Does anyone else dislike Keiko O'brien?

[Gul Bones]

I would class every episode which she is in as a 'Torture O'brien' episode. I don't what would be more stressful the Dominion war or being married to her. But seriously did she ever do anything another than moan & nag?

[Rush Limborg]

I remember when the the family was sitting down to watch the ep in which Kira was going into labor. The O'Briens were doing a musical ceremony--and at one point, Keiko actually smacked Miles for being a split second late!

Dad said to my sister at that point, "If you ever get married, don't you ever do that to your husband."

You know...somehow, on TV, when the wife does it, it's funny (or dramatic, depending on the context). But just imagine what the reaction would have been, had the positions been reversed....

[Bry_Sinclair]

I was tempted just to say "nope" and leave it at that.

I liked Keiko and the family aspect she brought to DS9, though it was a little underused (IMHO). Sometimes married couples (when one has to move thanks to the others job, etc) to argue and gripe, nag and moan at each other. Such is life.

She did help to show Miles just as the 'everyman', with a wife he loves (and has a normal relationship with) kids and a life away from his job.

[ClayHefner]

I like how, during the crisis with Winn and the school, she teaches lessons about Galilei and stuff, as though she thinks she's the new Galileo or something, lol.

[Pavonis]

I don't get the Keiko-hate. It seems as though the Keiko-haters only recall the fights the O'Briens had, and think she did nothing but nag and complain. It's not as though Miles was perfect and Keiko was just permanently grouchy.

[Photon]

Gul Bones wrote:

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I would class every episode which she is in as a 'Torture O'brien' episode. I don't what would be more stressful the Dominion war or being married to her. But seriously did she ever do anything another than moan & nag?

Balancing the equation:

She's a Bitch=She has a very high Libido.

Works for me and obviously Chief.

[MatthiasRussell]

I think Keiko is a complete bitch (and so does my wife). Miles seems to care about their marriage far more than she does. It seems like he is always the one trying to get family time while she is always too busy or pushing him away.

Think about when the 2 of them are discussing about how they always eat what she wants to eat so she agrees to try his favorite foods. She complains the whole time he describes Irish cuisine then is discusted when it is laid before her and she barely tries it. I understand if she is vegan or something, but she was very disrespectful of something he enjoyed.

Miles kept that marriage going despite her being selfish and pompous.

[JustKate]

I like her and I like the role she played in the show - an actual married couple on Trek, what do you know? I know lots of people don't like her, but I don't get it.

[Nerys Ghemor]

ClayHefner wrote:

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I like how, during the crisis with Winn and the school, she teaches lessons about Galilei and stuff, as though she thinks she's the new Galileo or something, lol.

She was just as bad as Winn in that episode--just as harsh, bigoted (ironic since she rightly disliked it when O'Brien used racist language). There would've been more respectful ways to teach a science lesson, without compromising the science and without disrespecting the Bajorans. It could've been as simple as allowing an optional field trip for those students whose parents signed a permission slip, to visit the Bajoran temple to hear a cleric provide some history from a Bajoran perspective, and an assignment or field trip worth equal credit for those students whose parents did not want them to go to the temple.

And I found the way she treated O'Brien to be very unkind and as Rush points out, it would've been more widely decried as unacceptable had the genders been swapped.

The other problem I have is that she should've known what she was getting into as a military spouse--that she would either have to spend a lot of time separated from her husband, or go where he went, regardless of the conditions. I would expect the husband of a woman in the military to make the same concession.

[Turd Ferguson]

I don't remember them hooking up on TNG because I'm only on season three, but watching DS9 I would exhale very loudly and roll my eyes every time the "Guest Starring Rosalind Chao" would appear in the credits. Keiko O'Brien is such a god-awful, horrible bitch that has nothing but contempt toward the good Chief O'Brien. Anything he does is met with complete revulsion from her.

I felt really bad for the Chief when Major Kira was carrying Yoshi. You could tell that they had chemistry together, cared for each other, and Chief O'Brien (reluctantly) stayed with Keiko even though he would have been infinitely more happy with Kira.

I also remember the episode where Keiko was possessed by an alien consciousness (I can't remember the name right off), but was thinking even though she was a total bitch, she was still nicer and less sinister than the real Keiko. I was also disappointed when they found a way to bring Keiko back

So, I guess you can say, yep. Keiko O'Brien is a completely unlikable bitch. Hell, I think O'Brien would've been happier hooking up with Kai Winn.

[DonIago]

Why should Keiko have to come up with an optional field trip? We don't in this day and age ask science teachers to come up with optional field trips to church...that I know of, anyhow. If you want your kids to receive education beyond what they'll learn in school, you have the option of arranging it as a parent.

That said, I'll be the first to agree she didn't handle the situation as diplomatically as she might have. But then, she's not a diplomat, she's a botanist who decided to try her hand at teaching (I do wonder what her credentials were).

As far as being a "military spouse", it's not impossible to think that she thought she knew what she was getting into at the time, but DS9 was above and beyond what she anticipated at the time. I could see it being a situation where other spouses of Starfleet officers put up even more of a protest ("I knew I might get bumped around Federation holdings, but this isn't even Federation...it's practically Cardassian!").

I think it's a bit ludicrous that people accuse Keiko of being a "god-awful, horrible bitch" while failing to cite even one specific instance in which she behaved in that manner. O'Brien, of course, was a Saint.

[Tiberius]

What's with all the keiko hate? Are we forgetting that it was her who saves Miles and Julian's lives in Armageddon game?

[billcosby]

Pavonis wrote:

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I don't get the Keiko-hate. It seems as though the Keiko-haters only recall the fights the O'Briens had, and think she did nothing but nag and complain. It's not as though Miles was perfect and Keiko was just permanently grouchy.

What I loved it that it seemed either one of them was always in bad spirits... ever extending the friction between them at any given time. They were two characters made to disagree. Perhaps sometimes due to alien forces of course, that's why it's called Star Trek and not Days of Our Lives.

[Seven of Five]

I've always liked Keiko, finding her at her most awesome when she is fighting for her husband. I think the O'Briens are a great little family - not everything is perfect when you live with someone, so I like seeing them arguing over silly things. And Molly is adorable!

[Vorta]

No, I don't like her at all either. There are very few characters from the Star Trek world that I can't stand, but she is definitely one of them. Every time I see her face I just want to scream. She's never happy, or satisfied. There's seriously nothing that pleases this woman, poor Miles for being stuck with such a rigid bump on a log. He does everything he can do for her, and it's still not enough. Women.