Absolute worst character in DS9 History: Ezri Dax

[Gul Sengosts]

Well Rom is an idiot in pretty much everything except science/engineering stuff. But even that is not my issue with him. If a character's good at that but not good at other things, fine. That's great.

It is the amount of overdone and overacted stupidity, most of the time he's like the dumb character in some saturday morning cartoon, designed to make pre-school children laugh about how stupid and goofy he is. That's not even slapstick, it's stupider than that.

If he suddenly comes up with brilliant engineering solutions because the writer said so, that doesn't make him a good character. Neither does him getting Leeta. You know, if some episode spent a few minutes on some half-deep character interaction between them that made a point why Leeta loves him even though he seems to be a bad joke to anyone else, great. But that didn't happen. The writers just decided she ditched Julian for him with no explanation given, so you can only assume it's because Bajoran women don't seem to have high demands or something.

Even that Julian-Leeta romance wasn't explained, it was only in that Risa episode where they split up that we learned they were in a relationship in the first place (a few little flirts in long past episodes hardly make up for that). Again, it seems the writer of that magnificent episode just decided so without caring to explain.

And I find it appalling how Leeta went from kinda unknown side character in early DS9 to a caricature of stupid bimbo somewhere in the middle of the series. That scene with her ultra-cartoonish whimpering while Rom is in the holding cell just doubles down on that. The writers couldn't be bothered to make either of them actual characters.

 

[Kilana2]

Mirror Leeta and Mirror Ezri were both bad. I don't buy that 'every female mirror character prefers female company' thing. I'm glad that there wasn't a Voyager mirror episode with mirror Seska and mirror B'Elanna in a relationship. Or even worse mirror Seven and mirror Janeway.....

 

[mlbach]

Not EVERY mirror female character. Kira(bi), Jennifer, Jadzia...

 

[Bad Thoughts]

If he suddenly comes up with brilliant engineering solutions because the writer said so, that doesn't make him a good character.

Is it really that brilliant? Yes, Rom provided some inspiration that moved the project forward, but it really was only a small piece. At least two elements were provided by O'Brien: cloaking and swarming. Rom himself, it appears, was not involved in the actual design and production of the mines. And it was in an area that he was very familiar with: replicators.

 

[marlboro]

Nothing wrong with Ezri. They just shouldn't have tried to shoehorn her into season 7. She and Jadzia are both better in the books, imo.

And, for the record, Rom is the worst character on DS9.

 

[STEPhon IT]

And, for the record, Rom is the worst character on DS9.

It's amazing some don't realize that.

 

[HugeLobes]

I can see why people dislike Rom, even though I don't, and I can see why people like Ezri, though I do not.

The difference is that Rom doesn't really feel in the way. He's sometimes gets a B-story, but he's generally just around for a scene or two. I don't like Vic Fontaine, but he doesn't bother me because he never gets too much screen time.

In contrast, Ezri feels shoved into an already very busy final season. We need lots of time devoted to her, and we even get Ezri-centric episodes, which are pretty poor. The only reason she's there is because Terry Farrell left and they needed another woman, and I think you can tell the writers had this dropped on them rather than really wanting a second Dax.

I dont like Ezri's character, but what I find more annoying is that she's just in the way.

 

[topazdemon]

On my most recent viewing I actually liked Rom a lot.

I really liked Rom as a kid too and Quark, but I think it was just the way they looked.

 

[Roboturner913]

I didn't hate Ezri at all. I've never understood the criticism of the way she was written either. They did more character development with her in just a couple of one-off episodes than they did with Jadzia the entire rest of the series.

I do agree the way she came into the show seemed contrived. But I liked her and her flaws. How would you do if you suddenly had to merge your personality with 7 or 8 other ones and then go live on a space station with your husband from a previous life? It's a super interesting premise to me. If they'd had more than 1 season they probably could've done more.

 

[Winterwind]

I never had a problem with Ezri and preferred her to Jadzia.

I found Ezri relatable. Insecure and unsure of herself, thrown into something she didn't ask for. Jadzia was actually pretty boring at times. Over confident, arrogant and just not someone I cared for although she had her moments.

 

[Voth commando1]

Jadzia could actually be somewhat mean or at least grating-the way she tried to interfere with Bashir and Leeta was just really rude, this was after he had tried to get over his whole crush, pining after her, and she saw fit to needle him and make him extremely uncomfortable. A lot of her antics, she got away with because Sisko was friends with her previous host.

Ezri however doesn't have Jadzia's long list of accomplishments, and great sense of confidence. She wasn't trained for years to be joined, is unsure of herself, and her relationships. That makes her sympathetic in my eyes.

 

[Lance]

I just rewatched Ds9 over a few months. And I am currently at the end of S07E02.
Three things spring out to me that might be worth considering:

1) It was made clear in this episode that Sisko's whole life was ordained by the prophets, and Dax always felt like an important character to Sisko and resultingly the entire Alpha quadrant story. At the appearance of Ezri I became certain: Kirzon the mentor. Jadzia the friend. And Ezri the student. In all of those roles she molded and guided Sisko. Too many things happened in this episode to make it clear to me that Ezri following Sisko in wonder would lead to the penultimate conclusion of this 7 season story.
Particularly I liked the point at S07E02 43:01 Ezri says to Sisko "Benjamin, that must have been some orb experience." He looks up at her and replies "I'll tell you about it some day."
Not "... some day Old Man."
To me, that obvious absence showed a resolution that he saw her as an apprentice not the once equal and previous superior Dax of his past. I mean seriously, no good story is complete without someone in awe of you to tell it to.

