Was Keiko always a Pah Wraith?
- Thread starter BoTWoT
- Start date
No.
I am not sure how the "Keiko is a bitch" or "Keiko hates Miles" tropes got started. It seems pretty clear that Keiko and Miles love each other deeply. But they are both their own people. Keiko isn't going to fawn all over Miles; to her, she's a husband who she loves but also acts like a child sometimes. She forgives him a lot but she's also going to stand up for herself when he's being unreasonable or when being on the station leaves her with no real job to do. They act like a real married couple, they will not agree ALL the time and they are secure enough in their relationship that they can express it.
I admire your succinctness.
I am not sure how anyone could watch the two of them and not come to those conclusions, and this isn't just a male point of view. My wife can't stand Keiko either. It seems pretty cleat that Miles loves Keiko very deeply...and it's quite a one sided relationship. He literally goes out of his way to please her, and make her feel useful, but she rebuffs all attempts. In "Fascination", an episode where everyone on the station is trying to get with others, Keiko is still as cold as ice.
But, after watching "The Assignment" again, I had to start to wonder if there was a reason for this. I mean, if Sisko can be a Prophet, why couldn't Keiko have been born and destined to be a Pah Wraith, and just not known it, until she went to the fire caves and they gave her the visions. You can set aside the Keiko is a terrible wife bit for this to be a thing, though the few times we see her after "The Assignment", she appears to be a sympathetic normal human being, and not an overbearing "Karen".
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Fair enough. That episode seems to be the exception, not the rule. But, yes, I'd find it hard to believe Keiko is a Pah Wraith from this one...but then again Sisko is hardly a Prophet til he finds out he is one either.
Maybe...because.
Personally, I couldn't stand a girl who wouldn't cry if something really bad happened to me, hell, I would cry if something happened to her. I can't stand Keiko, I think she's a robot, like Data's mother except without the emotion chip.
A million times this. It has been my pet theory for years that most people in the “I hate Keiko” crowd never led a normal, healthy relationship or marriage. The way their partnership is depicted was one of the most realistic on television. They obviously loved each other, had some problems and tried to work them out like people in a healthy relationship do. I do think that the perception of Keiko being a bitch is fed by an overproportionate exposure to unrealistic depictions of relationships in media that fuel unrealistic expectations in real life. And, well, plain old misogyny, of course.
It's been my pet theory that people that think this is a happy normal relationship, have never experienced one of their own. My wife and I fight about once every 3-5 years, and don't tip-toe around each other, and walk on eggshells, like the Obrien's, more specifically Miles. And, yes, if my wife also thinks Keiko is a "Karen", is it misogyny, or is it just plain as day that the two of them don't belong together. And I didn't use the "b" word, you folks defending Keiko did. I just think her and Miles don't belong together...and maybe she's a Pah Wraith UNTIL the end "The Assignment"
Miles/Keiko is by far the longest running marriage on any Trek, they are together almost ten years. The only other married (during the run of their series) characters in classic Trek are Worf/Dax (1 yr.), Sisko/Kasidy (briefly), Paris/B'Elanna (1 yr.), T'Pol (briefly), and Phlox (offscreen). They go from engaged to a family with two kids and a cat. And they have the same ups and downs of any married couple.
Culber/Stamets though its difficult to say how long they've been married, also did they have to get remarried after Culber was resurrected. StarTrekQuestions.
AND onscreen! He's got 3 wives, and seems the most happily married man, but we don't get to see more than 1 wife in part of one episode.
I don't know about the misogyny piece. I think it's just a dynamic relationship, as you note, with a lot of ups and downs and a lot of conflict with Keiko having her own passions, but a lot of them get sidetracked by Miles' career at times. Also, what unfortunately happens with their kids would also weigh heavily in a relationship.
Frasier and Lilith were married for seven years but he was so whipped that he didn't dare to have a drink at Cheers without her permission.
Hm. The Federation is paradise. Everyone has housing, food, medical care, education to their abilities. They don't earn money as such. So there's no real need for Miles to protect his dependents with a life insurance policy, is there?
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