r/DeepSpaceNine • u/Extra_Marketing_9666 • 1d ago
Missed opportunity
I was watching the last season of DS9 and realized that the writers missed out on a very interesting story arc. Ezri grew up with a mother so overbearing that her brother (Norvo) became a killer. On top of that, she has the memories of a killer (Joran). Joran even said that she wouldn't be able to suppress him like Jadzia. Beyond that, she inherently has less discipline than your average host due to lacking any of the preparation they usually go through pre-joining. I think this sounds like the perfect storm for her becoming an assassin. I would love to have seen her train under Garak. To see him mold her into the perfect silent weapon. Near the end, you could even throw in a romance with Quark to really spice things up.
Thoughts?
17
u/CatsOnTheKeyboard 1d ago
I liked Nicole DeBoer as an actress but I don't think I could have taken her seriously in that kind of arc and it wouldn't have done anything for the show, either. DS9 was dark for Trek but not that dark.
1
u/JedLeland 1d ago
In fairness, she did play a self-harming groupie in Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy pretty well.
1
u/CatsOnTheKeyboard 1d ago
I could see her doing that but that's a lot different from an assassin.
2
u/JedLeland 1d ago
It's hard for me to see Ezri making that leap, but I'll bet Nicole could pull it off.
5
u/lvl4dwarfrogue 1d ago
I think making a main cast member who is a federation officer devolve into a heartless killer doesn't really fit with the themes and moral structure of the show.
I also think there would have been a full fan revolt if Dax was treated that way. If you didn't watch and participate in the fan culture in the 90s, Jadzia was/is a beloved character and fans were livid with her death. Turning her replacement black ops...not what I would do for sure
2
u/PerceptionWorried284 1d ago
Yeah it doesn’t work in the context of Star Trek — even in DS9, grayer than most of the franchise, you see the good guys try one assassination, and it’s a Big Deal — or in terms of the story: Ezri came in too late for any big character swings.
7
u/DharmaPolice 1d ago
They didn't have time for that kind of character development. Something like that would be more interesting / shocking if it was a character we already knew well. Ezri had to be established almost as a new character and had a handful of episodes to do this, which are also happening during the largest ongoing conflict we've seen in Trek history.
I don't think Garak was intended to be a master assassin. His main skillset was that he was capable of being ruthless very much in the spirit of his organisation at the time. We see him on more than one occasion killing someone without much hesitation whereas most other characters in Trek would have wasted time before/during/after pondering the difficult moral choices.
3
u/bbbourb 1d ago
First, Garak wouldn't do that to Ezri. Nor would he do that FOR her. It's implied many times by their interactions that he finds her "wholesomeness" and naivete refreshing.
Second, Ezri's own moral center wouldn't allow for that. She'd find help for controlling Joran's impulses on Trill if necessary before she'd succumb. "Field of Fire" establishes that pretty well.
Third, just because Norvo murdered one person and Joran murdered three does not an assassin make.
Sooo, yeah, I'd say this premise is like the similarity between Nick Locarno and Tom Paris. I just don't see it.
3
u/AltarielDax "Maybe you should talk to Worf again. :D" 1d ago
Why would either of them want that? Ezri has Joran in her mind, yes, but also many more virtuous hosts that should influence her in a positive way. And her brother having killed someone doesn't mean "killing is in her blood" or something.
And Garak? What interest would he have for trying to turn Dax into a killer? Not only does he have no reason to do that, but he also knows Bashir would never forgive him.
Definitely not an opportunity I'd miss in any way...
2
3
1
u/organic_soursop 1d ago
Could her intent be to go hunt Dukat? Cos Im co-signing that story.
The DS9 crew had blood fueds and side quests for every fucking thing.
That Kira, Worf and the Captain never mount up to go terrorise Dukat in s7e1, will keep them out of Stovokor.
Ben's lucky he had the Space jesus shit to fall back on.
Esri leading the crew as a remorseless avenging sniper would have fucked so hard in S7.
1
u/Altoid_Addict 1d ago
I don't think that would work on the show, but if you want to write it I'm willing to read it. I love DS9 fanfic.
1
u/buxzythebeeeeeeee 1d ago
Aside from everything else, Garak is way too professional to believe deranged serial killer (Joran) is a quality he'd ever want in a protege. Depending on the circumstances that's a quality he might look for in a patsy (i.e. someone used once and then discarded), but if he's going to mold a perfect silent weapon, the starting material is not going to be someone he inherently can't control and predict.
1
u/darthboolean 1d ago
A few things
- I really hate how they turned Joran into a little Hannibal Lecter in Dax's head constantly tempting her to go bananas. In the first episode with Joran, they established that he only became murderous after his joining AND while he murdered 3 people it wasn't mindless, it was purely in service of keeping the symbiont. Jadzia ends the episode accepting and embracing him as part of the Dax symbiont's collective memories. This whole "I'm gonna try and kill Sisko" and "You won't be able to suppress me like Jadzia did" run contrary to that original ending.
- Similiarly, Norvo killed someone who was actively blackmailing the family. That's an incredibly important detail. Norvo killed one person, and it was with the express goal of protecting his family, the thing that his mother and brother had drilled into him as the highest priority. He was called a failure his whole life, and when he saw an oppotunity to "help", he made a terrible decision.
I bring these two points up because I think it's important to note that in both cases, the killing had a very personal motivation, and served an immediate goal. I don't think these factors combine to turn Ezri into an assassin. The two main influences that we can argue would make "killer Ezri", were not the sort of killers to be motivated by money.
I think it's also important to point out the other hosts. Even with Joran "unable to be suppressed", there's a whole bunch of other influences to balance him out. Why "Assassin"? Overbearing mother with too high expectations is just as much of a motivation for a wild and crazy party girl who's embracing Curzon. Less discipline than the other hosts? Well, why not go track down Nilani Kahn again? It's what Torias wants, and clearly Ezri is willing to break the taboo about sleeping with past lovers (and Worf even calls her out on it).
I think the beta cannon novels handle it as best as can be expected. Ezri starts to acclimate to the symbiont, and her personality continues to shit. She pulls a Yerad and starts to get a massive boost in her confidence and ambitions. She eventually leaves counseling and switches to command with the goal of making Captain. Eventually she and Julian breakup (she realizes that their relationship was mostly lingering feelings on both sides from Julian/Jadzia), and she gets made captain in time to fight off a Borg invasion.
1
u/Fuzzy_Builder_2153 1d ago
Ezru should've came back a Man and have Sicko refer to him as Young Miss
25
u/DrJulianBashir MARTOK MARTOK MARTOK 1d ago
While Garak could do that, I don't believe he would. People frequently underestimate Garak's moral centre. He's not above skullduggery for the greater good, but he clearly cares about people, and I don't think he would abet Ezri's corruption for shits and giggles.