If You Could Rewrite Dax's Death
- Thread starter HugeLobes
- Start date
I'll just chime in and agree that Change of Heart would have been a better way to kill off Jadzia. I'd have also let Dax die because sometimes you just need to show that actions can have lasting consequences. One benefit of allowing both Jadzia and the symbiont to die is that it might have given other characters a chance to shine a little more too without Ezri being added in Season 7. Not that I have anything against Ezri, I just think it could have been interesting.
Penny Johnson: good actress, established character.
I guess it largely depends on whether you liked Ezri. I didn't, and part of the reason why is simply finding her a poor fit for the final season, but I know others disagree on this.
The only thing I'd say is that my main reason for wanting Dax gone entirely is the effect it would have on the rest of the crew and how that would impact the final season. If she had to be replaced, I'd prefer someone who was the complete opposite of Dax, not just the next incarnation.
After Jadzia dead, DS9 S7's biggest mistake was introducing a new character so late in the game. It killed the flow of the series for a while, with all the useless standalones dedicated to developing the Ezri character....who was ultimately a pointless waste of screentime.
They should have continued without a Dax replacement.
They should have continued without a Dax replacement.
As much as I would the producers had filled in the gaps with established characters, Ezri filled a purpose. DS9 has been unique among the Star Trek series in its attention to romantic relationships, Jadzia-Worf being one of the strongest examples. Ezri-Worf, as shown in the first episodes in the final chapters arc, was an opportunity to use the Dax concept to explore loss in a different light, something more akin to divorce. It wasn't perfect, but it did show the difficulties that people have working together after the relationship has dissolved, when the feelings are less in tune.
If we didn't have Ezri, we wouldn't have had some really great episodes about the painful relationship between Ezri and Worf. Those were wonderful complex episodes, and starting with a completely new character or omitting Dax entirely would have been a loss.
Okay, I understand. You don't like Ezri and can't talk about it.
Okay, I understand. You don't like Ezri and can't talk about it.
I read somewhere that originally the writers wanted Dukat to just execute a defenseless Dax but Rick Berman insisted she had to be more heroic and make a move for her phaser or sonething.
I'm surprised so many people would change it to Dax dying too. The symbiont moving from host to host is the most interesting aspect about the trill who are otherwise just humans with dots, we have seen snippets of that happening but Terry Farrell leaving the show allowed the transition to a permanent new host to be explored so I would definitely keep Dax alive.
I also wouldn't have her die in Change of Heart, sure it made sense narratively but death doesn't always make sense, there isn't always a big sacrifice or a dramatic decision to be made, people just slip in the bath tub and break their neck sometimes so I have no problem with Dax getting a "wrong place, wrong time" death but I would change the details, Dukat force choking her was a bit cartoony.
I would give her a better reason to be at the temple, thanking the prophets didn't feel like it was in character for her, maybe let her repair something because she lost a bet with O'Brien (which would have the added benefit of torturing him some more because he blames himself), Dukat beams in, knocks her out with his fists and proceeds to the orb. There's no need for supernatural powers or even weapons, people tend to forget that punching people can be deadly and that could have been a reminder of that, there's too much of "Oh it was just a lead pipe to the head, they'll be fine in time for dinner" on tv.
I also wouldn't have her die in Change of Heart, sure it made sense narratively but death doesn't always make sense, there isn't always a big sacrifice or a dramatic decision to be made, people just slip in the bath tub and break their neck sometimes so I have no problem with Dax getting a "wrong place, wrong time" death but I would change the details, Dukat force choking her was a bit cartoony.
I would give her a better reason to be at the temple, thanking the prophets didn't feel like it was in character for her, maybe let her repair something because she lost a bet with O'Brien (which would have the added benefit of torturing him some more because he blames himself), Dukat beams in, knocks her out with his fists and proceeds to the orb. There's no need for supernatural powers or even weapons, people tend to forget that punching people can be deadly and that could have been a reminder of that, there's too much of "Oh it was just a lead pipe to the head, they'll be fine in time for dinner" on tv.
I'm not so sure about the second part of what you've said here, but I'm in deep agreement with the first part.
Me neither, I think a change of heart death would have been impactful and it would have been very memorable but I also like more random deaths because they seem to be rarer on tv.
I cannot relate to letting a loved one die because something else is more important in the bigger picture, that's very abstract and doesn't happen often in the real world. I can relate to a loved one dying because of random circumstances, the thought of "If she had just gone 5 minutes earlier or later ...", so I think that's why that option won in the end although I'm still debating myself.
Really? Jadzia was still more confident, more athletic, more reverential toward Klingon culture, and indeed, more of a science and policy wonk. Ezri was largely immature, insecure, nerdy, sometimes more cynical. There were traits they shared,but they were not the same character.
If there was one character on the show who should have been able to do it, it was Worf.
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