I've always been a huge fan of Kira Nerys. Over the weekend I sat down to rewatch "oh teh noes, we lost our spac3 station!!1" arc, and it's more obvious to me now than ever: Kira was the real hero of that piece. Nana Visitor was in her element. The scene in Dukat's office was electrifying. The self-loathing she felt when she subsequently realised that, via Ziyal, she was being drawn in to him whilst he was probably murdering her Starfleet colleagues, the sheer terror on her face when Damar led a security team to apprehend Rom, and the subsequent 'visit' to Odo in his quarters. Breathtaking stuff. By contrast, I was less impressed with what Sisko and doing. Yeah, 'The Ship Part 2' was okay. The Alexander stuff also okay. Sisko sitting behind a desk was not okay. Aside from the unique backdrop against which these events took place, none of it was particularly compelling. Pretty boilerplate Trekkian fare. So in my opinion, this was Kira's story. Odo's too, perhaps. Although I'm disappointed that there were no repercussions for him indulging his sex life whilst the Federation burned to the ground and countless more people died. That was all swept away a bit too conveniently by rocking up with a couple of deputies to get Kira out of a tight spot. Agree? Or am I full of vohl dung?
I would agree that what happens on the station is dramatically more interesting and, probably, more important than what happens on the Defiant. I've often argued that the occupation hexaptych was Rom's shining moment, and maybe he should have been the "sacrificed angel." Living with the Cardassians, dealing with Dukat, Damar and Weyoun, simply produced more tension as well as more opportunities to explore heroism and loyalty. What happens on the Defiant seems more like standard war movie stuff. Where I will disagree is with Sisko's story. When compared to the other Treks, DS9 is unique by featuring its lead less than other characters, and Brooks had a smaller percentage of his series' lines than Shatner, Stewart, Mulgrew, or Bakula. OTOH, DS9 has explored more of who Sisko than the others have of their captains. I can't dismiss Sisko's story in the hexaptych because in the end, it is by far the most important: learning that their are no shortcuts around fighting, embracing his spiritual importance, and learning that his fate will be unhappy. Those things set the course for the rest of the series. ETA: What I'm trying to say is that the occupation story is very typically DS9, where it would seem that the other characters are getting the best, but that things are still circling back to Sisko in powerful and unavoidable ways. ETA #2: Definitely the scenes between Kira and Yassim are among the very best. I can't believe we only got a few minutes of Lilyan Chauvin: it always seems like her part was epic.
I love Kira, I hold her as Trek's best character. That arc at the beginning of Season 6 does allow her to truly shine, as you get to see a little snippet of what made her the person she was at the beginning of the series compared to who she was halfway through, and how the terrorist element of her was never far from the surface. I love the scene where she goes to confront Odo after Rom is captured and HAMMERS the enunciator. As big and intimidating as Sisko and Worf maybe she is by far the last person I would ever want angry at me.
Agree mostly, I just want to ignore a lot of Kira material in "Sons & Daughters"... that bit with the dress stands out in my mind as one of the most jarringly off Kira beats of the entire series. I don't believe that Kira would be girlishly whisked away, even for a second, by "oooohhhh, a pretty dress, picked out just for me by Hitler!" (Also, we're expected to believe the same dress would be a perfect fit on both Kira and Ziyal?) It's placement in the arc is also unfortunate, if you flip the Kira stories in "Rocks & Shoals" and "Sons & Daughters" it would work so much better. That's a great idea. It would have been devastating, AND saved us from Nagus Rom and "The Emperor's New Cloak."
He was a very good tailor, and almost painfully ingratiating when he wanted to be. And when the Federation first took over they were desperate for viable businesses on the promenade, to the point that Sisko basically blackmailed Quark to stay on the station and keep his bar open.
But, yeah, the dress probably wouldn't fit both women. As far as Kira being excited about the dress--to me that was just another sign of how much Kira had lost sight of her true self.
Hm, that's an interesting point. I'd never thought of it that way, but I think you're probably right. Thanks for the perspective. AGREE. Same. Although I never felt like the spiritual stuff the writers indulged particularly in seasons 3 and 4 worked particularly well for her. It felt like an attempt to soften the character and, to me, came across a bit hammy. [qu[te That arc at the beginning of Season 6 does allow her to truly shine, as you get to see a little snippet of what made her the person she was at the beginning of the series compared to who she was halfway through, and how the terrorist element of her was never far from the surface. I love the scene where she goes to confront Odo after Rom is captured and HAMMERS the enunciator. As big and intimidating as Sisko and Worf maybe she is by far the last person I would ever want angry at me.[/QUOTE] Oh gosh yes. I still, literally, get a chill down my spine when I see that. First rate stuff. That's a good point and I don't entirely disagree. But in Kira's defense, I think it was as jarring for her as it was for us
I don't see that as her getting whisked away by Dukat so much as, momentarily accepting the occupation as a necessary evil on the grounds of accepting the Dominion's narrative of honoring the non-aggression pact, and forgetting the fact that there are no gem'hadar troops on Bajor is just a political maneuver by the enemy.