2) It was made very clear in an earlier season that the Symbiotes were actually compatible with a much larger percentage of the population than the commission ever wanted to admit. This opens the door for Kirzon to be "The ready". Jadzia was clearly 'The conflicted' or 'Ready with a measure of effort and determination'. Leaving Ezri as simply the Dax who was 'Not ready'. Ideal for the roles they needed to play in guiding Sisko. And totally allowed by the shows canon writing.

3) At the end of S07E02 note the position of all the main characters in the last scene. Then look at Ezri's clearly eye contact driven look off camera in the final shot. Worf had turned around by then. It was clear her gaze was met by Julian. Brilliant foreshadowing!

Honestly. For me, at this point, Ezri is just the conclusion of truly masterful multi arc story telling. I was as sure she would turn up at the end of S07E01 as I was that Quark would volunteer to go with Worf, Julian, and O'brien on Jadzias Stovokor mission. The story was so cleverly written that nothing else made sense.

As such, at this point I love Ezri. And I will go so far as to say that Ds9 could not have been complete without her.

Terrific post, great observations, and you've made me appreciate the Dax/Sisko partnership on a whole other level.

 

[Elephant999]

I found Ezri to be really grating in her debut episodes. The cutesy pie voice and her alluding to her previous hosts all time, just goes against the theme of the episodes. However, she did redeem herself a bit, but I loved it when Garak tore her a new one!

As for Rom, his continual errrrrrrrrrmmmm does annoy me. I prefer him in very early episodes when his demeanour and voice were completely different.

 

[mlbach]

You preferred Rom when he was a typical Ferengi? Plotting to kill his brother so he could inherit the bar? Dismissing Keiko as a teacher because she’s a “fee-male”? Yeah, we can never have too many of those.

 

[Elephant999]

Yes, because he became an a-typical Ferengi and his voice just grated. But that’s just my opinion. Why the Spanish Inquisition questioning and the passive-aggressive post?

 

[mlbach]

You’re right. My post was unkind.

 

[Elephant999]

Thank you. I think the writers already had Nog as an atypical Ferengi so I don’t know why they changed Rom from S1 Rom to what he became. And When he married Leeta his voice and demeanour became even more annoying. I refer to the scene about the mines where he starts droning on about his quarters. Completely devalues the gravity of the discussion. I’m sure it was meant to be humourus but jarred. I’d dismiss Keiko anyway and toss her out of the airlock, but that’s just me

 

[mlbach]

No, the writers made Nog an atypical Ferengi because of/in tandom with Rom’s evolution, which started in Family Business.
Actually, every important character on the station is atypical. Even Quark, who is supposed to be attracted to submissive Ferengi females who don’t wear clothes, is attracted to women of a different species (Natima—Cardassian; Grilka—Klingon) who can totally kick his ass. Odo continually ribs him about his failure as a businessman. Garak is a Cardassian former spy who is artistic and loves discussing literature with Dr. Bashir, who is human but was genetically enhanced. Dax is an atypical Trill going back at least to Curzon. Kira is a Bajoran whose character arc had her go from angry former terrorist who Jadzia once thought would never have any friends to a beloved member of the multi-species crew. She even carried the O’Brien’s baby to term. Odo is a changling who sided against his own people until the very end when he saved them from the section 31 disease. And the Sisko is a non-religious human who eventually accepts his role as a Bajoran religious icon.
It’s one reason why I love the show, and why people are still watching and discussing it 25 years later.

 

[Lynx]

Mirror Leeta and Mirror Ezri were both bad. I don't buy that 'every female mirror character prefers female company' thing. I'm glad that there wasn't a Voyager mirror episode with mirror Seska and mirror B'Elanna in a relationship. Or even worse mirror Seven and mirror Janeway.....

The only thing I didn't like with DS9 were the mirror episodes. They were too many and they were not good. One episode would have been enough.

 

[kkt]

No, the writers made Nog an atypical Ferengi because of/in tandom with Rom’s evolution, which started in Family Business.
Actually, every important character on the station is atypical. Even Quark, who is supposed to be attracted to submissive Ferengi females who don’t wear clothes, is attracted to women of a different species (Natima—Cardassian; Grilka—Klingon) who can totally kick his ass. Odo continually ribs him about his failure as a businessman. Garak is a Cardassian former spy who is artistic and loves discussing literature with Dr. Bashir, who is human but was genetically enhanced. Dax is an atypical Trill going back at least to Curzon. Kira is a Bajoran whose character arc had her go from angry former terrorist who Jadzia once thought would never have any friends to a beloved member of the multi-species crew. She even carried the O’Brien’s baby to term. Odo is a changling who sided against his own people until the very end when he saved them from the section 31 disease. And the Sisko is a non-religious human who eventually accepts his role as a Bajoran religious icon.
It’s one reason why I love the show, and why people are still watching and discussing it 25 years later.

Very good points. And that's why they needed Miles, so they could tell a story about a typical human.