Does anyone else dislike Keiko O'brien?

[Ryva Brall]

I don't know if it's just me, but I can recall many occasions when Keiko was nice. She was extremely supportive to Miles after his twenty-year "imprisonment", and when he was taken to Cardassia to be put on trial. And even if she may have felt a little jealous that Miles spent so much time with Julian, she never tried to get in the way of their friendship. She even arranged for them to hang out together, when it was obvious that they were both down in the dumps. Never once did I get the impression that she "hated" Miles.

Plus she was a wonderful mother. I can't say I agree with all the Keiko-hate going on here.

 

[Sindatur]

Yea, Keiko's problem as a character was that she was "O'Brien's Wfe" and they really didn't know what else to do with her, so they resorted to her complaining all the time for drama.

 

[DonIago]

Under the circumstances, at least her complaining "all" of the time (which isn't even really the case) is more interesting than her being Mary Sunshine all the time. That would have been unrealistic and nauseating.

 

[Use of Time]

I always thought her character was more believable and down to Earth. She is actually a pretty good representation of the "military spouse."

 

[DalekJim]

She's a complete pain but in an entirely believable way.

 

[Takeru]

I liked Keiko and I understood her complaining most of the time, I just wish they had used her more when she was happy, it seemed like she was only showing up when Miles was imprisoned or tortured or when it was time for occasional Miles deals with his wife being unhappy episode.

 

[Worf'sParmach]

I've never understood all the Keiko hate around here. I think she's fine. Not one of my favorites, but I don't have any problems with her.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I think O'Brien would've been happier hooking up with Kai Winn.

And now I'd like to hook up with some brain bleach.

 

[R. Star]

I think O'Brien would've been happier hooking up with Kai Winn.

And now I'd like to hook up with some brain bleach.

Yeah, Dukat really took one for the evil team there.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

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.

I disagree completely there, I don't think teaching science that contradicts religious beliefs is in any way disrespectful to religious people. Keiko's attitude in that episode was 'Teach science in school, religion in Sunday School', which is really the only attitude toward education you can have in a pluralistic community.

Keiko never once told a Bajoran 'Believing they are Gods is stupid'. She simply taught the scientific perspective on the wormhole, and left the religious perspective to religious people.

I liked Keiko in general but I agree she didn't come off well in the 'Relationship trouble' episodes. But I don't interpret it as being a 'bitch' at all, I see it as just being strongly opinionated and having a strong sense of self, which are two qualities which are considered positive qualities in men but are labeled 'bitchy' when they appear in women.

 

[Odo]

I don't know if it's just me, but I can recall many occasions when Keiko was nice. She was extremely supportive to Miles after his twenty-year "imprisonment", and when he was taken to Cardassia to be put on trial. And even if she may have felt a little jealous that Miles spent so much time with Julian, she never tried to get in the way of their friendship. She even arranged for them to hang out together, when it was obvious that they were both down in the dumps. Never once did I get the impression that she "hated" Miles.

Plus she was a wonderful mother. I can't say I agree with all the Keiko-hate going on here.

Under the circumstances, at least her complaining "all" of the time (which isn't even really the case) is more interesting than her being Mary Sunshine all the time. That would have been unrealistic and nauseating.

Agreed and agreed. It's probably already been mentioned, but I think we should remember that she sacrificed her career to come to DS9 in the first place for Miles' job. It was a pretty realistic depiction of marriage, IMO, from what we saw.

And yeah, sometimes I just try and forget that Dukat and Winn hooked up. I think that's what happens in the seventh circle of Hell or something. *Shudders*

 

[Thestral]

I disagree completely there, I don't think teaching science that contradicts religious beliefs is in any way disrespectful to religious people. Keiko's attitude in that episode was 'Teach science in school, religion in Sunday School', which is really the only attitude toward education you can have in a pluralistic community.

Keiko never once told a Bajoran 'Believing they are Gods is stupid'. She simply taught the scientific perspective on the wormhole, and left the religious perspective to religious people.

I liked Keiko in general but I agree she didn't come off well in the 'Relationship trouble' episodes. But I don't interpret it as being a 'bitch' at all, I see it as just being strongly opinionated and having a strong sense of self, which are two qualities which are considered positive qualities in men but are labeled 'bitchy' when they appear in women.

Everything about this post is Absolutely Right.

 

[Worf'sParmach]

I liked Keiko in general but I agree she didn't come off well in the 'Relationship trouble' episodes. But I don't interpret it as being a 'bitch' at all, I see it as just being strongly opinionated and having a strong sense of self, which are two qualities which are considered positive qualities in men but are labeled 'bitchy' when they appear in women.

Yep.

 

[heavy lids]

Never liked Keiko. Either the character is boring or Rosalind Chao is just a bad actress. Or both.

 

[Melakon]

I sometimes think Keiko wasn't always well written. Chao's been in the business since she was about 13, and been in some high profile series (with multiple appearances) and films, so I doubt the "bad actress" classification.

The topic might even suggest an ethnic bias.

 

[dub]

I liked Keiko in general but I agree she didn't come off well in the 'Relationship trouble' episodes. But I don't interpret it as being a 'bitch' at all, I see it as just being strongly opinionated and having a strong sense of self, which are two qualities which are considered positive qualities in men but are labeled 'bitchy' when they appear in women.

...or, is it possible that most of her dialogue was written by male(s) from a male's perspective? I don't know about you but I always found myself rooting for Miles in those situations, and I'm pretty sure the writers arranged it that way. In episodes where she appeared, Keiko was often the antagonist to Miles in the B or C story. I'm sure most of it had to do with the fact that Miles was a "main" character, but I wouldn't be surprised if male bias was part of it as well. I'm sure the writers being mostly guys brought their marriage experiences to the table when writing these episodes. Of course if you're rooting for Miles, you're going to be annoyed by Keiko. Having said that, I didn't dislike Keiko. I found the introduction of these sorts of real problems (and joys) that everyday people and couples can relate to refreshing for Star Trek. Perhaps humanity has evolved in the 24th century, but men and women still don't understand each other!