower Decks" shows the responsibility he carries for junior officers. "Chain of Command" shows how seriously he takes his duty to challenge the captain when he believes something is wrong. Yes, his record includes bad calls, and being first doesn't mean ignoring them. But his partnership with Picard, in my view, sets the standard. He understands Picard's strengths, respects his authority and is still independent enough to give advice worth hearing.

Then everything turns upside down when Picard's connection to the Borg is used against him. Once the Borg assimilate Picard, they have access to what he knows. Riker has to take command against an enemy that knows how his captain thinks, while facing the possibility that saving everyone could mean losing Picard. He becomes acting captain, and the real test is the one his years as first officer prepared him for: he adapts, uses his crew and finds a way out.

Spock is an ideal officer. But if I were picking someone to run the crew, question my decisions, lead the away team and take command when I couldn't, I'd pick William Riker.