Why, oh why did the writers have Jadzia Dax and Worf marry?

[Lance]

Re: Why, oh why did the writers have Jadzia Dax and Warf marry?

Didn't have a problem with it. The only coupling that I thought was questionable was Ezri and Bashir, apart from that I thought DS9 handled their relationships pretty well.

It was sort of hinted at early on that he always had a crush on Jadzia, but yeah it still felt like a pair-the-spares move given that Ezri was *not* Jadzia! It was also kinda like Chakotay and Seven getting hooked up on Voyager, it was just such a "Oh jeeze, the show's ending? Better, um, pretend we've given these guys some character development and hope the viewers don't notice."

See that's where I don't see the criticism of the Worf/Jadzia relationship, or even Worf/Deanna. Both relationships were given plenty of hype time to build, especially Worf and Jadzia. It was true character development. One of the great strengths of DS9 in particular!

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Re: Why, oh why did the writers have Jadzia Dax and Warf marry?

See that's where I don't see the criticism of the Worf/Jadzia relationship, or even Worf/Deanna. Both relationships were given plenty of hype time to build, especially Worf and Jadzia. It was true character development. One of the great strengths of DS9 in particular!

Trek generally treats long term relationships as something icky (I blame Gene's fidelity issues). You're right, though, that Worf's relationships were developed slowly and methodically. And of all the characters who could fall in love with him, Troi and Dax were the most logical: they had special insight into his personality and were able to get past his formality.

 

[Shatna]

Re: Why, oh why did the writers have Jadzia Dax and Warf marry?

I'm gonna try an experiment: rather than simply close this thread, I will enlist the community here to make a serious, well-considered discussion out of CaptainCag's question. Several of you guys (especially Lance and Bad Thoughts) are already making some excellent headway in that direction and are bringing some intellectual dignity to the subject. So I'm going to let this thread play out and see where it goes, with the caveat that I can spot a troll and B.S. a mile off. I'll even fix the thread title so Worf's name is correct (an inadvertent error I'm sure).

 

[Seven of Five]

I thought Worf and Jadzia were a good match, but it led to a decline in Trill stories until Ezri showed up.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I thought Worf and Jadzia made a good couple. She was feisty enough to hold her own against a Klingon, and she was really into Klingon culture (mostly thanks to Curzon, IIRC).

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I was going to compose a well thought out response to this thread, then I saw the 'Autism detected' comment. And clearly, if I'm looking for rational debate, I've come to the wrong place.

I thought the Worf/Dax relationship made sense. Jadzia was super into Klingons well before Worf showed up, Dax had the snappy sarcastic playfulness of K'elyhr, and they're exact opposite personalities which some would argue is a major basis of attraction.

Though the writers didn't do a great job writing the relationship. Let He Who Is Without Sin is cringe-tastic and they overplayed Worf's obnoxious jealousy.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Though the writers didn't do a great job writing the relationship. Let He Who Is Without Sin is cringe-tastic and they overplayed Worf's obnoxious jealousy.

What about Looking for Par'Mach in All the Wrong Places or the teaser of Change of Heart?

 

[Shatna]

Re: Why, oh why did the writers have Jadzia Dax and Warf marry?

Autism detected. Commencing evasive maneuvers.

Boy, how did I miss this one? Future warning detected. Cool it while you can.

 

[Shatna]

I was going to compose a well thought out response to this thread, then I saw the 'Autism detected' comment. And clearly, if I'm looking for rational debate, I've come to the wrong place.

You just added some rational debate. Don't give up yet.

 

[urbandefault]

I think pairing Jadzia and Worf was a natural progression in character development, given Dax's past experience with and affinity for Klingons, and Worf's ... Worfness.

She understood and appreciated the culture, and her playful personality was the perfect foil for Worf's serious demeanor. She softened his hard edge, even if only in private.

I have no complaints.

Contrast that with Martok's deference to Lady Sirella. He was a badass in his own right, but Sirella ...

 

[MakeshiftPython]

As far as relationships go, DS9 had the only couples that I could actually believe and care about. Contrast that with what they tried on TNG with Worf/Troi, or VOY's Tom/B'Elanna.

 

[Lance]

Something I really liked about both of Worf's major relationships is the way the writers started out by just having them be friends, and then gradually easing them into something more intimate.

So many relationships on TV drama just instantaneously 'happen'.

It's become something of a discredited trope in places, but in other circumstances it still stands true. With only 20 something episodes per annum to engage the viewers, often this kind of bonding is told in a sort of dramatic shorthand as a matter of necessity.

I've been watching Boston Legal recently for example, and as fun as Alan Shore's (and everybody else's) romantic entanglements are, it stretches credibility for me that people in TV always seem to meet each other, and are suddenly getting passionate within mere episodes of that first meet. It isn't satisfying (for me as a viewer, but it maybe so for the characters! )

Worf/Deanna was kind of a halfway house. They had a little lead-in towards it with things like Worf asking Deanna to become Alexander's other legal guardian and the like, but they hedged their bets enough not to make it too overpowering on the characters, especially knowing they were heading towards movies at the time. Still, one could hardly say that Worf/Deanna came out of nowhere. It was subtle, but it was there from at least the fifth season of TNG, and built on gradually to the finale.

But Worf/Jadzia nailed it.


Dax was already an honorary Klingon via the past history of ambassadorship, as well as a continuing friendship with Kor in particular. All of that came before Worf ever joined the series.

But it's the budding aspects of the friendship that sell it. I love the way she and Worf first become friends, as Worf is feeling alienated and alone away from his friends back on the Enterprise, and suddenly there's this girl there who can match him in Bat'leth combat and can speak Klingon and she helps him settle in to his new post. They're best friends long before they become bedroom partners, but it's the gradual progression from one to the other which makes it such an awesome pairing.

I wish more TV shows developed character relationships like that, frankly.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

It's definitely always more effective to build up to those relationships so that when it does happen it's very satisfying. DS9 even does a great job with the bromance of Miles and Julian.

 

[LeadHead]

I personally liked the Worf/Jadzia relationship.There was chemistry between the actors that worked well on screen The characters had a lot of opposites which made it interesting.

Also, in the grand scheme of things with Jadzia's death at the end of the 6th season, it helped to make it that much more tragic, with her and Worf working on having a baby. Also Worf's confusion with how to relate to Ezri was interesting in season 7.

I know not everyone is a fan of this, but it was good to see another marriage on the show besides the O'Briens, since most of the time it involved Miles trying to not be in trouble with Keiko. Worf and Jadzia had to balance their marriage with their jobs plus the war.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

^Among the better aspects of the Jadzia/Ezri switch was dealing with the problem of moving on in a unique way.

 

[TheSubCommander]

I didn't like the Worf/Jadzia relationship, but at least it made some sense, considering Jadzia had a history with Klingons. At least it wasn't out of left field like Worf/Troi, or Chakotay/Seven.

Really, most Trek pairings are pretty bad. The only one I thought was credible was Riker/Troi.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I just view their marriage as an excuse for a Real Life couple to see eachother more on the set. Whilst not a couple, Dorn and Siritis were the best of friends and didn't have too many reasons for their characters to associate, so a relationship was about all they could do, to serve that purpose. And in Life, there are a lot of couples that seemingly wouldn't work, in theory, but ... there you have it, the age-old addage: Life Imitating Art.

 

[mos6507]

I never felt a spark in any of Worf's romances. He was the squarest Klingon of all time and I don't think any of the women who shagged him were interested in anything more than the novelty-factor of bagging a Klingon.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

It's definitely always more effective to build up to those relationships so that when it does happen it's very satisfying. DS9 even does a great job with the bromance of Miles and Julian.

Some of my favorite DS9 lines are Miles expressing his affection for Julian.

"The thing about you is, you either love you, or you hate you. You see, I hated you! And now... ...now I don't."

"Julian's never going to see this right? (Says a string of extremely complimentary things about him). He's never going to see this right?"

 

[Cyke101]

I never was a big fan of Jadzia to begin with. I thought she was rather bland and generic; tough, funny, smart, but seemingly never really at the same time, as if she could only display those traits during situations and not really as character traits.

With that said, I thought her attraction to Worf and then subsequent marriage was the best thing to happen to her character. It made her somewhat more interesting, and it gave Worf some sort of outlet that didn't involve anger, violence, or (in TNG days) messing up in some way. And, perhaps more importantly, it gave Dax the opportunity to be tough, funny, and smart simultaneously since she had someone she could banter with and keep up with in a fight, to really flesh out just the routine aspects of her character in a more normalized way.

I also like the aftermath of Jadzia's death, that her impact on him wasn't dropped like a hot potato, and that his trying to rekindle with Ezri was acknowledged by both characters as a bust. That, I felt, was pretty realistic (at least as realistic as you can get with a host body).